With the help of her underground root perception, Qimeng could sense that chaos had broken out inside the nest.
The red beetles were running around like headless flies, throwing the once orderly nest into complete disarray.
“Looks like it's working,” she murmured.
Brushing a fallen leaf off her shoulder, she found a random rock to sit on and leisurely waited for the outcome.
However, things developed a bit beyond her expectations.
Boom!
The ground about ten meters away from the entrance suddenly bulged, dirt spraying everywhere as a red beetle burrowed out from underground.
“Huh?”
Qimeng was slightly taken aback.
The red beetle clearly hadn't expected anyone to be outside either. They stared at each other across the gap, and the air seemed to freeze for a moment.
In the next second, the beetle spun around and bolted.
“Don't even think about running.”
Roots erupted from the soil, wrapping tightly around its body.
But before she could even sigh with relief, the ground not far away bulged once more.
Boom!
A second red beetle burrowed out of the ground.
Before Qimeng could react, a series of muffled thuds echoed, and the ground began to bulge repeatedly like boiling water.
Amidst the flying dirt, more red beetles emerged one after another. The scene looked as if a furious construction crew was hard at work underground.
Qimeng watched, slightly dazed.
“They can actually dig their own exits?”
Only at this moment did she realize she had underestimated these creatures.
Although they couldn't cast spells, their forelimbs were clearly infused with magic power, making their digging efficiency incredibly high.
If this were her past life, they would be the ultimate blue-collar workers that every construction company dreamed of hiring.
And so, an absurd scene unfolded in the forest.
The beetles were in charge of frantically digging holes, while Qimeng was in charge of coldfacedly filling them back up.
Miss Demon Tree and the red beetles engaged in a tug-of-war of wits and stamina around the area.
Ten minutes later, Qimeng stopped, rubbing her temples.
“This is never going to end if it keeps up...”
Continuing this war of attrition would not only waste time and energy, but more troublesomely, these bugs had already begun digging toward the mana crystal vein.
If she left them be, her newly acquired treasure might very well be ruined.
At this thought, she narrowed her eyes and gradually calmed down.
She sank her consciousness back into the earth.
The nest engulfed in thick smoke, the collapsing tunnels everywhere, and the soil structure supporting the entire underground space all entered her perception.
A moment later, the girl flashed a mischievous, successful smile.
“I see.”
“Since you love digging so much...”
“I'll give you a grand gift.”
A massive number of roots moved simultaneously, retracting from the exits they had been blocking, and concentrated entirely around the mana crystal vein.
In the next instant, the underground soil began to shake violently.
Her roots, like countless sharp drills, frantically destroyed the supporting structure of the nest.
The nest, already riddled with holes from the digging, quickly lost its final balance.
Crack...!
A sharp cracking sound rang out.
Immediately after, a continuous series of sharp cracks echoed.
The underground space began to split and collapse.
The red beetles seemed to sense the danger and began to flee frantically, but unfortunately, it was already too late.
Rumble!!!
Accompanied by a deafening roar, the underground nest collapsed entirely.
Soil poured down, burying all the tunnels, and the forest returned to silence.
Leaves drifted down silently.
Qimeng looked at the massive collapsed area before her and nodded in satisfaction.
“Now this makes sense.”
She was a tree, not some brave hero who had to insist on a fair, face-to-face duel.
If she could trap them, why fight them individually? If she could bury them, why confront them head-on?
This was the most efficient law of survival.
Now, it was time to harvest.
Qimeng closed her eyes, letting her consciousness dive deep into the ruins along her roots once more.
After the nest's collapse, most of the red beetles' life signatures had faded away. The buried insect corpses and the faintly glowing red mana crystal vein became the only remaining resources in the underground world.
“Dinner time,” the girl whispered softly.
In the next instant, countless tiny roots burrowed into the ruins, continuously gathering the life force within the beetle corpses and the magic power from the vein, channeling it all back to her main body.
Unlike when she had absorbed the Demon Rabbit, the gains this time were on an entirely different scale.
It was the combined mineral energy accumulated inside more than twenty demon insects, rushing in all at once.
Qimeng felt as if she were soaking in a warm hot spring.
The feeling of comfort continuously spread from deep within her body, making her lean against the tree trunk and let out a satisfied hum.
Her tree form also underwent a visible transformation.
Her once slender trunk became sturdy, and the patterns on her bark grew increasingly ancient and profound.
Her sparse branches and leaves spread out in all directions, and fresh green buds sprouted one after another, the entire tree radiating a vibrant aura of life.
And underground, the expansion of her roots was only just beginning.
Fifty meters.
Sixty meters.
Seventy meters...
Her original area of coverage rapidly extended outward.
New territories were brought under her control. To her, the surrounding forest became increasingly clear and vast.
Only when the energy of the last demon insect was completely drained did the momentum of expansion slowly come to a halt.
Rate on N.U.
