Relying on the monstrous aura emanating from him, which inexplicably intimidated the great tiger, Mo Fan simply decided to use the beast as his mount.
At first, the tiger was somewhat reluctant, even growling at Mo Fan.
But after Mo Fan showcased his “Heaven-Devouring Technique,” the tiger was thoroughly subdued.
“See that? This is your Grandpa Mo’s divine ability, capable of devouring all things. If you dare disobey, Grandpa Mo will swallow you whole!”
Mo Fan pointed at the spot where a large rock had vanished, brimming with arrogance.
“Roar~”
Er Ha let out a low growl, then lowered its proud head.
“Hey, you’re quite a clever tiger beast!”
Mo Fan grew even more delighted, raising a claw to stroke the soft fur on Er Ha’s head, grinning, “Little fella, meeting your Grandpa Mo is a blessing earned over lifetimes. If you’re obedient enough, who knows, your Grandpa Mo might help you become a demon beast one day!”
At these words, a glint flashed through Er Ha’s vertical pupils.
And so, a mighty tiger, meant to rule the forests, became Mo Fan’s mount.
In the following days, Mo Fan spent most of his time riding Er Ha around, either searching for spirit fruits or scouting for demons and humans.
Two months passed in a flash.
“Useless! The so-called king of the forest, and in two months, you couldn’t even find a single spirit herb. What use are you?!”
On a small hill, Mo Fan gazed at the vast rivers and endless green expanse, feeling utterly frustrated. He lashed out at Er Ha, crouching beside him, with punches and kicks.
In two whole months, he hadn’t left this mountain range. Forget scouting demons, he hadn’t even seen a demon’s shadow.
As for spirit herbs that could advance his demon transformation, he hadn’t found a single one, let alone humans.
The mountain range was far larger than Mo Fan had imagined.
This left him rather disheartened, though the one upside was that he no longer had to flee for his life as before.
With Er Ha, his tattooed tiger mount, by his side, Mo Fan could roam freely within a twenty-mile radius. In truth, for the past two months, he’d only wandered within this range.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to venture further, but he discovered that Er Ha wasn’t strong enough to intimidate all the beasts in this mountain range.
For instance, there was a brown bear to the east that once swatted Er Ha away with a single paw, scaring Mo Fan so much that he bolted on his two toad legs. Since then, he never dared go east again, realizing his “demon” status wasn’t enough to frighten all beasts.
Since the east was off-limits, he explored other directions!
But then he encountered a sixteen-foot-long python, a honey badger the size of a jackal, a gang of crazed, ill-tempered long-tailed monkeys, and a family of Peppa Pigs who charged at the slightest provocation…
The python was a nightmare, its gaping maw seeming capable of swallowing both Er Ha and Mo Fan whole. Even Mo Fan trembled at its massive size, let alone Er Ha.
The honey badger was formidable despite its small size, fearless like a berserker, moving so fast it bit Er Ha senseless, chasing the pair across several hills before stopping.
The long-tailed monkeys weren’t particularly strong but were insanely aggressive. When Mo Fan merely approached their tree, over a hundred monkeys pelted him with stones. Er Ha couldn’t catch them, left to sigh at the tree.
As for the Peppa Pig family, they were stout as adult buffalo. The moment they saw Mo Fan and Er Ha, they charged like they were in heat, snorting and rushing forward…
After these exploration attempts, Mo Fan gave up on venturing further, realizing Er Ha, his tattooed tiger, was all show and no substance.
It looked majestic but fled faster than him when trouble arose, only bullying smaller animals.
After beating and scolding Er Ha, Mo Fan felt hungry and said to the cowering tiger, “Your Grandpa Mo’s starving. Go hunt some game. I’ll start a fire here, and we’ll have a barbecue feast later!”
He wasn’t worried Er Ha wouldn’t understand; the beast was clever!
After two months together, he’d noticed that while Er Ha hadn’t become a demon, it had developed intelligence and could understand him.
Sure enough, the sulking tiger perked up, its beastly eyes brightening. It nodded at Mo Fan and dashed toward the nearby forest.
“Damn, the moment food’s mentioned, you get all excited?”
“Make sure to catch something big, or it won’t be enough!”
Mo Fan grumbled, then gathered some firewood, stacking it together. He found a stick and began the primitive task of making fire.
With memories of his past life, Mo Fan, now a demon, refused to eat raw, smelly meat. Cooked food became a must for every meal, and he’d even crafted a large clay pot for stewing soup.
This had opened Er Ha’s taste buds. Whenever food was mentioned, the tiger was the most enthusiastic.
It took Mo Fan half an incense stick’s time to start a fire by friction, but he didn’t feel tired.
Watching the rising smoke, he didn’t dare slack, quickly adding dry grass to fuel the spark. Soon, flames leapt up.
Staring at the fire he’d worked so hard to create, Mo Fan couldn’t help but miss lighters, or even matches and flint, which were far better than drilling a stick endlessly.
But there were gains and losses.
Though this world’s conditions were harsh, and he’d been reborn as a demon, his demonic endurance and strength far surpassed a human’s.
In his past life, starting a fire by friction would’ve exhausted him.
“Help… help!!”
Suddenly, a faint, intermittent cry for help came from the distance, startling Mo Fan.
Humans?
Mo Fan frowned. After his last brush with death, he kept his distance from this world’s humans.
He was about to make a tactical retreat when he saw a plump white rabbit hopping rapidly toward his hill.
“What a fat rabbit! It’s as big as a house pig!”
“My word, roast that on the fire, and it’ll be dripping with oil!”
Mo Fan instinctively licked his lips, scanning the distance but seeing no humans. His heart stirred, and he rushed toward the rabbit, shouting, “You cheeky wild rabbit, daring to trespass on your Grandpa Mo’s territory! Today, you’re destined to become my meal!”
His shout stunned the rabbit, and in its moment of hesitation, Mo Fan charged forward, grabbing its soft, long ears.
“Ow!”
“Toad… Toad Lord, let me go… no, save me!!”
Just as Mo Fan rejoiced in his catch, the rabbit suddenly spoke human words, shocking him so much he flung it away.
“You’re a demon?!”
Mo Fan stared, stunned, at the rabbit sprawled on the ground. Then a glint of excitement flashed in his eyes.
He’d been fretting over finding other demons to learn cultivation methods from, and now a demon had delivered itself to his doorstep!
