Immortality: Raising an Ant Queen to Cultivate by increasing stat points - Chapter 56

Chapter 51: Tough Bone_1

Translator: 549690339

Because the process of forming a contract did not require physical contact, theoretically, as long as the bee queen remained quiet, it could be tamed without capture.

Qin Niu continued to closely observe the queen platform surrounded by the male bees.

He had two potential plans for subjugation in mind.

The most foolish method was to capture the new queen bee and then take her home to be tamed.

That approach, even after subduing the queen bee, would pose many problems.

The clever and time-saving method required seizing the fleeting opportunity when she climbed out of the queen platform to subdue her.

Bees and ants, as sociable creatures, die quickly when separated from their colony.

A lone new queen bee simply couldn’t survive in the fiercely competitive natural world.

Therefore, subduing the new queen bee without destroying the hive was the best choice.

If it were about subduing hornets or bear bees, the situation would be different.

Hornets possess strong survival capabilities; a queen can build a nest alone, lay eggs, and rear young bees. She then continuously expands the population and ultimately forms a swarm.

Bear bees are similar; alone, the queen bee hibernates in a cave, and after consuming nectar the following year, she begins to lay eggs and establish a colony.

The decision to domesticate a honeybee queen bee as a pet involved multiple considerations.

As he was clandestinely observing, there seemed to be a subtle commotion within the bee swarm.

Worker bees flew out of the nest, buzzing chaotically around the pine tree.

“Could they have discovered me, an uninvited guest, planning to attack me?”

He instinctively checked his homemade simple ‘helmet’, which would be more appropriately described as a headguard.

A hat-shaped straw hat woven from vines, the edges were crudely stitched with old-patterned fabric to protect the neck and face.

Soon, he realized he was overthinking it.

From the depths of the honeycomb, a bee with a darker complexion and a slim body flew out.

After leaving the nest, it circled around the beehive.

“Damn! It’s the queen bee!”

Insect Identification proficiency+0.01.

Qin Niu wished he could slap his thigh in frustration for his miscalculation.

He had not expected that there was another new queen bee inside, and now that she had flown out of the hive, it was impossible to subdue her.

After a few laps, she swiftly flew towards the distance.

Then, a large number of worker bees followed.

“Misjudged, misjudged, I didn’t expect them to pull off a sneaky switcheroo.”

Qin Niu watched as the swarm of bees flew into the distance, wanting to chase them but incapable of catching up.

Having lost one opportunity to subdue a new queen bee, he did not want to miss another.

He was certain that there was another new queen bee about to fly away from the queen platform at the bottom of the comb.

One had already escaped; he had to keep a close watch on this one.

He couldn’t afford any more mistakes.

Time slowly ticked by as he patiently waited.

To get closer to the beehive’s queen platform, he even climbed up the pine tree.

Because his spiritual power was still very weak, the closer he was when subduing insects, the better.

Theoretically, the ideal distance was close to the glabella.

Clearly, expecting the new queen bee to stick to his forehead and wait to be tamed was an impractical idea.

All he could do was to bring himself closer to her as much as possible.

When he first climbed to the middle of the tree, the guard bees in the swarm had already noticed him.

Signs of an imminent attack began to show.

Qin Niu was very sly, staying still as he climbed the tree.

As soon as the guard bees let down their guard, he slowly moved upward.

In this way, he gradually got closer to the beehive.

The distance was now less than two meters, which was the limit.

Getting any closer, and he estimated the bee colony would likely go berserk.

He chose his position well; he had a foothold for both feet, which conserved his energy.

To prepare for the upcoming subjugation task, he tied himself to the tree with his belt. Time was drawing near to midday, and the queen platform — which he had been eyeing — finally showed signs of activity.

The worker bees chased away the male bees.

Sometime after, a darkly colored bee poked her head out.

She slowly climbed out from behind the queen platform.

Qin Niu almost immediately identified it as the Queen Bee.

Insect Identification+0.01.

The opportunity of a millennium was at this moment.

An opportunity missed is an opportunity lost forever.

He decisively bit his tongue and sprayed a mouthful of fresh blood onto the activation area of the low-grade Contract Charm. As it was successfully activated, it self-ignited in the wind, transforming into a golden light that enveloped the Queen Bee that was preparing to leave the nest.

After a slight shiver, it struggled fiercely, seemingly unwilling to be subdued by the power of the contract.

Qin Niu watched it anxiously.

He hadn’t expected the willpower of this new Queen Bee to be so strong.

Of course, this was a good thing.

He would even be somewhat disdainful of a too weak Queen Bee.

The body of the new Queen Bee trembled incessantly, like a newly molted bee vibrating its body to harden its shell more quickly.

It was struggling desperately to break free from the golden light’s restraint.

One could see the golden light wrapped around its body was about to dissipate.

“Such an impressive Queen Bee.”

Qin Niu’s eyes shone brightly; the stronger it was, the more he liked it.

Reluctantly, he quickly took out the only remaining low-grade talisman from the wooden box and activated it without any hesitation.

A second golden light wrapped around the Queen Bee.

This time, the golden light was clearly much stronger.

It also appeared more substantial.

Subduing a termite only required one low-grade talisman, but there have been cases where someone encountered a tough one and ended up failing despite using seven or eight low-grade talismans.

It’s a bit easier with Grade One insects, but for those Heavenly Earth Strange Insects that have evolved special abilities, the difficulty of subjugation is absolutely hellish.

Not to mention a mere mortal like him, even cultivators would find it difficult to subdue them successfully.

Some cultivators not only fail to subdue the insects but are even killed by them.

Overall, the difficulty of subjugating ordinary insects is far lower than that of beasts.

Wild beasts, especially ferocious ones, are the hardest to subdue.

Qin Niu held his breath and concentrated, silently waiting.

Having used up the only two talismans he had, if it still resisted fiercely and refused to submit, then this subjugation attempt would fail.

He needed to find a way to break its will.

“Submit to me, and you can become stronger!”

Qin Niu had learned Bee Language and was trying to communicate with it using his spiritual power.

It was still struggling desperately.

Clearly, it did not wish to submit to any being; it desired freedom and dignity.

“I can extend your lifespan!”

Its resistance weakened slightly.

“Submit, and you will live longer than any other Queen Bee.”

The allure of longevity seemed to have a greater effect on it.

It was unclear whether the combined power of the two talismans was too strong or if Qin Niu’s persuasion had weakened its will to resist, but one could see that its trembling was gradually lessening.

But the standoff continued.

Qin Niu did not dare to expend too much spiritual power in communicating with it, as forming the contract would consume a significant amount of spiritual power.

If he expended too much now, even if it was willing to submit later, the contract might still fail due to insufficient spiritual power.

Many worker bees were flying outside the hive, waiting for the new Queen Bee to lead them to establish a new hive.

But there was a problem with the new Queen Bee, lying there motionless, which made the worker bees anxious to branch out and become restless.

Time was ticking away.

The golden light on the new Queen Bee’s body began to fade again.

Qin Niu was extremely frustrated.

It was hard to come by such a superb bee; it would be a pity not to subdue it.

It was just a lack of Silver Money; he definitely would have bought a few more low-grade talismans to have on hand.

Wang Furen had been dragging his feet on the purchase of fat, otherwise, it would have been an excellent way to make money.

Moreover, if Wang Furen bought it and the effect was good, Xu Zhenchang might also come to him for purchase. Then he would have the money to buy talismans.

“Submit! I promise to treat you with sincerity!”

Qin Niu had no choice but to make one last effort.