Nine Great Saint Kings?
White Tiger Saint King?
Bai Yaoyao’s words left Mo Fan utterly confused, but he grasped their significance, sensing they referred to the nine most formidable demons in the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.
“Is the White Tiger Saint King a tiger demon?” Mo Fan asked curiously.
“Well… you could say that, but the White Tiger Saint King isn’t an ordinary tiger demon, he’s one of the Nine Great Saint Kings!” Bai Yaoyao said with a look of reverence.
“What realm is a Saint King?”
Mo Fan asked again, having never heard of a Saint King rank in the demon cultivation hierarchy.
“Saint King isn’t a realm, just a title, but the White Tiger Saint King is at least a Demon Ancestor realm powerhouse!” Bai Yaoyao said, still full of admiration.
Demon Ancestor?
That would be a fearsome demon comparable to a human Nascent Soul cultivator!
Mo Fan’s mind raced, piecing things together, his heart filled with astonishment. From what Bai Yaoyao said, she must have encountered the White Tiger Saint King at that dilapidated temple market.
Did that mean the temple market had an extraordinary background?
Either it was the White Tiger Saint King’s enterprise, or the Saint King was the legendary market master, the half-human, half-demon Lord Rou?
But based on demon naming conventions, shouldn’t the White Tiger Saint King be surnamed Bai?
Mo Fan didn’t press further on this.
He knew his own limitations and that knowing too much might not be a good thing.
But why had the White Tiger Saint King placed Bai Yaoyao by his side? This puzzled him greatly. Was it his striking looks? Or his unparalleled talent?
Frowning, Mo Fan felt neither seemed right. If anything about him could catch the attention of a Demon Ancestor powerhouse, it was likely the golden coin in his mind or his awakened supernatural ability, “Sky Devourer”!
The coin’s function, so far, was merely duplicating spirit stones, which didn’t seem valuable to a Demon Ancestor. Plus, he rarely showed it off, never revealing it publicly, so even a mighty Demon Ancestor might not know about it.
That left only one possibility!
A spark of clarity flashed in Mo Fan’s eyes. The White Tiger Saint King must have taken an interest in his “Sky Devourer” ability!
It was the only ability he’d displayed in front of others.
At that moment, an image of a silver-haired, elderly figure popped into Mo Fan’s mind, and everything clicked.
“I never would’ve guessed such a powerful figure existed in that little market!”
“For now, it seems this Demon Ancestor bigshot bears me no ill will, but why arrange for Bai Yaoyao to follow me…”
Mo Fan frowned, unable to grasp the crux of it. All he knew was that the White Tiger Saint King meant him no harm, or else he wouldn’t have been warned back at the temple market.
“For now, I can only take things one step at a time. When my cultivation isn’t enough to stand toe-to-toe with those bigshots, I’ll just have to play the pawn…”
Mo Fan took a deep breath, a cold glint in his eyes.
He hated this feeling of his fate being out of his control.
“I’ll need to keep a lower profile from now on, especially with this ability. It’s too heaven-defying. If some malicious powerhouse notices it, I might not survive!”
Mo Fan muttered to himself, fully aware of what “Sky Devourer” represented.
Over the next two days, as his surface injuries healed, he sought Bai Yaoyao again to control the fire for his second medicinal bath cultivation.
This time, he added even more toxic materials to the cauldron, and they were far more potent.
When Mo Fan entered the cauldron, his entire body turned blood-red, even his eyes, and he roared in agony, unable to endure the pain.
Seeing this, Bai Yaoyao swiftly produced a talisman, casting a light barrier over the cave to muffle Mo Fan’s roars, lest they alert other demons on Black Wind Mountain.
The entire bath was spent in torment, but Mo Fan pulled through, though he was nearly exhausted, his skin rotting horribly.
If not for his demon physique, no ordinary human could endure such torture.
“Tch, you look even worse than last time,” Bai Yaoyao chuckled, observing Mo Fan’s sorry state. “You said before that forging the Ten Thousand Poison Spirit Body requires at least nine baths. This is only your second, and your body’s already struggling. Can you keep going?”
“I’m worried you’ll end up killing yourself!”
“Don’t worry, my life’s tough as nails, I won’t die that easily!”
Mo Fan grinned, his voice hoarse, then stored the cauldron and said to Bai Yaoyao, “Go fetch me a third-stage dragon loach, I need some nourishment!”
“Alright.”
Bai Yaoyao nodded, using her magic to open the sealed stone door. Soon, Big Head brought a dragon loach from the pool below, its hue unlike any Mo Fan had seen, faintly shifting toward a seven-coloured sheen.
Mo Fan was astonished, then heard Bai Yaoyao say, “Your guess was right. These dragon loaches aren’t limited to three stages. It seems they’re evolving toward a fourth stage, or what you could call seven-coloured dragon loaches.”
“Hm!”
Mo Fan nodded, inwardly delighted.
Without further ado, he swallowed the loach whole, soon feeling pure spiritual energy spreading through his body, along with a potent medicinal force akin to a spiritual herb.
His injuries began healing at a visible rate.
Days later, Mo Fan’s third bath succeeded, but he was in an even worse state.
The cauldron exploded due to the overwhelming toxicity of the bath, leaving Mo Fan battered and bloodied.
He ate two dragon loaches nearing the fourth stage to stabilise his condition.
Looking at the shattered bronze cauldron, Mo Fan gave a wry smile.
He’d hoped to forge the Ten Thousand Poison Spirit Body in one go, but that was clearly impossible now.
With less than three months until the trial period, Mo Fan knew he had to visit the temple market again!
So, he ended his seclusion, rewarding the three loyal demons guarding the gate with one second-stage dragon loach each, which left them overjoyed and thanking him profusely.
“This is what you deserve, no need to thank me!”
Mo Fan waved it off, then asked, “By the way, any news about the Fourth General Venom Fang lately?”
“Master, it seems the Fourth General hasn’t shown up in a long time. Some lesser demons are even saying he’s vanished,” Rabbit Demon Red Eye replied.
“How do you know so much?” Mo Fan eyed him.
“Well…”
Red Eye started to answer but realised he’d slipped up, quickly giving Mo Fan an awkward smile, “Seeing as your seclusion didn’t seem to affect things much, and with Big Dumb Bull and Short Fat Pig guarding, I thought I could sneak out to relax a bit…”
“Master, I was wrong, don’t punish me…”
Red Eye knelt, sniffling dramatically, though Mo Fan noticed his red eyes shed not a single tear, the cheeky sod.
“Fine, don’t let it happen again!”
Mo Fan waved it off, too lazy to dwell on it, then looked at the three demons with a smile, “This time, I’m leaving the mountain. You must keep my lesser demons in line and avoid trouble.
Do your duties well, and I won’t shortchange you.”
“We understand, Master, go with peace of mind!”
Bull Demon Da Li rumbled.
“Good, I’m off!”
Mo Fan nodded, vanishing into the night.
