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

It was like sending Fourth to take care of a black smelly ant; wasn’t that just bullying?

The tiger, as the king of the beasts, was a top predator in the jungle.

Its combat strength was incredibly formidable, but the Green Ox belonged to the class of exotic beasts with special abilities, nearly demonic. How could one even fight against that?

It was just that Green Ox’s grade wasn’t particularly high yet, being only Grade Six.

If it could advance to above grade ten, probably even an Immortal Master would have to keep a respectful distance upon encountering it.

“Lazy Ox, let’s go.”

Qin Niu had no intention of slaughtering the tiger to take its skin or to brew tiger bone soup.

Since he planned to turn this mountain domain into his den, it was best to avoid disrupting its ecosystem as much as possible.

Having a tiger residing in this territory was quite nice, after all.

Eventually, once Qin Niu had his den well established, he might even properly cultivate the tiger and make it stronger.

He continued to patrol the mountain forest with Green Ox.

After traveling westward for about twelve or thirteen li, he heard the sound of flowing water in his ears.

In the mountains, water veins are often found in low-lying areas.

Such as canyons, gullies, and other low places.

“The sound of the water is quite loud; let’s have a look.”

Before long, a mountain stream appeared before him.

This was an unpolluted mountain spring, extremely clear. The stream was not deep, only about one and a half meters wide, and you could see shrimp frolicking at the edge.

On closer inspection, he found various animal hoof prints along the edge of the stream.

Presumably, the animals of this mountain domain all came here to drink.

Qin Niu looked upstream and saw a secluded valley that cut deep into the heart of the mountain, seemingly leading to the majestic peaks from which the Demon Bird calls came.

Having been in the mountains for so long, this was the ‘main artery’ into the Qifeng Mountain Range.

Seeing such clear mountain spring water, Green Ox was already excited and had hopped directly into the stream, rolling around happily.

Drinking big gulps of the sweet stream water.

Qin Niu ran upstream, squatted down, scooped up some stream water to wash his face, and drank heartily.

The stream water carried a refreshing chill and was sweet upon entry, with that unique fresh scent of the mountains.

“It’s really not bad.”

As long as there was a water source, planting medicinal herbs and trees, domesticating animals, and sustaining his own life all had the most basic guarantee.

Water is the source of all life.

He followed the stream downhill, while Green Ox, too fond of play, continued to walk in the stream, reluctant to come ashore.

Qin Niu indulgently let it frolic.

Being able to encounter this calf and to have saved it from drowning was also a kind of fate.

Not much further down, he found a very narrow branch in the stream.

Normally, when rivers and streams branch off, they tend to flow in the same direction. However, this small branch flowed off to the side.

And it somehow did not seem like a naturally eroded formation.

Qin Niu couldn’t help but feel curious.

Could it be that someone was living in these mountains, redirecting the stream water?

But upon closer examination of the small branch, it did not seem like it had been dug out by human hands.

He decided to explore further and see where this little branch actually led.

After exploring less than a hundred meters ahead, a pool of water appeared in front of him.

Most pools deep in the mountains are formed by waterfalls pouring down over many years, creating deep pools.

But there was no waterfall here.

The vegetation around the pool was lush; the water overflowing from the pool nourished the land, making the plants especially verdant.

Logically, such a pool in the deep mountains should have attracted many animals to drink from it.

On the contrary, there was very little sign of trampling around the pool.

Only one spot showed vegetation flattened down, forming a pathway about a foot wide.

Qin Niu leaped in front of the path and closely examined it; the ground was smooth, and the path was not straight but winding and twisting.

It closely resembled that small stream.

“It’s a snake trail!”

Qin Niu almost immediately thought of a creature.

How large must the snake be to create such a wide trail?

It had to be a giant python with a body length of over ten meters at least.

Just as he deduced that a giant python might be lurking nearby, a foul wind suddenly arose behind him, and water splashed in all directions.

A large python clad in black scales burst out from the pond, its target clear, aiming to swallow this ‘prey’ that had ventured near the pond in one gulp.

Green Ox heard the commotion here, already leaping swiftly out of the stream and running towards this place.

“Roar~!”

An angry roar echoed through heaven and earth.

How dare a wild beast of the mountains attack its master; it absolutely could not tolerate this.

Qin Niu, realizing the abnormal noise behind him, had already executed the Misty Rain Elusive Step in a flash, turning his body into a blur, and darting aside.

The attack of the giant python missed as well.

With Ink Blade in hand, Qin Niu was ready to slice the giant python, but he quickly changed his mind.

All things possessed spirituality.

This python had built a small stream on its own and then created a pond here, showing it had gained a certain level of intelligence.

Killing it would take but a single blow.

But if spared and nurtured well, it could perhaps become an excellent ‘mountain guardian’ in the future.

Neither the ferocious tiger nor this black giant python were creatures Qin Niu intended to tame.

His pets were already numerous, and both his energy and resources were limited.

He wasn’t about to take every slightly powerful wild beast or snake as a pet.

Like the Ancient Banyan Tree, they could be left to grow freely in this mountain domain.

They could even become friends with Qin Niu, coexisting harmoniously.

That being said, if he encountered an extraordinary beast or bird, he would definitely not hesitate to tame it.

“Evil creature, go back to where you came from.”

He struck the python’s head with the flat of his blade.

Unexpectedly, although the python’s body seemed massive, its movements were extremely agile.

With a mere flicker, it evaded Qin Niu’s strike.

It lunged for another bite at Qin Niu.

“Seeking death.”

Qin Niu still attacked with the flat of his blade, lifting the blade upwards, aiming for its chin.

A snake’s jawbones are highly specialized, allowing them to open to about 130 degrees. This is why snakes can swallow prey several times thicker than their own bodies.

Qin Niu didn’t intend to kill it, only to teach it a lesson, to ensure it wouldn’t dare to misbehave in the future.

Suddenly, the giant python swung its tail and struck Qin Niu’s body fiercely.

This beastly creature was super cunning; while it appeared to attack with its mouth, it was, in fact, a feint. The real attack was a tail whip aimed at Qin Niu.

He was caught off guard by its unexpected attack from behind.

Green Ox was still forty or fifty meters away.

Seeing its master in danger, Green Ox didn’t hesitate to shoot a beam of golden light from its horns.

Swish!

It hit the python’s head instantly.

The python was momentarily stunned as Qin Niu seized the opportunity to slash its chin, leaping up and narrowly avoiding its tail whip.

As Ink Blade’s flat struck its chin, a sound of gold striking iron resounded.

The scales of the python were extremely hard, like steel.

“Hiss hiss~!”

After being hit, the python, in pain, promptly hid back in the pond.

Through the recent exchange, it had already realized that this human was not to be trifled with, and that the human had an ally as well.