First Battle Against a Second-Tier Beast
Gun Shide looked at the menacing flying sword hanging in front of him and felt a chill run down his spine.
To be fair, a swarm of rats led by rare creatures like the Second Tier Gold-Devouring Rat is not something that ordinary Foundation Establishment can contend with.
When Gun Shide first discovered the rats, he mustered up his courage and, together with the seemingly plain-looking Foundation Establishment female cultivator and the Qi Refinement cultivators who accompanied them, took the initiative to fight the rat swarm. This was already quite a show of responsibility.
Unfortunately, there was a clear difference in strength between the two sides. After fighting for a while, the Qi Refinement cultivators became food for the rats one after another.
It wasn't until the Foundation Establishment female cultivator's Law Artifact were completely destroyed, and she was instantly overrun by the rat swarm as she turned to flee, that Gun Shide lost confidence in fighting the rats, and thus he fled for his life.
While escaping, he also knew to warn the Qi Refinement trapped in the cave, an act that showed great conscience. Therefore, he didn't see anything wrong with running back to the state government alone to report after leaving the cave.
After all, in his view, the cultivators who had not yet emerged from the mine tunnel, along with that fat Foundation Establishment, were already skeletons in their graves, with little chance of survival.
However, if such a large swarm of rats cannot be contained, then the mineral vein here will be in danger of being lost. They will surely break out of the vein and wreak havoc in Tanggu County.
These ugly creatures eat even broken rocks, what can't they eat? They'll probably devour everything along the way, from mortal cities to cultivator markets.
Some Foundation Establishment forces might be able to hold their ground and protect themselves for a while longer, but without reinforcements, they are unlikely to have a good outcome.
"Where can a talisman be more reliable than going back to report the news myself!" Gun Shide comforted himself with this excuse all the way, and sped away in his flying boat for quite a while, until he was blocked by the Daoist priest with a messy beard and Black Shoes in front of him with a flying sword.
Gun Shide felt a pang of bitterness in his heart. He naturally recognized this person, after all, in a rural place like Cloud Horn Prefecture, there weren't many people who dared to challenge Fei Nanying, the Sima Fei, on the spot.
He had no choice but to obey the other party's orders, change the direction of the flying boat, and head back towards the Spirit Stone mine.
"Fellow Daoist Black Shoes, please do not be impatient. I have not meant to deceive you in the slightest. The number of Gold-Devouring Rat in that mine is far more than ten thousand. It would be safer to first send a message to the state court and request more people of the same rank to come here."
Upon hearing the Daoist Black Shoes's threatening words, Gun Shide's face showed sincerity, and he explained in a soft voice, seemingly genuine.
At the same time, he muttered to himself, "Could that young sect leader really be this Daoist Black Shoes's illegitimate son?"
"Let's get going," the Daoist Black Shoes said to Gun Shide, his expression unchanged and his tone harsh.
"I never imagined this seclusion would last so long. If anything happens to that kid, I'll truly have failed my elder brother's trust."
--
The fat Foundation Establishment cultivator cursed even more venomously, then summoned a Second Tier golden alms bowl, casting Buddhist light that scalded and killed many Gold-Devouring Rat, but still had little effect.
Under the leadership of the Second Tier leader and the combined effect of the colorless fragrance, this group of beasts has completely lost its mind. Moreover, there are still countless Gold-Devouring Rat lurking throughout the mine, constantly gathering from various hidden pits and tunnels.
The number of Gold-Devouring Rat killed by the Fat Foundation Establishment cultivator and his team was perhaps a drop in the ocean, but it would be fair to say they amounted to mere flesh wounds.
These Demon Beast like the Gold-Devouring Rat easy for anyone to step on normally, but they only show their power when they gather together.
The fat Foundation Establishment's Sanskrit protective wall was on the verge of collapse, but the array master still looked distressed, seemingly clueless in the face of the high-level array that the fat Foundation Establishment had brought out.
Meanwhile, Sect Leader Kang Da and Kuai En also faced numerous dangers while dealing with the Second Tier Gold-Devouring Rat.
Although the Gold-Devouring Rat is not known for its individual strength, it is still Second Tier Demon Beast, theoretically equivalent to Foundation Establishment True Cultivator. The fat, Foundation Establishment required a dozen or so Qi Refinement Refining cultivators, including Sect Leader Kang Da, to fight it, and its life was constantly hanging by a thread.
The Second Tier Gold-Devouring Rat guarding the exit did not mobilize the other Gold-Devouring Rat that had blocked the cultivators' escape route; it still intended to slaughter all the cultivators.
Although it could no longer muster any low-level members of its kind to help it, its relatively formidable strength still overwhelmed the group of Qi Refinement, leaving them breathless.
"Hit!" A bare-chested cultivator, seeing that the Second Tier Gold-Devouring Rat was about to rush in front of him, immediately threw a Heavenly Thunder Seed, which struck the Second Tier Gold-Devouring Rat on the back, allowing him to escape.
Those Qi Refinement cultivators who have survived to this day must have some skill. Take Kuai En, for example. An ordinary Middle Qi Refinement cultivator would have been exhausted by now, but although he was panting, he didn't hold Kang Dabao back too much.
So it's not surprising that someone could pull out their trump card and blast a Second Tier Gold-Devouring Rat to shreds.
Taking advantage of the moment, Ming Yue also conjured a sword with her fingers, and a black and white flying sword wrapped in yin and yang Sword Qi pierced straight into the wound that the Second Tier Gold-Devouring Rat had just been blasted open by the Heavenly Thunder Seed.
