Chapter 218 - Chapter 218: Chapter 213: The New Talent of the Grade Five Ant Queen_1

Chapter 218: Chapter 213: The New Talent of the Grade Five Ant Queen_1

Translator: 549690339

At midnight, Shuangfeng Village lay eerily silent.

A swath of dark clouds drifted slowly across the sky, gradually swallowing up the hanging moon.

Qin Niu, who practiced the Everlasting Spring Technique to absorb Moonlight Power, found his cultivation halted as the moonlight vanished and darkness enveloped the earth.

A cool night breeze whistled gently, and the medicinal herbs in his backyard were thriving joyfully, nourished by the power of his Everlasting Spring Technique.

On a whim, he leapt onto the roof of the granary to observe the bees’ nocturnal activities.

They were quite still at night.

But still, a portion of the bees bustled about within their nests.

After watching for a moment, he casually sat down on a horizontal beam next to the beehive, from where he could admire the view of half the village.

However, the dim light made it difficult to see clearly at night.

Staring into the darkness ahead, his mind wandered, recalling the struggles and joys he had experienced along the way.

In less than a year, he had completely turned his life around, acquired a distinguished status, moved into a large, imposing residence, and amassed a considerable fortune.

Soon, he should be able to become the second Yan Family of the locale.

Master of hundreds of acres of fertile land and thousands of acres of mountains.

He guessed that servants and maidservants would soon follow in abundance.

Those lands would generate a substantial income for him continuously.

At that moment, a figure stumbled from afar, swaying unsteadily.

Qin Niu’s gaze sharpened. Even though the starlight was dim, he could instantly tell that the figure was Zhang Banzui.

Why would Zhang Banzui be out and about at this hour, coming from the direction of the mountain, instead of staying at home?

He was probably drunk again and had lost his way.

Qin Niu shook his head inwardly, feeling sorry for Zhang Banzui.

All alone, he had to tell fortunes for people everywhere just to earn some drinking money. And then, often getting beaten for inaccurate predictions. Drunk, he could fail asleep lying on the roadside or under an eave.

Someday he might even freeze to death outdoors, and no one would care.

Gradually, Zhang Banzui reached the door of Wang Furen’s house. Bowing his head and staggering every few steps, he still clutched his liquor gourd.

Compared to daytime, he wasn’t muttering incessantly.

He was probably afraid of disturbing others’ sleep at night and getting beaten for it.

Qin Niu silently watched as Zhang Banzui passed by the door and headed towards the village entrance. His figure grew smaller and farther away until it seemed like he had gone home.

He really worried that Zhang Banzui might one day get drunk, lie down in the mountains at night, and feed the dhole beasts.

The next morning, Qin Niu was still thinking about the mysterious strong man who had entered the village.

That man hadn’t come out since he entered, which was rather odd.

The problem was, as long as this man stayed hidden, Qin Niu dared not enter the mountains.

His Ink Blade needed a large amount of Banyan Tree Blood daily to nourish it and enhance its power.

The termites in the mountains also required his cultivation and care.

Without further hesitation, he promptly sent out dozens of bees to scout.

Before long, the dispatched bees returned.

They didn’t detect anything unusual.

Qin Niu still dared not venture into the mountains but decided to find someone to scout out the path.

“Parting ways does not mean death, dear friend.”

If there were any danger, he would certainly cherish his life.

From afar, he saw Liu Shengli’s wife twisting her hips, carrying a basket of clothes, presumably preparing to wash them by the stream.

One has to admit, Liu Shengli really had an eye for choosing the woman whom his cousin was supposed to marry.

The woman was pretty with a voluptuous figure, not only frugal and a good housekeeper, but she was also quite adept at handling relationships. She had a good reputation in the village.

Even Xu Zhenchang would think of her whenever something good came up.

“Mrs. Liu!

it

Qin Niu called out.

“All!” She responded crisply, looking up. Upon realizing it was Qin Niu calling her, she immediately flashed a charming smile, respectful. “So it’s Master Qin calling me! Is there anything 1 can help you with? Please feel free to ask.”

