Chapter 19: Excavating the Cave Dwelling, the Art of Separation

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Moran had originally planned to carve a cave dwelling into the mountainside near the spring pool, but the pool was unfathomably deep, and the four little demons were all poor swimmers. Thus, he was forced to settle for a relatively solid rock formation by the pool’s edge to carve out his dwelling.

He chose harder stone to ensure his future home would be sturdy and secure, unlike those mud huts prone to collapse in heavy rain.

“You sure have a knack for picking spots. Carving a home into this bluestone is over ten times harder than my tree den!” the dog demon Laifu grumbled with some dissatisfaction.

“Enough talk. Baobao has promised us personal rewards in the future, so we must lend a hand,” the ox demon Dali declared. Then, he signaled for the others to step back as a fierce aura radiated from him, and in an instant, he transformed into a towering demon about ten feet tall.

Moran observed that even in his spiritual form, Dali still resembled an ox, much like the Ox King characters from the movies of his past life.

A pair of black horns jutted from his head, thick black hair covered his scalp, and his nose was noticeably larger than a human’s. Though upright, his upper body was still covered in coarse black fur, resembling a primitive wild man.

Below his strong torso were a pair of slightly bent ox legs, and a tail swung behind him.

Overall, Dali’s spiritual form was the most developed among the little demons, exuding a powerful demon aura.

With Dali leading, the rabbit demon Red Eye, the sparrow demon Chacha, and the dog demon Laifu each manifested their spiritual forms in turn.

“Let’s get to work!” With a low roar from Dali, Laifu bared his fangs, and two long canine teeth shot from his mouth into his hands.

Then Moran saw Laifu breathe a swirl of black demon energy into the fangs, which instantly grew to half a meter long. Grasping one in each hand, they looked like two gleaming curved blades.

Swish—

In the next moment, Laifu wildly swung his “dual blades” against the stone wall.

The once unyielding bluestone softened as if it were mud before the fangs, sending showers of stone fragments flying.

In no time, the once flat stone wall was hollowed out into a rudimentary cave entrance.

“Amazing!” Moran was stunned. He hadn’t expected the seemingly ordinary dog demon to be so fierce.

“That’s nothing. When it comes to digging, I’m an expert!” Red Eye sneered. Even in his spiritual form, his eyes were blood red, much like the rabbit demon Moran had saved before.

The only difference was that rabbit had been female, while this one was male.

In less than a moment, Laifu staggered out, panting and cursing, “I’m exhausted. I’m done digging; the rest is up to you guys!”

“I’ll take over!” Red Eye stepped forward, but Dali beat him to it.

Turning his head to Red Eye, Dali said, “You’re better at the detailed work. I’ll rough out the general shape first.”

“All right!” Red Eye nodded.

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Red Eye nodded in agreement.

Without another word, Dali reached up to his black horns and touched them. Moran was amazed when the horns detached from Dali’s head. A wave of demon energy swept over them, transforming the horns into razor-sharp weapons.

This miraculous skill left Moran in awe.

“Brother Zha, Brother Dali’s move is incredible! Is this his awakened divine power?” Moran asked, turning to the sparrow demon Chacha, who had returned to perch on his shoulder as Dali began digging deeper into the cave.

“Divine power, my foot! You think our demon powers grow on trees?” Chacha rolled his eyes. “It’s not divine power—just a simple Out-of-Body Technique.”

“Out-of-Body Technique?” Moran’s eyes brightened. “What kind of technique is that? Can I learn it?”

“Well, you could call it a spell. If you want to learn, fine, but with your dense brain, I doubt you’ll master it in a few years,” Chacha replied. “I barely managed to learn it after a whole year. Even that damned dog’s master had to personally tutor me for several months. As for you... I’m not hopeful!”

Chacha glanced at Moran and shook his head.

In Chacha’s mind, Moran was quite thick-headed.

“Damn you, who are you looking down on?!” Moran cursed inwardly but smiled brightly. “It doesn’t matter. As long as you’re willing to teach, I’m determined to learn!”

Chacha was pleased with Moran’s attitude and chuckled. “To learn the Out-of-Body Technique, you first need to refine your demon energy. Only demon energy can nurture the treasures on our bodies, creating a link that allows these treasures to detach temporarily. With enough nurturing, they can even be transformed into weapons or magical tools, like Dali and Laifu.”

Demon energy?

Moran frowned slightly. He had already learned from Chacha that demon energy needed to be refined using moonlight.

“You mentioned before about absorbing moonlight, but you never explained how to do that,” Moran asked again.

“That’s because it’s not very useful now. You can only absorb moonlight on the night of the full moon, which comes once every fifteen days,” Chacha said.

“So you mean there’s only one night a month to train?” Moran was utterly dumbfounded. He hadn’t realized that demon cultivation was so arduous.

He had thought it was like in those supernatural novels, where one could absorb the essence of the sun and moon anytime. This was a huge difference.

“Don’t listen to Chacha’s nonsense. Our cultivation isn’t that bad. The beginning is just the hardest part. Small demons like us have weak demon energy, so it’s difficult to sense the moonlight’s power. That’s why we train on full moon nights,” Dali explained.

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“That’s because the moonlight is stronger on full moon nights, making it easier for small demons like us to sense it! But powerful demons like the district heads, generals, and demon kings don’t need to wait for the full moon. They can absorb moonlight every night to refine their demon energy!” Dali suddenly emerged from the cave he had carved, smiling at Moran. “Laibao, don’t rush. When the full moon comes, I’ll personally teach you how to absorb moonlight and refine your demon energy!”

“Thank you so much, Brother Dali!” Moran was thrilled by Dali’s explanation and naturally trusted him more.

If demon cultivation were truly that difficult, the Black Wind Mountain would have long since been wiped out by human cultivators. How could it still be standing?

“I’ve nearly finished carving your cave. Come in and see if there’s anything you want changed. Don’t hesitate to speak up; I’ll fix it all at once,” Dali said with a smile.

“All right!” Moran nodded and followed Dali into the newly hollowed stone cave. It was about twenty feet square, quite spacious and suitable for habitation.

Still, Moran wasn’t entirely satisfied. Encouraged by Dali’s earlier words, he spoke frankly, requesting a three-room, one-living room layout with a kitchen and bathroom.

The other demons exchanged glances, but since the request was made, it was awkward to retract it.

So, Dali resumed carving, and even Red Eye joined in personally.

Red Eye didn’t use the Out-of-Body Technique, but his front claws were no less sharp than Dali’s horns. Empowered by demon energy, they became razor-thin blades.

The hard bluestone crumbled like tofu beneath his claws.

Before long, the complete cave dwelling was finished. Dali even carved a back door that led directly to the spring pool, where fish could be seen swimming through the stone doorway.

“This cave is perfect, Laibao! Spacious and comfortable. I’ve decided—I’m moving in here from now on,” Laifu said enviously. This was far superior to his own roughly ten-foot den.

“If you’re willing to share with me, I’d be overjoyed!” Moran laughed, then turned to Dali and the others. “Everyone’s welcome to live here. It’s spacious enough!”

“No thanks. I can’t stand the dampness of your cave, and why would little demons like us need such a big place? As long as there’s somewhere to keep out the wind and rain, that’s enough. Laibao, don’t lose sight of what’s important. Our focus should be on cultivation! Only by cultivating continuously can we live long enough. Otherwise, after a hundred years, we’ll become old demons, powerless to serve our great lord. Then we’ll probably end up on the dining table as a delicious meal,” Dali said, shaking his head and offering this reminder.

“I understand. Thank you for the advice, Brother Dali!”