Chapter 3440: Eight-level Demon Rat

A valley, surrounded by mountains on three sides, occasionally echoed with deafening roars, interspersed with the faint sound of a melodious zither. Less than fifteen minutes later, the sounds ceased.

The valley floor was overgrown with weeds. At its end was a cold pond hundreds of feet wide, with black ice chips visible on the rock walls and along its edge. A giant, entirely black python lay by the pond's edge, a fist-sized blood-hole in its head. A golden, shimmering jade bottle floated in mid-air nearby.

Wang Defeng, Wang Yuanwei, and Wang Yulan stood nearby. Beside Wang Yulan stood a young woman in a silver dress, enveloped by countless silver electrical arcs. Runes flickered on her body. This was a Sigil Soldier of the Integration Stage, crafted by Wang Yulan, and skilled in lightning magic. On the rock wall by the pond, over a dozen small, entirely black plants with rhomboid-shaped leaves were visible. These were Ink Yin Grass, known to grow one leaf every ten thousand years and capable of counteracting fire poison. The dozen-plus plants found here ranged from over ten thousand to forty thousand years old.

Wang Yulan collected the demon python's corpse, then conjured a white, shimmering command flag. It sank into the pond and vanished, and the pond immediately began to freeze, forming a white layer of ice. Wang Defeng released a Void Refinement stage Sigil Soldier, which dug up the dozen-plus Ink Yin Grass plants. They collected their treasures and departed, the Sigil Soldier leading the way as the three vanished into the dense forest.

In a vast peach blossom grove, Wang Changsheng, Wang Ruyan, and Wang Tunian walked at a leisurely pace. Wang Changsheng held the Demon-Seeking Mirror, his face alert. After multiple trials, Wang Changsheng had confirmed that the Demon-Seeking Mirror could detect the presence of eighth-tier demonic beasts, and even those below the eighth tier could not escape its detection. This greatly facilitated their treasure hunting. They had successfully avoided five eighth-tier demonic beasts, saving themselves considerable trouble.

Despite this, they remained very cautious. The Demon-Seeking Mirror was not infallible; there were certainly eighth-tier demonic beasts that could evade its detection. Immortal Qianyang herself, even with this treasure, had been besieged by multiple eighth-tier demonic beasts and died from her severe injuries.

The Demon-Seeking Mirror in Wang Changsheng's hand glowed with dazzling spiritual light and emitted a fierce roar.

"An eighth-tier demonic beast!"

Wang Changsheng's expression tightened. After using it for some time, he now understood the Demon-Seeking Mirror's specific functions: for demonic beasts below the eighth tier, it would merely shake and emit spiritual light; for eighth-tier beasts, it would produce a roar. The closer the beast, and the higher its tier, the louder the roar.

Countless mysterious runes emerged on the mirror's surface, condensing into a pointer that spun rapidly before settling, pointing southeast. Wang Tunian activated his spiritual eyes and gazed southeast.

"It's an eighth-tier spiritual rat," Wang Tunian said, "It seems to have mastered the Devouring Heaven Divine Light! I wonder if it's a direct descendant or merely inherited the Devouring Heaven Rat's bloodline." Wang Tunian spoke with a touch of uncertainty, his expression grave.

"Let's go take a look," Wang Changsheng said. "If it's a true Devouring Heaven Rat, we retreat. Hopefully, it's just the Spirit Devouring Divine Light." Wang Changsheng's expression was serious. They quickly headed southeast.

In less than fifteen minutes, the three of them stopped, emerging from behind a dense thicket. In the distance, an open area revealed a giant, entirely yellow rat locked in battle with a giant, entirely green eagle. The yellow giant rat was bulky, with a relatively small head, long whiskers, and blue eyes. Above its head hovered a massive phantom of a rat, exuding a powerful aura.

