Chapter 212 - Chapter 212: Chapter 207 Two Types of Poisonous Ants' Evolutionary Directionsi

Chapter 212: Chapter 207 Two Types of Poisonous Ants’ Evolutionary Directionsi

Translator: 549690339

These generous terms were nothing but a fart in Qin Niu’s eyes.

He could sell any old insect for more than this amount of money.

Once he obtained the Green Demon’s treasure and had some ability to protect himself, he could boldly take on some special jobs in Black Tiger City.

For example, helping everyone treat problematic herbs or selling cultivated substandard insects, etc.

As for cultivation techniques, he had already cultivated two techniques. Unless there was a higher-level technique available that could connect with the Everlasting Spring Technique or the Medicine King Sutra, he did not even consider it.

In terms of martial skills, he was only temporarily lacking a step-method martial skill.

He could easily obtain it through other channels.

The biggest benefit of joining the army was being able to seize military power.

This was very tempting.

In any dynasty, as long as one had troops under one’s command, it was akin to holding the power of life and death.

Even if an emperor wanted to deal with a general who held troops, he would have to find a way to strip him of his military power first, or trick him into the capital city, and then capture him.

Qin Niu had no immediate plans to join the army; striving to grow stronger in this mountain village was his best option for now.

“Xiao Qing, let’s go into the mountains!”

He chose to take Xiao Qing with him to cultivate in the mountains.

“Alright!”

Xiao Qing, hearing that she could again cultivate under the Ancient Banyan Tree, was very happy.

After the two entered the mountains, Qin Niu still needed to cultivate termites.

So he simply told her, “You go ahead and cultivate! I’ll come later!”

“Okay!”

She was clever and never meddled in her master’s affairs.

Qin Niu arrived at the Ant Nest and found that a large batch of ordinary termites had successfully completed their evolution. In addition, as usual, another thousand new termites had become adults.

This time, he decided to first use the Thousand Eyes Tree Blood to cultivate some of the ordinary termites.

Not for any other reason but to breed as many termites as possible with limited Thousand Eyes Tree Blood that could control or attack with spiritual power.

“Is this the completed evolution of Grade Two Poisonous Ants?”

He noticed seven glossy, pitch-black termites, each several times larger than the Grade Two Dark Poison Ants.

Their bodies were as long as wolves’, with a slender and sharp upper jaw like scissors, and a fearsome Poison Stinger in their abdomens that was constantly expanding and contracting. It was clear that their venom sacs and the muscles of their Poison Stingers were highly developed.

“Tsk tsk, how painful it must be to get stung by one of these!”

The key was that their Poison Stingers lacked barbs, allowing them to attack their enemies repeatedly and indefinitely without sacrificing themselves, unlike bees.

In addition to the Poisonous Ants’ evolution being complete, that Grade Two Elephantic Ant had also finished evolving.

Its elongated mouthparts had fully evolved into a trunk resembling that of an elephant.

It was more like the nozzle of a spray bottle.

The base of it was connected to several venom glands, and with just a bit of exertion, it could spray a pungent chemical from its lengthy trunk.

Humans might not be greatly affected by it, but other insects could drop dead after three steps or flee in panic.

Grade Three Dark Poison Ants, 7 in total, lifespan of 30.5 years, special abilities (Venom Attack, evolution of a venomous stinger and venom sac in the abdomen, venom has super strong paralyzing effect, stinger has initial armor­penetrating ability.)

Grade Three Chemoreceptor Soldier Ants, 1 in total, lifespan of 30.5 years, special abilities (releases strong pungent substances, extremely effective stunning effect on the vast majority of insect species. Can mimic other formidable creatures’ scents and pheromones, releasing them continuously to repel or confuse enemies.)

It seemed that both these types of termites belonged to the chemical attack category.

The difference was that Dark Poison Ants required contact to attack, targeting one enemy at a time.

Their venom was intense and dominant.

Now that they possessed initial armor-penetrating capabilities, there would be fewer and fewer insects that could withstand their venomous stings.

Even insects and arthropods with scales or shells, such as centipedes, could be easily pierced through by their stings.

The Chemoreceptor Soldier Ants could attack without contacting the enemy and could engage multiple enemies at once.

The two types of soldiers each had their strengths.

They complemented each other well, filling in for each other’s shortcomings.

Qin Niu was truly pleased after inspecting the attributes of the two new ant types.

As the Ant Queen rose to Grade Four, the offspring she produced were significantly stronger than the previously white ants.

After the initial cultivation, the special abilities they evolved were also more advantageous.

This was a natural competitive process.

Survival of the fittest.

The more than three thousand white ants also had their advantages, as it was relatively easier for them to progress to the next grade.

Up to now, the first batch of a thousand Grade Two and Three termites was left with only three Breeder Ants and Demon Ants yet to complete their evolution.

Qin Niu spent nearly half an hour cultivating the new termites before he hurriedly went beneath the Ancient Banyan Tree to cultivate.

The demand for Ancient Banyan Tree Blood was also becoming increasingly greater.

The amount needed to cultivate a single termite was more than ten times what it used to be. And, his Ink Blade consumed more than half a jar of Banyan Tree Blood each day.

This increased the pressure on him to harvest blood.

The days went by neither too fast nor too slow, passing nearly five days.

Qin Niu’s three Grade Two Breeder Ants had completed their evolution.

