Chapter 26: Silver Fish of the Spring Pool, Verifying the Spirit Stones

Shortly after, Mo Fan emerged from the cave dwelling of the ox demon Dali, the latter's cautionary words still echoing in his ears.

"Laibao, I see you as an honest demon, so let me give you a piece of advice: do not get too close to that mangy dog. It will bode ill for your future. Oh, and by the way, your predecessor died because of that dog demon."

"My predecessor?"

"That is all I can tell you. As for your predecessor, he was also a demon transformed from a poisonous insect. I expect that Black-Eye Dingmu took you in because he had his eye on the venom you carry."

Mo Fan stood at the entrance of the cave, gazing up at the scorching sun in the sky. He frowned, feeling a slight sense of physical discomfort. As an amphibian-type demon, he was ill-suited for such dry, sweltering heat.

"Laifu, is it..." Mo Fan whispered, his gaze turning icy. He had also learned from the ox demon that the demons of Black Wind Mountain were mostly illiterate, which extinguished any thoughts he had of learning to read from them.

When Mo Fan returned to his cave by the spring pool, he found Laifu fast asleep. He stood at the entrance, watching the dog for a long moment before turning away. Unbeknownst to Mo Fan, the moment he left, the supposedly soundly sleeping dog demon suddenly opened its eyes.

On days without tasks, the lesser demons of Black Wind Mountain had little to do. Mo Fan was no exception, but he chose not to waste his days sleeping like Laifu. Instead, he went to the back entrance and dove straight into the spring pool. The ox demon's words had filled him with a sense of crisis, and he was desperate to seize every moment to do something beneficial for himself.

Previously, he had persisted in using the golden coin in his mind to replicate the milky-white stones. But since arriving at Black Wind Mountain, he had not dared to act rashly, fearing that discovery would bring disaster upon him. Now, however, filled with a sense of urgency, he had no intention of wasting more time. Though he did not know exactly what the milky-white stones were, the old hunter had claimed they were related to immortals; they were certainly no ordinary objects. If he could replicate more, it would surely be for the best.

Once underwater, the cool, moist sensation brought him instant relief. He dove deep into the pool. The spring was incredibly deep—so deep that even Mo Fan could not see the bottom. The further down he went, the darker his surroundings became. Eventually, he chose a spot on a rock wall about three yards below the surface. It was deep enough to be hidden from view above while remaining convenient for surfacing to breathe.

As an amphibious creature, Mo Fan could perform limited cutaneous respiration underwater, but it was far less efficient than breathing through his lungs, necessitating occasional trips to the surface. Although his underwater breathing ability had improved significantly after his transformation, he still could not remain submerged indefinitely.

Mo Fan had conducted an experiment: before his transformation, he could stay underwater for about half an hour; after, he could manage for about the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn, a significant increase in his survival skills.

Mo Fan sat cross-legged on a protruding rock ledge, took three milky-white stones from his internal storage space, held them in his mouth, and waited quietly. Three was the maximum he could hold; once the replication was complete, his mouth would be filled with six stones.

A quarter of an hour passed. Mo Fan felt the golden coin in his mind emit a faint glimmer. Moments later, three more milky-white stones appeared in his mouth, filling it completely. Not wanting to waste time, he spat the stones into a pile beside him and began the second round of replication. At a rate of three stones per quarter-hour, he harvested twelve milky-white stones in just half the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn. The pile of stones emitted a faint white halo, shimmering like treasure.

Just as Mo Fan prepared to start another round, he was distracted by a passing fish. It was a silver creature, about a foot long, resembling a loach and far larger than any fish he had seen in this pool. Most importantly, the silver loach was currently gnawing on the pile of milky-white stones, having already stripped the surface off one with remarkable speed.

"Damn creature! You dare steal from your Grandpa Mo? You’ve grown tired of living!"

Furious, Mo Fan immediately moved the stones in his mouth into his internal storage, opened his maw, and shot his tongue out like a sharp arrow.

*Swoosh!*

In an instant, the silver fish was ensnared by his tongue and dragged into his mouth.

"Since you dare eat your Grandpa Mo's things, your Grandpa Mo will eat you!"

Mo Fan sneered inwardly. His teeth sharpened, and he tore the silver fish apart, devouring it alive. However, the moment the fish meat hit his stomach, Mo Fan felt a surge of heat, as if a burst of energy had been released. It immediately reminded him of the medicinal power of the Heavenly Spirit Fruit—or rather, spiritual energy!

This discovery filled Mo Fan with joy. He hadn't expected this little silver fish to have such an effect. After a rough assessment, he realized the spiritual energy contained in the fish was not great—only equivalent to a flask of Bone-Forging Wine. Even so, he was thrilled; this meant he might have found a path to accelerate his transformation!

Once his excitement subsided, Mo Fan calmed down. He picked up the stone the silver loach had gnawed on and examined it closely. "Does the spiritual energy come from the stones or from the fish?" he wondered.

Mo Fan did not know for sure, but since he had made a discovery, he didn't mind conducting a few more experiments. It was clear the silver loach had been attracted by the stones. Mo Fan took out more stones, placed them beside him, narrowed his eyes, and pretended to meditate.

He waited for about the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn, and sure enough, a second silver loach emerged from the darkness of the pool. The creature seemed to possess some intelligence; it did not approach directly but stared at Mo Fan for a long time before cautiously creeping closer. Seeing that Mo Fan remained motionless, the fish let its guard down and ventured to the pile of stones, ready to take a bite.

At that moment, Mo Fan’s tongue lashed out, snatching the fish into his mouth. He quickly devoured it, and sure enough, he felt a trace of spiritual energy, though it was much weaker than the first.

Mo Fan did not give up. He continued to wait, and after some time, a third and a fourth silver loach fell into his mouth. After four experiments, Mo Fan reached a conclusion: the silver loaches themselves contained a small amount of spiritual energy, comparable to Bone-Forging Wine. However, if they consumed the milky-white stones, the spiritual energy within them became much denser—superior even to the wine. This proved that these milky-white stones were indeed sources of spiritual energy!

"Could these be so-called Spirit Stones?" Mo Fan muttered. He had suspected as much, but had been afraid to confirm it. Even now, the realization felt somewhat absurd. Were items from myths and legends truly appearing before him? But then, considering he had been reincarnated as a toad, his doubts vanished entirely.

Now that he was certain these were Spirit Stones, Mo Fan became even more interested in the contents of that book he had seen. Spirit Stones were useful, but one needed a method to absorb the energy within; otherwise, they were just ordinary rocks to him. For now, however, he could focus his efforts on the silver loaches in the spring pool.