Ling Xiao glanced at the ground, where there lay two corpses of Yuehua Sect disciples. He tidied them up and temporarily placed them in an empty storage ring, planning to bring them back for a proper burial.
As for the other corpses, he paid them no mind, nor did he feel any obligation to do so.
After dealing with the Yuehua Sect disciples’ bodies, Ling Xiao continued forward.
After roughly the time it takes to burn an incense stick, he arrived at what appeared to be a hidden pavilion.
Every sect has its secret places, and given how powerful the True Demon Empire once was, it was only natural that it would have such a place.
The door of the hidden pavilion was rotted, and half the walls had collapsed onto the ground, splattered with bright red bloodstains.
It was clear without looking closely that these bloodstains were fresh, likely left not long ago.
The dark, shadowy passage of the hidden pavilion, without the effects of light-gathering or light-absorbing arrays, made it difficult to see anything clearly.
Ling Xiao activated his Mountain River Martial Soul, and his eyes began to flicker with black-golden flames, illuminating the previously pitch-black passage.
He stepped through a gap, finding inside numerous shelves, though most were empty, with many torn pages scattered about.
Ling Xiao pressed deeper inside, when a faint sound came from a corner.
He furrowed his brow.
The sound was so faint that an ordinary martial artist would likely not have heard it, but it could not escape Ling Xiao’s ears.
Though he continued walking forward, a qi sword had already formed in his hand.
Swoosh!
At that moment, a dark shadow lunged from behind him, its cold glint flashing as it aimed straight for his back.
The creature was small, about the size of an ordinary rat, but incredibly fast.
“I’ve been waiting for you!”
Ling Xiao sneered, not even turning around. A qi sword shot through the air, curving mid-flight and piercing the shadow’s body.
Pfft!
Squeak!
The shadow let out a sharp cry and fell to the ground, instantly lifeless.
Only then did Ling Xiao clearly see what it was.
The creature was roughly the size of a rat but stood upright, walking like a human, a small monster with sharp claws like deadly blades.
Based on Ling Xiao’s senses, the sharpness of those claws was no less than that of a rare treasure weapon.
After one rat monster was killed, a swarm of them surged forward, causing Ling Xiao’s skin to crawl with goosebumps.
It wasn’t fear, but rather an uneasy feeling triggered by seeing so many of them, perhaps what’s known as trypophobia.
Without hesitation, Ling Xiao unleashed his Plague Demon King Martial Soul, which lunged at the swarm of rat monsters.
A thick cloud of poison spread out, and the rat monsters began squealing and scattering in all directions.
These small creatures were fast and had decent defences, but as expected, they feared potent poison.
Their cries echoed, adding an ominous and eerie air to the already grim and terrifying True Demon Forbidden Land.
“Squeak squeak squeak!”
Ling Xiao was about to turn and leave when he noticed the rat monsters, which had fled, were returning.
This time, they were led by a much larger rat monster.
The rat monster leader opened its mouth and sucked in all the poison, even letting out a satisfied burp.
Swoosh!
In the instant it burped, the rat monster leader sprang forward. Its body was over ten times larger than the others, roughly the height of a human child, yet it moved with the same agility and seemed even more cunning.
Ling Xiao’s qi sword, sent through the air, was easily dodged by the creature.
“What in the world is this thing?”
Brandishing his Rain-Covering Sword to block the rat monster leader’s attack, Ling Xiao felt a surge of surprise. The ruins of the True Demon Empire were full of oddities, first the armoured puppets and now these intelligent giant rats that could even use human martial techniques.
The rat monster leader’s defence was not as strong as the armoured puppets, but the hardness and sharpness of its claws were no less formidable than the puppets’ materials.
Combined with its incredible speed, hitting its vital points was proving quite difficult for Ling Xiao.
“Squeak squeak squeak!”
Clang clang clang!
The rat monster launched a relentless series of attacks, striking so rapidly that Ling Xiao had no time to counter.
“I can’t bear to kill you!”
A grin spread across Ling Xiao’s face. This little creature’s combat ability was impressive, almost like a tiny assassin.
“Get lost, I don’t have time to play with you!”
Ling Xiao suddenly unleashed a terrifying killing intent. The rat monster leader flipped several times in mid-air, landing over ten metres away.
“Squeak squeak squeak!”
The rat monster leader seemed enraged, humiliated by being intimidated by Ling Xiao’s killing intent, which it found unacceptable.
Its body suddenly spun, drilling into the ground like a spinning top.
“Courting death? Then I’ll grant your wish!”
Ling Xiao had initially thought the creature was clever and intended to spare it, but since it was so relentless, he could no longer hold back.
With a wave of his hand, a flying sword shot out, driven by the will of destruction, piercing into the ground and pinning the rat monster leader beneath.
“Come back!”
Retrieving the flying sword, Ling Xiao ignored the remaining rat monsters, as their leader was dead and they posed no threat.
The rat monsters fled frantically, scattering away from Ling Xiao.
Ling Xiao sheathed his Rain-Covering Sword and continued onward.
Further inside, he finally found some relatively intact books.
There were six usable books in total, four of which were top-tier gold-grade martial arts, and two were entry-level jade-grade martial arts.
For now, Ling Xiao had no immediate need for these martial arts, so he made copies, planning to bring one set back to the Divine Sword Sect and give the other to the Yuehua Sect, which could earn him a substantial reward in spirit stones.
The two entry-level jade-grade martial arts could likely be exchanged for two million mid-grade spirit stones, while the four top-tier gold-grade martial arts could fetch four million low-grade spirit stones, a considerable fortune.
Mid-grade spirit stones could be used for cultivation.
Low-grade spirit stones could be used for purchases, both highly valuable.
Stowing all six books, Ling Xiao activated his Mountain River Martial Soul, scanning through the walls of the area.
He believed the best items would likely be hidden in secret places, not casually displayed.
Got it!
Peering through a wall, Ling Xiao discovered it was actually a hidden door, though it was small, like a grid carved into the wall.
Inside the grid was a jade gourd containing a hundred or so pills.
Ling Xiao opened the compartment, took out the gourd, and sniffed it.
Knowledge of pills he had studied before surfaced in his mind.
“Good stuff! I didn’t expect to find high-grade yellow-rank pills, Half-Step Breakthrough Pills!”
The so-called Half-Step Breakthrough Pills were used to enhance the Half-Step Heavenly Venerable realm.
Indeed, they could directly boost cultivation, but only at the Half-Step realm.
