The Rat Cultivator

Chapter 143: Changes in Polong Lake

The Black Water Flood Dragon Snake pondered for a while, his vertical pupils constricting.

Finally, he looked at the Red Refined Fire Snake, gritted his teeth, and said, “Brother, you should understand the value of a High-Grade Sinking Gold Carp. How about we wait for them to finish their ascension first?”

“Normally, two can be born from a batch. We’ll split them equally!”

The Red Refined Fire Snake’s expression turned ugly. He opened his mouth to argue, but the Black Water Snake cut him off.

“I’ll give you the cultivation method for the Sinking Gold Carp first as a deposit!”

The angry expression on the Red Refined Fire Snake’s face slowly faded. He fell into thought, his gaze darting between the shimmering carp swimming within the formation and his brother’s stoic face.

“Alright!”

The Black Water Flood Dragon Snake breathed a sigh of relief, his voice becoming even hoarser. “I will not go back on my word! Once the Sinking Gold Carp are properly raised, I will definitely share them with you!”

The Red Refined Fire Snake gave a half-smile and nodded. “Then I’ll look forward to that day!”

The Black Water Flood Dragon Snake then produced a scroll from his scales.

“Let’s sign a Spirit Contract!”

The Red Refined Fire Snake was somewhat surprised. “I didn’t expect you to be so well-prepared!”

His demonic sense swept over the terms of the contract, finding nothing amiss. Satisfied, he left his own Demon Power imprint on the parchment.

The Black Water Snake looked at the glowing black and red snake-shaped imprints on the contract and nodded with satisfaction. He then took out a jade slip and tossed it to his brother, a trace of genuine heartache flashing in his eyes.

The Red Refined Fire Snake caught the jade slip, scanning it briefly. He nodded, pleased. “It’s genuine. It even has your personal insights annotated.”

“I am sincerely cooperating with you,” the Black Water Snake said gravely. “Then… let’s start the attack immediately.”

“Let’s kill off those Pig-Dragons first, as a warm-up. This group is foul and tough, always opposing me. Their strength isn’t high, but they flee as soon as I approach. It’s a good chance to see if your venom has improved, Brother!”

The Red Refined Fire Snake stowed the jade slip. “In such a hurry? Then we’ll let that Snowfield Wolf go for now.”

The Black Water Snake looked surprised. “You still haven’t killed them? It’s been so long!”

Hearing this, the Red Refined Fire Snake hissed in hatred. “That damned dog has been hiding in its cave ever since leaving the Golden Armor Lion’s territory. He never comes out, and he’s surrounded by wolf packs. I simply can’t find an opening!”

“No matter,” the Black Water Snake comforted him. “After you successfully transform into a Flood Dragon, Brother, killing that little dog will be as simple as crushing an ant!”

The Red Refined Fire Snake’s expression eased, swallowing the big promise his elder brother had painted. “Fine. The important matter comes first!”

Polong Lake, The Murky Swamp.

The Snake Brothers slowly swam into a stagnant, algae-choked section of the lake. The water here bubbled constantly with methane, and rotting driftwood floated everywhere.

“Next, it’s up to you to perform, Brother!”

The Red Refined Fire Snake didn’t speak. He rose from the water, opened his orange-red maw, and sprayed a stream of bright red venom across the swamp.

Hiss—

The moment the venom hit the water, the surface began to boil. The toxin spread with terrifying speed. Within a few breaths, large swathes of the surrounding waters were tinged with a sickly light red color.

The Black Water Flood Dragon Snake looked excited. “Good! Good! Indeed, for large-scale destruction, I still rely on you, Brother!”

Suddenly, the “driftwood” on the water’s surface began to struggle and roar.

They weren’t wood at all. They were Pig-Dragons—ugly, armored amphibians that ruled this swamp.

They roared, staring fixedly at the Red Refined Fire Snake. Their bodies shimmered with gray-green spiritual light as they tried to repel the toxic water.

But their efforts were futile.

The gray-green scales on their bodies began to slough off in wet clumps. Bubbles appeared on their skin, bursting rapidly to ooze red-green pus.

The Pig-Dragons roared in agony and rage, charging madly towards the two invaders.

“Brother, your Fire Poison is getting stronger,” the Black Water Snake praised. “Without you, I really wouldn’t be able to flush them out so easily!”

The Red Refined Fire Snake looked listless, drained by the effort. “Elder Brother, stop the chatter and act quickly!”

Hearing this, the Black Water Flood Dragon Snake pounced.

His body swelled with the wind, expanding until he was over twenty zhang long—a massive leviathan that crashed into the water, churning up waves that capsized the smaller Pig-Dragons.

Black clouds gathered densely in the sky.

CRACK!

Black thunderbolts fell like rain, blasting the weakened Pig-Dragons into charred meat. The creatures emerging from the poisonous water were no match at all; injured upon contact, dead upon touch.

The Black Water Snake fought with the fierce might of a true Flood Dragon, completely unharmed by his brother’s venom.

Watching this, the Red Refined Fire Snake’s gaze gradually turned cold.

Little Green Mountain, The Treehouse.

“Great King! A grave situation!”

A small beaver rushed into the room, dripping wet and gasping for breath.

“We’ve received urgent news! The Black Water Flood Dragon Snake and Red Refined Fire Snake have gone on a rampage!”

“They have already slaughtered the Pig-Dragons, driven away the Bibo Turtles, and enslaved the Green Armored Crabs and Crowned Sword Shrimp to form an army. They are conducting a dragnet-style cleanup of Polong Lake!”

“Wherever they go, no water demon can withstand them. They have already occupied half of the lake!”

The little beaver’s eyes were full of terror.

“Refugees are surging towards our side. The Beaver Water Fortress bears the brunt of the impact, and the pressure is increasing every second. The defense line is precarious—it’s about to collapse!”

“Lord Bibo is extremely anxious and specifically ordered me to request reinforcements from the Great King!”

Wu Yuan listened to the report, his brow furrowed tightly.

“Right now, Little Wolf and Winged Tiger are stationed at Wolf Mountain, keeping an eye on the Golden Armor Lion. He’s shown unusual movements lately; I can’t move them easily.”

“Big Old Black… his strength is too low. He’s a logistics manager, not a general. If I send him to the front lines, he’ll just be a casualty.”

Wu Yuan calculated silently.

“It seems I can only send One Ear.”

However, Wu Yuan hesitated.

Although One Ear’s mental state had improved after careful treatment, the recent events at the Corrupt Water Pool had taken a toll. Absorbing too many demon souls had caused his instability to resurface.

Since breaking through to the mid-stage of Qi Refining, One Ear’s talent for harvesting souls had grown stronger, but so had his madness. He was gloomy all day, surrounded by the phantom shrieks of his victims. Sometimes, even Wu Yuan felt a chill when looking at him.

If One Ear went to Polong Lake and lost control in the heat of battle… he might not just kill the enemy. He might slaughter everything in sight, allies included.