Wang Tunian felt a surge of tension, his eyes fixed intently on the giant rat phantom. He was certain it was a Devouring Heaven Rat phantom, a clear sign of bloodline suppression. The green giant eagle gently flapped its wings, conjuring a ten-thousand-foot-tall green tornado. As it moved, the ground tore open, the void ripped, and fierce gales surged all around.

The Devouring Heaven Rat phantom spewed a hazy yellow mist, enveloping the green tornado, drawing it into its mouth, and swallowing it whole. The green giant eagle let out a sharp cry, then violently flapped its wings, unleashing a torrent of green wind blades that surged towards the yellow giant rat. These too were swallowed by the Devouring Heaven Rat phantom.

"It must be a demonic rat that merely inherited the Devouring Heaven Rat's bloodline," Wang Ruyan analyzed. "A true Devouring Heaven Rat doesn't have blue eyes."

The yellow giant rat let out a sharp shriek, then slammed its right claw onto the ground. A powerful gravitational force instantly appeared, causing the green giant eagle to plummet. It furiously flapped its wings, trying to keep itself from falling. A massive rat claw materialized and slammed onto its body, sending the green giant eagle rapidly plummeting towards the ground.

Two streaks of green light shot forth. The green giant eagle spewed a hazy green hurricane, blocking them. Then, a hazy yellow mist descended from above, enveloping the green giant eagle. Its body rapidly shrunk, was drawn into the yellow giant rat's mouth, and vanished.

A sound like crashing waves erupted. A vast amount of blue seawater materialized in the void, surging towards the yellow giant rat from all directions. Wherever the blue seawater passed, the void vibrated and distorted, like a stampede of ten thousand horses, immense in its momentum, leaving numerous cracks in the void.

The yellow giant rat inhaled sharply, and a large amount of seawater rushed into its mouth and vanished. Simultaneously, its body glowed intensely yellow as it attempted to escape by burrowing into the ground. With a dull thud, it was surprised to find that the soft ground had transformed into an impenetrable wall of copper and iron, rendering its earth-burrowing technique useless.

A flash of golden light revealed a small, golden-shimmering seal appearing above the yellow giant rat's head. It instantly expanded and slammed down towards it. The Devouring Heaven Rat phantom opened its mouth and spewed a stream of yellow mist, enveloping the giant golden seal. The seal rapidly shrunk, was drawn into its mouth, and vanished.

A man's loud roar, echoing through the heavens and earth, resounded. The rat felt as if its head had been struck by a heavy object, leaving it dazed and disoriented. The Devouring Heaven Rat phantom let out a tragic shriek as countless golden lights shot out, and its form completely disintegrated. The giant golden seal reappeared and slammed towards the yellow giant rat.

The yellow giant rat opened its gaping maw and spewed a stream of yellow mist, enveloping the giant golden seal. The seal shrunk at a visible rate, was drawn into the yellow giant rat's mouth, and vanished. It had swallowed both magical techniques and a mid-grade Spirit Treasure.

A piercing whooshing sound rang out as a large swath of white staff shadows descended from the sky, striking the yellow giant rat's head. Two streaks of blue light shot from the yellow giant rat's eyes, but they were likewise shattered by the white staff shadows.

The yellow giant rat tried to use its old trick again, employing the Devouring Heaven Divine Light to swallow the staff shadows. However, a woman's loud cry suddenly rang out. Its body trembled slightly, its reaction a beat too slow. The dense white staff shadows slammed onto the yellow giant rat's head, eliciting a miserable shriek. Its body went limp, and it collapsed onto the ground.

As a miniature rat emerged from its body, it was immediately enveloped by a blue mist, drawn into a blue gourd, and vanished. Wang Changsheng breathed a sigh of relief. To slay this demonic beast, he had even sacrificed a mid-grade Spirit Treasure. It could swallow even mid-grade Spirit Treasures, so it was likely capable of devouring high-grade ones too. If merely inheriting the Devouring Heaven Rat's bloodline made it this powerful, how terrifying would a true Devouring Heaven Rat be?