She knew Qin Niu was like a god of wealth.

Whenever he sought help, he never let anyone toil for nothing; he always gave a generous reward.

Carrying the basket, she sashayed over to Qin Niu.

“We’ve run out of firewood at home, and 1 would like to buy some from your husband. I don’t have any special requirements, just some thick hardwood logs will do. It doesn’t matter if they’re not split; just have them cut in the mountains and delivered to my house. As for the price, I’ll pay twenty percent above the market rate. In these next three days, 1 will take whatever he can chop. He can also recruit two people to help him out.”

Qin Niu was wealthy and generous; buying some firewood was but a drop in the bucket for him.

Spend two to three hundred wen, and it’s enough for Liu Shengli and his helpers to be busy in the mountains for several days.

“Alright then! I’ll go home right now and get Shengli to take people up the mountain to chop for you. Thank you for looking after our family!”

She gave Qin Niu a sweet smile, her peach blossom eyes filled with gratitude.

Dealing with such a woman, few men could likely resist her charm.

Qin Niu, however, just nodded indifferently.

All he had to do next was wait at home.

Money was indeed a fine thing; it might not make ghosts grind away for him, but getting these villagers to work for him was as easy as turning over his hand.

Before long, he saw Liu Shengli entering the mountain with his cousin and brother.

When there was a good opportunity, people always looked out for their kin first.

Qin Niu waited patiently at home.

He even sent out the bees again to survey and monitor Liu Shengli and the others.

Less than an hour passed, and Liu Shengli came back with a large bundle of freshly cut logs.

“Master Qin, I wasn’t sure what kind of firewood you wanted, so 1 brought back a bundle first. If you need them cut or split, I’ll do it according to your specifications.”

Liu Shengli was mopping the sweat from his brow, respectfully inquiring about Qin Niu’s preferences.

“It’s fine just like this, I’ll cut it myself. Just leave them in the front yard.”

Qin Niu realized that human strength was indeed very limited.

Liu Shengli, a strong and young man, had exerted tremendous effort to carry the firewood all the way back. With Qin Niu’s current strength, lifting those logs was as effortless as holding a twig.

“You all must be careful when chopping wood in the mountains. If you encounter any dangerous beasts, flee immediately and report back to me.”

If there had been any abnormalities, the bees he had sent out to scout would have already returned with news.

Because Qin Niu was paying twenty percent above the market rate, Liu Shengli and the others were very motivated.

In just a morning, they had chopped and brought back a large pile of wet firewood.

No need for them to cut and split, saving labor and effort—such good fortune is rare.

Considering Liu Shengli’s shrewdness, he naturally worked as hard as he could.

Earning some money is better than none.

After lunch, Qin Niu entered the mountain alone.

He planned to scout the path himself.

Not to draw attention, he deliberately disguised himself as a woodcutter.

When he passed by Xie Laizi’s house, he quietly released a few termites to investigate.

He found nothing unusual.

After entering the mountains, he continued to observe in secret and still saw nothing out of the ordinary.

This was indeed strange.

Could the sound of horse hooves he had heard that night have been an illusion?

He didn’t rush towards the Ant Nest; instead, he first visited the vicinity of the

Ancient Banyan Tree to check for anything amiss. There was nothing.

Only then did he enter the Ancient Banyan Tree Maze with peace of mind.

Truth be told, he suspected that the man might have entered the Ancient Banyan Tree Maze while investigating Wu Hao’s whereabouts.

This was the only explanation for the man’s disappearance.

The power of the Ancient Banyan Tree was terrifying; anyone who ventured into it was more likely to meet misfortune than fortune.

Especially at night, the danger was extreme.

He inspected every inch of the ground inside the Banyan Tree and still found nothing. Even if someone had accidentally fallen into the maze and been killed by the Ancient Banyan Tree, they would have left something behind.

Things like clothing, weapons, tokens, and so on.

The lack of any clues indicated that the person hadn’t come in at all.

