Chapter 67 - Chapter 67: Chapter 62 People Die for Wealth, Birds Perish for Foodi

Chapter 67: Chapter 62 People Die for Wealth, Birds Perish for Foodi

Translator: 549690339

Not only was it more difficult for the termites to advance a grade than to ascend to the heavens, but it was the same for other insects.

Because it was so difficult, the standard for the Insect Master Association to recognize a prospective Insect Master was possession of a Grade Two insect that could be commanded by its master.

Qin Niu watched the last strong soldier ant, silently praying in his heart, “Oh Lord, let me keep this one!”

Perhaps his prayer worked. After the strong soldier ant’s abdomen swelled to its limits, it did not explode but slowly stabilized.

Qin Niu waited for a full half hour, and when it still did not explode, he heaved a sigh of relief.

He had Fourth carefully carry it into the nest.

“Ant Queen, come out now!”

Qin Niu called the Ant Queen out.

Then he took Fourth, over twenty worker ants, six ordinary soldier ants, and six Swift Ants to the location of the Ancient Banyan Tree.

Leaving behind two Grade Two Tiger-striped Soldier Ants and three Grade Two Lightning Worker Ants to guard the Ant Nest should be more than enough.

Now, it was estimated that even a large centipede intending to attack their nest would fail.

In fact, the centipede might be killed by the Grade Two Tiger-striped Soldier Ants and forced to flee in disarray.

Not to mention anything else, the sheer speed of the Grade Two Tiger-striped Soldier Ants alone would secure them an invulnerable position.

Add to that their terrifying biting ability, breaking the centipede’s carapace shouldn’t pose much of a problem.

At the very least, they could sever the centipede’s legs.

Once a few legs are bitten off, no matter how ferocious the centipede is, it would have no choice but to hurry off with its tail between its legs.

The current Ant Nest only had a fairly high level of defensive capability. Given more time, the nest would become as impregnable as a fortified city.

It would even be capable of mounting proactive assaults to expand the safe perimeter.

Just like a country, when not strong, it’s good enough to maintain domestic safety.

Once it gains strength, it can assert air sovereignty, naval rights, and so on.

And when it becomes as powerful as a superpower, it can establish military bases worldwide. The homeland is almost unnecessary to defend on its own; one only needs to build a stair-step security zone around the periphery of their territory.

Bringing part of the ant colony to the pine tree where the beehive was,

Qin Niu prepared to use this location as a stronghold.

“Worker ants, start building a nest under this pine tree! In the future, this will serve as a temporary ‘palace’ for the Ant Queen,”

He had never considered relocating the Ant Nest here.

Because this Ancient Banyan Tree was very peculiar; any unexpected movement could lead to the annihilation of the entire termite colony.

This consequence was more than Qin Niu could bear.

Given his cautiousness, he would not take such a huge risk for the sake of convenience.

The purpose of digging a temporary ant nest in this pine tree was one.

When he entered the range of the Ancient Banyan Tree to cultivate or retrieve tree blood, the Ant Queen could hide in the temporary palace and command from there, without fear of being captured by birds, snakes, or lizards.

Six Swift Ants and Fourth frantically gnawed at the trunk of the pine tree.

Compared with them, the other ordinary worker ants were far less efficient.

In less than half an hour, they had dug out a hole in the tree.

The entrance was very small, only as thick as a chopstick.

But the space inside should be quite large.

The pile of wood chips they flung out was substantial.

These wood chips were actually their favorite food, but now, following Qin Niu’s commands to speed up the excavation of the temporary nest, they didn’t have the chance to eat and simply bit the wood into chips before tossing them out.

Close to an hour later, the temporary nest was already dug deep enough.

It was completely suitable for the Ant Queen to reside temporarily.

And in the future, it could still be deepened further.

“Alright, Ant Queen, go inside!”

Qin Niu arranged for the Ant Queen to move into the temporary nest and then brought out some insect eggs for the worker ants to eat and then feed to her.

Exploring the Ancient Banyan Tree and enhancing the Breeding Skill of the Ant Queen were both important.

Both tasks were being carried out simultaneously.

