Creating a paradise in an ant nest

Chapter 7: Buying Half a Spirit Pill?

"Congratulations, Li Liangtian."

"We work hard for a month and only earn one spirit stone, but Li Liangtian got two this time. He's become rich now."

"Shouldn't we treat them to a nice meal?"

"..."

Several people surrounded Li Liangtian, some offering polite compliments, others stirring up trouble by praising him to death.

Li Liangtian was not good with words and kept repeating "it was just a fluke" in a somewhat dull manner.

Then someone stepped forward to speak up for Li Liangtian: "Everyone, disperse. Stop making a fuss. If you're so capable, go and dig up spirit plants yourselves."

After Feng Zhe finished speaking, he turned around and familiarly put his arm around Li Liangtian's shoulder, his face full of fawning smiles: "Brother Liangtian, may I have a word with you in private?"

The two walked a few steps away.

What's wrong?

"Brother Liangtian, I'm embarrassed to ask, but I really have no other choice. I've been trying to gather spirit stones to buy the Meridian Opening Pill, and I'm just three spirit stones short."

"Please lend me three spirit stones. I only need one more Meridian Opening Pill to break through to the Qi Refining stage and stay in the sect."

Feng Zhe held up three fingers, his face full of sincerity.

Borrowing spirit stones?

Three?

"this……"

Li Liangtian pondered how to refuse.

"If you think three spirit stones are too many, you can lend me two. I'll think of another way to solve the one spirit stone shortage."

Once I become a formal apprentice, my monthly salary will be at least three spirit stones. Brother Liangtian, you are my great benefactor, so I will return an extra spirit stone to you as a token of my gratitude.

Please, please help me.

Feng Zhe looked directly into Li Liangtian's eyes, his face full of genuine emotion.

Li Liangtian was persuaded and was about to agree when Liu He's voice rang out from the side.

"Feng Zhe, you said a few days ago that you were only two spirit stones short of buying the Meridian Opening Pill, how come you're three spirit stones short today?"

Besides, how many meridians and acupoints have you opened up? You only need one Meridian Opening Pill to break through to the Qi Refining stage?

Liu He, worried that Li Liangtian was being tricked, exposed Feng Zhe's lie.

A few days ago, Feng Zhe used the same excuse to borrow spirit stones from Liu He, but Liu He refused.

When borrowing the spirit stone, he was sincere and acted like a grandson, but when it came time to return it, he became a "grandpa" and refused to return it in every way possible.

Liu He had seen this kind of person before, so he wouldn't be fooled.

Ok?

Li Liangtian suddenly came to his senses; in his moment of confusion, he had almost lent out two spirit stones.

He may appear simple and honest, but he's not stupid at all. He lived in a mountain village and had seen people like Feng Zhe who borrowed money and never paid it back.

"Feng Zhe, I'm sorry, but I have other uses for my spirit stones. You should find someone else."

"All right."

After failing to borrow the spirit stones, Feng Zhe dropped his pretense, gave Liu He a disdainful look, and turned to leave.

He almost managed to borrow the spirit stones, but someone sabotaged him.

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.

"I can't thank you enough, Liu He. I almost lost two spirit stones."

Li Liangtian thought that if he lost two spirit stones, he would remember it for the rest of his life.

I am relieved and deeply grateful to Liu He.

"You're welcome. The pears you gave me last time were delicious; bring me some more next time."

"Pears are out of season now, but I'll bring you some cantaloupes from my garden when they ripen. They're even tastier..."

As the two were talking, more people approached from a distance.

Zhou Kang was also a trial repairman under Wu Shao.

"Li Liangtian, did Feng Zhe ask you for spirit stones just now?"

"Hmm, how did you know?"

"He borrowed almost all of us trial repairmen. I didn't borrow any, but a few kind-hearted and shy people did."

They didn't even consider who they would ask for the spirit stones if Feng Zhe failed to stay in the sect.

Given Feng Zhe's reputation, he definitely won't be able to borrow spirit stones anymore.

After complaining about Feng Zhe, Zhou Kang explained his purpose: "Are you still saving up your spirit stones?"

"What, do you want to buy spirit stones or borrow them?"

"I can't afford spirit stones, they're too expensive."

Zhou Kang shook his head repeatedly. He came from an ordinary family and could not afford a spirit stone that cost a thousand taels of silver.

"Are you two interested in buying the Meridian Opening Pill together?"

"What?"

Liu He was puzzled.

Can you even buy elixirs together in a group?

Seeing the two men's surprised expressions, Zhou Kang explained, "I only heard about it from someone a few days ago. One Meridian Opening Pill costs ten spirit stones, and we can only save up six spirit stones at most in half a year. We can't afford it."

