Immortalis

Hong Wan

Part One

"What exactly is Cicada Molt?"

Throughout their journey to Shu, the three of them—Yang Wujian and his companions—asked this question almost every day.

Now that they knew the Longevity Heart Sutra was a fraud, the so-called Cicada Molt, which claimed to prolong life and enhance martial arts, was naturally also a deception.

However, although Cicada Molt was a lie, the torment Shen Qingshi had endured since childhood was real.

And Guanri’s remarkable progress in alchemy over the years was no fabrication either. Once one understood the reasoning behind it, maintaining a youthful appearance wasn’t particularly difficult. After all, even Yang Wujian himself possessed an ageless, childlike face—all thanks to the Blood Cleansing Pill.

By continuously undergoing Blood Washing, using the Longevity Heart Sutra only when necessary, and replenishing the body with rare elixirs refined from the exotic treasures he had gathered over the years on Medicine King Mountain, it was possible to create the illusion of eternal youth. The reason he had transferred internal energy to Zui Xiang was precisely because the Blood Cleansing Pill’s effects were too potent and damaging to the body. Zui Xiang, being a frail woman, would not have survived more than a few rounds without internal energy to sustain her.

Yet, there was one thing Yang Wujian still couldn’t fathom.

What exactly had Guanri done to Shen Qingshi? Why had he forced her to take the Two Principles Pill? And why had he stripped her of all emotion?

What was the true purpose of Cicada Molt itself?

Countless questions remained unanswered, but the trio had already arrived at Lingzhou, a small city in Shu. There was no sign of the Zhaoming Guard here yet, but all three knew perfectly well: since Cao Zhao had spread the news that Prince Li was Shen Qingshi’s biological father, he was bound to be waiting for them here.

They decided to stay for two more days before moving on.

For safety, they lodged outside the city. Fortunately, Shu was remote and mountainous, and their wanted notices had not yet reached this place.

To gather information, the three would occasionally sit at tea stalls. Gradually, they learned about the current state of the martial world.

Zhuang Tianyou, whom they had left in the mountains, seemed to have been found. The fact that he had suffered a deviation in his cultivation could no longer be concealed. Publicly, it was only said that he had encountered a mishap during training, with no mention of his death. It was still unclear whether the Sword Sect was now under the control of the Four Seas Alliance or the Zhaoming Division.

Zhou Huai couldn’t help but complain, "Immeasurable Manor truly has eyes and ears everywhere. Isn’t this similar to what my father did? Why do they get to suppress the matter?"

"It’s not that they can suppress it, but rather that the Zhaoming Division has been too busy lately to bother with Immeasurable Manor."

Yang Wujian sneered, thinking that the Zhaoming Division’s forced assault on the mountain had not only failed to retrieve Tian Ting but had also lost Shen Qingshi, the Cicada Molt. No doubt, Cao Zhao was having a difficult time.

No wonder Guanri had been so shocked when he saw Shen Qingshi that day.

In their plan, the Longevity Palace had written letters in Shen Qingshi’s name, leading to its own destruction. This move killed two birds with one stone: not only would it deepen the emperor’s obsession, but it would also make Shen Qingshi "develop a death wish." The White-faced Guest had repeatedly emphasized that he needed the Flesh Conduit to willingly seek death.

As the Cicada Molt, Shen Qingshi’s betrayal of her closest kin was meant to instill in her a desire to die—a crucial part of the entire deception. Without this step, the White-faced Guest’s repeated decisions to spare Shen Qingshi in person would have been inexplicable, inevitably arousing the emperor’s suspicion.

As for Shen Qingshi’s claim that Cao Zhao had been the one to let her escape... Yang Wujian didn’t believe for a moment that Cao Zhao had acted out of pity for her.He likely just didn't trust Guanri, fearing this wandering charlatan had impure intentions, and wanted to take a risky move to test Shen Qingshi's identity. Unexpectedly, his random attempt actually disrupted the entire game plan.

Soon after, Yang Wujian ordered a pot of tea and pretended to be a traveling merchant from out of town, striking up a conversation with the shopkeeper about Prince Li.

Speaking of this ill-fated prince, the local people held no resentment toward him. They only said that since Prince Li had taken up residence in Shu, he kept a low profile and never seized commoners' fertile farmland. Moreover, despite the vastness of his estate, there had never been any rumors of him mistreating his servants. Some who had seen him said that although he had foreign blood, he was humble and courteous, without any airs of royalty.

Zhou Huai asked curiously, "Keeping a low profile... What does that mean? Does he rarely show himself?"

The shopkeeper sighed, "They say he developed a severe cold condition during the years he was demoted to commoner status and nearly died out in the wild. In the end, he was saved by a wandering physician from the martial world. But his health was ruined by the cold—he usually can't leave his home and is unable to have heirs. It's said that a concubine once managed to give birth to a daughter, but the child died young."

