Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 70 – Subduing the Ant King

A month passed. The cultivators in the Grand Alchemy Meeting who lost and all their relatives and friends had mostly left by now. They had already lost, so how could they just sit around and watch as others reaped massive gains in front of them? The overcrowded situation in Immortal Eclipse Valley was eased a little, but when a group of people flew out from the core valley region, countless cultivators were once again on high alert and filled with expectations.

“It’s Senior-apprentice Brother Wang Zifeng! Heavens, he has reached perfection! He has reached perfection of Foundation Establishment!” A young girl cultivator from the Flowing River Sect cried out in awe and worship.

“Senior-apprentice Sister Yun Xueqing has also reached the ninth level of Foundation Establishment. Her aura surges like waves on a clear lake. That is exactly the signs of an upcoming breakthrough in my sect’s cultivation method. A year from now, Senior-apprentice Sister Xueqing will definitely be able to reach Golden Core!”

“The Radiant Red Wood is indeed worthy of being known as an ancient spiritual plant; its effects are actually so amazing. These people can almost be called reborn after a month within, and the aura of those two Golden Core seniors has become even more formidable.”

“Aiya! I was just a bit away from being one of those 10 people and obtaining that good fortune! I can’t accept this, I just can’t accept this!” Someone hatefully muttered.

“Humph, a bit away? You were eliminated in the first round!” Another cultivator coldly sneered.

To the side of him, an originally reverent female cultivator coldly snorted as she heard this, her face filling with contempt.

After being shamed and angered, curses began flying about. If it weren’t for everyone being wary of punishment from Immortal Eclipse Valley, a fight would have already broken out!

As the crowd was in chaos, Qi Jiao didn’t have any thoughts of joining in on the fun. She looked at the group that was flying out, her fingers tightly wrapped together.

Qin Yu wasn’t with them…was there an accident? Could it be that his designs on the Radiant Red Wood had been discovered by Immortal Eclipse Valley!?

Shua –

The group slowly fell down. The cultivator from Immortal Eclipse Valley spoke a few words, explaining to them not to divulge any information about what happened within, and then turned to leave.

Wang Zifeng, Yun Xueqing, and the others were immediately swarmed by the crowds of people.

“Hah, so someone tried to destroy the Radiant Red Wood and even hid his Golden Core realm cultivation to do so. Too bad for him, even though he blew himself up he wasn’t able to harm the Radiant Red Wood at all.”

“No wonder 10 people went and only eight returned. Could another one of them have been a helper and also wanted to destroy the Radiant Red Wood?”

“That’s not it at all!” A Flowing River Sect cultivator said with a face full of disdain. “It was that Qin Yu who took a back door entrance to get in. He wasn’t able to withstand the temptation of the Radiant Red Wood, and even after a month passed he wouldn’t come out. By now he has likely been torn to pieces by the Radiant Red Wood’s guardian insects, the Purpleback Bluewing Ants!”

“Ah. So that’s what happened. He really deserved what he got. If he entered without the qualifications to do so, then he was only cutting down his own life!”

Qi Jiao stumbled and her face paled.

The valley land that was covered in dazzling red light was currently submerged in the loud buzzing of wings. The sounds linked together in an endless drone that caused one’s scalp to tingle. The Purpleback Bluewing Ants flew in the air, forming a dense sphere, and in the center of this was Qin Yu who everyone assumed had already died.

At this moment he was holding a Greatsun Mulberry leaf in each hand. The leaves emitted a golden halo of sun-bright light, as if they were forged from gold!

The Purpleback Bluewing Ants were naturally cruel and vicious creatures. Although Qin Yu’s forehead was covered in sweat, he restrained his aura as much as possible to not release even a hint of evil intent. He didn’t know how long this impasse lasted, but the mass of Purpleback Bluewing Ants suddenly parted, allowing an ant with pale lines on its body to fly forwards. Although it was only a winged ant, the arrogance and might it displayed was beyond reproach!

This was the ant king!

The Purpleback Bluewing Ants were different from other ant species; they didn’t have an ant queen that was responsible for the reproduction of the species. Once a male and female ant bonded together, they could breed descendants. The strongest Purpleback Bluewing Ant in a group was called the ant king. This ant king possessed the highest level of authority and all other ants had to obey its will.