Someone suggested a group purchase: one Meridian-Opening Pill split in two, one half for each person.

The trial repairmen were so poor that they had to pool their resources to buy even a single Meridian Opening Pill.

"If the elixir is split in two, will it still be effective?" Li Liangtian asked.

"I'm not sure about other pills, but cutting open the Meridian Opening Pill will definitely make it more effective. However, if you cut the Meridian Opening Pill in half, its effectiveness will definitely be halved."

If only two meridians are missing from being fully opened when the six-month period is almost up, you can buy a Meridian Opening Pill together.

I've been saving up my spirit stones, so I thought I'd ask you two in advance if you'd be interested in collaborating.

Liu He was secretly delighted to learn that the Meridian Opening Pill could be purchased in bulk or cut in half and still be effective.

One Meridian Opening Pill and half a Meridian Opening Pill are the same to him; there are more than enough to eat in the ant nest anyway.

Buying the Meridian Opening Pill for only five spirit stones was a great deal for him.

"That's a good idea. But I only have three spirit stones right now. I'll wait until I have five spirit stones before we talk about it."

He replied.

"Half a Meridian Opening Pill probably won't be enough for me to break through to the Qi Refining stage. I'll wait a bit longer."

Li Liangtian had five spirit stones, but he couldn't bear to spend them.

He feared that if he spent spirit stones but failed to break through to the Qi Refining stage and remain in the sect, it would be a waste of a large sum of money.

"I'm just asking in advance. If you two have any ideas, come find me."

After Zhou Kang finished speaking, he said goodbye and walked away.

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 and Li Liangtian were guarding adjacent forest areas, so the two headed to the forest area.

During the journey, Li Liangtian recounted how he discovered the ginseng.

"A few days ago, when I was collecting firewood, I found some woodlice next to a rock in a corner. They were this big!"

He gestured with his fingers, indicating it was about two inches long.

"The woodlice in the fields are usually so small, how could they grow to this size?"

I immediately sensed something was wrong and searched the vicinity for a while before finding the ginseng. I initially thought it was just ordinary wild ginseng, but it turned out to be a rare and potent ginseng.

"So, you can keep an eye out for particularly large insects in the forest; there might be some spiritual plants nearby."

This is Li Liangtian's experience.

He didn't mention it at all when others asked him before.

He knew in his heart that those people were snobs and not worth befriending.

When he first arrived at the forest farm, he collected firewood and brought it home, and the people there mocked and ridiculed him.

Therefore, he would not tell those people his "little tricks".

"That makes sense, I'll remember that."

Liu He nodded and made a mental note of it.

But he didn't have much hope. Spiritual plants in the forest are extremely rare, and finding one is a very low-probability event.

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.

Time flies by.

Another twenty days or so have passed.

Liu He originally planned to spend three spirit stones to buy resources, but after learning that the Meridian Opening Pill could be purchased in bulk, he saved up the spirit stones.

Underground ant nest.

Inside the cave.

Three enormous spirit stones emitted a fluorescent glow, illuminating the empty cave dwelling brightly.

Liu He is taking a bath and swimming in the pool.

His pool was a rock the size of a knuckle, with a dent carved into its surface.

This small stone, when placed in an ant nest and filled with water, became Liu He's "swimming pool".

"Ant Queen, Ant Queen!"

At this moment, a worker ant crawled into the burrow and waved its antennae to convey a message not far from Liu He.

"Ant King" is a title Liu He gave himself.

His status was above that of the queen ant, so he proclaimed himself the ant king, making it easier for the ants to communicate.

"What's wrong?"

"A very powerful enemy! Danger! Danger!"

"A powerful enemy?"

Liu He climbed out of the pool and put on his clothes: "Where is it? Take me to see it."

Ants categorize the strength of their enemies and release different pheromones to deal with different situations.

If the prey is weak, a few dozen ants are enough.

If the prey is slightly more difficult to deal with, they will send out hundreds of ants.

A powerful enemy, mobilizing thousands of ants.

If the enemy is powerful but does not pose a threat to the ant colony, the ants will actively avoid it.

When faced with a serious threat from an enemy, such as another ant colony, all the ants in the colony will swarm out to fight the enemy to the death.

Liu He's ant colony deals with danger differently than ordinary ant colonies because Liu He personally takes action to eliminate enemies.

The toad that initially posed a serious threat to the ant colony was stomped to death by Liu He.

In a normal ecological environment, there are many species that pose a threat to ants.

Antlions are creatures that hunt ants.

Some spiders also have a preference for hunting and killing ants.

Liu He cherishes his ant colonies and will personally deal with their "natural enemies" to reduce losses to the colony.