The next morning, the sky was slightly bright.
Chu Bai got up early and went to Instructor first to ask for leave from Zhou Changkong. As for Supervisor Chen, he had already reported it during his inspection yesterday. Law Net monitoring is a normal task, and it does not mean that it can't be done without him. It doesn't matter if he skips a few days.
"Go to Abandoned Mining District to clean up the rat infestation?"
Zhou Changkong heard the whereabouts of Chu Bai, and nodded slightly, with no objection on his face, "As your cultivation level improves, you cannot always work behind closed doors. It is a good thing to participate in more actual combat experience. Especially this kind of monster eradication mission can give you a more intuitive understanding of the cruel side of the world of immortality."
He asked casually, "Which team are you joining?"
"It's Elite Squad led by senior sister Wang Qingli in the third grade."
"Wang Qingli?" Zhou Changkong thought for a moment and got the impression, "That girl has solid defense and a stable temperament. It's not easy for things to go wrong if you follow her. But..."
He changed the topic and reminded, "As far as I know, your team is not the only one to take on this rat infestation mission. There will also be several strong third-year teams going there. Although it will be a cooperative eradication, whoever kills more and who gets more Dao Merit will have to rely on their own abilities."
"Students understand." Chu Bai secretly noted in his mind. It seems that in addition to Demon Beast, he also has to pay attention to the competition between the same students.
After bidding farewell to his master, Chu Bai returned to his room and simply packed his luggage. In addition to the necessary dry food and water, he reluctantly went to the Pill Pavilion and spent twenty points Dao Merit to buy two bottles of [Qi-Replenishing Pill].
Looking at the remaining seventy points on the nameplate, Chu Bai felt a twinge of pain.
"I can't bear to let the child trap the wolf. This Qi-Replenishing Pill can save lives at this critical moment."
At 3:00 p. m., Dao Academy is at the gate.
When Chu Bai arrived, Wang Qingli, Zhang Shan and others were already ready to go.
"Everyone is here, let's go."
Wang Qingli acted vigorously and led the team outside, taking out a yellowed sheepskin map and saying as he walked, "This is the topographic map of Abandoned Mining District. The area we need to clear this time is mainly concentrated around D-Character Mine, about ten miles in radius."
She turned her palm over, and there was a palm-sized, antique bronze mirror in her palm.
"This is a low-grade magic weapon [Demon-Seeking Mirror] that I temporarily borrowed from the Mission Hall. When we get close to the mining area, if there is any Demon Qi fluctuation, it will light up as a warning. Our tactics are simple - first explore the periphery, find scattered groups of rats, lure monsters to kill them, weaken their effectiveness, and finally go straight to the lair and kill the rat king."
Everyone nodded, showing understanding.
After registering at the butler's office at the door, the five people stepped out of the Dao Academy door, which symbolized protection and tranquility.
This is also the first time Chu Bai has truly set foot in this bustling Prefectural City since he came to Great Wall Prefecture for so long.
As soon as I stepped out, the noisy worldly atmosphere hit my face.
The wide streets are bustling with traffic, with numerous shops on both sides, and shouts of hawkers coming and going. Although most of them are mortals, you can occasionally see monks wearing various robes walking through them. Mortals have long been accustomed to this, and they will even give way to the road respectfully and salute.
As a prefecture, Great Wall Prefecture has an extremely wide area, covering a radius of three hundred miles, and has a permanent population of millions. Dao Academy is located in the core Inner City area, while the destination of their trip, Abandoned Mining District in the south of the city, is located in the most remote peripheral area.
"That's 'Drunken Immortal Tower'. I heard that the spiritual wine in it is excellent."
"Although the talismans sold in the shop in front are expensive, they are of excellent quality..."
Along the way, Zhao Gang and Zhang Shan occasionally pointed at the shops on the roadside and chatted for a few words. Although Chu Bai was short of money and couldn't afford to buy it, he listened with interest and secretly gained a lot of knowledge.
"If Xindao has the chance, he can take on more missions like this. Of course, the premise is that he can make a lot of money smoothly this time."
Although the journey was far away, as much as a hundred miles away, the five of them were all cultivators and moved extremely fast. They used the light body technique to rush on, but within an hour, the originally prosperous scene was gradually replaced by desolation.
Huge abandoned buildings came into view.
It was a former mining workshop and residential area. Nowadays, the buildings have long been deserted, leaving only broken walls and ruins standing in the wind, like silent giant beasts.
"I wonder what kind of minerals were mined in that mining area?"
Chu Bai Looking at the spectacular ruins, I felt a little curious.
"Hundreds of years ago, this place was the lifeblood of Great Wall Prefecture, and what was produced was--[Spirit Stones]."
Wang Qingli A cold voice came.
"Spirit Stones?" Chu Bai was shocked.
