Chapter 46: Chapter 46: Sword Light Rises, Wind and Thunder Appear
"Hm?"
Zhang Chi used his Token to open an Alchemy Room. He took out the Medicinal Materials for Refining the Spirit-Storage Pill one by one. Just as he was about to begin, his gaze suddenly turned cold.
The early warning from the Earth Fire Hall’s Grand Array had alerted him to the shocking discovery of numerous Demon Rats.
’Did they crawl up from underground?’
Though doubt filled Zhang Chi’s mind, his hands didn’t slow in the slightest.
RUMBLE...
He threw open the Alchemy Room’s door and, with a wave of his hand, his Bamboo Leaf Flying Sword instantly transformed into a streak of golden Sword Light. Guided by the Array, it shot out like lightning, heading straight for the Demon Rats.
RUMBLE...
The moment the Sword Light appeared, wind and thunder instantly began to roll.
PFFT!
Immediately, a Demon Rat was precisely struck in the eye, its skull pierced through.
The Demon Rat had no time to dodge or defend itself.
Before the sharp Sword Light, its Protective Demonic Power was like paper.
SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK...
The remaining Demon Rats were stunned by the sound of wind and thunder. Seeing their companion killed, they knew the situation was bad and immediately turned to flee.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
But the Sword Light didn’t pause for a moment, continuing to pierce and slay with swift yet agile movements.
In the blink of an eye, more than half of the eighteen Demon Rats had been killed, the force as unstoppable as smashing rotten wood.
A few Demon Rats tried to fight back by swiping their claws and biting, but it was utterly useless.
The Sword Light moved like a swimming fish, evading the Demon Rats’ claws and fangs by a hair’s breadth every time.
The few remaining Demon Rats managed to escape the volcanic crater, scurrying in the direction of the two masked Cultivators.
But they were overtaken by the Sword Light as soon as they got out.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
In the heavy rain, the Sword Light was like a golden bolt of lightning, illuminating a large patch of darkness. With a single, fluid circle, it slayed all the remaining Demon Rats.
"What’s going on?"
"This is bad!"
"Such powerful Sword Light! There’s an expert here? How is that possible?"
"Forget all that! Run!"
The two masked Cultivators had been casually chatting via voice transmission. When they witnessed this scene, they were scared out of their wits. The smiles on their faces froze instantly, and they began to tremble before turning to run.
Only after they were a safe distance away did they breathe a sigh of relief, though they were still terrified by the close call.
"When the Sword Light rises, wind and thunder appear... that’s the Wind and Thunder Sword Control Skill! Could Chen Bufan be there?"
"Could he have known about the Xie Family’s plan for tonight? Was he waiting there for us specifically?"
"He must take Zhang Chi very seriously. Good thing we were far enough away and hidden in the dark. He probably didn’t see us, which is why he didn’t give chase."
Afterward, they both came to the wrong conclusion.
There were many Cultivators in the Sect, and naturally, quite a few practiced the Sword Control Technique.
However, the only one who could cultivate the Upper Grade Wind and Thunder Sword Control Technique, generate wind and thunder with his sword, and also happen to be at Earth Fire Hall No. 3, was undoubtedly Chen Bufan.
As for Zhang Chi, he was completely disregarded.
According to their intelligence, Zhang Chi had restarted his Cultivation and was now only at the first level of Qi Cultivation.
Besides, even if Zhang Chi had obtained a Sword Control Technique, it would be impossible for him to become so proficient so quickly.
——
’So many Demon Beasts, and yet so fragile. The Sword Control Technique is truly formidable. But why did those Demon Rats run outside?’
Meanwhile, Zhang Chi was quite satisfied with the outcome of the battle, but as he recalled his sword, he couldn’t help but feel a little puzzled.
SWISH SWISH...
At the same time, six Four-legged Strange Snakes darted out from the shadows, quickly dragging the Demon Rat corpses down beneath the Earth Fire Hall.
It turned out that after sending out his sword, Zhang Chi had also released the Four-legged Strange Snakes as a precaution.
Having the Four-legged Strange Snakes collect the spoils of war was undoubtedly safer than going himself.
——
"What was that?"
"Probably just thunder outside, right?"
"That thunder is so loud! We can even hear it inside the hall!"
The few servant disciples in the Earth Fire Hall, along with some Cultivators who were up all night practicing Alchemy and Artifact Refining, heard some commotion but didn’t pay it much mind.
They were completely unaware of the truth.
