Chapter 330: Beloved Twin-Pupiled Mouse

Deep within the Taiyi Mountain Range, lay an extremely dense forest.

A portly Double-Pupiled Rat scurried rapidly forward, moving at an astonishing speed, with Wang Changsheng and his four companions following dozens of yards behind.

Over the past two years, relying on the Double-Pupiled Rat's keen sense of smell, they had discovered numerous spirit herbs over a century old and hunted many Class 2 demonic beasts. More than twenty of these were even Class 2 superior demonic beasts.

Zhao Wuji, Wang Changsheng, and Xiao Tianzheng each possessed a natal magic artifact. Coupled with the assistance of their Class 2 puppet beasts, even two Class 2 superior demonic beasts might not be able to match them.

Of course, they had also encountered trouble. On one occasion, they ran into over a hundred Azure Flame Wolves. Fortunately, Zhao Wuji carried a Class 2 superior formation talisman, which he used to trap most of the wolves. The five of them worked together seamlessly, fighting their way out of the encirclement.

After two years of collaboration, their coordination had become highly refined, and their bond had grown stronger.

Regrettably, Wang Changfeng was still stuck at the third layer of the Foundation Establishment stage.

The Double-Pupiled Rat had grown more than a size fatter, appearing even more corpulent. As it passed through a patch of waist-high weeds, a black shadow shot out from the ground like lightning, striking directly at the Double-Pupiled Rat.

The Double-Pupiled Rat let out squeaks, and a dazzling yellow light emanated from its body. A thick layer of earthen armor materialized close to its form, encasing it within.

It curled its body into an oval yellow ball and rolled rapidly forward.

With several muffled thuds, the black shadow struck the yellow ball, causing several small cracks to appear on the surface of the earthen armor.

Simultaneously, a crimson rainbow several yards long shot forth, slashing fiercely in the direction of the black shadow.

Rumbling sounds echoed. A several-yard-long gully appeared on the ground.

The yellow ball quickly rolled towards Wang Changsheng and soon came to rest at his feet.

With a flash of yellow light, the earthen armor on the Double-Pupiled Rat's body dissipated. It shook off the yellow dirt, quickly climbed to Wang Changsheng's waist, and burrowed into the wide-open spirit beast bag. It poked its small head out, letting out squeaks, its dark, beady eyes filled with fear.

A strange shriek resounded, and the ground beneath became uneven as a colossal yellow scorpion emerged from underground.

The giant yellow scorpion had an unusually long tail, scales resembling fish scales on its body, and spewed yellow poisonous mist from its mouth, its two massive pincers wide open.

"Don't be afraid, it's just a Class 2 mid-grade Yellow-Scaled Scorpion," Wang Changsheng said, stroking the Double-Pupiled Rat's small head to comfort it.

The Double-Pupiled Rat continued to let out strange squeaks, still appearing very frightened.

Chen Yuhan took out a small, egg-sized yellow date and fed it to the Double-Pupiled Rat.

Only after eating the yellow date did the Double-Pupiled Rat stop squeaking.

"A Class 2 mid-grade demonic insect dares to block our path? It's asking for death," Zhao Wuji said in a deep voice, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

"Fellow Daoist Zhao, there's more than one Yellow-Scaled Scorpion. Be careful of what's underground," Wang Changsheng warned.

No sooner had he spoken than two mounds suddenly bulged from the ground nearby, rapidly surging towards Wang Changsheng and his four companions.

"Good timing!" Zhao Wuji roared, his red longblade glowing intensely as he slashed it towards the empty space ahead.

With a flash of red light, over a dozen crimson blade energies, each more than ten yards long, shot out, slicing towards the two advancing mounds.

Wang Changsheng took out the Ice Dragon Flag and gently waved it. A vast expanse of white frigid air swept forth, covering the ground within a dozen yards with a thick layer of ice.

Xiao Tianzheng wielded an Azure Plantain Fan, sending giant wind blades flying out.

Wang Changfeng continuously fanned his Fire Cloud Flag, releasing enormous fireballs.

Chen Yuhan, meanwhile, summoned a blue banner flag, which transformed into a solid blue light barrier, encompassing all five of them.

Their coordination was highly proficient, adept in both offense and defense.

A tremendous roar erupted. The ground over ten yards away was shattered by the dozen-plus crimson blade energies, revealing the forms of two colossal Yellow-Scaled Scorpions. Enormous fireballs and giant wind blades then crashed down, creating continuous explosions and rolling flames.

