Immortality: Raising an Ant Queen to Cultivate by increasing stat points

Chapter 497: Chapter 489: The Power of a Single Finger

The Ancient Banyan Tree likely had developed a certain level of sentience, or perhaps, because of the long-time benefits it received from Qin Niu, it had come to consider him as a good friend. Helping Qin Niu become stronger allowed it to gain even more benefits.

Many plants and wild animals have this kind of symbiotic relationship.

For example, rhinoceroses rely on small birds to get rid of parasites on their bodies. Or the mongooses and drongos that utilize the drongos as sentinels.

Actually, when the drongo acts as a sentinel for the mongoose, it also expects a reward.

When the mongoose digs up insects from the ground, if it does not give any to the drongo, the bird will deliberately make an eagle’s warning call, giving the mongoose a false alarm. The frightened mongoose will drop its food and flee back into its burrow.

Then, the drongo would eat the insects the mongoose just dug up.

Plants also have such symbiotic relationships. There is a very special Hook Vine that has no roots and can only grow on large trees by absorbing nutrients from them. However, inside its leaves are natural insecticidal components. When some pests land on the tree to nibble at the leaves, the Hook Vine emits chemical signals to deliberately lure the pests to eat its leaves first.

Although its leaves would get damaged by the insects, those insects would quickly be poisoned and die, thus sparing the large tree from pest harm.

Over time, some pests that have suffered would pass on the information that this kind of tree is inedible to their offspring.

Their descendants, upon seeing this kind of tree, would automatically steer clear and not dare to nibble it.

Every day, as Qin Niu practiced the Everlasting Spring Technique beneath the Ancient Banyan Tree, some energy would seep out and be absorbed by it. This energy allowed the Ancient Banyan Tree to grow quickly.

Furthermore, every time he completed his practice and departed, he would repay the kindness by infusing a bit of the Everlasting Spring Technique’s cultivation power into the tree.

Having received benefits many times, the Ancient Banyan Tree had come to regard Qin Niu as a very important ‘friend’.

At this moment, benefitting from the continuous support of the Ancient Banyan Tree, Qin Niu came to understand the meaning of the saying that those who seek the path receive abundant help.

He firmly seized the opportunity and kept pushing against the threshold of the Spirit Qi Realm.

In the Innate Realm, the cultivation power is stored in the body in an initial state of True Qi, primarily within the Dantian and the meridians.

By the peak of the Innate Realm, the Dantian is utterly full of True Qi.

Qin Niu knew very little about the higher Spirit Qi Realm.

He only knew that an expert of the Spirit Qi Realm could easily kill ten at the peak of the Innate Realm.

Although the gap appeared to be slight, the difference in strength was vast.

Moreover, reaching the Spirit Qi Realm meant nearly stepping half into the Immortal Gate, having the ability to truly grasp many of the mysteries of an Immortal Master.

…

As time passed, Qin Niu’s Alchemy Stove displayed three marvelous colors.

It had also grown to the size of a bushel, and when it rotated, its power was extremely formidable.

“Coalesce!”

He uttered a single word from his mouth.

The rapidly spinning Alchemy Stove began to shrink bit by bit. The energy of the three colors sank down respectively, eventually forming three legs.

One leg was azure, the cooling energy provided by the Ancient Banyan Tree at the critical moment. One leg was a fiery red, the essence of flame transformed from the Fire Lotus. The last leg was blue, the coldness condensed from the Ice Lotus.

The Alchemy Stove eventually shrunk to the size of three inches, with the three legs’ colors vividly defined, as the entire Alchemy Stove slowly entered Qin Niu’s Dantian in his abdomen.

The moment the Alchemy Stove was situated in the Dantian, his aura surged dramatically, his presence as if a deity descended to the mortal realm.

The entire ascension to the Spirit Qi Realm was surprisingly effortless.

Qin Niu felt the various changes brought about by the new realm.

Firstly, his spiritual power had more than doubled and was still growing. Secondly, he could feel the True Qi inside his body become more cohesive and lighter, and when he controlled them, it was even more flexible.

He snapped his fingers.

Chi!

A powerful aura shot out from his fingertip, striking the ground not far away.

Bang!

The ground was like it had been struck by a cannonball, blasting a pot-sized deep crater a foot deep.

That was just a casual strike from him.

Without the aid of any weapons, nor using any martial techniques.

Such terrifying power, Qin Niu couldn’t have matched even with his full force in the past.

“The Spirit Qi Realm is truly mystical. When True Qi is deployed, one can fight as if they were ten.”

His greatest feeling was that the movement and use of True Qi became more flexible and swift, and although only a strand of True Qi was released, once it left the body, it could rapidly absorb the natural energy of the world, continuously expanding and growing stronger.

By the time it landed on the enemy, the energy it contained was equivalent to the sum of ten strands of True Qi.

This is the terrifying aspect of the Spirit Qi Realm.

It can already borrow the power of the natural world, as if it had the blessing of heaven and earth.

No wonder Elder Jiu Yin, despite being severely injured with only a tenth of his strength remaining, was still frighteningly powerful.

Recalling his encounters with multiple Spirit Qi Realm experts, Qin Niu felt a chill of fear.

The full strike of such existences couldn’t possibly be withstood by an Innate Realm expert.

His survival to this point was truly a stroke of luck.

If it weren’t for the many pets, the Ink Blade, and the King Pig Leather Armor, he would have lost all his lives many times over.

After stabilizing his realm, Qin Niu stood up and walked over to the trunk of the Ancient Banyan Tree, placing one hand against it.

“Thank you!”

A surge of robust Everlasting Spring Technique cultivation power flowed into the trunk of the tree.

This was Qin Niu’s way of repaying it.

The branches and leaves of the Ancient Banyan Tree shook with a rustling sound.

“Husband, are you a Spirit Qi Realm expert now?”

Wang Wanyan looked at her husband, filled with joy.

The growth of this man exceeded her imagination.

A year ago, Qin Niu was still in dire poverty, with no guarantee of a meal. At that time, he was also very weak, no different from an ordinary person.

Now, he had become a Spirit Qi Realm expert.

He had also become the strongest Insect Master of the Black Tiger Gang, a first-class noble, a first-class Executor.

The wealth he possessed was equally astonishing.

Originally, Wang Furen didn’t think much of Qin Niu, the poor boy, and wanted his daughter to marry into a wealthy family with all his heart. Yet Wang Wanyan insisted on marrying for love, to the man she admired.

It turned out her initial choice and persistence were correct.

For a woman, marrying is a huge gamble in life.

If she marries the right person, she can be happy for a lifetime. If she marries the wrong one, it would be incredibly tragic.

Thankfully, she bet on the right man.

Qin Niu now had directly become a representative of wealth and officialdom, and the Qin Residence had become a truly powerful family.

“I was lucky to have the help of this ancient tree and step into the Spirit Qi Realm. You three also need to work hard, striving to advance to the Spirit Qi Realm before the Water and Land Dharma Assembly. Only then will you have the chance to compete for the fate of the immortals.”

If you are only in the Innate Realm, you won’t even qualify to enter the Water and Land Dharma Assembly.

The Spirit Qi Realm is the minimum requirement for entering the Water and Land Dharma Assembly.

“I knew my husband would be the best! The Spirit Qi Realm, a realm of experts I’ve only read about in books. The books say that a Spirit Qi Realm expert can support an entire noble family by themselves. As for me breaking through to the Spirit Qi Realm in six months, I wouldn’t even dare to think about it. Being able to break through to the Innate Realm is already a blessing from my ancestors.”

In terms of cultivation, Wang Wanyan was gradually falling behind.