Creating a paradise in an ant nest

Chapter 46 Carrying the Ant Swarm

The square box artifact is three inches long and wide, and two inches high.

Liu He placed the magical artifact on the ground with the open side facing up.

"Send a swarm of the strongest worker ants, large and small, to crawl into the artifact. Fill it up as much as you can, until it's full."

Under his pheromones, the ants surged forward in swarms, climbing along the walls of the artifact and burrowing into it.

Soon, hundreds of ants filled the bottom of the artifact, forming a flat layer.

They were so crowded that the ants that came in later had nowhere to land.

However, they did not stop, but continued to climb in, stacking themselves higher and higher, layer upon layer.

Many ant tribes have the ability to pile up and crowd together to form ant clusters, ant balls, or ant walls.

For example, when encountering heavy rain, ant colonies can stack themselves together to form "ant rafts" that float on the water, protecting the queen, eggs, and larvae in the middle.

Some migratory ant colonies will densely stack themselves into ant walls during rest periods to defend against enemies.

Ants, with their physical constitution, can maintain this layered state for a short period of time.

Before long, Liu He's square magical artifact was filled with ants.

More ants crawled in and fell out, like an overflowing stream of water.

"This palm-sized box actually contained five thousand ant soldiers."

He picked up the magical artifact, closed the lid, and then put it in his pocket.

This magical artifact was forged using a second-tier material called "Spirit Concealment Zinc," which can isolate the divine sense of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

More precisely, a Foundation Establishment cultivator's divine sense is insufficient to detect a spiritual artifact containing Spirit Concealing Zinc.

"Bring in dozens more specialized soldier ants."

He stretched out his left hand and placed his palm on the ground.

Specialized soldier ants with huge mandibles crawled up Liu He's palm and into the sleeve of his robe.

"Tomorrow's practical test will be a test of your abilities."

Worker ants of various sizes and specialized soldier ants each play a role in dealing with plant borers.

Small worker ants are smaller and can more easily drill holes and slip through cracks.

The worker ants are the main force, possessing both agility and considerable combat power.

Specialized soldier ants are fierce fighters, but unfortunately, they are too big, making them both conspicuous and not agile enough.

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.

next morning.

One hundred and twenty people who participated in the practical examination gathered in front of Lingzhi Peak.

The high-level cultivators in charge of the selection had not yet arrived; they stood in twos and threes, chatting idly.

Wang Yarong, Meng Kaizhou, Liu He, and Song Qian naturally stood together.

They were all miscellaneous disciples under Wu Shao, and were quite familiar with each other.

"Ya Rong, you changed your staff?"

Liu He noticed that the golden camphor staff that Wang Yarong often wore around her waist had changed.

"You have a keen eye. That's right, this is a mid-grade Tier 1 staff, the Jade Cypress Staff."

Wang Yarong stroked the staff with obvious affection.

"It must have cost quite a few spirit stones."

"That's right. Mid-grade staffs are too expensive, so I sold my Golden Camphor Staff and used the spirit stones I've saved over the years to buy this Jade Cypress Staff."

Wang Yarong, with her average spiritual root talent, does not need to take any elixirs.

She had been saving her spirit stone monthly salary since she started as a trial errand boy, and now she had saved enough to buy this mid-grade magic staff.

Everyone knows that she has a medium-level spiritual root aptitude, but no one knows that she also has the spiritual talent of "grass and wood spirit body".

Her goal in this Spirit Plant Peak selection wasn't just to join the peak. She wanted to make a name for herself and become the undisputed focus of everyone present.

What she wanted was not the status of an ordinary servant disciple on Spirit Plant Peak, but to be valued by a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator and taken as his personal disciple.

The treatment of personal disciples is even more generous than that of inner disciples.

"But there's a reason why it's expensive. The Jade Cypress Staff is much better at enhancing wood-type magic than the Golden Camphor Staff."