Being Class 2 demonic beasts, the Yellow-Scaled Scorpions naturally wouldn't perish so easily.

Wang Changsheng summoned his Profound Yin Sand. With a hand seal, the sand spun rapidly, transforming into thousands of tiny black flying needles that surged towards the Yellow-Scaled Scorpions.

That wasn't all. Wang Changsheng released four spider puppet beasts, each spraying a white spiderweb to envelop the Yellow-Scaled Scorpions.

A bright yellow light shone from the Yellow-Scaled Scorpions' bodies as they prepared to burrow underground. However, a deep bell chime resounded. Hearing it, their bodies went limp. By the time they reacted, the white spiderwebs had already ensnared them.

A house-sized fireball smashed onto one Yellow-Scaled Scorpion, erupting into a vast expanse of crimson flames. The high temperature accompanying the flames caused it to let out a piteous shriek.

"Fierce Tiger Descends the Mountain!" Zhao Wuji roared, his red longblade glowing intensely as he slashed it towards the crimson sea of fire. With a flash of red light, a colossal crimson tiger materialized, leaped several yards high with a push of its forelegs, and instantly surged into the flames.

A deafening explosion reverberated, and the flames scattered, revealing the form of one Yellow-Scaled Scorpion. It had been split in half, beyond dead.

Thousands of black flying needles struck another Yellow-Scaled Scorpion, merely piercing its yellow scales but not severely wounding it.

More than a dozen giant wind blades shot forth, fiercely cleaving into its body.

With a shriek, this Class 2 low-grade Yellow-Scaled Scorpion was torn into a large mass of shredded flesh.

Meanwhile, the four spider puppets rushed towards a Yellow-Scaled Scorpion. Their sharp claws swiftly raked across its back, and their fangs plunged savagely into its body, tearing and biting ferociously.

This Yellow-Scaled Scorpion let out continuous screams, and a vast expanse of yellow light illuminated its body. A solid yellow armor appeared, shielding its entire form.

Squeaks echoed. The four spider puppets suddenly scattered, and a house-sized azure seal descended from the sky, smashing forcefully onto the Yellow-Scaled Scorpion.

The ground shook violently, and this Yellow-Scaled Scorpion was flattened into a bloody pulp.

All three Class 2 Yellow-Scaled Scorpions — one mid-grade and two low-grade — were killed by Wang Changsheng and his four companions, with not a single one escaping.

Of course, their smooth victory in killing the three Class 2 Yellow-Scaled Scorpions was entirely due to Xiao Tianzheng's natal magic artifact, the Demon-Suppressing Bell, which temporarily incapacitated the demonic beasts.

According to Xiao Tianzheng, his ancestors were also disciples of the Taiyi Immortal Sect. The Demon-Suppressing Bell was a replica of a spirit treasure from the Taiyi Immortal Sect, which his ancestor received for a great meritorious deed. However, by Xiao Tianzheng's generation, the Xiao family's talent had dwindled. If he hadn't joined the Taiyi Immortal Sect, the Xiao family would likely have been absorbed by other immortal cultivation forces.

Wang Changsheng summoned his soul-collecting bottle and harvested the souls of the three Yellow-Scaled Scorpions.

Wang Changfeng received the corpse of one Yellow-Scaled Scorpion, including its inner core. The other two Yellow-Scaled Scorpion corpses belonged to Zhao Wuji and the remaining two companions.

"Fellow Daoist Wang, let the Double-Pupiled Rat out! With its help in finding spirit herbs, we always make a good haul," Zhao Wuji said, simultaneously taking out a small blue fruit and placing it on the ground.

The Double-Pupiled Rat's eyes lit up as it caught the fragrant scent of the small blue fruit, and it let out squeaks. However, it didn't immediately leave the spirit beast bag.

"Go on! After you eat the spirit fruit, lead us to find more spirit herbs," Wang Changsheng said with a smile, affectionately stroking the Double-Pupiled Rat's head.

The Double-Pupiled Rat had become the group's pampered pet; everyone would feed it spirit fruits and herbs.

With Wang Changsheng's permission, the Double-Pupiled Rat crawled out of the spirit beast bag, jumped onto the ground, and began to eat the small blue fruit.

After finishing the small blue fruit, it waddled its plump body and quickly scurried forward.

Seeing this, Wang Changsheng and his four companions quickly followed.

Before long, they disappeared into the dense forest.