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

To tame it as a mount was a bold idea, but likely unattainable.

The Demon Bird circled in the sky above the peak for nearly half an hour before slowly absorbing the flames on its body.

Qin Niu guessed it was time for it to return to its nest to rest.

Perhaps he spent a bit too long staring at the Demon Bird because it seemed to have noticed, unleashing a piercing shriek in the direction where Qin Niu was hiding.

“Liii!”

The shrill sound seemed capable of penetrating metal and splitting stone, causing Qin Niu’s eardrums to ache, his body feeling as if hit by a boulder.

It was extremely painful.

And it wasn’t just the pain, it felt as if his innards were about to be shattered by the sonic attack.

Fortunately, he practiced life-nourishing techniques, and moreover, his cultivation was not low, enabling him to withstand this wave of sonic attack.

Merely a cry from two kilometers away carried such terrifying force, what would it be like to fight it up close?

Elder Mei was so powerful, yet during the battle, she had her arm severed in an instant, and it was only by exhausting all her trump cards that she gained a chance to escape severely wounded.

Having witnessed the horror of the Demon Bird, Qin Niu dared not move an inch as he lay there.

He didn’t dare to look at the Demon Bird any longer.

This creature had an extremely keen sense of awareness; even though he had been very careful while observing it.

He did not keep his gaze fixed on it.

Most of the time, he merely used his peripheral vision to monitor its actions.

And he used the dense foliage of the trees for cover.

Still, it had raised its alertness.

A Demon Bird like this should be on par with a human Immortal Master.

“I wonder if using the Ancient Banyan Tree Maze could trap it?” Qin Niu was nothing if not audacious.

Sometimes, he appeared very cautious, but when the stakes were high enough, or when he was driven into a corner, he was bolder than anyone else.

If the Ancient Banyan Tree Maze could trap it, perhaps he could take advantage of its weakness and subdue it in one fell swoop.

Qin Niu instinctively touched the Contractual Talisman he carried with him.

The two Advanced Contract Talismans, each worth a hundred taels of Silver Money, were reserved for this Demon Bird.

Exactly how to lure it into the Ancient Banyan Tree Maze, and to make a safe and viable plan, still required careful consideration. It definitely wouldn’t be him personally taking on this task, but rather he would use a pet as the sacrificial pawn.

For instance, the honeybees, or perhaps he could tame a few more Steel-winged Wild Bees. Either could work.

If Xiao Qing’s Green Demon Bee had produced enough offspring, sacrificing a few would be well worth it.

To exchange a few Green Demon Bee offspring for a Demon Bird, he was entirely willing.

But the likelihood of success was undoubtedly very low.

First, a swarm of honeybees might not be enough to provoke a Demon Bird; the two were not even on the same level. The difference in strength was so great that the Demon Bird might not even bother with those honeybees.

If provoked, a single breath of fire from it could incinerate the honeybees completely.

Moreover, inside the mountain where the Demon Bird resided, there were tens of thousands of birds. They would likely all obey the Demon Bird’s command.

When the time came, if those birds launched a collective attack, not to mention a swarm of honeybees, even ten would not suffice to plug their gaps.

Second, even if they could successfully attract the Demon Bird’s pursuit, it might sense the danger of the Ancient Banyan Tree Maze and avoid falling into the trap.

Having evolved to the level of a Demon Bird, it was certainly one of those super survival-conscious and exceedingly cautious creatures.

Otherwise, it wouldn’t have lived to this day.

After calling out twice in the direction of Qin Niu, the Demon Bird swooped down to the top of the peak, presumably returning to its nest.

Qin Niu let out a long sigh of relief.

The Demon Bird’s sonic attack just now, each cry felt like a several ton heavy boulder ruthlessly smashing into his body. It was simply too terrifying.

Blood was already trailing from the corners of his mouth.

He had sustained internal injuries from the Demon Bird’s sonic attack.

After a while, there was no more movement from the peak, indicating that the Demon Bird had started to rest.

Only then did he dare to continue his escape down the mountain.

As he fled, he faintly heard the sound of wingbeats.

Out of caution, he immediately found a place to hide and lay motionless.

Less than ten breaths had passed when a giant crow flew to the spot where Qin Niu had been hiding earlier.

This giant crow was vastly different from ordinary crows.

As it neared the area, Qin Niu felt the temperature around him drop by several degrees.

An all-encompassing coldness.

It seemed capable of emitting a chilling aura, which was very similar to the cold energy that the Ancient Banyan Tree exuded at night.

The giant crow’s eyes glowed with a ghostly green light, as if there were two orbs of will-o’-the-wisp flickering within.

It was certain that this giant crow had night vision.

And even though it might not be a demon bird, it already possessed some climatic power and was close to becoming one.

It scanned the area where Qin Niu had been hiding several times over before finally flapping its wings and flying away.

It seemed this peak was home to quite a few formidable birds.

There was probably more than one demon bird.

Considering just how powerful that firebird was, it was only logical for it to have one or two slightly weaker demon birds under its command.

Once the crow had flown away, Qin Niu hurriedly slipped down the mountain.

He was confident that he could have dispatched the giant crow with a single blade.

His main concern was attracting the attention of the firebird at the peak.

After escaping down the mountain, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. He was safe at last.

The gains of the day were substantial, and they established many favorable conditions for his next exploration of the peak.

He wondered if the firebird went to other places behind the peak to cultivate every night.

If it left its nest daily, it would be much easier for Qin Niu to obtain the shed feathers.

The height of this peak was likely only about two thousand meters.

With his cultivation level coupled with the Misty Rain Elusive Step, he could easily make several trips back and forth in a little over six hours.

Climbing mountains was much more difficult than running on flat ground.

Half an hour was enough for him to make one or two round trips up and down the mountain.

The firebird had been away from its nest for over six hours today, which would give Qin Niu ample time to empty its lair.

When he returned home, his wives and Xiao Qing had already been extremely worried.

Qin Niu merely mentioned that he encountered some issues while breeding the insects and didn’t share the details of his dangerous experience.

Men, struggling in the outside world, often do not wish to communicate to their women how perilous the world can be, and how arduous their battles are.

They tend to silently bear all, shouldering the family’s burdens, striving to create as comfortable a living environment as possible for their wives and children.

At dinner, he still felt severe pain in his internal organs.

The injury he suffered was quite serious.

Fortunately, his life-preserving techniques had a certain healing effect, and he also had two bottles of Healing Elixir to use, so there was no need to worry.

After dinner, he went to the study, closed the door, and took out the demon feather.

Under the lamp light, the demon feather radiated a delicate red glow.

Whether this feather was truly a phoenix feather, he wasn’t sure.

Avian species were a niche category among Beast Tamers.

Primarily, some nobles kept eagles for sport, or certain families and official institutions raised birds to send messages.

And then there were some Immortal Masters who pursued elegance by keeping white cranes.

This was because, according to legends, many genuine immortals would raise Immortal Cranes in their cultivation caves.

Qin Niu held the demon feather in his hands, examining it over and over, feeling the energy within, unable to put it down.

He wondered what the market price for this demon feather could be.

The simplest way to identify what kind of feather it was would be to take it to an appraiser at an auction house or set up a stall in the black market to sell it.

However, doing so would expose the fact that he possessed a demon feather.

By itself, that was not an issue.

But he feared that some interested parties might investigate the origin of the demon feather.