The Rat Cultivator

Wu Yuan’s ears twitched. He could clearly hear the ragged, agonizing gasps escaping Big Old Black’s throat. This was no simple brawl; the battle was far more vicious than it appeared on the surface.

Suddenly, a bestial roar shook the cavern. Big Old Black’s muscles bulged, his frame expanding by another full circle as a thick layer of earthen-yellow light coated his claws.

Boom!

He struck the earth with a savage downward slash. The rock fractured instantly, tearing open a massive fissure that exposed the trembling Queen Ant hiding beneath.

The Queen, seeing the hulking nightmare that was Big Old Black, screeched in panic. She wriggled her bloated body desperately, trying to burrow deeper into the earth to escape. The rest of the colony went mad. The swarm surged toward Big Old Black like a tide of black fire, and the Ant King lunged forward to block his path.

Hiss!

The Ant King unleashed a jet of crimson formic acid. The liquid lashed out like a venomous viper, drenching both the frenzied Fire Ants and Big Old Black indiscriminately. The sizzle of melting carapace was instant. The sacrificial ants dissolved into a black, sticky sludge that splashed over Big Old Black, hardening rapidly into a suffocating shell.

Smoke rose from Big Old Black’s fur as the acid bit into his skin, the “chi-chi” sound of corrosion echoing in the tunnel. Despite his brute strength, he was frozen in place, trapped within the rapidly solidifying prison.

Wu Yuan observed calmly. He gauged that Big Old Black had already exerted his full strength and reached his limit. He turned to the toad beside him.

“You go too.”

Bibo nodded. A surge of powerful Demon Power erupted from his body as he stepped forward. He opened his mouth, exhaling a torrent of jade-blue waves. The water churned the cavern floor, merging with the loose soil to form a roaring landslide of mud that surged toward the fleeing Queen.

The Queen Ant watched the approaching mudslide with terror reflected in her compound eyes. She frantically circulated her own Demon Power. A wall of earth rose from the ground, and at her command, hundreds of Fire Ants attached themselves to it, forming a writhing, black-red living shield to block the flood.

Meanwhile, the Ant King, having neutralized Big Old Black, rushed to his mate’s side. He hoisted the Queen onto his back and turned to flee.

Bibo’s mouth curled into a cold sneer. He lifted his claws gracefully.

The mudslide responded instantly, rearing up like a furious yellow dragon. With the momentum of toppling mountains and overturning seas, it crashed down. The insect wall shattered under the overwhelming force. Under the Queen’s horrified gaze, the mud swallowed her whole, sweeping her away before curling back toward Bibo.

The torrent condensed, spitting out a dense sphere.

Bibo picked up the object with his claws and bowed respectfully to Wu Yuan. “Great King, mission accomplished!”

Wu Yuan inspected the prize. The mud ball had hardened like deep yellow amber, freezing the Queen Ant perfectly within.

“You fused the Water and Earth arts quite well,” Wu Yuan praised.

“Great King, the East Sea borders the human territories,” Bibo explained humbly, though his eyes gleamed. “Human spells flourish there, and new techniques are born every day. I merely watched their cultivators fight from a distance and acquired a superficial understanding. If the Great King desires, I can transcribe the method for you immediately.”

Wu Yuan nodded in satisfaction. He turned his gaze to the Queen Ant trapped in the amber and formed a series of hand seals.

[Spirit Controlling Seal]!

However, unlike the smooth submission of the Queen Bee, Wu Yuan’s consciousness slammed into a wall. The seal met fierce resistance from the Queen Ant’s soul. Even though her body was immobilized, her will was as hard as steel.

Wu Yuan tried again, this time gathering Spiritual Qi to bait her with the scent of [Lunar Essence], but it was useless.

“This Queen is too wild,” Bibo observed quietly. “And… forgive me, Great King, but the Spirit Controlling Seal is too low-level. I fear she cannot be tamed in a short time.”

Wu Yuan frowned and cast the seal one last time. It shattered against her mind again.

“Fine,” Wu Yuan sighed helplessly. “Capture the Ant King as well. We will force them to mate later and see if we can breed a new Queen. We’ll give up on this one for now.”

At that moment, a cracking sound came from the side. Big Old Black broke free from the hardened sludge and crawled out of the nest. He was hairless, his gray skin raw and pink, but the deep wounds were already closing before their eyes. He looked surprisingly energetic.

No wonder he recovered so fast from his last beating, Wu Yuan thought. His innate ability is extraordinary.

“What bloodline spell did you Awaken?” Wu Yuan asked.

“Thanks to the Boss’s gift of Emperor’s Sap!” Big Old Black grinned, revealing sharp teeth. “I Awakened the [Blood Surge Technique]. It burns blood to enhance physical power and drastically speed up regeneration. It’s the only reason I escaped that Great Demon back in the day.”

Big Old Black suddenly had a flash of inspiration. “Boss, I’ll record the spell patterns for you to study later!”

Wu Yuan paused, then laughed. “Good! That’s a merit to your name.”

Although learning the innate spell of another species would result in a weaker version, the underlying spirit patterns were invaluable for research.

Big Old Black chuckled, pleased with himself, and handed over a transparent crystal he had been clutching. “Boss, here is the Ant Crystal you wanted. The nest is also full of eggs—they look delicious.”

Wu Yuan took the Fire Ant Crystal. Immediately, a pungent, acrid smell assaulted his nose, identical to the formic acid from the battle. He realized the black prison that had trapped Big Old Black was likely a crude form of this material.

Without hesitation, Wu Yuan tossed the crystal into his mouth, tucking it safely into the Storage Bag concealed within his cheek pouch.

Holding a Storage Bag in the mouth is uncomfortable, he mused, but it is hidden. Wealth should never be revealed.

“Take the Fire Ant corpses back to feed the rat swarm,” Wu Yuan instructed, his voice muffled slightly. “And bring all the eggs. Let’s see if we can hatch them.”

One month later.

Wu Yuan’s cultivation had reached 39 strands of Demon Power. A faint, oppressive aura circulated around him. Though his physical figure remained small, the pressure he emitted forced the surrounding rats to lower their heads, daring not to look him in the eye.

He cultivated diligently every day. Beyond absorbing the Spiritual Qi of heaven and earth, he spent his time dissecting the spirit patterns of various spells, seeking new paths to power.

Big Old Black and Bibo managed the operations in the ore vein, directing the rat swarm to transport food, expand the nest, and mine Spirit Copper.

The Queen Ant remained stubborn. She refused to bond with the [Spirit Controlling Seal], fighting Wu Yuan at every turn. However, a month of captivity had taught her a lesson: as long as she didn’t try to escape, she wouldn’t be beaten. More importantly, she discovered she could trade her own excrement for the delicious [Lunar Essence].

Since no new Queen had been born, Wu Yuan settled for this transactional relationship.

In truth, “Ant Crystals” were nothing more than waste. When the Queen ate too much, she excreted indigestible substances. The Ant King would pile this waste up and dissolve it with formic acid to clean the nest. Over time, as stray Fire Ants fell into the pile and dissolved, the mixture hardened into a unique crystal.

The formation process was filthy, but the result was a treasure containing strange energy. While the contained Spiritual Qi was low, its conductivity was incredible, making it a precious material for artifact refining.