Chapter 304: The Three-Leaf Rat and the Burier of the Dead

As Chu Danqing had imagined, neither the deformed cultivators nor the giant rats were their ultimate target.

The entire monastery shook violently, and Chu Danqing and the others escaped just before it collapsed.

Then they witnessed a horrifying sight—the entire monastery had sunk into the ground, revealing a vast, bottomless hollow beneath.

Among the ruins, countless corpses were churned up from below.

Beneath the monastery lay a mass grave.

The deep pit and the Black Death Legion—two elements had already been confirmed in Lawyer Bena’s delirium.

The Black Death was spread by rats; the massive rat swarm was the Black Death Legion.

Under some great force, the corpses in the pit’s ruins began to stir.

They struggled to their feet and clashed with the rat swarm.

Then Chu Danqing saw a familiar figure leap up from the pit.

It was Elliot.

The greasy painter now sprouted fungi all over his body.

Chu Danqing had genuinely not recognized him at first—only the old, worn beret on his head gave him away.

Elliot also noticed Chu Danqing’s gaze and awkwardly bowed to him.

“I apologize, Mr. William. The rats made too much noise and ruined your night.”

“But rest assured—I guarantee these damned rats will become natural fertilizer tonight.”

“I swear by the name of the Burier of the Dead!” Elliot’s tone carried embarrassment and regret.

He had previously insisted a good night’s sleep would fix everything.

Now the entire monastery had collapsed because of his battle with Kote.

Kote also crawled out of the pit—but his appearance had changed utterly.

He had fused with all the deformed cultivators, appearing like a monstrous rat stitched together from human parts.

“Heretic, this place is bathed in the glory of the Three-Leaf Rat. You will become a corpse in the pit, like your predecessors.” Kote, hunched like a rat, roared.

The next moment, a tidal wave of rats surged forward, pushing him toward Elliot.

Elliot’s fat face twisted into a cruel grin as countless corpses, under his control, launched their assault.

“Little Chu, uncomfortable. Here it comes.” Da Bao spoke first.

The last time Da Bao had spoken like this was when they encountered the Feeder Statue.

This meant the deity was about to unleash greater power.

“Let’s go!” Chu Danqing knew what followed was beyond their involvement.

Lu Daofu and the others wore expressions of terror—they had gone to sleep fine, and now this horror had erupted.

This truly shattered their worldview and common sense.

How could animated corpses and rats the size of elephants exist in reality?

“Kote is the incarnation of the Three-Leaf Rat. Elliot is the incarnation of the Burier of the Dead.” Yang Qianyuan said at once.

He meant to tell Chu Danqing: these two were no longer human—they were divine incarnations, so they must flee immediately.

As for why he didn’t send Chu Danqing any data, it was because all the results Yang Qianyuan received were question marks.

In their final glance before leaving, Chu Danqing saw the rat swarm surging toward them, unwilling to let them go.

Among them were many giant rats, each at least stronger than Kote had been before fusing with his blood relative.

As for the Burier of the Dead, he was clearly losing the battle against the Three-Leaf Rat.

After all, the Ikram Monastery was the Three-Leaf Rat’s stronghold, and its followers had cultivated here for countless years.

As an outsider, the Burier of the Dead naturally held no advantage.

Chu Danqing even suspected the corpses buried beneath the monastery were once the Burier of the Dead’s own followers.

They had failed, and were imprisoned here.

This also matched Lawyer Bena’s mention of the prison cell.

Her deep coma, caused by fever and the monastery’s divine gaze, had plunged her into nightmares.

Chu Danqing had Yang Qianyuan check Lawyer Bena’s attributes—sure enough, something was wrong.

Her sanity had dropped to 60/100.

A normal human’s sanity typically ranged from 90 to 100/100, fluctuating slightly due to events.

For example, fear or grief might lower it, but such drops never affected the maximum value, and rest or entertainment could restore it.

“Let’s go—I’ll handle this.” Guo Ming’s eyes flashed with killing intent.

He was no match for these two divine incarnations, but did a swarm of rats dare to threaten him?

“No need to handle it.” Chu Danqing spoke firmly.

Even when beating a dog, one must consider its master—the Three-Leaf Rat’s divine incarnation still stands. If you kill its followers right before its eyes, won’t it turn on you after dealing with the Burier of the Dead?

The Burier of the Dead’s incarnation was certainly no match—this was undeniable.

He suspected he had disrupted Elliot’s plan, forcing Elliot to act prematurely and lose his painting, “Family Gathering,” which had drastically weakened him.

Guo Ming suppressed his killing intent and followed Chu Danqing in retreat.

Though he had his own thoughts, since they were in the trial world, he would follow Chu Danqing’s lead.

Now was not the time to act on his own.

Under the moonlight, the pitch-black rat swarm resembled a tide of darkness, swallowing everything in its path.

