Creating a paradise in an ant nest

Chapter 91 Liu He, I know your secret

Ant nest, an underground magical cave.

In front of Liu He was a large piece of crushed Purple Apple Spirit Fruit.

After two years of planting and cultivation, the purple apple trees in his miniature spiritual plant garden finally blossomed and bore fruit.

Just today, he noticed that the purple apples on a fruit tree were emitting a ripe fragrance, so he picked them.

The Purple Apple Spirit Fruit is about the size of a fist, with an eerie purple sheen and a sweet aroma.

He brought it into reality, crushed it, and put it into the ant nest, so that the entire ant colony could enjoy the freshly ripened purple apple.

"The last time I ate the Purple Apple Spirit Fruit was when I had just broken through to the Qi Refining stage and become a full-fledged cultivator."

"A spirit fruit worth three spirit stones each tastes really good. The ones I cultivate in my spirit plant garden are of even better quality."

Liu He savored the purple apple.

"Waaaaah~~"

Beside him, Bahuang buried its head in a large piece of purple apple spirit fruit and ate it with gusto, the juice splashing and flowing down the fur on its chin.

"Eight Desolations, is it delicious?"

"Waaah~"

Bahuang didn't even raise its head, responding with a muffled chirping sound.

"Eat slowly, no one's going to take it from you."

Liu He couldn't help but laugh when he saw Ba Huang eating like a starving ghost.

He was in a good mood at the moment, having watched a major battle between Foundation Establishment cultivators during the day.

Pang Qing has been captured alive, so will Marshal Fu's fate be any better?

"I hope the new boss can get things done properly."

he thought.

After Fu Shuai leaves, there will definitely be new inner sect senior brothers and sisters to take care of them.

He didn't expect the other party to be particularly good; he just hoped they wouldn't be like Marshal Fu, who accepted gifts, was greedy for money, and formed cliques.

Furthermore, the sudden Foundation Establishment battle during the day proved that his initial decision was wise and foresightful: he used spiritual artifact materials to build the Ant Nest Spiritual Artifact Cave.

With the protection of the magical artifact cave, one's safety can be guaranteed even in the event of an accident.

"It's time to meditate and practice."

Liu He filled his stomach with the Purple Apple Spirit Fruit and told Bahuang, who was stuffed and lazily rolling around beside him, to go outside to digest his food and not disturb his cultivation.

The "Gathering Spirit and Accumulating Qi Technique," Qi Refining Level 5, Beginning —

An hour later, he stopped.

"It's faster than I expected."

He had just broken through to the fifth level of Qi Refining and discovered that his efficiency in absorbing spiritual energy and the speed of his cultivation technique had improved.

The effects of the Purple Apple Fruit are better than those of the Jade Melon and the Violet Radish.

Compared to the Jade Spirit Melon, the Purple Apple Spirit Fruit is a slightly higher-grade spirit fruit, and its price is more than double that of the Jade Spirit Melon.

"Previously, it took two months to condense a wisp of spiritual energy, but now it takes one and a half months to condense a wisp of spiritual energy."

To reach the fifth level of Qi Refining perfection, one needs to condense one hundred and twenty strands of spiritual energy.

He has just reached the fifth level of Qi Refining, and there are forty strands of spiritual energy in his dantian, which he needs to condense into eighty strands.

"If we proceed step by step, it will take ten years."

For Liu He, this was a very long period of time.

"This is too slow. I should just focus on using elixirs to improve. I'll prioritize elixirs and spiritual plants, and use daily cultivation as a supplement. This will save me a lot of time to study other things."

he thought.

At this time, there were still some leftover Wuling Pills in the Spirit Artifact Cave, which still had a slightly weaker effect on him.

Besides Wu Lingdan, he could also buy Shi Lingdan at Lingxiao Market.

There is also the "Willow Leaf Pill," which is suitable for improving cultivation at the fifth level of Qi Refining. One pill can increase spiritual energy by twenty strands, and it only costs three hundred spirit stones.

In short, with the ant nest amplifying resources, he only needs to buy one or two spirit pills to quickly improve his cultivation level, saving him years of arduous cultivation.

