We soon created a hole in the ground. It was around two meters wide. Li Mazi took the lead; it seemed he was going to jump in. I hurriedly pulled him back. Then, I sprinkled refined salt into the hole.

Having worked in this business for quite a long time, I had created good habits. I didn’t want to admit it, but Senior Shu was right when he had reminded me to be more vigilant. My grandfather had also lost his life due to his carelessness.

As such, I carried refined salt and black beans every time I went out.

After I sprinkled the refined salt, there was no commotion. I eased my mind and looked at Li Mazi. “Later on, I will ignore you every time you act impulsively.”

“Haha, aren’t you here with me? I don’t need to be that cautious with you around.” Li Mazi smiled bitterly then jumped. As soon as he landed, he screamed and wobbled.

I was startled by his scream. I immediately jumped into the hole and withdrew my Sirius Whip. I lashed it at the void in front of us.

My whip didn’t hit anything. There was nothing in this place. I wanted to reprimand Li Mazi, but after following his line of sight, I saw something. At first glance, I couldn’t help but take in a deep breath!

Around five meters in front of us was a pile of countless animal carcasses. There were poultry, dogs, cats, and even big domestic animals like pigs and cows. The carcasses were piled up neatly as if someone had arranged them that way.

Fortunately, apart from the dead animals, there was nothing else in this chamber. I pulled myself together. I knew that those bodies were the missing domestic animals from the village.

I became bolder. I walked forward and picked up a duck and checked it. The duck had one wound on its neck and its entire body was as stiff as a stone. I tried to squeeze it, but no blood oozed out.

I checked a few more chickens. They were in the same condition.

It was no wonder the smell of blood was faint, despite there being so many carcasses. These dead animals had been sucked dry.

“Little Brother Zhang, this… this House Immortal Protector is really cruel!” Li Mazi said in a shaky voice. After a long time, Li Mazi finally got a hold of himself.

I shook my head. “No, the Yellow Immortal didn’t do this.”

The Yellow Immortal liked to eat meat, but it didn’t like to suck blood. When the weasels stole poultry, they would eat the entire chicken and leave the feathers and blood behind.

The dead animals in front of us had intact bodies and were laid neatly on the ground. It seemed the creature behind this liked to suck blood.

With this thought, I lifted my head to assess the place. The chamber was nearly the same size as the Yellow Immortal Temple up there. When the people constructed this temple, they might have deliberately created this space to make more room for the Yellow Immortal.

Although I didn’t know what had created trouble here, it wasn’t a coincidence. After the silver spear was pulled out of the earth, it had come out to wreak havoc.

Li Mazi thought for a while then asked in a puzzled voice, “Would Luo Cheng cooperate with this thing? Or, did Luo Cheng suck these animals to death?”

“Nonsense!” I scolded him. According to the unofficial history, Luo Cheng was proud and noble. How could he do something like this?

If we wanted to see if there was a relationship between these two incidents, we needed to see the silver spear! But the spear had run away by itself…

While I was thinking about how to find the silver spear, I heard hurried footsteps above our heads. Li Mazi and I exchanged looks. Instinctively, we became more cautious.

The Village Elder’s voice came from above our heads. “Master Zhang, Master, Li, are you in there?”

I exhaled and answered him. The Village Elder had brought a few strong men along. They were looking through the hole in the ground.

It turned out that after we told him that we were going to the Yellow Immortal Temple, he was afraid that something bad would happen to us. He brought some men to help us.

I didn’t want to let them know about the situation down here because I didn’t want to scare them. However, before I could say anything, some young men jumped into the hole. They immediately saw the pile of animal carcasses. They screamed, which made the Village Elder jump down, too.

“Can we take them back home?” They were scared but still asked.

They had fed those domestic animals for quite a long time, and now they couldn’t sell them. They thought they could still use the meat to somewhat make up for their losses.

However, since I didn’t know what had caused this scene, I didn’t want to take any risks. “Village Elder, you should warn the villagers that no one is allowed to come here and take those dead animals.”

The Village Elder agreed. Although the other men didn’t look pleased, they had to listen to the Village Elder.

It was the afternoon now, and the village was still quiet. I had told the villagers to stay in their houses.

Li Mazi frowned. “Little Brother Zhang, what do you want to do now?”

I looked at the deserted village and gritted my teeth. “We must find the one that stole the domestic animals first.”

No matter what the relationship was between the silver spear and Luo Cheng, it had done nothing too serious until now. At the same time, that blood-sucking monster had brought a serious threat to the folks in this village!

