Born as an ant, I was summoned to ascend to immortality.

Chapter 2 Senior Brother

The weather was hot and humid in the evening. The junior sister and her two senior sisters rolled up their sleeves and trouser legs and worked weeding in the bamboo forest with sickles.

Zhou Li then lay on a purple bamboo stalk, watching the fairies busy themselves and listening to their casual conversation.

Since transforming into an ant, unable to speak, Zhou Li has come to enjoy listening to people talk.

Through eavesdropping, I learned that the junior sister's name is Gu Siwei, and the rest are the second senior sister Mu Zhiwan and the third senior sister Qingqing.

As night fell, the weeds in the bamboo grove were cleared away, and the group left together, their laughter echoing through the air.

The bamboo forest fell silent again. Zhou Li glanced at the increasingly large spider web above his head, and nervously climbed to the top of a bamboo tree to continue his breathing exercises.

The spiny-bellied spider continued to crawl over, looking for an opportunity, but each time its hopes were dashed.

As time went by, the weather gradually turned colder, and by the time the first snow fell, the purple bamboo leaves had turned yellow.

A cool breeze rustled through the bamboo shoots, and the spiny spider was nowhere to be seen. Its web was tattered, which spared Zhou Li a great deal of danger as he breathed and exhaled.

At dawn, the door to the side room was opened. Gu Siwei took off her jade hairpin and drew in the snow for a while before going inside. When she came out again, she was wearing a rose-colored cloud-shaped shawl and began to clear the snow.

Zhou Li watched from the bamboo shoots as Gu Siwei cleared the snow from the yard and left, then returned to his anthill satisfied.

Time flies, swallows return north in spring, and four years have passed in the blink of an eye.

Gu Siwei's childishness had faded, and she had grown into a beautiful young woman with bright eyes and white teeth.

That night, Zhou Li crawled out of the anthill and looked up to see a spiny-bellied spider, much larger than before, repairing its web above the bamboo forest.

Skillfully avoiding the spider webs, Zhou Li climbed to the top of a bamboo tree, took a few deep breaths, held his breath, and focused his mind on himself.

The spiritual energy within the ant's abdomen flows ceaselessly, and even though it is as small as a grain of dust, it is incredibly real.

According to the "Qi-Inducing Techniques", this means that the Qi cultivation has been completed.

Zhou Li was overjoyed.

Over the past four years, I have diligently cultivated for more than 1,400 days and nights, and finally reaped the rewards, thus stepping into the first threshold of cultivation.

While overjoyed, Zhou Li was also inevitably saddened.

Ants live for only a few years, and more than four years have already passed. Their remaining lifespan is at most three to five years, and at least a few months.

To cultivate immortality and prolong life, one must at least reach the Foundation Establishment stage, undergoing the transformation of tendons and marrow, and a complete metamorphosis before one can increase their lifespan.

However, Gu Siwei has not yet mastered the Foundation Establishment method. She is still practicing Qi Refining and has not yet come into contact with Foundation Establishment. What should she do?

When I was feeling distressed, I suddenly felt a blockage under my feet.

Zhou Li looked down and saw that one of his feet was stuck to a glistening spider silk.

He cursed inwardly, and then the spider silk began to tremble violently.

He looked up and followed the spider silk; the spiny-bellied spider was rushing towards him, baring its fangs and claws.

In the blink of an eye, it was right in front of them, and the spiny-bellied spider extended its fangs in an attempt to release venom.

Despite his panic, Zhou Li remained calm and determined to test the results of his four years of cultivation. He opened his strong and powerful upper jaw and bit down on the spiny-bellied spider's fangs.

The spiny-bellied spider's fangs snapped instantly, and in excruciating pain, it turned and fled hastily, only daring to look back when it reached the center of the web.

Having escaped death, Zhou Li desperately waved his leg, which was stuck in the spider silk, causing the silk to shake violently.

"Snapped!"

With a soft snap, the spider silk was torn.

Since he began practicing Qi cultivation, Zhou Li has found that his biting strength has improved day by day, his crawling speed has become faster, and his shell is as hard as a rock.

