Chapter 68: Catching Them All at Once

There were seven of them in total, all at the third level of Qi cultivation. How could Su Che be confident enough to capture them all?
Relying solely on Su Che and Lao He’s strength was definitely not enough, but remember—there were hundreds of thousands of rats in the Yinwind Gorge to help as well.
The mental commands issued by Lao He could not be sensed by humans; only the Yinwind Rats could receive them…
Before long, the seven people still bargaining on the other side sensed that something was amiss. A rustling sound came from all directions, as if a strong wind were stirring up dust. But there was no wind in the gorge—where could the dust come from?
Soon, the strange noises grew louder, turning into an extremely noisy clamor.
Han Zuo Jing and the four others, along with the three disciples of the Tianxuan Sect, had already stopped arguing. All of them looked around in panic. At this point, even a fool could tell the situation was bad—they seemed to be surrounded by a huge number of some kind of creatures.
“Yinwind Rats!”
Four of the seven people exclaimed in unison, “So many Yinwind Rats!”
From the bushes, rocks, under tree shade, and in the caves along the stone walls—almost every spot had a tiny pointed head sticking out. Countless pairs of small eyes stared at the seven humans standing in the open area.
It was difficult to estimate exactly how many Yinwind Rats there were just by eye. Only Lao He could count them clearly: twelve Rat Kings and nearly a thousand ordinary Yinwind Rats.
For seven human cultivators at the early stage of Qi cultivation, this number of Yinwind Rats was more than enough; any more wouldn’t make much difference.
Swish!
The seven human cultivators trapped in the middle reacted quickly. Having spent years fighting against monsters in the Yinwind Gorge, they were experienced fighters. Without anyone needing to remind them, they almost simultaneously activated their defensive spirit talismans.
Originally, these talismans were prepared as a means of guarding against each other, but now they were all used to defend against the Yinwind Rats’ attack.
Yinwind Rats couldn’t speak human language, nor did they have anything to communicate with these human cultivators. As the twelve Rat Kings let out their strange screeching noises, the thousands of Yinwind Rats launched their only long-range attack method—paralyzing gusts of wind.
As the lowest-level monsters, the strength of these gusts was weak, and their paralyzing effect was also minimal. Yet, just as many ants can kill an elephant, the same principle applied in the world of cultivation.

Thousands of air masses rushed in, striking the protective auras of the seven human cultivators with a cracking sound. On average, each person had to endure over a hundred attacks at once. Not to mention the magical attacks generated by first-tier demon beasts—even if it were just ordinary people swinging swords, over a hundred strikes would be extremely terrifying. Moreover, among them were twelve Rat Kings with particularly powerful air masses.

Puff! Puff! Puff!

Just in the first round of attacks, three people collapsed silently to the ground. The protective auras created by lower-grade spirit talismans simply couldn’t withstand such intense bombardment. Once shattered, each person was hit by at least a dozen air masses. Although their vital energy still provided some protection and their injuries weren’t too severe, the cumulative paralyzing effect of those dozen air masses was enough to keep them lying there for a long time.

One of these three was a disciple of Tianxuan Sect, another was a man surnamed He, and the third was the female cultivator who was quite close to Han Zuo Jing. All three had only activated lower-grade defensive spirit talismans. Whether it was because they lacked the means to afford middle-grade talismans or out of stinginess, they hesitated to use them… In any case, the other four smarter people used middle-grade talismans, which allowed them to survive the first round of attacks and remain standing.

“What’s going on?” Han Zuo Jing looked around in panic, desperate to find a way to escape, ignoring the female companion lying on the ground.

“I told you already—these past two days, the Yinwind Rats have been acting strangely. It’s best to leave Yinwind Gorge, but you wouldn’t listen. Now you deserve this!”

The man surnamed He’s wife, the female cultivator named Yinghong, angrily rebuked her companions in frustration. Yet at this critical moment, she still didn’t abandon her husband. She rushed over in an instant and pulled him into her arms to protect him.

The other two disciples of Tianxuan Sect stood there stunned, completely at a loss for what to do. Indeed, being surrounded by thousands of Yinwind Rats was a situation no one had ever experienced before. Before they could even process what was happening, a second wave of intense air masses slammed down on them…

This time, Lao He gave the Yinwind Rats orders: Focus on that guy with the birthmark on his face. No one is allowed to let him escape!

So, the twelve Rat Kings, along with over three hundred ordinary Yinwind Rats, targeted Han Zuo Jing as their main attack objective. The other three people each faced attacks from over two hundred ordinary Yinwind Rats.

With loud bangs, Han Zaojing’s mid-tier Vajra Body Protection shattered. But this guy was quick-witted and agile—just as his golden energy shield began to disintegrate, he swiftly activated a low-tier earth-based spirit talisman.
Yinghong, the female cultivator, was also fast enough in reaction, but holding her husband in her arms slowed her down slightly. *Thwack, thwack, thwack*—hit by several paralyzing air balls, her body went numb. She didn’t have time to activate the spirit talisman already in her hand. Then, *crack, crack, crack*—over a dozen more paralyzing air balls hit her, forcing her to fall to the ground alongside her husband.
Another disciple of Tianxuan Sect was similarly slow to act and failed to activate a second spirit talisman, ending up injured and paralyzed on the ground.
After withstanding the second wave of air ball attacks, only two people remained standing: Han Zaojing and the last disciple of Tianxuan Sect.
Then the third wave arrived!
Faced with the third wave of air balls coming from all directions, Han Zaojing and the Tianxuan Sect disciple screamed frantically to boost their morale, knowing full well that the Yin Wind Rats could only emit paralyzing air balls three times—after that, they wouldn’t be able to do so for days.
So, if they could hold on just one more time, they might find a chance to break free from the encirclement. The Yin Wind Rats’ close-quarters combat skills weren’t strong—comparable to those of ordinary wild beasts like wolves.
But this time, it wouldn’t be as easy as the previous two times. After all, while the first wave was shared among seven people and the second among four, the third wave fell on just two…
The twelve Rat Kings still focused on targeting Han Zaojing, while the nearly thousand ordinary Yin Wind Rats were split evenly.
Thus, the two humans, their faces red from shouting, could only hold on this far before lying down helplessly.
*Whoosh!*
At Old Hei’s command, the Yin Wind Rats retreated like a retreating tide. Su Che slowly emerged from the pile of rocks and strode toward the open area.
The seven people lying on the ground were only paralyzed—still conscious. Especially Han Zaojing and Yinghong, who could see Su Che from where they lay. Their eyes reflected utter terror, clearly thinking, *How could it be him?*
“That’s right, it’s me,” Su Che said calmly, looking down at them. “You once plotted against me here. As good as good, evil as evil—I’ve prepared a show for you too.”
Arrest!
The defenseless seven were easily captured by Su Che and taken to the Immortal Prison.

When capturing those three disciples of Tianxuanzong, through their eyes, Su Che could tell that they must have been pleading, “We’re all disciples of Tianxuanzong—please spare us…” Su Che didn’t bother explaining anything to them, but he was well aware that he didn’t really feel much loyalty toward this sect. After all, not only was competition fierce within the sect, with everyone living in constant fear, but the worst part was that even those who joined the sect didn’t have the right to see their nominal master… What would happen in the future was unknown for now, but at least right now, he truly had no loyalty toward this sect. Thus, in Su Che’s eyes, disciples of Tianxuanzong and independent cultivators were treated equally—there was no difference. Especially in places like the Yinfeng Gorge, where everyone faced the same competitive pressures: you stole from me, I stole from you; you schemed against me, I schemed against you—it was all quite normal.