togophonebook Chapter 56 The Scorpion Crisis
Chapter 56 The Scorpion Crisis
"Senior Brother Liu, did you go to the flower and herb garden to get some spirit plant seedlings? What did you get?"
Su Miao and Liu He started chatting.
She and Liu He were both selected from the outer mountain forest farm to work as miscellaneous disciples in the Spirit Wood Garden. Faced with an unfamiliar environment and interpersonal relationships, the two of them were closer than the others.
"I got the real tiger-skin hemp grass, what about you?"
Liu He countered with a question.
"Golden Silk Ginseng. It is said that it grows very slowly at first and is worthless, but it becomes valuable after twenty or thirty years."
I'll nourish it with a water-nourishing spell once a day, and eventually it will grow into a top-quality Golden Silk Ginseng, which might be worth a hundred spirit stones.
Su Miao was lost in thought.
The price of ordinary low-grade spiritual plants ranges from ten to thirty spirit stones, while a very few rare ones can reach fifty spirit stones.
"My red tiger isn't worth that much. As long as it survives, that's enough. I don't expect to sell it for many spirit stones."
Just as the two were chatting, a figure approached from a distance with a few leaps.
"Junior Sister Su, Junior Brother Liu~~"
The newcomer appeared to be a middle-aged man, dressed in a medium-grade blue embroidered robe, with a jade pendant of spiritual artifact hanging from one side of his waist and a spirit wood sword slung over his other side.
His name is Huang Shideng, he is at the sixth level of Qi Refining, and he is Liu He's "neighbor".
The forest area he was guarding was adjacent to Liu He's. On the second day after Liu He came to Lingmu Garden, he ran into Liu He and the two chatted for a few minutes.
"Senior Brother Huang."
Liu He and Su Miao greeted each other in unison.
Huang Shideng smiled and nodded, his gaze sweeping over Liu He and focusing only on Su Miao: "Junior Sister Su, how have you been since you came to Lingmu Garden? Are you getting used to it?"
If you need any help, please feel free to ask me; don't be shy.
I specialize in wood-based magic, and my spirit bird is quite skilled at searching for and capturing spirit insects. I can have my spirit bird occasionally visit your forest to help you prevent pest infestations.
"Brother Huang, you're so kind. Life at our Spirit Wood Garden is quite good; I've already adapted."
Su Miao felt uncomfortable under Huang Shideng's gaze.
She always felt that there was a hint of lewdness in his eyes.
"..."
Liu He, who was being ignored, thought to himself, "Is this the difference between male and female cultivators? Huang Shideng isn't that enthusiastic towards me."
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.
The rest of Fu Shuai's men arrived one after another.
Finally, it was Marshal Fu who flew in and landed in front of everyone.
Good morning, Senior Brother Fu.
"Senior Brother Fu~"
Everyone bowed and greeted each other.
Fu Shuai introduced the new junior brothers and sisters to everyone: "As you all know, two newcomers have come to our forest area through the selection of Lingzhi Peak."
One of my junior brothers, Liu He. He's quite something; he has an earth elemental spirit body and is also an expert in exorcising insects.
A junior sister, Su Miao, is also exceptionally talented, possessing the Sunflower Water Spirit Body.
"You two, please introduce yourselves to everyone."
They will be working together at Lingmu Garden for more than a decade or even several decades, so it is necessary to maintain a good relationship.
"Greetings, fellow disciples. My name is Liu He. I come from the outer mountain forest farm and have been a member of the sect for three years... Please take good care of me."
Liu He introduced himself.
Some of the people present were people he had met before, while others were people he was meeting for the first time today.
Including Liu He and Su Miao, Fu Shuai has a total of ten men under his command.
Next, Su Miao introduced herself.
Everyone welcomed the two newcomers.
Aside from the daily care work, there aren't many chores that need to be arranged at Lingmu Garden.
After quickly arranging various miscellaneous tasks, the morning meeting came to an end.
"Because Liu He and Su Miao just arrived, I have repeated some things many times, and I will explain them again today."
The work at our Spirit Wood Garden is relatively easy, and it's understandable that you focus on your own cultivation on a daily basis. However, you must not neglect your duties of guarding the property. You should treat the sect's property as your own and take good care of it.
Furthermore, one must not violate the rules of Spirit Plant Peak to seek personal gain…
"If you make a mistake while on duty and the resulting loss is minor, I can take the blame for you. But if you are caught violating the rules, I can't protect you."
He confessed.
The morning meeting then ended, and everyone dispersed.
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 returned to his forest area.
He first familiarized himself with the sacred trees in his forest area by referring to the booklet.
This 20-acre forest area contains more than 490 sacred trees, each of which is recorded in the register.
The type and year of each sacred tree are clearly recorded in the register.
Upon arriving, Liu He's first task was to memorize all four hundred and ninety spirit trees.
His most important job in the Spirit Tree Garden was to look after these spirit trees.
"I should create a duty roster, specifying when to patrol, which area of spirit trees to inspect on which day, and the rest of the free time to rest, practice cultivation, and check the ant nests."
he thought.
Although Coach Fu didn't make any demands on him, he was expected to be responsible and to make detailed plans.
Twenty acres of forest area is neither a lot nor a little.
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.
In the following days.
Liu He set a duty schedule and began a regular life.
Guarding the forest, practicing martial arts, casting spiritual nourishment spells on the True Tiger Red Hemp and the miniature spiritual plant garden, taking care of the ant colony... it's tedious but fulfilling.
"It's sprouted!"
In Liu He's miniature spiritual plant garden, the radish seeds he sowed for six or seven days have sprouted tender green shoots.
"It's worth all the nourishment I get from using the Sprouting Technique several times a day, haha."
