The Rat Cultivator

Chapter 94: Expansion

Wu Yuan sat within the quiet sanctuary of his treehouse, eyes closed in deep contemplation. The flickering spiritual light cast long, dancing shadows across the room, illuminating the slight furrow in his brow as he processed the flood of intelligence granted by the Azure Radiance Grotto-Heaven.

The geography of his world had finally been laid bare. Little Green Mountain was tucked into the southwestern corner of the Grotto-Heaven, its back pressed against a desolate, spirit-barren zone—the very path the Mountain Goat Spirit and the Winged Tiger had once used to trespass.

To the north lay the shimmering, boundless expanse of Polong Lake. To the east rose a massive, wind-swept plateau. To the northwest stretched a dense, ancient mountainous forest. These three regions acted as the walls of his corner, and Wu Yuan was done being boxed in.

He needed to strike, but he needed to strike correctly.

“The northern plateau is a fortress of jagged peaks and surging metallic energy,” Wu Yuan mused, his mind moving like a commander over a map. “It’s a natural barrier. I don’t have to worry about an invasion from that side, but by that same token, attacking through it would be a logistical nightmare.”

“Polong Lake is a chaotic mess of water demons,” he continued. “They’re currently too busy tearing each other apart to care about a mountain. They aren’t a threat—yet.”

His mental finger slid across the map to the northwest.

“That leaves Wolf Mountain.”

This forest of towering, sun-blocked trees was a green ribbon of life connecting Little Green Mountain to the Grotto-Heaven’s main peak. Its position was the lynchpin of his future expansion. Currently, it was the domain of a ferocious wolf pack, serving as a buffer against the outside world. But times had changed. What was once a shield was now a bottleneck, a looming threat perched just above his head.

He made his decision. Wolf Mountain would fall first.

The moment his resolve hardened, a flash of insight shimmered before his eyes.

[Blue Intelligence: Hidden within the fur of the mid-stage Qi Condensation Snow Plains Wolf King is a mid-stage Two-Clawed Soul-Confusing Pei. This entity specializes in bewitchment and soul-manipulation, posing a catastrophic threat to the collective mind of the rat swarm.]

Wu Yuan’s eyes narrowed into slits. “A Soul-Confusing Pei at the mid-stage… if that thing gets a chance to work its technique while the wolves are charging, my swarm will be decimated from the inside out.”

The rat swarm was the backbone of his power. If their loyalty was subverted or their minds shattered by illusion, his reign would crumble.

“The Wolf King himself only possesses seven or eight strands of Demon Power—weaker than me,” Wu Yuan analyzed. “And the Pei clan is notorious for having fragile physical bodies. That is their undoing.”

As he delved deeper into the intelligence, a visceral, chilling vision filled his mind.

He saw a mountain hollowed out by teeth and claws, a place of bone-piercing cold where frost clung to every surface like a shroud. Inside this tomb of ice lay the Snow Plains Wolf King. It was a beast of nightmare proportions—30 feet long and 13 feet high, a literal mountain of fur and muscle. Every breath it exhaled sent flurries of snow swirling through the cavern, freezing the very air into jagged crystals.

A parade of lesser wolves moved through the gloom, dropping frozen carcasses before their king. The great beast merely inhaled, drawing the offerings into its maw with a terrifying, effortless vacuum.

But then, Wu Yuan spotted the anomaly. Hidden deep within the Wolf King’s shaggy, salt-and-pepper mane was a creature the size of a kitten. It was snow-white and lacked hind legs, its two front claws hooked firmly into the King’s spine like a parasite. To the naked eye, it looked like a harmless tuft of fur or a common flea.

Wu Yuan let out a soft huff. “As I grow stronger, it takes more to trigger a Blue Intelligence report on Little Green Mountain. Now that I’m looking outward, the quality of my enemies is finally catching up.”

He stood and clapped his claws together. The sound was sharp, a signal that resonated through the treehouse and into the tunnels below.

With steady, measured steps, Wu Yuan walked out onto the high stone platform overlooking the main ore cavern. He didn’t have to wait long. Within seconds, the silence of the cave was broken by the rhythmic skitter-scratch of thousands of paws.

Bibo and Big Old Black emerged first, leading a sea of gray and black that quickly carpeted the cavern floor.

There were over 1,000 rat demons now. Thanks to the abundant resources of Little Green Mountain and Wu Yuan’s guidance, most had already Awakened the middle-grade Spirit-Gathering Rat bloodline. Their progress was unnatural; each possessed at least 10 strands of Demon Power. Among them were 300 elites with high-grade bloodlines, some boasting over 20 strands.

Had they not been forced into that brutal blood sacrifice during the battle with the Goat Spirit, their numbers and strength would have been even more staggering. But Wu Yuan knew how to rebuild. As long as he had the land and the spirit-meat, he could manufacture an army of Awakened rats in weeks.

He looked down at the silent, disciplined mass of fur and crimson eyes.

“This,” Wu Yuan whispered, a surge of cold pride warming his chest. “This is my strength.”

There was no chaos. No squeaking. Just a heavy, expectant hush. A thousand pairs of glowing red eyes looked up at their King, illuminating the darkness of the cave like a field of dying stars.

Little Yellow scurried up the platform, finding his usual spot under Wu Yuan’s paw with a contented huff. Little White tried to follow, but Little Gray caught her by the tail.

“Hey! What gives?” she squeaked, puffing out her cheeks.

Little Gray sighed, his voice hushed and urgent. “Sister, look at the atmosphere! This isn’t the time for your usual antics. Stay in line and look respectable for the King!”

In a shadowy corner of the cavern, the Winged Tiger watched the assembly, its fur bristling in an instinctive shiver.

My gods, the tiger thought, its heart hammering. The sheer scale of this… In the outside territories, you’d need to be a late-stage Qi Condensation Rat King to command a swarm this disciplined and powerful. Without that kind of strength, you couldn’t even hold the territory needed to feed them.

The tiger looked up at Wu Yuan. Standing above the sea of red eyes, the rat monarch appeared terrifyingly immense.

If someone told me he was already at the late stage, I wouldn’t doubt it for a second, the tiger realized. He’s nothing like those pathetic, grave-robbing rats in the outer wilds. But then again… he’s the Great King. He’s the rising star of the whole damn demon race. It all makes sense now.

The tiger shook off its fear, its tail giving a defiant flick. Wait, why am I shaking? I’m on the winning team! I’m a founding member of this circus!

Wu Yuan raised a paw, and the cavern fell into a silence so absolute it felt physical. The expansion had begun.