The Rat Cultivator

Chapter 176: Capturing the Fire Flood Dragon

Swish! Swish! Streaks of blood-red silkworm silk shot into the sky, interweaving into an inescapable heavenly net that firmly ensnared the thrashing fire flood dragon.

[Blood-Binding Mystic Silkworm Formation]!

The root system of the Spirit Mulberry tree extended throughout the entirety of Little Green Mountain, and the perimeter of Snake Valley was no exception. Wu Yuan had specifically cultivated a massive network of roots here in preparation for this exact scenario. While the Formation lacked the main tree to anchor it—resulting in a slightly weaker output—Wu Yuan only needed its binding capacity. He would deliver the heavy damage himself.

Watching the fire flood dragon violently ram against the silk to no avail, Wu Yuan nodded in deep satisfaction.

“Truly worthy of the Spirit Mulberry tree I cultivated at such great cost,” he murmured. “The binding power of this matrix is easily at the First-grade, High Grade level, and its durability is phenomenal!”

Even if the fire flood dragon managed to conjure another apocalyptic lightning storm to shatter the Formation, Wu Yuan wouldn’t panic. The resulting energy drain would drop the beast to the mid-stage of Qi Condensation, rendering it completely harmless.

However, Wu Yuan was extremely unwilling to let a premium, late-stage Qi Condensation biological specimen degrade in quality.

Noticing the frantic dragon gathering energy for another spell, Wu Yuan sighed. He reached into his robes and retrieved the Ancient Xun, shaking his head with feigned helplessness. “Settle down. I’ll play you a lullaby.”

The moment Bibo and the others saw the Ancient Xun in the Rat King’s paws, their eyes bulged in absolute terror. Channeling their Demon Power to the absolute limit, they instantly vanished from the area, fleeing for their lives.

Wu Yuan shook his head. “Philistines. Absolutely no appreciation for the fine arts.”

Placing the Ancient Xun to his lips, Wu Yuan activated the technique. [Heavenly Demon Soul-Confusing Sound]! First Movement: The Tune of Life!

SKREEE! HONK!

The fire flood dragon’s massive head violently jerked down as if smashed by an invisible anvil. It let out an agonizing, blood-curdling shriek. Every discordant, ear-splitting screech slammed into the beast’s mind like a sledgehammer, violently attempting to bludgeon it into a “peaceful” slumber.

Miles away, the Winged Tiger desperately clamped its paws over its ears, using its Demon Power to block the catastrophic noise. “Why does the Great King’s music sound completely different from the Magical Artifact’s original melody?!” it yelled to Little Wolf. “The original song made me feel like a cub again, safe in my father’s paws! But the Great King’s music… how do I put it?”

The Winged Tiger smacked its lips, searching for a diplomatic phrase. “It’s… bursting with wild, untamed power!”

Getting no response, the Winged Tiger turned. Little Wolf was sprawled on his back, his eyes rolled into his skull and his tongue lolling out, violently twitching in a deep coma.

In the past, when facing ordinary enemies, Wu Yuan had simply funneled his Demon Power into the Ancient Xun, allowing the Magical Artifact to play its own pre-recorded, flawless melodies.

However, after a particularly satisfying meal one day, Wu Yuan had recalled his crushed dreams from his previous life—dreams of becoming a musician, tragically derailed by his absolute tone-deafness. I am the Rat King! he had realized. If I cannot pursue my passions now, what is the point of ruling? Thus, he had hosted Little Green Mountain’s Inaugural “The Voice” Music Festival, serving as the grand finale. According to a traumatized Little Yellow, when the Rat King finished his set, the entire venue had fallen into a horrified, shell-shocked silence. Then, sporting rictus grins of sheer, existential agony, the horde had clapped with desperate, manic intensity, the deafening applause mercifully drowning out any chance of an encore.

Trapped in the Formation, the fire flood dragon was experiencing a psychological paradox. The technique’s inherent effect forced its mind to feel a profound, serene joy, but the actual audio was inflicting catastrophic neurological trauma. This paradoxical dissonance shredded its sanity, throwing its Demon Power into total chaos.

Seeing the beast thrash, Wu Yuan assumed his technique was working flawlessly. He blew into the Ancient Xun with even greater fervor, his chest swelling with pride. I knew I was a musical prodigy! The Winged Tiger and the others just lack the cultural refinement to understand my avant-garde style! I am finally living my dream!

Connected to his consciousness, the nascent spirit of the Ancient Xun felt its master’s immense joy. Although the artifact was deeply confused as to why the notes coming out of it sounded like dying cats rather than its programmed symphony, it dutifully amplified the catastrophic noise. As long as the master is happy!

SCREEEEEECH!

With a final, ear-piercing crescendo, the melody ended. The violently writhing fire flood dragon instantly went rigid. Blood forcefully ruptured from its eyes, ears, and nostrils. With a heavy thud, the massive beast plummeted from the sky, slamming into the earth with a pulse so weak it was barely clinging to life.

Lowering the Ancient Xun, Wu Yuan scratched his head. He looked down at the dragon’s grotesquely contorted face—the beast had literally twisted its own facial scales off in agony.

“That was the Tune of Life, not the Tune of Death,” Wu Yuan muttered, genuinely perplexed. “It was supposed to peacefully drift off to sleep. Why does it look like it was tortured?”

He simply shrugged it off. The process was a disaster, but the result was perfect. He was far too immersed in his own artistic delusion to accept his lack of talent. Besides, his subordinates would shower him with praise regardless. A little auditory torture was a small price to pay to keep the Rat King happy; this was a core survival tenet drilled into the Little Green Mountain horde during orientation.

Through sheer, tone-deaf incompetence, Wu Yuan had successfully mutated the Heavenly Demon Soul-Confusing Sound into the Heavenly Demon Soul-Destroying Sound.

Thoroughly satisfied with his performance, Wu Yuan tucked the Ancient Xun away. He manipulated the blood-red silk to completely cocoon the comatose fire flood dragon, ordering a specialized rat squad to haul the premium biological specimen back to the underground caverns for harvesting.

Turning his attention to his primary objective, he consulted his internal interface. Karma Pearl. Is the Dharma Treasure Embryo capable of retaliating?

[Green Intelligence: The Dharma Treasure Embryo’s Spiritual Qi is completely depleted. It has entered a forced, deep hibernation!]

A sharp, triumphant grin spread across Wu Yuan’s snout. His eyes gleamed with predatory excitement.

“After all that meticulous planning, resource starvation, and psychological warfare… I won.” He let out a low, satisfied breath. “The Dharma Treasure Embryo is finally mine. With an artifact of this caliber, my Cultivation foundation will be virtually unassailable.”

Brimming with anticipation, Wu Yuan stepped across the threshold and into the Spiritual Qi barren zone previously scorched by the dragon. The air was blistering hot, the surrounding flora reduced to lifeless, grey ash.

As he ventured deeper toward the abyss of Snake Valley, his elevated senses finally registered the true, terrifying nature of the environment he had created.

“Fascinating,” he murmured, his eyes narrowing. “This barren zone… it’s not merely an absence of Spiritual Qi.”