Clan Cultivation: Starting from Beast Taming

The way of the rat is difficult, more challenging than ascending to the heavens.

The narrow rat passages allowed only for crawling on the ground, and if Zhou Chun were alone, just crawling to the rat nest might take him several "two hours".

Fortunately, he was not alone.

He turned the "Golden Cauldron Profound Light" into a membrane of light to shield himself and then tied a rope around the Silver Lightning Python Baibai, letting it drag him along.

Although this appeared quite undignified, the speed of advancement was incredibly fast.

The troublesome rat passages posed no obstacle to serpents, and they only traveled a bit slower than rats themselves.

Because of this, Zhou Chun experienced a sensation of rapid advancement underground.

He was like a person being dragged by a warhorse, clinging to the rope while being rapidly pulled through the twisting subterranean rat passages, his body swinging and slamming into the hard cave walls countless times.

Fortunately, with the protection of the "Golden Cauldron Profound Light", such collisions barely affected him.

In less than a hundred Zhang after descending, Zhou Chun's Divine Sense had already detected vigilant Gold-Eating Rats and heard their shrill warning squeaks.

"What a clever and cautious beast, even setting up multiple layers of alerts!" he silently marveled, his brow furrowing slightly over the caution of the Mutant Gold-Eating Rat King.

Now that they had been exposed from so far away, he feared that before they could reach the rat nest, the Mutant Gold-Eating Rat King would have prepared a response.

Sure enough, his expectations were met.

Less than a half 'two hours' after the alarm squeaks, Zhou Chun heard a great many rat squeals.

Soon, from the intersecting passages connected to their own, swarmed a multitude of Gold-Eating Rats.

Their eyes blood-red, they lunged at Zhou Chun and the Silver Lightning Python, heedless of the formidable aura of a natural predator emanating from the python.

This was the influence of the second-order Mutant Gold-Eating Rat King.

The king of every weak species has the influence to compel its kind to disregard any enemy at critical moments to sacrifice their own lives for it.

The Gold-Eating Rats now under the influence of the Mutant Gold-Eating Rat King didn't care whether they faced a second-order Silver Lightning Python or a Flood Dragon or a Golden Core Stage Cultivator; they dared to charge forward.

Because the only thoughts left in their minds were to attack the enemy and protect their Rat King and their offspring, without a trace of fear.

Trapped in the narrow rat passages, not only was Zhou Chun unable to deploy his Magic Artifacts fully, but even the Silver Lightning Python Baibai could not stretch out its body properly.

This was one of the main reasons the Zhao Family Cultivators dared not descend to exterminate the rats.

Fortunately, although the Silver Lightning Python Baibai could not stretch out its body, its sturdy Dragon Scales made it immune to the attacks of most Gold-Eating Rats.

The Gold-Eating Rats could consume various types of Spirit Gold, but that was because they could secrete saliva that softened Spirit Gold.

This saliva, however, had little effect on the Dragon Scales of a Silver Lightning Python.

Moreover, the Silver Lightning Python could conduct electricity, paralyzing any Gold-Eating Rats that contacted it. This paralysis could spread from one rat to another through their body contacts—two at a time.

Zhou Chun, on the other hand, while not as relaxed as the Silver Lightning Python, also did not particularly fear the attacks of the Gold-Eating Rats.

At this moment, his "Golden Cauldron Profound Light" could be used not only for defense but also for counter-attacks.

Any Gold-Eating Rats that dared to pounce on him were met with a golden light needle.

Under the lock of Divine Sense, each golden light needle eradicated a Gold-Eating Rat.

In this manner, the Silver Lightning Python Baibai, despite being attacked by many Gold-Eating Rats, still dragged Zhou Chun forward, not giving the rats a genuine chance to block their way.

Squeak—

Suddenly, Zhou Chun thought he heard an especially prolonged rat squeal, majestic in its tone, not inferior to a tiger's roar.

Immediately after, his Divine Sense detected a sharp golden light blade slashing towards Baibai, the Silver Lightning Python.

With decent combat experience and exceptional perception, Baibai sensed the golden light blade beforehand.

Opening its mouth wide, it released a silvery-white bolt of lightning, which struck the golden light blade head-on.

The clashing spells seemed evenly matched, with neither side gaining an advantage over Baibai.

This surprised Zhou Chun as well; the power of the Mutant Gold-Eating Rat King appeared greater than he had anticipated.

It seemed that this strike had reassured the Mutant Gold-Eating Rat King, making it think that the enemy's strength had not exceeded what it could handle, so there was no need to flee immediately.

Thus, with its urgent shrieks, more and more Gold-Eating Rats joined the attack squad.

"Clever creature, are you trying to deplete our Mana with the lives of your subordinates?" Zhou Chun instantly understood the Mutant Gold-Eating Rat King's plan and let out a cold laugh.

He did not fear such a war of attrition.

Because he was bold enough to absorb the surrounding Spiritual Energy and refine it to replenish his Mana during a magical duel.

Moreover, he carried with him more than a dozen Rejuvenation Pills, ensuring his Mana recovery rate would not be too slow.

After enduring incessant attacks from countless Gold-Eating Rats for over a 'two hours', Baibai, the Silver Lightning Python, finally dragged Zhou Chun into the rat nest located two to three hundred Zhang underground.

The rat nest resembled a wasp hive, divided into many levels, each with numerous stone chambers, and swarming with rat tunnels everywhere, so much so that Zhou Chun felt somewhat dizzy just looking at it.

The bottom was an Underground Cave Hall that had been hollowed out, seemingly the place where the rat swarm usually congregated for meetings, and it was quite spacious.