The commotion in the hallway, caused by the significant disturbance, awakened my martial uncle, Yunxia Gu, Old Mo, and Xia Qiuxi from the adjacent rooms. They all opened their doors, and within moments, received news from my master. Their surprise was profound, and without a moment's hesitation, they followed my lead, leaping from the second-floor balcony to give chase.
This uproar also roused many other guests nearby, particularly a young couple. The sudden commotion abruptly ended the young man's intimate moment. Filled with resentment, he emerged shirtless, roaring, "What the hell is all this noise?" With that, he forcefully opened his door, intending to confront the troublemaker. However, upon opening it, he found the hallway packed with giant black rats, a dense, huddled mass. As the door swung open, at least dozens of these large rats scurried into his room. The young man yelped in terror, stumbling backward onto the floor, surrounded and bitten by the scurrying rodents. He scrambled back to the safety of his bed, covered in dirt.
The situation was similar for most other guests in their rooms. Those who didn't open their doors were fortunate. But for those who did, dozens of rats would surge in, scattering throughout the rooms. While the braver guests managed, the more timid female guests were reduced to tears by the sheer number of rats. Suddenly, the entire hotel erupted in chaos, with shouts of "Rats!" filling the air.
Meanwhile, we had already pursued the rat demon out of the hotel. I focused on the rat demon, relentlessly moving forward. Just as I was about to catch it, the swarm of rats pushed the cage directly into a manhole with its cover ajar. Then, over a hundred rats leaped into the opening. The sewer system was a complex network, and losing them here would make tracking them incredibly difficult. My only option was to keep up the pursuit. Without further hesitation, I approached the manhole entrance and jumped down.
The drop was about two meters deep, leading to a sewer passage half the height of a person. Filthy water flowed through, emitting a foul stench. Ahead, a group of rats was still dragging the cage forward. Gritting my teeth, I stooped and continued the pursuit. In the next moment, my master and martial uncle followed, leaping down one by one. Soon, we emerged from the half-height sewer into a main trunk sewer, a staggering three meters high.
Upon reaching this point, I was utterly stunned. The main sewer trunk was lined with inspection lamps, but most were damaged, with only a few emitting a dim, yellowish glow. In this dim light, the entire sewer was densely packed with tens of thousands of rats. These rats swam in the sewage or huddled in piles along the banks, sending shivers down my spine.
Furthermore, not far ahead, a humanoid monster stood. The monster wore tattered rags that covered its lower body, but its upper half was a furry rat body, particularly its pointed rat head, which was chilling to behold. The cage containing the rat demon, which had been dragged here, was now in the monster's grasp. The monster held the cage in one hand, emitting a "squeak" sound, and with its other claw, it reached for the talisman. Ignoring the talisman's heat and burning sensation, it let out a few "howls" and forcibly removed the talisman.
"Damn it!" I exclaimed in alarm. I didn't even have time to intervene. With the talisman removed from the cage, the rat demon within could no longer be contained. The rat demon looked overjoyed and immediately broke free from the cage. In the next second, it transformed into a half-human, half-rat humanoid beside us.
"Thanks, brother!" the rat demon exclaimed excitedly to the dark-furred rat monster. The rat monster's cultivation was clearly insufficient; it could only manifest in a semi-human form, unable to fully adopt a human appearance or speak human language, though it could understand. It responded to the rat demon with a few "squeaks." Then, the rat demon spoke to the rat monster, "Yes, it was these human Daoists who injured me. Brother, this is your territory. Have your soldiers deal with them." The rat demon spoke maliciously.
As it spoke, my master, martial uncle, and the others emerged from the sewer, one by one. Upon seeing the scene before them, they all looked astonished. Hearing the rat demon's words, the rat monster nodded. Suddenly, it pointed in our direction, emitting a series of "squeak, squeak, squeak" sounds. In the next moment, the tens of thousands of rats in the entire sewer became completely agitated. They all turned towards us, emitting "squeak, squeak, squeak" sounds, and then fearlessly lunged at us.
With such a dense swarm of rats, and their advantage in terrain, I felt we were at a significant disadvantage. My heart pounded with apprehension, and I raised a breath of vital energy, preparing to defend myself. However, I had clearly underestimated the situation. My master, standing behind me, suddenly let out a cold snort, "Damn it, do you think I'm made of mud?" My master roared.
In the next moment, a terrifying event unfolded. My master brought his hands together, forming a mudra in his hand. This was the hand seal for the "Annihilation" technique from the Qiankun True Law. The Annihilation technique possessed powerful mental and physical attack capabilities, and it could even kill from a distance, making it an extremely formidable Daoist spell. To my astonishment, my master let out another low roar, "Heaven and Earth are boundless, Qiankun is lawless, Annihilate!"
As the incantation was uttered, a majestic aura erupted from my master's body. With a "hum," all the rats within a five-meter radius were blown away. Simultaneously, the terrifying mental shockwave indiscriminately attacked the rat swarm. Every rat present let out a horrified scream. Following this, unable to withstand such terrifying mental pressure, the closer rats' eyes exploded, their heads bursting open. In an instant, all rats within a fifteen-meter radius were instantly killed by the mental energy wave of the Annihilation technique.