Ever since being imprisoned in this dungeon by Mo Fan once again, You Er had developed a profound fear of the Demon King of Black Wind Mountain.
Though he was a cultivator in the Divine Realm, having crossed the sea to reach this place, he knew very little about demons.
Because he possessed the Destiny Compass, he would divine a hexagram for himself every day, which allowed him to always choose the correct path forward.
Thus, even upon arriving in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, known as the demon continent, he had never encountered any demons. He had only heard from human mouths about how ferocious the demon race was and how they devoured people.
So, upon learning that Mo Fan was the Demon King of Black Wind Mountain, a sense of inexplicable dread naturally welled up in his heart.
“Why are you so afraid of me?”
Looking at You Er prostrated on the ground before him, Mo Fan grew curious.
He did not consider himself a bloodthirsty demon. In the past half month, he had not ordered his subordinate lesser demons to do anything to You Er, yet how had the fear escalated to this extent?
“You are the Lord Demon King. If I’m not afraid of you, then who should I fear?”
You Er felt inwardly bitter and spoke with a troubled expression. He then cautiously lifted his head to look at Mo Fan, his face full of terror as he said, “Lord Demon King, I truly am not some fraudulent charlatan. The previous divination must have gone wrong somewhere. How about I divine another hexagram for you, esteemed one?!
Please, do not eat me. I have no more than a couple of taels of meat on my bones. Even if you did, it would just be gritty in your mouth!”
“Oh? How did you know that this king enjoys eating ribs?”
Mo Fan spoke with a half-smile, which caused You Er’s face to stiffen, leaving him utterly at a loss.
Seeing You Er’s face drain of all colour, Mo Fan suddenly asked, “I forgot to ask you last time. Since you have the ability to seek fortune and avoid calamity, why did you come to my Black Wind Mountain?”
Upon hearing this, You Er immediately wore a bitter expression and said, “Lord Demon King, you see clearly. This humble Daoist was precisely tricked by my ancestral Destiny Compass!”
“Oh? Did that compass guide you to my Black Wind Mountain?”
Mo Fan looked surprised, a flicker of contemplation in his eyes.
“Exactly so!”
“Ever since this humble Daoist arrived in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, I have divined daily with the compass to seek fortune and avoid calamity. Yet somehow, it guided me straight towards this Black Demon Mountain.
Based on past experience, I thought there might be some valuable treasure. But as I went along, I heard a muffled drum sound.
After that, this humble Daoist remembers nothing. When I awoke, I was already in this dungeon!” You Er said with a wry smile, “If I had known that this Black Demon Mountain was your territory, Lord Demon King, I would not have dared to come here even if given ten times my courage!”
“What nonsense!”
“This king’s domain is not some Black Demon Mountain, but Black Wind Mountain!”
Mo Fan spoke irritably, then waved his hand to open the cell door, which frightened You Er into scrambling backwards.
“What are you afraid of? Come here and let this king take a look!”
“Spare me, Lord Demon King. This humble Daoist weighs only a hundred or so jin. I cannot withstand your toying…”
As Mo Fan approached step by step, You Er’s face turned green. In the end, he was so terrified that he curled up in the corner, trembling.
“Damn it, even if this king wanted to toy with someone, it would not be you!
If you dare spout such nonsense again and tarnish this king’s reputation, this king will eat you!”
Mo Fan was so amused that he laughed in anger. He, the dignified king of Black Wind Mountain, would hardly covet this little Daoist’s body?
Besides, he had no interest in men!
“Ah?” You Er was momentarily stunned, then saw that Mo Fan did not seem to be joking. His heart relaxed somewhat, though he still asked uneasily, “Is what you said true, Lord Demon King?”
“Damn it, do you believe that this king would now arrange for that group of wild boar demons from the Fierce Boar Squad to come and toy with you?!” Mo Fan roared in fury.
You Er’s body shuddered, and he quickly waved his hands, saying, “This… perhaps it is best not to…”
Mo Fan had no patience for further banter with this fellow. He stepped forward in an instant, arriving before You Er, and pointed a finger directly at his brow.
In the next moment, his divine sense flowed from his fingertip into You Er’s body, observing the changes within.
