Chapter 25: News of Humanity, Mo Fan’s Intentions

The hot-pepper-eating contest lasted for the better part of a day before finally concluding. Old Six failed to distinguish himself among the dozens of participating demons and didn't even make it into the top three.

Regarding this outcome, Demon Lieutenant Heizi could only let out a helpless sigh before telling Dali to go up and drag the unconscious Old Six back himself.

The winner was not one of the usual popular favorites, nor was it even a demon lieutenant; rather, it was a small mouse demon. Mo Fan even had some history with this creature—it was the very same mouse demon under the command of the One-Eyed Demon Lieutenant, who served under the Fourth General.

Mo Fan vaguely remembered the creature being called "Mountain Rat." Although it was small—even the smallest among all the contestants—it turned out to be the most capable of handling the hot peppers, which was something none of the other demons had expected.

The One-Eyed Demon even took the opportunity to glare provocatively at Heizi.

After the contest ended, the demons dispersed. Demon Lieutenant Heizi headed straight back home, while his two personal attendants, Old Eight and Old Three, dragged Old Six away. Mo Fan, naturally, joined Dali and the others in escorting Red-Eye back.

On the way back, Mo Fan suddenly asked, "Brother Dali, I heard back at Flat-Top Peak that the mountain was sliced open by a single sword strike from a powerful human expert. Are humans really that... 'awesome'?"

"Awesome? What does that mean?"

The other demons stared, confused. However, Zhazha looked pointedly at Dali's crotch with a malicious grin.

"Damn it, where are you looking!"

"I'm a male!" Dali retorted crossly.

"Ahem... brothers, don't misunderstand. In my hometown, 'awesome' is a word to praise demons, it means very powerful!" Mo Fan coughed twice, quickly clarifying. He had just let the word slip out of habit.

Upon hearing this, the demons all wore expressions of realization. They then turned their attention back to Dali, still very interested in Mo Fan's earlier question. Since most of the smaller demons had never seen a human cultivator, they were naturally unaware of how terrifying humans could be; whatever they knew was merely hearsay from others.

Seeing everyone looking at him, Dali pondered for a moment before repeating what he had learned: "Humans are indeed very 'awesome'!"

"When I was young, I participated in an invasion of the human territories. That time, the Fourth General and five Lieutenant-level masters led over fifty of us to invade the southern border of the human realm.

"Originally, our mission was just to capture some rations to bring back to the mountain, but those humans refused to yield even in death. Some of the weaker ones even picked up hoes to fight the demons. We ended up slaughtering several towns, but we hadn't even pushed a hundred miles in before we were ambushed by human cultivators.

"There were only a few of them, but they were terrifying. In just half a day, we were crushed. The Fourth General abandoned us and fled immediately. In the end, out of the fifty of us, only a few managed to escape back. It was during that time that my previous lieutenant was killed, and after returning to the mountain, I was reassigned to the command of Lieutenant Heizi."

Dali spoke with lingering fear. The other demons listened with great interest, but Mo Fan’s heart stirred. He hadn't expected this ox demon to have actually been to the human realm. He immediately asked, "In that case, those human cultivators must be truly terrifying. What realms do their practitioners have, and how do they differ from us demons? Do you know, brother?"

"Why are you asking about that?" Dali countered.

"I'm just afraid of not knowing the basics if I run into those human cultivators in the future," Mo Fan said with a smile. "I don't have your impressive skills, brother. If I don't understand the background of those human cultivators, I might end up being served as a main course on their table!"

"Hey, that makes sense!" Laifu nodded repeatedly upon hearing this.

"Makes sense, my foot!" Zhazha, perched on one of Dali's horns, mocked them. "You two idiots are thick as thieves. You little demons who haven't even fully transformed your spiritual bodies, how could you ever cross these hundreds of miles of the Demon Spirit Mountain Range to reach the human lands? If you don't go there, how would you easily run into those human cultivators?!"