“Go in and try it! As long as you can come out, 1 will help you become as strong as Fifth,”

Qin Niu commanded a normal worker ant.

If it truly managed to enter and then successfully escape, it would undoubtedly be Qin Niu’s meritorious servant.

At that time, it would definitely receive special treatment.

The termites unconditionally obeyed their master’s command,

as if they had no concept of fear of death whatsoever.

This ordinary worker ant quickly crawled forward.

A moment later, it entered the range encompassed by the Banyan Tree.

Qin Niu kept a close watch on this termite and noticed a very eerie phenomenon. As it was about to enter the range of the Banyan Tree, its body gradually became blurred, and eventually, it disappeared completely.

It could be said with certainty that at this distance, Qin Niu’s vision should have allowed him to see everything clearly.

Its body, from becoming blurry to disappearing, seemed to enter another tiny world.

That was really the feeling.

He was just an ordinary farmer, with limited experience and knowledge.

He had no way to explain these strange occurrences.

Perhaps those cultivators from the sects could provide a clear explanation. It might be some kind of formation, or a hidden magnetic field, a maze array, or something similar.

After that ordinary termite went in, Qin Niu immediately tried to contact it with his spiritual power, calling it back.

But he couldn’t feel its presence at all.

It was as if, after entering, it was shielded by an invisible barrier.

“Ant Queen, can you sense that worker ant?”

“I cannot sense them, but as long as I release pheromones, they will be able to sense my existence.”

“Alright, release pheromones periodically, try to help it come out.”

Qin Niu sat down under the pine tree and waited patiently.

He took out the Everlasting Spring Technique and read it attentively.

This cultivation technique was very profound, and he had only managed to grasp the rudiments of it. Even so, his fate had already changed drastically from before.

He discovered that he could cultivate by absorbing Moonlight Power, allowing him to steadily improve his cultivation every day.

Even without other opportunities or new insights, relying on this method to cultivate to the Tenfold of ordinary people should not be a problem.

It was just a question of how long it would take.

Time slowly passed, and Qin Niu still hadn’t seen that termite make its way out.

He knew that waiting any longer would probably be in vain.

He could only revert to the plan that had succeeded last time, letting them build a bridge.

“Form a line and go in, do not venture too deep, as soon as you sense the connection with the Ant Queen weaken, immediately return the same way you came.”

This time, Qin Niu directly employed twenty worker ants.

Including four Swift Ants.

After they went in, Qin Niu could see that some were left outside.

About every meter or so, a worker ant stood still, waiting in place.

Fourth was in charge of the rear command.

There was no choice, this Ancient Banyan Tree was too uncanny; only having Fourth, a termite with medium intelligence, take charge could make it a bit more secure.

As time ticked away, the worker ants inside still did not appear.

The ones outside remained motionless, waiting patiently.

They all maintained a discipline that was very strict.

Qin Niu’s heart continued to sink—the terror of this Ancient Banyan Tree surpassed imagination.

If it weren’t for the multiple uses of its sap, he would definitely stay as far away from it as possible.

It’s often said that people die for wealth and birds die for food.

This saying was not wrong at all.

He had a sudden idea—since termites could come up with such a method of forming a line, could he also use a rope as a substitute?

Tie the rope to this pine tree and venture inside with the rope in hand.

When wanting to come out, pull on the rope to exit.

This method should have some feasibility.

He started to cut vines from all around, weaving them into a long rope.

He estimated that a length of two hundred meters should suffice.

It was a daunting task.

Luckily, the area was deep in the mountains, rarely visited by humans, with plenty of wild vines.

After a tough effort collecting, he gathered a large pile of vines and sat under the pine tree to start braiding the rope.

He definitely needed to ensure sturdiness.

Since he couldn’t find anyone to take his place, he had to take the risk himself.

His idea was simple: not to fear trouble and explore a little at a time inwardly. If something went wrong, he would immediately retreat.

“Fourth! What are you doing?”

At that moment, Qin Niu noticed Fourth quickly rushing inward.

He urgently called out in alarm.

Because Fourth was too important to the entire ant colony.

It couldn’t afford any accidents..