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Qin Niu did not leave, but stood guard over a few worker ants as they relocated, to prevent any accidents from happening again.
His insect communication skill proficiency was still very low, and it seemed that he could only communicate with Fourth and the Ant Queen for now.
For some reason, the other five young worker ants seemed to be completely unable to communicate with Qin Niu normally.
How to put it, it was like playing the lute to a cow.
It was possible that their intelligence was relatively low, or maybe they were not yet mature, possessing weak spiritual power.
This was the conclusion Qin Niu ultimately reached.
Perhaps once his insect communication skill as the master improved, he would be able to communicate with them normally.
While he leaned against the huge camphor tree, absorbed in watching the ants move, he suddenly felt his scalp tighten and a chill spread all over his body.
He had experienced this sensation once before.
That morning when he was targeted by an old wolf was exactly like this.
But this time, it was even more intense, enough to make his heart palpitate.
It meant that the predator targeting him was much more powerful than the old wolf.
"Is it a tiger?"
Generally, tigers preferred to hunt for food at dusk. However, when they hadn't had their fill, or when they had young tigers to feed, they would often hunt until dawn.
They might even come out to hunt during the day.
Qin Niu felt both nervous and an uncontrollable excitement.
Eating coarse grains and vegetables was nothing new; he had long wished to catch some meat to improve his life.
The nearly stagnant state of his cultivation had made him somewhat restless.
People are like this, having experienced surges in cultivation, improving three or four points in a day, and now not even able to increase by 0.1 in a day, he naturally felt dissatisfied.
Now, he was still far from even reaching the peak of the ordinary mortal Onefold realm, let alone seeking immortality through cultivation.
In the city, people said that one needed to be at least at the pinnacle of the mortal Tenfold realm to be eligible to step into the true threshold of cultivation.
In such a rural place, the strongest person Qin Niu knew of was the protector of the landlord Yan Ruohai's family.
Any of them could beat a group of grown men until they were searching for their teeth on the ground.
But the protectors of Yan Ruohai's family generally had cultivations ranging from peak of the mortal Onefold realm to the early entry into the Twofold realm.
He still hadn't moved, his back leaning against the camphor tree.
Because he worried that any large movement would scare off the ferocious beast lurking in the shadows.
A rare opportunity to eat meat had come, and he had to seize it.
He hoped that when he used his firewood knife for the Critical Chop, it wouldn't fail him, and if he could execute Critical Chop with his first strike, that would be fantastic.
It would directly maim the beast, preventing it from fleeing and reducing the risk of Qin Niu being counter-killed.
When he had enough money, he could consider buying a thick-backed Horse-Cleaving Saber made of fine steel.
After all, a firewood knife was just forged from ordinary iron and was a common agricultural tool, completely incomparable to true weapons designed for combat.
But even the cheapest weapon made of fine steel would cost at least Two Silver Money and up.
Something he definitely couldn't afford right now.
But with a little time, let alone a weapon forged from fine steel, even one made from Hundred-Tempering Fine Steel would be within his reach.
Now that he had learned the skills of Insect Trace Identification and insect communication, as long as he improved their proficiency, he would be capable of capturing valuable rare insects to sell.
Some insects could be sold for more than Hundred Taels of Silver Money, belonging to the category of priceless goods.
However, if he really captured extremely rare insects, he figured he would try to breed them himself.
After all, selling them would be a one-time deal, unable to generate revenue in the future.
If he bred them himself, they would continuously create income for the master.
His farming skills were also constantly improving, which could equally help him make a lot of money.
The true purpose of farming was never just about planting ordinary crops; with a higher level, one could even grow such things as Zhu fruits or Spiritual Medicines. Consuming them would lead to a surge in cultivation or break through bottlenecks, typically being worth a fortune.
Just growing one plant could make a person rich in the area.
Fourth seemed to also sense its master's danger, as it abruptly dropped the young ant it was carrying, waving its only remaining antenna, with its mandibles slightly open, ready to attack at any moment.
It seemed never to know what fear was.
