The valley was still filled with a large amount of water, almost drowning the entire shrub forest, leaving only a few tips exposed.
For the Little Demons, this was definitely an ecological disaster.
But Wang Wu was quite at ease, because he had relatively abundant food. Calculating based on a daily Satiety of 300 points, he could last three days without a problem and should also be able to harvest at least 20 points of Spiritual Qi.
However, the fog outside was getting thicker and thicker. Although there was no wind, the dense fog kept rolling, as if an invisible giant python was stirring within, coveting.
This gave Wang Wu a very bad feeling.
So after eating his fill, he immediately shrank to the innermost part of the rock crevice, directly entering a Level 5 Concealment State, trying not to expose himself.
Time passed slowly, and the fog showed no sign of dissipating, the entire valley as quiet as a graveyard.
The temperature was getting colder, too.
If two days ago it was still the blazing summer, the scorching sun like a furnace, then today it already resembled late autumn, with everything desolate.
Wang Wu estimated that the temperature must have dropped to single digits, and it seemed to be continuing to drop. Was it because it was too humid?
He felt a vague worry rising.
However, nothing happened that day, perhaps thanks to his Level 5 Concealment privilege.
But by early the next morning, Wang Wu was awoken by the cold, opened his eyes to look outside, still blocked by thick fog, but a layer of frost had already formed on the ground.
No way, this didn't make any sense.
Listening closely, the rain outside was still falling, but even in the continuous dreary weather, it shouldn't have formed frost near his rock crevice.
This was unreasonable. Even in the Cultivation Realm, logic should apply, right? You can't have rain outside and frost at the doorstep.
Unless, there was something else behind this.
Wang Wu had a thought, and a bad connection occurred to him. Could it be those five White Rats targeting him?
But would they go that far?
As long as these five accomplished rats knew his location and knew he was hiding here, there was nothing else needed—just two of them blocking the entrance would handle him; was such a scheme necessary?
Or perhaps it was actually the White Rats launching a campaign against the Flame Scorpions?
Taking advantage of the right timing and favorable conditions to strike.
Very likely indeed.
This continuous rainy weather was simply the biggest bane of the Flame Scorpion Race, and those five White Rats all seemed like Ice Mages.
Thinking of this, Wang Wu felt slightly relieved and cautiously ate some food, bringing his Satiety to 300 points, then once again entered Concealment quietly. He couldn't afford to act rashly.
The whole of the next day passed with still no movement, but the temperature indeed continued to get colder.
Distinctly, Wang Wu could hear the pitter-patter of rain in the distance, yet snow was falling outside the rock crevice, with dense fog still shrouding the area—there was definitely something fishy about this!
I truly didn't see this coming—the five White Rats could play such a large game, even influencing local weather.
Just don't know when they would launch their attack?
Carrying this worry in his heart, Wang Wu once again drifted into slumber, with rest and sleep being crucial for ensuring sufficient Physical Strength.
Then, he once more awakened from the cold.
No idea what time it was, outside the rock crevice was pitch black, waves of cold air hitting him, making him involuntarily shiver all over. His 300-point Satiety was already depleted, yet his Growth only amounted to 0.4%—this wasn't normal.
A line of silent information floated by.
"The temperature in your environment has dropped to critical levels, your growth and development are temporarily halted, and all food will prioritize combating the severe cold."
——
Damn, simulating hibernation?
Wang Wu shivered at the thought, then first ate the Iron Armor Hedgehog that had turned into a block of ice—gee, the temperature was at least minus fifteen degrees at the moment.
The means of those five White Rats were truly defying the heavens!
But he had to thank them; otherwise, the food Wang Wu had stored should have rotted long ago.
After eating the hedgehog, Wang Wu solemnly took out a corpse of a Scorpion Sentinel. There were originally five, and he had already eaten one. He had refrained from eating these in the past two days precisely to prepare for a situation like this.
This Scorpion Sentinel didn't have much meat, but it contained a special kind of energy. After consuming it, a small amount of heat flow would form within the body—very magical, but when you think about it, it's normal. These are all fire-spouting scorpions, after all; their energy manipulation level is much higher.
Like the same-level Black Snake Sentinels, though their meat quality was good too, it was noticeably inferior.
In a blink of an eye, Wang Wu devoured the entire Scorpion Sentinel, crunching even the bone fragments and swallowing them down. It seemed like his teeth had become increasingly sturdy over this period.
This added 80 points to his Satiety, and he received 5 points of Spiritual Qi. Considering what he had previously accumulated and the Spiritual Qi from those Wandering Mantis Blade Masters and Iron Armor Hedgehogs, he just reached 20 points.
Wang Wu without hesitation added this to his Defense Attribute, upgrading his Basic Defense from 7 Points to 8 Points.
In any case, the higher the defense, the lower the damage taken, right?
He ate two more Scorpion Sentinels, raising his Satiety close to 300 points, and Wang Wu finally didn't feel cold; instead, he felt a warm, comforting sensation inside.
Indeed, the Scorpion Race were good neighbors.
Sadly, they became the negative lesson in the "fighting amongst themselves benefits others" tale. They had just defeated the Black Snake Race and hadn't even firmly taken the leader's seat when they were backstabbed by the White Rats.
As he pondered, suddenly a familiar sound of a Fireball explosion erupted, followed by a second and third, right above the cliff.
War had indeed begun.
But the situation was very unfavorable for the Scorpion Race because the White Rats' plans had already come to fruition.
Wang Wu's mind stirred, and he immediately rushed to the entrance of the rock crevice, only to find it firmly enveloped by a thick layer of ice. He attempted to ram it with his body, but the thick ice felt like a wall—utterly unshakable.
So, was this the White Rats sealing his exit?
Or had they sealed the entire cliff with ice?
This couldn't continue; if things went on like this, once the Scorpion Race was defeated, the classic "catch the bear in a barrel" scene would play out!
Wang Wu felt a bit of regret for not rushing out yesterday. Fear had kept him from escaping.
Now, with the only exit sealed, his little life was doomed.
"Scratch!"
Using his claw, Wang Wu scraped at the thick ice layer, only to find that this Cold Ice was not like ordinary ice blocks, extremely hard, comparable to rock. His claw, now strong, left only a scratch less than a centimeter deep, grabbing hard.
Even so, his claw ached, as if touching stone.
More eerily, within a few seconds, a wisp of pale white cold air swept over, remarkably repairing the claw mark!
Wang Wu was spinning in circles with urgency; if there were soil in this rock crevice, he would be tempted to transform into a mole to dig an escape tunnel.
"I refuse to believe it!"
Ultimately, Wang Wu returned to the thick ice layer and stuck out his tongue, starting to lick!
Since physical attacks were ineffective, he'd resort to chemical warfare.
In desperation, he tried this method—the lick nearly froze his tongue off, but the sweet and icy sensation thoroughly astonished him.
Never on Earth, even eating icy popsicles or the legendary ice cream ninja had he tasted something so divine.
This sweetness was accompanied by an indescribable freshness, such clarity, such brilliance, such purity—wow, he felt like he was about to take off.
After a good while, Wang Wu came to his senses, looking at the thick ice layer with shining eyes.
He now understood what was going on.
This was Cold Ice, formed by condensation of Spiritual Qi, extremely solid, capable of self-repair, but also inevitably bringing side effects such as extraordinary purity and sweetness.
The realization left Wang Wu overwhelmingly moved, tears flowing uncontrollably, "White Rat, my eternal god, I am your most loyal believer, please accept my gratitude!"