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

Chapter 9 Death Battle

Sunrise and sunset, and half a month has passed in the blink of an eye.

Since the death of the spiny-bellied spider, the purple bamboo forest has become a hunting ground for the ants. The worker ants no longer have any scruples about going out to forage, and the nest's food reserves have become increasingly abundant.

Every morning, Zhou Li would climb over the courtyard wall and through the window to enter Lu Changye's residence.

Lu Changye sat in meditation on the bed behind the screen, and had not made a sound for half a month.

On the windowsill table sat a shallow celadon plate, containing several spiritual fruits left behind by Lu Changye before his seclusion.

Each spiritual fruit is only the size of a fingernail, with a skin as red as blood jade and a translucent interior like amber. In the morning light, it shimmers with a purple hue, and wisps of pale purple mist can be faintly seen slowly flowing around it.

The fruit pulp melts in the stomach, nourishing the whole body. A warm current gathers in the dantian along with spiritual energy. Although the effect is not as pure as that of the spirit fish, it is easier to absorb.

Zhou Li did not know the origin of this spiritual fruit, but he felt that with each bite, the energy in his dantian would become stronger.

He heeded Lu Changye's instructions and only took one pill each day.

Even so, the changes are still obvious.

At this moment, Zhou Li was lying on the edge of the celadon plate, gazing at his own reflection in the plate.

The ants in the reflection are far removed from the word "ant".

His body length has increased to three and a half inches, and the dark gold patterns on his chest and back have begun to spread towards his abdomen.

At this rate, by the time Lu Changye emerges from seclusion, he might grow to four or even five inches.

By then, how strong will this body be? Will it be able to withstand ordinary iron swords and blades? Will it be able to fight head-on against the iron wire snake that attacks the anthill at night?

As I pondered, a strange fragrance suddenly wafted in from outside the window.

It wasn't the fresh scent of bamboo leaves; it was a sweet, cloying smell with a hint of fishiness or muttoniness.

Zhou Li's beard suddenly rose, and his spiritual thoughts extended outward.

In a corner not far from the window, he spotted a dark red shadow.

The shadow, which had been slowly and leisurely crawling, suddenly seemed to sense something and accelerated, heading straight for Zhou Li.

Zhou Li, with his six legs firmly gripping the table, stared intently towards the window.

"rustle……"

A slight scraping sound came from afar, like countless tiny feet scraping against the windowpane.

Zhou Li's back armor tightened slightly, and through his spiritual senses, he could see that the thing was already stuck to the window frame.

Then, a dark red segment slowly reached into the window crack.

Then came the second one, the third one...

Finally, a figure as thick as a bamboo chopstick appeared.

Zhou Li's whiskers twitched, and he felt all the hairs on his body stand on end—it was the head of a centipede!

As its hundred legs probed in one by one, a red-headed centipede, several times larger than an ordinary centipede, crawled in.

It was a full five inches long, almost twice the length of Zhou Li.

Its body is covered with fine scales with barbs at the tips, and its head has a pair of huge jaws covered with serrated teeth.

Completely different from the spiny-bellied spider of that day, it exuded a cold and ferocious aura, making it a more primitive and brutal predator.

It stopped on the window panel and saw the sacred fruit in the porcelain plate, as well as the Zhou rituals.

It didn't attack immediately; it was observing, like a hunter sizing up prey that had fallen into a trap.

Zhou Li was also observing it. He scanned the centipede's entire body with his spiritual sense and discovered that there were faint fluctuations of spiritual energy on its body!

Zhou Li felt a chill run down his spine: "This beast is no ordinary insect; it has eaten spiritual creatures."

Yes, no wonder it found this place; it must have come by following the scent of the spiritual fruit.

retreat?

Behind Zhou Li was a shallow celadon plate, on which was the opportunity that Lu Changye had left for him.

If we retreat today, the centipede will surely devour the spiritual fruit.

With its five-inch body and the nourishment of spiritual fruits, it will be even more difficult to deal with. Moreover, there are still quite a few spiritual fruits on this plate. Once this beast has tasted the sweetness, how could it stop?

