The Green-Furred Rat Demon

The dark clouds in the sky were torn apart by the shockwaves of the battle. Sparse starlight filtered down, illuminating the thousand-zhang colossal crocodile. In a short span, this peerless ferocious beast's body had condensed from an illusion into a nearly corporeal form. Pitch-black scales reflected an eerie sheen, closely interlocking. As the thousand-zhang crocodile twisted its body, its scales compressed rhythmically, making it seem genuinely like a living beast. The starlight could only reach half of the colossal crocodile's body; the other half remained concealed in shadow, its looming outline evoking a chilling, unknown dread. Its maw faced Qin Sang, gaping open to its limit as though housing a black hole within, and its immense suction formed a clearly visible vortex in midair. Gales howled high in the sky. The vortex expanded relentlessly, spreading wider and wider until it reached even the Twin Tiger Mountains below, where a thunderous boom erupted from the left peak. At the summit, the massive boulder resembling a tiger's head snapped with a crack. The stone was swept away by the suction, torn to shreds within a single breath, and reduced to nothingness. The vortex of suction was immense, threatening to swallow the entire void whole. Rippling waves resembling water formed along the vortex's rim and spread outward, pursuing Qin Sang relentlessly. Qin Sang hovered at the edge of the ripples, his figure flickering continuously. A strange look appeared on Qin Sang's face. He had slightly underestimated that crocodile bone; the vortex did not consist purely of suction—it carried a peculiar confining force. If he were trapped by the vortex or swallowed into the colossal crocodile's belly, escaping would likely cost him tremendous effort. Daring to ambush someone on their way from a top-tier treasure exchange—they truly had some tricks up their sleeves! The phantom of a fire lotus surfaced between his brows, and the Nine Nether Demonic Fire flowed out like liquid. Upon contacting the vortex, it formed a stream of black flames that allowed itself to be drawn into the crocodile's belly without resisting in the slightest. In the next instant, the thousand-zhang crocodile's abdomen suddenly ballooned outward, plunging it into madness. It seemed to suffer excruciating agony, its massive body thrashing and rolling wildly, smashing through peak after peak. Loose boulders flew everywhere, throwing the entire region into chaotic upheaval. As it thrashed, its solidified body grew blurry and faint. The suction vortex ceased its expansion; then, its outer edges began collapsing consecutively, contracting inward and leaving it powerless to continue pursuing Qin Sang. Paying no further heed to the colossal crocodile, Qin Sang flickered and merged into the sword array. Within the Seven Po Killing Array, an atmosphere of chilling slaughter reigned. Dark, omnipresent sword threads resembled strings of a zither, yet they played a melody of death. Employing some unknown sword incantation, Qin Sang caused the sword array to suddenly tremble. The sword threads grew drastically thinner yet even more potent than before, slashing toward the mist at the center of the formation in unison. *** After falling into the sword array, the horned cultivator was both shocked and infuriated. To this moment, he still had no idea where the flaw had lain. Yet he did not panic in the face of danger. The tip of the single horn on his forehead lit up, shooting forth a streak of grey light no slower than a sword ray, piercing like lightning into the sword array. To his surprise, the sword threads quivered, but far from being pierced by the grey light, several dozen threads swiftly swarmed over it. In an instant, they chopped the grey light to pieces, stripping away all its might. Watching the grey light dissipate before his very eyes, the horned cultivator drew a sharp breath. This was a divine ability he had refined over many years; numerous foes had been severely wounded by this grey light and slain by his hand, yet before this sword array, it seemed utterly feeble. Although his sneak attack had failed, the horned cultivator remained relatively calm. His companion would arrive at any moment; he needed only to hold out for a few breaths to receive reinforcement. His true form was a spirit beast of heaven and earth, endowed with a formidable physique and vast divine abilities. Facing a human great cultivator, he was confident that even if he could not defeat him, holding his own for a few exchanges would pose no issue. Yet witnessing the sword array obliterate his grey light bred an unbidden unease in his heart. His wealth of experience prompted him to make the safest choice. His throat bobbed, letting out a whimpering sound as he spewed a cloud of greyish-white mist from his mouth, which billowed out furiously through the slits of his face helmet. The greyish-white mist formed a thick fog bank inside the sword array. The horned cultivator's figure did not vanish entirely; instead, it flickered incessantly across different corners of the fog, preventing his opponent from pinpointing his location. Unfortunately, such a trick could never deceive the Heavenly Eye Butterfly. Every single movement of the horned cultivator was laid bare before Qin Sang's eyes, like watching a monkey show. *Swish!