Chapter 17: The Chirping Sparrows and the Path of Cultivation

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After traveling with the sparrow demon for a while, Mo Fan finally understood why the other had such a peculiar name: Chatter.

His ears had scarcely enjoyed a moment of peace along the way. To make matters worse, Chatter’s words were often disjointed, with no sense of priority—in other words, utter nonsense.

“By the way, Lucky Treasure, do you know your big brother’s illustrious name?” Chatter suddenly asked.

“Brother, that’s the third time you’ve asked me that…”

The skin on Mo Fan’s face twitched slightly. He was utterly speechless.

In his eyes, Chatter was every bit as talkative as the Tang Monk from The Magic Lotus Lantern. The little fellow simply never stopped chattering.

“Eh? Is that so? How come I don’t remember? Never mind. Just remember your big brother’s illustrious name one more time!”

The little sparrow tilted his head on Mo Fan’s shoulder, raised one wing, and declared smugly, “Listen carefully! My name is Chatter! Grandfather Demon King gave me this name himself. He said I was the most talkative creature on Black Wind Mountain, so he bestowed upon me this wonderfully fitting name!”

“Got it?!”

Mo Fan forcibly suppressed the urge to seize the little sparrow and beat him senseless. Instead, he put on a faint smile.

“Got it, Scum.”

“Mm, excellent, excellent!”

“By the way, where was I?”

Chatter suddenly cocked his head to one side, apparently struggling to recall what he had been saying.

An idea struck Mo Fan.

“You were telling me about how demons cultivate, Brother Scum.”

“Oh, right, right, right! The cultivation of demons is of the utmost importance. I really ought to have a proper chat with you about it…”

Taking the bait without suspicion, Chatter immediately adopted a solemn expression.

“There are generally two paths to demonic cultivation.”

“What are they?”

Mo Fan’s heart leaped with excitement.

Why had he traveled thousands of miles to Black Wind Mountain?

Wasn’t it to learn the cultivation methods of demons?

Now that he was finally about to find out, his spirits naturally soared.

“One path is to consume spirit medicines. You should already know that, Lucky Treasure.”

Mo Fan froze at that answer, then hurriedly pressed on.

“And the other?”

“Don’t rush, don’t rush. First, listen carefully while your big brother explains.”

“Spirit medicines in this world are also divided into many grades. Broadly speaking, they are classified into four levels: Heavenly, Earthly, Profound, and Yellow. Each level is further divided into upper, middle, and lower grades.

“Among the four kinds of spirit medicine, Heavenly-grade is the highest, while Yellow-grade is the lowest.

“Even a Yellow-grade spirit medicine, however, is an exceedingly rare treasure that little demons like us might never obtain in our entire lives.

“I once heard my lord mention that a complete lower-grade Yellow spirit medicine would be enough for little demons like us to transform into spirit bodies and advance into the Demon Adept Realm!

“Of course, beneath Yellow-grade spirit medicines there is another kind known as common-grade medicine. That is what little demons like us have the greatest chance of finding.”

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“Common-grade?” Mo Fan furrowed his brows slightly.

“Exactly. I’m sure you understand by now, Lucky Treasure.

“Common-grade spirit medicine is what little demons like us consume when we first transform into demons. Although it is considered inferior among spirit medicines, it is still far superior to ordinary herbs and contains a certain amount of spiritual energy. That spiritual energy is precisely what supplies us with the power needed for demonization.

“Oh, and every three years, we must hand over one common-grade spirit medicine to Lord Blackie.

“That is the rule throughout Black Wind Mountain. Supposedly, Grandfather Demon King established it. He called it… protection money.”

Chatter tilted his tiny head as he spoke.

Protection money?

Mo Fan’s eyes widened at once.

Damn it, even after becoming a demon, he still had to pay protection money?

Sure enough, every crow in the world was black.

In this world, it wasn’t only the human race that was frightening. Even the demons were this heartless!

“What happens if three years pass and you can’t hand over a common-grade spirit medicine?” Mo Fan asked curiously.

“Heh heh, that’s simple. If you can’t produce the medicine, you have to go into human territory and bring back a human as compensation!” Chatter said with a grin.

“That sounds fairly easy!”

