vstars Chapter 1 Born as an Ant
Chapter 1 Born as an Ant
New swallows grow on spring mud, and a light rain falls like butter.
It was nearly noon when the sun finally peeked out from behind the clouds.
In the bamboo grove in front of the Ziyun Peak pavilion, an ant crawled out of its anthill, its antennae twitching as it looked around, its gaze finally settling on the spider web between two purple bamboo stalks.
A human-faced spiny-bellied spider lay quietly at the edge of the web, its abdomen bearing three pairs of short black spines, and several pairs of eyes gleaming coldly.
After observing for a moment, the ant turned around and briefly interacted with its companions who were peeking out of the hole.
Soon, a group of ants emerged from the anthill one after another, following their companions who had scouted ahead, inch by inch across the damp soil of the bamboo forest.
Until they came to a bamboo leaf covered with dew, there was a beetle that had been soaked and swollen by the rain.
The lead ant circled the beetle's corpse a few times, probed it with its antennae, and then began to call to its companions.
The ant swarmed forward, densely covering the beetle's corpse. In no time, the beetle's body was dismembered, carried by individual ants, and marched in a mighty procession towards the anthill.
Suddenly, several ants paused, and the beetle remains they were carrying rolled to the ground.
The lead ant looked over and saw several of its companions struggling in the glistening spider silk. The spiny-bellied spider had already climbed up the silk and inserted its venomous pincers into their bodies. A moment later, the ants fell silent.
The spiny-bellied spider spun silk, wrapped several ants layer by layer, and then dragged them back to its large web with satisfaction.
The death of their companion caused only a brief commotion; the ants quickly returned to their orderly ranks.
These days, the spiny-bellied spider has preyed on many of its companions. The lead ant is powerless to resist, and it vaguely senses that one day it might become the spider's meal.
By evening, the beetle's corpse had disappeared, and the ant army gradually returned to their nest.
The lead ant did not return, but instead gazed at the green-brick and gray-tiled side rooms by the bamboo grove.
"Squeak."
The vermilion door of the side room opened and closed, and two beautiful figures strode out.
"Senior Sister Mu, Senior Brother has gone too far! Instead of focusing on his cultivation, he sneaked down the mountain to enjoy himself at the town's gambling den and hasn't returned. Now that Master knows, let's see how he gets out of this mess!"
"Junior Sister, say less. According to the rules of Changtian Sect, if Senior Brother is punished, we junior brothers and sisters will also suffer. On the way, think of a way to exonerate Senior Brother."
The two women were dressed in green robes and embroidered shoes, carrying long swords in their hands; they were clearly cultivators from the mountains.
After the two had gone some distance, the leader of the worker ants crawled out of the bamboo forest, stepped on the blue bricks to the front of the vermilion gate, climbed over the threshold, and squeezed into the side room through the gap.
The aroma is wonderful.
The ant crossed the blue brick floor, came to the table by the window, and climbed up the table leg.
A stack of books was neatly arranged on the table by the window, and in the center of the table was a slightly damp classic book, which the junior sister, who had just started her studies, had turned to the last page.
The ant came to the open page of the book and slowly crawled along the words that were much larger than itself.
First: When anger arises, do not be greedy.
Greed is like a chasm, and the insatiable thirst for desire will ultimately turn one into a useless person.
Secondly: When the Qi is flowing, do not hold onto it.
If one holds on to something, one's mind will be stuck in the orifices, and one's energy will be trapped in the gates, preventing any progress.
Thirdly: When the vital energy returns, do not linger.
If one retains it, the energy of heaven and earth will contend with one's own, causing the dantian to boil and the five internal organs to feel like knives.
The one who draws in qi does not imprison qi, but rather uses qi to move.
Like a boat traveling on water, the water is not the boat, and the boat is not the water, yet without water, the boat cannot move.
The ant that crawled to the last line of text couldn't help but sigh.
"After three months, I finally finished reading the Qi-guiding technique, the introductory cultivation method, from beginning to end."
Yes, this ant can read.
The reason for this goes back to six months ago.
