This Sword Cultivator is Somewhat Dependable

In the valley, there was an ancient gate, illusory and ephemeral, appearing and disappearing intermittently.

Above the gate, a modest gray light flickered, carrying the aura of ages, making it look exceptionally extraordinary.

In front of this ethereal gate stood dozens of Human Cultivators dressed in black robes.

Each cultivator held an Array Plate in their hands, from which Spiritual Light continuously shot out, merging into the occasionally visible gate.

Under the influence of these lights, one could distinctly feel the gray light above the gate being gradually erased, and the gate's physical form solidifying.

These cultivators must be the Underworld Cultivators Lu Qingshan had mentioned.

Rat Tyrant secretly pondered, decided not to think further. Following Lu Qingshan's instructions, he took out the Shadow Pearl and quietly recorded the scene before him.

A moment later, Rat Tyrant put away the Shadow Pearl, satisfied, and prepared to leave the area.

It was at this moment that some disturbance occurred in the valley, causing Rat Tyrant to pause.

With his keen perception, he suddenly sensed, in just an instant, a faint yet unusual aura fluctuate from one of the black-robed cultivators and then vanish.

Rat Tyrant wasn't sure whether it was his illusion or a real fluctuation of aura.

But the next moment, Rat Tyrant understood.

Because that black-robed cultivator just coincidentally stopped what he was doing and after seemingly speaking with some Demon Beasts entrenched in the valley, he left the valley.

"There must be something fishy!" Rat Tyrant sensed the hint, but hesitated, "Should I follow and see what's actually happening?"

After a brief hesitation, Rat Tyrant couldn't contain his curiosity.

"As long as I'm careful, I shouldn't be detected..." Rat Tyrant reassured himself in his mind as he began to move.

He leapt down from the ancient tree where he was hiding, transformed into a gray shadow, and nervously trailed behind the black-robed cultivator.

What Rat Tyrant didn't know was that just after he began following the black-robed cultivator, a Black Rat in the valley, originally closed off in meditation, suddenly opened its eyes and intently watched the direction Rat Tyrant had left, its nostrils twitching.

"Is this the aura of my Demon Rat lineage?"

The Black Rat was of the ore-eating variety, skilled in Earth Escape Technique, which enabled it to evolve by consuming metal ores and absorbing their energy, making it a rare rat demon lineage.

Besides having the ability to devour metal ores, ore-eating rats also possessed the skill to detect ore veins, reliant on their innate strong sense of smell and the ability to sense metallic minerals.

Just now, in the instant that Rat Tyrant passed by, it had caught a scent unique to the Demon Rat lineage."How could there suddenly appear the scent of a strange Demon Rat in this forbidden place, after our stringent checks by the Demon Spirit Palace and those humans?" Black Rat was puzzled but didn't directly report his discovery to others. Instead, he found an excuse and followed the faint scent lingering in the air.

Rat Tyrant followed the black-robed cultivator for a considerable distance, all the way to the backside of the valley.

He scanned the barren rock face before him, puzzled. The rock face was covered with dense scratches as though it had been marked with tools.

Beyond that, everything seemed normal, with no anomalies.

"Where has the person gone?"

Concerned about being discovered, Rat Tyrant had always maintained a large distance from the black-robed cultivator, relying solely on his exceptional perceptive ability to hang far back.

However, the aura of the black-robed cultivator had oddly disappeared at this spot.

"Eh?" Rat Tyrant scratched his head, "Did I lose him?"

Thump!

A muffled sound suddenly rang out.

Rat Tyrant hadn't reacted before he felt a massive force restrain him and, together with him turned into a gray shadow, quickly merged into a nearby rock to hide.

And in the next moment, the plain rock surface suddenly flickered with rippling waves, and a purple circle of light slowly spread out.

Rat Tyrant's eyes widened.

This scene was one he had seen before, very familiar!

It was exactly like the scene when the Void Demons launched their spatial transport ability!

Soon after, the black-robed cultivator he had just lost, along with dozens of unfamiliar Human Cultivators, emerged from that purple circle of light.

At the same time, a fierce aura of slaughter burst from the purple circle, etching dozens of shallow marks on the rock face.

Even the Western Rat King could catch glimpses of the interior of the light circle, a dark and gloomy hall adorned with several jade pillars, each engraved with many ancient characters of the Demon Clan.

