The Rat Cultivator

Chapter 180: Nine Dragons Refining the World

The surrounding Sinking Gold Carps were completely defenseless against the ascending apex predator. One by one, they were mercilessly torn apart, their scales shredded by dagger-like teeth and their flesh chewed into pulp before being swallowed whole.

As the mutating runt gorged itself on its kin, dense layers of new muscle and flesh rapidly swelled across its emaciated frame. The horrific, half-eaten holes in its torso sealed up, its body regenerating and expanding with explosive vitality.

When the slaughter finally ceased, the creature had metamorphosed into a bizarre, terrifying Demon Beast. It possessed the elongated skull of a serpent, the muscular, scaled torso of a massive fish, and a thick, thrashing serpentine tail. Four razor-sharp claws had sprouted from its underbelly.

Most importantly, two small, nub-like protrusions had broken through the scales atop its skull. Though they were currently nothing more than bare, stubby branches, they radiated a crushing, majestic aura. Nestled exactly between its eyes was a pale, semi-circular golden crest, gleaming like an embedded miniature sun.

A golden flood dragon had just been born in the subterranean pond.

Though juvenile, its bloodline was impeccably pure, thrumming with the dual elemental essence of water and metal. Those stubby horns were the absolute key. Having unformed horns was a world apart from having no horns at all. It signified that this creature had crossed the ultimate genetic threshold; it was no longer a mere snake or carp, but a true member of the dragon clan. It possessed the innate Potential to naturally evolve into a true dragon—it only lacked the required time and Cultivation resources.

Once those horns fully elongated and its body shed its vestigial fish traits, it would become a pure-blooded dragon, recognized and welcomed by the legendary East Sea Dragon Palace itself.

Bibo stared at the golden beast, his jaw hanging completely slack. “Th-This… This is…”

Big Old Black, however, crossed his arms and snorted in sheer disdain. “It’s just a tiny flood dragon! It’s no bigger than my paw! What’s the big deal? Its aura is so pathetic I could probably squash it by sitting on it!”

Bibo’s whiskers practically stood on end. He glared at the giant rat. “You ignorant fool! Do you have any idea what you’re looking at? A flood dragon with a bloodline this pure is considered elite even within the East Sea Dragon Palace! Even if it doesn’t rule a sector, it could easily serve as a high-ranking steward!”

The turtle pointed a trembling claw at the bone bowl in Wu Yuan’s hand. “But that isn’t even the most terrifying part! The Great King used a single drop of synthesized spiritual water to bypass an ancient, complex biological array! This means the Disintegration Dragon Transformation Ritual can be industrialized! We can mass-produce pure-blooded flood dragons! The economic and military value of this is incomprehensible!”

Listening to the exchange, Wu Yuan reached into the pond and casually scooped the golden flood dragon out of the water.

The beast instantly went feral, thrashing violently in his grip and snapping its jaws in a desperate attempt to break free.

Wu Yuan looked down at it, a cold, calculating sneer on his face. “Mass production? It’s not nearly that simple, Bibo. I had to sacrifice an entire breeding pond of premium Sinking Gold Carps just to synthesize the aura required for one ascension. And look at the result: it’s a stunted, defective runt.”

Big Old Black’s assessment had been entirely correct. The golden flood dragon was incredibly weak. While it possessed the genetic code and elemental essence of a dragon, it completely lacked the robust, terrifying physical vessel required to house that power. Nurturing this defective creature into a fully mature flood dragon would require an astronomical investment of resources and energy—an investment the East Sea Dragon Palace could afford, but one that was highly inefficient for Wu Yuan.

Furthermore, given its violent, artificial birth, the creature’s genetic stability was questionable. It could very well suffer sudden cellular collapse and die during the rearing process, rendering the massive investment entirely moot.

However, none of these flaws detracted from the sheer, apocalyptic value of the Dharma Treasure Embryo. The bone bowl essentially functioned as a biological factory capable of generating top-tier draconic consumables. This was exactly why the Dragon Palace had hunted Daoist Dragon Snake so relentlessly.

“The cost was steep, and the product is defective,” Wu Yuan noted, his eyes gleaming with a manic, scientific excitement. “But I have absolutely no intention of raising it as a pet. I only need it to possess the biological signature of a dragon.”

“With this,” Wu Yuan declared, holding the thrashing beast up to the light, “I can finally reconstruct the Nine Dragons Refining the World secret technique!”

Nine Dragons Refining the World was Daoist Dragon Snake’s magnum opus, the ultimate spell matrix that had made him infamous across the Cultivation world.

