Gold-Eating Rat

Half a quarter-hour later, Zhou Yang and Elder Zhou Quan, having received the alarm, arrived together outside the mine tunnel where the incident had occurred.

By then, several dozen miners had gathered outside the tunnel. These people seemed to have been frightened out of their wits, their faces full of terror. Even when they saw Zhou Yang and Zhou Quan, the two immortal cultivators, arrive, they showed little reaction.

Zhou Yang could not help but frown at the sight.

Though they were mortal miners, they were still Zhou Clan Members. They had grown up listening to tales of immortal cultivators and demonic beasts. Every few years, Zhou Clan cultivators would bring various demonic beast carcasses for these mortals to broaden their horizons and bolster their courage. Furthermore, teachers at mortal academies and administrators of villages and towns often taught them about all kinds of low-level demonic beasts in the desert. So how had they been frightened into this state by a mere demonic beast?

What was more, during the past few years he had been stationed at Qingping Mountain, Zhou Yang had received several alarms and come to the mines to eliminate demons. Although the miners had been frightened on those occasions as well, they had never been so terrified as they were today, to the point that every last one of them had forgotten to pay respects even upon his arrival.

At that moment, he swept his gaze around but did not see the mining supervisor who had raised the alarm. His expression immediately turned sharp.

"What happened? What demonic beast attacked the mine? Where is your supervisor?"

Realizing something was wrong, Zhou Yang slightly stirred his mana and released the aura unique to immortal cultivators as he coldly called out for answers.

Pressed down by the mana aura emanating from him, all the mortal miners present felt their bodies sink. Quite a few of them had their legs go weak and collapsed to their knees.

Yet this achieved exactly the effect Zhou Yang wanted. The mortal miners quickly recovered from the fear imposed upon them by the demonic beast and noticed the presence of this "Immortal Master."

"Ah, Immortal Master has arrived!"

"Immortal Master, save us! There's a demonic beast! The demonic beast killed someone!"

"Please save my child, Immortal Master! Please save my child! He's still inside the mine and hasn't come out!"

As though waking from a dream, the miners all dropped to their knees in unison, regardless of whether they had been knocked down by Zhou Yang's aura before. They violently knocked their heads against the ground as they begged him for help.

Had it been the Zhou Yang who had only recently descended the mountain, he might have felt somewhat uncomfortable at the sight of several dozen people kneeling before him. But now, he remained perfectly composed. He did not even tell them to rise, because he knew that for these mortals, speaking to an immortal cultivator while kneeling made them feel more at ease.

Looking at the miners chattering all at once, he slightly stirred some mana and cast the auxiliary first-tier spell, the Bewitching Sound Technique. His voice carried a peculiar bewitching force as he said, "Do not panic. Since I am here, I will certainly eliminate the demonic beast. Now answer me honestly. Where is your supervisor? What does the demonic beast that killed people look like?"

The miners were merely mortals. Even a first-tier spell was beyond their ability to resist.

With the help of the Bewitching Sound Technique, Zhou Yang quickly obtained the information he wanted.

"Reporting to Immortal Master, after the supervisor sent out the plea for help, he was discovered and eaten by the demonic beast. We heard screams from inside and fled out here. None of us saw what the demonic beast looked like. Everyone who saw it died!"

After hearing the miners' account, he could not help turning his gaze toward the Lineage elder beside him, Zhou Quan.

The old man had grown wise with age. A single glance told him what Zhou Yang meant. He immediately smiled faintly and said, "This old man only came to lend a hand. You are the cultivator stationed here, so everything shall follow your judgment."

Zhou Yang understood. The old man's meaning was already obvious. This was part of his training. Unless he could not resolve the matter, the old man would certainly not intervene of his own accord.

"This nephew understands. Then I ask Third Grandfather to escort these miners back. This nephew will head into the mine to eliminate the demon."

He nodded and immediately cupped his hands, stating his decision.

Unexpectedly, when Zhou Quan heard this, the smile on his face abruptly vanished. He glared at Zhou Yang with a displeased expression, blowing his beard and widening his eyes as he shouted, "What, do you think this old man is too old and useless? Do you think I would only hold you back if I went down there with you?"

"Third Grandfather, you misunderstand. That was not this nephew's meaning. This nephew was only worried..."

"Worried my ass! This old man may be advanced in years, but when it comes to fighting techniques, ten brats like you would still be no match for me! Rather than worrying about this old man, you should worry about yourself. If anything happens to you, what face will this old man have to return to the Lineage and see the Old Clan Leader? Do you want to make this old man the sinner of the entire Lineage?"

Though Elder Zhou Quan was already over a hundred years old, his temper had not diminished in the slightest. He appreciated Zhou Yang's good intentions, but he was filled with anger over Zhou Yang's arrangement. He pointed at Zhou Yang and gave him a fierce scolding on the spot.

Zhou Yang was left speechless by the rebuke. He could only smile bitterly and honestly admit his mistake. "Please calm your anger, Third Grandfather. This nephew knows he was wrong. Then I ask Third Grandfather to stand guard for this nephew. Let us go down into the mine together and eliminate the demon."

"Now that's more like it!"

The old man's anger eased somewhat, and he accepted the apology.

Thus, the two of them each took out their favored artifacts from their Storage Bags. They simultaneously cast the second-tier defensive spell Golden Light Body Protection Art, covering themselves with a layer of protective golden light, before entering the mine tunnel one after the other.

The Fine Iron Ore Vein at Qingping Mountain had been mined for several decades. After years of expansion and reinforcement, the mine passages were now wide enough for two people to enter and leave side by side.

