Chapter 37: Evolution of the Poison Ants

"Senior Bai, I have arrived," Tong Jin said.

"Come in, little one," Bai Xuan’s deep voice echoed from within the room.

Stepping inside, Tong Jin found Bai Xuan sitting cross-legged on a straw mat, engrossed in a thick, ancient tome. Bai Xuan looked up briefly at Tong Jin before returning his gaze to the pages, asking with an air of indifference, "Heh, little one, have you decided what you wish to learn?"

Tong Jin walked slowly to the mat opposite Bai Xuan and sat down respectfully. "Senior, I wish to learn the evolution techniques for the Corpse-Sinking Poison Ants."

Bai Xuan raised his head from the book, fixing a serious gaze on Tong Jin. "I see. It is not that I cannot teach you the evolution of the Corpse-Sinking Poison Ant, but you must be aware that this is a forbidden insect."

Recalling what the Ghost Doctor had once told him about the massive purge of these insects, Tong Jin nodded. "I am aware. It is because the Corpse-Sinking Poison Ants are too dangerous that they were hunted to near extinction."

"Since you know this, you must also realize that raising them will mark you as an outsider and draw hostility from many sects. Do you still insist on learning?"

Tong Jin nodded without hesitation. "I have heard the saying: 'Everything has a life—every blade of grass, every tree, every flower, every bird, every fish, and every insect. Only by transcending slaughter can one reach the supreme realm.' I believe I know how to handle this."

"Oh?" Bai Xuan’s expression shifted to one of surprise. "Where did you hear such a saying, little one?"

Tong Jin mused that the person he met yesterday was clearly not Bai Xuan, but the old man fishing by the water. Remaining composed, he replied, "An elderly senior I happened to encounter told me this." It was seven parts true and three parts false, and although Bai Xuan frowned slightly, he could find no flaw in the explanation.

Bai Xuan nodded thoughtfully. "That is your good fortune, little one. The senior you encountered must be a master at the Soul Transformation stage."

"What?" Tong Jin’s jaw dropped, and he struggled to close it for a long time.

Bai Xuan chuckled. "What, you didn't manage to offend him, did you?"

Tong Jin felt a chill down his spine. He thought, *I was busy trying to flatter him; how could I have offended him?* Then, he suddenly remembered throwing stones at the water birds yesterday, only for the stones to bounce back into the water for no reason. His face paled, and a cold shiver ran down his back. "I... I hope not," he said, feeling guilty.

Watching the changing expressions on Tong Jin's face, Bai Xuan laughed helplessly. "Don't worry, little one. Even if you had offended a master of the Soul Transformation stage, they would not lower themselves to your level. Only those who have reached that realm, free from all desires, could speak of transcending slaughter to reach the supreme realm."

Tong Jin let out a sigh of relief, thinking that made sense; otherwise, the fishing old man wouldn't have given him a secret manual for no reason. He grinned sheepishly at Bai Xuan and scratched his head in embarrassment.

Bai Xuan turned serious again. "In the past, I once raised three thousand of these Corpse-Sinking Poison Ants at once."

Ignoring Tong Jin’s shock, he continued, "Two thousand were larvae, and one thousand were adults. Among those thousand adults, only fifty managed to evolve. And of those fifty, only ten gained the opportunity for a second evolution. But during that second evolution, something happened..."

Bai Xuan paused, his expression somber as if his mind had drifted back to the distant past. "Those ten ants undergoing their second evolution went mad overnight, devouring all two thousand nine hundred others, leaving not a single one behind. Then, the ten began to devour each other. Fortunately, I discovered it in time, and in the end, only seven survived the second evolution."

He recounted the story with such tragic intensity that Tong Jin’s heart hammered against his ribs.

"What happened to those seven?" Tong Jin asked urgently.

Bai Xuan narrowed his eyes. "Below the peak of the Qi Condensation stage, no one could stand against them!"

Tong Jin gasped. The implications were immense! It meant that the owner of these ants wouldn't even need to lift a finger against an enemy at the Great Perfection of the Qi Condensation stage—a single command would secure victory. Even against an opponent at the peak of the Qi Condensation stage, they would have the power to fight, or at the very least, ensure their own safety.

"Are those seven evolved ants still with you, Senior?" Tong Jin asked curiously.

Bai Xuan shook his head with a sigh. "There are many in this world who know how to raise insects, but I was the only one who could evolve them twice. Those seven became my trademark, and when the campaign to purge 'heretical insects' began, I was the first to be targeted." He sighed again. "I ended the lives of those seven insects with my own hands and swore never to breed insects again."

Tong Jin bit his lip in regret. He reached into his robe, produced two stone boxes, and set them before him, slowly lifting the lids.

*Buzz, buzz, buzz...* The adult poison ant vibrated its wings, crawled along Tong Jin’s sleeve onto his shoulder, and fixed its gaze directly on Bai Xuan. The dozen or so younger ants took flight, circling the wooden room with loud, resonant humming.

"Eh?" Bai Xuan suddenly let out a cry of surprise. "Little one, the one on your shoulder has already evolved once."

Tong Jin picked up the ant and examined it closely, but he could find nothing unusual. "Senior, how can you tell? I didn't even know when it evolved."

Bai Xuan did not reach out. He knew the nature of these insects too well; although his protective aura was more than enough to defend against them, he kept his distance. "Look closely. Is there not a layer of dark red luster on its body that wasn't there when it first became an adult?"

Tong Jin pondered for a moment. "Now that you mention it, there is indeed a dark red luster. But I don't know why it changed." He frowned, struggling to recall, until finally, he said, "I remember now. Some time ago, I released all the ants when I ran into some trouble, and I was unconscious for a few days afterward due to my injuries. When I woke up, it already had this dark red color."

"That explains it," Bai Xuan said. "During the time you were unconscious, it must have devoured some rare medicinal herbs. These little creatures are very sensitive to such things." He looked up at the ants circling in the air, his eyes filled with a tenderness usually reserved for his own children.

"Medicinal herbs?" Tong Jin muttered. In an instant, he realized what "medicinal herb" the ant had consumed while he was unconscious. *That little guy must have taken advantage of when I was injured to drink my blood,* Tong Jin thought, caught between laughter and tears.