That being said, even with the help of elixirs and spiritual plants to improve, his daily meditation and cultivation are still indispensable.

Daily arduous practice is the foundation; one cannot simply consume elixirs without cultivating oneself, otherwise one's foundation will easily become unstable and one's spiritual energy will be superficial.

Liu He~

"~~

"Junior Brother Liu He!"

Suddenly, Liu He faintly heard shouts coming from afar.

His ant nest was hidden less than three zhang away from the wooden house, making it easy for him to spot people coming to find him.

"Marshal Fu?"

Liu He recognized Fu Shuai's voice.

What does he want from me?

After a slight hesitation, his figure disappeared into the ant nest and returned to the real wooden house.

Stepping out of the house, he saw that Commander Fu was wearing a black robe and guessed that he was about to escape from the sect.

He pretended not to know, looking surprised, and asked in bewilderment, "Senior Brother Fu, what are you doing here?"

"You don't know? If it weren't for your misdeeds, how could Steward Pang have been discovered by the garden owner, and how could I have had to flee!"

Fu Shuai stared intently into Liu He's eyes.

He had suspected from the beginning that Liu He had discovered some clues.

"What are you saying, Senior Brother Fu?"

Liu He pretended to be stupid; he definitely wouldn't admit it, otherwise it would be terrible if Commander Fu held a grudge against him.

Seeing Liu He's excellent acting skills, Fu Shuai began to doubt his own judgment: If it wasn't Liu He who reported them, then who betrayed them?

He doesn't know.

"I hope it's not you. I need to leave the sect for some business and I'm short on spirit stones. Could you lend me one hundred spirit stones?"

Fu Shuai, thinking that "a thief should never leave empty-handed," tried to swindle as many spirit stones as possible, figuring he wouldn't encounter them again.

He didn't have any leverage over Liu He, so he couldn't directly extort money from him like he did with Huang Shideng and Tan Linong.

What?

Liu He was surprised. At such a critical moment, Fu Shuai was still thinking of "tricking" him out of his spirit stones?

That's like borrowing money; it's like throwing a meat bun to a dog—gone and never to be returned.

He won't let himself suffer this loss.

"Senior Brother Fu is joking. My monthly salary is only ten spirit stones, and I have to save up spirit stones to buy spirit pills. I don't have any extra spirit stones to lend you."

"Not lending it?"

"Senior brother, it's not that I don't want to lend it, it's just that I really don't have

Liu He shook his head and refused.

Fu Shuai didn't want to waste any more time here. He had neither any leverage over Liu He nor had he "borrowed" any spirit stones, so he couldn't just rob him directly.

Anyone who forcibly steals spirit stones from others within the territory of Spirit Plant Peak will only face death.

Just as he was about to leave, he was shocked to realize that Liu He had broken through: "You've reached the fifth level of Qi Refining?"

"Breaked through by sheer luck."

Liu He answered in this way.

Something's not right.

Fu Shuai knew that Liu He had a low-grade spiritual root and it was impossible for him to break through to the fifth level of Qi Refining so quickly.

Even if Liu He was extremely frugal, using all his spirit stones and salary to buy spirit pills and nothing else, it would still take about three years to go from the fourth level of Qi Refining to the fifth level of Qi Refining. How could he possibly reach the fifth level of Qi Refining in just two years?

Unless—there is a special way to earn spirit stones!

Others' rapid cultivation advancements are traceable; for example, Meng Kaizhou has a father who is at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage. Tan Linong, on the other hand, secretly colludes with Fu Shuai, earning him extra spirit stone income.

Or like Wang Yarong, with a medium-grade spiritual root, who is naturally able to improve much faster than someone with a low-grade spiritual root.

What gives Liu He the right to do this?

"Ha, no wonder you refused to serve me back then."

Fu Shuai's lips curled up, and he let out a cold laugh, as if he had "guessed" Liu He's secret.

In his view, Liu He was simply using extremely covert methods to earn spirit stones, just like he had raised the White Jade Cicada back then.

