Run!

"Listening to advice" is one of the few virtues that Sect Leader Kang Da possesses.

The moment Gun Shide's shout of "Run!" hit the ground, Kang Dabao turned around without a second thought and sped off in Gun Shide's direction.

After running for a while, Kang Dabao seemed to guess what was behind him that had so shocked Gun Shide, a Foundation True Cultivator Foundation Establishment the capital region.

The commotion behind them grew louder and louder, first like a torrential downpour, then like the urgent beating of drums, and later like the thunder of spring and the roar of a raging flood.

"A swarm of Gold-Devouring Rat!" Sect Leader Kang Da could only exclaim in his heart.

He used to be reluctant to use high-grade Divine Movement Talisman, which he covered his calves as if they were free. He also used the White Ape Step, a footwork technique he used to fight enemies, to travel and save his life.

Gun Shide should have already fled far away, having shaken off his earlier panic and become quite calm. Kang Dabao heard his shouts again in the mine tunnel, and this time the clerk's voice sounded even more resounding, as if it could explode in the ears of all the cultivators in the entire mine.

But the shout still contained only one word, "Run!"

The cultivators recruited by the state court are in different situations at this time.

Some were lucky enough to not see a single Demon Beast and searched the desolate mine tunnels; others were unlucky, like Sect Leader Kang Da's team, and were targeted by the disciples of the Three Incense Cult and harassed by several groups of beasts; and the unluckiest team had already lost its formation and was directly scattered and hunted by Demon Beast, becoming tender meat for them to eat.

However, regardless of their situation, any team would likely be taken aback upon hearing the word "run."

Because at this moment they could only hear Gun Shide's admonition, but not the thunderous roar behind Sect Leader Kang Da.

The Gold-Devouring Rat is a type of Demon Beast with relatively weak individual strength. Even after reaching adulthood, less than a third of them can successfully grow to the First-Tier Lower-Grade. Being able to cultivate to the First-Tier Middle-Grade is considered a breakthrough in breaking through the racial limitations.

Moreover, even compared to other Demon Beast of the same level, the Gold-Devouring Rat is quite weak.

This also means that they are generally only used as food for other Demon Beast, and rarely have the opportunity to kill one of their own kind. Even some powerful Martial Ancestor masters have a good chance of winning when facing one or two First-Tier Lower-Grade Gold-Devouring Rat.

When no large groups of these Demon Beast appear, they are indeed not a cause for concern.

But once they gather together, in the hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands, the exceptional individuals in the rat swarm can cultivate with the abundant demonic Yao Qi of their kin, reaching the First-Tier Middle-Grade or First-Tier Superior-Grade in a relatively short time, or even raising Second Tier rat king.

Moreover, when they form a swarm, their speed increases dramatically, making it extremely difficult for ordinary Qi Refining Qi Refinement to escape from their mouths.

If a Second-Tier Upper-Grade rat king leads a swarm of 100,000 demon rats, even False Core would have to avoid its sharp edge.

Fortunately, these kinds of Demon Beast have very limited talents, and the probability of raising Second Tier rat king is extremely small, otherwise they would really become a menace.

"Damn it!" A Gold-Devouring Rat was moving very fast. Sect Leader Kang Da could already hear the squeaking in his ears, and the stench in his nostrils was getting stronger and stronger. The rat swarm was really getting closer and closer!

At this moment, the corpse refiner had been put back into the corpse-nurturing bag. If this clumsy fellow were to face this nearly endless swarm of Gold-Devouring Rat, all his strength and corpse poison would be ineffective. In just a moment, he would probably be overwhelmed by the swarm of rats and devoured clean by these indiscriminate beasts.

"By order!" Two dazzling bolts of lightning suddenly illuminated the dark mine tunnel.

The fastest rats were the first to suffer. The First-Tier Supreme-Grade lightning talisman was naturally beyond the reach of these Gold-Devouring Rat, most of which were still ordinary beasts. The lightning swept along the mine tunnel, washing away a large area of the rats that were almost crowding the mine pit.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh," a large pile of rat carcasses accumulated in the hole, and these charred corpses were not wasted, becoming food for their kin who followed.

The Gold-Devouring Rat behind them were not deterred by the fate of their kin. They charged forward relentlessly through the pile of corpses, each rat grabbing a carcass behind them and chewing it as they ran.

Those who were too slow to run and missed picking up any meat simply used their dark yellow incisors to gnaw off a piece of black rock and chew it.

The name "Gold-Devouring Rat" originally refers to the fact that these ugly creatures can survive by temporarily nibbling on ores when food is scarce. Black iron ore and wind copper ore are among their common foods, but Spirit Stone ore is much more appealing.

