After walking with the sparrow demon for a while, Mo Fan finally understood why it was named “Zha Zha,” such a peculiar name.
Throughout the journey, his ears had barely a moment’s peace, mainly because Zha Zha’s chatter was chaotic, often rambling and irrelevant—what one might call nonsense.
“By the way, Lai Bao, do you know your big brother’s grand name?” Zha Zha suddenly asked.
“Brother, this is the third time you’ve asked that…”
Mo Fan’s face twitched, utterly exasperated.
To him, this Zha Zha was as talkative as the Monk Tang from *Journey to the West*’s Moonlight Treasure Box—relentlessly chatty.
“Er, is it? I don’t recall, but no matter, just remember your brother’s grand name once more!”
The little sparrow tilted its head on Mo Fan’s shoulder, raising one wing smugly, “Listen well, my name is Zha Zha! It was given by Grandpa Demon King himself. He said I’m the chattiest in all of Black Wind Mountain, so he gave me this wonderfully fitting name!”
“Have you got it?”
Mo Fan resisted the urge to grab the sparrow and give it a good thrashing, forcing a smile, “Got it, Slag Slag!”
“Yes, good, good!”
“Oh, where was I just now?”
Zha Zha tilted its head again, seemingly trying hard to recall what it had been saying.
Seizing the moment, Mo Fan said, “You were talking about how we demons cultivate, Brother Slag Slag.”
“Oh, right, right, demon cultivation is of utmost importance. Let me have a proper chat with you, brother…”
Zha Zha, unsuspecting, said earnestly, “We demons typically cultivate through two methods.”
“Which two?”
Mo Fan’s heart raced with excitement.
Why had he come all the way to Black Wind Mountain?
Wasn’t it for these demon cultivation methods?
Now that he was about to learn them, he was naturally thrilled.
“One is consuming spirit herbs. You probably know this, Lai Bao.”
Mo Fan froze, quickly asking, “And the other?”
“Don’t rush, don’t rush. Let your brother explain properly.”
“Spirit herbs in this world are ranked in four tiers: Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, and Yellow, each further divided into high, middle, and low grades.
Of the four, Heaven-tier spirit herbs are the best, Yellow-tier the lowest.
But even a Yellow-tier herb is a rare treasure most small demons like us could never hope to find in a lifetime.
I once heard the master mention that a single complete low-grade Yellow-tier herb is enough for us small demons to transform into a spirit body and reach the Demon Soldier Realm!
Of course, below Yellow-tier, there’s a type of unranked spirit herb, the kind we small demons are most likely to find.”
“Unranked?” Mo Fan frowned.
“Exactly, you’ve got it, Lai Bao.
Unranked herbs are what we small demons consume when we transform into demons.
Though unranked among spirit herbs, they far surpass ordinary plants, containing some spiritual energy that fuels our transformation.
Oh, by the way, every three years, we must hand over one unranked spirit herb to Master Blackie.
It’s a rule across Black Wind Mountain, set by Grandpa Demon King, something about ‘protection fees,’” Zha Zha said, tilting its head.
Protection fees?
Mo Fan’s eyes widened. Even as a demon, he had to pay protection fees?
Truly, all crows under heaven are black!
In this world, not only were humans ruthless, but demons were just as merciless!
“What happens if you can’t hand over an unranked spirit herb after three years?” Mo Fan asked curiously.
“Heh, easy. If you can’t provide a spirit herb, you must go to human territory and capture a human to make up for it!” Zha Zha grinned.
“That sounds pretty simple!”
Mo Fan nodded. Demons eating humans seemed normal to him, and for a demon to catch a human, wasn’t that a piece of cake?
“Simple?”
Zha Zha chuckled, leaning in mysteriously, “If there’s a choice, no demon in Black Wind Mountain would willingly go catch a human.”
“Why’s that?” Mo Fan was puzzled.
“You really are a fool. What do you think humans are?
They’re a great race, on par with us demons!
I heard from the master that humans outnumber us demons by far. They have village guardians, demon hunters patrolling, and even immortal cultivators protecting them!
So, catching a human from their territory? Not so easy.
You’d be lucky to escape with your skin intact!” Zha Zha sneered.
“That dangerous?” Mo Fan was dumbfounded.
“What do you think?”
“Spirit herbs are hard to find, humans are hard to catch. If you achieve nothing in three years, what then? Get kicked out of Black Wind Mountain?” Mo Fan frowned.
“Grandpa Demon King said Black Wind Mountain doesn’t keep useless demons. If you’re so useless you achieve nothing, you’ll be turned into a feast.
We small demons might not get the meat, but if it’s stewed, we might at least get a sip of the broth!” Zha Zha licked its lips instinctively.
Damn, they even eat their own kind?
A chill ran down Mo Fan’s spine. He now understood what demons were—far crueller than anything in *Journey to the West*!
“How long have you been at Black Wind Mountain, Brother Slag Slag? Have you found any spirit herbs?” Mo Fan probed.
“I’ve been here longer than you, but I don’t know exactly how many years. I only know the peach grove in the back mountain has bloomed nine times.
But I’ve been lucky, almost always finding one or two unranked spirit herbs each time.
Don’t let my small form fool you—I’ve transformed my spirit body three times already!”
As Zha Zha spoke, a powerful aura that surprised Mo Fan emanated from it.
A wisp of black energy enveloped its body, then dissipated, revealing a demon with a human upper body and a bird’s lower half standing before Mo Fan.
“See that? I’m just two legs away from becoming a Demon Soldier!” Zha Zha said proudly.
“Impressive!”
Mo Fan licked his lips, genuinely envious.
“Of course it’s impressive. Each transformation requires all the spiritual energy used in previous ones combined, so the further along, the harder it gets!”
Zha Zha’s words didn’t discourage Mo Fan; they filled him with confidence.
If this little sparrow could reach such a level, surely he, far smarter, could handle mere unranked spirit herbs?
Three years seemed plenty, and he wouldn’t end up as a feast, would he?
“Brother Slag Slag, you haven’t told me about the second cultivation method yet,” Mo Fan suddenly said.
“The second method is simple: absorb moonlight essence to refine the spiritual energy in our bodies into demon energy.
Only with demon energy can we truly call ourselves demons, truly formidable!” Zha Zha said.
“Demon energy… is that the black aura you just showed?” Mo Fan asked.
“Exactly, you’re pretty sharp, Lai Bao, only a tiny bit dumber than me.”
“…”
“By the way, you kept mentioning spirit bodies. What exactly are they?”
“I don’t fully get it either, just know a spirit body is the form most aligned with heaven and earth. I heard the master say humans cultivate so well because they’re born with spirit bodies.”
“I see, then…”
All along the way, Mo Fan was like a curious child, asking endless questions, and Zha Zha answered patiently.
Back and forth, the two demons arrived under a large banyan tree.
“Lai Fu, Da Li, Red Eyes, stop bloody sleeping and come out to greet our guest!”
Zha Zha shot into the sky, shouting loudly.
Mo Fan: “…”
