Immortality: Raising an Ant Queen to Cultivate by increasing stat points - Chapter 47

Chapter 42: The Plan for Pest Control_1

Translator: 549690339

He held the Treasured Sword in his hands, studying it closely.

He wasn’t sure if it was an illusion, but he actually saw tiny green threads on the blade.

He wiped it with his clothes, but those green lines, finer than hair, still remained.

They were only faintly visible, hard to see clearly.

Moreover, they were not on the surface, but seemed to be hidden inside the blade.

“I’ve never heard of a weapon forged from fine iron having green patterns. There were no such strange signs when I bought it. It looks like the Banyan Tree Blood must have caused some changes to it.”

Qin Niu cradled the Treasured Sword, looking it over and over, unable to put it down.

A good weapon is extremely important for defense, self-protection, and combat.

If he really could cultivate a special weapon and awaken its spirit, he would benefit from it for life.

Such a weapon might even make the lord of Black Tiger City envious.

“Although that Ancient Banyan Tree is somewhat sinister, its blood is truly a good thing.”

Qin Niu’s eyes shimmered, and glancing at the small amount of Banyan Tree Blood left in the jar, a bold idea popped into his head that he couldn’t suppress.

In the end, people can’t control their own desires!

“In the coming days, I’ll focus on cultivating the termites to make them a bit fiercer and expand the colony. Then I can send a few into the Ancient Banyan Tree as cannon fodder to test it out. As long as the termites can come out, so can I.”

The last time he accidentally entered the range of the Banyan Tree, although he almost couldn’t get out, it did grant him many valuable experiences.

It wasn’t dangerous under the tree during the day; it was only after nightfall that the tree became deadly.

This was a big loophole, and if he utilized it well, he should be able to ensure his safety.

As for whether other dangers would arise, that was uncertain.

The road to eternal life is naturally defying the heavens, and to describe it as fraught with peril at every step is no exaggeration.

Every living creature under heaven wishes to live forever, yet very few can truly achieve this feat. Only a few legends remain for the world to speculate upon.

The Banyan Tree Blood could help him cultivate his sword and possibly even help him cultivate special types of termites, not to mention the cultivation speed under the tree was twenty times faster than the outside world. All these made Qin Niu extremely tempted.

To gain these benefits, taking some risks is very worthwhile.

Packing away the Treasured Sword, Qin Niu, to test whether the Banyan Tree Blood was harmful to plants, used a bit of it and smeared it onto the leaves of a tender green grass.

There was no reaction.

He planned to wait and see it when he returned home that night.

After practicing all night, he was ravenous.

Three pounds of bear meat later, his hunger was sated.

With his basket on his back, he locked the door behind him and headed for the mountains.

There wasn’t much farm work to do for now; he just had to wait for the corn to ripen.

He found that the worse the crops were grown, the more farming work there was to do, with weeding alone keeping him busy, not to mention sporadic loosening of the soil, watering, pest control, and so on.

If the crops grew well, the weeds below wouldn’t sprout.

Checking his crops, he was pleased with the growth of the corn, but he noticed the tips of the leaves on two corn seedlings were rolled up.

They were Core-Boring Worms.

One of the biggest pests of corn.

Qin Niu was still only a Low-grade Farmer, mastering just the five most basic planting skills.

He knew a bit about pest control, but only superficially.

At least a Mid-grade Farmer or higher could handle pest control techniques.

The Core-Boring Worms were particularly troublesome. Though only two corn seedlings were affected now, if left unchecked, they could soon cause widespread damage, resulting in significant losses.

Even though he now had the strength to hunt fierce beasts, having some grain in storage still gave him peace of mind.

He couldn’t let the insects ruin the corn he had worked hard to plant.

With harvest just over a month away, he couldn’t afford any mishaps at this critical juncture.

It took considerable effort to deal with those two corn seedlings whose tips curled. He found three Core-Boring Worms curled within the leaves, and they were quite plump.

They must have been hiding and feeding on the corn leaves for a long time.

It was just Qin Niu’s insect control skills that were poor, not noticing them sooner.

According to his planting experience, discovering one Core-Boring Worm meant there were at least a few hundred in the cornfield already.

He couldn’t wait for them to ruin the corn before taking action.

Not only would the losses be great, but he would never catch them all.

Because their breeding speed was unimaginably fast.

Once they metamorphosed into moths, they could easily lay a large number of eggs under hidden leaves or within the weeds.

In no time, they would hatch into batches of Core-Boring Worm larvae.

Then, not only would he be unable to cope alone, even with two extra helpers, they would never catch them all.

“I’ve been raising that nest of termites for quite some time now. Although their food mainly consists of wood and tender leaves, using them as ants for pest control is also doable. I’ll bring a batch of Worker Ants down later to help me with pest control.”

Qin Niu silently calculated in his heart.