The days passed, and after assuring that there was no danger, Qin Niu, as usual, took Xiao Qing into the mountains every day to cultivate and breed the termites.

He was preparing to obtain the treasure of the Green Demon.

His cultivation level had been solidified, and mobilizing the internal power of the Everlasting Spring Technique was noticeably easier than right after his advancement.

The Ant Queen was now laying a thousand eggs a day, with a massive consumption of resources; the Corpse Bees were nearly ail consumed by her.

Qin Niu also fed the Ant Queen the body of the black-crowned snake.

Since this snake was highly venomous, he was initially concerned.

He first used an ordinary termite for testing and, upon verifying there was no issue, allowed Fourth and other specialized Worker Ants to eat the black-crowned snake before feeding it to the Ant Queen.

This morning, he sensed something unusual about the Ant Queen.

It appeared to have stopped laying eggs.

This had never happened before.

Qin Niu hurried to the mountains to check.

The Ant Queen’s massive body was hidden within the subterranean Ant Queen Palace’, and now it could no longer emerge with ease as it used to.

If it were to come out, the Worker Ants would have to dig a special tunnel.

This could compromise the Ant Queen’s safety.

It would also disrupt the original structure of the Ant Nest.

“Ant Queen, what’s the matter?” Qin Niu directly communicated with it.

He had a soul contract with the Ant Queen, allowing him to easily interact with it telepathically.

“Advancing!”

After the Ant Queen sent back a feeble soul vibration, it didn’t respond anymore.

It turned out the Ant Queen was advancing in level, which filled Qin Niu with joy.

The last advancement to Grade Four hadn’t been long ago, and recently he had fed it corpses of three Grade Five Bee Generals, nearly a hundred corpses of Grade Four Corpse Bees, as well as the black-crowned snake’s corpse…

With so much high-grade food consumed, to put it bluntly, even a pig might have taken flight.

Moreover, the Ant Queen probably had awakened a thread of ancient insect bloodline.

Its potential was immeasurable.

Its lifespan of thirty thousand years was a testament to that.

Qin Niu asked the ant colony to strengthen their defenses, while he himself went to draw blood from the Ancient Banyan Tree and cultivate.

By evening, Qin Niu discovered that the Ant Queen had already completed its advancement.

The progression was much faster than expected.

He checked its attributes.

Female Four-Winged Yin Ant (Ant Queen)

Level: Grade Five Isoptera insect, experience 100000/1000000

Lifespan: 31,000 years

Energy: 990083

Skills: Reproduction level three 371/1000 (1000 eggs per day), Feign Death level one 2/10, Flight level one 0/10, Escape level one 0/10, Basic Self-Healing level one 0/10.

Talent: Moderate Intelligence++++, reproduce descendants with great strength attribute (10%), reproduce descendants with high poison attribute (30%), reproduce Demon Ant offspring (0.2%), reproduce Gold Devouring Ant offspring (0.002%), reproduce Healing Ant offspring (0.1%), reproduce Zombie Ant offspring (2%).

After successfully advancing to Grade Five, the Ant Queen’s lifespan increased by one thousand years.

This was undeniably the longest-lived termite in history.

Even the Diamond Ink Turtle’s lifespan only increased by 200 years upon advancing two levels.

It was no match for the Ant Queen.

More so, the Ant Queen evolved a basic self-healing ability.

This capability, similar to the Demon Ants, allowed it to heal automatically when injured.

Additionally, its intelligence gained another plus sign.

It seemed to be evolving towards a higher level of intelligence.

The most impressive change was the richer variety of special offspring it could now produce.

Previously, it could only birth descendants with a mild toxic attribute, possessing stingers and poison sacs, but the venom wasn’t very potent.

Only after Qin Niu’s cultivation would the venom of the Poisonous Ants become stronger.

Now it could directly birth highly venomous descendants.

He was truly looking forward to their emergence.

And the probability was as high as 30%, a terrifyingly high rate. On average, thirty out of every hundred termites would possess stingers and poison sacs.