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

Chapter 476: Chapter 468: The Cunning Monster_1

At this moment, Xu Zhenchang cut a somewhat diminished figure of a hero.

Even heroes find it hard to overcome the allure of a beautiful woman.

This year, due to the persistent insect disaster, Xu Zhenchang’s farming suffered heavy losses, and he bore immense financial and mental stress. Affected by the insect disaster, the amount of labor required to farm an acre of land could potentially triple.

For instance, after sowing the seeds, there were costs for the seeds themselves, tilling the soil, not to mention watering, applying base fertilizer, digging holes, and weeding—all of which could not be skipped.

In the end, just as the seeds began to sprout, they were voraciously consumed by the insects.

To give up at that point would leave one grudgingly dissatisfied.

People always hold on to a stroke of luck, so he sowed a second batch of seeds.

This time, to prevent the insects from eating them, he took extra precautions. He guarded them day and night.

Under normal circumstances, it would take three to five days for seedlings to emerge after sowing, and then about ten days later, the first round of fertilizer would be applied. By then, weeds would also have started to grow and needed to be removed quickly, because once the crop seedlings grew taller, weeds would barely grow in the field anymore.

All that was needed then was to manage the fertilization and water, and to prevent insect damage.

But because the first sowing’s seedlings were completely eaten by insects, there was a need to replant a second batch. This led to weeds growing wildly before the new seedlings had a chance to become established.

In such cases, much more time would be spent on weeding.

This increased the amount of labor quite unexpectedly.

Having toiled for a long time in the second half of the year, Xu Zhenchang’s efforts ended up fruitless, which obviously left him physically and mentally exhausted.

It’s said that poverty brings a thousand woes to a marriage.

After exhausting himself outside, he would inevitably quarrel with his wife at home over the family income. It was during such times that Zhao took the opportunity to seduce Xu Zhenchang, who was eight or nine years her senior.

Even if Xu Zhenchang was the reincarnation of Jin Chanzi, he would have fallen into the trap.

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Eventually, he started an affair with Zhao.

With men, the thrill of cheating is known to become addictive.

One time leads to another.

In the end, Xu Zhenchang met with a tragedy. He unwittingly ended up generously “giving” the little money he had at home to Zhao.

Put plainly, it was no different from visiting a brothel.

The money spent was naturally impossible to reclaim.

“How much did you spend on Zhao in total?”

Qin Niu asked.

“Almost seventeen or eighteen taels, and I secretly borrowed nine taels of Silver Money without daring to tell my wife.”

Xu Zhenchang revealed a shocking number.

“You borrowed so much? How could you still borrow money to be with her? Your wife isn’t ugly either! With such a huge hole, I doubt you could fill it even if you farmed for another year.”

Qin Niu was taken aback.

He had thought that at most, Xu Zhenchang would have spent seven or eight taels, but he had gone mad with Zhao, borrowing such a significant amount of Silver Money for her.

“Ah, I don’t know why I was so silly; every time Zhao dragged me into a haystack or the sorghum field, and after it was over, the moment she opened her mouth, even if I had no Silver Money, I would find a way to gather some for her. Sometimes I even think about castrating myself. Whenever I see Zhao, it’s like I’m bewitched. Every time after I give her the money, I swear I won’t get entangled with her again. But a few days later, as soon as I see her again, I lose control.”

As Xu Zhenchang spoke about this, he appeared profoundly distressed and full of self-blame.

“I think you really should castrate yourself!” Qin Niu quite agreed, with a touch of disappointment. “Zhao alone has extracted so much Silver Money from you, and yet her house is still those few dilapidated earthen houses, and her clothes aren’t nice either. Where on earth does she spend all that money?”

Those involved are blind, while the bystanders see it clear.

Qin Niu sensed something was amiss.

If Zhao was simply unfaithful for the sake of extorting a bit of money from men, then that should be sufficient.

Frankly, Xu Zhenchang’s high expenditures were more than what one would spend in the city’s brothels.

“I don’t know. She only told me her mother was seriously ill and needed a lot of money for treatment.”

“Alright, I’ll look into this matter when I have the chance. With so much debt, what do you plan to do in the future?”

