Chapter 78: Red-Coated Rat

Eh? Did the coffin's space increase?

Jiang Li suddenly discovered that the things inside the coffin, like the damaged flying sword and the corpses of the cultivators, seemed to have become much smaller.

Upon a closer look, he realized it was the space inside the coffin that had enlarged instead.

He did not expect that filling a coffin with Yin qi and soul could have such an effect.

Or perhaps it was due to the special influence of the lightning tribulation that the coffin had changed.

It was not that there were no storage artifacts in the cultivation world, but they were indeed rare. As far as he knew, many Core Formation elders did not have such a thing.

Furthermore, the larger the space of the artifact, the higher the value of the artifact. Regardless of the reason, this was a pleasant surprise.

After putting away the coffin, Jiang Li started to roughly search Cloud Stream City, and he hoped that he could rely on the direction in his memories to find the location of the inn from before.

After he left, in order not to alert the enemy, he had not finished exchanging souls.

According to the speed of exchange at that time, during the time he left, he would have accumulated at least a few hundred to a thousand souls.

If the Soul Capturing Bag was not destroyed by the lightning tribulation, this could be considered a good harvest.

Squeak ~ Squeak ~ Squeak ~

At this moment, a huge rat in a red robe suddenly ran past the ruins not far away.

Jiang Li looked familiar. Wasn't this the talking rat?

He suddenly recalled what the rat had said about the dilapidated temple outside the city.

A few drops of lamp oil could allow the rat spirit to speak human language. Perhaps that dilapidated temple really had something good?

With a thought, the chains on his waist flew out automatically.

Jiang Li did not use the metal hook on the other end. This little rat spirit was only so big. It would not be good if he accidentally killed it.

The chains wrapped around the rat spirit that was flying through the ruins. The 1.5 kilograms of weight did not have the slightest ability to resist as it was easily swept back to Jiang Li.

With a plop, the red-coated rat fell to the ground. It raised its eyes to look at Jiang Li, but before Jiang Li could speak, the rat suddenly bounced up, its limbs frantically scratching the ground as it tried to escape.

However, how fast were Jiang Li's legs?

Seeing that the rat was about to run, he quickly kicked it and stepped on the tail behind it.

Squeak squeak! Squeak squeak!

This rat's luck was really not bad. Under the aftermath of such a terrifying thunder tribulation and the battle between Golden Cores, the entire city had been destroyed, but it could still keep its life.

However, perhaps because he was badly frightened by the lightning tribulation, when he saw Jiang Li, the 'master' who had treated him to a meal, he did not even greet him and just fled without any care.

Eh, wait a moment. The one who was greeting the small demons previously seemed to be black zombie.

Wearing a mask, his voice and smell were completely different from Jiang Li's actual body.

It was no wonder that the rat was so afraid of him. It could not recognize him at all.

At this moment, the red-coated rat realized that its tail had been stepped on. In its anxiety, it turned around and bit down.

However, it was not biting Jiang Li's shoe, but its own tail.

"Brother Rat, wait a moment. I don't mean any harm. Brother Rat, do you still remember this mask? I invited you to a banquet earlier."

Jiang Li hurriedly stopped the red-coated rat from hurting itself. He took out a mask and showed it to the rat spirit.

Only then did the rat spirit slowly calm down, but it still curled up on the ground and secretly raised its eyes to size up Jiang Li.

"Where are the gold, silver, and presents that I asked you to safeguard?"

The rat's head did not seem to be working well. Its bean-sized eyes darted around before it finally recalled something.

"Squeak squeak squeak. Master's immortal fortune is flourishing. Squeak squeak. The gold and silver presents are all here. They're all… they're all under the ruins."

The rat bowed to Jiang Li, but its action stunned Jiang Li. This posture… did not seem right.

Why did this look like the etiquette of a senior cultivator towards a junior?

"Oh, is that so? That's a shame. Brother Rat, do you still remember how many gifts we received during the banquet?"

Jiang Li's sudden question caught the rat off guard.

"There… are probably hundreds." The red-coated rat stammered and threw out a vague number.

Hearing this answer, Jiang Li's eyes narrowed slightly. When this rat heard that the banquet had gone on for more than ten days, it did not have the slightest doubt.

However, it was possible that it did not dare to question him.

"That's quite a lot. By the way, Brother Rat, last time, your brother borrowed a lamp oil from me. He said he would return it to me in two days. Do you know where it is?"

Jiang Li acted as if he was asking for a loan and spoke as if it was only natural.

"Ah… lamp oil. Master, you know that my family has just gone through that lightning tribulation. I'm afraid it can't be found now. When I find my brother's family, I'll definitely return the lamp oil to you."

When the red-coated rat said this, it was obvious that its memory was incomplete, so it could only follow Jiang Li's words and blindly speak.

"Is that so? There's no other choice. Brother Rat, if you have something to do, you should go first. Finding your family is more important."

"Yes, yes, yes! This rat will take its leave."

The red-coated rat was overjoyed. After bidding farewell, it wanted to leave. However, it discovered that Jiang Li's foot still had no intention of moving away.

[Name: Black Rat]

[Type: Rodent Spirit]

[Level: Unknown]

[Age: Mature]

[Gender: Male]

[Source of Nutrition: Omnivorous]

[Habit: Stealing]

[Note: Not recommended for consumption.]

After using appraisal, Jiang Li saw a line of familiar words.

"Brother Rat, I thought about it. Since we are fated to be together, I can't just sit by and watch what happened to you."

"Brother Rat, why don't you stay here for the time being and let me help you?"

Jiang Li still had the same smiling expression, but the chains on his waist began to clatter.

"There's no need to trouble you, master. I can do it myself."

The red-coated rat clearly also discovered that there was something wrong with Jiang Li, its pair of black bean eyes revealing a vicious glint.

Slam!

The bare rat tail was torn off, and the black rat's body instantly swelled up a few times. It suddenly jumped up from the ground, opened its pair of front teeth, and brandished a pair of pitch-black claws as it pounced towards Jiang Li's neck.

However, what came at it was Jiang Li's right hand that was covered in wooden armor.

"Don't stand on ceremony with me!"

Jiang Li, who was prepared, grabbed the rat by the neck and pressed it hard onto the ground.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

The rat was still struggling crazily. Its pitch-black nails scraped across the wooden armor, leaving large fragments. Even Jiang Li could barely hold it down.

It was not until the four golden needles pierced into the rat's limbs that the violent struggle finally slowed down and disappeared.

"Brother Rat, why are you so agitated? Look, you're already injured. You should quickly eat a medicinal pill to calm your nerves."