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

Chapter 239: Chapter 232 Ice Lotus 1

The wild bees patrolled for a while and, finding no target to attack, flew away one after another.

Qin Niu, however, followed the vines down to the base of the cliff.

Even with his innate realm cultivation, the descent was so difficult that it was evident how cautious the Green Demon had been back in the day.

To avoid his enemies’ pursuit, the Green Demon chose to hide at the bottom of a cliff where even masters of the innate realm would find it hard to descend.

Every ascent and descent of the rock face was fraught with great danger.

The Green Demon’s choice was very wise. Precisely because it was so perilous to reach the bottom of the cliff, those hunting him wouldn’t think to look here.

Following the wild vines, Qin Niu slowly made his way down to the bottom of the cliff.

These vines were incredibly sturdy, appearing not too thick, but strong enough to hold fast to the cliff’s precipitous rock face.

Once at the base, he looked around and saw layers of mist.

It felt like entering a dreamy world.

His gaze was soon drawn to a particular vine.

There was a small vine, only as thick as chopsticks and dark green throughout, with ordinary-looking leaves. However, one could see faint yellow veins and white spots on its stem.

According to experience, such vines had extraordinary toughness and strength.

“This vine doesn’t look very big, but the herbal essence is so rich!”

His training in the Medicine King Sutra had progressed to the acquired realm, enabling him to clearly sense the energy contained within the plants and the medicinal essence they emitted.

In this world, every herb and tree can be used for medicine.

Even a newly sprouted blade of grass emits medicinal essence.

The stronger the medicinal essence of a plant, the higher its value.

Initially searching for the Green Demon’s treasure, Qin Niu found this vine so unusual that he dug it up on the spot.

He did not expect its roots to penetrate so deeply into the rock layer, and it took considerable effort to finally unearth it.

Many of the vine’s roots were broken off by Qin Niu’s hands.

Just as he had predicted, the vine appeared small but was tremendously resilient.

Though it could not compare to an iron chain of the same size, it was much sturdier than a hemp rope of similar thickness.

Brought back and planted in his own backyard, it would add a new member to the medicinal garden.

The forbidden grounds of the Fang Family had given him a deep insight.

A family or sect that wanted to thrive for generations must make preparations for nurturing talent.

He was mainly cultivating himself, and the medicinal herbs he grew were primarily for his own use.

Only under the right conditions would he consider cultivating the three women—Xiao Qing, Wang Wanyan, and Tang Caixian.

For the moment, there were no wild bees at the bottom of the cliff.

Perhaps the pheromones he had released on the surface of his body were still at work, causing other wild bees to mistake him for one of their own. So, they all lurked in the shadows, not coming out to attack him.

According to the treasure map, after descending to the bottom of the cliff, he should continue walking along the right side of the cliff face.

When a cold pool appears, he would have arrived.

Along the way, Qin Niu found human skeletons on the ground, and some had even left behind swords and iron armor.

All were forged from Hundred-Tempering Fine Steel, of extremely high quality.

This indicated that the number of masters who had perished here was not small.

Whether these items and bones were left by adventurers or the Seven-Star Sect masters who chased the Green Demon was no longer verifiable.

The fame of the Green Demon Bee was so great that it attracted countless masters to seek the treasure, yet it also cost many their lives.

He groped his way through the dense mist, barely able to see beyond five meters.

He had no idea how far he had gone, surely more than half an hour, when the mist ahead gradually began to thin, extending his visibility from about five meters to roughly ten meters.

Qin Niu smelled the distinctive fishy smell that one finds only by a riverbank.

The air around him also felt exceedingly cold and damp.

His heart leaped with anticipation; the cold pool must be close by.

Indeed, he didn’t have to go much farther before he came upon a deep pool about two hundred square meters in area. Cold air bubbled up from the surface of the pool, mingling with the mist at the base of the cliff and causing a significant chilling effect.

This was also the reason why the mist was thinning out.

The valley stream flowed into the pool, forming this deep expanse of water.

Qin Niu picked up a stone and threw it into the pool, causing large ripples to spread.

The stone quickly sank.

“Little Ink Turtle, it’s time for you to show what you can do once again.”

Qin Niu took the little Ink Turtle out of the basket.

In reality, his basket was a bit broken, damaged by those steel-winged wild bees.

After coming out, the Diamond Ink Turtle stuck out its head cautiously and crawled towards the edge of the pool.

About a meter from the water, it suddenly accelerated and plunged into the pool.

Seeing this, Qin Niu felt reassured.

With the Diamond Ink Turtle’s timid nature, if there were any formidable creatures lurking inside the pool, it would never dare to dive in.

He began to examine the surroundings of the cold pool.

He even took out the Green Demon’s treasure map to compare.

There was no mistake, the shape of the cold pool matched exactly what was shown on the map.

According to the Green Demon’s markings, the treasure should be hidden at the bottom of the pool.

After waiting a moment, the little Ink Turtle surfaced from the bottom of the pool.

It was still playfully frolicking about.

Since being brought home by Qin Niu, it had been kept either in a broken tank or in the front courtyard’s fishpond—not quite comparable to this natural wild habitat’s comfort.

“Timid turtle, is it safe down there in the pool?”

“Safe!”