"What's the situation?" the cultivator in a black robe retracted the purple-glowing orb in his hand, and the purple light circle on the Shi Bi also vanished.

"We've found the tomb chamber of the Gengjin Tiger King, but outside it are several layers of strong prohibitions blocking us. We need more time to break through," replied one of the purple-robed cultivators stepping forward.

"Speed up the process. We can't hold them off much longer. At most, we can buy you half a month to a month's time.

If it drags on, even the brainless beasts of the Demon Spirit Palace will start suspecting something," the black-robed cultivator said sternly.

"The aura of slaughter emitted by the Gengjin Tiger King is too strong, affecting our Divine Souls greatly. We need to leave the tomb periodically, or we'll lose our minds.

Because of this, our progress has been severely slowed; otherwise, it wouldn't have taken this long," explained the purple-robed cultivator.

Looking around, one could see that all of the Human Cultivators present had eyes that were blood-red, which was extremely eerie!

...

At this moment, the Western Rat King had no interest in paying more attention to these Netherworld Cultivators but struggled to turn its head within the rocks, wanting to see what exactly had captured it.

With just a turn of the head, the Western Rat King was terrified out of its wits.

It was the black rat demon from the valley!

The rat demon gestured for silence to the Western Rat King.

The Western Rat King cooperated knowingly.

Time dragged on slowly, and for the Western Rat King, each minute and each second felt like torture.

Finally, after another half day had passed,

When the blood-red hue in the eyes of the purple-robed cultivators had entirely faded and clarity was restored, the black-robed cultivator retrieved the purple Spiritual Pearl and performed a hand seal. Instantly, a beam of Spiritual Light shot from the pearl, merging into the Shi Bi, followed by a purple light circle that slowly dispersed.

"There isn't much time left. Complete the task as soon as possible!" the black-robed cultivator said in a dark tone.

"Understood!" the purple-robed cultivators responded softly, then one by one, they entered the hall inside the light circle.

After the last person had entered the hall within the light circle, the black-robed cultivator put away the Spiritual Pearl, transformed into a streak of Radiance, and vanished in front of the Shi Bi.

Moments later.

Kerplunk!

Two rat demons squeezed out from within the rocks.

Lu Qingshan, it seems I might have to make a heroic sacrifice for you; what will you give me in return for what you owe me?

The Western Rat King looked helplessly at the Black Rat, not understanding how it had been discovered, and felt very anxious.

There was an unreadable expression in the eyes of the Black Rat, who eyed the Western Rat King suspiciously, "What breed of rat demon are you? And why do I have the feeling I've never seen you in the Demon Spirit Mountains before?"

The heart of the Western Rat King, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down.

Skilled in discerning speech and behavior, it immediately saw that the Black Rat had no ill intentions from the tone and content of its questions.

"I'm not quite sure…" the Western Rat King envisioned, shivering as it spoke: "I've also never seen the Rat King before this in the Demon Spirit Mountains..."

The Black Rat thought for a moment. Seeing the Western Rat King trembling, it reached out to rub the tuft of red mane on its head, soothingly said, "Don't be afraid, I am Rat Tyrant, the strongest among the rat demons of the Demon Spirit Mountains.

Our clan of rat demons is always at a disadvantage, at the bottom of the demon hierarchy, and greatly in need of mutual support.

Therefore, after I advanced to Third Grade, being the strongest among our clan, I've always been protecting the weaker members.

While I'm still not sure of exactly what species of rat demon you are, since you belong to our lineage, you are also my kin. Continue your saga on empire

I see you possess some peculiar traits, not like a common creature; thus, from now on, stay by my side, who knows, maybe I can cultivate a Third Grade demon beast for our rat demon lineage."

<>"Squeak, squeak, squeak," the Western Rat King responded weakly and helplessly, not daring to contradict.

Rat Tyrant nodded satisfactorily.

"Those Human Cultivators from earlier, what's their story?" Resigned to its fate, the Western Rat King, changing its thoughts, immediately pointed to the spot where the Netherworld Cultivators had vanished, asking innocently.

Rat Tyrant's voice sank, "It seems you might be my lucky star. Had I not smelled your scent just now and followed along, I certainly wouldn't have discovered this tremendous secret."