Mo Fan originally planned to carve out a cave dwelling near the spring pool against the mountain wall, but unfortunately, the pool was unfathomably deep, and the four minor demons were not good swimmers. So, he had to settle for second best and find a relatively solid rock by the pool to carve out the cave dwelling.
He chose a harder rock so that his future cave dwelling would be sturdy and not at risk of collapsing like those mud holes during heavy rain.
"You sure know how to pick a spot. Carving a cave dwelling in this bluestone is ten times harder than my tree hollow!" Dog Demon Laifu grumbled discontentedly.
"Enough with the complaints. Laibao promised us some benefits in the future, so we have to put in some effort."
Ox Demon Dali spoke up, and then instructed the other demons to get to work. His entire body exuded demonic qi, and in an instant, he transformed into a demon over three meters tall.
Mo Fan noticed that even after transforming into his spirit body, Dali still resembled an ox, somewhat similar to the Bull Demon King from movies in his past life.
On his head stood a pair of black horns, his black hair was thick and lush, and his nose was much larger than a human's. Although his body stood upright, his upper body was still covered in long black hair, resembling a primitive wild man.
His strong upper body was supported by slightly bent ox legs, and a tail hung from his rear.
Overall, Dali's transformation into his spirit body was the most complete among the minor demons, with an overwhelming presence of demonic qi.
With Dali taking the lead, Rabbit Demon Red-Eyed, Sparrow Demon Zhazha, and Dog Demon Laifu also revealed their spirit bodies one after another.
"Let's get to work!"
With a low shout from Dali, Laifu opened his mouth, and a pair of fangs shot out, landing in his hands.
Mo Fan watched as Laifu spat out a black demonic qi that enveloped the fangs. In an instant, the finger-length fangs grew to half a meter long, each held in one of Laifu's hands like two gleaming scimitars.
Swish—
The next moment, Laifu wielded his "dual blades" and began slashing wildly at the rock wall.
The originally hard bluestone became as soft as mud under Laifu's fangs, with stone chips flying everywhere.
In no time, Laifu had carved out the entrance to a cave dwelling from the relatively flat rock wall.
"Amazing!!"
Mo Fan was stunned. He hadn't expected this seemingly ordinary dog demon to be so fierce.
"This is nothing. When it comes to digging, I'm an expert!"
Red-Eyed pursed his lips. Even in his spirit body form, his eyes were blood-red, similar to the rabbit demon Mo Fan had saved earlier.
The only difference was that the rabbit demon was female, while this one was male.
In less than a moment, Laifu, panting heavily, retreated and cursed, "I'm exhausted. I'm done digging. The rest is up to you!"
"I'll do it!"
Just as Red-Eyed was about to step forward, Dali moved first and turned to Red-Eyed, saying, "You're better at the finer work of digging. Let me carve out the general shape first." This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
"Alright!"
Red-Eyed nodded in agreement.
Seeing this, Dali said no more. He touched the pair of horns on his head, and Mo Fan was amazed to see the horns detach from Dali's head. With a wave of demonic qi, the horns transformed into incredibly sharp weapons.
This miraculous scene left Mo Fan in awe.
"Brother Zhazha, Brother Dali's skill is amazing. Is this his awakened divine ability?"
As Dali entered the cave dwelling Laifu had carved out to continue digging, Mo Fan turned his head to look at the sparrow demon perched on his shoulder.
"Divine ability, my foot! Do you think our demon abilities are as common as Chinese cabbage?"
Zhazha rolled his eyes and continued, "It's not a divine ability, just a simple body-shedding technique."
"Body-shedding technique?" Mo Fan's eyes lit up, and he asked again, "What kind of technique is this body-shedding technique? Can I learn it?"
"It's considered a spell, and you can learn it if you want. But with your dull talent, it might take you years to master it.
I barely managed to learn it after a whole year.
Even that dead dog needed the master's personal guidance and still took several months.
As for you... I think it's unlikely!"
Zhazha glanced at Mo Fan and shook his head.
In his mind, this toad was quite dim-witted.