Saved by a wandering physician from the martial world?

Yang Wujian immediately recalled the incense he had smelled in the pleasure house earlier. At the time, Nan Lu had also said it was used to warm the body.

Come to think of it—Prince Li, Guan Huo, Nan Lu—they were all associated with fire...

His heart skipped a beat, and he asked again, "So, Prince Li once wandered the martial world?"

The shopkeeper replied, "It's because of his bloodline... Aside from some Northern Desert sects in the martial world, no one dared to take him in."

Shen Qingshi frowned, "Is it common knowledge here that he has half Northern Desert blood?"

The shopkeeper chuckled, "How could it be hidden? You must have heard the story of how Princess Beixiang was abandoned in the Central Plains by Emperor Beixiang, right? Rumor has it that Prince Li's title comes from that—'Li' as in wandering adrift, 'Li' as in leaving one's homeland."

So, the Founding Emperor was truly petty, giving him such a title purely to use his own son to humiliate the Northern Desert... If Prince Li held a grudge against Datong because of this and sought to stir up trouble to usurp the throne, it wouldn't be surprising.

Yang Wujian rolled his eyes inwardly. Seeing that the shopkeeper seemed well-informed, he couldn't resist asking another question, "Have you ever heard of Cicada Molt?"

"Cicada Molt?"

The shopkeeper paused, thought for a moment, and said, "I haven't heard of Cicada Molt, but over a decade ago, Prince Li did have an illegitimate daughter who was separated from him. They say she was born to a female warrior from the martial world. There were rumors that after that, Prince Li developed a severe cold condition and found it difficult to have children—or even if he did, they were prone to dying young. Although he never acknowledged the child at the time, he always missed her deeply and even gave her the nickname 'Little Cicada,' saying that he had only seen her once, like a cicada that sings for just one season before disappearing."

Shortly after, the three of them left the tea stall and returned to a secluded spot.

Seeing Shen Qingshi's face pale, Yang Wujian couldn't help but curse, "What 'Little Cicada'? I think Prince Li clearly knew that Bai Miao took his flesh and blood to the White Rainbow Tower. After Zhou Jinglei killed Bai Miao, the child she was carrying disappeared—most likely sent to the Longevity Palace... For his own selfish gain, he didn't hesitate to use his own daughter as a bargaining chip. Truly, the ambition of a wolf."Shen Qingshi remained silent, her thoughts lingering on the tragic death of the Golden Jade Hibiscus Sword within the Dragon Locking Coffin. A heavy weight pressed upon her heart, forcing her to clutch her chest before she could speak.

Shen Qingshi whispered softly, "Not only that... the White-faced Guest seeking out Yin Quer couldn't have been a coincidence either. He committed those bloody crimes so that one day, the Four Seas Alliance would go after the Longevity Palace, diverting their attention. Logically, he could have chosen anyone, yet he specifically targeted Yin Quer and slaughtered the entire White Dog Village..."

"What exactly is this Cicada Molt, that one would use their own flesh and blood to create it?"

Once again, Zhou Huai couldn't help but voice this question. The three of them fell into silence simultaneously until Shen Qingshi, struggling to breathe, leaned against a nearby tree trunk. Yang Wujian, noticing her pallid complexion, assumed she was overwhelmed by the events and said, "We've been traveling nonstop these past two days. Let's rest first."

As the sun dipped westward, the three found a sheltered spot in the woods to rest temporarily. While Zhou Huai went to gather fresh leaves to feed the rabbit, Yang Wujian used the Longevity Heart Sutra to reinforce the lead box containing Tian Ting once more.

Although the box had been leaky when first obtained, Yang Wujian had since sealed it so tightly it resembled a sphere. In theory, there should be no issues, and neither he nor Zhou Huai had experienced any hallucinations from it these past few days.

Yet inexplicably, the Strange Worm in the bottle remained incessantly noisy, hardly ever quieting down.

Previously, Yang Wujian had tested and learned that this creature called Meteor Star would enter dormancy after staying in the bottle for some time. Unless near the Meat Well, it would only awaken when exposed to fire, after which it could detect the location of ore veins.

However, when facing Tian Ting, the Meteor Star proved hundreds of times more sensitive than ordinary people. Even without fire and despite the lead shielding, they could still perceive the presence of meteorite iron.

Both Tian Ting and Meteor Star seemed to be Otherworldly Objects. Could it be that during the late Crimson Gold era, these worms parasitized Tian Ting as they fell underground?

While Yang Wujian pondered these unanswered questions, Shen Qingshi, who had been resting nearby, suddenly opened her eyes. Cold sweat beaded on her forehead, her face pale and bluish as she gasped for breath as if suffocating, like someone waking from a nightmare.

"Still unwell?"

This wasn't the first time Shen Qingshi had experienced such episodes recently.

