Chapter 21: The Scorpion Demon’s Intent—Extracting the Venom

The demons had all left, except for Mo Fan.

This puzzled and unsettled him at first, but he soon regained his composure.

From his perspective, since this Black Scorpion Demon saved him yesterday, it likely meant no harm intended, so there was no need to worry excessively. In fact, he had yet to properly thank his savior.

“This is the perfect opportunity to present a few milky-white stones to this demon lord as a token of gratitude for saving me, and perhaps learn from him what these stones truly are,” Mo Fan thought to himself.

At that moment, a voice echoed from the cave: “Laibao, come in!”

“Yes, my lord!”

Mo Fan responded respectfully and stepped into the dark cavern.

Once inside, his brow furrowed slightly, for the cave was almost completely devoid of light, which made him nervous.

“Were you looking for me?”

Suddenly, a voice sounded beside Mo Fan, startling him.

Then, a faintly glowing green figure appeared in his sight—it was the Black Scorpion Demon.

“Laibao pays respects to my lord!” Mo Fan bowed.

“No need for formalities.”

With a wave of his hand, the demon illuminated the pitch-black cave with bright light, allowing Mo Fan to finally see the interior clearly.

Inside stood a wooden bed and several chairs. The furnishings resembled those of a human dwelling, which was quite different from the caves of lesser demons like the Bull Demon Dali.

“Do you know why I saved you yesterday?” the Black Scorpion asked, seating himself and pouring a cup of wine from a jug on the table.

“I do not know, my lord. I hope you will enlighten me,” Mo Fan replied respectfully.

He was genuinely curious about the demon’s motive for rescuing him.

Had it not been for this Black Scorpion Demon, he would have died at the hands of the one-eyed demon yesterday, and later would have fallen prey to the schemes of the Red-Robed Demon General’s poisonous fangs.

Yet no matter how he thought about it, he could not fathom why this scorpion demon would save him.

“You are a clever little demon. I hope to use your intelligence for my own benefit so that we can survive long-term on Black Wind Mountain. I happen to be in need of a loyal confidant, and I hope you will be that one,” the Black Scorpion smiled, handing Mo Fan the cup. “This is spirit wine bestowed upon me by the Third General, said to be obtained from the human territories. It’s called Bone-Tempering Wine. You should try it.”

“Thank you, my lord!”

Mo Fan’s heart lifted at the mention of Bone-Tempering Wine. He had tasted it before and knew its benefits.

Bringing the cup to his lips, he immediately sensed the distinct aroma of the wine, along with a faintly familiar scent that he couldn’t quite place.

Without overthinking, under the demon’s gaze, Mo Fan drained the cup.

---

“I was just telling you about why I saved you yesterday. Aside from my feud with the four generals, there’s another very important reason—I need something from you!”

The Black Scorpion’s tone shifted abruptly as he looked at Mo Fan and grinned.

What?!

Mo Fan’s heart leapt in alarm, instantly realizing the demon had no noble intentions. He immediately sought to flee the cave.

But then he suddenly felt his entire body go weak and soft; he slumped helplessly to the ground.

This was… the Drunken Demon Pill!

Mo Fan finally recognized the familiar scent from the wine—it was the Drunken Demon Pill’s aroma!

He had killed an old hunter before and taken half a bottle of these pills from him, so he knew the smell well. He just hadn’t connected the dots earlier.

“Wretched!”

Mo Fan’s heart turned bitter. Just as his luck seemed to be turning, he had fallen into a trap, becoming prey once again. Truly miserable.

“No need to be so afraid. I do not intend to take your life; otherwise, I wouldn’t have saved you yesterday.”

Seeing Mo Fan’s terrified expression, the Black Scorpion chuckled lightly before calming down. “The Bone-Tempering Wine I gave you was laced with the Drunken Demon Pill, specially crafted by human demon hunters to weaken demons like us. Once ingested, it leaves us soft and helpless.”

“Fortunately, I killed one of those hunters and obtained some of these pills.”

Sitting before Mo Fan, the demon smiled, “Don’t blame me. I’m only doing this to avoid unnecessary trouble.”

“Since you don’t want my life, may I ask what you want?”

Mo Fan asked, his fear gradually dissipating.

If the demon didn’t want to kill him, he had less reason to be afraid.

“Aren’t you afraid of me now?” the demon looked at him in surprise.

“If you hadn’t saved me yesterday, Laibao wouldn’t be alive today, so why would I fear you?”

“Besides, you said you don’t want to kill me, so I have nothing to fear.”

Mo Fan spoke calmly, though an unnamed fury simmered within him.

He knew well that now was not the time to show anger, or he might never leave this cave alive.

“Do you harbor not even a shred of resentment toward me?”

The demon asked again, staring intently as if trying to read his true feelings.

“Not at all.”

“My life was saved by you. Take any part of me you desire—I won’t blame you, let alone resent you,” Mo Fan said with a bitter smile.

---

“Ha ha ha ha…”

Suddenly, the Black Scorpion burst into laughter, though the sound was grating and chilling in Mo Fan’s ears.

“You truly are the little demon I’ve been looking for. Don’t worry, I said I wouldn’t take your life, and I won’t.”

“The reason I kept you alive is that I need to refine a certain pill, and your venom is one of its key ingredients. I only want to extract some of your venom.”

Hearing this, Mo Fan finally relaxed. He had feared the demon might suddenly rip off a part of his body.

If it was just venom, then it was bearable.

“Venom, you say? My lord, fetch an empty bowl—I will gladly provide you with some venom!” Mo Fan said eagerly.

“No need for such trouble. I’ll extract it myself.”

The Black Scorpion smiled slyly, and suddenly a huge, slender scorpion tail emerged behind him. Its sharp stinger was half a meter long, causing Mo Fan to break out in a cold sweat.

Before he could react, the tail pierced his body.

Specifically, it stabbed into one of the swollen venom glands on his surface.

Immediately, a powerful suction pulled venom through the stinger. Mo Fan could clearly feel his venom being drained rapidly.

The entire process lasted nearly half an incense stick’s time.

When the demon withdrew the stinger, Mo Fan collapsed weakly to the ground, feeling utterly drained and dizzy, as if he had suffered a grave illness.

Carefully sensing himself, he found nearly all the venom on his surface had been extracted, and his body was noticeably smaller—more frail than even after drinking the Bone-Tempering Wine.

This was no mere venom extraction—it was like drawing out his very life!

“This is a psychic-type venom, quite a fine toxin. I like it very much. Rest well; with your current constitution, you should be able to regenerate venom within a month. Then I will come to extract it again.”

“Leave now.”

The Black Scorpion waved dismissively.

Mo Fan bowed respectfully and slithered out, filled with both rage and humiliation.

This debt must be repaid!

He realized at last that the scorpion demon’s true purpose in saving him was to keep him captive as a living venom source, so the demon could harvest venom at will for pill-making.