Mo Fan nodded. Demons eating humans seemed perfectly normal to him. And if a demon wanted to capture a human, wouldn’t that be effortless?

“Easy?”

Chatter gave a sly chuckle and said mysteriously, “If they had a choice, not a single demon on Black Wind Mountain would be willing to go capture a human.”

“Why not?” Mo Fan asked, bewildered.

“Just as I thought—you’re an idiot. What do you think the human race is?

“They are one of the great races, equal in fame to our demon race!

“I once heard my lord say that humans vastly outnumber us demons. And humans don’t merely have village guardians protecting their settlements—they also have demon hunters making their rounds, not to mention cultivators shielding them!

“So how could it possibly be easy to go into human territory and abduct one? Even if you survive, you’ll have to lose a layer of skin!”

Chatter sneered.

“That dangerous?” Mo Fan was instantly dumbfounded.

“What did you expect?”

“Spirit medicines are hard to find, and humans are hard to capture. What happens if someone accomplishes nothing over the course of three years? Are they expelled from Black Wind Mountain?” Mo Fan asked with a frown.

“Grandfather Demon King once said that Black Wind Mountain does not support useless creatures. If someone is truly so useless that they can accomplish nothing at all, then the only option is to turn them into a banquet.

“Little demons like us may not get to eat the meat, but if they’re stewed into soup, we can at least manage a bowl of broth!”

As he said this, Chatter unconsciously licked his lips.

Damn it, they even ate their own kind?

A chill ran down Mo Fan’s spine. He finally understood what demons were. They were far more savage than the ones depicted in Journey to the West!

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“How long have you been on Black Wind Mountain, Brother Scum? Have you ever found any spirit medicine?” Mo Fan asked cautiously.

“I’ve been here longer than you, but I don’t know exactly how many years it’s been. I only know that the peach grove behind the mountain has bloomed nine times.

“Still, I’ve been very lucky. Almost every time, I manage to find one or two common-grade spirit medicines.

“Don’t let my small true form fool you. In reality, I’ve already transformed into a spirit body three times!”

As Chatter spoke, a powerful aura that astonished Mo Fan radiated from him.

A wisp of black vapor emerged from his body, completely enveloping him. Moments later, the black vapor dispersed, revealing a demon before Mo Fan with a human upper body and a bird’s lower half.

“See that? I’m only two legs away from advancing into the Demon Adept Realm!” Chatter proclaimed proudly.

“Impressive!”

Mo Fan licked his lips, sincerely envious.

“Of course it’s impressive. Every time we demons transform, the spiritual energy required is equal to the total amount consumed by all our previous transformations. So the farther we progress, the more difficult each transformation becomes!”

Chatter’s words did not discourage Mo Fan. Instead, they filled him with confidence.

In Mo Fan’s eyes, if even this little sparrow could cultivate to such a level, then surely he—who was at least much cleverer than the fellow—would not be defeated by mere common-grade spirit medicine.

Three years ought to be enough. There was no way he would actually end up as part of a banquet, right?

“Brother Scum, you still haven’t told me what the second cultivation method is,” Mo Fan suddenly said.

“The second cultivation method is very simple. We absorb lunar essence to temper the spiritual energy within our bodies and transform it into demonic aura.

“Only after tempering demonic aura can we truly be called demons—and only then can we be considered genuinely powerful!” Chatter explained.

“Demonic aura… Is that the wisp of black vapor that appeared around your body just now?” Mo Fan asked.

“Exactly. You’re fairly clever, Lucky Treasure—only a tiny bit stupider than me.”

“…”

“By the way, you’ve kept mentioning spirit bodies. What exactly is a spirit body?”

“I don’t really understand it myself. I only know that a spirit body is a form most in harmony with the natural world. I once heard my lord say that the reason humans cultivate so quickly is because they are born with spirit bodies.”

“So that’s how it is. Then…”

Along the way, Mo Fan was like an endlessly curious child, asking question after question. The sparrow, Chatter, answered every one of them without the slightest impatience.

After going back and forth like this for some time, the two demons gradually arrived beneath a towering banyan tree.

“Lucky Fortune, Big Strength, Red Eyes! Stop sleeping, damn it, and come out to receive our guest!”

The sparrow Chatter shot into the sky and immediately began shouting at the top of his lungs.

Mo Fan: “…”