Immortality: Raising an Ant Queen to Cultivate by increasing stat points - Chapter 69

Chapter 64 Ant War_1

Translator: 549690339

“`

Upon arriving at the trunk of the Ancient Banyan Tree, Qin Niu didn’t bother with pleasantries, he chopped with his knife and the blade sank nearly three inches deep into the wood.

The dark green Banyan Tree Blood immediately began to flow out.

He took out a large jar to collect the blood.

To harvest three to five jars of it would leave him worry-free for at least a couple of months.

The flow of the Banyan Tree Blood was initially fast but gradually slowed down. The tree had a strong self-healing ability, and its wounds were rapidly healing.

Qin Niu forcefully chopped several times, enlarging the gash on the body of the tree and cleverly creating a vertical channel to ensure the tree blood flowed smoothly into the jar.

After filling one jar, he didn’t stop. He made several similar cuts in different directions, enough for five large jars to collect blood.

The Ancient Banyan Tree’s heart must be on the verge of collapse.

But it was merely a plant and seemed not to have awakened any spiritual intelligence, so it had no response to this human’s greedy exploitation and extraction.

He estimated that filling five jars with blood would take quite some time.

He began to sit cross-legged under the tree to cultivate.

One truly needed a strong mental fortitude to remain as calm as he did.

With the activation of the Everlasting Spring Technique, he once again experienced the long-lost ultra-fast cultivation speed.

It was a whole twenty times faster than the outside world.

Cool energy was omnipresent, entering into his body from all around through his pores and orifices.

The most common path of cultivation was to absorb the purple qi at dawn and to swallow rosy clouds at dusk.

In simple terms, it was all about using a daily breathing practice or other alternative methods to absorb the energy of the universe. As long as one could integrate this energy into the body and convert it into personal strength, it could be deemed cultivation.

There are mainly three or four methods to absorb external energy. One is through the pores. Another is direct inhalation through the nostrils, which is also the most common mainstream method of cultivation.

Some people absorb energy through the Baihui acupoint on the top of their heads. This is often seen in the rites of empowerment and transmitting skills.

Because it’s somewhat akin to spoiling a child by boosting their growth prematurely, rapidly increasing the recipient’s cultivation level at the expense of the transmitter’s own power, it has always been considered an evil cultivation method.

There is also the method of intake through eating.

Such as consuming various Spirit Fruits, Spiritual Medicine, or other heaven-sent treasures.

Besides, there are several non-mainstream methods, such as embryonic breathing through the umbilicus to absorb external energy.

Medicinal baths are another method, where one soaks in a medicinal liquid to absorb the energy within the liquid through the skin.

This principle is somewhat similar to absorbing through the pores.

So far, Qin Niu had discovered only one method of cultivation, which was through absorbing external energy via the pores.

Without a teacher’s guidance, that he could figure out and understand this method of cultivation on his own was quite impressive.

In the outside world, he could only absorb the energy of moonlight.

Moreover, only the parts of his body that were exposed to the moonlight could obtain the moonlight energy.

Under this Ancient Banyan Tree, it was as if he was soaked in the ocean of energy formed by moonlight.

Energy could be absorbed through all the pores of his body.

And the energy here was many times denser than the scant energy brought by moonlight.

This was also the reason he could achieve a twentyfold increase in cultivation speed.

At this moment, his cultivation level began to soar rapidly.

…

Time passed bit by bit, and Qin Niu’s cultivation gradually approached the peak of the mundane Onefold Realm.

He was just about to gather his energy and breakthrough to the mundane Twofold Realm.

Then, an imperceptibly cold energy descended like a fine drizzle.

He instinctively sensed a trace of unease.

He immediately became alert.

Only then did he remember that he was still under the Ancient Banyan Tree, in a dangerous place.

He opened his eyes and looked up at the canopy, and sure enough, it had pressed down a little, just as he expected.

It seemed the sun must have set in the outside world.

Qin Niu quickly got up, collected the five jars.

They weren’t full.

The one with the most in it had only about half a jar.

Put together, it should be a little more than one large jar.

That was still acceptable.

He slung the jars on his back and had Fourth lead the way, hurriedly heading out.

“`

With Fourth leading the way, there was hardly any need to worry about getting lost inside. If there was any small tree that could confuse Fourth, Qin Niu had a way to deal with it.

As long as he saw one, he could chop it down with a single stroke.

