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

Chapter 54: Chapter 49: The Impact of Cutting Off ‘Supply¹—1

Translator: 549690339

This made him even more certain that cultivating the Everlasting Spring Technique was beneficial to the growth of plants.

The wild grass where he had tested the Treasured Sword the day before was now completely withered and as dead as they come. Qin Niu examined the small grass smeared with a tiny amount of Ancient Banyan Tree Blood, which appeared sickly and wilted, with lifeless leaves drooping.

It felt like a person who had contracted a serious illness.

He planned to continue observing for a few days to see if the small grass could survive.

Since smearing the Banyan Tree Blood directly onto the leaves of the grass did not immediately kill it, it indicated that the Treasured Sword might indeed have developed some special abilities.

It had only been nourished for two nights, yet the Treasured Sword already possessed special abilities. The Banyan Tree Blood was definitely a treasure.

Qin Niu took out the remaining half jar of Banyan Tree Blood, feeling hesitant; using it on the sword had already consumed about two-thirds of it.

There was enough left for one more application on the sword.

But once it was used up, that would be it.

If he could no longer obtain Banyan Tree Blood, he worried about using it to help the Termites evolve, or for other insects he might tame in the future, as he would face having no blood to use.

Although he was quite sure that the Treasured Sword might now have developed some special abilities, nurturing its spirituality was a very lengthy process. Not to mention nurturing it three times, even three thousand times might not stimulate the emergence of spirituality.

After some thought, he decided to save the Banyan Tree Blood for now.

Only by helping the Termites become stronger was there a possibility of freely entering the area covered by the Ancient Banyan Tree.

As long as he could come and go freely, why worry about not being able to get more Banyan Tree Blood?

It was a good opportunity to test tonight whether the Treasured Sword would cause plants to wither without the Banyan Tree Blood smeared on it.

He placed the Treasured Sword where there were weeds growing and then went to the well to start cultivating. The fortunate foxtail grass by the well, which had led him to successfully comprehend the cultivation method of the Everlasting Spring Technique, would always be taken care of by him.

A night of cultivation quickly passed, and his cultivation had increased by approximately 2 points.

It was now particularly stable.

He needed to eat about six jin of bear meat every day for his cultivation to stably increase by 2 points. If he did not cultivate the Everlasting Spring Technique, even eating six jin of bear meat could at most only increase his cultivation by 0.5 points.

He even suspected that solely relying on eating bear meat to improve cultivation was becoming increasingly ineffective.

If he weren’t cultivating the Everlasting Spring Technique, he might not even gain 0.5 points in a single day.

Simply by consuming ordinary nourishment to enhance cultivation, forty points in the first grade was the limit for normal people.

To climb higher, one had to practice cultivation techniques.

But even if ordinary people could buy a cultivation technique, not everyone would be able to learn it.

A commonplace cultivation technique could generally be bought for about Two Silver Money, but there were few who truly succeeded in cultivating it.

Without a teacher to impart knowledge and instruct in person, relying solely on self-study and realization, one would have to have an exceptional talent, or else they would just be floundering for life.

For instance, by cultivating the Barbarian Bull Technique one could possess immense strength, but a farmer who scrimped and saved for two years might just barely manage to save Two Silver Money to buy a scroll. Following it to cultivate, if they managed to increase their strength from a hundred jin to two hundred, it would be as if their ancestral graves had sprouted green smoke.

In reality, most farmers were illiterate, and even if they recognized a few characters, they could not comprehend the entire text.

The profound descriptions within the cultivation technique were utterly incomprehensible to them.

Moreover, even if they did grasp part of the technique, cultivating a cultivation technique would lead to a substantial increase in appetite. Qin Niu needed to eat six jin of bear meat a day to feel full. Eating cereals such as maize, he would need at least ten jin or even more.

Can one cultivate if they don’t eat enough?

They can.

But it would severely affect the speed of cultivation, making the increase in cultivation painfully slow.

Therefore, for the poor, cultivation was truly an extravagance.