"Fourth, immediately move the young ants back into the tree hollow, and let the other five young worker ants go in as well, and don't come out!"
Qin Niu sent the command to Fourth using his spiritual power.
This iron-headed guy, though loyal enough, was a bit too self-assertive.
"Don't understand!"
Fourth's response almost made him crumble.
"Return to the tree hollow!"
"Get all the worker ants back to the tree hollow!"
"Stay in the nest and don't come out."
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Qin Niu could only send commands to it three times.
"Received!"
"Master, danger!"
"There is a very terrifying enemy!"
It warned Qin Niu.
"It's okay! I can defeat it!"
Qin Niu tried to use simple language that was easy for it to understand.
Fourth led five Worker Ants back to the nest in the tree hollow; their move was also nearing completion, with maybe two or three more trips before it would be finished.
Once they settled into the tree hollow, they would almost never run out of food for a lifetime.
They would just need to nibble on this large camphor tree for sustenance.
However, the smartest move was to not nibble too voraciously. Otherwise, this large camphor tree might collapse or die.
If that happened, their nest would be destroyed.
When Qin Niu's Insect Trace Identification skill is upgraded, he could then admonish these Worker Ants.
Right now, he could only conduct simple communication; they couldn't understand anything too complicated.
Fourth's lifespan was too short; it was currently equivalent to the entire ant colony's Marshal, which was extremely important to the ant colony.
He needed to figure out a way to extend its lifespan.
So far, it had lived for close to two months. In other words, it had a little over a month left to live.
The time left for Qin Niu was very short.
Mainly because he, as the master, was also very weak. Both his strength and his knowledge in controlling insects were mediocre at best, and his capabilities were quite limited.
"Woo!"
A soul-shaking deep roar sounded, the vegetation rustled loudly, and many of the smaller trees were directly snapped.
From the nearby thicket, a round Black Bear emerged.
Its pair of small eyes emitted a faint green glow in the darkness of the night.
In the mountains, there are three strongest common ferocious beasts: tigers, bears, and wild boars.
As for the degree of danger, tigers were the most fearsome, the undisputed king of all beasts and lord of the mountains.
Any beast or large herbivore that caught its attention would not escape its clutches.
Wild boars and bears were both preys on the tiger's menu.
Upon seeing the Black Bear, Qin Niu's heart sank a little, he leaned his back against the trunk and quickly thought of a strategy to kill it.
Last time he killed that old wolf, his waist was injured by the wolf's claws.
The bear's claws were much more formidable than the wolf's.
One swipe could directly scoop out Qin Niu's heart or intestines.
Its biting strength was equally terrifying.
And its tongue was covered with barbs; a single lick could scrape the flesh off one's face clean, revealing white bone.
The market value of a Wolf Skin was about 1-5 Silver Money.
A superior Wolf Skin could sell for five taels, such as a Snow Wolf Skin or wolf king's skin.
For an inferior one, it might only sell for several dozen wen.
However, a normal Wolf Skin typically had a market price of around two to three Silver Money.
Bear skin was even more valuable than wolf skin.
A single Tiger Skin could fetch a market price of up to a Hundred Taels of Silver Money, as it was not only rare but also a symbol of status.
Wealthy families, eager to save face, were more than willing to spend a Hundred Taels of Silver Money on a tiger skin to lay on their chair.
Sitting upon the skin of the king of all beasts was a sign of extreme nobility.
The market price of bear skins was generally over ten taels, and a good one could sell for up to thirty taels.
This Black Bear was round and plump, with a body length close to two meters.
It was estimated to weigh at least 270 to 280 pounds.
It might even weigh up to 300 pounds.
If he killed it, Qin Niu could have bear meat to eat for a month or two.
Selling such a large bear skin for twenty Silver Money wouldn't be a problem, and for him, it was like a huge fortune.
Of course, if it was too damaged, the value would definitely be greatly diminished.
If Hunters were present, they would probably use bows and arrows against it.
This way, the skin would suffer minimal damage, and the value of the bear skin would be high.
Right now, Qin Niu needed to consider not how intact the bear skin would remain but how to kill it with the smallest possible cost.