Chapter 17: Weaving All Beings, the Knots of Life
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Next, Liu Jun briefly shared his idea, causing the atmosphere to fall into a deep silence for a moment.
Then, voices erupted.
“Excellent, brilliant idea!”
“This is wonderful!”
“As expected of the Seer; this will allow us fragile ones to be protected!”
They were overjoyed, eager to return immediately and put the plan into practice.
This method seemed tailor-made for their telekinetic butterfly clan.
Die Lvxian’s expression shifted slightly, suppressing his joy as he excitedly said, “We can immediately recruit a group of larvae, have them spin cocoons to shape themselves, and begin experimentation!”
“Let me handle this,” said Die Hongjun, who was in charge of the magic carpet and naturally an expert in evolution.
“No, you can’t,” Die Lvxian replied. “If you run around everywhere, don’t rest on the Cangwu tree, and don’t stay near the Seer, we will age rapidly.”
“Besides, remember what the Seer taught us long ago? The wisdom brought by unity is boundless.”
“Let’s leave this to the younger generation. I suggest we share this idea with all the clan members, letting them try their own concepts and weave their own forms of life.”
Liu Jun watched the lively discussion below and smiled.
These disciples, whom he had educated through traditional Confucian teachings of poetry, history, rites, and music, were even more outstanding than he had imagined.
...
...
Inside the palace.
Die Lvxian recalled the delicate threads of clothing and felt an irresistible itch of excitement.
He began weaving for a while but found his proficiency in second-level telekinesis was too low; he needed more practice.
After all,
to stabilize objects in the air and manipulate them with finesse was no simple feat.
Die Lvxian sighed, “Even I am so engrossed in this that I want to neglect state affairs. The Seer truly is our master, skilled at grasping the psychology of our people.”
Most butterflies, like the late emperor, were rather lethargic, and this trick was a masterstroke!
He could no longer imagine how the entire innocent and carefree butterfly tribe would strive and immerse themselves in the exquisite art of weaving.
“I’m already itching to try it myself,” smiled Die Lvxin beside him. “As Empress, I can’t wait to have a set of clothes right now, a phoenix!”
“No,” Die Lvxian said, sitting on the throne of flowers. “The phoenix attire was made by the Seer for the late emperor. Weaving it ourselves might be disrespectful.”
“What does it matter? The Phoenix Emperor wouldn’t care about such things,” Die Lvxin replied nonchalantly. “Besides, we now possess divine artifacts and can become gods ourselves in the future.”
There was the God of Wisdom, the God of Longevity.
Their remaining treasures—light, wind, and radiant evolution—would eventually be thoroughly studied and integrated into their bodies, becoming second-generation gods.
Die Lvxian sighed again, cautioning, “The Phoenix Emperor is magnanimous and might not mind, but we must uphold propriety.”
“Moreover, even if we all become gods someday, why wear the same clothes?”
“The Phoenix Emperor and the phoenix attire were obviously custom-made by the Seer. You can design your own set when the time comes. Don’t you trust your own aesthetic sense?”
Die Lvxin realized she had momentarily forgotten the lessons on conduct and relationships their teacher had imparted.
They were destined for immortality; if they did not wish to grow apart, they naturally had to maintain good relations.
Changing the topic, Die Lvxin expressed a hint of regret, “It’s a pity that for now we can only wear clothes, not spin new cocoons.”
Die Lvxian said, “Don’t you trust Old Third’s research ability? Perhaps in the future, he will find a way for us to spin new cocoons.”
Die Lvxin nodded firmly.
“True, we are just a few butterflies in the flower bushes. For now, I’ll focus on weaving my new clothes.”
She began eagerly studying her clothing design, making this adjustment here, that adjustment there.
She adored the elegant shape of the phoenix so much that she used it as a reference to shape a brand-new divine bird.
A few days later, Die Lvxin brought her design drawings to the Cangwu Shrine, seeking the Seer.