Zhou Yang and Zhou Quan proceeded downward along the mine passage. Their two pairs of eyes, shining with golden light after being enhanced by the Heavenly Eye Technique, constantly swept the surroundings. The darkness within the tunnel did not affect their vision in the slightest.

They moved quickly and reached the site of the first murder in no time. At one mining worksite, they found the clothing and bloodstains left behind by the dead miner. Following the blood on the ground and the lingering demonic aura left by the beast, they soon found the demonic beast in another mine tunnel, where it was chewing on a miner's corpse.

It was a rat as large as a wolfhound. Its fur gleamed coldly like steel needles, and the skin beneath its fur faintly reflected a metallic sheen. When Zhou Yang and Zhou Quan discovered it, it was sprawled over the belly of a miner lying on his back, gnawing at the corpse.

"Careful! It's a Tier 2 High-grade Gold-Eating Rat!"

Elder Zhou Quan had another identity: he was the Zhou Clan's only Tier 2 Beast Tamer. Thus, the instant he saw the demonic beast, he recognized its origins and warned Zhou Yang.

As he warned Zhou Yang to be careful, he rapidly explained the beast's strengths and weaknesses. "The Gold-Eating Rat gets its name from its fondness for devouring all kinds of metal. Once mature, it is a Tier 2 High-grade demonic beast. Its main methods of attack are its teeth and claws, which can even bite through Second-tier Artifacts. In a crisis, it can also fire all the fur on its body to wound enemies. Its fur is as powerful as a low-grade second-tier Flying Needle Artifact. In addition, this beast is skilled in earth escape techniques and likes to attack enemies from behind."

"Furthermore, because the Gold-Eating Rat devours various metals, its fur, hide, and bones possess extremely strong defenses. Only Tier 2 High-grade Artifacts can injure it, though burning it with true fire is also remarkably effective. Its eyes are another weakness."

While Elder Zhou Quan was speaking, the Gold-Eating Rat had already been startled by their arrival. It stopped feeding and raised a pair of scarlet beast eyes toward them, its gaze brimming with icy killing intent.

Seeing this, Elder Zhou Quan seemed to have forgotten what he had said above about following Zhou Yang's judgment in all things. He directly ordered Zhou Yang in a tone that brooked no argument, "I heard from the Old Clan Leader that he bestowed that Silver Gang Shield Artifact upon you. Next, control that artifact and protect yourself well. This old man happens to possess a Tier 2 High-grade Artifact, the Mountain Shaker Hammer. Leave this demonic beast to this old man."

Zhou Yang did not try to show off either. At once, he nodded and answered, "This nephew understands. Third Grandfather, you must be careful as well. If things truly do not work out, we can retreat first and gather more people to deal with this beast later!"

After saying that, he activated the Silver Gang Shield Artifact. It expanded several times over and spun around him, ready at any moment to block attacks from any direction.

Seeing Zhou Yang obey so readily, Elder Zhou Quan heaved a great sigh of relief inwardly. He had feared that Zhou Yang would be young and hot-blooded, insisting on proving himself and refusing such an arrangement. That would have given him quite a headache.

Now that he had no worries holding him back, he waved his hand and likewise released a small dark green shield artifact to circle around him for protection. Then he slapped his Storage Bag, withdrew a Golden Gourd Great Hammer Artifact, and hurled it toward the Gold-Eating Rat.

Rumble!

After a deafening boom, the entire mine passage shook violently.

Zhou Yang looked over and saw that the Golden Gourd Great Hammer had smashed a pit more than three meters wide where the Gold-Eating Rat had been. Yet not a trace of blood could be seen.

"Careful! It's coming for you!"

Just as Zhou Yang stared wide-eyed at the deep pit, Elder Zhou Quan's loud shout suddenly rang out beside him.

Before he could react, a black shadow burst from the tunnel wall beside him and violently slammed into the Silver Gang Shield Artifact, which had automatically protected its master upon sensing danger.

The Silver Gang Shield Artifact truly deserved to be called a fine artifact meticulously forged by Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan. Though it could not display its full power without Zhou Yang's command, it still forcibly blocked the charge of the Tier 2 High-grade Gold-Eating Rat.

However, that strike also exhausted all the mana Zhou Yang had infused into the artifact beforehand. After blocking the blow, the artifact fell straight to the ground.

Damn it!

Zhou Yang cursed inwardly. Recovering his senses, he hurriedly used his divine sense to reconnect with the artifact, poured mana into it anew, and made it fly up again to protect him.

At this moment, after its attack failed, the Gold-Eating Rat once more used its earth escape technique with extreme cunning and vanished from Zhou Yang and Zhou Quan's sight, causing Elder Zhou Quan's following hammer blow to miss as well.

Still too young!

Seeing this, Elder Zhou Quan secretly shook his head, but he did not criticize Zhou Yang.

Because when he himself had been Zhou Yang's age, his reaction to a sudden demonic beast attack had been even worse than Zhou Yang's. At the very least, Zhou Yang had not panicked and screamed, and he had promptly taken remedial action.

After Zhou Yang had restored his defenses, he spoke up to remind him, "Little Nine, pay attention. When it emerges again, this old man will use the Finger Points to Steel spell to seal its earth escape technique. When that happens, you must keep your spirits up and prevent it from fighting desperately like a dog driven into a corner!"

"Rest assured, Third Grandfather. This nephew will certainly not make the same mistake again!"

Zhou Yang nodded forcefully, his face flushed with embarrassment as he raised his vigilance to the utmost.

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