"Something's moving!" Zhu Yinxi stood up instantly, alert, as spiritual energy gathered in his palm.
Liu Qi quickly tucked away the night-luminescent pearl, plunging the surroundings into darkness. The four of them held their breath, staring intently in the direction of the noise.
A moment later, a dark shadow lunged out from the bushes.
It was actually an iron-toothed rat covered in wounds!
However, its eyes glowed with an unnatural red light, and it let out a sharp hiss. Its movements were sluggish, appearing as though it were at the end of its tether.
"It's injured?" Duan Xianxing whispered.
Seeing the four of them, the iron-toothed rat skidded to a halt. It retreated a few steps warily before collapsing to the ground, its strength spent.
"Evil qi? It really is an evil cultivator?!" Liu Qi recognized the source of the dark energy at a glance. Although they had seen a large number of abnormal iron-toothed rats before, they had simply assumed it was a demonic beast riot. Only now, after the squirrel demon's warning, did he notice the anomaly.
Zhu Yinxi frowned and pulled a pill from his storage bag, tossing it in front of the rat.
"This pill will help heal your wounds."
"Second Senior Brother...?" Li Nanzhu looked at Zhu Yinxi with some confusion. She remembered that her second senior brother used to hate iron-toothed rats. Why was he helping to heal one now?
"It looks like it still has some self-awareness. We might be able to find out something from it using Brother Liu's translator."
The iron-toothed rat sniffed the pill. After a moment's hesitation, it finally picked it up and swallowed it.
The red light in its eyes dimmed slightly. It lay weakly on the ground, appearing to relax a little.
Liu Qi crouched down, carefully observing the rat's injuries. "These wounds... it feels like they weren't caused by just one kind of demonic beast."
The iron-toothed rat lifted its head slightly and let out a low whimper, but the translator remained silent for a long time, failing to translate whatever it was trying to express.
"Is it broken?" Liu Qi tapped the translator and looked at the rat again.
"The injuries are likely too severe for the translator to pick up the sound."
"A normal iron-toothed rat's intelligence is too low. Even if it did know something, it wouldn't be able to say it. Swallowing the pill was likely just a survival instinct." Li Nanzhu looked at the others. "What do we do now?"
Before anyone could respond, an eerie flute melody drifted from the distant forest. The iron-toothed rat's body jerked violently, the red light in its eyes intensifying again. It began to struggle painfully, letting out a shrill scream.
"Not good!" Liu Qi's expression shifted. "An evil cultivator is summoning it!"
The rat's struggles grew more frantic. Finally, with a roar, it turned and bolted toward the source of the flute music, quickly vanishing into the darkness.
Li Nanzhu stood up, her expression grave. "It seems the evil cultivator is nearby. We must be even more careful."
Liu Qi put away the translator and said in a low voice, "The iron-toothed rat's abnormal state is related to that flute music. Evil cultivators never have good intentions toward those in the cultivation world. If we can disrupt their method of control, we might be able to foil their plot."
Zhu Yinxi nodded. "But the enemy is in the shadows while we are in the light. Acting rashly is too risky."
Duan Xianxing scratched his head. "How about... we let Suisui go scout the path? It's just a bunch of bones, after all. The evil cultivator shouldn't pay it any mind."
Suisui: "Squeak?"
Li Nanzhu thought for a moment and suddenly smiled. "That is a way. Suisui, can you help us take a look up ahead?"
Suisui tilted its head as if trying to understand her, then let out a "squeak" and went hopping off toward the direction where the iron-toothed rat had disappeared. Its skeletal frame was particularly striking under the moonlight.
Liu Qi was a bit worried. "Can it really do it?"
Duan Xianxing patted his chest. "Don't worry. Suisui might look unreliable, but it's quite clever at critical moments."
The four waited patiently. Before long, Suisui came running back with a cry, clutching a small piece of black cloth in its hand.
However, the sound of whistling wind followed close behind Suisui as a sharp blade swept toward it.
Clang!
Duan Xianxing was quick as lightning, blocking the attack directly. The figure of the attacker was revealed immediately.
The newcomer was entirely wrapped in a black robe, which had a missing piece at the bottom—obviously the part Suisui had just torn off.
The man’s sinister eyes peered out from within the robe as he sneered, "Where did you little brats come from, daring to look for trouble?" He let out another cold laugh. "But your cultivation levels seem decent. Once I've absorbed your power, I'll surely be able to make a breakthrough!"
Zhu Yinxi gripped his jade flute, his expression solemn. "An evil cultivator at the early Golden Core stage. His strength is roughly comparable to a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator. Everyone, be careful!"
The evil cultivator gave a macabre smile. Dark energy surged from his hands, transforming into several blades that lunged straight at the four.
Duan Xianxing swung his sword to parry, while Liu Qi quickly summoned a defensive magic tool. Because her cultivation was too low, Li Nanzhu was clearly unable to join this battle. She retreated rapidly while holding Suisui, pulling out talismans and preparing to support at any moment.
Zhu Yinxi did not hesitate. He brought the jade flute to his lips and began to play.
"Wooo—gahhh—skreee—"
The moment the flute music started, the evil cultivator's movements seized up, and even his dark energy trembled.
Hearing Second Senior Brother's peculiar flute playing again, Duan Xianxing's face merely twitched. After all, he was the one in the sect who had to listen to this sound the most. Li Nanzhu was also prepared, so her expression remained under control. However, the expressions of the other two and the skeleton were not so good. Liu Qi looked at Zhu Yinxi in horror, as if seeing him for the first time, while Suisui covered its non-existent ears and desperately hid in Li Nanzhu's arms.
The evil cultivator's expression also changed drastically. "This... what kind of evil technique is this?!"
Zhu Yinxi remained unfazed and continued to play. The flute music grew even more shrill, sounding like a thousand ducks having their necks squeezed at once, making one's skin crawl.
Liu Qi's face was distorted, but he couldn't block his hearing during a battle. "Brother Duan's flute playing... is so... unique..."
Duan Xianxing was actually fine. Since Zhu Yinxi's target was the evil cultivator, the mental power attack contained within the music didn't affect the three of them; it was just incredibly unpleasant to hear. But the evil cultivator was not so lucky; his brain felt like it was being heavily hammered.
Duan Xianxing took the opportunity to swing his sword at the evil cultivator. Distracted and irritated by the flute music, the evil cultivator's movements slowed, and he was nearly hit by the sword qi.
"Curse you!" the evil cultivator roared. He forcibly steadied his mind, and the dark energy transformed into a giant palm that struck toward Zhu Yinxi.
Zhu Yinxi was unhurried. He shifted his footwork, and the flute notes directly severed the giant palm.
Quick-witted, Li Nanzhu seized the moment to throw an explosion talisman, forcing the evil cultivator back a few steps.
"Second Senior Brother, keep playing! He can't take it!"
Zhu Yinxi's head bobbed as the flute music suddenly shifted, turning into a sharp, indescribable noise that set everyone's teeth on edge.
The evil cultivator's mind was thrown into total chaos by Zhu Yinxi's flute music. However, a ruthless light soon flashed in his eyes. He suddenly bit the tip of his tongue and spat out a cloud of blood mist!
"Blood Fiend Technique!"
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