After coming out, he noticed that the sky had indeed darkened.

The sun had already set.

When cultivating, one would be so focused and immersed that one couldn’t feel the passage of time.

Before he knew it, he had been cultivating under the Ancient Banyan Tree for more than two hours.

That twentyfold increase in cultivation speed was indeed too enticing.

It really made one a bit unable to extricate themselves.

Looking at the five jars of Banyan Tree Blood he successfully carried out and the significant increase in his own cultivation level, he felt that today’s adventure had been particularly meaningful.

Perhaps, there is an innate spirit of adventure in the bones of men.

He checked his own cultivation level.

Mortal Onefold 98.7/100.

He was just a little short of advancing to Twofold.

The minimum cultivation level for a Protector of the Yan Family was Mortal Twofold.

It is said that the annual salary wouldn’t be less than twenty Silver Money if one managed to get the job. It’s twice as high as the wage for a top-class farmer.

The main duty of a Protector is patrolling and protecting the Yan Family’s assets and clan members.

It’s akin to a private mercenary force.

Typically, the Yan Family’s Protector force would be composed of two parts of personnel.

One part would be the Yan Family’s own clan members, and the other part would be hired outsiders.

The routine patrolling duties were mainly carried out by the hired outsiders, but there would always be a Yan Family member leading the team.

The Yan Family was so large that there certainly wouldn’t be a shortage of experts among its clan members.

They also needed martial power to protect the Yan Family’s assets and the safety of its clan members. Otherwise, the Yan Family would seem like a fat piece of meat in the eyes of others, ready to be chopped up however they pleased.

Qin Niu had already eradicated the pests in his maize field.

Tonight was a good opportunity to devote himself to serious cultivation, striving for a breakthrough to Mortal Twofold in one go.

Although it’s just a minor realm breakthrough, it was enough to change one’s destiny.

For an ordinary farmer, obtaining the cultivation level of Mortal Twofold means they could enter service as a Protector for a local noble clan like the Yan Family. With the high annual salary earned, one could buy Cultivation Techniques, blood food, tonics, weapons, armor, and martial arts manuals, thus becoming stronger and stronger.

The income difference between Mortal Twofold and Threefold is quite significant.

Even more, if one’s strength becomes formidable, the Yan Family might take the initiative to discuss with the Protector for a transition into a retained family retainer position.

Qin Niu came to the pine tree and looked up at the beehive above his head.

The Termites, after consuming the Banyan Tree Blood, could evolve into various types of Grade Two ants.

What would happen if the queen bee’s offspring were to consume it?

What he most wanted to obtain was the Green Demon Bee from the Green Demon.

Having just one would be enough to ensure that he could act with impunity in Jade Stream Town.

He planned to raise his cultivation level a bit higher, and nurture his ant and bee colonies to become even stronger before attempting to claim the treasure left by the Green Demon.

If there was any danger, he could then handle it with ease.

To rush for the treasure now would be to easily give his life away.

Carrying the Ant Queen and Fourth along with other Termites, he returned to the Ant Nest.

As soon as he arrived, he found a layer of black, foul-smelling ant corpses piled up under the camphor tree. Each one had died in a tragic state, some even decapitated.

Without a doubt, this was the work of the two Grade Two tiger-striped Soldier Ants.

Without the Ant Queen and Fourth to give commands and direct the intelligent Termites, they became somewhat chaotic.

It was very likely that some Soldier Ants had discovered the black, foul-smelling ants searching for food near the camphor tree, then startled the two tempestuous Grade Two tiger-striped Soldier Ants, who emerged from the nest and killed the scouting vanguard on the spot.

This had caused major trouble.

The black, foul-smelling ant colony had existed in this area for a long time, their numbers growing to tens of thousands. Would they just swallow this insult?

It was predictable that both sides would come to blows.

The black, foul-smelling ant corpses on the ground included many with long, thick mandibles, indicating that a large number of Soldier Ants were sent directly for revenge.

Qin Niu first returned the Ant Queen and Fourth along with other Termites back into the Ant Nest.

At present, the black, foul-smelling ants were still not admitting defeat, continuously sending reinforcements. They seemed to want to use a war of attrition to annihilate this colony of Termites.

The two Grade Two tiger-striped Soldier Ants appeared indefatigable and were still fiercely aggressive.

Qin Niu wanted to see how Fourth would handle this situation.