For Mo Fan, although the true purpose of this trip wasn’t achieved, there was an unexpected surprise, one even more significant than learning to read.
The miraculous power of the Heaven-Swallowing Divine Ability left Mo Fan astounded. In his view, it was a divine ability not inferior to any immortal technique!
What puzzled him was that he was merely a toad demon. Why had he awakened such a heaven-defying innate ability?
Could it be that, in this life, he wasn’t just an ordinary toad?
Mo Fan didn’t have answers to these questions, at least not yet. But he was confident that one day he would figure it all out.
On the way here, he had moved slowly, partly to avoid detection by human cultivators and partly to look after that little guy, Bao’er.
Now, heading back to Black Wind Mountain, he had no such concerns, travelling at nearly twice the speed.
In just half a day, Mo Fan had ventured nearly a hundred miles into the Demon Spirit Mountain Range.
As he climbed a hill, he spotted a man in white leaning against a large tree.
At this sight, Mo Fan instinctively halted, his gaze fixed warily on the figure.
The man was young, about eighteen or nineteen, with sharp features and a refined, almost delicate handsomeness. His fair skin surpassed that of most women, though he wore a white scholar’s cap, giving him a scholarly air.
Faced with this sudden scholar, Mo Fan felt uneasy.
He wasn’t a fool. He wouldn’t believe this man was truly just a scholar. This wasn’t human territory; it was the depths of the Demon Spirit Mountain Range!
Would a scholar really come here?
As Mo Fan hesitated, the scholar suddenly looked at him and greeted him warmly, “Brother, where are you headed in this wilderness?”
“I’m going hunting in the mountains. Where are you off to?” Mo Fan replied, making it up on the spot.
“Hunting?”
The white-robed scholar looked surprised, then smiled. “So you’re a hunter! Qin here has never seen such a young hunter!
As for me, I’m waiting for someone.”
Waiting for someone?
Mo Fan’s brow furrowed, and he sneered inwardly, “You think I’m a three-year-old? Who waits for someone in the middle of these deep mountains?”
Though he thought this, he didn’t say it aloud. Instead, he said calmly, “Since you’re waiting for someone, I won’t disturb you!”
With that, Mo Fan moved to leave, not wanting to get entangled with this mysterious figure.
“Hold on, brother. I’ve met nearly every hunter from the villages within a hundred miles. Which village are you from?”
The scholar surnamed Qin’s words made Mo Fan’s heart skip a beat, but he kept his composure. “I’m from Yunling Village. I’ve only recently become a hunter, so it’s normal you haven’t met me.”
“I see!”
The scholar nodded, then added, “It’s said there are many demons in the Demon Spirit Mountain Range. Have you encountered any?”
Mo Fan’s heart jumped. He realised this man was likely after him. Feigning fear, he replied, “Don’t scare me, sir. I’m new to hunting here and haven’t heard of any demons, let alone seen one.”
“Believe it or not, but since we’ve met here, it’s fate. Qin will gift you something!”
The scholar smiled, pulling a blank yellow talisman and a brush from his sleeve.
Mo Fan watched, puzzled, unsure what the man was up to.
Then, the scholar bit his fingertip, dipped the brush in the fresh blood, and began drawing on the blank talisman.
The brush moved fluidly across the paper, without pause, in one seamless stroke!
In the end, a yellow talisman covered in intricate patterns appeared before Mo Fan.
“What’s this?” Mo Fan asked.
“It’s a talisman, also called a charm!” the scholar said with a smile. “But talismans have different powers. This is one of them!”
With that, he flicked his hand, and the talisman floated toward Mo Fan.
Seeing this, Mo Fan’s pupils constricted!
This guy was no ordinary man!
As the talisman reached him, Mo Fan didn’t catch it. Instead, he waved his hand, his demonic energy surging, pushing the talisman back. “I don’t deserve such a gift without merit!”
“No, you do deserve it. Only someone like you can handle it.”
The scholar smiled, releasing an overwhelming aura that instantly pressed down on Mo Fan, making it hard to breathe.
In that moment, the frail-looking scholar seemed to transform into an unscalable mountain!
A human cultivator!
Mo Fan gave a bitter smile. He hadn’t expected to encounter another human cultivator so soon.
“Aren’t you here to wait for someone?”
“Why make things difficult for me?”
Mo Fan’s expression turned cold, his gaze icy, demonic energy swirling as he prepared to confront the scholar.
“Not at all!”
“The one I’m waiting for is you. Or, to be clearer, I’m not waiting for a person, but… a demon!”
“You are that demon!”
“And this talisman was prepared for you!”
The scholar spoke calmly, releasing a vast, righteous energy that radiated light around him, making Mo Fan unable to look directly at him!
“So strong!”
Mo Fan’s heart raced. From this brief clash, he knew the man’s strength was at least above the Demon Ding rank!
In human cultivator terms, this guy was likely a powerful Foundation Establishment cultivator!
“This talisman is called ‘Demon Suppression.’ Once activated, even a Demon Ding demon can’t escape being subdued. So don’t resist. The outcome won’t change. Why not accept your fate?”
The scholar smiled, advancing step by step toward Mo Fan, relaxed and at ease, as if Mo Fan were already in his grasp.
“Accept my fate?”
Mo Fan roared in anger, glaring at the scholar. “Who are you to decide my fate?
Just a pretty boy, acting all high and mighty!
Push me too far, and I’ll eat you!”
“Stubborn demon!”
The scholar was provoked, raising his hand to channel a burst of light into the Demon Suppression Talisman.
The next moment, the talisman glowed brilliantly, blood-red light bursting from its intricate runes, as if an immense power was about to erupt.
Mo Fan’s eyelids twitched, sensing an inexplicable danger from the talisman. He knew he couldn’t let it take effect, or he’d have no chance of winning.
With that thought, he opened his mouth wide.
Divine Ability, Heaven-Swallowing!
Buzz—
In an instant, the glowing Demon Suppression Talisman was swallowed whole by Mo Fan!
“What?!”
The scholar’s pupils shrank, shocked by the scene.
That was a talisman designed to subdue demons!
And this guy just swallowed it?
“What a demon! If I, Qin, don’t eliminate you today, you’ll become a great scourge to the human race!”
After his shock, the scholar’s eyes flashed with killing intent, his earlier calm replaced by determination.
He formed hand seals, chanting under his breath as if reciting poetry. Golden characters floated from his mouth, as if he were spitting golden lotuses.
The golden characters, upon appearing, grew to several metres tall, like small mountains, crashing down toward Mo Fan!