She called out loudly, “Please, Seer, bestow a name!”
After a moment of silence inside, the voice responded:
“Vermilion Bird.”
Thus, the beauty-loving Empress acquired a splendid new garment.
...
...
Inside the shrine.
Liu Jun had them weave clothes and build exoskeletons, which was merely preschool education for the mushrooms.
His main focus remained cultivation.
Using this third-level intellect brain to channel thoughts was the way of the Confucian scholar’s cultivation.
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At this moment,
gazing at the amber phoenix butterfly incarnation, Liu Jun planned to teach it the third-level ability: astral projection.
This was one of the hallmark abilities of the third level.
In ancient times, this art was even called “Divine Descent.”
“Want to go out and play?”
Liu Jun suddenly asked.
“Can I go out?” The amber phoenix butterfly perked up, shyly asking, “Can I wear my new clothes?”
“No, you’ll go out in a different way.”
“You can possess the bodies of your subjects. No one will know your true identity, and you can freely do whatever you like.”
“That’s great!”
One year later.
On the Cangwu tree,
the amber phoenix butterfly sat on the throne of flowers, its consciousness descending onto the royal city below.
With a thought, it suddenly entered the body of a butterfly playing by the roadside.
“Abba abba.”
It began singing with nearby companions.
The next moment, it noticed a butterfly walking by and immediately shifted its consciousness into it, joining the dance troupe ahead.
A poet, a singer, a weaver—it leapt joyfully along the street.
From the tree, Liu Jun smiled at the scene. “A born sage, indeed formidable.”
This was the true terror of the third level.
Consciousness could leave the body, walk upon passersby, and stroll among all living beings.
In ancient times, such an existence would naturally be called... a god!
The amber phoenix butterfly wandered until it arrived at a bustling area.
This was a weaving garden.
The divine will had stirred a great tide; countless sages and larvae pursued ultimate beauty here, weaving cocoons.
“Spinning our cocoons must be the wisdom the God of Knowledge taught us!”
“Oh, God of Wisdom above, you grant us knowledge and teach us wisdom. We shall weave the most beautiful bodies and possess the most complete and powerful shells!”
...
Hidden among the butterflies, the amber phoenix butterfly listened with delight.
The butterfly clan was naturally fond of beauty and gifted in self-improvement.
Under its covert observation, various beautiful cocoons appeared.
There were lantern-shaped, spherical, dinosaur-shaped, triangular, flower-shaped...
“Hee hee hee!”
Innocent laughter echoed over the sea of flowers as they emerged from their cocoons, fluttering in the sky.
Each adorable little butterfly resembled a sprite dancing in the air.
This spectacular scene reminded Liu Jun of the Weifang Kite Festival, with all manner of strange and wonderful kites soaring everywhere.
“Amazing, truly amazing.” The amber phoenix butterfly cheered happily below.
“What a wondrous world.”
Liu Jun quietly watched the sky. “Is this some kind of Jurassic kite civilization?”
At this stage, the cocoon shells were still superficial.
Like an outer frame, mostly for appearance but not practical.
But as time pressed forward, the weaving butterfly clan continued crafting various cocoons.
In their pursuit of beauty, they unleashed boundless energy; hobbies were the best teachers.
Some butterflies discovered a whole new principle!
By using specific frequencies to irradiate the cocoons with the magic carpet, the cocoons would fuse with flesh and blood.
Even the shapes formed by the cocoons would merge with the skin!
This was like some watermelon farms forcing square watermelons to grow inside square molds.
Biologically, the butterfly pupa stage was miraculous.
When caterpillars spun cocoons, inside was not a growing caterpillar but a mass of tissue fluid.
At this stage, the caterpillar dissolved its muscles into liquid, with the brain and nervous system floating in the fluid.
The fluid then reorganized into a butterfly, which eventually emerged from the cocoon.