He is very familiar with this thing. Before Great Zhou Dynasty established the Law Net system, Spirit Stones was the most important hard currency in the world of immortality, and it was also the core resource for monks to absorb spiritual energy and break through the realm. It can be said that without Spirit Stones, the ancient cultivator Dao Path would have been unable to move forward.
"Not bad."
Wang Qingli explained, "Great Wall Prefecture relied on this large Spirit Stone Vein to develop and grow.
It was only later that Law Net was established, and Great Zhou's Founding Ancestor used its supreme power to incorporate Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy into the Celestial Court system. The monks only needed Ordination to directly absorb Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy, which was more efficient and safer, and the role of Spirit Stones gradually weakened."
"Of course, even so, Spirit Stones is still precious."
Zhang Shan added on the side, "After all, although Law Net covers a wide range of areas, there are also areas that it cannot take into account.
Moreover... practicing with Spirit Stones is an 'ancient method' and can escape the supervision and restrictions of Law Net. Therefore, the imperial court has extremely strict control over Spirit Stone Vein. After this place was abandoned, it should have been raided by the officials long ago."
"Another function is to worship the gods."
Chu Bai nodded slightly, understanding in his heart.
Law Net is order, shackles, and protection. And Spirit Stones represents freedom, but it is also a hidden danger. No wonder Killing Intent will breed in this place after it is abandoned, and even become a paradise for Demon Beast.
"Okay, the entrance to the mining area is ahead."
Wang Qingli stopped, and the Demon-Seeking Mirror in his hand suddenly glowed with a faint red light.
"Everyone, be careful, Demon-Seeking Mirror has reacted. This means... we have entered the warning range of the rat swarm."
Everyone's expressions instantly became tense. Chu Bai's palms were slightly clasped, and the spiritual power in his body was quietly flowing, ready to deal with emergencies at any time.
Abandoned Mining District, arrived.
The entrance to Abandoned Mining District is full of desolation.
The huge wooden supports have long since become rotten under the erosion of time, lying in piles of rubble, covered with dark red moss. The air is filled with an old musty smell, mixed with the unique earthy smell of the ground and a disturbing light Demon Qi.
The further you go, the darker the light becomes. Only the occasional sunlight that shines through the gaps in the rock formations above your head casts variegated light and shadow on the dusty ground, like peeping eyes.
The five-man team maintained a compact diamond formation.
As the main defensive force, Wang Qingli walked at the front, and the huge Tortoiseshell Shield carried behind him gave people an extremely heavy sense of security.
Zhang Shan and Zhao Gang are divided into the left and right wings, responsible for warning and support. The treatment Lin Xiaoyun is protected in the safest central position, while Chu Bai is responsible for breaking up the rear, and also takes into account the responsibility of coordinating the entire field at any time.
"Demon Qi here... it's a mess."
Wang Qingli stopped, and the red light on Demon-Seeking Mirror in her hand flickered, flickering on and off as if there was a poor contact. She frowned slightly and whispered, "The mirror's reaction is so chaotic, indicating that the Demon Qi here does not come from a single source, but that a large number of monsters are frequently active here, and their movements are irregular."
"It seems that the information is correct, this place has indeed become a rat's nest." Zhao Gang curled his lips, the Willow-Leaf Flying Knife in his hand flipped and jumped flexibly on his fingertips, but his eyes scanned the surrounding shadows vigilantly.
Under the command of Wang Qingli, the team carefully changed directions to avoid dangerous areas that looked shaky.
In the end, everyone's eyes were fixed on a half-collapsed mine entrance.
The Demon Qi here is the richest, and even the red light on Demon-Seeking Mirror is faintly hot. What's more obvious is that there are a lot of fresh turning marks next to the mountains of gravel, and the soil shows a strange dark red color, as if it has been soaked in blood.
"This is it."
Wang Qingli took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "One of the main entrances of D-Character Mine. Brace yourselves, what these beasts are best at is ambush."
Before he finished speaking, a sudden change occurred!
The ground that originally seemed calm suddenly bulged violently without warning.
"Be careful underground!" Zhang Shan shouted, and just about to activate Vine Technique in his hand, it was still half a beat too late.
Phew! Phew! Phew!
Along with the sound of splashing soil, three gray shadows broke out of the ground at the same time. Their speed was astonishingly fast, leaving only an afterimage in the air, carrying a disgusting fishy smell, and attacked different positions of the team.
Those were three weird rats the size of house cats!
Their bodies were covered with earth-gray fur as hard as iron, their claws were as sharp as knives, and their mung bean-sized eyes were flashing with a bloodthirsty red light. The most disgusting thing was that the location where they appeared was extremely tricky - one pounced on the ankle of Zhang Shan, who was responsible for exploring the path, and the other two actually bypassed the front row defense and went straight to Lin Xiaoyun in the center of the team!