I went back to Yellow Immortal Temple with Li Mazi. If that brute had left the carcasses in that chamber, it would go back there.

Since it wasn’t there during the day, did it go around to find more animals to suck their blood?

When we arrived at the temple, Li Mazi and I carefully walked around to check. We felt that the scent of blood was thicker this time. We jumped down and saw more dead animals. This time, there were even wild birds, hares, and deer from the mountain. They had all been sucked dry. However, we still didn’t see the murderer.

Since it was the second time we saw this, Li Mazi wasn’t scared anymore. He rubbed his chin and contemplated the situation. “What thing needs to drink a lot of blood like this? Will it come here again?”

“I’m sure it will. Otherwise, it wouldn’t keep the dead animals here. I believe it will need to use them for later,” I said instinctively.

Since we didn’t know when that thing would come back, we didn’t want to linger and take any risks. We walked away from the temple and hid by a nearby swamp. We waited.

After around one hour, nothing happened. However, it started to rain heavily. Since Li Mazi and I were hiding by a swamp, we were in the low spot. We were shortly soaked in water.

This weather was favorable for ghosts and evil creatures to come out. I didn’t mind my wet clothes or cold. I continued to wait patiently.

The rain became even heavier, which hindered our sights. When I leaned against Li Mazi, we looked like a dim shadow in the heavy rain.

Around half an hour later, Li Mazi couldn’t put up with it anymore. He shivered in the cold. “Little Brother Zhang, should we head back? I feel so cold. I’m completely drenched…”

Although I didn’t want to leave, waiting here wasn’t a wise option. I nodded and was ready to depart. However, before we got up, a horrible thunderbolt came from the sky.

Then, we heard rapid footsteps. It sounded as if there was an army of tens of thousands dashing toward us.

The noise drew closer. I became anxious. At this moment, several lightning bolts flashed in the sky. I was shocked and gasped at the sight of countless mice dashing toward this place from every direction. They all rushed into the Yellow Immortal Temple.

After around three minutes, the horde of mice disappeared. Li Mazi also witnessed it. He was so scared that he farted a few times. “W-What just happened?”

“I guess it was a mouse monster.”

After the thrill was gone, I calmed down. The horde of mice had moved fast, just as though they were on a pilgrimage. It seemed the rat king was there.

The rat king must have killed all those domestic animals. But why did it suck all that blood? Was it to overcome the heavenly tribulation?

With this thought, I lifted my head to look at the sky again. Rolling black clouds started to congregate above the temple. At the same time, lightning strikes began to hit the temple!

It was the preparation before the heavenly tribulation!

I felt my butt clenching. It was no wonder it had to suck the blood from countless animals. It wanted to use the blood to strengthen itself!

The blood and soul blended. If I was right, this place had a rat king. Since it had killed so many animals, it would have numerous souls. Those souls would increase the rat king’s survival rate!

I couldn’t imagine how strong the rat monster would become after the heavenly tribulation. However, I knew that it would bring a disaster to the villagers in this area.

I handed Li Mazi the Yin and Yang Umbrella and protected myself with the Sirius Whip and the Peach Soul Flower. After clenching our jaws, we dashed toward the Yellow Immortal Temple.

I thought that those rats would try to stop us. However, they looked as though they didn’t recognize our existence. They lifted their heads and stood still. They only looked at the wall of the temple.

I followed their line of sight. There was a giant rat in front of the wall!

“Blargh…” I had just taken a glance but couldn’t help vomiting. That rat was the size of a small buffalo. It was standing on two legs like a human. The fur on its entire body had turned red.

It looked extremely dangerous. Suddenly, the rat’s hairs began to fall off, which revealed the ruddy flesh beneath. The body parts that didn’t have hair now twisted and were seemingly turning into human skin.

It was transcending the heavenly tribulation! I didn’t have the mind to care about my churning stomach. I gritted my teeth and charged forward.

The rat saw me before I could reach it. It turned to look at me. The rat’s head was half-human, half-rat. It gave me a sinister smile. Then, it faced the sky and roared. The stunned rats seemed to have received an order and started to crawl and attack us crazily.

“Damn it! Go away!” In just a blink of time, I had been bitten several times! Since we didn’t have a way out, I didn’t care about anything else at this moment. I had to stop that rat monster from transcending the heavenly tribulation, even if it meant I had to die!

I crazily lashed the Sirius Whip. All the rats in front of me were hit by it. Their bodies bled and broke!