Creating a paradise in an ant nest

Liu He left the flower garden and returned to his wooden house in the Spirit Wood Garden.

"This true tiger red hemp plant was planted on the side of the wooden house, between the ant nest and the house."

"This is a 1.5-foot distance from the ant nest, just right."

He couldn't stray too far from the center of the anthill while inside the anthill space; the current limit was one and a half feet. If he left this area, he would immediately teleport back to reality.

The place he chose to plant the true tiger red hemp grass was located in the area between the side of the wooden house and the ant nest, very close to the wooden house, and the surrounding area was open and flat.

Anyone could tell at a glance that these were the magical herbs he had cultivated.

Among the many spiritual plant seedlings, he decided to choose True Tiger Red Hemp Grass on short notice because Spirit Hemp Grass is a type of poisonous spiritual grass.

Lingma grass, also known as "itchy grass," is poisonous not from its roots or stems, but from its leaves covered in tiny bristles. The toxicity of these bristles is unique; contact with them causes intense itching and pain that is difficult to bear.

True tiger red hemp grass is one of the more toxic varieties.

As a spiritual herb, its toxicity is so great that even cultivators find it unbearable and dare not touch it.

Logically speaking, as long as you don't touch the leaves of the true tiger red hemp grass, you won't get prickly hairs on it.

However, the "fierce reputation" of the real tiger Chima made everyone avoid it at all costs, keeping a distance and unwilling to get close.

Liu He wanted to create a miniature spiritual plant world next to this spiritual herb, so naturally he didn't want anyone else to get close.

He dug a shallow pit, planted the True Tiger Red Hemp Grass, and cast the Soil Stabilization Technique and the Earth-based Spiritual Nourishment Technique.

"With the blessing of the Earth Elemental Spirit, it's easy for me to keep this True Tiger Red Hemp alive."

True tiger red hemp is an easy-to-grow and miraculous herb.

"Ant soldiers, dig an underground tunnel from the anthill to this magical herb."

He gave orders from the anthill, and the ants immediately sprang into action.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

It was late at night.

Liu He carried the bag of violet and radish seeds into the ant nest.

In the ant nest where the Red Queen resides, Liu He's exclusive space remains the Spirit Artifact Cave.

He used his lightness technique to leave the cave, found the underground tunnel connecting the ant nest and the True Tiger Red Hemp Grass, and hurried to the location of the True Tiger Red Hemp Grass.

The tunnel entrance is right next to Zhenhu Chima, very close by.

Liu He floated out of the cave like a dragonfly skimming the water, and saw the giant tiger-shaped red hemp seedlings growing tall and strong.

The three-inch-tall, hand-sized seedling appeared as an enormous plant that seemed impossible to see from Liu He's perspective.

"Right here, let's cultivate a spirit plant garden and plant spirit plants!"

He had high hopes.

The reason the spirit plant garden was chosen above ground, rather than in a more secluded underground location, is to allow for exposure to sunlight and moonlight. The essence of yang fire in the sunlight and the essence of the moonlit night are both essential for the growth of spirit plants.

"Let's start with these violets and radishes."

He leveled the ground, sowed the radish seeds in the soil, and used "germination techniques" to encourage the seeds to sprout.

He roughly counted, and there were about three hundred radish seeds.

"I wonder how many seeds will sprout."

"Viola yedoensis prefers moist soil, and this is further enhanced by the earth vein water-drawing technique."

With the blessing of the Earth Elemental Spirit, he performed the Earth Vein Water Drawing Technique.

The earth-based spells are not as effective as the water-based spells on the violet and radish.

"Wait for the seeds to sprout, which should take about five to seven days."

Liu He continued to use the "Sprout Technique" several more times, seemingly enjoying himself immensely.

Suddenly he realized something was wrong.

"Wait... why am I casting a spell here?"

"What if I perform a spell right now?"

In the ant nest, he was a Qi Refining Level 3 cultivator in terms of spiritual plants.

