The Rat Cultivator

Chapter 134: Heaven and Earth Fiend Refining Spirit Extraction Formation

Wu Yuan had already weighed the costs before he ever gave the order to dig.

“Blocking the channel won’t last forever,” he explained slowly to the furious Azure Radiance Grotto-Heaven. “The Azure Spirit Mountain Range will eventually recover on its own. It might be scarred, the recovery might be slow, and the Feng Shui might be ruined for a century or two… but the land endures.”

“If some Providence is lost, then so be it.”

Wu Yuan’s eyes burned with cold ambition. “Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! The Mosquito Mother is a rare ‘Heaven and Earth Wondrous Insect.’ Right now, she is young, arrogant, and vulnerable. If I miss this chance, I may never get another.”

The Azure Radiance Grotto-Heaven had calmed down slightly, though its tone remained icy. “You will regret this, Wu Yuan. Playing with the earth’s blood is dangerous.”

“I am the one executing this!” Wu Yuan countered firmly. “I bear the karma! And I do it for our future!”

“In this vast mountain range, I am the only local demon left standing. I carry the fate of Little Green Mountain and your Grotto-Heaven on my back!” Wu Yuan shouted, his voice rising theatrically. “The burden of these eighty thousand li rests on my shoulders!”

The Azure Radiance Grotto-Heaven fell silent, stunned by the rat’s brazen self-righteousness.

However, Wu Yuan’s heroic facade instantly dissolved. His expression shifted to one of fawning flattery.

“Lord Xiaoqing,” he wheedled, rubbing his paws together. “You wouldn’t want those out-of-town demons to find your location and shatter your seal, would you? Think about it! If we refine the Mosquito Mother, the benefits will be enormous. My strength will skyrocket, and your plans for revival will be much easier to execute!”

“So… you have to help me. Just this once.”

The Grotto-Heaven Spirit remained silent for a long moment, calculating. Despite its doubts, it knew Wu Yuan wasn’t a fool. He was erratic, yes, but he never acted without a safety net.

“Can you really handle the Mosquito Mother’s backlash?” the Spirit asked skeptically. “Don’t be fooled by your earlier victory. She ranks in the top five hundred of the World’s Strange Insect Ranking. A creature capable of stirring up Ten Ancient Calamities is not easily killed.”

Wu Yuan nodded fiercely, patting his chest. “A piece of cake! For me, the hardest part isn’t subduing her—it’s refining her! Just rest a hundred hearts at ease!”

The Azure Radiance Grotto-Heaven sighed mentally. “Fine. Since you are so confident, I will aid you.”

At that moment, the severed earth veins around the Corrupt Water Pool began to swell. The flow of Earth Qi, having lost its natural pathways, accumulated rapidly like floodwaters pressing against a cracking dam.

Wu Yuan knew his crude blockage wouldn’t hold for long.

Fortunately, Bibo had anticipated this. Following his instructions, the rat demons had placed pieces of Purple Jade Marrow at key nodes along the perimeter. These acted as pressure valves, guiding the turbulent Qi into a new, artificial circulatory system.

Seeing this, the Azure Radiance Grotto-Heaven gently transmitted a trace of its power. It acted as a stabilizer. The chaotic Earth Qi, as if pulled by an invisible giant hand, was smoothed out and funneled directly into Wu Yuan’s formation.

Bibo signaled from the ridge. Preparations were complete.

Wu Yuan’s gaze sharpened.

“Activate the [Earth Fiend Spirit Refining Formation]!”

“Lord Xiaoqing! Help me stir the Killing Intent of Heaven and Earth!”

HUM!

In an instant, a dense, suffocating aura of Earth Fiend energy was drawn from the depths of the destroyed Corrupt Water Pool. It swept into the formation like a black whirlwind.

Simultaneously, dark clouds gathered in the sky. Boundless killing intent condensed above, piercing through space to target Wu Yuan.

This was the Penalty. Heaven’s retribution for those who dared to butcher the veins of the earth.

If it fell, Wu Yuan would be obliterated.

“Xiaoqing, NOW!”

Wu Yuan shouted. A flash of azure light erupted from his body—the Grotto-Heaven’s blessing.

The Killing Intent of Heaven and Earth instantly lost its target. It wandered confusedly in the air for a moment, blind and furious.

Then, guided by the Grotto-Heaven’s influence, a wisp of that terrifying power was intercepted and redirected into the formation.

It was like throwing a lit match into a pool of gasoline.

The formation, originally a First-Rank Middle-Grade array, underwent a violent evolution. Fused with the severed earth veins and fueled by Heaven’s own wrath, it transformed.

Finally, under the expectant gazes of the demon army, the array locked into its new form: the First-Rank High-Grade [Heaven and Earth Fiend Refining Spirit Extraction Formation].

Its power approached the peak of the First Rank. If Wu Yuan had used better materials for the flags, it would have easily crossed the threshold into the Second Rank.

The surrounding [Hundred Feather Wind Controlling Formation] was now just a cage. The true killing ground was the pit itself.

Wu Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.

“She waited too long,” he thought, sneering. “If she had charged out recklessly earlier, I never would have had time to set this up. She suffers from the arrogance of youth.”

Inside the pool, the Mosquito Mother finally realized the gravity of her situation. The pressure from the new formation was suffocating.

Red light surged over her body like raging flames. With a ferocious screech, she flew out from the Corrupt Water Pool, bringing with her a sky-blotting cloud of over a million mosquitoes.

The water level of the pool dropped by half a meter as the mass of insects displaced the liquid.

The Mosquito Mother’s wings and proboscis had regrown, but Wu Yuan noted their luster was dim. She was burning her reserves.

She glared at him, her face twisted with hate. “How could a beast like you exist among the demon race?! Even maggots know not to destroy the earth veins!”

She had stayed in the pool because she thought she could outlast the siege. She assumed Wu Yuan’s trap was merely the wind formation. If she could lure the rats in, she could devour them and break through to the late stage of Qi Refining.

But the moment the Earth Fiend Formation activated, her face turned green.

Wu Yuan laughed disdainfully.

“Whether I am a beast or not isn’t for you to decide!”

“At worst, I’ll just do a few good deeds for the mountain range later. I’ll punish myself with three cups of wine! I believe the Azure Spirit Mountain Range will understand me!”

Looking at the shameless rat, the Mosquito Mother took a deep breath.

She had no choice now.

Red light exploded from her body. The million-strong swarm resonated with her power, transforming into a single, massive bloody cloud that crashed toward Wu Yuan like a falling mountain.

The blood and Qi in Wu Yuan’s body roiled, trying to tear itself out of his pores to join the cloud. The surrounding rat demons panicked, clutching their chests.

But then, the Formation hummed.

The suppression slammed down, crushing the anomaly instantly.