Chapter 29: The Cultivation Assembly, Sensing the Lunar Essence

For an entire day, the four little demons gathered in Mo Fan's cave, chatting and idling away the time. During the intervals, Mo Fan took the opportunity to descend to the spring pond again. Beyond catching small fish, he checked on the group of dragon loaches in the bamboo basket hanging on the stone wall. He found that nothing had changed, and there was still plenty of spirit stone remaining. He discovered that these dragon loaches did not gnaw on the spirit stones continuously; instead, they would enter a period of dormancy after eating some, meaning the consumption rate of the spirit stones was far slower than Mo Fan had imagined.

Upon learning this, a weight was lifted from Mo Fan's heart. He had been genuinely worried that if these dragon loaches finished the spirit stones while he was away at the so-called cultivation assembly that night, they might break through the basket and escape. That would have been a massive loss. Given the current situation, however, Mo Fan felt that even after another night, the spirit stones in the basket were unlikely to be depleted, so he no longer needed to worry.

In the afternoon, as promised, Mo Fan cooked another large pot of boiled fish for the other demons. Even Red-Eye, the rabbit demon who was accustomed to a vegetarian diet, could not stop praising it, popping one small fish after another into his mouth.

When nightfall blanketed Black Wind Mountain, the five demons headed together toward Scorpion Cave to attend the evening's cultivation assembly. When they arrived, they found that the attendants of Demon Lieutenant Heizi had already gathered. After exchanging greetings, the demons went forward to pay their respects to Heizi.

Before long, Demon Lieutenant Heizi emerged from the cave. He looked up at the night sky and the partially obscured moon, then said to the gathered demons, "Do not miss the cultivation assembly on the mountaintop later. You must realize that this is a rare opportunity, occurring only once a month, to temper your demon aura. I shall head there first!"

With that, Heizi looked toward Old Six, who had already recovered. A dense demon aura immediately radiated from the latter's body, and he transformed into a massive black beetle, nearly a fathom in length. Heizi leaped onto the beetle's head and whispered, "Let us go!"

"A respectful send-off to you, Master!" Valiant and the other small demons called out, and Mo Fan followed suit. He then watched as the giant beetle flapped its wings and flew directly toward the summit.

"Let us go as well!" said Old Eight, the spider demon. He revealed his true form, and with all eight legs moving in unison, he began to climb the mountain with incredible speed. Seeing this, the other demons followed.

It took a full two incense sticks' worth of time for the group to reach the summit. The cultivation assembly on Black Wind Mountain was surprisingly disciplined, with specific areas designated for each troop. Mo Fan soon followed the ox demon, Valiant, to a spot behind Demon Lieutenant Heizi. Heizi was already there, eyes closed in meditation, while the giant beetle had also manifested its spirit form, sitting a fathom behind him.

Once the group was settled, Mo Fan looked around and saw that the entire mountaintop was already crowded with demons, with even more still arriving. These demons all shared one common trait: they had all manifested their spirit forms. Looking at these creatures with human heads and animal bodies, Mo Fan was left speechless, finding their appearance somewhat absurd and incongruous.

At the highest point of the summit stood four figures: the Black Wind Mountain Demon King and his three demon generals. Seeing this, Mo Fan could not help but ask the bird perched on his shoulder, "Brother Zhazha, since this cultivation assembly is for absorbing moonlight to temper demon aura, presumably one doesn't have to be on the mountaintop to do it, right?"

"That may be true," Zhazha replied, "but the Great King has said that the closer one is to the celestial moon, the more one can feel the power of the moonlight, making cultivation much easier."

Hearing this, Mo Fan understood, though with his modern mindset, it was hard for him to imagine how a moon could possess such immense energy. Or perhaps the moon here was different from the one on Earth? Mo Fan did not dwell on this. Like the other demons, he looked up at the moon. After waiting for a short while longer, the full moon finally emerged completely from the thick clouds. Only then did Mo Fan realize that this moon was indeed extraordinary; it was brighter than any he had seen before, so much so that he could discern the faces of the demons on the mountaintop by its light.

