The Rat Cultivator

The Demon Monkey Leader was a towering monstrosity, standing as tall as two men stacked shoulder-to-shoulder. His agile frame rippled with explosive power, backed by a cultivation base of over thirty strands of Demon Power—a strength that slightly edged out Wu Yuan’s own.

Flanking him were two female consorts, each possessing seven or eight strands of Demon Power. Behind them, a horde of over three hundred monkeys screeched and beat their chests. Their collective aura was imposing and formidable, a force that no ordinary beast would dare provoke.

The Demon Monkey Leader locked eyes with Wu Yuan, a glint of provocation flashing in his gaze. He bared his fangs, his howl rolling over the mountain like thunder.

“A bunch of filthy little rats dare to occupy the Great Azure Boulder? Scram immediately, or I’ll slaughter every last one of you!”

His voice was sharp and piercing, echoing violently across the summit.

Hearing the taunt, the twenty elite Rat Demons in Wu Yuan’s formation instantly fixed their gazes on the primate leader. Their eyes were not filled with fear, but with a rabid, frothing madness.

One Ear, in particular, looked terrifying. His already scarred and fierce visage twisted into something sinister as he slowly, deliberately inched toward the Demon Monkey Leader.

The sheer intensity of the rat horde startled the Demon Monkey Leader. The arrogance that had inflated his chest moments ago deflated. He subconsciously reached up, scratching his cheek and ear in a nervous tic, muttering to himself.

“If it were just seven or eight Rat Demons, my troop could crush them. But this… there are too many. If we truly fight, my tribe will pay a heavy price.”

The Demon Monkey Leader glanced greedily at the Great Azure Boulder, scratching his head anxiously.

His bloodline granted him a unique perception; he could vaguely sense that this boulder was the epicenter of tonight’s Fated Chance. It was critical for his evolution. He wasn’t afraid of the other lurking spirits, but he never expected an ambush of this magnitude.

A massive, organized rat army appearing halfway through the night had put him in a terrible dilemma.

The Demon Monkey Leader appeared exceptionally agitated. He darted glances left and right, his eyes shifting among the other Demon Beasts hiding in the shadows. Suddenly, he raised his voice, shouting to the surrounding monsters with a tone of urgent enticement.

“You can all sense it! The Fated Chance is about to descend, and the prime spot is that boulder! Why don’t we cooperate and—”

“Kill him!”

Wu Yuan didn’t let him finish. A flash of cold ferocity cut through his eyes.

He issued the mental command without hesitation.

Twenty-three Rat Demons simultaneously threw their heads back and emitted a sharp, ear-splitting shriek. They pushed their Demon Power to the limit, channeling it into a singular frequency.

A strange, invisible fluctuation rippled outward with the rats at the center, instantly enveloping the Demon Monkey Leader.

“You actually possess the Rat King’s Divine Ability?!”

The Demon Monkey Leader’s pupils constricted to pinpoints. The eerie, piercing shrieks felt like countless steel needles stabbing viciously into his brain. Intense pain flooded his senses, causing his vision to blur and his mind to go blank for a fatal split-second.

Seeing the opening, Wu Yuan’s eyes turned ruthless. He immediately opened his mouth and spat out the weapon he had been charging.

[Poison Guiding Art]!

The Poison Orb shot forth. The green light swirling on its surface suddenly surged, expanding into a three-foot-long cloud of toxic green mist that barreled straight toward the stunned primate.

The Demon Monkey Leader stared at the billowing poison cloud, his eyes wide with fury.

He had no time to dodge. Roaring violently, he desperately ignited his Demon Power. His eyes turned blood-red, his muscles bulging so violently that blue veins popped against his skin. He twisted his torso with all his might, trying to wrench himself out of the trajectory of the fatal blow.

He wasn’t fast enough. The green poisonous cloud washed over the right half of his body.

The moment the mist made contact, the horrific corrosion began. Flesh melted away at a visible speed, turning into a bubbling green sludge.

In the blink of an eye, the skin and muscle were gone, exposing stark white ribs and a frantic, thumping heart beneath.

“Ahhh!”

The Demon Monkey Leader let out a miserable scream that shook the leaves off the nearby trees. The monkey troop shrieked in terror as their leader staggered backward, crashing into the formation and knocking over several of his kin.

The monkeys that were knocked down screamed as the residual poison on their Leader’s body touched them. They instantly dissolved into puddles of green water, vanishing without a trace.

