Thinking of that possibility, Third Elder Su Chang gritted his teeth, killing intent surging in his eyes. "Guo Chudong—if you really colluded with the Lin Family to harm our Su Clan, I, Su Chang, will see you dead!"
Fourth Elder Su Ruosu, however, was already focused on the more immediate threat. She scanned the area around the estate, sensing the fast-approaching swarm of Groundrock Rats, and urged, "No time for that—first, we deal with these rats!"
The Groundrock Rat horde, incited into a frenzy, had erupted from the spiritual vein beneath the garden.
Every Su Family cultivator in the estate had been roused from sleep. When they saw the swarm, their faces turned pale.
"So many Groundrock Rats!?"
"Damn, the formation's down!"
"Quick—everyone prepare to defend against the rat horde!"
Su Chang and Su Ruosu barked orders, rousing the shocked cultivators. They quickly took up defensive positions around the estate's perimeter.
But both elders looked grave as they focused on three directions in particular.
Three late-stage Tier 1 Groundrock Rats were leading the charge!
One of them even radiated an aura strong enough to rival the eighth level of Qi Refinement!
Su Chang took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "I'll take the strongest one. You handle another. As for the third—"
He never got to finish.
Both he and Su Ruosu suddenly paused in surprise.
At the rear of the rat horde, a commotion erupted. The three leading late-stage Tier 1 Groundrock Rats abruptly skidded to a halt, then spun around and shrieked sharply, driving back the rest of the charging rats.
Just behind them—
Three high-potency batches of spirit rice laced with Beast-Luring Powder were tossed over by Su Yu.
Even in their berserk state, the rats couldn't resist the allure of the bait.
It was like cats smelling catnip.
The three powerful Groundrock Rats' eyes lit up.
They immediately drove off the other rats trying to approach the rice, then rushed forward and swallowed the rice in one gulp.
In that instant—it was as if their souls were soaring. It was the greatest bliss they had ever experienced.
Drunk on the high, their massive bodies staggered...
And moments later—
Thump! Thump! Thump!
All three collapsed on the ground—sound asleep.
Around them, the rest of the Groundrock Rats stared, their blood-red eyes filled with confusion.
Groundrock Rats didn't have high intelligence.
They weren't true members of the demon race.
And now, seeing their three leaders suddenly knock out and drooling in bliss—they had no idea what to do next.
Then—
Eleven more batches of laced spirit rice were thrown into the swarm, targeting mid-stage Tier 1 rats with pinpoint precision, guided by Su Yu's spiritual power.
Squeak squeak squeak!
The rats scrambled like mad to get at the rice.
In no time, over half of the mid-stage Tier 1 rats had collapsed from the drug.
By the time Su Chang and Su Ruosu led the cultivators in a counteroffensive—
What remained of the rat horde was too weak to resist.
Most were slain.
The rest scattered underground and fled.
—
From the rat horde's eruption to its near-total extermination, the entire sequence had taken less than half a 刻 (about 7 minutes).
Using his flying sword, Su Chang sliced off the heads of the three late-stage Groundrock Rats, making sure they were dead.
Then he turned back to Su Yu, his expression still shocked.
"You… how did you manage to take down those late-stage and mid-stage Groundrock Rats so easily?"
Su Yu hesitated a moment, then explained, "I found a formula in an old book. It's specially designed for Groundrock Rats."
"Once they eat it, they pass out—helpless."
Before Su Chang could respond, Su Yu added, "Originally, I was planning to clear out the Groundrock Rats over the next few weeks, then hand the formula over to the clan."
"I didn't expect something like tonight to happen…"
Looking around at the countless rat corpses, Su Yu couldn't help feeling a little regretful.
The Groundrock Rats in the medicinal garden were now basically wiped out.
There was no point in holding onto the formula any longer.
Might as well give it to the clan now.
Turning to Su Chang, Su Yu said, "The formula is called Beast-Luring Powder. It's a special tranquilizer for Groundrock Rats. I'll hand it over to the clan."
Hearing that, Su Chang's eyes lit up with joy and understanding.
He had been paying attention to Su Yu for some time.
Though Su Yu's spiritual roots were nothing special, he was promising in body refinement, and his ability to hunt Groundrock Rats was exceptional.
Su Chang had already intended to cultivate Su Yu as a promising junior.
Otherwise, Su Yu wouldn't have been able to fulfill so many bounty missions over the past year—and collect so many spirit stones in the process.
Tonight, when disaster loomed over the medicinal garden, it had been Su Yu who stepped up.
He'd neutralized the three strongest beasts and helped them nearly wipe out the entire threat.
How could Su Chang not be both surprised and thrilled?
"Good! Good! Good!" Su Chang said, repeating the word three times in a row. His joy and pride were evident. "Don't worry—you've done great tonight. The clan won't forget this. As for that formula, we'll evaluate its value properly—you'll be well rewarded."
Then, glancing around at the cultivators dealing with the rat corpses, Su Chang added, "As for the spoils tonight, I'll personally make sure you're fairly compensated."
Su Yu's eyes lit up. "Third Grandpa, there's something I'd like to ask for."
"I'd like the blood essence from those three late-stage Groundrock Rats. Is that alright?"
Each late-stage Tier 1 beast could yield around forty to fifty drops of blood essence.
With three of them, he could get over a hundred drops—enough to sustain his body refinement practice for a long while.
It might even help him break through to the seventh level.
Third Grandpa?
Su Chang was briefly stunned, then burst into laughter. "Third Grandpa it is! Of course you can have it! You took those three down—they're yours to handle."
—
Standing nearby, Fourth Elder Su Ruosu hadn't had much contact with Su Yu before, but the events of tonight left a deep impression.
Despite her still-youthful appearance—thanks to Beauty Pills—Su Ruosu was actually of the same generation as Su Yu's grandmother.
At this moment, her gaze toward Su Yu carried a rare mix of surprise and admiration.
She had never realized there was such a talented and interesting junior hidden in the medicinal garden.
But she didn't forget their current situation.
In a low voice, she reminded, "Old Third, we need to check the defensive formations immediately."
"If that bastard Guo really did collude with the Lin Family, we're in much deeper trouble. It's not time to celebrate just yet."
Snapped back to reality by her words, Su Chang's expression darkened again.
He ground his teeth. "Daring to betray the Su Family—he's seeking death!"
He quickly made arrangements.
A small group was left to clean up the rat corpses and secure the medicinal garden.
Su Chang and Su Ruosu went to inspect the formation arrays, while the rest of the cultivators prepared for a potential Lin Family assault.