Chapter 28: Dragon Loach Experiment, Boiled Fish

Mo Fan did not linger long in the joy of his second transformation.

He looked at the bamboo basket before him, only to find that just over a dozen silver dragon loaches remained, greedily gnawing on spirit stones; the rest had long since been frightened away.

"You'll do!" Mo Fan snorted, quickly snapping the lid of the basket shut, sealing the dozen or so loaches inside.

"Two hundred spirit stones should be enough to keep you fed for a long time. I wonder if you’ll evolve?" Mo Fan mused to himself, though a fatal concern soon crossed his mind: would these loaches chew through the basket and escape? If they managed to get out, all his hard work would have been for nothing. After all, if these creatures could crush and devour hard spirit stones, their teeth were clearly formidable.

With this in mind, Mo Fan reopened the basket and used his Heaven-Devouring divine ability to retrieve most of the spirit stones. "There. Even if they do escape, the loss will be limited; at least the spirit stones won't all be wasted," he thought.

In truth, the best solution would have been to store the loaches in an iron container, but he didn't believe such a thing existed on Black Wind Mountain—at least, none of the minor demons he knew possessed one. Thus, he had no choice but to gamble. Although the loaches could consume spirit stones, their pace was not swift; a hundred stones should keep them busy for an entire day. Mo Fan was betting that their greed would be enough to keep them distracted from escaping.

Next, Mo Fan began to observe his manifested hands. While not as thick or powerful as those of Da Li and the others, they were undeniably human arms, and a slight flex revealed clear muscle definition. These arms were far more capable than his previous pair of toad legs, making tasks much easier to perform.

He then turned his focus inward to examine his personal space. To his delight, he discovered that the space, which had previously been only a square zhang, had expanded to three. He realized this meant his internal space could grow in tandem with his cultivation.

He then pondered the terrifying scene from earlier, concluding that the Heaven-Devouring divine ability seemed hostile toward living things, while having little effect on inanimate objects like spirit stones. To verify this, he devoured a number of common fish into his space. As expected, upon entering, the fish were rapidly broken down by an invisible force, leaving not even a trace behind.

However, this time, no spiritual energy replenished his body; only a fleeting, warm current passed through him. Mo Fan did not fully understand what these currents were, but he felt his spirit sharpen, which he assumed could only be a good thing. Not knowing whether other demons on Black Wind Mountain possessed such peculiar and potent innate divine abilities, he decided it would be best to keep the "Heaven-Devouring" power a secret for now.

"I’ll have to find time to ask Da Li about the specifics," Mo Fan whispered to himself. He glanced at the basket on the stone wall, then dragged the remaining baskets toward the water's surface. Once out of the water, Mo Fan transformed his hands back into toad legs. He did not want other demons to know he had undergone a second transformation yet, as it would be difficult to explain.

"Lai Bao! You’re finally out! I was about to starve to death!" No sooner had Mo Fan entered his cave dwelling than Lai Fu, the dog demon, came sniffing and ran over. He immediately opened a large basket, and upon seeing the abundance of fish, his face lit up with joy.

"It has to be you, Lai Bao. When it comes to swimming, you’re the best in our patrol team—no, the best on all of Black Wind Mountain!" Looking at the basket filled to the brim with fish, Lai Fu did not spare any praise before diving in to feast.

Watching Lai Fu wolf down the fish like a beast, Mo Fan frowned. "Brother Lai Fu, slow down. Eating them like that isn't the best way. Wait a moment, and I’ll cook them properly; only then will they be truly delicious."

"No need for such trouble! We’re demons; it’s a simple matter of one bite. No need to wait!" Lai Fu ignored him, continuing to gorge himself until the entire cave was filled with the stench of raw fish.

Seeing the dog demon’s impatient nature, Mo Fan said nothing more. He gave Lai Fu a brief instruction and headed toward the hillside. Soon, he returned to his dwelling accompanied by Da Li the ox demon, Red Eye the rabbit demon, and Zha Zha the sparrow demon.

"Not bad, Lai Bao! You actually caught this many fish. You’re truly worthy of being a toad demon!" Zha Zha was a loudmouth who spoke without restraint, feeling nothing was amiss. Mo Fan merely rolled his eyes, though he wasn't angry; he knew the little sparrow was simply blunt and lacked malicious intent.

"Lai Bao might be useless at fighting, but he’s damn good at catching fish! We’re going to have a feast from now on!" Red Eye the rabbit demon hopped on Da Li’s head, looking quite excited.

"I don't know if Lai Bao is useless at fighting, but you, pal, are definitely useless," Da Li quipped, preparing to eat.

"Brothers, wait! Let me prepare a dish of boiled fish for you. I guarantee you’ll be craving more!" Mo Fan chuckled and spat out a large earthenware pot. The others weren't particularly surprised by this, as they all possessed minor techniques for storing items and knew Mo Fan had awakened related divine abilities. They were far more curious about how he intended to cook fish in such a pot.

Mo Fan grinned. He had previously visited the Black Wind Mountain kitchen and begged for some seasonings. They were simple—mostly fruits, leaves, and roots from various green plants. They differed greatly from the seasonings in his memories, but they were entirely natural and organic, which satisfied Mo Fan greatly.

For these demons, there was no need to meticulously clean the fish. He simply tossed them all into boiling water along with the seasonings. Before long, a rich fragrance wafted out, making the demons drool.

"What smells so good? What are you doing?" Even Lai Fu, who had been fast asleep, was jolted awake by the aroma. He scrambled over to the others, staring at the fish in the pot and drooling.

Seeing their expressions, Mo Fan sneered inwardly. This boiled fish was a delicacy even in his past life, let alone for these unrefined demons. He had them right where he wanted!

When Mo Fan gave the signal, the group of demons didn't hesitate, diving in with their hands. The searing hot broth held no terror for them; instead, the delicious taste of the boiled fish made them moan with pleasure. Only Lai Fu stood to the side, grumbling—he had already stuffed himself earlier and, despite his watering mouth, dared not eat more for fear of bursting his belly.

Everything went as Mo Fan had expected. After a satisfying meal, the demons showed no intention of leaving, clamoring for Mo Fan to catch more fish for the evening. Mo Fan did not refuse; after all, the entire mountain was holding a cultivation assembly that night, and he was counting on these demons to teach him how to absorb moonlight to refine his demonic energy, as well as other techniques like body-detachment.

His strategy was simple: those who take favors find it hard to be demanding, and those who eat your food find it hard to be harsh!