One commendable point was that Purpleback Bluewing Ants would only have a single companion in their lives. If their companion died, they would soon commit suicide due to their heartbreak.

Even an ant king was no exception.

The ant king flew in front of Qin Yu, deeply staring at him, giving him a strange feeling as if his entire being was seen through. After a moment of hesitation the ant king landed on Qin Yu and began to chew on the Greatsun Mulberry leaf. It ate without pause, and after it finished it flew off and landed on Qin Yu’s hand where it continued to eat.

After it ate the two mulberry leaves, the ant king’s wings began to shiver with excitement. It was filled with an unprecedented level of joy and satisfaction! Unfortunately, there were only two leaves so before it had been able to carefully savor them, it had already eaten them clean away.

It looked up at Qin Yu. The ant king’s wings vibrated as if it would fly away soon. Now, there was no longer a point to keeping this stupid human around.

Qin Yu cursed in his heart but he didn’t reveal any panic outside. He flipped his hand, producing two more Greatsun Mulberry leaves. With a cry of excitement the ant king lowered its head and continued eating. Eat, eat, eat more! These Greatsun Mulberry leaves had a little something extra added to them. The more it ate, the higher Qin Yu’s chances of success would be!

To a Purpleback Bluewing Ant, the aura of a Greatsun Mulberry leaf was ten times, a hundred times more enticing than any drug. As the crowd of ants saw the ant king continue to eat away, they began to grow restless. Several of the strong Purpleback Bluewing Ants were already stirring about, ready to cause trouble. These were all the rivals of the ant king and they weren’t much weaker.

Finally, one of the rivals was unable to withstand the temptation. Its wings buzzed as it viciously hurtled towards the ant king to compete for the Greatsun Mulberry leaves. This was because its instincts told it that as long as it swallowed this mulberry leaf, there was a chance it could transform and evolve into a true ant king!

The ant king screamed in rage. It fanned its wings and flew out. In a moment, the two mighty Purpleback Bluewing Ants had engaged in a wild slaughter.

The mass of ants immediately quieted down.

This was a battle for the throne, a way for their species to determine the supreme ruler. Their instinctual awe suppressed all of them together.

Puff –

The ant king bit off its opponent’s head, loudly chewing and eat it. Its body was covered in its blood and the blood of its opponent. It looked up and screamed, its callous and cold eyes sweeping around. All of its rowdy rivals lowered their heads together, once more expressing their submission to their king.

But at this time, the ant king’s blood began to creep and wriggle about like a living creature. It formed threads that glowed like heated wires as they plunged deep into the ant king’s body!

Qin Yu rapidly formed mudras with his hands, pointing towards the ant king. The ant king screamed in pain and agony as it glared at Qin Yu with thick hatred.

“Ah!”

With a burst of angry cries, the mass of ants stormed forwards. Countless Purpleback Bluewing Ants surged forth, and in just a single breath of time they would be able to tear Qin Yu to shreds. With an unchanged expression, Qin Yu cast out a pile of Greatsun Mulberry leaves. The ants froze for a moment as their instinctive desires overwhelmed their thinking and they began to wildly devour the leaves in a frenzy.

“Ahhhh!”

The ant king’s screams came sharper and faster.

The mass of ants had no choice but to stop their frenzied feeding. But by the time they began flying towards Qin Yu once more, it was already too late. With a final miserable cry, all of the blood that covered the ant king had drilled into its body. Its hatred-filled eyes and ferocious expression disappeared, replaced with a look of submission and intimacy.

The Purpleback Bluewing Ants that rushed towards Qin Yu with open jaws suddenly stiffened. They looked at this human with confusion and doubt. They couldn’t understand why he had an aura that belonged to their king, but this aura still left them awed, not daring to be even the least bit wild.

Qin Yu let out a deep breath of relief. His back was already soaked in sweat. If it had been but a moment more, he would have died in the stomachs of those ants! Luckily, the records within the Ancient Beast Dominion Art weren’t wrong. After mixing his blood with the Greatsun Mulberry leaves and feeding it to the ant king, all he needed to do was quicken the blood of the ant king and blend their blood together with a soul seal.

