Chapter 134: The Enraged Bone-Devil Rats

“Attribute crystal, a green agility attribute—so that’s it. The Spirit God Flower must have grown by absorbing the energy of these attribute crystals. Perhaps the reason those bone demons moved so fast before was because they were exposed to the radiation of these crystals for a long time, which made them so swift.”

Following Wen Hui’s hint, Zhuang Xiaoyuan also noticed the numerous green crystals scattered around the Spirit God Flower, along with even more transparent, energy-depleted discarded crystals.

“So, it really is an agility crystal. Xiaoyuan, now you know how to divide them, right?” Having witnessed the attribute crystals and the Spirit God Flower firsthand, Wen Hui’s fear of the rats seemed to lessen considerably. Her face lit up with enthusiasm as she began discussing how to allocate the resources.

“Heh, alright, I know what you want. The agility crystals are all yours; the Spirit God Flower is mine.” Although the attribute crystals ranked ninth on the Divine Artifacts list and the Spirit God Flower was sixth, it all depended on what suited each person best.

Wen Hui’s cultivation potential was only second-tier, so the Spirit God Flower’s effect on her wouldn’t be as beneficial as the agility crystals, which directly enhanced her body’s speed. As a favored disciple of the Wind God, Wen Hui was carving out her own path of swiftness.

However, sometimes it wasn’t wise to follow a single path to the very end. Balance was key. Extreme enhancements often exposed weaknesses in other areas. Even knowing this didn’t stop Wen Hui from pursuing speed. She didn’t need to be the fastest of all—just faster than her enemies, and by a significant margin. When all abilities were roughly equal, speed could be her ultimate weapon. And these agility crystals might just grant Wen Hui a speed no one else possessed. There were quite a few of them here.

“Hey, what do we do next?” Wen Hui asked, her expression eager, looking at the attribute crystals and the Spirit God Flower on the ground.

“Let me think… Hmm. I’ll make the first move—freeze these bone demons with cold energy. Given their numbers, I probably can’t keep them frozen for long. You use your fastest speed to go down and grab all the divine artifacts. If you can carry them all at once, great; if they scatter, we’ll meet at the gas station. There’s a truck parked near the entrance that I prepared earlier. Whoever arrives first will drive it to the west gate. We’ll rendezvous there. How does that sound?”

After a brief pause to simulate the route she had previously explored in her mind, Zhuang Xiaoyuan confirmed the plan and explained it to Wen Hui, seeking her opinion.

“Where exactly is this gas station?” Wen Hui hadn’t been to the western part of the city before; her earlier explorations were all to the east, so she was unfamiliar with the western routes and layout.

“Ah, that’s a good point.” While Wen Hui could probably escape the city easily on foot after her divine transformation, outrunning the bone demons, Zhuang Xiaoyuan would need to drive the truck. If she got entangled and couldn’t break free quickly, abandoning the vehicle and walking to the central city wouldn’t be realistic.

“Right, the gas station has a huge display screen opposite it—probably a supermarket or a plaza. If you spot that screen from above, you’ll find the gas station right across from it.” Zhuang Xiaoyuan’s troubled expression suddenly brightened as she recalled a prominent landmark she had seen near the gas station.

“Alright, then let’s follow your plan. I’ll run first; you hold them off. I’ll meet you at the west gate. You should be able to shake them off, right?”

Nodding in agreement, Wen Hui’s face hardened with the seriousness of battle.

“I don’t need to shake them off. Once you’re ready, I just have to reach the west gate to escape. Of course, if they keep chasing you relentlessly, I’ll wait for you there,” Zhuang Xiaoyuan said, retrieving the Four-Si-Nai card from the Nebula Spiral Nest. Her expression matched Wen Hui’s in its determination. Though each bone demon rat was weak alone, their presence would surely alarm the whole city, likely attracting many onlookers. They had to be cautious and meticulous.

“Got it. No problem.”

“I’m heading out first. The rest is up to you.” Waving to Wen Hui, Zhuang Xiaoyuan raised the Four-Si-Nai card high. “Divine Armament, Divine Descent Transformation.” A faint golden light shimmered as she transformed once more into Four-Si-Nai, the manipulator of ice and snow.

“Icebound Puppet.” With a small wave of Four-Si-Nai’s delicate hand, a massive rabbit-shaped puppet appeared under her feet. Inserting her hands into the control slots, she activated the icebound puppet. The giant rabbit leapt forward, lunging at the wall of bone demons across the alley. At the same time, Zhuang Xiaoyuan began channeling her cold energy, and the puppet’s mouth started to emit an intensely freezing roar.

“Squeak, squeak, squeak.” Despite the cold air radiating from her, Zhuang Xiaoyuan’s life force remained strong. As she approached, the hollow eye sockets of the bone demons forming the wall glowed red. The once-still bone demons all ‘awoke.’

“Ice Roar.” Just as the bone demons stirred and the wall threatened to collapse, the icebound puppet unleashed a jet of freezing aurora from its mouth, shooting directly into the bone demon wall. Ice began to spread, thick layers coating the entire bone demon wall, transforming it into a heavy frozen barrier. “Xiaohui, now’s your chance.”

“Understood.” With a crisp reply, Wen Hui, now transformed into the emerald green Storm Child, charged forward. From somewhere, she produced a backpack and swiftly packed the attribute crystals from the ground, including the Spirit God Flower growing atop them. With the fresh green breeze swirling around her, Wen Hui soared into the sky.

“Crack, crack.” The sound of ice breaking rang out as dense cracks spread across the frozen layer. As expected, with so many bone demons, Zhuang Xiaoyuan couldn’t keep them frozen for long. They were already breaking free within three or four seconds.

“Icebound Puppet, retreat.” At Zhuang Xiaoyuan’s command, the puppet leapt back and pushed off powerfully into the air.

“Bang!” “Squeak, squeak, squeak.” The shattering ice and the angry squeals of the rats echoed together. The bone demons noticed the now-empty ground—the items that should have been there were gone. Even without intelligence, their instinct made them frantic. With their squeaks, countless bone demon rats emerged from all directions, converging to join their ranks. It turned out the bone demon rats weren’t limited to just this alley but were spread throughout the city. As they gathered, the newly formed mass-sized rat-shaped bone demon fixed its enormous hollow eye sockets on Zhuang Xiaoyuan. The giant red glowing pupils glared fiercely. With a roar, the colossal bone demon opened its huge maw to swallow Zhuang Xiaoyuan whole.

(To be continued…)