Initially, Yang Wujian thought it was due to her injuries, but now, even though her external wounds had scabbed over, she still couldn't sleep peacefully at night.

Shen Qingshi herself found this strange.

During daytime hours when she was awake, this discomfort wasn't so intense—only a faint sensation. But whenever she fell asleep, the suffocating feeling would instantly intensify, like a hand gripping her heart, making proper rest impossible. She even had... many inexplicable nightmares, incredibly vivid, as if they were truly happening before her eyes.

Why exactly...

She looked up and saw the lead sphere containing Tian Ting in Yang Wujian's hand. A suspicion she had long harbored resurfaced in her mind.

"It's this stone," Shen Qingshi gasped. "Ever since that day I saw Zhuang Tianyou, I've been struggling to breathe, especially at night... This feeling is just like in the past after eating hot food or descending into the Meat Well. It must be this stone."

Yang Wujian looked puzzled. "But I've wrapped it in a lead box, and neither Zhou Huai nor I have had any reaction."Shen Qingshi could no longer speak. Yang Wujian saw her furrowed brows clearly in the night—by now he was very familiar with this expression, one she only wore when enduring pain.

He pressed his palm against Shen Qingshi’s chest and felt her heartbeat was erratic. Checking her pulse again, he confirmed it: the previously faint hidden meridian had now become distinct.

Shen Qingshi said with difficulty, "This feeling is exactly the same as in the Meat Well. It means there are Tian Ting beneath all those Meat Wells. But clearly, when you used the Howling Whistle earlier to search for Tian Ting, you found nothing. Could this method also be a deception?"

Yang Wujian thought for a moment, then shook his head. "This method doesn’t seem false... The piece of Tian Ting we have bears two clear tooth marks. It must have been carried out from the Meat Well by a beast using this method, ordered by Guanri."

But why did Shen Qingshi have such an intense reaction?

Before Yang Wujian could find an answer, Zhou Huai returned with gathered leaves, complaining, "These insects are too noisy. You can hear them from far away. They say the Chaofeng Envoy has excellent hearing—if he comes searching for us, we won’t be able to escape..."

These insects...

Wait, why would Shen Qingshi react to stones as violently as the Meteor Star?

Yang Wujian froze. Then, as if struck by a thought, he abruptly turned to Shen Qingshi, opening his mouth but unable to speak.

He recalled the beasts they had used to probe the Meat Wells.

After consuming the Meteor Star, one or two of them wouldn’t die immediately but would enter a state of "symbiosis" with the insects. It was the insects that controlled them as they descended into the Meat Wells, yet it was the beasts’ instinctive craving for the Howling Whistle that drove them back out.

Yang Wujian gasped sharply.

He had previously thought that the Meteor Star "coming to life" when exposed to heat bore some faint connection to Shen Qingshi’s heat-intolerant constitution. But it had never occurred to him that the Meteor Star might not only parasitize beasts but also humans.

As long as the host weakened, the Meteor Star could take control of the host’s body, just like those beasts that stumbled into the Meat Wells... The Meteor Star didn’t completely kill them; instead, it left them with enough consciousness to return to the surface.

What if... someone could survive long-term while carrying the Meteor Star?

An image involuntarily arose in Yang Wujian’s mind.

A pitch-black night a century ago, countless falling stars streaked across the sky. But they weren’t stones—they were millions of black insects, gnawing at the Meteorite Iron they enveloped, entangled together as they plunged into the earth.

These insects were no ordinary creatures. Not only did they survive fire, but they grew even more agitated amid the blazing celestial flames, burrowing deep underground in search of Ore Veins.

They didn’t just feed on Meteorite Iron; they also consumed ordinary minerals as sustenance. Thus, even though most of the Meteorite Iron had been devoured, the vast mineral deposits underground were enough for them to survive, eventually entering a prolonged dormant state in the cold depths.

In other words, the only things that could awaken the Meteor Star were fire and Tian Ting.

And the only things that could pacify the Meteor Star, lulling it back into slumber, were the underground mineral deposits and the cold.In the Northern Desert, some regarded the phenomena of that day as divine miracles, venturing deep underground in search of Tian Ting. Unbeknownst to them, Meteorite Iron—the so-called Tian Ting—could breed demonic obstructions. When insects consumed Tian Ting and scattered by the millions throughout the abyss, they transformed the Meat Well into the most sinister place in the world.

Without ample lead ore to act as a barrier, should Tian Ting reach the surface, it would inevitably unleash a great catastrophe.

Moreover, nothing in this world could destroy the Meteor Star. All living beings were merely its flesh and blood vessels.

Those who had the Meteor Star enter their bodies faced only two outcomes:

Having their vitality drained until they turned to stone.

Or...

Yang Wujian gazed at Shen Qingshi's deathly pale face, remaining silent for a long while before murmuring softly, "I think... I understand what Cicada Molt is now."