Wild cultivation begins with wielding the Taiyin talisman.

On the fifth night, the rudimentary formation finally could not hold up any longer.

As the rat carcass completely turned to ashes and lost its luster, the power of the array began to become unbalanced, tearing apart the array patterns in an instant and causing a small explosion.

Ning Che was cultivating inside when the shockwave hit him as soon as he opened his eyes.

Fortunately, the force of this explosion was very small, almost like a gentle breeze.

He finally understood why, despite having so many other things that could be used for power, the only alternative mentioned was the array stone.

Materials like corpses vary greatly in quality, and an imbalance could easily lead to accidents. Fortunately, this was just a small formation, using only a few ninth-grade rat demon corpses. If such materials were used to set up a large formation in the future, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Ning Che lowered his head in deep thought.

The crisp air filtered by the array had disappeared, replaced by a familiar stench and dampness, and one could almost hear the faint sound of mud being stirred.

wrong!

He suddenly looked up, activated the Moon Rabbit Breathing Technique, and turned on his all-hearing ears.

The sounds gradually revealed the surroundings: thousands of water rats were crawling out of the swamp and converging on this side.

"Enemy attack!"

Ning Che focused his energy in his dantian and let out a loud roar.

A moment later, Lin Ye smashed open the second-floor window and jumped down. He assumed a fighting stance and, without hesitation, unleashed a punch that slammed directly into the writhing mud in front of him.

Blood stained the scattered mud, and then water rats scurried out from other places, like the most fearless army, rushing upwards in a swarm.

In the blink of an eye, there were dozens or even hundreds.

But that's nothing.

As the silver light fell in succession, Ning Che had already unleashed the Great Snow Blade. Before his magic power was exhausted, no number of water rats could get within three feet of him.

What truly threatened him were the three rat demons behind him, which were noticeably larger.

This mouse is bigger than the cat!

Clearly, barring any unforeseen circumstances, all three are Rank 8.

Ning Che's heart sank. He could fight one Rank 8 rat demon, and even manage to hold his own against two. But there were at least three Rank 8 rat demons, plus countless more Rank 9 rat demons, and tens of millions of fearless water rats.

This is beyond his ability to handle.

Moreover, the kind of gaze I felt in the rat swamp has not appeared yet.

His intuition told him that the owner of that gaze must be a very difficult person to deal with.

Moreover, these special monsters are often far stronger than ordinary creatures, and ordinary methods may not be effective against them.

But overthinking it won't help.

Ning Che withdrew his gaze and wielded the Great Snow Blade even faster.

Zhao He and Chen Mu ran out of the house one after the other.

At the same time, a ninth-rank rat demon leaped out of the mud.

Sometime during the night, it had somehow circled to the flank. The decaying grass and mud provided natural cover; the creature lowered its body, its four claws silently treading through the mud, their sharp claws gleaming with a ghostly, poisonous green light, as it headed straight for the weakest point in the formation—

That was Chen Mu, who had just rushed out of the house.

He had just rushed out the door, preparing to cast a spell, when the magic power at his fingertips had barely begun to condense when the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.

Something's not right.

Zhao He roared and drew his sword: "Chen Mu—"

But it was too late. The timing was too perfect, and Zhao He hadn't expected to be ambushed here. By the time he reacted, it was already too late.

The rat demon's claws were less than half a foot from his back. The stench hit the back of his neck, and Chen Mu could even feel the slight vibration of the claws cutting through the air.

It was too late. The thought of turning around to block had barely crossed his mind when his body couldn't keep up—he closed his eyes in despair.

An invisible ripple spread out, causing the rat demon's movements to pause for a moment, giving Zhao He's knife time to thrust in.

"when!"

The clang of metal against metal was so sharp it made one's teeth ache. The rat demon's claws, carrying all its momentum, were abruptly stopped in mid-air. Zhao He's feet were firmly planted in the mud, his boots sinking half an inch into the silt, and he didn't move an inch.

The rat demon went berserk, leaping and bounding about, shaking its head and biting, its sharp claws repeatedly scraping the blade, sending sparks flying.

Zhao He gritted his teeth, remaining silent, his blade firmly locking onto his opponent's attacks, each parry precisely timed. There were no fancy moves, no clever maneuvers, just pure, straightforward parrying and blocking.

The simplest swordsmanship, yet the most rigorous defense.

Chen Mu was steadily protected behind him.

"Zhao He! Take half a step to the left!" Chen Mu called out, taking half a step back.

Without saying a word, Zhao He moved sideways.

Chen Mu's fingertips danced with the talismans, without even needing to look down at the incantation. The first immobilization talisman flew out of his hand, and the instant the yellow talisman burned out, golden light patterns wrapped around the rat demon's limbs, and its wildly twisting body suddenly froze.

The second one followed immediately. A Fiery Talisman.

A fireball the size of a fist, wreathed in heat, slammed into the rat demon's face, causing it to let out a piercing scream, its eye sockets charred black, and its flesh to peel back.

The third one is the Wind Control Talisman.

A gentle breeze, carrying a sharp energy, wrapped around Zhao He's blade. Zhao He sensed it, and the blade in his hand suddenly became three times lighter and three times faster. Without hesitation, he slashed down.

With a single slash, both claws of the rat demon were severed.

The three talismans were unleashed in quick succession, controlling the battlefield, dealing damage, and providing support all in one smooth motion. But Chen Mu didn't stop. He reached back and pulled three small talismans from his waist, tossing them to the ground.

The moment the magic power was poured in, three earthen walls rose from the ground, completely blocking the dozen or so water rats that were rushing in from the side.

Zhao He took a breath and glanced back at him.

Chen Mu remained expressionless, holding the last talisman in his mouth, and used his free hand to adjust the position of the earthen wall.

The two of them actually worked together quite well.

Because he was distracted by activating his Beast Taming Technique, Ning Che had to take two steps back before he could regain his footing. Far from being discouraged, he even smiled slightly.

Their team was finally taking shape.

A loud roar exploded from the front, interrupting Ning Che's thoughts.

Forest.

This guy caught a glimpse of the movement on the flank, and before he even had a thought of "tactical coordination," he abandoned his opponent in front of him and charged forward, completely ignoring the three water rats that had already pounced on him from behind.

All eight streams of blood energy condensed on his fists.

The Invincible Fist of Ten Directions!

He unleashed a punch, completely disregarding Zhao He standing beside him. The force of his punch was so domineering that it shattered the severed-clawed rat demon along with the surrounding half-foot-long layer of mud before it even hit the ground.

The demon's body, forged through countless trials, was crushed into a pool of bloody mud by the violent force of the punch, unable to even utter a complete scream. The aftershocks of the punch swept across, sending more than a dozen water rats flying and crashing into the mud, lifeless.

Zhao He was forced back two steps by the force of the punch, almost falling into the mud.

"Lin Ye, you son of a bitch—"

"Just block it, that's enough!" Lin Ye shouted without turning his head.

Two deep, bone-revealing gashes appeared on his back. While he had neglected the front, two escaped rat demons had gotten their hands on him, their sharp claws slashing from his back to his waist, blood soaking through his clothes and trickling down his trouser legs.

He didn't utter a single word.