Once the soul seal entered the ant king’s body and their blood vitality blended together, the ant king would regard Qin Yu as its most intimate and important person, one that would obey his orders and never abandon him for as long as it lived. And by controlling the ant king, he could control the entire group of ants. This was the plan that Qin Yu had established from the very start.

The ant king landed in Qin Yu’s palm. Its body was as long as a finger and its skin was a hard carapace that felt cool like jade to the touch. Qin Yu smiled and gently stroked the ant king. The ant king emitted a deep and excited hum as it began to wriggle about in his palm.

As Qin Yu recalled how tens of thousands of Purpleback Bluewing Ants had chased after three Golden Core masters and instantly shredded them up into food, he smiled.

He raised a hand. “Go, let me see your strength!”

The ant king reared its head back and screamed. Countless Purpleback Bluewing Ants flew behind it, passing into the skies like dark clouds that could annihilate anything in their path.

The Radiant Red Wood’s natural domain could repel any approaching person. When the Golden Core cultivator from before blew himself up, he hadn’t been able to harm the tree in the least. From this, one could see how potent its defenses were. But now, Qin Yu had the best spies possible, and with these spies at his disposal, this ancient spirit plant could be called defenseless.

With another scream from the ant king, a group of Purpleback Bluewing Ants flew towards the Radiant Red Wood. When they returned, each one held a glowing red fruit that shined like a flaming gem.

Qin Yu sat down cross-legged. He brought forth a Radiant Red Fruit and took a bite. As the fruit entered his mouth it melted away, and the mellow sweet taste streamed into his stomach. A burning heat suddenly ignited in his body like a growing flame, but before any pain occurred, the burning heat dissipated into his organs, limbs, and bones, transforming into pure spiritual strength that flowed through his flesh and blood and gathered in his dantian sea.

The effects were superior to the pills that were purified by the little blue lamp!

Qin Yu opened his eyes, a look of satisfaction on his face. But, he didn’t hurry to cultivate. He walked beneath the Radiant Red Wood; in the month of time here, he had worked out where to find a derived root of the Radiant Red Wood from the Medicine Codex.

The ant king led the ant swarm over. They pushed away the soil, revealing the thick and sturdy roots beneath. Qin Yu looked carefully for several moments – there it was!

He waved his hand and the ant king led the ant swarm over to tear at the surface of the roots. Purpleback Bluewing Ants could even tear apart the protective magic power of Golden Core cultivators, so it was clear just how incredible their destructive power was. Even so, it was still astonishingly difficult for the ants to bite through the Radiant Red Wood’s roots. The sound of grinding metal could be heard as teeth gnawed at roots!

Moreover, what was strange was that no matter how much the roots were torn apart, not the least bit of juice flowed out.

As if…this was all a camouflage!

After some time when the ant swarm dispersed, all that was left over from the thick and sturdy roots was the core section. This part was a quiet flame-red color and had some small root hairs; this was the true growing root section of the Radiant Red Wood. Under Qin Yu’s command, the ant king began to bite at this part of the roots.

Crack –

Crack –

Crack –

The Radiant Red Wood shivered and swayed. A rich red divine light erupted. Luckily, Qin Yu was already prepared and had moved far away earlier. The red divine light didn’t injure the Purpleback Bluewing Ants at all, and after sweeping around several times, it dispersed with some unwillingness.

Buzz –

The ant king held a part of the growing roots and flew over. Qin Yu took a deep bluish green jade box and carefully placed it within. Next, he placed a seal on that would prevent vitality from leaking out. Only then did he feel truly relieved!

At this point, his main goal in coming to Immortal Eclipse Valley had been accomplished.

Qin Yu smiled. It was time to cultivate!

Within Immortal Eclipse Valley, this Radiant Red Wood had survived for an unknown period of time and the amount of heaven and earth spiritual strength that it had saved could be called terrifying. Even if only a tiny portion was contained in the Radiant Red Fruits, this was still a horrifying lucky chance. Moreover, this place was sealed away so there wouldn’t be anyone to disturb him. There was no way he could miss out on such a good opportunity to cultivate!

And as for leaving? The Purpleback Bluewing Ants were the key to opening the seal. With the key in hand, Qin Yu could leave whenever he desired.

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