However, to turn the conversation back, for someone like Qin Niu, who meticulously planned and utilized extremely limited resources through insect-farming, hunting, and planting to advance step by step, once the situation opened up, his fate could change.

There were not a few examples like him who had successfully turned their lives around through wisdom and hard work.

For example, the deputy gang leader of the Black Tiger Gang with the strongest defense once cultivated the Iron Cloth Technique bit by bit to grow stronger, achieving his initial accumulation.

Qin Niu had now just begun to open up the situation, and as long as he developed steadily, he would become stronger and stronger.

“Hurry up and wash up before heading to the mountain.”

He stood up, looking at the moon sinking in the western sky, while the eastern horizon was already showing a hint of dawn.

It would be fully light soon.

He looked down at the dog’s tail grass by the well. It was growing enthusiastically, though its height hadn’t increased much. However, the leaves had become darker green, and the plant itself had grown thicker and stronger.

The leaves and roots of dog’s tail grass are typically thin and weak by nature.

Yet this patch of dog’s tail grass, nourished by the minute leakage of life energy from Qin Niu’s cultivation of the Everlasting Spring Technique, was growing even more robust than the tough grass.

He walked over to where he had placed the Treasured Sword and picked it up.

The weeds beneath the sword had yellowing leaves, though they hadn’t withered as severely as the day before; still, it was evident that their vitality had been severed.

This sword had indeed developed a hint of special ability.

It could cause plants to wither.

Qin Niu held the sword and examined it closely, noting the green patterns within the blade seemed to have faded significantly.

“Just as it developed a hint of special ability, it got ‘cut off’ last night. It looks like that had a big impact on the sword.”

According to his understanding, the Treasured Sword had just developed a thread of special ability, much like an infant being conceived in its mother’s womb. Cutting off the ‘supply’ at such a time could easily lead to its demise.

“I need to find a way to get the Banyan Tree Blood as soon as possible.”

His eyes became resolute.

A Treasured Sword with special abilities could bring him incredible benefits that would last a lifetime.

It would be such a pity to lose this accidental yet momentous opportunity simply because he failed to seize it.

After eating bear meat, he took five Termites along with the insect eggs and carcasses into the mountains.

Arriving at the Ant Nest, everything was as usual.

As the Soldier Ants continued to grow, they became more majestic. Two Soldier Ants guarded the entrance to the nest, and upon sensing their master’s presence, they happily waved their antennae.

Each animal has its own way of expression.

For example, dogs typically wag their tails to show enthusiasm for their owners. If they haven’t seen their owner for a day, they may even excitedly wiggle their bodies or hop around in joy.

Termites, on the other hand, will slightly raise their abdomens and move their antennae rhythmically and rapidly.

“Fourth, come out for food!”

Qin Niu would always call out to Fourth whenever he visited.

The five Termites he brought down from the mountain the previous night were also placed at the entrance of the nest.

The two guarding Termites blocked the entrance, touched the newcomers with their antennae, and only then permitted them to enter the nest.

When Fifth went in, these two Soldier Ants lay flat, motionless.

It seemed they were showing respect.

Grade Two Lightning Worker Ants naturally suppress Grade One Termites in strength.

This was likely the main reason for the Soldier Ants’ submission.

First, Qin Niu fed them the insect eggs.

He felt the eggs were more nutritious.

A swarm of Worker Ants came out to feed, which delighted Qin Niu.

He checked the attributes of the ant colony.

There were 5 Strong Worker Ants, and the number of Regular Worker Ants had increased to 45. There were 2 Strong Soldier Ants and 19 Regular Soldier Ants.

Fourth and Fifth, being special ants, were not included in the count.

This rate of growth was quite good.

The total number of the ant colony should soon break through one hundred.

What’s most important now is to find a way to enhance the Ant Queen’s breeding abilities.

Ten eggs a day is a little too few.

Qin Niu specifically brought a bit of Ancient Banyan Tree Blood, diluted it with water just like last time, and then allowed two Young Worker Ants to feed on it.

Seeing that the total number of Soldier Ants had reached 21, Qin Niu decided to pick two Young Soldier Ants to experiment with.