Termites prefer to be active at night, so later this evening when I head down the mountain, I’ll bring a batch of Worker Ants and then return them tomorrow morning.

The most frustrating thing is that the Ant Queen’s breeding skill hasn’t been upgraded yet, capable of producing only ten eggs a day, which is incredibly rubbish.

I must find a way to help the Ant Queen rapidly improve her breeding skill.

Anyway, as they’ve already settled in that large camphor tree, they’re not short of food at all.

I have considered using the two low-grade Contract Charms in my possession to tame two other ant queens, like the Bull Head Ant, Tiger Patterned Ant, and Army Ant which are all particularly good species.

One issue is that suitable Breeder Ants are hard to find, and secondly, the success rate is really quite low.

Thirdly, it’s very time-consuming.

By the time the new tamed Ant Queen lays her first batch of eggs, and those eggs develop into pupae, transform into adult ants, the corn in the field would almost be ready for harvest.

There simply isn’t enough time.

Moreover, each low-grade Contract Charm is extremely precious to me.

Unless I encounter a suitable and excellent creature, I’d rather save them.

For now, the only hope is that termite nest.

They dispatch black stink ants as if it were child’s play, let alone dealing with the defenseless Core-Boring Worms, which would be as easy as slicing vegetables.

Moreover, they have an exceptionally keen sense of smell, are small and agile, making the entire cornfield their potential hunting ground.

That being said, the frogs, spiders, and other insects in the cornfield could all potentially pose a threat to the termites’ lives.

Therefore, Qin Niu is still deliberating on using termites for pest control.

Tonight I can only experiment with a small number of Worker Ants, and if the losses are great, I must immediately cease.

I’d rather lose the entire crop of corn than see that termite nest destroyed.

Even more so, I cannot afford to risk the greater loss for the smaller gain and sacrifice a large number of Worker Ants for pest control, which would affect the overall development speed of the ant colony.

Just yesterday, experimenting with Banyan Tree Blood already cost the loss of a Young Worker Ant.

The outcome for another is still unknown.

He walked into the mountain with a frown, head lowered.

The three Core-Boring Worms were brought along; I intended to feed them to the termite colony and have the termites memorize their scent.

After entering the mountain, I headed straight for the Ant Nest.

On clear days like this, many villagers go into the mountains to gather firewood.

In this world with relatively backward technology, where civilization is primarily focused on cultivation, everyone aspires for longevity and to be revered by heaven and earth. Thus, there is no mining or use of energy sources like coal or natural gas.

Both the common folk and officials alike rely on firewood and charcoal for warmth, cooking their food, and firing the bricks used for building houses.

Since firewood is expensive, green bricks and tiles are beyond the means of ordinary families.

Only the well-off, like Wang Furen’s household, can afford to build houses of green brick and tiles.

Essentially, every household stores up dry wood.

Not surprisingly, there are many people who go to the mountains to chop wood.

In fact, the entire village only has two successful individuals like Wang Furen and Xu Zhenchang who have built houses of green brick and tile. The clubfoot who tamed a Treasure-Seeking Mouse has only recently risen in the past two years and currently holds the provisional status of a Beast Tamer in the Beast Tamer Association; his financial strength is probably not very robust.

Hence, the house he lives in temporarily can hardly be called luxurious.

Mainly because there aren’t many opportunities to make money in the countryside.

That’s why the clubfoot is considering developing in Black Tiger City.

Even so, in the eyes of the public, the clubfoot is still seen as a winner in life. If he can improve his Beast Taming Skill or if the Treasure-Seeking Mouse can be upgraded by one grade, the clubfoot’s future achievements could far exceed those of Wang Furen and Xu Zhenchang.

Qin Niu is now a provisional Insect Master, his status not much different from that of the clubfoot.

His Ant Nest’s location is on the outer edge of the deep mountains, and under normal circumstances, no ordinary villagers dare to chop firewood here.

Many villagers form small groups of three to five to enter the mountains together.

They then chop wood on the periphery of the forest.

However, everyone subconsciously keeps a certain distance from the Yan Family’s mountainous land.

While the tigers and wolves in the mountains are frightening, the Yan Family is even more terrifying, and no one dares to offend them.

Upon arriving at the Ant Nest, everything is still quiet, with only two Soldier Ants stationed at the entrance of the nest keeping watch.

The ant colony is still very weak and adopting a defensive posture.

They’re secretly developing within this large camphor tree.

This is a very sound development strategy.

“Fourth, bring out the Young Worker Ant from yesterday,” Qin Niu communicated with Fourth in ant language.

I’ve been consciously trying to improve my proficiency in the ant language, and I converse with them whenever I come to see the termites.

But because communicating drains spiritual power, I’m unable to chat with them incessantly like ‘talking on the phone.’

Currently, only Fourth and the Ant Queen can communicate with me properly.

The other termites can receive my simple commands for now, but we are not able to converse.