Creating a paradise in an ant nest

Chapter 14 Ant Nest Crisis, Ant-Rat War

Pick whatever you like?

Is the sect being so generous?

Liu He's eyes lit up as he looked around with great interest.

The interior of the pavilion was not large, and there were shelves and cabinets of magical artifacts placed around it.

Precious magical artifacts were piled up casually as if they were free.

Spirit swords, spirit knives, spirit daggers... In addition to weapons such as knives, spears, swords, and halberds, there are also hoes, axes, forging hammers, talisman pens, and so on.

A dazzling array of goods, everything imaginable.

The materials also vary, including metal, spirit wood, and a few stone and fabric.

Liu He was momentarily overwhelmed by what he saw.

There were so many magical artifacts that it would take him a long time to look at them all.

"So they're all low-grade first-tier spiritual artifacts. No wonder they were so easy to pick."

Liu He discovered that all the spiritual artifacts available for selection in the pavilion were low-grade, first-tier spiritual artifacts.

In the Myriad Weapons Pavilion, the price of a low-grade first-tier spiritual weapon ranges from a dozen to over a hundred spirit stones.

There are no high-quality items here worth hundreds of spirit stones; the most valuable items are only worth fifty spirit stones.

Despite this, Liu He still cherished this opportunity to choose a spirit weapon. After all, he now earns 3 spirit stones a month, and even if a spirit weapon costs 30 spirit stones, he would have to save up for a year to afford it.

Aside from the standard robe issued by the sect, this will be the first spiritual artifact he chooses himself, and he values ​​it highly.

"Senior Brother Hong, could you please recommend a few spiritual artifacts? I'd like to pursue the path of spiritual farming."

Left with no other option, Liu He sought help from Hong Jianxiong.

There were so many magical artifacts here that he couldn't take them all in, let alone know how to choose.

"The Way of the Spirit Farmer? You want to go to the Spirit Plant Peak, right?"

The two iron balls in Hong Jianxiong's hands made a metallic clanging sound as they collided and rubbed together. He led Liu He toward a shelf of magical artifacts.

"For tools, you could choose a spirit axe, which you can use to chop wood in the spirit tree garden. Or a small spirit hoe for gathering herbs..."

"However, most people who want to go to Spirit Plant Peak choose magical artifacts that enhance spells. Follow me."

Hong Jianxiong led him up to the second floor of the attic.

The second floor is a bit smaller, and there are fewer magical artifacts on it.

"This is the Yellow Pear Staff, made of Yellow Pear Spirit Wood. Using it to cast wood-type spells can save 10% of the spiritual energy consumed."

"There is also the Golden Nanmu Staff. After refining it, using it to cast wood-type spells can increase their power by half a percent."

"..."

Liu He wants to go to Lingzhi Peak, so he should major in wood-based magic.

Besides artifacts that enhance wood-type spells, there are also artifacts that enhance water-type or earth-type spells, which can be considered as alternatives.

Just as he was deliberating which magical artifact to choose, he suddenly received a telepathic message from the queen ant.

Danger!

Danger!

Danger!

He had never received such a serious and urgent distress signal.

What's going on?

He was anxious, but he suppressed his impatience and said to Hong Jianxiong, "Senior Brother Hong, I want to go back and think about it. I'll come back when I've made up my mind."

Think about it?

They're all low-grade, worthless first-tier magical artifacts; what's there to consider?

The first-tier low-grade spiritual artifacts here are practice pieces made by the disciples of Wanqi Peak.

No matter how skilled a weapon-refining cultivator is, they all start learning weapon refining from a low-grade first-tier spiritual weapon.

We made too many low-grade first-tier spiritual artifacts, and since we couldn't sell them all, we piled them up here and provided them free of charge to the handymen disciples.

Although Hong Jianxiong thought this way, he knew that the person in front of him was a newly promoted handyman disciple, and it was normal for him to value his first spiritual weapon.

"Okay. But you should think about it quickly, because some magical artifacts only have one piece, and once someone else picks it, it's gone."

"Yes, thanks for reminding me."

Liu He's mind was entirely on the ant nest, not on the magical artifacts in front of him.

He said goodbye and left Wanqi Peak, then quickly returned to his room on Qixia Peak.

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.

"shuttle!"

A thought travels into the anthill.

"What's going on?"

Liu He stared in astonishment at his cave dwelling.

His once spacious and empty cave was now teeming with ants.

His appearance made the ants even more panicked, and they released "danger" and "protection" pheromones to surround him.

"Boom!"

The ground trembled, and soil and stones fell from the cave's dome, while soil and stones rolled down the walls.

Specialized soldier ants shielded Liu He beneath them, preventing him from being hit by falling soil and rocks.

A large number of ants dug in the direction from which the vibration came.

"Boom!"

Another ground tremor occurred, and a certain spot on the ground suddenly bulged up and then suddenly sank down.

Liu He saw it; a huge, unknown animal was digging near the ant nest and had already entered the nest's territory.

According to the pheromones transmitted by the ants, the enemy is not a single one, but multiple.

Moreover, the enemy is extremely powerful, posing a serious threat to the safety of the ant colony.

"Protect the queen ant! Protect the queen ant with all our might!"

Liu He issued the order and then traveled back to reality.

His ant colony couldn't handle the unknown creatures underground; only he could solve the problem.

He rushed out of the room and ran wildly towards the outer mountain forest farm.

Fortunately, he broke through the Qi Refining stage, cleansed his tendons and marrow, and his physique improved significantly.

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.

Forest farm.

Liu He rushed to the ant nest.

On the surface, the ant nest appeared calmer than usual, with not a single ant in sight outside.

But he knew that a life-or-death battle was taking place underground.

"What do we do?"

Previously, when the ant colony encountered a formidable enemy, Liu He only needed to stomp it to death.

However, he has a hard time dealing with animals that can burrow underground and don't live on the surface.

"Start digging!"

Since the survival of the ant nest was at stake, the only option was to dig it up first.

Moreover, given the ant colony's nest-building capabilities, even if they abandon this nest, they can quickly dig and build a new one elsewhere.

He picked up a thick wooden stick from the side, broke it in half, and used the sharp stump to dig out the ant nest.

As he dug deeper, he saw ants crawling around frantically.

His ants naturally wouldn't harm him, letting him dig open their nest.

A while later.

"I saw it!"

He saw animals struggling and writhing beneath the soft soil of the anthill.

Suddenly, a gray-haired rat emerged from the soil, rolled over, and crawled away into the distance.

This gray mouse was quite large, covered in stiff fur and with a thick, long tail. It was crawling with ants.

"Damn rat, it dug its way into an anthill."

Liu He swung the wooden stick down, but missed, and the nimble mouse dodged it.

Just then, the mouse frantically shook its legs, as it was being bitten by ants and was in excruciating pain.

"Now!"

Liu He seized the opportunity, thrusting the wooden stick down and killing the gray-haired rat on the ground, blood flowing out.

"besides."

This wasn't the only rat that broke into the anthill.

Liu He continued digging and found two more rats, which he and the ants "teamed up" to kill.

"Phew~~"

He let out a long sigh of relief. This battle had been very dangerous; the three mice were likely from the same nest and had somehow dug a hole and crawled into the anthill.

"That's strange. Mice do eat ants, but they wouldn't be so stupid as to dig into an anthill."

After being fed with spirit rice and spirit pills, Liu He's ant colony became large and powerful, and ordinary rats dared not provoke it.

"Could it be?"

He suddenly realized that the rats were likely attracted by the elixir.

The rats, with their keen sense of smell, caught the scent of the elixir and stormed into the ant nest to snatch it.