If it takes over the side room and claims this spiritual source for itself, then my opportunity will be wasted.

Even worse, the ant nest was located under the purple bamboo grove in the courtyard.

Now that this beast has found this place, it will surely use the side rooms as its nest and turn the purple bamboo forest upside down.

By then, all my years of hard work will have been for nothing.

Retreat means falling into an abyss.

Zhou Li suddenly thought of the wire snake outside the courtyard. That wire snake was much larger; if it could drive away tigers and devour wolves...

What a joke! As long as I leave, the spiritual fruit will go into the centipede's belly. What's the point of fighting for this opportunity?

Since there's no way to avoid it, let's just fight it out and see who's the best!

Having made up his mind, Zhou Li's eyes suddenly flashed with a cold light.

The spiritual energy in his dantian surged throughout his body, and the dark gold patterns on his back armor lit up.

Almost simultaneously, the centipede's antennae snapped upright.

The hundred legs rose and fell alternately, meandering forward, gradually approaching the Zhou ritual.

Zhou Li slowly lowered his body, his forelegs slightly bent, a prelude to a pounce.

Just as the two were three feet apart, the centipede suddenly arched its body, its segments compressed to the limit like a spring, and then suddenly sprang out.

Its five-inch body transformed into a dark red afterimage, hurtling towards the table.

So fast!

The centipede was much faster than the spiny-bellied spider, but Zhou Li's compound eyes darted around and keenly caught the fleeting afterimage.

Ultimately, it was because his intelligence had not yet been awakened. This trick might work on other prey, but for Zhou Li, who had also eaten spiritual creatures, there was a huge flaw: he could not turn around when airborne.

Just as the centipede was less than a foot away from Zhou Li, Zhou Li exerted force with his six legs and leaped into the air!

The centipede missed its target, its eyes flashing with anger. Just as it was about to give chase, Zhou Li leaped up and slammed heavily onto the centipede's back, while his six-legged claws firmly gripped the centipede's upper body.

He opened his upper jaw and bit down on the centipede's body, but all he heard was a metallic sound; he failed to break through its armor.

Zhou Li's heart sank: "Such hard scales!"

When attacked, the centipede quickly rolled over, raising its head and opening its jaws wide, ready to bite back.

Seeing this, Zhou Li had a flash of inspiration and used his hook claws to send the centipede's upper body under its own mandibles.

With a powerful bite from its sharp mandibles, the centipede nearly snapped itself in half.

In pain, the centipede loosened its jaws, and Zhou Li quickly offered his upper jaw, biting down with all his might along the already broken wound.

The centipede was in excruciating pain and writhed wildly, but Zhou Li's hooked claws were firmly gripping the centipede, already half an inch deep in its flesh. It was not so easy for it to break free.

However, what Zhou Li didn't know was that this red-headed centipede also had a pair of tiny mandibles growing from the end of its tail!

At this moment, the centipede's tail curled up like a scorpion and fiercely stabbed at Zhou Li's abdomen.

Despite the extreme danger of being attacked from both sides, Zhou Li did not flinch or dodge, and continued to bite.

This was because he sensed that the centipede's mandibles at the tail end were much smaller than those on its head and had no venom glands, so he was certain that it would not be able to outlast him.

However, if you loosen your grip and dodge, giving up your current advantage, it will be much harder to break through the armor later.

The centipede realized the danger.

It frantically shook its head, trying to fling Zhou Li away, while large amounts of venom seeped from its mandibles.

However, Zhou Li's six legs firmly suppressed the centipede's upper body, and no matter how much it struggled, it could not bite Zhou Li, and its venom failed to achieve its purpose.

The centipede began to move all its legs together, twisting and turning wildly. The ant and the centipede became entangled and rolled around, falling from the table to the ground.

Zhou Li kept his upper jaw firmly planted on the centipede's wound, applying force little by little.

As the wound grew larger and more fluid flowed out, the movement of its segments gradually became sluggish.

After a long while, accompanied by a hiss, the centipede's body segments suddenly stiffened, and it finally collapsed to the ground.