Wang Yarong was originally a plant spirit, and with the addition of this mid-grade magic artifact, the Jade Cypress Staff, she was like a tiger with wings.

"Ya Rong, with your average spiritual root talent, you're almost guaranteed entry into the Spirit Plant Peak. There's no need to spend spirit stones to buy a mid-grade staff."

Liu He didn't understand.

"I'll have to buy a mid-grade staff sooner or later anyway, so I might as well buy it now and enjoy it sooner. As for you, your cultivation has improved much faster than I expected. You broke through to the third level of Qi Refining only a month later than me."

How confident are you about your performance in this practical test?

Wang Yarong met Liu He every day when she changed shifts. She didn't know how someone with such an ordinary, low-grade spiritual root could improve his cultivation so quickly.

Could it be that Liu He, like her, was hiding his talents?

"Not much, about 90% sure."

Liu He smiled confidently.

"Oh."

Meng Kaizhou, who had been silent the whole time, chuckled softly as a smile played on his lips. He didn't mean Liu He any harm; he simply thought Liu He was being too pretentious.

Ninety percent certainty? That's far too arrogant.

Wang Yarong rolled her eyes at Meng Kaizhou: "You're just a good-for-nothing who relies on your father's connections, how dare you mock others?"

At first, no one knew Meng Kaizhou's specific background, but as time went on, it inevitably became known.

"I...I didn't mock him. It's good to be confident, but don't be careless."

Meng Kaizhou's face darkened. Others would give him some face because of his background, but Wang Yarong, with her straightforward and outspoken personality, was completely unfriendly to him.

"..."

Of the four, only Song Qian remained silent.

She wasn't as relaxed as the three of them; she was very nervous.

She genuinely wanted to be selected to enter the Spirit Plant Peak. Wang Yarong relied on her talent, Meng Kaizhou relied on his father, and there was also Liu He, whose reliance was unknown.

What about her? She can only rely on herself.

As they chatted, all 120 people who were going to take the exam arrived.

Liu He noticed that all the miscellaneous disciples present were at the third level of Qi Refining, except for two who were at the second level of Qi Refining.

He recognized the two men; they were both menial disciples from the outer mountain forest farm and possessed special spiritual bodies.

Su Miao, who possesses the "Sunflower Water Spirit Body," has a low-grade spiritual root, and despite being a member of the sect for only three years, she has not yet broken through to the third level of Qi Refining.

The other "Yi Wood Spirit" is in the same situation.

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.

Everyone has arrived.

More than a dozen high-level cultivators flew in from Lingzhi Peak.

Leading the group was a small boat.

The wooden boat was a magical flying boat, with four people standing at the front and back. The rest of the people followed behind the flying boat.

"Major foundational repairs!"

Liu He realized that the four people were all Foundation Establishment stage cultivators.

Both cultivators use Qi to fly, but the aura of a Foundation Establishment cultivator is far stronger than that of a Qi Refining cultivator in the late stage.

Even without deliberately releasing their pressure, the aura of a Foundation Establishment cultivator is as undeniable as the sun suspended in the sky. Their superior aura reveals the difference in their level of life.

A dozen or so people hovered in front of the crowd.

Yin Zhi, who was in the early stages of Foundation Establishment, stood on the flying boat. He was a middle-aged man with a refined and gentle demeanor.

"Fellow cultivators, my surname is Yin, and I am the steward of the Flower and Herb Garden on Spirit Plant Peak. You may call me Steward Yin."

I am in charge of the selection of miscellaneous disciples for this Spirit Plant Peak.

This is Steward Zhang from the Spirit Fruit Garden, and this is Steward Qi from the Spirit Wood Garden…”

He introduced the three Foundation Establishment Deacons beside him in turn.

"For this practical test, Lingzhi Peak specially prepared a test field of more than 100 acres."

Inside are newly planted spirit plant seedlings, and spirit plants suffering from various diseases and pests... In short, you need to fully demonstrate your abilities before the examination ends tomorrow evening.

"Follow me."