owlsbooks Chapter 22 The Ant Army Outbreak
Chapter 22 The Ant Army Outbreak
In front of Liu He was a piece of purple apple spirit fruit, much larger than himself.
And this is just a small piece of the Purple Apple Spirit Fruit after it has been broken into pieces.
A single purple apple, about the size of a fist, is enough to feed an ant colony for several days.
"Thank you all for your hard work in eliminating termites during the day."
"This is a treat for everyone, let's eat!"
At Liu He's command, the ants excitedly devoured the purple apple spirit fruit.
Ants naturally love sweets, and the Purple Apple Spirit Fruit is not only sweet but also contains abundant spiritual energy, making it extremely tempting to ants.
This is a feast for the ant colony.
Thousands of ants shared the purple apple fruit.
The hardworking worker ants feed the queen and larvae with the purple apple fruit.
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
"This spiritual fruit is so sweet, so delicious, so incredibly delicious. I've never tasted such a delicious fruit before."
Liu He lay on a huge purple apple spirit fruit, taking big bites of it.
A sweet, refreshing juice flowed through my mouth.
The spiritual fruit entered the stomach and transformed into bursts of spiritual energy.
"As expected of a spirit fruit that costs three spirit stones. There's a reason it's so expensive."
"Hiccup~~"
Liu He was actually full.
If it weren't for the ant nest that magnified the Purple Apple Spirit Fruit a billion times, he definitely wouldn't have been willing to spend three spirit stones to buy a spirit fruit with such a low cost-performance ratio.
"Begin your training!"
He returned to his room and, taking advantage of the spiritual energy emanating from the spiritual fruit in his stomach, began to circulate his cultivation technique.
It's not cost-effective, at least from other people's perspective.
Two hours later.
"I've almost digested all of those Purple Apple Spirit Fruits, which is equivalent to ten days of my usual cultivation. The effect is not bad. With the blessing of the spirit fruits, I'll continue."
He went back into the ant nest to eat the purple apple fruit.
After eating, he continued his cultivation and practice.
He spent the entire night practicing the "Gathering Spirit and Accumulating Qi Technique".
The effect of one night of meditation is equivalent to a month of arduous practice.
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
morning.
After Liu He and Wang Yarong switched shifts, they immediately began their operation.
"My ant soldiers, it's time for battle again!"
Next to the ant nest.
The ant army awaits its departure.
To improve efficiency, Liu He decided to split his forces into two groups.
"Eight thousand ant soldiers, follow me."
He first led eight thousand ant soldiers to a century-old cedar tree a hundred meters away.
This cedar tree has many tiny holes from termite infestation.
"Let's wage war! Exterminate all termites!"
The ant army surged like a torrent up the rough trunk of the fir tree.
They rampage through the area, opening their mandibles to tear apart any termites they see.
Liu He discovered that after being fed the Purple Apple Spirit Fruit, the ant soldiers were all energetic and vigorous, and their strength had greatly increased.
Eight thousand ant soldiers displayed overwhelming combat power against a termite swarm of tens of thousands.
"No hindrance at all, let's kill them all."
Seeing that the battle was one-sided, Liu He left the ant soldiers to fight on the battlefield while he returned to the ant nest.
He led another army of thousands of ants to the next battlefield.
morning.
Liu He's ant army split into two groups and wiped out the termite colonies on the two large trees.
He did not let the ants return to their nest to rest.
After resting for half an hour and replenishing their energy by eating plump termites, the ant army set off again.
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
With the overwhelming power of his ant army, Liu He completely wiped out the termite swarms on the thirteen large trees in his and Li Liangtian's forest area.
night.
Deep inside the ant nest.
"I'm afraid we can't eat this Purple Apple Spirit Fruit anymore."
Liu He looked at the purple apple spirit fruit in front of him, which had changed color, but did not take a bite.
He kept many Purple Apple Spirit Fruits for himself, while the rest were eaten by the ant colony.
But, despite having left himself so much, it was all for naught.
Purple apples can remain fresh on the first day.
It can still be eaten on the second and third days, but it won't be very fresh.
This is the fourth day; the color has changed, clearly indicating spoilage. In layman's terms, it's gone bad.
Ordinary fruits will definitely spoil after being cut open and left for a few days; they cannot stay fresh forever.
The same applies to spiritual fruits; once a spiritual fruit is broken open, its spiritual energy quickly leaks out, and it cannot maintain its freshness for more than a few days.
"I've eaten countless Purple Apple Spirit Fruits over the past three days. After I'm full, I cultivate and practice my skills, and then I eat again after I've digested them."
One day of that is equivalent to a month of my arduous training; three days is three months.
His dantian and qi sea expanded, and the spiritual energy in his body was several times more abundant than before.
Buying the Purple Apple Spirit Fruit with three spirit stones is definitely worth it.
This is simply an improvement in Liu He's own abilities.
The improvement of ant colonies is even greater.
The queen ant's egg-laying rate has increased dramatically again. Previously, she laid more than 100 eggs per day, but now she lays 300 eggs per day, more than doubling her previous rate.
At the current rate at which the queen ant lays eggs, Liu He's ant soldier population will surge again.
He estimated that in just a few months, his ant colony would have 50,000 soldiers.
On the one hand, the queen ant lays twice as many eggs.
On the other hand, as the ants' strength and physical condition improve, their lifespan will also be extended accordingly.
The average worker ant only lives for two to three months, which is a key factor limiting the number of ant colonies.
If worker ants live longer, the colony population will naturally explode.
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
a few days later.
In the morning, when Liu He, Wang Yarong, Li Liangtian, and Zhao Cai were all present, Wu Shao was invited over.
"You mean those dozen or so trees that were attacked by the 'white eyes' (a derogatory term for trees) were all saved?"
Wu Shao didn't believe it.
Just now, Liu He told him that the dozen or so trees had been saved and the termite colony had been completely wiped out, and asked him to come and check.
"Senior Brother Wu, it's true, see for yourself. You said before that if we save these dozen or so trees, we can be spared our punishment."
"Let me see."
Seeing the men's confident assertions, Wu Shao was both skeptical and doubtful.
He came to the first century-old camphor tree, cast a spell, and gently stroked the trunk with his hand.
"Really gone?!"
He could clearly sense that there were no termites inside the tree trunk, only tiny tunnels left by termites.
Furthermore, this century-old camphor pine is thriving and its vitality has not been affected by termite infestation.
He examined the other pieces of wood one by one, and found that they were all in the same condition.
He wondered if Wang Yarong and the others had asked the inner disciples of Lingzhi Peak for help.
"Whom did you hire to help?"
"No, we did it ourselves. Liu He said he used mortal methods, a termite-killing agent, and insect-repelling magic to eliminate the termites. I used the Spirit Nourishment Technique."
Wang Yarong's tone was slightly smug.
Ordinary methods?
Wu Shao knew that there were methods to prevent termites in ordinary society, but none were as miraculous as this.
Insect-repelling spell combined with Spirit Nourishment spell?
If a Foundation Establishment cultivator used insect-repelling techniques, Wu Shao was absolutely certain they could easily eliminate the termite swarm. However, Liu He and Wang Yarong's cultivation levels were too low.
Wu Shao couldn't understand, but the facts were undeniable: "Since you've done it, I'll go and tell Brother Liang. Your funeral allowance will continue as usual next month."
"Thank you, Senior Brother Wu!"
Several people were delighted.
This saved them from a very large loss.
"Senior Brother Liu, Senior Sister Wang, your cultivation methods are truly amazing."
Li Liangtian had not yet mastered Qi cultivation, so he was unaware of its difficulty.