"Stupid bird, always throwing cold water on us! One day I'm going to roast you and serve you as a dish!" Laifu snapped viciously.

"I’m just worried about the 'what ifs'..." Mo Fan chuckled sheepishly.

"Laibao's concern is valid. In the past, some demon hunters would often enter the Demon Spirit Mountain Range. Who knows when a powerful human cultivator might break into our Black Wind Mountain territory?" At this, Dali spoke up, then turned to Mo Fan and Laifu: "The realms of human cultivators are more complex than ours. I happen to know them, so I'll tell you so you have a measure of things."

"As far as I know, the weakest humans are hunters and village guards. These people are mostly at the 'Innate' realm; their strength is comparable to us smaller demons. The realm after Innate is called the 'Qi Refining' stage. Humans at this stage are true practitioners, possessing powerful spells, with strength equivalent to our demon lieutenants. Only those at the Qi Refining stage have the qualifications to become demon hunters.

"After Qi Refining comes the 'Foundation Establishment' stage. It is said that cultivators at this level can control magical artifacts to fly. They are truly formidable and can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the generals in our mountains. After Foundation Establishment is the 'Golden Core' stage, and then the 'Nascent Soul' stage. I've heard that in the sects of the human southern border, there are powerful experts at the Nascent Soul stage. Such beings are so powerful that even our Great King would have to flee for his life if he encountered them..."

Dali indeed knew a lot about human cultivators, even comparing each realm of the humans to those of the demons, which gave Mo Fan a more intuitive understanding of them.

"I never imagined you were so knowledgeable, brother, knowing so much about human affairs!" Mo Fan praised him at the right moment.

"What's so impressive about that? I've just lived a long time. I once spent a few years plowing fields in a human village, which is how I learned so much about them," Dali said, shaking his head.

Hearing this, Mo Fan realized that this ox demon had actually lived among humans. He must have transformed into a demon through some stroke of luck before fleeing into the Demon Spirit Mountain Range to live as a demon on Black Wind Mountain.

Mo Fan took note of this. He intended to escape Black Wind Mountain, and eventually, he would have to go to the human lands—after all, the contents of that book he possessed were still unsolved.

Chatting along the way, the demons eventually arrived at their living quarters. Zhazha the sparrow was the first to part ways, flying up to its nest in the banyan tree to rest. Afterwards, Dali the ox demon entered his cave dwelling on the hillside with the rabbit demon.

Seeing this, Laifu the dog demon brightened up and leaned toward Mo Fan, whispering with a grin, "Laibao, when we get back, can you catch me a few more fish from the spring pond?"

"Catching fish isn't hard, but it might have to wait until a bit later," Mo Fan replied. For the past few days, the dog demon had been tagging along to sponge meals off him, and it had clearly become a habit. Mo Fan didn't refuse the request; to him, any factor that could aid his future escape was worth utilizing. He felt that the better his relationship with these small demons, the smoother his escape would be.

"That's fine, I can wait, just don't forget it," Laifu said with a smile, then asked curiously, "Aren't you coming back with me?"

"Not yet, I have something I need to ask Brother Dali about," Mo Fan said.

"Alright then, I'm heading back to sleep. Don't forget what you promised!"

Watching Laifu walk away, Mo Fan felt a strange sense of relief. He then walked to the entrance of Dali’s cave and called inside: "Brother Dali, may I come in?"

"Laibao? Come on in!"

Hearing the response, Mo Fan stepped into the cave. The interior was small and simple; aside from the patch of mud on the floor that had been worn smooth as a mirror from sleeping, there was nothing else. It was incredibly sparse, far different from the demon dwellings Mo Fan had imagined.

Scanning the room and seeing no sign of Red-Eye, he asked, "Is Brother Red-Eye not here?"

"That fellow was so humiliated today that he went back to his own cave to sulk," Dali said with a grin, then asked, "What do you need, Laibao?"

"Well, it's like this: I heard how much you know about the human race, and I was hoping to ask you a few more things about them."