"Hiss!" A sharp pain shot through his back, causing the Second Tier Gold-Devouring Rat to let out a shriek and channel its energy into its flesh and bones to clamp the flying sword tightly.
Ming Yue looked unwell. Seven-tenths of his skills came from the Swordsmanship passed down through generations in his Lineage. He changed his hand gestures in quick succession, causing the Yin-Yang Flying Sword, which was still locked by the Second Tier Gold-Devouring Rat, to shake wildly for a while, but he still couldn't break free.
Since the Second Tier Gold-Devouring Rat suffered a loss, someone else was bound to suffer as well.
It targeted the bare-chested cultivator, its long tail coiling around him. The latter summoned an ancient rock shield to slightly block the attack, and several Law Artifacts, including Kang Dabao's short blade and Kuai En's long axe, struck the smooth, hairless tail of the Second Tier Gold-Devouring Rat.
Unexpectedly, although this left several wounds on its tail, causing the Second Tier Gold-Devouring Rat to let out a sharp screech in pain, it still failed to force it to stop its attack on the bare-chested cultivator.
With a powerful thud, the hairless long tail sent all the cultivators' Law Artifact flying back. Demon Power gathered at the tip of the tail, which instantly transformed into a large spear, knocking the ancient rock shield to the ground. Then, it thrust straight at the bare-chested cultivator's head.
Without much hesitation, Sect Leader Kang Da unleashed his Delusion-Breaking Golden Eyes, striking the wound on the back of the Second Tier Gold-Devouring Rat.
The spear aimed at the bare-chested cultivator veered slightly, missing his head and striking his chest squarely. Sect Leader Kang Da's Delusion-Breaking Golden Eyes failed to save the cultivator, proving his efforts futile.
"Unexpectedly, this Second Tier Gold-Devouring Rat actually endured this excruciating pain!"
All the cultivators present watched as the Second Tier Gold-Devouring Rat's back was blasted apart, its flesh and blood splattering and mangled, but it still killed the bare-chested cultivator first before letting out a cry of pain.
Ming Yue looked thoughtfully at Kang Dabao's previous pupil technique.
Given the long-standing relationship between the two families, they must have heard of the Delusion-Breaking Golden Eyes, a name that the Patriarch Zhang the Chongming Sect was quite famous in Cloud Horn Prefecture.
"Something that neither the Zhang Household He Household could learn, a Kang Household has mastered."
In this perilous situation, Ming Yue had no time to spare. She bit her tongue, spitting out a mouthful of Essence Blood. The sword finger in her hand stirred up a wisp of spiritual energy that turned into smoke. The flying sword on the back of the Gold-Devouring Rat shook violently, squeezing out a small gap in the Gold-Devouring Rat's flesh. If this continued, it would break free.
The Second Tier Gold-Devouring Rat ignored the wound on its back and pounced on Kang Dabao. At the same time, it curled its tail and crushed the bones of a red-haired cultivator behind Kang Dabao, killing him on the spot.
Kang Dabao's eyes sharpened, and he fired another shot.
At this point, the Second Tier Gold-Devouring Rat wouldn't just stand there and get hit. Gold-Devouring Rat are known for Movement Method agility, and as a powerful member of its race that has broken through racial limitations, its speed is not to be underestimated.
With a simple sidestep, it easily dodged Sect Leader Kang Da's Delusion-Breaking Golden Eyes, and with a turn, its tail lashed out at the Garrison Earth Azure Origin Shield that Kang Dabao had already activated.
The masterpiece of the Chongming Sect's top weapon refiner was smashed to pieces as if it were made of paper.
The fleshy tail grazed two feet in front of Sect Leader Kang Da, but the force of the wind it generated still tore through his robes, tearing the flesh on his buttocks open, and blood gushed from the hideous wounds.
Kang Dabao's robes were soaked again. With the situation dire, the other cultivators did not stand idly by and immediately rushed to his rescue.
Its fleshy tail thrashed about, sometimes as hard as a steel spear, sometimes as supple as a willow branch, and it used the same trick to deflect all the incoming Law Artifact back.
Ming Yue's expression was not angry but happy. He felt that under the siege of the cultivators, the Second Tier Gold-Devouring Rat no longer had much strength to lock his Yin-Yang Flying Sword.
With a flick of his finger, the flying sword wobbled incessantly, squeezing out large amounts of blood from the wound of the Second Tier Gold-Devouring Rat. Before long, only the tip of the sword remained embedded in the flesh, about to break free!
However, at this moment, the Second Tier Gold-Devouring Rat, which had been pouncing on Kang Dabao, stopped and suddenly clenched its back.
An irregular, fine line appeared on the tip of the sword that Ming Yue was about to draw, spreading from the tip to the entire body of the flying sword.
With a "crash," Ming Yue's flying sword instantly shattered into dust. The flying sword, which was connected to his heart and soul, was destroyed, and he was also severely injured.
The Second Tier Gold-Devouring Rat did not give up this opportunity. It changed direction and, disregarding the fact that Kang Dabao was enduring excruciating pain as he unleashed another Delusion-Breaking Golden Eyes attack on itself, it turned into a dreadful strike.
It pounced on Ming Yue in an instant, its ten sharp claws carving ten horrific wounds into her body, the blood seeping up to the claws and turning her black.
However, no one cared about any of that at this moment. The Second Tier Gold-Devouring Rat's yellow and black incisors bit into Ming Yue's neck, tearing his head off from there.
At the same time, the Sanskrit protective wall Foundation Establishment by the fat giant collapsed. The swarm of rats behind it pressed forward, like dark clouds destroying a city, like a great river surging.