These beasts actually know how to cut first and then row!
"Yeah!" Although Lin Xiaoyun is also Qi Refining Second Layer, he is an auxiliary after all. Facing this sudden ferocious face, his face turned pale and he instinctively raised Greenwood Staff to block it.
"Seeking death!"
A cold snort suddenly sounded.
Zhao Gang, who had always seemed carefree, reacted the fastest. With a flick of his wrist, a cold light shot out like a meteor chasing the moon.
Ding!
It was a Willow-Leaf Flying Knife. It hit the strange rat that jumped into the air with great accuracy and was about to catch Lin Xiaoyun's face.
With a pop, the flying knife penetrated Burrow Rat's head. The huge force directly flew its body backwards, and was nailed to the rock wall beside it.
"Thank... Thank you, Senior Brother Zhao!" Lin Xiaoyun was shocked and glanced at Zhao Gang gratefully.
Zhao Gang just snorted and didn't say much, but already held the second flying knife in his hand. Despite his usual shyness, he was unambiguous in protecting his teammates at critical moments.
At the same time, the battle on the other side also broke out instantly.
The Burrow Rat that pounced on Zhang Shan was the most ferocious and was about to bite his calf.
"Get up!"
Wang Qingli didn't even look back and slapped the ground with one hand.
Boom!
A thick Earth Wall instantly rose from in front of Zhang Shan. The Burrow Rat was unable to avoid it, and hit Earth Wall with its head. It made a muffled sound and was knocked to pieces and rolled to the ground.
"Good opportunity!"
Chu Bai, who had been in the back position, had a light flash in his eyes.
Without any hesitation, he raised his hand with his signature [Spirit Water Needle].
This time, he did not pursue the ultimate explosion, but deliberately controlled the output of Spell Power. The blue water needle only had a faint hint of gold, but it was superior in speed and angle.
Phew!
The water needle drew a beautiful arc and accurately penetrated the throat of Burrow Rat, which had just been knocked unconscious and had not had time to turn over.
Poof!
Blood spattered. Burrow Rat didn't even scream. His limbs twitched twice and then became completely motionless.
Killed with one blow, cleanly.
"Good accuracy!" Zhang Shan couldn't help but praise it.
At this time, the last Burrow Rat saw that its companion died suddenly. A trace of fear flashed in its eyes, and it turned around and wanted to burrow underground.
"Want to run? It's not that easy!"
Zhang Shan also came back to his senses at this time, and suddenly put his hands together. Countless green vines were like spiritual snakes coming out of the hole, and instantly wrapped around the Burrow Rat that had just drilled half way through, and pulled it out of the soil.
The cold light flashed again.
Zhao Gang's second flying knife made up for it in time, ending the life of the last Burrow Rat.
From the beginning of the raid to the end of the battle, it only took two or three breaths.
At the originally silent mine entrance, there were only a few corpses of Burrow Rat and the sound of everyone's slightly rapid breathing.
"Is this... the end?" Lin Xiaoyun patted his chest, as if he still couldn't believe it.
"Three ordinary Burrow Rat, each with ten points Dao Merit. We are off to a good start."
Zhao Gang walked over and pulled back his throwing knife, and cut off Burrow Rat's ear as proof. He looked at Chu Bai with a thoughtful look, "The stitch just now was done beautifully. The timing was just right, which saved us a lot of effort."
Although he is arrogant, he is also Qi Ingestion a capable person. Chu Bai What he did just now neither steals the limelight nor makes a splash, it just fills the gap in firepower and greatly changes his impression of this first-year freshman.
"I didn't expect that even though it was your first time on a mission, you wouldn't be held back as easily as I thought." Zhao Gang gave a rare compliment, although his tone was still a bit tough.
Chu Bai smiled slightly and said modestly, "It was Senior Sister Wang who controlled the field in time, Senior Brother Zhao's flying knife was sharp, I just missed it."
"Don't be careless."
Wang Qingli put away Demon-Seeking Mirror and came over to check Burrow Rat's body, but his expression did not relax. "These rats know how to cooperate in sneak attacks on the back row, which shows that they are not just wild beasts, but have already possessed certain intelligence and tactical instincts. This is the most troublesome part."
"This is just the periphery." She looked up and looked into the deep mine, "The big guy inside will only be more difficult. Everyone, take a rest, stay vigilant at all times, and continue to advance!"
"Yes!"
Everyone agreed in unison, and there was still some unfamiliar cooperation at first. After this small encounter, there was a slight tacit understanding.
Chu Bai looked at the few Burrow Rat on the ground, and secretly calculated in his heart: three of them are thirty points Dao Merit. Even if the five people share it equally, even if it is less, it is still a big income. If there are really a group of rats in this mine as the intelligence said...
Then this time, you are really going to get rich!