“You’re sh*tting me. Is that something a person can say? Would you mind having a bit of conscience? Aren’t masters supposed to protect their pets?”
“I’m not a person in the first place. What’s conscience? Is it edible? Hehe, you’ve finally admitted that I’m your master!” Xuanyue grinned from ear to ear and coughed gently. “As long as you cry out, ‘Save me, meowster.’ I’d definitely protect you.”
Li Qingshan said, “I’d rather die than say that!”
Xuanyue said, “That’s not cute. You’ll be abandoned by your master.”
Li Qingshan said, “Then please abandon me quickly!”
They returned to their journey as they bickered, but Li Qingshan felt like a shadow had enveloped his heart. He became more and more careful with his movements, travelling through the denser parts of the forest as much as possible. Whenever he came across any daemonic beasts, he would avoid them to the best of his ability. He did not want to fight at all.
As his Spirit Turtle’s Method of Sea Suppression progressed, his ability to hide his aura improved as well. Daemonic beasts with sharp senses would walk past him frequently without discovering him.
Xuanyue was glad that she had made the correct choice. She generously ‘fed’ Li Qingshan her spiritual pills, but due to her extravagant methods, Li Qingshan had a feeling that she wanted to plump him up so that he could serve as a better meat shield.
In short, they travelled peacefully for many more days. Xuanyue said, “We’re close to the Dragon province now.”
Daytime descended, and the three of them found another natural cave to rest in. It was not sealed off, instead extending indefinitely into the darkness, blowing with cold wind. Who knows where it led to.
Xuanyue laid in her cat’s basket to rest, while Li Qingshan and Xiao An cultivated together.
A series of rustling sounds came from underground. It became denser and closer.
Li Qingshan opened his eyes. Xuanyue had already gotten up, with her two ears perked. Clearly, she had heard it as well.
“There’s daemon qi!”
Countless eyes lit up in the darkness, all packed together. A series of soft, crunching sounds accompanied them. It was chilling.
There were daemonic beasts emerging from underground, and there were more than one!
Li Qingshan had already grown accustomed to this. He raised his guard with Xiao An, while Xuanyue concealed herself instinctively.
Rats emerged from the depths of the cave like a flood. Even with all the daemonic beasts Li Qingshan had seen, he still frowned heavily at this sight. However, this was only the beginning. The rats that emerged from the cave became larger and larger. Even the small ones were the size of dogs, while the large ones were like bears.
The cave immediately became flooded by a sea of rats. They were everywhere. The place was packed to the brim with various kinds of rats, and all of them gazed at Li Qingshan. The sounds of gnashing teeth merged together, resonating in the cave. It was frightening.
Li Qingshan remained composed and unafraid. The arch nemesis of these rats were right here, but afterwards, he actually felt Xuanyue tremble slightly behind him. He mocked with a subdued voice, “You’re actually afraid of rats?”
“T- they’re disgusting! What kind of place did you choose!? H- hurry up and kill them!” Xuanyue had never seen something like this in the provincial lord’s estate.
Li Qingshan said sinisterly, “Aren’t they your favourite food? They’re perfect for dinner! Hurry up and eat them!” If he had grudges, he wanted revenge. If he wanted grievances, he wanted to return it. As for where he did it, he probably had no choice in it. The size and strength of these rat daemons had completely surpassed regular rats. They had probably riddled the entire region with rat holes, so no matter where he went, it would still be an entrance to their home.
“I’ll eat you first!”
Before Li Qingshan had even finished talking, he felt an ache from his ear. Xuanyue bit his ear, but aside from the sharp pain from the teeth, he could feel her gentle lips and tongue. It was actually quite the experience.
Hold on, I don’t have interests like that! Li Qingshan shook his head. “Xiao An, unleash the fire!”
Xiao An had been waiting for this moment. He leapt down and sprayed blood flames everywhere, burning the rats.
The rats all squeaked sharply. The weaker, regular rats were reduced to ashes in a single instant, and their flesh and blood helped grow the fire. The larger rats were wrapped in flames as they lunged and tried to bite Li Qingshan. This only demonstrated the strength of their vitality.
However, the stronger their vitality, the more vigorously the Blood Flames of Corpse Incineration burned. With countless rats as fuel, the blood flames surged into the air, forming a fire snake in the cave that opened its mouth and bit at the larger rats.
Xiao An became more and more skilled with the use of his techniques. He had basically taught himself everything. Seeing their natural enemy descend, the rats all fled in fright.
Li Qingshan still felt lingering fear. It was all thanks to the strength of Xiao An’s technique, or they would have been swallowed up by all these rats, which would have come at a cost. In particular, the steel teeth of these rat daemons clearly could not be trifled with. Even if he won the battle, it would be utterly disgusting.
“Be careful!” Xuanyue released Li Qingshan’s ear and whispered into it. All Li Qingshan felt was a warm breeze, but before he could even enjoy the sensation, powerful daemon qi appeared from the depths of the cave.
Swish!
With a flash of yellow light, it penetrated the fire snake and struck Xiao An, launching him away.
“Xiao An!” Li Qingshan caught Xiao An in a hurry, but he saw how Xiao An had become riddled with cracks. Ever since Xiao An began practising the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, his body had become even tougher than steel, which only demonstrated just how terrifying the attack was!
The yellow light seemed to be alive, making a turn in the air and shooting towards Li Qingshan. It was extremely fast such that it was impossible to respond in time.
Xuanyue extended her hand easily and caught the yellow light. She studied it and found it to be a round, yellow pearl. “A daemon core!”
The assailant was a daemon that had condensed a daemon core. With a great rumble, a rat the size of an elephant rushed out of the cave. Its eyes shone; clearly, it had developed intelligence. It stared straight at the ‘daemon core’ that something in the air had trapped before charging towards Li Qingshan with a squeal.
This was the first time Li Qingshan had clashed with a daemon who had condensed a daemon core. He immediately sensed its terror. His body basically sent him warnings constantly out of instinct, reminding him that he was not its opponent.
With a flash of yellow light in the rat daemon’s eyes, an earth spike suddenly burst from the ground below Li Qingshan’s feet. It happened right below Li Qingshan’s nose. The spike moved both swiftly and quickly such that Li Qingshan was unable to react. Xuanyue grabbed Li Qingshan and leapt into the air. After reaching over three meters, the spike finally protruded out completely. Li Qingshan gazed below him. He had already become covered in cold sweat.
Xiao An used the rolling blood flames to attack the rat daemon again, but the yellow light blocked it, preventing its advance.
The rat daemon squeaked a few times. In the air, the daemon core trembled more and more violently as the rat daemon desperately tried to take it back.
“Hold onto it!” Xuanyue casually tossed the daemon core to Li Qingshan. He grabbed it in a hurry, but he never imagined it would be so powerful. Even when he used all of his strength, it was close to escaping from his grasp. Even just now, the rat daemon’s ability had been so fierce and stealthy. If it managed to take back its daemon core, it would basically be unstoppable.
The spirit turtle suppresses the seas, suppressing all evil!
Li Qingshan suddenly began to use the Spirit Turtle’s Method of Sea Suppression. His daemon qi circulated furiously through his body, firmly suppressing the daemon core in his hand. Seeing how it had failed, the rat daemon charged over with a squeal. Its colossal, elephantine body moved as fast as lightning, without any sluggishness at all.
As the smelly air rushed towards him, Li Qingshan lowered his head and bent over. He used an actual Ox Demon Butts its Horns, ramming his horns into its pale-white teeth violently.