The spiny-bellied spider, which was still somewhat unwilling, stared at Zhou Li with a gloomy expression, but dared not go forward again.

"That was close."

Zhou Li followed the bamboo stalk back to the ground. Just as he reached the entrance of the anthill, he heard pleasant conversations coming from nearby.

"The eldest brother is idle and neglects his cultivation all day long. He deserves to be banished here by the master."

"You talk too much. Our eldest brother has always treated us well. Let's wait a few days until Master's anger subsides, then we'll go and plead for mercy."

Zhou Li looked in the direction of the sound and saw two senior sisters carrying bedding as they walked gracefully towards him.

"It's Second Senior Sister and Third Senior Sister..."

These days, not many of Gu Siwei's sisters have come to visit, but Mu Zhiwan and Qingqing do come to see her often.

The two senior sisters arrived at the destination and pushed open the door to Gu Siwei's room.

"Junior Sister, let's help Senior Brother clean and tidy up his room. He's moving in first thing tomorrow morning."

Gu Siwei responded and walked with her two senior sisters into an old door on the other side of the room.

Zhou Li hurriedly kicked his six legs wildly and arrived at the door of the side room. He saw several people sweeping and cleaning up the accumulated dust.

Zhou Li leaned over the door, pondering to himself. To become the senior brother of Ziyun Peak, his cultivation must be much higher than that of his junior sister. He must know the Foundation Establishment method. He would wait until his senior brother moved in tomorrow to take a look.

The next morning, Zhou Li crawled out of the ant hole early and climbed up a purple bamboo stalk.

Having learned its lesson from its previous misfortune, the spiny-bellied spider stayed put this time and did not come back to look for another opportunity.

Climbing to the top of the bamboo, Zhou Li looked out into the distance.

Soon, several men in blue robes carried over a few boxes. One of them, dressed in fine clothes, was handsome and stood out among the disciples.

Zhou Li thought to himself, "This must be my senior brother."

The men in blue robes carried the box into the room that had been cleaned the night before. After a long while, the senior brother saw them out and bowed to them.

"Thank you for your help, fellow disciples. Otherwise, I don't know how long it would have taken me to sort these things out by myself."

After exchanging pleasantries, the junior disciples turned and left, and the courtyard returned to its tranquility.

The eldest brother circled the small purple bamboo grove in the courtyard, then walked around the courtyard again. His face showed no sign of dejection; on the contrary, he appeared leisurely and content.

Lu Changye was exceptionally talented from a young age. Since joining the sect, his cultivation progressed by leaps and bounds, leaving many of his senior brothers and sisters behind. By the age of thirty, he had already achieved the Foundation Establishment stage.

However, he was not interested in cultivating immortality; he only liked to study strange and unusual things. For example, a few years ago, he sneaked down the mountain to the gambling den not to gamble, but to verify whether his years of research into divination had been successful.

Now that my master has sent me to a secluded corner of the sect, I have more time to pursue my interests without being disturbed, which has fulfilled my wish.

"Senior Brother, you're here!" Gu Siwei emerged from the side room and greeted him warmly.

"If there are any things you don't understand in your cultivation in the future, please ask your senior brother for guidance."

Lu Changye nodded reluctantly, walked around the courtyard a few times, and then returned to the house.

Before long, he moved a bamboo chair to the vicinity of the purple bamboo grove, and then moved many books to the side. After sitting down, he picked up a book and began to read.

Little did they know that an ant was observing them.

"The eldest brother doesn't seem to like talking to people."

Zhou Li observed for a while, looking at the stack of books on the ground.

"Perhaps there's some foundation-building method here. Let's go take a look."

After climbing down the bamboo pole and out of the purple bamboo forest, Zhou Li followed the blue bricks to Lu Changye's side and looked up at the book in Lu Changye's hand.

"The Wang Yang Suan Jing... what the eldest brother was reading was not a cultivation classic, but a book of divination techniques."

Zhou Li circled the stack of books again. Since there were no titles on the spines, he simply followed the blue bricks into Lu Changye's room.

"There must be some cultivation manuals here."