After eating their snacks, the Gold-Devouring Rat ran even faster, their squeaking filling the entire mine, causing Sect Leader Kang Da Gold-Devouring Rat misstep once again.

This slight delay gave one of the Gold-Devouring Rat leading the charge an opportunity.

A spiritual light emanated from its body, giving its dark gray fur a touch of holiness—but only a slight one. The Gold-Devouring Rat's face revealed a cruel, almost anthropomorphic expression. It stretched out its four claws, powerful enough to split mountains and shatter rocks, their edges gleaming coldly, and pounced fiercely at Kang Dabao.

Despite the danger, Kang Dabao remained calm. He first corrected his footwork, then sidestepped to create space, while simultaneously swiftly slashing with his black short blade as the man and the rat passed each other.

The rat's head fell to the ground. Although Kang Dabao won, he was unable to escape and was entangled by a small group of the fastest Gold-Devouring Rat.

Kang Dabao knew that he could no longer be stingy; if he hesitated any longer, he would truly be unable to escape.

"Imperial command!" Three more lightning talismans were unleashed simultaneously, causing even Kang Dabao himself to feel a slight dazzle. Needless to say, the Gold-Devouring Rat were even more overwhelmed by the blinding lightning and the deadly lightning talismans.

Even after clearing out a large swarm of Gold-Devouring Rat behind him, the Gold-Devouring Rat quickly caught up again. Sect Leader Kang Da wasn't surprised by the Gold-Devouring Rat's behavior.

It's obvious that if even a stack of thunder talismans that Gun Shide wouldn't even deign to use could stop them, then why was this registrar of the Earl's mansion still fleeing for his life?

Kang Dabao took a deep breath, squeezing out every last bit of strength from his bones, and worked even harder to control his footwork in order to gain that sliver of hope.

Fortunately, thanks to the desperate escape of Sect Leader Kang Da, he finally saw the many cultivators who had been fighting the Purple Fire Jackal in the mine tunnel earlier.

Because of the short, thin cultivator's defeat, the groups of Purple Fire Jackal almost all lost their leaders. Faced with increasingly heavy casualties, the Purple Fire Jackal finally could not hold on and scattered to different places in an attempt to save their lives.

It wasn't that Sect Leader Kang Da was unethical to lead the rats this way; it was simply because he only recognized the path he had taken.

If he were to lose his way in this maze of mines, Kang Dabao would truly become the first Chongming Double Brightness Leader to be devoured by the Gold-Devouring Rat.

There are many times when having companions around isn't necessarily helpful, but it can still be uplifting.

At this moment, the cultivators could see the beards on the faces of the rat swarm's vanguard behind Kang Dabao and their frenzied, cannibalistic appearance. They immediately cursed them in their hearts!

"Run!" Sect Leader Kang Da made a hand seal, and three more lightning talismans ignited behind him, buying the cultivators a little time.

At this point, there was no need for him to shout. The cultivators all suppressed their injuries, put on shocked expressions, and fled back towards the entrance they had come from.

The first lone cultivator appeared soon after, followed by the second and the third.

Rats are not like bears; their appetites are much greater.

Therefore, although more and more cultivators were being devoured, the rats were still not satisfied. Once they found an opportunity to get close to a cultivator, they would rush up without fear of death and tear at him with abandon.

One by one, the fine robes were torn to shreds in an instant. These ferocious beasts, taking advantage of their small size, even dared to crawl into the cultivators' anuses, mouths, and ears.

Once inside, the guardian must work from both inside and outside, devouring the cultivator until nothing is left.

Kuai En seemed to have exhausted all his strength. The fierce battle with the jackals had already drained a lot of his spiritual energy. He struggled to reach Kang Dabao's side and said in a pitiful voice, "Uncle, I can't run anymore!"

Kang Dabao tossed him a bottle of Restore Spirit Pill pills without a word, telling him to continue fleeing.

At this moment, the two had squeezed into the middle of the cultivators' ranks. Behind them, a cultivator in the Early Qi Refining Stage had exhausted his spiritual power, and the pills he had swallowed had not yet taken effect when a Gold-Devouring Rat tore open his throat and crawled inside.

When the inhuman screams behind them reached their ears, sending chills down Kuai En's spine, then the Sect Leader Kang Da coldly asked, "Still can't run anymore?"

The screams behind him quickly stopped, Kuai En immediately felt his legs, which had felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, regain their strength. He gritted his teeth and replied, "I can run!"

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