Early that morning, under the lead of Clan Head Su Peng, a group of Su Family members followed an elder into the medicinal garden. From a distance, the elder looked aged, his hair white and face deeply wrinkled, yet the aura surrounding him was deep and unfathomable.
Dragon-seeking and vein-setting was a meticulous process. Combined with the construction of a blessed land through formation arrays, it was something that could take a very long time.
So after staying at the medicinal garden for half a day, Su Peng returned to Jiang City, leaving the matter in the hands of the others.
Su Yu had only taken a glance from afar when the geomancer arrived before going back to his usual tasks and cultivation.
To locate the root of a spiritual vein and construct a blessed land, even a Tier 1 Geomancer needed at least a month—possibly two or three, depending on the difficulty.
He wasn't especially curious. He understood how geomancers worked and didn't see a need to pay excessive attention.
Because of the geomancer's arrival, the Su Family's only female elder—Fourth Elder Su Ruosu—also came to the medicinal garden, joining Third Elder Su Chang to guard the area.
After all, the spiritual vein was now the Su Family's most important asset—they couldn't afford any mistakes.
—
Half a month later.
Inside his room, Su Yu was grinding ingredients to create Beast-Luring Powder. Over the past few days, he had collected a few ingredients with sufficient age and was preparing to try luring a late-stage Tier 1 Groundrock Rat.
He had made attempts before, but unfortunately, none had succeeded in drawing one out.
"I'll give it another shot tonight," Su Yu muttered, increasing the dosage.
Now that the clan had started the process of locating the vein's core and building the blessed land, he figured it might be a good idea to step up his hunting—ideally exterminating the entire rat colony hiding within the vein.
With his current body refinement level, the Groundrock Rats didn't offer much value anymore.
At best, he could trade them for spirit stones from the family to fund his own cultivation.
And besides, in a little over a year, he'd be leaving the medicinal garden to become an alchemy apprentice.
By then, there'd be no need to keep the rats around.
He prepared twenty packets of Beast-Luring Powder, five of which were specially formulated to draw out late-stage Tier 1 beasts.
—
When night fell, Su Yu quietly left his room and arrived at a secluded part of the garden.
He spread the powder mixed with spirit rice in twenty different locations.
Just as he was turning to head back and wait—
A faint, unfamiliar scent in the air made his nose twitch.
It smelled similar to Beast-Luring Powder… but not quite the same.
"What is this?" Su Yu frowned, confused.
Ring—!
Boom!
Before he could think further, a piercing bell rang through the medicinal garden. The moment it echoed out, the ground itself trembled slightly.
Even without knowing the exact cause, Su Yu could tell—something serious was happening.
His expression changed as he turned to dash back toward the main estate within the garden. That was where Third Elder, Fourth Elder, and the rest of the family cultivators were stationed. It was the safest place.
If even that wasn't safe, then he was in even more danger out here.
But before he could get far—
Rustle!
All around the garden, the sound of mice shrieking and scurrying erupted.
The ground near Su Yu suddenly burst open as two Groundrock Rats leapt out—one about a foot long, exuding the aura of an early-stage Tier 1 beast; the other nearly two feet in length, its power reaching mid-Tier 1.
Under the dim moonlight, the rats looked furious. Their eyes burned blood-red, and their auras were wild and frenzied.
Squeak squeak squeak!!!
As soon as they sensed the human presence, they charged at Su Yu with murderous intent.
Their black fur practically melted into the night, and their speed was astounding—reaching him in the blink of an eye.
But the next moment—
The rats' eyes widened.
Every strand of their fur stood on end in terror, their bodies trembling as if facing a monstrous predator.
Buzz!
From deep within Su Yu's body, the power of his body refinement erupted.
A crimson glow engulfed his fists.
That bloody aura shrouded his whole figure, and in the dark, it was as if a demonic crocodile beast had descended, raising its claws to strike.
Bang! Bang!
Two punches struck both rats head-on.
They were so overwhelmed by his terrifying aura that they didn't even try to dodge. Paralyzed with fear, they took the full brunt of the blows.
Boom! Blood burst into mist. Bone-shattering cracks echoed through the night.
The two Groundrock Rats were launched over ten zhang (thirty meters) away, slamming into another medicinal field, forming two deep craters.
Both rats—including the mid-Tier 1 one—died instantly.
With the immediate threat gone, Su Yu scanned the rest of the medicinal garden.
What he saw made his heart drop.
Squeak squeak squeak!!!
From all directions, the angry shrieks of Groundrock Rats echoed. It was as if the entire colony had been provoked and was now swarming out from the spiritual vein's depths.
Hundreds of beastly figures surged forward—all headed toward the main estate.
Despite hunting them throughout the year, Su Yu estimated that at least two hundred rats had surfaced.
Among them were several emitting terrifying auras—late-stage Tier 1 monsters.
Seeing those few terrifying rats leading the charge, Su Yu's pupils contracted sharply. His heart seethed with anger.
"Someone triggered the Groundrock Rat riot? Who?!"
His mind quickly ran through the list of suspects.
First—the geomancer and his apprentices, who had arrived recently.
Second—the Lin Family.
And finally—an internal traitor within the Su Family.
But all those thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant. Seeing the rats charging the estate, Su Yu gritted his teeth and turned back toward the traps he'd just laid.
Of the twenty bait stations, six had already been devoured by rampaging rats. Those rats were now lying dazed on the ground—like they were drunk.
Su Yu walked over and smashed them one by one with his fists.
Then he recovered the remaining fourteen portions of powder—including the four high-grade ones.
Swish!
Su Yu concealed his aura completely and began stealthily making his way toward the main estate.
Fortunately, his recently switched cultivation art—the Cycle of Verdant Rings—was excellent at suppressing spiritual fluctuations. With it, Su Yu's presence was no different from that of a tree.
Even when Groundrock Rats rushed past him, they took no notice.
—
Main Estate.
Buzz!
The protective formations blazed to life one after another—but not long after, a loud crack echoed.
One of the formation nodes exploded. The array flags shattered.
Some formations completely failed, others flickered and weakened, nearly collapsing.
Third Elder Su Chang's expression changed drastically. Fury burned in his eyes as he roared, "Where's Geomancer Guo!?"
Whoosh!
Fourth Elder Su Ruosu, her beautiful features twisted into a scowl, rushed over and said grimly, "That bastard Guo and his apprentices are gone. The formations… they were probably his doing."
Hearing this, Su Chang looked at the onrushing sea of Groundrock Rats—and as a terrifying possibility dawned on him, his face darkened even more.
"The Lin Family? Damn it!"