* The sword threads slashed in unison toward the horned cultivator's true body. Still shifting about, the horned cultivator was horrified to discover his foe was completely unaffected. The sudden burst of power from the sword array chilled him to the marrow. Sheer panic filled his eyes, and his figure blurred as dazzling grey light erupted from his entire body. Within the dense grey light, his body twisted grotesquely, losing its human shape to reveal his true form—a single-horned crocodile. At the same time, a streak of azure rainbow light soared from the horizon, tearing through the air with soaring momentum and brazenly barging into the sword array. The azure rainbow faded, revealing the green-armored cultivator. His face was grim. Raising both hands with fingers slightly hooked, dense green light shot from his fingertips, transforming into two colossal azure claws. The claws were long and slender, bearing no resemblance to human hands and looking instead like the paws of a rat. *Whoosh!* The giant claws plunged savagely into the sword array. Wherever the green light touched, the sword threads grew sluggish, bound by some mysterious power and solidifying from intangible lines. Gripped by the claws, they were forcibly torn open under the combined assault from within and without! The grey mist below was exposed. "Eldest Brother!" The horned cultivator emerged from the mist. His scales were shattered and dripping with blood, covered in lacerations left by the sword threads, making for a wretched sight. Seeing the green-armored cultivator, he was overjoyed and relieved, immediately surging upward. Just then, the green-armored cultivator's pupils shrank abruptly. Reflected in his eyes was a pinpoint of crimson flame. Shock washed over his cold face, and he blurted out, "Watch out!" The horned cultivator was bewildered. Right after, blazing crimson fire swallowed his entire vision. Before he could react, his neck tightened. Caught completely off guard, he was seized firmly by an azure hand and hurled violently toward the crimson beam! "I've been waiting for you!" Inside the sword array, Qin Sang held the Sun God Tree in one hand. Looking up slightly with a cold sneer on his lips, he knew that having pretended to fall into their trap, his true target had never been the horned cultivator, but the green-armored one whose aura was the most concealed of the three. So long as he eliminated this leader, the other two would pose no threat. On the Sun God Tree, three branches were now bare. Three divine birds had been concealed within the sword array by Qin Sang, held in reserve until this very moment to strike! *Boom!* The dim space formed by the sword array was completely illuminated by blinding flames. From a distance, a colossal fireball hung high in the sky like a crimson morning sun, shining even more brilliantly than the white light from the crocodile bone. Two non-human roars rang out from within the fireball. One was sharp and shrill, brimming with monstrous fury. The other was steeped in agony and terror. Two strange lights, one azure and one grey, flashed simultaneously as the crimson flames erupted—the azure light above, the grey light below. From the outside, one could clearly see that within the grey light was a sharp-horned crocodile. Though not as massive as the thousand-zhang giant crocodile from before, it was nonetheless a rare, formidable demon. Meanwhile, a torrent of crimson fire soared skyward in utter fury. Facing this crimson stream of light, the ferocious demon beast looked as though it had witnessed the most horrifying thing in existence, its eyes filled with sheer terror and disbelief. Accompanied by an earth-shaking blast, a divine blossom of crimson flames bloomed in the air. The aura of the Nanming Primordial Fire erupted completely, scattering liquid fire in every direction and forming a boundless sea of fire high above. No other color remained visible in the sky; both the azure and grey lights were swallowed by the blaze. The agonized cries came to an abrupt halt. Once unleashed, the Sun Divine Birds were like rootless duckweed. Their power peaked upon detonation, after which the fiery energy gradually dissipated and the light dimmed. A black silhouette plummeted from the sky—the charred remains of a crocodile's corpse, crashing toward the ground. In that final moment, the horned cultivator had been used as a shield by his sworn eldest brother and perished on the spot! *Whoosh!* A streak of azure light rushed out of the sea of fire, revealing a demonic silhouette: a green-furred rat demon. The green-furred rat demon was less than half the height of a human, with sleek fur, looking little different from an ordinary rat in appearance. Even after reverting to his true form, the armor remained on his body, though it was now battered and broken. His fur was charred in several places, and his eyes were like daggers, glaring fixedly beneath the sea of fire with heaven-shaking murderous intent! "They're all demon kings?" Qin Sang's figure emerged below the sea of fire, his expression grave. Upon discovering the horned cultivator was a crocodile demon, Qin Sang had assumed it was the green-armored cultivator's spirit beast, never suspecting they were actual demons. After all, this was the Central Plains hinterland, the bastion of human strength. For demons to roam here and even dare ambush cultivators was brazen beyond belief. He had not expected them all to be demon beasts! They must have relied on their armor to conceal their demonic identities. Before they exposed themselves, even Qin Sang had failed to notice. Though he had slain the horned cultivator in a single blow, Qin Sang was far from satisfied. He had turned their scheme against them, using the horned cultivator to lay a counter-trap with the Sun God Tree. He had not anticipated the green-furred rat demon would be so ruthless and decisive, hurling his companion away without hesitation to ward off disaster for himself. Judging by the green-furred rat demon's appearance, his injuries were likely not severe. A demon king possessed a formidable physique; wounds of this degree had little impact on them. "You deserve to die!" the green-furred rat demon hissed, his voice shrill and ice-cold. Qin Sang's heart tightened. The phoenix wings on his back flapped furiously, driving his escape technique to its limit, while the Jinchen Sword inverted above his head rang out loudly, stabbing swiftly toward his rear. Faint azure light manifested in the empty space behind him. The green-furred rat demon had appeared behind Qin Sang silently as though teleporting, thrusting sharp claws toward his back. Had the blow landed true, even with a physique comparable to a demon king, Qin Sang would never have survived. A crack of thunder boomed, and Qin Sang escaped several hundred zhang away. Swiping at empty air, the green-furred rat demon was slightly taken aback, realizing Qin Sang had been concealing his true escape technique all along. Qin Sang was equally startled. He had not even noticed how the green-furred rat demon got behind him; only when the rat demon was on the verge of manifesting did his spiritual sense react, thanks to his immense soul strength. *Whoosh!