Mutated Milky Female Ant (Breeder Ant)

Grade: Grade Three equal-winged insect, experience required for upgrading 1000/10000

Lifespan: 120 years

Energy: 23000

Skill: Reproduction Stage One 0/10

Talent: Ability to reproduce Grade Two strong termites and Grade Two Poisonous Ants, with an extremely low probability of reproducing Grade Two Demon Ants.

Their talent abilities did not seem to have increased, quite equivalent to the Grade Two mutated milky female ants.

However, their lifespan had increased by 50 years.

This should be the biggest highlight.

Imagine that a termite Ant Queen can live for 120 years, which is twice the lifespan of an ordinary human.

Qin Niu has so far cultivated four Breeder Ants in total.

The first Grade Two female mutant milky termite would take flight to mate after a period of time.

He had been pondering a question.

Theoretically, the Contractual Talisman can only bind insects that have directly established a contract.

The Ant Queen and Queen Bee fall into a special category.

That’s because the Ant Queen and Queen Bee are not individual entities. Once they breed offspring and form an ant colony or bee swarm, it becomes a collective entity.

That is also why Qin Niu was able to command the multitude of termites by only forming a contract with the Ant Queen.

It was simply because they were an entity as a whole.

Now the problem arises, once the Breeder Ant takes its nuptial flight, it will no longer belong to this ant colony.

At that point, will Qin Niu be able to command it?

Even if he can command it, will the termites it produces listen to Qin Niu’s orders?

Even among humans, kinship usually does not extend beyond three generations.

Let alone insects.

To contract another Breeder Ant and then establish another ant colony?

There’s simply no need for that.

Moreover, he didn’t collect just any insect.

Only those with distinctive characteristics, and insects or beasts with decent potential, were worthy of his interest.

As his strength continued to increase, the criteria for selecting his pets became increasingly selective.

That day, after he and Xiao Qing finished cultivating in the labyrinth of the Ancient Banyan Tree, he felt some commotion in the ant colony as soon as they emerged.

Startled, he wondered if some calamity had occurred.

“Xiao Qing, go home on your own, I need to check on the insects I’ve been raising,” he said.

“Okay!”

Xiao Qing crisply agreed.

Her cultivation was increasing at the rate of a small realm every day, and over the span of five days, her cultivation had already risen to Tenfold in the commoner’s level.

Just like Qin Niu initially, she too hit a bottleneck at this stage.

For any Cultivation Technique, progressing to a major realm is an immensely difficult task.

Breaking through to major realms while practicing the Medicine King Sutra seems to be much more challenging than with ordinary techniques.

However, with her exceptional talent and the aid of the Ancient Banyan Tree, breaking through to the Acquired Realm should not be a problem.

It was just a matter of time.

At this moment, Qin Niu, with his full speed unleashed, sprinted through the mountains like a swift arrow.

Soon, he arrived at the entrance of the Ant Nest.

The ant colony was noticeably disturbed, but they did not come out; it seemed more like an internal commotion.

“Could it be that the first Demon Ant has completed its evolution?” he thought.

That seemed to be the only possibility.

At present, the ant colony’s strength was so terrifying that if any other insect dared to invade the termites’ lair, even a Grade Six insect might end up dead within.

The current ant colony had several thousand Grade Three ants.

The longstanding special ants of Grade Two numbered close to three thousand.

These combined were already an immensely terrifying force.

Add to that the presence of Fourth, the War Demon Ant, and it was likely that an ordinary Grade Six insect would not be a match for them.

As for Grade Five creatures, several of the Grade Five Corpse Bee generals had been vanquished by them in the past.

They probably would have been defeated even before reaching the nest’s vicinity.

“Come out!” Qin Niu commanded the ant colony.

Legions of termites swiftly surged from their nest.

Luckily, their diet was varied, consisting mostly of plant leaves and roots.

Otherwise, the insects and ants in the vicinity would likely have been devoured clean.

Fourth possessed high intelligence and was now capable of slaughtering the nest of black stinking ants not far away all by itself. Yet, this nest of black stinking ants continued to thrive.

Qin Niu secretly speculated that Fourth was intentionally protecting the surrounding ecology.

The smaller hermit hides in the woods, while the greater hermit hides in the open.

If the termites acted overbearingly and devoured all surrounding beings, their presence would be immediately noticeable to anyone entering the area.

On the contrary, their current low-profile and modest behavior, preserving the surrounding original ecosystem, was a very clever strategy.

Who would have thought that beneath this large camphor tree, a colony of super termites was hidden?

Fourth’s figure darted out of the nest with agility, followed closely by a termite that stood out significantly larger than Fourth.

Its size was almost as thick as an adult’s index finger.

Bear in mind, even the later cultivated Grade Three termites were smaller than an adult’s little finger.

This flashy super termite was more than twice as robust as the regular Grade Three ones.

After it emerged, it stood off against Fourth like two roosters who would not back down in a cockfight.

“Indeed, the first Demon Ant has completed its evolution,” he confirmed.

Qin Niu checked the attributes of the ant colony and immediately noted the new changes.

Grade Four Demon Ant, one specimen, life expectancy 70 years, special abilities (Swift, Medium Intelligence, Intermediate Carapace, Primary Self-Healing, Armor Penetration, Venom Attack, abdomen evolved to have a Poison Stinger and Venom Sac, the venom has strong paralysis and soul-corroding toxicity, the Poison Stinger has armor-penetrating capability. Demonization+, during demonization state, speed increases fourfold, attack power sixfold, and defense threefold.)

No wonder it dared to challenge Fourth.

In various aspects, its strength had indeed increased significantly.

And its level had also reached Grade Four, the same as Fourth’s.