Thinking he had guessed everything, he lowered his voice, his face showing an expression of "I have it all under control": "Junior Brother Liu He, I advise you to lend me a hundred spirit stones, otherwise—I can't guarantee I won't tell anyone your secret."

My secret?!

Liu He was startled, like a frightened bird.

His secret has been discovered?

Is it the secret of the miniature spiritual plant garden next to the true tiger red hemp grass, or the secret of being able to travel into an ant nest?

No matter which one it is, he cannot keep Fu Shuai!

He had been as careful as possible, but somehow Fu Shuai discovered it.

"Alright, Senior Brother Fu, but I only have eighty spirit stones on me."

As Liu He spoke, he took out a spirit stone bag from his pocket and handed it to Commander Fu.

He was just trying to attract Fu Shuai's attention and make him lower his guard.

really!

When Fu Shuai saw Liu He take out the spirit stone, he knew he had guessed correctly; Liu He must have a secret.

He actually knew nothing; he was just bluffing.

The moment Liu He handed the spirit stone bag to Fu Shuai.

"Whoosh~"

The two figures disappeared from the spot at the same time.

Almost at the same instant, Liu He reappeared.

After bringing Fu Shuai, who was at the ninth level of Qi Refining, to the ant nest, he had consumed some spiritual energy and his soul was also somewhat tired.

But he couldn't care less about his exhaustion; all he felt was unprecedented tension.

"Nobody saw it, right?"

He nervously looked around, but there was no one in sight.

Then, in a flash, he arrived next to the ant nest.

"Ant soldiers, attack! Quickly!"

"An enemy has invaded the spirit artifact cave! Kill!"

He gave orders to the ant colony.

For an ant colony, "external invasion" is the highest level of information.

The ant soldiers reacted instantly, surging towards the underground magical artifact cave.

The ants, which had been leisurely patrolling around, suddenly burst into full speed, their six legs moving so fast that they left afterimages.

The last person Liu He led into the ant nest was Feng Zhe.

Feng Zhe was an ordinary person with no cultivation, and no matter how he tried to escape, he could not escape the ant nest full of ants.

But this time it's Commander Fu, who's at the ninth level of Qi Refining!

Fu Shuai is a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator who can fly using Qi. He rides a flying sword, and once he leaves the underground nest of the anthill, he can fly away from the invisible boundary of the anthill.

The second law of ant nests states that an ant nest is a self-contained space, and even when its area is reduced, it has boundaries.

If Fu Shuai flies out of the boundary, he will automatically return to reality.

Liu He couldn't let Fu Shuai, who had already entered the ant nest, leave again, otherwise his secret would be completely exposed.

"Ninth level of Qi Refining~~"

The enemy's strength far surpasses Liu He's.

The difference in strength between the fifth and ninth levels of Qi Refining is more than a hundredfold.

With such a huge difference in strength, Liu He didn't even dare to venture into the ant nest again.

He returned to reality the instant he brought Master Fu into the ant nest, only to find himself killed by a casual spell from Commander Fu.

The fifth level of Qi Refining could not imagine the methods of the ninth level of Qi Refining, and dared not even share a room with him.

If he were to travel to the anthill now, according to the third law of the anthill, the travel coordinates would remain unchanged, and he would still travel into the spirit artifact cave and face Fu Shuai.

How dare he confront a Qi Refining cultivator face to face?

"I hope my ant soldiers can kill Commander Shi Fu."

At this moment, Fu Shuai was trapped in the spirit artifact cave, facing an endless swarm of ants all around him.

Liu He's ant nest contained as many as 100,000 ants.

If that's not enough, he can have the second-generation black ant queen provide another 100,000 ant soldiers.

So what if Commander Fu has mastered the Nine-Sleeve Qi Cultivation Technique?

How many ants could he, shrunk to a size of billions, handle?

"Let's see how it goes."

Liu He channeled a wisp of spiritual energy into the ant nest, which then flowed through the soil and into the spirit artifact cave.

The square box artifact beneath the ant nest was a spiritual artifact refined by Liu He.

Although this spiritual artifact has no engravings or special functions, it is still a refined spiritual artifact, and one can inject spiritual energy to see its interior.