Su Yang City. An unnamed dark alley.
The moment after Song Ciwan left, several figures sped to the scene.
They had all been drawn by the commotion from the Palm Thunder. Chi Hua Fairy was the fastest. As she descended to the end of the dark alley in a blaze of fire, she arrived just in time to see a luminous gate at the base of the wall.
The luminous gate was already dimming, as if it could close at any moment.
Chi Hua Fairy immediately formed a hand seal, and with a flash of the Jade Talisman in her hand, a raging inferno transformed into a Fire Dragon. With a flick of its tail, it charged into the luminous gate.
BOOM—
The fiery light exploded, and from deep within the luminous gate, the faint, terrified squeals of countless rats could be heard.
"SQUEAK!"
"SQUEAK SQUEAK!"
Behind her, several Demon-slaying Captains, who were slightly slower, saw the roaring flames from a distance and cried out in alarm, "Fairy, you mustn't! That's the Snake and Rat Dao! Destroying it will bring disaster!"
But their warning came too late. Chi Hua Fairy had already cast her magic, and the rat passage was now ablaze with Spirit Fire. She only turned back to ask in surprise, "What did you say?"
The next moment, a giant claw suddenly shot out from the crimson-wreathed luminous gate.
The luminous gate was small, only about a foot high. When the Fire Dragon had charged inside, it had completely blocked the tiny opening.
The giant claw emerged from the flames, growing larger as it met the air. Chi Hua Fairy had not yet turned around; she only sensed a shadow falling over her from above.
"Ah!" a Demon-slaying Captain cried out. "Fairy, look out!"
But it was too late. In a flash, the giant claw, vast as the heavens, blotted out the sky and swatted down.
BANG!
From a distance, having drifted into a treetop along with the shadows, Song Ciwan watched, stunned.
Just as the giant claw came down and Chi Hua Fairy was about to be struck, a hum like a dragon's cry rose from behind her in the dark of night.
What was that?
It was a sword!
It was the phantom of a sword. In this night rampant with Demon Fiends, as the world-enveloping demonic claw descended, the sword flared like a heavenly bolt of silk, like the refulgent glory of the Void, like the starry river overturned. It cleaved the massive, canopy-like claw in two.
"SQUEEE—!"
The giant claw instantly retreated. Specks of fresh blood sprinkled down, falling upon the Mortal World like a torrential rain of blood.
An ancient voice, seeming to come from the ether, rang out, filled with fury and a sense of vast distance. "Beichen Sword Immortal, you dare to interfere! Are you breaking your oath?"
As the giant claw retreated in the sky and the sword phantom faded, a leisurely male voice, seeming both far and near, slowly sounded out: "Interfere? This Immortal merely left behind a sword phantom to protect a junior of my house. Is that not allowed? You, on the other hand, you old monster, bullying the weak and the beautiful. Getting slashed for it is exactly what you deserve!"
Faintly, a hearty laugh seemed to echo through the Void.
"Old monster, your Cultivation Body seems to have weakened. You couldn't even withstand a single strike from this Immortal?"
The ancient voice replied, furious and shrill, "The junior was ignorant, daring to burn the spirit bridge! What crime was there in this old one teaching her a lesson? And you, Master Beichen, don't you get too arrogant..."
SQUEEE—
And then… and then there were only the sounds of squeaking rats rising from all around.
Song Ciwan could no longer afford to watch the Immortals fight.
In truth, the Immortals' real bodies probably weren't even here. Even if Song Ciwan wanted to watch, there was nothing for her to see.
The sword phantom vanished, the giant claw was gone, and Chi Hua Fairy flew off in a fiery blaze to deal with the city-wide crisis.
Meanwhile, in the streets and alleys of Su Yang City, countless rats had somehow begun to swarm out.
Big rats, small rats, Mouse Demons, and common rats—they were all scurrying wildly throughout the city.
The Demon-slaying Captains' curses were carried on the wind as the entire City Patrol Department mobilized, drawing their sabers to slay the rats.
Even the ordinary residents of the city, most of whom were mere mortals, were jolted from their sleep by the city-wide infestation and joined the ranks of those killing any rat on sight.
Of course, this was accompanied by all sorts of screams: "AAAAH! It's a Mouse Demon! Help!"
Ordinary people could kill ordinary rats, but if they encountered a Mouse Demon—a rat tainted with Demonic Qi that had become a Demon Beast—a mortal's only fate was to be slaughtered.
Song Ciwan transformed into a shadow moving through the night. Whenever she came across someone crying for help, she would strike from a distance with a bolt of Palm Thunder.
She didn't strike the common rats, only the Mouse Demons.
After a kill, if it was convenient, she would place the Mouse Demon's corpse onto the Balance Plate of her Heaven and Earth Scale. If it wasn't convenient, she didn't get greedy; she just unleashed the lightning and left.
And if she spotted other Cultivators in the distance—whether they were from the City Patrol Department, the Demon Slayer Guard, or were independent masters—Song Ciwan avoided them all, making sure not to have any unnecessary interactions.
One or two hours passed in this way. Song Ciwan used her Escape Technique to traverse half the city, and she felt her use of Escape into the Night growing more and more proficient. As for Palm Thunder, which she had only just learned, her mastery of it skyrocketed with all this practical combat experience.
She checked her self-made status panel: Basic Taoist Skill: Palm Thunder (Beginner 45/100).
Her proficiency had gone from 23 to 45!
A realization dawned on her. Her previous method of blindly cultivating in seclusion was the equivalent of trying to build a cart behind closed doors—it wouldn't get her very far in the long run.
Some combat-oriented Magic, after all, could only be improved through battle.
Song Ciwan didn't like taking risks, but sometimes, wielding lightning was a form of self-protection.
A person should cherish their life, but not to the point that their caution leads to their own ruin.
With these new insights, Song Ciwan roamed half the city before finally returning home close to midnight.
Like a wisp of the night wind, she slipped in. The main gate to the Song Family Courtyard remained unopened as Song Ciwan entered her home directly.
The Big White Goose was still sleeping soundly in its pen. The House Protection Talisman around its neck emitted a faint, dim glow, looking as if it could go out at any moment.
Song Ciwan quickly sent a sliver of True Qi into the House Protection Talisman. The Spiritual Light it emitted immediately stabilized.
Bathed in the Spiritual Light, Song Ciwan let out a soft sigh of relief.
She may have sighed in relief, but inwardly, she was buzzing with excitement.
It wasn't just because she had witnessed a sliver of the power wielded by those top-tier masters, nor was it just because the battle had invigorated her. More importantly, she was looking forward to today's spoils!
She summoned the Heaven and Earth Scale. Its Balance Plate was piled high, covered with the corpses of Mouse Demons.
[Low Level Demon Beast, Mouse Demon Corpse, nineteen count. Eligible for sale.]
'Sell them. Of course, I'll sell them immediately!'
'I'll sell them all at once and see what I get.'