At that time, Zhou Li was a senior high school student. He had no expectations or aspirations for the college entrance examination.
From a young age, he searched everywhere for Taoist classics, hoping to glean a glimpse of the Tao, cultivate himself to become an immortal, and live forever.
One day, Zhou Li learned online that an ancient Taoist book was hidden in a secondhand bookstore. He immediately rode his bicycle there, but he was so excited on the way that he collided head-on with a dump truck and lost consciousness in excruciating pain.
When you open your eyes again, you find yourself in an anthill, a worker ant whose lifespan is at most a few years.
Perhaps one day it will be stepped on and killed, or captured by a slightly larger spider and become a meal, and it won't live for more than a few years.
Unexpectedly, while carrying food one day, he overheard people talking and learned that this was the Ziyun Peak of the Changtian Sect, a sect for cultivating immortality.
Zhou Li couldn't help but feel a glimmer of hope.
If humans can cultivate immortality, why can't ants do the same?
So he waited day and night for the right opportunity, never expecting that a golden opportunity would come his way.
Six months ago, when the Changtian Sect was recruiting new members, the junior sister was assigned to a room in the bamboo forest.
Newcomers naturally need to start with the basics. After receiving this book, "The Qi-Inducing Technique," the junior sister read it every night.
Zhou Li would sneak into the room every day while his junior sister was resting, climb onto the table, and read a few lines.
Half a year has passed in installments, and it wasn't until today that I finally finished reading this book on the essentials of spiritual practice.
If it weren't for this junior sister's dullness and dislike of reading, and her tendency to fall asleep after reading for a while, which meant Zhou Li could only read a few pages each time, he wouldn't have wasted half a year.
Having mastered the method of Qi Refining, the first stage of cultivation, Zhou Li returned to the bamboo forest via the same route.
After glancing at the spiderweb on the purple bamboo, Zhou Li mustered his courage and carefully went around it, climbing up a straight purple bamboo stalk to the top.
The spiny-bellied spider had already crawled along the web, eagerly waiting, but seeing that the ant hadn't gotten stuck, it had no choice but to retreat dejectedly.
The opening of the Qi-guiding technique states that the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is divided into two categories: the pure energy of heaven and the impure energy of earth.
To draw qi into the body, one must choose a high place, three feet above the ground, where impure qi cannot invade.
When you find stillness, all sounds cease, and your mind becomes focused.
Zhou Li's six legs gripped the bamboo tip tightly, his two antennae slowly drooping down, his mind focused on his chest and abdomen, his ventral opening and closing.
After a short while, a cool sensation seeped in from the tip of the antennae.
Extremely faint, extremely light, almost imperceptible.
One breath, two breaths, three breaths...
I don't know how much time passed, but my abdomen felt slightly warm, like a small ember in winter—weak, but definitely there.
"The initial sensation of Qi appears."
Zhou Li remembered the image described in the "Qi-Guiding Techniques," but he didn't expect it to be so easy. Perhaps it's because insect bodies are more susceptible to spiritual energy than human bodies.
At that moment, he was completely focused on his breathing.
With the crowing of a rooster, dawn breaks in the east.
Zhou Li shook off the slight dew from the hairs on his six legs, still feeling unsatisfied, and returned to the ground, bypassing the spider web. He glanced up at the spiny-bellied spider that was crawling back along the silk looking for another opportunity, breathed a sigh of relief, and hurriedly burrowed into the anthill.
It was already afternoon when we emerged from the anthill. The sun was shining brightly, and a few more bamboo shoots had sprouted in the small purple bamboo grove.
Zhou Li and the other worker ants continued to search for food nearby, working together to bring it back to the nest. On the way, several of their companions got caught in spider webs and were taken in by the spiny-bellied spider.
When the moon was high in the sky, Zhou Li came out alone, continued to avoid the spider webs and climb up the bamboo tip, breathing the same way he had the night before.
Aside from rainy and windy weather, Zhou Li's daily routine continued without interruption, while the spiny-bellied spider continued to prey on the ant colony, putting the colony in a precarious situation.
By the time the bamboo forest grew dense and overgrown with weeds, it was already midsummer.