Looking at the tiny green shoots scattered on the ground, he felt a great sense of accomplishment.
It takes a year for this violet radish to fully mature.
If he nourishes it with the Spirit Nourishment Technique every day, he can improve the quality of the Violet Radish.
Just then, Liu He received a signal from the Black Queen: the ant colony is in trouble!
"What's going on?"
While in the Spirit Plant Garden, Liu He had a thought that transported him back to the wooden house in reality.
He stepped out of the wooden house and used his lightness skill to rush to the Black Queen Ant Nest.
The Black Queen Ant Nest was not far from the wooden house, only a little over a hundred meters away. He appeared next to the ant nest after a few leaps and bounds.
At this moment, a large number of ants are emerging from the anthill, forming several "long snakes" that converge in a distant direction.
"What happened?"
Liu He was puzzled.
Following the ants to a spot a few feet from the anthill, next to a rock, a scorpion longer than a hand was "slaughtering" the ants.
Its body is covered in dark, mysterious armor, gleaming with a cold, eerie light, its textured and grooved. Its eight long, thick, and sharp legs are slender and curved, with its tail stinger pointing high, its tip a translucent purple, with deadly poison condensed at the tip.
Its large pincers are thick and hard; with a single opening and closing, they can kill several ants.
Even the largest and most powerful specialized soldier ants in the colony are like a "buffet" in front of this scorpion.
The giant scorpion specifically targets the largest specialized soldier ants, using its pincers to stuff the specialized soldier ants into its mouthparts to chew and swallow them.
Countless ants swarmed forward, surrounding the giant scorpion completely. Fearless, they climbed up its eight-segmented body, searching for gaps in its carapace to tear at it with their mandibles.
However, its carapace is too thick, and no matter how much the ants bite, they cannot break through its defenses.
"Scorpion!"
Liu He confirmed that this giant scorpion had reached the level of a "spirit insect".
Even with his cultivation level, he would likely be poisoned if he were accidentally stung by that venomous tail stinger.
His ant colony is currently still "ordinary ants," and even if they swarm out, they would find it difficult to defeat this spirit scorpion.
If we can't break through their defenses, how can we fight them?
"Scatter, retreat, leave it to me."
He releases pheromones.
The ants that were besieging the scorpion retreated in a flurry.
Liu He picked up a small pebble from the ground, held it between his thumb and middle finger, and infused it with a little spiritual energy.
Stone-throwing technique!
With a flick of his finger, the pebble shot out like a bullet, hitting the scorpion squarely in the back.
With a crisp "crack," the scorpion's thick armor suddenly shattered, splattering fluids and scattering fragments of limbs and flesh.
"All done, let's collect the prey."
The scorpion that the ant colony struggled against was easily dealt with by Liu He.
They carried the remains of the scorpion back to the anthill; the bodies of the worms were a highly nutritious food for them.
"Back in the outer mountain forest farm, my ant colony was already invincible when it reached a scale of 100,000."
"They need to keep a low profile here in the Spirit Wood Garden; they can't be so rampant anymore."
Liu He thought to himself.
He actually discovered it the day after he moved in.
Although the snakes, insects, rats, and ants in the Spirit Wood Garden are mostly ordinary insects and ants, they grow in an environment rich in spiritual energy, and many of them are much stronger than ordinary insects in the outer mountain forests.
Here, the casualties among ant colonies hunting insects are far higher than when they were in the outer mountain forests.
If they encounter a true spirit insect like a spirit scorpion, the ant colony will have difficulty dealing with it and will have to leave it to Liu He.
It's just like when Liu He helped the ant colony deal with toads and rats in the early days of the Waishan Forest Farm.
"Once the violets and radishes in the plant garden mature, we will have enough resources to cultivate the ant colony."
The reason his ant colony is still just ordinary ants is that he doesn't have enough resources.
Although he had previously fed the ant colony a lot of spirit rice, spirit fruit, and spirit pills, the lifespan of ordinary ants is too short.
Ordinary ants have a lifespan of at most two or three months. Even if Liu He feeds them various resources and makes them stronger, extending their lifespan to six months or even a year, what difference does it make?
In the three years since he joined the sect, the ants have gone through several generations.
The original ants have long since died of old age, so the resources invested were wasted.
Feeding a single spirit insect is easy, but cultivating a colony of true spirit ants is incredibly difficult.
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.
Just as Liu He was about to leave, a shadow swept through the forest and landed beside him.
It is a brightly colored bird.
Its most striking feature is its beak, which is long, thin, sharp, and crimson red.
It landed next to the ant nest, and with a flick of its beak, snatched a piece of the scorpion's remains from the ant colony and put it into its mouth.
"Chirp chirp~~"
Its eyes move, and it seems very clever, as if it has a mind of its own.
Its movements were extremely fast; before anyone could see how it moved, it had already devoured the flesh and blood of the scorpion that the ant colony hadn't had time to carry back to the nest.
When the ants saw the "enemy" approaching, they didn't care what the enemy was, and swarmed towards the bird, climbing up its legs and claws.
Its eyes revealed a sense of "disdain".
It opened and closed its beak, and its tongue moved back and forth very quickly, picking up a dozen or so ants before swallowing them.
"Um?"
Seeing this, Liu He couldn't hold back anymore.
It's one thing to steal food from his ant colony, but why eat his ants as well?
"Hurry up, hurry up, go back to your master."
He raised his hand and snapped impatiently.
Perhaps understanding the words of the humans before it, the spirit bird flapped its wings and took flight, easily shaking off the few ants that remained on its body.
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.
One update today, more to be added tomorrow.
One update today, more to be added tomorrow.
One update today, more to be added tomorrow.