"The celestial moon has appeared! Children, the cultivation assembly officially begins! Keep your spirits up and absorb the moonlight to temper your demon aura!" The Black Wind Mountain Demon King stood up from the summit and shouted to the demons across the mountain. He added with a cold snort, "It is not easy for our demon race to cultivate. Do not waste this once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity. If I see anyone dozing off right now, I will turn them into a main course for tomorrow's feast!"

The Demon King's words were highly effective; instantly, all the demons perked up, beginning to absorb the essence of the celestial moon to temper their demon aura. Seeing this, Mo Fan quickly turned to the ox demon, Valiant, and asked, "Brother, what should I do now?"

"Relax your mind, discard all thoughts, and carefully sense the wandering power of the moonlight around you. Try to draw it into your body, then guide that moonlight to temper your spirit energy. Only in this way can you convert spirit energy into demon aura," Valiant advised in a low voice before beginning his own practice.

Mo Fan, only half-understanding, began to try to sense the surrounding moonlight as Valiant had instructed.

"Betting! I'm taking bets!" Zhazha began to chirp and hop on Mo Fan's shoulder, looking quite gloating. "I bet this guy Laibao won't be able to sense even a sliver of moonlight tonight!"

"I bet Laibao won't be able to sense it for half a year!" the rabbit demon Red-Eye giggled.

"You lot are giving our brother Laibao too much credit," the dog demon Laifu sneered. "Sensing moonlight for the first time is extremely difficult. Even I, under the personal tutelage of the Master, took over half a year to feel the power of the moon. I bet it will take Laibao at least a year!"

Hearing this, Demon Lieutenant Heizi glanced back. When he saw Mo Fan practicing with such seriousness, he merely smiled and turned his head away. Even he did not believe Mo Fan would be able to sense the moonlight tonight.

"Master, in previous years, you would personally guide the newly promoted demons during their cultivation. Do you not intend to guide Laibao tonight?" Old Three asked with curiosity.

"I have no interest tonight. Besides, cultivation is not like other things; it requires a gradual process. Trying to pull up seedlings to help them grow will only harm this toad." Heizi shook his head, ignored the others, and returned to his own meditation.

His words reached Mo Fan's ears, filling him with anger. He realized the scorpion demon had no intention of helping him cultivate. Mo Fan knew Heizi's goal was simply to keep him as a source of venom; as for his cultivation, the other side did not care at all.

Realizing this, Mo Fan became even more determined to cultivate seriously. He tried hard to calm himself and empty his mind. Yet, the more he tried, the more he found he could not be still. Countless complex thoughts wandered through his mind, leaving him feeling deeply frustrated.

"Am I truly destined to return empty-handed tonight, as these demons say?" After two incense sticks of fruitless effort, Mo Fan felt a pang of disappointment.

Despite his disappointment, he was unwilling to give up. He reasoned that if he couldn't empty his mind by trying, he would simply stop thinking about anything and focus his attention on the outside world instead.

With that, Mo Fan closed his eyes. Truly, he stopped thinking about anything at all. Gradually, the sounds of insects chirping reached his ears, and he felt the coolness of the mountain breeze brushing against his face. This sense of comfort brought a rare pleasure to his heart.

Ever since arriving in this world, he hadn't felt this relaxed in over half a year. As a tadpole, he had to worry about being hunted by other insects and fish. As a toad, he still had to guard against being eaten by other creatures. Even after becoming a demon, he remained anxious about eventually dying at the hands of the scorpion demon. Now, listening to the insects and feeling the breeze, Mo Fan suddenly cast off all his defenses and truly emptied himself.

Soon, he felt a sensation that was both soft and cool appear around him, as if his entire body were bathed in water. At the same time, a sliver of silvery radiance appeared beneath his closed eyelids.

"This is..."

Mo Fan was stunned. He slowly opened his eyes to see that the world around him had changed, now covered in silver light. He looked up and saw this silver glow flowing slowly from above, while countless faint silver threads hovered and drifted around his body. These were not true threads, but manifestations of the silver light, sometimes transforming into streams of silk like an inverted galaxy—a breathtaking sight.

"Is this... moonlight?!"

Mo Fan stared in a daze. It was the first time he had seen this side of the world. Mysterious, beautiful, grand, and spectacular—countless words failed to describe the scene before him.