Chapter Twelve: The Little Golden Thread

“It's probably related to the appearance of the Xuantian Tower last night,” Zong Zheng said.

“That seems likely.”

“Indeed! The spiritual energy was especially dense last night, and Tianluo Mountain isn't far from here.”

The members of the Demonic Heaven Sect all agreed with this assessment.

Elder Zhao was pleased with their interpretation.

“Yes! Two of the children I teach managed to draw qi into their bodies yesterday, and those who hadn’t sensed the qi before felt it today,” he said truthfully, though the exact reason remained unknown.

“That’s great. Hurry and have them draw qi into their bodies; then take them to Tianluo Mountain,” Zong Zheng said happily.

However, the senior members of the Demonic Heaven Sect did not share this enthusiasm. They lacked the sense of continuity within their sect, and their reactions were lukewarm.

“I’m not going this time! Last time, to bring back those three people, I even fought with Jing Kong and Jing Chen,” Red Robe said first.

“Winning against the combined force of Jing Kong and Jing Chen? That’s just bragging!” Granny Corpse immediately retorted.

But fighting didn’t necessarily mean physical combat; Red Robe just ignored Granny Corpse, who liked to pick on her for no reason.

“You don’t have to go this time. Who else among you is free to make the trip?” Zong Zheng asked the others.

No one was eager; without any personal gain, no one wanted to step forward, and some looked down on the benefits Zong Zheng offered.

Often, seeing them like this made Zong Zheng want to give up altogether. Although the Demonic Heaven Sect was like his own, ironically, Zong Zheng felt the least sense of belonging to it.

The sect’s senior members never followed the righteous path, each swimming in wealth, so ordinary benefits couldn’t entice them.

“Chief Corpse, you go! When you return, I will give you the ‘Zombie Chapter’ of the ‘True Demonic Scripture’,” Zong Zheng said, knowing that Granny Corpse wouldn't resist such an offer.

“I’ll go!” Granny Corpse couldn’t refuse.

“How many will you take? When you return, I want to see the same number,” Zong Zheng said, a bit wary of Granny Corpse. He didn’t want anyone with good potential to return as a zombie, as such incidents had happened before.

“Don’t worry! I absolutely won’t do that anymore,” Granny Corpse promised. She had lost eighty percent of her reserves last time and still winced at the memory.

“I believe you,” Zong Zheng nodded with great trust.

...

Little Golden Thread was sent back by the Xuantian Tower to the big tree where she had previously parasitized. Following instinct, she embedded her absorbing roots into the trunk and began to grow her golden tendrils to entwine the canopy.

But something was wrong. Normally, it would take one or two days to penetrate the trunk, yet this time it happened instantly. The vines also usually took much longer to fully wrap the canopy, but today it was done in no time. Before long, the tree died.

Having no choice, she moved on to wrap around a neighboring tree—equally quickly, that tree lost its vitality as well.

She killed several trees in succession but was still not sated and wanted to continue. However, in her limited intellect, Little Golden Thread realized that even if she consumed the entire forest, it would be hard to satisfy her hunger. Was she doomed to starve?

Startled and unsure why this was happening, she decided to seek help—but she didn’t know whom to ask.

In her simple reasoning, the place that gave her something was mysterious, so she moved toward the Xuantian Tower.

Previously, Little Golden Thread wouldn’t have pondered such questions; now she had learned to think—though she hadn’t realized it herself.

She moved swiftly, arriving at the Xuantian Tower soon. The tower’s great door was tightly closed. Little Golden Thread, unversed in etiquette, didn’t know she should knock.

She fluttered her tendrils, trying to slip through the door’s crack. As she struggled, a man’s voice called from above.

“Little Golden Thread, you’ve already received the cultivation method. Why are you here again?”

Little Golden Thread was at a loss for how to answer such a difficult question but kept trying to get inside.

“I said, Little Golden Thread! I’ve already given you the technique. Just go back and practice it. Why are you here again? Or do you have something else to say?”

This puzzled her even more, beyond her comprehension. She found the voice comforting and wanted to answer but couldn’t, trembling all over.

“Don’t be anxious! Don’t shake. So you can’t speak yet.”

In the blink of an eye, a graceful youth in azure robes appeared before her.

Ah! Finally, she found the owner of the voice. Overjoyed, she fluttered her tendrils, climbing up the young man’s body.

“You’re good at climbing up the branch!” The youth grabbed her and gently removed her from his body, holding her in his hands.

“I must be stupid. You haven’t awakened yet. I ask you questions, and you can’t answer!” He gestured casually, sending a beam of white light into Little Golden Thread’s body.

Instantly, her tendrils thickened, her color became a fresher yellow, shining in the sunlight, looking more vigorous.

Little Golden Thread felt the change deeply. Earlier, she hadn’t known how to answer the youth’s questions, but now she understood immediately. Only, she was even hungrier.

“I’m hungry!” The soft, infantile voice was the first words Little Golden Thread ever spoke.

“You’re hungry?” The youth, who had been fasting for countless epochs, was dumbfounded.

“I’m hungry!” Little Golden Thread fluttered her tendrils again.

“I know you’re hungry. I’m thinking about what you can eat. What did you eat before?”

“Big trees. I used to absorb nutrients from big trees and wouldn’t be hungry,” Little Golden Thread answered seriously in her sweet voice.

“Then just go back and keep eating big trees.”

“They don’t taste good! And the more I eat, the hungrier I get,” her voice full of distress.

“So that’s why you came to find me,” the youth asked.

“Mm!” Little Golden Thread shook her tendrils.

“Oh, my! Whom can I reason with? I enlightened you, and you’re asking me for food,” the youth said, rubbing his forehead but showing no impatience, still holding the little golden thread in his hands.

He propped his chin with one hand: “I don’t even have a body right now. Where would I get you food?”

“Hungry!” came the pitiful little voice.

“There’s only cultivation techniques in my Xuantian Tower. Does practicing fill your stomach?” The youth was troubled.

“Hungry!”

“Ah! I’ve got it. The reason you’re hungry is that what you’re eating lacks spiritual energy. Spiritual energy—that’s easy to fix. Watch this.” The youth reached his hand into the void, drawing forth nearly invisible, transparent matter, flowing endlessly toward him.

In moments, brilliant stones appeared in his hand, which he offered to Little Golden Thread.

“I want them!” she eagerly lunged at the stones, starving for nourishment.