However, just as Mo Fan’s divine sense attempted to probe into You Er’s sea of consciousness, he heard a dragon’s roar. Then, an extremely fierce force surged towards Mo Fan’s divine sense.
Not good!
Mo Fan’s heart jolted, and he prepared to withdraw his divine sense. Yet at that moment, the golden coin in his mind stirred unusually.
Hum—
A vibrating hum emerged from Mo Fan’s mind.
In an instant, the ferocious force melted away like snowflakes, as if it had never existed.
Mo Fan withdrew his finger and looked at You Er’s brow, where a golden light indeed flickered, as though some treasure lay dormant.
“This You Er’s Destiny Compass is truly no ordinary item!”
Mo Fan was inwardly startled, a glint of unusual colour flashing in his eyes.
Half a month ago, when You Er had divined for him, he had sensed an anomaly with the golden coin in his mind. Thus, even though the divination failed, he had not rushed to kill him. Instead, he had the lesser demons imprison him.
Now that he had free time, Mo Fan had come to investigate You Er once more.
“You actually withstood the Destiny Compass’s protective backlash?!”
At this moment, You Er also looked at Mo Fan with shock.
Evidently, he was fully aware of what had transpired in his sea of consciousness.
“Protective backlash?”
Mo Fan looked at You Er with keen interest.
Seeing Mo Fan’s gaze upon him, You Er fell silent for a moment before smiling wryly and saying, “When I encounter danger, the Destiny Compass within me protects me, thereby backlash against any external invading force.”
“Interesting. Take out this compass of yours and let this king have a look.”
Mo Fan spoke slowly, causing You Er’s expression to change. However, seeing Mo Fan’s serious demeanour, he finally sighed and said, “Then first release the seal within me.”
“Very well, but I advise you against any tricks. Remember, this is Black Wind Mountain. A mere late-stage Qi Refining cultivator like you cannot escape!”
Mo Fan grinned, then raised his hand and infused a strand of demonic energy into You Er’s body, dissolving the demonic seal that had bound his spiritual power.
“I will not flee. If even the Destiny Compass could not harm you, it means you possess a treasure far more extraordinary than it!”
You Er spoke with a wry smile, his face one of resignation.
Mo Fan neither confirmed nor denied You Er’s guess that he harboured a great treasure.
In his view, since the golden coin could sense the Destiny Compass, it was entirely possible that the compass had sensed the coin’s existence. Thus, he was not particularly surprised.
Next, You Er began to cast a spell, extracting the Destiny Compass from his sea of consciousness. As he handed it to Mo Fan, he warned, “The Destiny Compass is an ancestral heirloom of my You family. Only those with You family blood can activate it. It will be of no use to you!”
“A mere treasure, could it possibly choose its own master?”
Mo Fan scoffed, paying it no mind.
However, upon taking the compass, he indeed could not activate it. Even probing it with his divine sense, he found no imprint left by other cultivators, indicating that the compass had not been refined at all.
Since he could not activate it, Mo Fan pondered briefly before attempting to refine it with standard methods. Yet after tinkering for half a day, he gave up.
To him, the compass was like a useless stone. Not only could he not refine it, but he could not even infuse it with demonic power…
Seeing this, Mo Fan began to believe You Er’s words. He returned the compass and said, “Divine for me once more and see!”
You Er nodded and promptly activated the compass again, performing a second divination for Mo Fan.
Yet this time left him equally baffled.
Just like before, he could not discern Mo Fan’s fortune or misfortune.
“It seems your compass is nothing special. It cannot even calculate this king’s fortune. What sort of treasure is that?!”
Mo Fan shook his head, greatly disappointed.
“No! It cannot be a problem with my compass. It has never failed before… Wait… Tomorrow, tomorrow I will divine for you again. I am certain it will work!!” You Er said urgently.
He could not understand why the Destiny Compass, which had always succeeded without fail, had now consecutively failed twice on this Demon King.
“Tomorrow, then… This king will give you one last chance. If you still cannot divine it tomorrow, there is no need for you to remain in Black Wind Mountain wasting food. Becoming a dish might be the final respect for you.”
With a wave of his hand, Mo Fan infused a strand of demonic energy into You Er’s body, resealing his spiritual power. He then turned and left the dungeon, his gaze growing ever brighter, a hint of anticipation in his eyes.