Qin Niu decided to help Xu Zhenchang with his urgent trouble first.

Save the urgent but not the impoverished, that is the principle of helping others.

“I, I plan to wait until the price of the fields improves before selling a mu or two of good land to pay off my debts,” Xu Zhenchang said as his heart bled at the thought of selling his land.

He had struggled for most of his life to purchase more than ten mu of farmland.

Now, because of a mistake, he had to sell two mu to repay his debts, which was undoubtedly heartbreaking.

“Hmm, then that’s settled! That’s the only way to solve i. Take care of yourself, and don’t have any secret dealings with the Zhao family anymore. When you feel confused, think more about your wife and children. If you continue to fall, you might end up with a broken home and lost lives. You can go to the black market in the city when you have time. Many slaves are there because their fathers committed foolish acts and were forced to sell their sons, daughters, and wives.”

Qin Niu patted Xu Zhenchang on the shoulder and went straight back to his own home.

Nobody noticed that when he patted Xu Zhenchang’s shoulder, a black, hair-like worm quietly landed on Xu Zhenchang’s shoulder. Then it bowed its body and directly landed on Xu Zhenchang’s head, merging into his hair.

From Qin Niu’s understanding of human nature, the likelihood that Xu Zhenchang would make another foolish mistake was high.

What kind of methods did that member of the Zhao family have to make men willingly comply with her manipulation?

Qin Niu decided to investigate this matter discreetly.

After he returned home, he did not attend to the matter anymore.

With the Green Silk Worm keeping an eye on Xu Zhenchang’s every move, he would immediately know if anything unusual was detected.

The Water and Land Dharma Assembly was drawing nearer, and he had to hurry and strengthen his abilities.

At present, there were two pieces of good news.

One was that his Green Demon Bee hatchlings had successfully matured, finally forming a real Green Demon Bee swarm.

The All-Heaven Myriad Insects Formation was also being trained continuously every day.

In a few more days, it would definitely be ready for real combat.

By then, the power of the All-Heaven Myriad Insects Formation laid out by the Green Demon Bees was unimaginable.

The second piece of good news was that after drinking the Nourishing Spirit Tea for several days, his spiritual power had grown rapidly. He estimated that once he finished drinking the entire pack of Nourishing Spirit Tea, he should be able to try forming a soul contract with the Mirage Insect.

The Mirage Insect was in the process of refining its second avatar.

Qin Niu was quite concerned that after it succeeded, it might turn on him and consume its master.

He did not like the feeling of constant worry and preferred to hold the initiative.

Days passed by, and he finally finished his pack of Nourishing Spirit Tea. His cultivation in the Medicine King Sutra had also, at this critical juncture, broken through to the mid-stage of the Innate Realm.

This came as a delightful surprise to Qin Niu.

The breakthrough in the Medicine King Sutra’s cultivation in such a short period was somewhat related to the fact that his Everlasting Spring Technique’s cultivation had already broken through to the mid-stage of the Innate Realm.

Of course, the greatest contributor was the Ancient Banyan Tree.

It provided an almost infinite supply of medicinal qi, which was stronger than any elixir.

After Qin Niu made his breakthrough, he discovered that his spiritual power had also significantly increased. He immediately started considering the Mirage Insect.

However, he was also a person who could keep his composure.

He did not immediately form a soul contract with the Mirage Insect.

Instead, he first stabilized his new realm, and the next morning, he headed into the mountains again.

After entering the maze of the Ancient Banyan Tree, the first thing he did was to release the Mirage Insect.

One could see the Mirage Insect had transformed into a black Light Cocoon, firmly enveloping the Mysterious Gu Master’s Gu worm inside it.

This state had been continuing for many days.

“Mirage Insect, release your divine consciousness, for I am now going to form a soul contract with you,” Qin Niu stated abruptly.

“Ah… What do you mean, master? Haven’t we already formed a private pact?” the Mirage Insect exclaimed in surprise.

“A private pact is ultimately somewhat unsatisfactory. You’ve seen these days, as my pet, I will treat you well. So, forming a soul contract with me won’t have any adverse effects on you.”

Qin Niu detected a hint of reluctance in the Mirage Insect’s words.