* *Clang!* Sword rays burst in all directions. The green-furred rat demon waved his demonic claws wildly through the air. With nails as hard as magic treasures, they left streaks of cold light that parried the thrusting sword. Just then, the grey-armored cultivator finally arrived, late to the fray. The battle had shifted too quickly. Cursing that he lacked extra legs, the grey-armored cultivator could only watch helplessly as his brother fell. Letting out a grief-stricken roar, he revealed his demonic form on the spot—another crocodile demon, though hornless. This crocodile demon bore no scales; its supple skin was etched with rippling patterns like water. The patterns came alive, and layers of waves stirred up the rushing sound of water. The sound surprisingly arose around Qin Sang, and a vast expanse of water materialized beneath him out of nowhere, raging waves surging upward. Unexpectedly, just as the water domain was about to take shape, a purple stream of light shot out from the mountain forest below. Inside the purple light was a drill-shaped crystal with a sharp tip, stabbing straight toward the crocodile demon's underbelly. How could the crocodile demon have imagined anyone else was lurking nearby? Caught completely unprepared, he rolled frantically and dodged the purple crystal by a hair's breadth, but his divine ability was interrupted as a result. "Who is it? Come out!" Livid with rage, the crocodile demon whipped his tail savagely toward the ground. Qin Sang seemed not the least bit surprised. With a jolt of his palm, flames swirled around the Sun God Tree as he aimed it at the green-furred rat demon, three Sun Divine Birds shimmering and poised to take flight. Meanwhile, several escape lights appeared on the distant horizon, drawn by the fierce battle. Someone cried out in astonishment, "There are powerful demons here!" The shout held an unmistakable note of ecstatic greed. The green-furred rat demon's expression shifted erratically. Giving Qin Sang a profound look, his figure vanished once more and reappeared beside the crocodile demon. Azure light swept up the crocodile demon, preparing to flee. Unexpectedly, the purple crystal looped back and abruptly detonated. The strange purple lightning stored within hammered wildly at the azure light, instantly causing it to scatter and leaving the crocodile demon struggling to protect himself. From beginning to end, the person in the dark never showed their face. To make matters worse, the Sun Divine Birds followed right behind, closing in swiftly, while Qin Sang made a show of preparing to release even more divine birds. Having just tasted the Sun God Tree's might, the green-furred rat demon's eyelids twitched violently. Seeing that the situation was hopeless, he decisively abandoned his companion and shot away as an azure rainbow. *Boom!* Another spiritual blossom of crimson fire bloomed in the void. Before the crocodile demon could break free from the purple lightning, he was severely battered again! Because Qin Sang had deliberately adjusted the angle, the crocodile demon was heavily wounded rather than instantly slain. Dragging his mangled body in an attempt to escape, he suddenly heard two strange "Heng-Ha" sounds. His primordial spirit suffered excruciating pain; with a wretched cry, he plummeted headlong. *Slash!* The Jinchen Sword flew in from an unseen angle, bursting with wondrous brilliance as it swept in a circle around the crocodile demon's neck. The tough skin on its neck had already been blasted into mangled flesh by the Sun Divine Birds, leaving it with virtually no defensive power. Its massive crocodile head rolled off on the spot. As the head fell away, a translucent, crystalline pellet flew out from the blood-spurting torso. Inside the pellet was a tiny crocodile demon wearing an expression of sheer panic—it was the crocodile demon's demon core and essence soul. The demon core transformed into a streak of blue light and shot away. With a flick, the Jinchen Sword conjured a small sword array, perfectly trapping the demon core within. Sword light enveloped the crocodile corpse and demon core. Standing in midair, Qin Sang gazed in the direction the green-furred rat demon had fled, choosing not to give chase. Turning his gaze, he stared coldly at the escape lights speeding over from afar. Those escape lights came to a halt one after another. The newcomers wore varied expressions, surprised that the battle had been decided so quickly. One of them hesitated briefly before turning around to pursue the green-furred rat demon. Qin Sang flashed back to the Twin Tiger Mountains to collect the crocodile bone and the other mangled corpse. "Why didn't you stop that rat demon?" Qin Sang spoke suddenly, conversing with someone unseen. "Heh heh, do you think a great demon at the late Transformation stage is so easy to kill?" A sinister chuckle sounded from the shadows. "Besides, I have no desire to be mistaken for your accomplice and hunted down by Luye!"