"Damn it, who are you looking down on?!" Mo Fan cursed inwardly, but outwardly he smiled and said, "It's fine. As long as you're willing to teach me, I'll definitely learn well!"
Zhazha was quite satisfied with Mo Fan's attitude and immediately chuckled, "To learn the body-shedding technique, you first need to cultivate demonic qi. Only demonic qi can nurture our treasures, allowing them to connect with us and detach from our bodies for a certain period.
If nurtured long enough, they can be transformed into weapons and magical treasures like Dali and Laifu."
Demonic qi?
Mo Fan furrowed his brows. He had already learned from Zhazha that demonic qi needed to be refined with moonlight essence.
"Brother, you mentioned absorbing moonlight essence before, but you haven't told me how to do it." Mo Fan asked again.
"That's because it's not very useful to tell you now. Absorbing moonlight essence requires the night of the full moon, and there's only one full moon night in a month."
"So, there's only one night a month to cultivate?"
Mo Fan was dumbfounded. He hadn't expected demon cultivation to be so difficult.
He originally thought demon cultivation was like in the mythical novels, where one could absorb the essence of the sun and moon at any time. But now it seemed the gap was too wide!
"Don't listen to Zhazha's nonsense. Our demon cultivation isn't that bad. This chapter is updated first at novelping.com.
It's just that the beginning is always difficult. For minor demons like us, our demonic qi is weak, making it hard to sense the power of moonlight essence, so we rely on the full moon night for cultivation.
That's because the moonlight essence on the full moon night is more intense, making it easier for minor demons like us to sense!
For those powerful demons like generals and demon kings, they don't need to specifically wait for the full moon night. They can absorb moonlight essence and refine demonic qi every night!"
Dali suddenly emerged from the cave dwelling he was carving and looked at Mo Fan, smiling, "Laibao, you don't need to worry. When the full moon night comes, I'll personally teach you how to absorb moonlight essence and refine demonic qi!"
"Thank you, Brother Dali!"
Mo Fan was delighted to hear this. He naturally believed Dali's explanation more.
If demon cultivation were that difficult, the Black Wind Mountain would have been wiped out by human cultivators long ago, right?
How could it have lasted until now?
"I've almost finished carving your cave dwelling. Come in and see if there's anything you want to change. Don't hesitate to tell me, and I'll fix it all at once." Dali said with a smile.
"Alright!"
Mo Fan nodded and followed Dali into the newly carved stone cave. He found it to be six meters square, quite spacious, and more than enough for him to reside in.
However, Mo Fan was not entirely satisfied. With Dali's earlier words, he didn't hold back and directly stated his requests, asking for a three-room, one-hall setup with a kitchen and bathroom.
Dali and the other demons exchanged glances, but having already promised, they couldn't take it back.
So, Dali resumed carving the cave dwelling, and this time even Red-Eyed joined in.
Red-Eyed didn't use the body-shedding technique, but his front claws were no less sharp than Dali's horns. Enhanced by demonic qi, they became incredibly sharp and long, like several blades.
The hard bluestone was like tofu before his front claws, easily cut through.
In no time, the complete cave dwelling was carved out. Dali even made a back door for Mo Fan, leading directly to the spring pool. Standing at the stone door, one could even see some swimming fish in the pool.
"Laibao's cave dwelling is so comfortable, spacious. I've decided, I'll live here from now on."
Laifu said enviously, as it was much better than his three-meter square dog hole.
"If Brother is willing to share, I'd be more than happy!" Mo Fan laughed and then turned to Dali and the other demons, saying, "You brothers can also stay here. It's spacious enough!"
"No, I can't stand the dampness of your cave dwelling, and why would we minor demons need such a big cave dwelling? As long as there's a place to shelter from the wind and rain, it's enough. Laibao, don't lose sight of what's important. Our focus should be on cultivation!
Only by cultivating continuously can we live long enough. Otherwise, when a hundred years pass, we minor demons will become old demons, unable to serve Grandfather Great King.
By then, we might end up on the table, turned into a delicious feast." Dali shook his head, not forgetting to remind him.
"I understand. Thank you, Brother Dali, for the advice!"