During this stage, with telekinetic aid focusing on the liquid brain, the specially crafted silk outer shell, flesh, meridians, blood vessels, and nerves could bond together.
This was... life shaping!
It enabled the silk limbs woven into the cocoon to integrate into the nervous tissue, forming a real, functioning body.
Butterflies had four life forms, demonstrating infinite potential!
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Perhaps they were creating a new demonic race?
However, first and foremost, they were mushrooms.
They were soldiers raised by their fungal lord in the mushroom soup world.
“Failure—does it mean death?”
“Hee hee hee, of course it means death, but all for the sake of beauty!”
“I want to be beautiful, I want to be beautiful!”
“Children, failure means death, but success means we have pioneered a new path! Ignited a life path, carved a beautiful road for life!”
“Yes, the Seer told us, if we succeed, our clan’s genealogy will open a new page! Because we will have created a new branch of the butterfly tribe!”
In pursuit of beauty, to bloom life.
From ugly larvae to beautiful butterflies.
Around the magic carpet, countless fearless larvae gathered, eager to break their cocoons and become beautiful beings.
They went forth one after another, igniting the flame of civilization and shaping their forms.
Ah!
The amber phoenix butterfly watched, mesmerized. “They love beauty so much.”
Liu Jun also praised, “Hurry and develop, so I may have a self-defending civilized army.”
Soon,
from a damp cocoon emerged a centipede-like creature with many limbs and butterfly wings on its back.
The centipede butterfly said:
“These woven limbs connect to my nerves. With eighteen legs that move, we can craft tools with dexterous many hands without relying on telekinesis.”
Thus, the multi-limbed butterfly clan was born, opening a new chapter in the genealogy.
But it was too ugly.
Other butterflies refused to follow its path.
“Ah, you’re too ugly! I don’t want to walk your life path!”
“Hee hee hee, so ugly, so ugly!”
The multi-limbed butterfly was very sad: “I don’t want to be so ugly either, but if you follow my path, you won’t have to worry about death. I’ve already paved the way for you.”
It fluttered through the air, looking down at the green caterpillars waiting to spin cocoons.
“My weaving method is to hide within cicada pupae, first weaving from the thorax, using four-leaf clover knots to weave the abdomen.”
“Using twisted knots to weave the nerve endings of the limbs.”
“Using plum blossom knots to weave the joints of hands and feet.”
“Using grass flower knots to connect all parts of the limbs...”
“This and that...”
“Three days of magic carpet irradiation, and it fuses together; nerves will grow.”
“But the limbs are still a bit rough. I think it can be optimized by turning the front tentacles into pincers, using a brocade knot...”
This centipede butterfly fluttered about, trying to teach its “life knotting” technique to other larvae, seeking more companions.
But no one paid attention.
The larvae proudly arched their bodies and raised their heads, saying, “No, we won’t be ugly. We want to walk our own path!”
The centipede butterfly gestured wildly, “But you’ll die! Why not try the path I have succeeded in?”
The larvae said:
“No, we want to create a more beautiful form! We will weave a more beautiful body and then break free from the cocoon!”
“Even if it means death.”
“If we can create a beautiful and powerful life, we can surely defeat the dragons beyond the valley!”
The multi-limbed butterfly was very sad, lowering its head, wanting to leave this sorrowful place.
But soon, three larvae blocked its way.
“I’m Larva Thirteen. I want to learn your technique,” said one caterpillar.
“You want to learn?” The multi-limbed butterfly brightened.
“Yes, but I won’t become like you. I believe learning various “life knot” structures can make me the strongest and most beautiful life! Wise multi-limbed butterfly, will you help me?”
“I will!” The multi-limbed butterfly was simple-hearted.
At that moment, two butterflies also stepped out.
“I’m Larva Thirty.”
“I’m Larva Seventy-Seven.”
Thus, a team was formed.
The amber phoenix butterfly nearby blinked, suddenly recalling how, when it first met the Seer, it was just like this.