novelapdf Chapter 27 The Larvae Spoiled by All the Love
Chapter 27 The Larvae Spoiled by All the Love
This special queen egg, along with dozens of other ant eggs, was stored by worker ants in an egg incubation chamber.
After that, Liu He paid special attention to the ant egg and went to the incubation room to check on it every day.
Ant eggs take 20 to 30 days to hatch, depending on factors such as temperature and environment.
More than twenty days later, the ant eggs in the incubation room hatched into larvae one after another.
Ants are species that undergo complete metamorphosis.
They need to go through the developmental stages of egg, larva, pupa, and adult.
Therefore, ant larvae are not small ants, but rather white, maggot-like larvae smaller than a grain of rice that can only eat and wriggle.
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.
As the ant eggs hatched, the hatching chamber became a larval feeding chamber.
"Why do I find it kind of cute?"
Liu He saw dozens of white maggots, about his size, huddled together in the nest chamber, constantly emitting faint "hunger" pheromones, vying to eat the regurgitated food from the worker ants.
Because they were his ant larvae, he found them somewhat endearing and cute.
If he saw this scene in real life, he would definitely feel nauseous.
Among the dozens of larvae, the queen larvae received special attention, with the worker ants responsible for feeding it giving priority to her.
"The larval stage of ants is crucial, as it determines their subsequent differentiation."
According to Liu He, all worker ants, large worker ants, specialized soldier ants, and even queen ants are indistinguishable when they are eggs.
They are all female ants that develop from fertilized ant eggs.
The reason for their differentiation is determined by the ant nest pheromones and the nutrition of the food during the larval stage.
The larvae have little food and nutrition during their larval stage, and are fed for a short period of time before developing into worker ants.
If there is plenty of food and sufficient nutrition, they will develop into soldier ants.
The queen ant larvae are the most special. The worker ants feed the queen ant larvae the most and provide them with the most abundant nutrition. One of the key nutrients is called "queen jelly," which is similar to royal jelly.
"Queen's secretion" is a special substance secreted by ants themselves. Only when young worker ants eat high-sugar, high-protein food can they concentrate and secrete a tiny amount of queen's secretion from the glands in their heads.
These queen ant secretions are then fed to the queen and larvae by worker ants through rumination and mouth-to-mouth feeding.
Ordinary larvae can only eat queen ant nectar a few times when they are first hatched, and afterwards they can only eat ordinary food.
Soldier ants can eat more of the queen's secretion.
The larvae that are raised to become the new queen ants are fed unlimited amounts of queen ant secretions during their larval stage, which lasts for more than 20 days, and thus develop into the most important new queen ants.
"My ant nest is different from a normal ant nest."
"A normal ant nest raises a dozen or even dozens of new queen ants at a time, but my ant nest only produced one new queen ant."
Liu He's ant colony did not reproduce and spread like ordinary ants, but rather expanded its size for him.
"She's truly showered with love and affection."
He saw dozens of worker ants specifically "serving" this one queen larva.
They eat the most nutritious food in the food storage chamber, secrete queen larvae, and regurgitate them to feed the queen larvae, repeating this cycle tirelessly.
The food in the food storage chamber was gathered or hunted by other worker ants from the outside world. In other words, the ant colony invests a lot of resources in the queen larvae.
"Since the larval stage is so crucial, then what about me?"
An idea popped into Liu He's mind.
He had previously discovered when feeding the ant colony with Tongmai Dan and Ziping Lingguo that the larvae that had eaten these foods developed better and had stronger physiques.
"For a better future for the ant colony, the spirit stones that need to be spent must be spent."
So he spent a huge sum of money: one spirit stone, to buy several spirit fruits called "Emerald Green Spirit Dates".
These few bright green jujubes were purchased specifically for raising queen ant larvae.
Liu He crushed a bright green jujube and threw it into the ant nest.
The ants carried it deep into their nest and, following Liu He's orders, divided it into several portions for use.
First and foremost, of course, is Liu He himself; he needs spiritual fruits to accelerate his cultivation.
Then there are the queen ants who bear the heavy responsibility of reproduction and the queen ant larvae that are carefully nurtured.
The worker ants that feed the queen larvae also eat emerald green dates and then secrete a more special queen larvae secretion.
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.
Half a month later.
Larval feeding room.
Liu He noticed that the queen ant larva was significantly larger than the other larvae.
It seemed to be constantly eating, as if it was never full.
"I spent most of the emerald green jujube I bought for one spirit stone to cultivate it."
Liu He's eyes were like those of someone looking at a child they had painstakingly raised, anticipating its growth.
In addition to raising queen larvae, the original queen ant's reproductive capacity is also improved after being fed with emerald green jujubes, and she lays up to four hundred eggs per day.
Liu He's cultivation level has also improved somewhat.
Like the Purple Apple Spirit Fruit, he ate as many Green Spirit Dates as he wanted every day, and then practiced his cultivation.
His improvement in those few days was equivalent to two months of his regular practice.
"It should spin a cocoon and pupate in a few days."
Ant larvae last for about twenty days.
They spin silk to form cocoons, encasing themselves in them. After another twenty days or so of development, they become ants.
He looked forward to seeing the birth of the new queen ant.
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.
Waishan Forest Farm.
Liu He patrolled as usual, checking the condition of the trees.
He used his lightness technique, and with a light touch of his toes, he could leap three to five zhang away. He was as light as a swallow, and he could patrol the eighty-acre forest in just a short time.
His cultivation level is not high yet. If he were to reach the mid-stage of Qi Refining, he could leap dozens of feet away with a light touch of his toes.
In the later stages of Qi cultivation, one can fly using Qi.
Daily life is somewhat dull and boring.
