Lin Tian was utterly clueless about the breakthrough into the Ancient Martial Realm; his knowledge was limited to what Xiao Manxue had once mentioned when talking about Ancient Martial arts. The confident way he had just spoken to Xiao Manxue was purely based on instinct; after all, anyone can talk about principles.
At this moment, Lin Tian was also curious whether Miss had made a breakthrough, since the aura she emitted earlier was quite peculiar.
Xiao Manxue, no longer bearing the negative emotions from before, now had a relaxed expression on her face. She smiled slightly and said, "I haven’t made a breakthrough yet, it’s not that easy. However, when I attempted to challenge the barrier just now, I gained quite a lot of insight. This in itself is a significant gain."
"You’re kidding, it’s that difficult? I thought that by standing there for half an hour, you would have broken through, and all my talking would’ve been for nothing," Lin Tian shook his head, looking dissatisfied.
"Pfft..." Xiao Manxue couldn’t help but laugh at Lin Tian’s exaggerated disappointment and, in a gentle voice, said, "I don’t know what you’ve learned from your master, but breaking through by just standing for half an hour? Do you think it’s as simple as eating or drinking? Nonetheless, what you said was very helpful to me, thank you, Lin Tian."
"Actually, when you’re gentle, Miss, it’s quite charming, really. Being a little softer adds a touch of femininity and will attract more handsome guys." Lin Tian joked, looking at the rare tenderness in her eyes.
"Hmph, I don’t need it; it’s best if they all stay away from me, especially you," Xiao Manxue deliberately put on a stern face and huffed.
"Wow, Miss, saying that really breaks my heart. I’m currently your practice partner, accompany you in eating, drinking, and living. This isn’t just the ’three accompaniments’; it includes the fourth and fifth too," Lin Tian exclaimed dramatically.
Xiao Manxue glared at him, and with a "clang," sheathed her longsword. She brandished the longsword in her hand threateningly and said, "Be careful what you say, or my Sword Qi won’t be so polite to you, and your Golden Bell Divine Shield definitely won’t be able to block it."
When did I ever practice Golden Bell Divine Shield? Could it be her master speaking nonsense? But it’s not bad, let them guess it’s Ancient Martial arts; less chance for my zombie identity to be exposed. Lin Tian cheerfully adopted this Cultivation Technique. If anyone asks, just say it’s a sect secret – a reason that always works.
"Sigh, I’m just too honest. Earlier, I only grabbed your shoulder, but I should’ve gone for a slap on the butt instead. Maybe a few more slaps would make you behave," Lin Tian said with a feigned sigh.
Xiao Manxue certainly caught Lin Tian’s drift; without speed, there’s no chance of stabbing with a sword. However, the mention of slapping her butt still filled her with the urge to draw her sword and hack away.
She took a few deep breaths and said, "Lin Tian, can’t you put on some clothes and talk to me properly?"
"Of course. You think I’m an exhibitionist or something? Besides, just now I was examining your dress. It didn’t tear even with such a violent impact; I’ve totally forgotten what I said a moment ago." Lin Tian put on his clothes, half-serious and half-joking.
He was genuinely curious; the force he had used to throw her down, although not as powerful as the attack on Ning Luoxi, was definitely not weak – trees had been broken, yet the dress was unscathed. Could it be that fabric made from Thousand-year-old Ice Silk and black gold threads was so tough?
When it came to this white dress, a proud smile appeared on Xiao Manxue’s face. She smiled faintly and began, "The material of this dress was not easily acquired; back in the day, my Grandmaster traveled the world..."
"Traveling is just traveling, why make it sound like a ’journey around the world’? It sounds so awkward." Lin Tian muttered under his breath, and seeing that she stopped without going on, he had to say, "If you think so, let it be. Continue."
Xiao Manxue rolled her eyes and continued, "The Grandmaster, while traveling and training rigorously, came to Kunlun Mountain. I’m sure you know that Kunlun Mountain is the main mountain range in the western part of Huaxia, part of the plateau glacier region, perpetually covered in ice and snow, rarely visited by humans. The Grandmaster found precious ice silkworms near the Unfrozen Spring, so she brought them back to cultivate and breed, which is why we now have fabrics woven from ice silkworm silk."
"Your master is really incredible, daring to venture alone into Kunlun Mountains. But she was really lucky to discover the legendary ice silkworms," Lin Tian exclaimed in amazement.
Don’t be fooled by the ice and snow landscape of the Kunlun Mountains, although it’s quite majestic, the living conditions are extremely harsh. Only animals like the Tibetan antelope and the wild yak can survive in the icy expanses of the Kunlun Mountains for long periods of time.
As for the depths of the Kunlun Mountains, the dangers are even greater; your Grandmaster had the courage to delve into its depths, which indeed shows great bravery.
However, Lin Tian still had some doubts and asked, "The ancient books say that ice silkworms have horns, scales, and their cocoons are one foot long, colored in five hues, but why is your dress white?"
"You’ve actually read those old books; I didn’t see that coming—you seem to have a wide range of knowledge," Xiao Manxue said, showing a surprised expression. Then she continued, "The ancient books are correct, but only silk from hundred-year-old ice silkworms is multi-colored; otherwise, it’s white. Five-Colored Ice Silkworm Silk is extremely rare, and its quality is several times higher than that of white ice silk."
"So there’s such a distinction. Ice silkworms can live that long, so are there thousand-year-old ice silkworms too? If hundred-year silk is multi-colored, does that mean thousand-year-old ice silk is rainbow-hued? If clothes were made from thousand-year-old ice silk, wouldn’t that be a treasure without equal in the world?" Lin Tian let his imagination run wild, saying so with exaggeration.
It was just a joke, really. Lin Tian could barely accept the existence of hundred-year-old ice silkworms, but the idea of thousand-year-old ones seemed highly improbable. On Earth, the longest-living creatures are the tortoise, the soft-shelled turtle, and the pearl-producing mollusks—and of course, Lin Tian wasn’t including zombies in this list.
The notion of ’thousand-year-old tortoises, ten-thousand-year-old turtles, thousand-year pearls’ has been handed down since ancient times, and modern science has also proven that these creatures can indeed live for several hundred to a thousand years.
However, Xiao Manxue shook her head and then nodded before saying, "It’s said that thousand-year-old ice silkworms do exist, but whether or not the silk they produce is rainbow-hued, I don’t know; I’ve never seen it. Even if there really is thousand-year-old ice silk, it’s tremendously rare, not nearly enough to weave into fabric."
She used the word ’extremely’ twice. Given her knowledge about ice silkworms, one could imagine how nearly impossible the existence of rainbow-hued ice silkworm silk fabric would be.
"And then there’s the black gold silk. I’ve heard of tungsten filaments in light bulbs, but I’ve never heard any scientist discovering black gold silk. That must not exist on Earth, right?" By comparison, Lin Tian had absolutely no idea about black gold silk.
"The black gold silk was also obtained by the Grandmaster. It’s fair to say that getting her hands on black gold silk was a matter of fate," Xiao Manxue thought for a moment and then said, "It was in Kunlun Mountain too. After the Grandmaster had collected the ice silkworms, she was about to leave the Kunlun Mountains, but when she was exiting the mountain, an avalanche occurred. Fortunately, she managed to hide in a hollow on the mountain side and thus avoided disaster."
"Don’t tell me you’re saying that your Grandmaster found the black gold silk because she evaded the avalanche and discovered it in that hollow?" Lin Tian asked, his mouth agape with surprise.
But Xiao Manxue shook her head and said, "It wasn’t that she discovered black gold silk."
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