The Demon Monkey Leader frantically scrambled behind a female monkey demon, using her as a shield. His blood-red eyes fixed dead on Wu Yuan, a low, guttural growl vibrating in his throat like a cornered beast.

“Death throes!”

Wu Yuan was not one to let up on his advantage. A savage grin split his face as he pushed his Demon Power, hurling the Poison Orb at the Demon Monkey Leader once again.

The monkey troop erupted into chaos. Seven or eight strong adult males, eyes red with loyalty and rage, pounced toward the Poison Orb to intercept it.

They didn’t even make it. Before they could touch the orb, the sweeping tail of the poison mist brushed against them. They collapsed mid-air, melting into piles of mucus before hitting the ground.

A pungent, rotten stench of dissolved flesh began to permeate the mountain air.

Only one of the female monkey demons reacted in time. A flash of cyan light sparked at her fingertips, and thick vines burst from the earth, weaving instantly into a wooden barrier to block the orb.

Wu Yuan sneered. “Naive!”

He flared his Spiritual Energy. The Poison Orb’s speed surged, carrying immense kinetic force as it smashed into the vines. The wood hissed and blackened, a massive hole corroding through the shield in an instant.

Under the female monkey’s terrified gaze, the Poison Orb smashed directly into her face.

Crack!

The sound of the skull shattering and the sizzle of acidic corrosion rang out simultaneously. Her headless body didn’t even have time to fall before it dissolved into green mucus, splashing against the rocky ground with a wet hiss.

The Demon Monkey Leader peeked half of his head out from behind the remaining female consort. His red eyes stared at the melting remains of his mate, and a low whimper of grief escaped his lips.

“Now!”

Wu Yuan seized the moment of distraction. He opened his mouth, and a streak of black light shot out.

[Dark Spirit Thorn]!

The spell moved like black lightning, flashing between flint and spark. It crossed the distance instantly and pierced straight through the Demon Monkey Leader’s skull.

It punched a clean red hole through the bone, inside of which white brain matter could be seen wriggling.

“No!”

The Demon Monkey Leader let out a heart-wrenching scream. He slapped his hands over the hole in his head, desperately circulating his Demon Power in a vain attempt to plug the wound and stop his essence from leaking out.

Dragging his mangled, half-melted body, he turned and crawled painfully toward the treeline, leaving a grotesque trail of red blood and green sludge on the ground.

“Still struggling?”

Wu Yuan casually backhanded the remaining female monkey who tried to pounce on him, sending her flying. He walked through the lingering poison mist, slowly, step by step, closing in on the Demon Monkey Leader.

“Spare… spare me!” the Demon Monkey Leader stammered, his voice trembling.

He lay on the ground, clutching his head, his eyes filled with pathetic pleading.

But seeing the cold, unmoved expression on Wu Yuan’s face, the pleading in the Demon Monkey Leader’s eyes vanished, replaced by a flash of suicidal madness.

He suddenly sprang up, his sharp claws wrapped in the last dregs of his Demon Power, sweeping viciously toward Wu Yuan’s throat in a final, desperate gambit.

Wu Yuan sneered. His left hand shot out, fingers forming a claw that crushed the Demon Monkey Leader’s heavenly cap.

His right hand moved in a blur, plunging into the monkey’s open chest cavity. He ripped out the heart, threw it into his mouth, and bit down.

The surrounding spirits and monsters watched in stunned silence. In less than twenty breaths, the powerful Demon Monkey Leader had met a gruesome end, leaving not even a corpse behind. They felt the hair on their backs stand on end, their eyes filled with deep wariness toward this ruthless rat.

Wu Yuan’s cultivation was technically lower than the Demon Monkey Leader’s, but his spell mastery was exquisite, and his tactics were vicious. He had planned this ambush perfectly, crippling the leader before a fair fight could even begin.

By now, the twenty-three Rat Demons and the main horde had slaughtered the monkey troop down to the last digit. Big Old Black and One Ear had cornered the last two fleeing female monkeys against a cliff face.

The females screamed in terror, darting left and right, but there was no escape from the tide of fur and teeth.

Wu Yuan swallowed the last chunk of the heart, fresh blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. He swept his cold gaze over the surrounding spirits and spoke, his voice dripping with killing intent.

“Come any closer, and this will be your fate!”