As Mo Fan had suspected, the death of Rattlesnake did not attract the attention of the high-ranking monsters of Black Wind Mountain.
Not to mention Poison Fang or the Black Wind Demon King, even One-Eye was completely unaware of it.
Mo Fan was quite curious about this and sent Red Eye to investigate. He later learned that One-Eye had been sleeping in his cave all day, even ordering his underlings not to disturb him with greetings.
When Mo Fan heard this, he couldn’t help but laugh and cry, thinking to himself that these monsters were truly careless, not even noticing when one of their underlings went missing.
However, this was good news for Mo Fan, and he felt little worry about it.
Having cultivated the Ten Thousand Poisons Body to the seventh stage, Mo Fan was in no hurry to visit the Broken Temple Market to buy a pill furnace.
Firstly, the Broken Temple Market might not even have a pill furnace.
Secondly, he was concerned that if he left Black Wind Mountain, Poison Fang might follow him.
So Mo Fan decided to lay low for a while. He instructed his three trusted underlings to keep a close eye on the activities of the Fourth General, Poison Fang, while he stayed in his cave, repeatedly practising the *Small Thunder Sound Fist*. Occasionally, he studied the iron plaque, feeling the terrifying sword intent of the Inverted Mountain and tempering his spirit in the process.
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
Mo Fan had already mastered the second level of the *Small Thunder Sound Fist*, but he couldn’t grasp the fist intent of the third level, so he made little progress.
The only thing that comforted him was that, due to his frequent practice, he had developed muscle memory. He had almost fully integrated the entire fist technique, often executing the moves instinctively.
Though the fist technique seemed simple, Mo Fan felt his strength had increased significantly compared to before.
He understood that this was the technical advantage brought by the fist technique. An ordinary person, no matter how strong, could only be a weightlifter at best. But in a fight against a professional martial artist, they wouldn’t stand a chance.
If the old Mo Fan was a weightlifter, the current Mo Fan was a professional fighter.
The *Small Thunder Sound Fist* didn’t offer magical advantages but embodied the essence of close-quarters combat, sparking a longing in Mo Fan’s heart for true body cultivation techniques.
If a half-step body cultivation technique was this powerful, how incredible would a true body cultivation technique be?
Half a month later, Black Wind Mountain’s monthly Sun-Spicy Competition arrived.
On this day, Mo Fan led his group of underlings to Flat Peak, only to notice that the competition seemed to have fewer participants than usual.
“You finally came out of seclusion! I thought you’d disappeared too!”
As the Sun-Spicy Competition was in full swing, a figure suddenly appeared beside Mo Fan.
“Why are you here?”
Mo Fan looked at Lu Tantun beside him with some surprise.
Since returning from the Broken Temple Market the first time, he had rarely met this fellow, focusing entirely on his cultivation.
Moreover, Lu Tantun rarely showed up at the Sun-Spicy Competition.
As for He Feifei, she almost never appeared at the event.
So seeing Lu Tantun here this time was somewhat surprising to Mo Fan.
Lu Tantun didn’t answer Mo Fan’s question. After watching the competition for a while, he glanced at the surrounding monsters and suddenly lowered his voice, saying, “Have you noticed something too?”
“What do you mean?”
Mo Fan frowned slightly, also looking around. Soon, he realised something and widened his eyes, saying, “You mean the ones who didn’t show up?”
“Exactly. Looks like you haven’t gone dumb. You’re still the ugly guy I know. Good, I’m pleased!” Lu Tantun grinned and nodded.
“Hey! You looking for a beating?”
Mo Fan was annoyed by the comment and wanted to teach him a lesson, but Lu Tantun said mysteriously, “Alright, I came to Flat Peak to make sure you’re okay. Now that I know you’re fine, I’m leaving.
Oh, by the way, Black Wind Mountain’s been a bit chaotic lately. Stay in your cave and don’t wander around!”
As Lu Tantun stood to leave, Mo Fan frowned and asked, “Do you know something?”
Lu Tantun paused, about to say something, but then glanced toward the peak and immediately shut his mouth. After a moment’s thought, he said, “Some things can’t be said openly, but you know what I mean. Don’t forget what I just told you!”
With that, Lu Tantun left without hesitation, almost as if fleeing.
Mo Fan watched his retreating figure with a deep frown, then looked toward the peak.
There, the Black Wind Demon King was laughing heartily, with a human woman on each arm.
Below him, the three generals sat at a table, toasting each other and leisurely enjoying the Sun-Spicy spectacle.
Seeing this, Mo Fan took a deep breath. He understood that Lu Tantun’s behaviour must be related to these figures, but he wasn’t sure who exactly Lu Tantun was wary of.
Looking at the two human women beside the Demon King, Mo Fan’s frown deepened.
He had heard before that the Demon King suddenly had two human women by his side, which puzzled him, as human women were typically terrified of monsters.
Yet these two women showed no fear, laughing happily, their every gesture captivating. No wonder they had enchanted the Demon King, who resembled a black whirlwind, to the point that even the rabbit demon Snow White was neglected.
“Could it be related to these two women?”
Mo Fan frowned, then looked around at the crowd of monsters, noticing that indeed several familiar faces were missing, mostly low-ranking demons.
However, Black Wind Mountain had plenty of low-ranking demons, so their absence didn’t draw much attention.
Mo Fan noticed that One-Eye was also absent and muttered to himself, “Is that guy really sleeping so deeply that he’d miss even a grand event like the Sun-Spicy Competition?”
The Sun-Spicy Competition didn’t last long before it ended.
Mo Fan returned to Spring Pool Cave with a mind full of questions. He immediately found Bai Yaoyao and Big Head, warning them to stay hidden and avoid leaving the cave unless necessary.
“What’s going on?”
Bai Yaoyao frowned slightly, noticing Mo Fan’s unusually serious expression for the first time.
“Black Wind Mountain is about to face a storm. There are many unusual signs, and I can’t pinpoint the problem. Just stay hidden.” Mo Fan thought for a moment before continuing, then looked at the two demons and asked, “Where does this Spring Pool lead? Have you explored it?”
Bai Yaoyao shook her head with a wry smile, saying, “The Spring Pool is too deep. The deeper you go, the stronger the fish monsters become, some even comparable to low-ranking demons.”
“Yeah, and we sensed the presence of a Demon General deep in the pool, so we didn’t dare explore further,” Big Head added, nodding.
A Demon General?
Mo Fan was surprised and asked, “There’s another Demon General in this Spring Pool?”
“Not exactly. The pool itself is deep but not spacious. However, it leads to a vast underground river domain, and we detected the Demon General’s presence there. If I’m not mistaken, there might be more than one Demon General in that river domain, perhaps even a Demon King!
That’s why we didn’t dare act recklessly,” Bai Yaoyao explained.
Though she was once a Demon King, she was now only at the low-ranking demon level and didn’t dare take risks.
“I see!”
Mo Fan nodded, vaguely understanding something.
That underground river domain might be the so-called Black Water River!
The next day.
As night fell, Mo Fan led his underlings to the mountain peak for the cultivation gathering.
This time, he didn’t see either He Feifei or Lu Tantun. He instinctively looked toward One-Eye’s usual spot and, sure enough, aside from a few small demons, One-Eye was nowhere to be seen!
Not only that, but even more low-ranking demons were absent.
“It seems something has really happened in Black Wind Mountain…”
Mo Fan took a deep breath, his gaze turning cold.
