The death of the Scorpion Demon gave Mo Fan a clear sense of direction for his future path.
On Black Wind Mountain, the Scorpion Demon had been the most dangerous threat to him. Now that it was dead, the mountain became an ideal hiding place for Mo Fan.
As a demon, it was better to stay in a demon’s lair.
Moreover, the mountain offered an endless supply of dragon loaches for his cultivation.
With these favourable conditions, Mo Fan was far from content with remaining a mere demon soldier.
“To become a Demon King, I’ll start here on Black Wind Mountain, by taking the place of the Scorpion Demon as the leader!”
Mo Fan murmured, a glint of determination flashing in his eyes.
Red Eyes left, tasked with Mo Fan’s mission, feeling both complicated and excited.
He never imagined that the once-unpromising Toad Demon could rise above him in such a short time.
The Scorpion Demon’s death didn’t sadden Red Eyes; instead, it relieved the pent-up frustration in his heart.
The pain of being flayed had left Red Eyes deeply resentful of the Scorpion Demon, his former leader.
Now, with the Scorpion Demon gone, though Lai Bao would take over, Red Eyes would also gain significant status. No longer just an ordinary demon bossed around by others, he’d become a trusted aide to a demon soldier!
At this thought, Red Eyes’ steps grew noticeably lighter.
After Red Eyes left, Mo Fan waited a while longer to ensure he was gone before spitting out an object.
Looking down at the scroll in his hand, a spark of brilliance flashed in Mo Fan’s eyes.
The scroll had appeared suddenly, not present before, so Mo Fan deduced it was likely left behind after the Scorpion Demon’s death.
“The unknown force in my inner space decomposes living things, so the dead objects stored in its sac were preserved…”
Mo Fan muttered, staring at the scroll.
This wasn’t the first time he’d encountered this. When he used his Heaven-Swallowing Ability to consume the Black Fox Demon, he’d noticed the same thing, but the Black Fox Demon left nothing valuable, so he’d ignored it.
Now, with the Scorpion Demon dead, it left behind some items: bottles, jars, numerous dried poisonous insects, and this scroll.
Mo Fan had little interest in the poisons, so he immediately took out the scroll to examine it.
The scroll was small, resembling a piece of de-haired animal hide, dark and unidentifiable as to which beast it came from.
Mo Fan slowly unfurled the hide, and a black painting suddenly appeared before his eyes.
“A map?”
(Currently working on creating a map for this book, which will be presented later. Thank you for your love and support.)
Mo Fan was surprised to see an ink-coloured map, which was unexpected.
“Could this be a map of this world?”
His heart stirred, and he quickly unrolled the scroll fully, only for a yellowed piece of thin hide to flutter out.
Before it could hit the ground, Mo Fan grabbed it. Looking closely, he saw it was covered in dense, unfamiliar text.
Mo Fan froze. He didn’t recognise a single character, yet they seemed vaguely familiar.
He quickly took out a book he suspected was a cultivation method and compared them. As expected, the script was identical, with some characters exactly the same!
“What exactly is recorded here?”
Mo Fan mused, studying the yellowed hide again. It felt smooth and delicate, with tiny pores, far smoother than the map’s hide.
After examining it for a while, uncertainty flickered in his eyes. He sniffed it, and his expression became vivid.
“Human skin!”
Mo Fan’s pupils contracted. It was actually human skin!
The human skin bore human script…
Though Mo Fan couldn’t understand what was written, it was surely no ordinary thing to be recorded on human skin.
“Wait… why did the Scorpion Demon have this?”
“Did it already know human script?” Mo Fan wondered, but then gave a wry smile.
Whether the Scorpion Demon understood human script no longer mattered, as it was dead.
“It seems I’ll have to visit the human territories eventually!”
Mo Fan thought to himself, then turned his attention back to the map. It seemed incomplete, not a world map but rather one of a mountain range.
But weren’t there too many mountains on it?
A strange feeling arose in Mo Fan. After studying the map closely, he found Black Wind Mountain’s location.
He realised Black Wind Mountain was only at the edge of the map, or rather, the entire Demon Spirit Mountain Range was at its periphery.
Beyond it lay a far vaster world!
“Is this where demons live?”
Mo Fan murmured. After studying the map for a while, he swallowed it into his inner space.
Then he looked at his chest, where the wound had scabbed over, and most of his other injuries had healed significantly.
This was as expected, so he got up, went to the back gate, and dived into the spring pool.
He hadn’t forgotten about the dragon loach.
Returning to the protruding rock wall, Mo Fan was relieved to see the bamboo basket intact.
He knew the dragon loach was still there!
Lifting the basket’s lid, he saw the loach, now awake, nibbling on a spirit stone.
Looking at the tiny creature, barely visible save for its two eyes, Mo Fan’s heart stirred.
“It’s still eating spirit stones… Could the third stage not be the dragon loach’s final evolution?”
Mo Fan mused, growing more convinced and excited by the possibility.
“If so, can I keep nurturing it?”
The thought flashed through his mind, but he quickly shook his head.
“No, I’m not in great condition. If I consume the loach now, it might help my injuries and even lead to a breakthrough!”
“Besides, this bamboo basket is too flimsy. The loach could chew through it and escape at any moment, which is too risky…”
Weighing his options, Mo Fan opened his mouth, activating his Heaven-Swallowing Ability, and swallowed the third-stage transparent dragon loach from the basket!
Boom!
As soon as it entered his body, the loach was broken down, unleashing a torrent of spiritual energy that surged back to him!
“No wonder it’s comparable to a yellow-grade spirit medicine. The spiritual energy is far greater than that of yellow-grade monkey wine!”
Mo Fan was pleasantly surprised. He felt an itching at his chest wound, as if new flesh was growing.
Looking down, he saw the wound healing at a visible rate.
In moments, his body was free of wounds, not even a scar remained.
Feeling the abundant strength in his body, Mo Fan was thrilled and began cultivating underwater.
Some time later, a noisy sound reached his ears, prompting him to open his eyes.
“They’ve all come, have they… Perfect, I’ll deal with them all at once!”