According to the handbook, Daoist Dragon Snake had originally bred countless variations of flood dragons specifically to study how their distinct elemental affinities interacted with this single technique. The technique required the caster to vivisect and ritually refine nine living dragons into bound spirits. These spirits would then serve as the autonomous, localized power cores for the technique matrix. The stronger the dragons’ bloodlines, the more devastating the technique’s output.

Hunted by the East Sea Dragon Palace, Daoist Dragon Snake had been forced to optimize the technique purely for apocalyptic destruction in order to survive. He had forcefully bred nine fire dragons and refined them into living weapons. When the technique was cast, nine pillars of draconic fire would erupt, incinerating everything in a massive radius.

However, Wu Yuan’s analytical mind had recognized a deeper, theoretical application hidden within the handbook’s notes. Nine Dragons Refining the World was not inherently an offensive technique. It was a supreme, multi-elemental furnace.

Refining. The technique wasn’t just designed to refine enemies into ash; it was designed to refine Magical Artifacts, process high-grade Pills, and synthesize complex arrays.

To utilize the furnace for creation rather than destruction, the caster needed dragons of varied elements to balance the matrix—water refining, fire refining, wood refining. Because Daoist Dragon Snake was a combat specialist on the run, he had ignored the artisanal applications. Wu Yuan, however, heavily preferred industrial logistics over frontline combat. He salivated at the thought of a self-sustaining, multi-elemental biological forge.

“Let’s assess the inventory,” Wu Yuan calculated silently. “The fire flood dragon in Snake Valley nearly burned itself out, but it’s currently stabilized in a coma. I can harvest it as the Fire Spirit. The Black Water Flood Dragon Snake is still alive in the cavern; catalyzing its final ascension into a water dragon is a simple matter of time. That will serve as the Water Spirit.”

He looked at the tiny, thrashing beast in his paw. “And this defective runt can serve as the Metal Spirit.”

“It’s only three dragons, and their elemental affinities actively conflict with one another,” Wu Yuan mused. “But it should be enough to jury-rig a degraded, miniature variant: Three Dragons Refining the World. A perfect starting point for a lowly Qi Condensation cultivator like myself.”

A cruel, clinical smile spread across Wu Yuan’s snout as he looked down at the golden flood dragon currently trying to chew through his impenetrable skin.

Sensing the sudden, terrifying shift in the Rat King’s aura, the golden flood dragon froze. Its primal instincts screamed. It abandoned its attack and began thrashing wildly, twisting its body into knots in a desperate bid to escape.

Ignoring its panic, Wu Yuan extended a single, razor-sharp claw. With surgical precision, he slowly sliced shallow incisions along the dragon’s jawline, down its spine, across its soft underbelly, and along its tail.

He didn’t strike to kill. As the blood welled up, Wu Yuan manipulated his Qi. Microscopic, blood-red strands of Spirit Mulberry silk drifted through the air, meticulously threading themselves into the dragon’s open wounds and burrowing deep into its nervous system.

The fierce, predatory defiance in the golden flood dragon’s eyes shattered, replaced by absolute, paralyzing terror. It ceased struggling and looked up at Wu Yuan, forcing a desperate, pleading smile in a pathetic attempt to beg for mercy.

Wu Yuan smiled warmly in return. “Do not worry,” he whispered softly. “You won’t feel a thing.”

Opening his paw, Wu Yuan released the beast.

The golden flood dragon didn’t hesitate. It shot into the air like a bullet, fleeing toward the cavern ceiling with everything it had.

Big Old Black watched the fleeing dragon with sudden panic. “Boss! It’s getting away! Should I—”

Wu Yuan simply shook his head. He raised his paw and casually curled his index finger.

Mid-flight, the golden flood dragon violently halted, freezing in dead air as if hitting an invisible wall. Its body went completely rigid. Slowly, mechanically, it turned around. Its eyes were wide with sheer, unadulterated horror as its body, completely hijacked by the embedded silk, flew directly back to Wu Yuan.

Wu Yuan raised both paws, his fingers twitching in a complex rhythm.

The golden flood dragon became a living marionette. As Wu Yuan moved his fingers, the dragon danced. It executed perfect aerial flips, somersaults, and tight coils, completely devoid of its own free will.

“Big Old Black!” Wu Yuan laughed, his eyes alight with manic joy. “What do you think of my proprietary biological puppetry technique?”

Big Old Black suddenly felt very cold. He reflexively clenched his glutes, a horrible, prickly sensation crawling up his spine. He forced a wide, incredibly strained smile.

“B-Boss, your genius is truly terrifying! I mean, amazing!” Big Old Black stammered, backing away slowly. “You know, I just remembered! The females in my den are due to give birth any second now! I really should go supervise!”

Without waiting for a response, the massive rat turned and vanished into the deepest tunnels of the cavern like a shadow.