The little Ink Turtle communicated with him using spiritual thoughts.

Since Qin Niu’s Termite couldn’t enter the water, he hid his basket, removed his clothes, leaving just his underpants on, and with the Ink Blade in hand, he dived directly into the cold pool.

The pool’s icy water was bone-chillingly cold.

Fortunately, with his innate realm cultivation, he managed to withstand it.

Plunging toward the depths of the pool, the little turtle followed alongside him cheerfully.

Now master of water control and complemented by its swimming skills, it moved more agilely than the average fish and swam even faster.

Qin Niu swam with all his might toward the bottom of the pool, searching for the Green Demon’s treasure.

The cold depths seemed bottomless, and even after descending about thirty meters, he had still not touched the bottom.

By then, the strong water pressure had already made his body somewhat uncomfortable.

However, he could still withstand it.

After all, he had reached the Innate Realm. His body, having gone through multiple rounds of tempering and strengthening, had become quite formidable.

A normal person diving about ten meters under water would feel noticeably unwell.

The intense water pressure could make a person’s seven orifices bleed.

He held his breath and dived to a depth of thirty meters, which was far beyond the limit that an ordinary person could endure. Only at this depth, the effort needed to continue diving became even greater.

The Diamond Ink Turtle sensed its master’s difficulty and immediately stepped forward to lend a hand.

With its help, Qin Niu found diving much easier.

The water pressure around him also seemed to be significantly reduced.

He continued to dive deeper.

He faintly saw a glimmer of light at the bottom of the pool and instinctively swam towards the source of the light.

As he got closer to the light source, the water grew colder and colder.

But the previously somewhat dark bottom of the pool now became clearer.

A plant, crystal clear and jade-like, was growing at the bottom of the pool.

It looked like a blooming lotus.

The glimmer came from its petals. It seemed to have no leaves, only a blooming lotus blossom.

“What kind of plant is this? The energy it contains is terrifying.”

Of all the plants Qin Niu had seen so far, the most formidable was that Ancient Banyan Tree deep in the mountains.

The energy contained in this lotus at the bottom of the pool was second only to the Ancient Banyan Tree.

It was even stronger than the ‘treasure herbs’ nurtured by the Fang Family.

In places seldom visited by humans, it was indeed easier to find treasures of the earth and sky.

Qin Niu thought about digging it up and taking it back.

Whether for alchemy or cultivating the Medicine King Sutra, it was an excellent choice.

It could even be used to cultivate termites and honeybees.

“So cold!”

When he was just five or six meters away from the jade-like lotus, he could barely endure it, feeling as though he was about to freeze to death.

His limbs became numb, and his movements noticeably slowed.

He felt a pain he hadn’t experienced in a long time, the pain of being frozen.

“Little turtle, if it really becomes unbearable, you’ll have to use the Qi Wave Defense,” Qin Niu communicated telepathically with the Diamond Ink Turtle.

As long as he could get close to that lotus, he could pluck it.

It was about the size of a washbasin, large enough for a child to sit on with no problem.

Qin Niu swam faster towards the lotus while gripping the Ink Blade in his hand. His idea was simple: if he couldn’t pull it out, he would chop off the flower with its roots.

Or use the blade to pry it out.

The distance of five or six meters was covered in a blink.

He was secretly delighted and immediately reached out to pluck the lotus.

But as soon as his hand touched the lotus, a powerful vortex was generated, sucking him and the Diamond Ink Turtle directly into it.

There was no time to resist; they were both pulled into a tunnel.

After tumbling head over heels, along with the icy water flow, he and the little turtle fell into another space.

At that moment, Qin Niu sensed intense danger.

As his body fell with the current, he surveyed his surroundings.

It was dark all around, and the water flow enveloping him seemed to start icing over, aiming to freeze him and the little turtle inside it.

The Diamond Ink Turtle also sensed the looming threat and immediately manipulated the water to scatter in all directions.

Qin Niu seized the moment to slash with his blade, cleaving through the water that was about to freeze.

With the faint light from the slash of Blade Qi, he finally saw clearly what was below.

There was a pool, its water appearing to be a dark red.

The stench of blood hit his nose, making him feel nauseated.

His first reaction was not to fall into that Blood Pool, or it would be dangerous.

The newly learned Misty Rain Traceless Step proved useful at this critical moment. He tried to twist his body and then kicked against the ice forming around him.

Actually, the water had already turned to ice.

Pushing off against it, he used the recoil to successfully steer himself and the little turtle away from the Blood Pool.

Ultimately, he narrowly escaped and landed beside the Blood Pool.

The Misty Rain Traceless Step seemed to have undergone significant enlightenment and breakthrough.

As soon as he landed, Qin Niu immediately distanced himself from the Blood Pool.

There was no water around, only a slightly chilly air. However, there was no light in this space, all darkness, leaving him clueless about what might be lurking in the shadows.

Nor did he know what kind of environment he was in.

He only knew that the place where he had almost fallen was a Blood Pool.

“Could the Green Demon’s treasure be inside this space?”

Qin Niu had only brought an Ink Blade with him when he came down, and he hadn’t brought anything else.

If he had known, he would have brought down a flare.

Just as he was about to explore the space, an extremely cold energy approached him.

Without thinking, he instinctively swung his blade to slash.

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