The Rat Cultivator

Chapter 116: Entrance

Winged Tiger looked up, but his vision was blocked by the swirling wall of cyan feathers and wind.

RIIIP!

Suddenly, a pair of jade-white claws tore through the barrier from the outside. They were wreathed in vibrant red Blood Qi, contrasting sharply with the pale skin.

The claws gripped the wall of wind and Demon Power as if it were fabric. With a casual, almost lazy motion, they pulled apart. The storm that had trapped the demons and sealed off the heavens was torn in half like a dry leaf.

Wu Yuan stepped into the chaotic battlefield.

As he entered, a faint, red mist of Blood Qi radiated from his body, expanding outward like an invisible field. The howling winds were instantly suppressed, silenced as if pressed down by a giant, unseen hand. The chunks of Geng Gold ore floating in the sky lost their suspension and crashed to the ground, pitting the earth with deep craters.

The demons were stunned into silence by the sheer weight of his presence.

Winged Tiger stared, his jaw slack.

“Is… is this the power of the mid-stage Qi Condensation?” he murmured. “Isn’t a Blood Qi Field supposed to be a late-stage ability? Is this even reasonable?”

Bibo patted Winged Tiger on the shoulder, his expression calm and knowing. “It is very reasonable. You haven’t seen enough yet. Whatever the Great King does is reasonable by definition.”

Big Black nodded vigorously beside him. “Reasonable.”

Wu Yuan looked up at the cyan sun still descending from the sky—the Peng Bird’s final, suicidal attack.

“Suicidal techniques have great power,” Wu Yuan commented, sounding like an art critic reviewing a painting. “But the Spiritual Qi is too scattered. It’s only good for bullying the weak.”

He extended a hand. The Stone Wood Horn Arrow materialized in his grip.

He weighed the Magical Artifact for a moment, then assumed a throwing stance, mimicking the draw of a bow. His arm muscles coiled, infused with explosive power.

Whoosh!

He hurled the artifact.

Wrapped in Wu Yuan’s dense Blood Qi, the Stone Wood Horn Arrow shot upward like a bolt of red lightning. It sliced silently through the layers of chaotic wind and Demon Power surrounding the cyan sun, meeting zero resistance.

In an instant, it pierced the center of the technique, burying itself deep into the spectral head of the bird shadow within.

The cyan sun froze.

It stopped its descent as if time had solidified. Then, without a sound, the massive accumulation of energy simply dissolved. The storm vanished, the pressure lifted, and only the skeletal remains of the Peng Bird—feathers and bone—fell limply from the clear sky.

Big Black scratched his head, blinking. “The bird’s technique… it’s just gone? All that thunder and no rain?”

Winged Tiger turned to the rat, his eyes wide. “The Great King is too strong… The Peng Bird wasn’t even on the same level. Even at his peak, he wouldn’t have lasted a minute.”

While Winged Tiger was still processing his shock, Big Black moved. He blurred into motion, leaping up to catch the falling skeleton before it hit the ground. He landed in front of Wu Yuan, presenting the trophy with a fawning grin.

“Boss! Your divine might is unmatched! This little chicken was truly weak!”

Winged Tiger gasped, slapping his forehead in regret. “Damn it! Miscalculated! My reaction was too slow!”

Bibo stroked his beard, watching the display. “Big Black is always like this. Fast on his feet when it counts.”

Not wanting to be outdone, Bibo rushed forward. He produced a pile of cyan feathers he had scavenged—the remnants of the Peng Bird’s Magical Artifacts.

“Great King! I collected the Peng Bird’s Magical Artifacts! Not a single one is missing!”

?

Winged Tiger tilted his head, waiting for praise.

Suddenly, the Pangolin emerged from the ground, carrying Little Gray on his head. They had been invisible throughout the entire fight.

“Boss!” the Pangolin rumbled happily. “We’ve collected all the scattered Geng Gold ore! The rat swarm can just carry it back later!”

Little Gray piped up from his perch. “Great King, I’ve also finished the survey! The real Geng Gold vein is deep underground. The ore in the mountain was just the surface layer; the quality down below is much better!”

Winged Tiger looked from one demon to the next, utterly confused.

So… Big Black, who made the most noise, was actually the last one to contribute?

When did Bibo and the others do all this work? Why was it so smooth? So coordinated?

Even the brainless Barbarian Beast was two steps ahead of me? Am I… am I the naive one?

Winged Tiger felt a profound crisis of confidence, mirroring the despair the Peng Bird had felt moments before its death.

Wu Yuan surveyed his subordinates, unaware of the tiger’s internal meltdown. He nodded with satisfaction and swept the offered items into his Storage Bag.

“Not bad. You all performed very well today. The mission was completed excellently.”