Besides patrolling the forest, he occasionally needs to cooperate with other peaks of the sect to cut timber.
The timber in this outer mountain forest is all for the sect's own use.
Logging timber or planting saplings were tasks that other disciples did, and Liu He only needed to cooperate.
"Haaah~~"
"How come cultivating immortality feels like going to work?"
He yawned listlessly and walked over to a newly planted cypress sapling, about the thickness of a wrist.
He made hand seals, chanted incantations, and pressed his palms to the ground: "Solidifying Earth Technique."
As the spiritual energy in his dantian was depleted, the loose soil around the tree roots became firm, allowing the sapling to take root firmly.
He specializes in earth-based magic of the Lingnong school, such as soil-stabilizing, soil-loosening, soil-moistening, and land-surveying techniques.
"The Earth Element Bead is slowly showing its effects. Casting the Earth Stabilization Technique consumes less spiritual energy than normal, and the effect is also better."
He has been refining the Earth Element Pearl for almost three months, which is equivalent to completely refining dozens of low-grade Earth Element Pearls.
As he continued his patrol in the forest, a figure flew low from a distance.
The man saw Liu He and flew straight down from the sky.
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.
Liu He saw a large flying sword hovering in front of him.
The flying sword was two meters long and one foot wide, entirely silver-white, with faint golden patterns appearing on its blade.
Two people stood on the flying sword, one in front of the other.
The young cultivator standing in front was as tall and straight as a lone pine tree on a green cliff. He wore a close-fitting, moon-white outfit with silver trim and a black jade cloud belt around his waist, which accentuated his broad shoulders and narrow waist, giving him an arrogant and flamboyant demeanor.
With sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, he was handsome, and his piercing gaze carried a hint of intimidating arrogance.
The cultivator standing behind him on the flying sword was wearing the standard robes of a menial disciple, and his expression was slightly reserved.
Dozens of wisps of spiritual energy swirled and enveloped the flying sword and the two people.
"Are you the caretaker or handyman for this forest farm?"
Chen Tongyue stood on a spirit sword, hovering more than ten feet in the air, and asked with a condescending expression.
"Replying to Senior Brother, I am Liu He, a disciple who guards this forest area."
Liu He bowed.
He was annoyed. What did this unfamiliar sect disciple want by asking him this question out of the blue?
But he had no choice but to endure it.
Within the sect, status is determined by cultivation level. As a menial disciple, he had to be submissive to outer and inner disciples.
Even when facing senior handyman disciples at the second or third level of Qi Refining, he had to be extremely respectful.
Chen Tongyue lightly jumped off the flying sword, his robes fluttering as he landed steadily without making a sound.
Wei Peng, who was behind him, also jumped to the ground.
With a wave of his hand, Chen Tongyue grabbed the two-meter-long sword and disappeared.
Storage bag!
Liu He thought to himself, "These storage artifacts aren't something everyone can afford. Only a very small number of inner disciples in a sect can use storage bags; only Foundation Establishment cultivators commonly use them."
He didn't have a storage bag, but he did have an ant nest that could store things. However, he dared not use the ant nest to store or take out items in front of others.
"I've come to the outer mountain forest farm to collect some timber."
Chen Tongyue got straight to the point and explained his purpose.
"For timber that's a hundred years old, three to five trees should be enough."
As he spoke, he glanced at Wei Peng beside him.
Wei Peng replied repeatedly, "It's enough, more than enough. Thank you for your concern, Senior Brother Chen."
"We're all from the same hometown, don't be so polite. It's nothing, not worth mentioning."
As Chen Tongyue and Wei Peng were talking, he turned to Liu He and said, "Take him to select five good timbers for building a house and making some furniture. Once you've selected them, send someone to Wanqi Peak and tell him the details."
what?
Liu He was dumbfounded. What was going on?
Is this an order given to him?
This is against the rules; there are specific procedures and regulations governing the use of timber from outer mountain forests by the various peaks of the sect.
Only Wu Shao could assign tasks to Liu He; no one else could.
The normal procedure is to first go to Liang Jin, then to Wu Shaolin's district, and then Wu Shaolin will assign them to the miscellaneous disciples below.
There's no way you can just ask Liu He for timber.
"Um... Senior brother, I need a talisman from Senior Brother Wu who is in charge of me. I can't make decisions on my own. Please forgive me, senior brother."
Liu He replied helplessly.
"Huh? You want me to provide a talisman?"
Chen Tongyue was taken aback, and almost laughed.
Who is he? Does he really need to go through the sect's procedures to handle such a small matter?
"No certificate is needed for this. You just need to tell Liang Jin, who is in charge of the Guanwaishan Forest Farm. Just tell him I asked you to do it."
"this……"
Liu He had a bit of a headache; it seemed he had run into someone he couldn't afford to offend.
In such a large sect, it's inevitable that some individuals with special status will act eccentrically and not follow the rules.
He was obviously unlucky and encountered this situation.
"Senior brother, I am of lowly status and have no influence. Without the talisman, I cannot find people to cut down trees and move them. It is really difficult."
He had no choice but to reply, even though he felt awkward.
Even if he couldn't afford to offend the person in front of him, it would be Liang Jin or Wu Shao who confronted this person; it wasn't his place as a menial disciple to step forward and take responsibility.
"What's so difficult about that?"
Then, the greatsword reappeared in Chen Tongyue's hand.
"go!"
The greatsword flew from his hand, soaring out with a "whoosh," circling around once before flying back.
Immediately afterwards, the five large trees collapsed almost simultaneously.
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.
[I'm experiencing some writer's block, so this is only one update today. I'll make up for it tomorrow.]
[I'm experiencing some writer's block, so this is only one update today. I'll make up for it tomorrow.]