——
’Not bad, I’m going to make a killing again!’
Zhang Chi arrived at the Natural Cave Mansion and saw the pile of Demon Rat corpses, his eyes lighting up.
Although these Demon Rats were not high-Level, they were a treasure trove for Low Tier Cultivators.
Their claws, fangs, and hides could be used for Artifact Refining, while their flesh and Demonic Qi could be used for Alchemy.
But Zhang Chi had no intention of using them for Alchemy, nor could he be bothered to use a Secret Technique to condense them into Blood Spirit Pills. He directly gave the flesh of these Demon Rats to his Four-legged Strange Snakes as a reward.
Originally, only five of his Four-legged Snakes were Spirit Snakes. However, some time ago, Zhang Chi had secretly bought a hundred Spirit Awakening Pills from the Sect Marketplace.
The Spirit Awakening Pill was a Tier One Elixir, costing one spirit stone each. The price wasn’t low, but it was specifically for nurturing Spirit Beasts, and its effects were quite good.
As a result, the Spirit Snakes’ strength had all increased, and the one ordinary strange snake had long since advanced.
At this moment, the Spirit Snakes were overjoyed to receive the command. They immediately burrowed into the Demon Rat corpses and devoured all their flesh in a short time before falling into a deep sleep once more.
’I never expected these Spirit Snakes to have such a fortunate encounter. I thought Tier One Early Stage would be their limit!’
Zhang Chi was delighted by this sight.
After gorging themselves, the Spirit Snakes had fallen asleep, which surely meant they were about to advance in level.
Initially, Zhang Chi hadn’t held high expectations for these Spirit Snakes.
However, they were his first batch of Spirit Beasts and had served him well.
That was why Zhang Chi had decided to give them a chance.
Fortunately, it now seemed these strange snakes were eager to prove themselves and had not disappointed him.
Of course, Tier One Middle Stage would likely be the Peak of their snake lives.
After all, the bloodlines of Demon Beasts varied in quality, much like a Cultivator’s Spirit Root.
Four-legged Spirit Snakes that advanced through Acquired means undoubtedly belonged to the category with the weakest bloodlines.
Still, Tier One Middle Stage was already quite impressive.
Furthermore, if these Spirit Snakes had offspring, there was a chance their bloodline might be better.
But ever since they became Spirit Beasts, their reproductive cycle seemed to have changed, and they had yet to produce any offspring.
Next, Zhang Chi finally began to process the Demon Rats’ hides, claws, and fangs.
With their flesh devoured, the Demon Rats were now just empty husks.
Moreover, both Zhang Chi’s sword strikes and the Spirit Snakes’ devouring had been very careful.
Therefore, these materials were all perfectly intact.
If he sold them, he could definitely make a tidy sum.
After collecting the materials, Zhang Chi patrolled the volcanic crater again but didn’t find any more Demon Rats, nor did he discover any nests or signs of activity.
’Did all these Demon Rats come from outside? But how could there be so many Demon Beasts within the Sect? Could it be the Xie Family trying to mess with me again?’
Zhang Chi speculated for a while but came to no conclusion due to the lack of clues.
’Whether it was them or not, I’ll just deal with whatever comes my way. Inside the Sect, they only dare to pull these kinds of shady little tricks anyway.’
’But if it really was them, I’ll be sure to repay them double in the future. After all, if I hadn’t been strong enough this time, I would have been in real trouble,’ Zhang Chi thought.
This incident made him even more aware of the importance of his own strength.
Of course, if it was indeed the Xie Family, they likely now knew that he had achieved the Entry Level with his Sword Control Technique.
But there was nothing he could do about that.
After all, facing so many Demon Rats, his only option was to use the Sword Control Technique.
He hadn’t thought too much about it at the time, assuming that some Demon Beasts had just emerged from underground.
Fortunately, his opponents didn’t know who had unleashed the sword. Plus, it was raining outside, so the sound of thunder was perfectly normal.
Even in the worst-case scenario, if they did know it was him, it wouldn’t make a difference.
They weren’t going to let him off the hook anyway; at most, they would just start taking him more seriously.
’Overthinking it is pointless. The most important thing is to improve my own strength as quickly as possible.’
And so, Zhang Chi quickly calmed himself, returned to the Alchemy Room, and officially began Refining his first cauldron of Elixirs.
Meanwhile, the two masked Cultivators, terrified and uneasy, went that very night to see the Xie Family’s Foundation Establishment Middle-aged Man.