But when he traveled back to reality, he was a Qi Refining Level 3 cultivator magnified countless times in front of the spiritual plants!

"Give it a try!"

He couldn't wait to travel back to reality and appear in the cabin.

He rushed out of the room in two strides and arrived next to the real tiger, Akama.

"As expected, it was impossible to detect."

Despite knowing that there was a "spiritual plant garden" next to the True Tiger Red Hemp, he still couldn't find where the seeds of Viola yedoensis were planted.

He bent down and stared intently, finally managing to spot the "clues" he had just left behind.

"It wasn't easy, I finally saw it. Um, how do I cast a spell?"

"Even the smallest range of my spells is much larger than the area of ​​the Spirit Plant Garden. Fine, I'll just use spells indiscriminately."

From a macro-level, realistic perspective, he couldn't even cast a spell on the Spirit Plant Garden alone.

"Earth-based Spiritual Nourishment Technique!"

The spiritual energy within his body transformed into gentle, primordial spiritual energy, which was transmitted underground to nourish the True Tiger Red Hemp and the Violet and Green Ivy seeds.

"Sure enough, haha! I think I've found a bug."

"No, it's not a bug, it's part of the system!"

He thought to himself, "If I cast the Spirit Nourishment spell once, it will affect all the spirit plants in the entire spirit plant garden. This is such an efficient way to cultivate spirit plants!"

Depending on the level of care taken, spiritual plants are divided into intensive care and minimal care.

Cultivators who master magic can carefully nurture spiritual plants, using spells such as Spirit Nourishment to nourish and aid their growth every day.

However, a cultivator's spiritual energy and time are limited.

Casting spells requires expending spiritual energy, which then takes time to replenish.

Furthermore, even with careful cultivation of spiritual plants, one can only select a few precious spiritual plants for focused cultivation; there isn't enough time and spiritual energy to cultivate a large number of spiritual plants.

Liu He, however, doesn't need to worry about this issue.

As long as the spirit plants are planted in this small spirit plant garden next to the True Tiger Red Hemp, he can nourish all the spirit plants by casting the Spirit Nourishment spell once a day.

"Once the spiritual plant matures, the ant nest can be removed and restored to its normal size."

"Putting the spiritual plants from reality into the anthill is equivalent to expanding resources a billionfold!"

"Left foot stepping on right foot, take off."

By doing this, he can expand the resources he controls countless times.

"Next, I just need to wait for the violets to sprout and grow. Once the first batch of violet radishes matures, I'll have plenty of resources."

"There are other spiritual flowers and herbs, as well as seeds and seedlings of spiritual trees. We need to find a way to get our hands on them."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

A few days later, early morning.

Somewhere in the Spirit Wood Garden, next to a wooden house, Fu Shuai's men gathered.

Liu He arrived a little early.

He learned from Marshal Fu that on the 1st, 11th, and 21st of each month, they would gather to discuss matters, a practice known as the "morning meeting."

Commander Fu will arrange some affairs in the forest area and discuss matters.

If there are special circumstances, we will notify you on the spot; otherwise, it will be these three days every month.

Liu He was participating for the first time as a menial disciple under Commander Fu, so he arrived early.

Like him, Su Miao, a handyman disciple who had also just joined the Spirit Plant Peak Spirit Wood Garden, arrived early.

In this selection process at the Spirit Plant Peak, the four were assigned to the Spirit Wood Garden.

Su Miao possesses the "Sunflower Water Spirit Body," a low-grade spiritual root, and was assigned to Commander Fu's command along with Liu He.

"Good morning, Senior Brother Liu."

Su Miao addressed Liu He in this way.

She has a low-grade spiritual root and has not yet broken through to the third level of Qi Refining.

"Good morning, Junior Sister Su."

Liu He had heard of Su Miao's reputation when he was at the Waishan Forest Farm, and had met her a few times.

However, Su Miao did not recognize Liu He at the time.