“I can rest assured entrusting tasks to you in the future.”

In truth, Wu Yuan had been worried. That was why he had lent Bibo his Ancient Xun and the long-unused Poison Orb. He didn’t mention his last-minute rescue; there was no need. He wasn’t playing 4D chess like Big Black imagined. He simply felt that as a powerful boss, he shouldn’t treat his subordinates as disposable cannon fodder. Training replacements was a hassle.

“Kill the bird, clear the mountain,” Wu Yuan thought. “They did exactly that. Even their coordination exceeded my expectations.”

As for the consequences of killing a Great Demon’s son? He was the Boss. That was his burden to bear.

“Just like I thought when I went to find the Cat King,” Wu Yuan mused. “The Boss protects the little brothers.”

He looked around at the battlefield. It was a mess of shattered rock and scattered Geng Gold ore glittering in the dust.

He narrowed his eyes and raised a claw.

Whoosh.

Suddenly, the barren, yellow-earth ground turned pitch black. It looked as if a giant hand had splashed ink across the landscape.

Upon closer inspection, the “ink” was living. It was countless rats, burrowing up from the earth in a dense, writhing carpet.

Wu Yuan waved his claw again.

The black tide receded as quickly as it had appeared, vanishing back into the soil. And with it, every single piece of Geng Gold ore on the surface disappeared.

The ground was left bare and clean, stripped of everything valuable.

Wu Yuan moved with practiced grace, flipping onto the Pangolin’s broad back. He looked down at Big Black.

“Arrange for the rat swarm to start mining the underground Geng Gold vein immediately. It’s a big job, but you have experience. Relocate a few hundred thousand rats and bring some supervisors. Speed is key.”

He turned his gaze to Bibo.

“This place is too ugly. It’s too barren.”

“It’s not suitable for Moon Spirit Grass, so go to Little Yellow. Get some Leaf Grass seeds and plant them here. Also, plant the new Giant Meat Mushroom variant he improved.”

“The crops can provide rations for the workers. Two birds with one stone.”

The Leaf Grass was the low-grade Spirit Grass the Goat Spirit had once used to try and bribe Big Black. It was essentially a spiritual weed—low value, but extremely hardy and prolific. It was perfect for feeding an army of laboring beasts.

The Giant Meat Mushroom was Little Yellow’s latest creation. Ten times larger than the standard variety, it could store massive amounts of water and nutrients and thrived in harsh environments. It was the ideal crop for the desolate, metal-rich soil of the Geng Gold Mine.

Wu Yuan slowly surveyed his surroundings. Wherever his gaze fell, he saw a scene of devastation. Geng Gold ore was scattered everywhere, its cold spiritual light flickering on the ground. He narrowed his eyes slightly, gently raised his claw, and slowly waved it down.

In an instant, the vast, barren, yellowish-brown earth, littered with rubble, seemed to be splashed with thick ink by an invisible hand, turning pitch black in a flash. Upon closer inspection, it was actually countless rats densely packed together.

Immediately after, Wu Yuan waved his claw again slightly. The ink-like blackness receded like a surging tide, rapidly disappearing. At the same time, the Geng Gold ore on the ground vanished along with the receding blackness, not even a single fragment of ore remaining. Only the bare, lifeless earth was left, appearing exceptionally desolate under the sunlight.

Then, Wu Yuan moved, gracefully flipping onto the Pangolin’s broad back. He tilted his head slightly, his gaze falling on Big Black beside him.

“After this, you arrange for the rat swarm to start mining the underground Geng Gold ore. This is a lot of work, but you have experience. Just relocate a few hundred thousand rats and bring some rat demons over. We need to speed up the progress.”

After speaking, he turned his gaze to Bibo on the other side.

“This area is too bare, really too ugly.”

“But this place isn’t suitable for planting Moon Spirit Grass. Go to Little Yellow and get some Leaf Grass seeds to plant here. Also, bring over the new improved Giant Meat Mushroom from Little Yellow.”

“The crops grown can provide food for the rat demons and rat swarm, killing two birds with one stone.”

This Leaf Grass was the low-grade Spirit Grass that the Goat Spirit had given to Big Black to sow discord back then—just some grass containing Spiritual Qi, basically equivalent to weeds among Spirit Grass, valuable but not much. However, it was very vigorous and produced many seeds, generally used as fodder for Demon Beasts. Wu Yuan’s pasture was planted with this.

This Giant Meat Mushroom was improved by Little Yellow based on the Meat Mushroom, its size ten times larger than the Meat Mushroom. It could store large amounts of water and nutrients in its body, had extremely strong stress resistance, and was just suitable for this harsh, desolate land of the Geng Gold Spirit Mine.