The battle at Phoenix Cry Mountain had a tremendous impact on the entire Ten Thousand Great Mountains. By the time the Monster Network relayed the news, a full month had passed.
The information that came back was largely consistent with what Granny Sparrow had told him, though it contained a few extra details.
It turned out that after the Sword Head arrived at Phoenix Cry Mountain, he demanded that the Fire Phoenix Saint King hand over the immortal sword. Naturally, she refused, and a great battle erupted between them.
With the immortal sword in her possession, the Fire Phoenix Saint King’s strength far exceeded her previous level, yet even so she only managed to fight the Sword Head to a draw.
The two continued battling all the way out of the Phoenix Cry Mountain demon domain.
Later, word spread from the depths of the Ten Thousand Great Mountains that three Demon Saint Kings had been seen joining forces to besiege the Sword Head.
The entire fight lasted three full days before finally ending with the Sword Head’s withdrawal.
Not long after he departed, Phoenix Cry Mountain announced it was sealing itself off. This naturally gave rise to all sorts of speculation among the demons outside.
Some said the Fire Phoenix Saint King had gained sudden enlightenment from the battle and was therefore closing the mountain to enter secluded cultivation and attempt a breakthrough to the Saint realm.
Others claimed she had comprehended profound sword intent during the fight and was hurrying into seclusion to consolidate it.
Of course, the most widespread rumour was that she had suffered grievous injuries, perhaps even mortal ones, and had sealed the entire mountain for that reason.
Mo Fan, who knew the truth, naturally paid no attention to these rumours. At the same time, he detected something unusual in the way the stories were spreading.
From Granny Sparrow’s message, he knew the Fire Phoenix Saint King was indeed badly wounded, but her life was certainly not in danger. Yet the tales outside grew ever more exaggerated. It was hard to believe no one was deliberately fanning the flames.
If that were the case, the Fire Phoenix Saint King might well be playing a very large game of chess.
Any fool who actually believed she was on the verge of death and rushed in to take advantage would probably be in for an extremely entertaining surprise.
While enjoying the drama from afar, Mo Fan also felt rather speechless about the Monster Network’s intelligence transmission speed. He had discovered a massive flaw in the system: messages simply travelled far too slowly.
Still, he could understand why. The network relied on lesser demons passing information mouth to mouth.
Even for flying demons, crossing an entire demon domain was no easy task. Phoenix Cry Mountain’s domain alone spanned more than a million li, so naturally the transmission speed suffered.
This problem gave Mo Fan a headache. He tried using the seven-coloured feather to ask Granny Sparrow whether there was a good solution, only to discover that no message could get through at all.
After the Fire Phoenix Palace sealed itself, it had cut off all contact with the outside world completely, including transmission through treasures.
With no other choice, Mo Fan turned to Bai Yaoyao for advice.
“There are three main methods of long-distance communication,” she explained.
“First, create special transmission treasures. Within a certain range, messages can be sent directly through the treasures.
Second, use special transmission techniques, such as paper-crane messages or flying-sword messages.
Third, craft sound-transmission talismans. Both our demon race and the human factions mostly rely on sound-transmission talismans.”
Bai Yaoyao looked at Mo Fan, frowned, and continued, “Crafting sound-transmission talismans is not simple, especially the kind that can send messages over extreme distances. Those are even harder to make, mainly because they require large quantities of Starry Sky Sand.
Starry Sky Sand is extremely precious. Even great sects find it hard to obtain much of it.
So if you want every member of the Monster Network to have ultra-long-range sound-transmission talismans, that is practically impossible!”
Starry Sky Sand?
Mo Fan was slightly startled, but inside he was blooming with joy.
He might lack many things, but Starry Sky Sand was definitely not one of them!
What people called Starry Sky Sand was simply powdered Void Stone, and he could duplicate Void Stones at will!
He did not mention this to Bai Yaoyao, but a plan instantly formed in his mind.
He had plenty of Starry Sky Sand, but he lacked the skill to craft sound-transmission talismans.
“It looks like the Water Moon clone is about to get another job,” Mo Fan muttered to himself.
Because he suspected Phoenix Cry Mountain might soon make a big move, Mo Fan once again convened a high-level meeting at Black Wind Mountain. He instructed everyone to act with caution for the foreseeable future and not to leave the Demon Spirit Mountain Range unless absolutely necessary.
At the same time, he noticed that Hei Yi’s cultivation had broken through again. She had caught up with Bai Yaoyao and become Black Wind Mountain’s second late-stage King realm demon king!
Mo Fan was naturally delighted. At least those two hearts had not been eaten in vain.
“The power hidden power inside that Chi Dragon Saint King’s heart is truly immense. Even now, I have not fully digested it. I estimate it can sustain me all the way to the peak of the King realm!”
Hei Yi said excitedly, then added that she had also gained some of the Chi Dragon’s abilities.
Mo Fan’s eyes lit up at once. He immediately asked her to demonstrate.
The next moment, a layer of fine blood-coloured dragon scales appeared across Hei Yi’s body. They looked rather similar to the scales Mo Fan manifested when he entered his dragon form. Moreover, a long, slender bone tail extended from her lower back.
Calling it a bone tail was not quite accurate. It was more like a bone whip. It was not as thick as a true Chi Dragon’s tail, but its killing power was even more astonishing.
“With these dragon scales, my defence has improved dramatically. I feel that ordinary King-grade demon weapons can barely scratch them any more.
This bone whip is also extremely powerful. It is at least as strong as my devil scythes, if not stronger!”
“Oh?”
A trace of surprise flashed through Mo Fan’s eyes. He instantly said, “Attack me with your tail whip!”
“Be careful, my king!”
Hei Yi nodded. Mo Fan simply smiled and said, “Come on!”
Seeing this, Hei Yi held nothing back. With an explosive crack, the bone whip behind her turned into an after-image and stabbed straight at Mo Fan’s body.
Mo Fan did not dodge. Golden light shone across his skin as he easily blocked the spike of the bone whip.
Yet his pupils contracted slightly, because he discovered that Hei Yi’s strike had actually pierced a tiny hole through his protective dragon qi!
It was only a very small breach, but it was already proof of how fearsome that bone whip was!
However, from Hei Yi’s perspective the scene looked completely different. Her originally excited expression…