And its speed increased rapidly—it was about to encircle them.

Chu Danqing now had two choices.

The first was to fight.

The second was to keep fleeing, but under current conditions, they could only escape by abandoning the lawyer team.

He ran through both options in his mind and chose the first without hesitation.

Earlier, they avoided conflict—so they didn’t fight.

But now the enemy was pressing hard; retreating further made no sense.

“Attack!” Chu Danqing decisively activated the Dragon Vein power of the Nine Cauldrons Map, while summoning an elemental spirit through his Elemental Mana Gauntlets.

A ball of flame rolled forth from the gauntlets.

Good news—it was fire element.

Another 10% attack boost.

The sudden surge in power left Yang Qianyuan and Feidi utterly unprepared—they were not combat specialists.

But Guo Ming and Da Bao adapted instantly.

The Pure Yang Celestial General, the Taiyin Mystic Woman, and the Vajra Warrior were all released.

The battle began in earnest—the black tide of rats shattered under the combined assault of flying swords, golden light, and Blood Fury.

A battle cry rang out—the Ring of the Princess of Spirits granted everyone a ten-second frenzy.

Simultaneously, the Elemental Mana Gauntlets triggered Chu Danqing’s mana recovery and layered a fire-element shield over all allies and summoned entities.

Compared to other elements, the fire-element shield was weak—sometimes it felt less like a shield and more like a counter-damage effect.

Thus, its damage-blocking ability was poor, but it could burn and ignite enemies.

It was better suited for aggressive offense.

After Guo Ming’s flying sword slew an elephant-sized giant rat, he was forced to stagger backward several steps.

Four flying swords—Zi Shi Shenhou Sword, Chou Shi Daji Sword, Yin Shi Gongcao Sword, Mao Shi Taichong Sword—flew out together.

A vacuum explosion appeared where he had just stood.

Guo Ming used his flying swords to forcibly block the explosion, preventing further damage.

He blocked it—but all four of his flying swords shattered and vanished simultaneously.

The attacker was naturally the Three-Leaf Rat.

This was clearly retaliation for their slaughter of the rat swarm.

Guo Ming had never seen such a petty deity—Huang Tian was far more magnanimous than this Three-Leaf Rat.

“Two divine incarnations… have truly ignited their wrath.” Yang Qianyuan watched as the Seer Spider Feidi’s woven web shattered, and two streaks of blood streamed from his tear ducts.

His low power level had allowed him to glimpse what he should not have through heavenly omens, triggering severe backlash.

No sooner had he spoken than it came true.

Chu Danqing saw a demon giant—limbless, eyeless.

Its body pulsed with dark, primordial energy vortices, pitch-black and opaque.

A terrifying presence, blindingly disorienting, obscured the moonlight.

This was the Burier of the Dead’s incarnation leaving Elliot’s body and acting directly.

On the other side, the Three-Leaf Rat’s incarnation emerged from Kote’s shattered form.

He saw the demon giant and a giant rat with three crimson, clover-shaped eyes locked in combat.

The rat bore tendrils, and blue fungal growths sprouted from its fur.

Even Guo Ming’s scalp prickled.

Even the Master of the Tai Ping Dao, witnessing this, would turn and flee.

Anyone slow to run would be reduced to unrecognizable pulp.

At this moment, he had no other choice—he forcibly hurled a golden rope, binding everyone together, then rode the last remaining Su Nu Sword away at full speed.

He left behind only the Pure Yang Celestial General, the Taiyin Mystic Woman, and the Vajra Warrior.

First, there were too many; second, they could come back to life after dying; third, they needed to leave a target in place to draw the rat swarm’s attention.

The change came too quickly; Chu Danqing couldn’t react in time, but when he regained his senses, his view had already grown distant from the rat swarm.

Many rat swarms tried to chase after them, but were held back by the Pure Yang Heavenly General and the Vajra Warriors.

In fact, blocking them required skill—not every rat was stopped.

The Pure Yang Heavenly General and his men only blocked the large, powerful giant rats; the rest were intercepted if possible, but ignored if they couldn’t be stopped.

Guo Ming pushed his spiritual power to its limit, while the spirit of the Su Nu Sword protected everyone, preventing injury from their high-speed flight.

The two divine incarnations of the Three-Leaf Rat and the Corpse-Burier also grew increasingly distant due to their escape, until they were finally out of sight.

Although they had left the battle range of the divine incarnations, the Three-Leaf Rat’s pursuit did not cease.

Everywhere, rats watched.

Yang Qianyuan, at the cost of his own lifespan, caused the Divination Spider’s body to crack with countless fissures.

All to divine a sliver of hope for their survival—to no longer be hunted by the Three-Leaf Rat.

“Head north, quickly!” Yang Qianyuan looked up, speaking as he spat out a large mouthful of blood.

(End of Chapter)