Chapter 13: Astonishing Results

The night deepened.

Not far from the main peak of Wandering Mountain, at the foot of a bamboo-covered hill now ravaged by felling, beside the river, on a patch of grass surrounded by wild, thriving weeds, three figures were busy around a campfire: Lu Fei, in human form, the Crow Demon, and the Pig Demon Redhide.

Before long, each of the three demons held in hand a sharpened bamboo skewer, upon which thick chunks of meat sizzled over the flames. There was a subtle difference, however. The Crow Demon and the Pig Demon Redhide each roasted hefty slabs of flesh hacked from the Grass Carp Demon, riddled with coarse bones. Lu Fei, by contrast, skewered a large section of shelled meat taken from the Shrimp Demon.

As the meat on their skewers began to sizzle and drip with fat, the Crow Demon could no longer restrain himself. He brought the skewer to his beak and tore off a mouthful.

Barely had he chewed twice before he called out, opening his sharp beak to extract a long, jagged bone. Though much thicker, Lu Fei recognized it at once for what it was—a fish bone.

“So, even after the Grass Carp attains spirit form, its meat is still riddled with bones…” Lu Fei mused silently.

Seeing the Crow Demon eating with such gusto, the Pig Demon Redhide could not resist either. Ignoring Lu Fei’s advice that the meat tasted better fully roasted, he grabbed a piece glistening with oil and stuffed it into his mouth.

Watching his companions devour their meal, Lu Fei’s composure faltered. This was no ordinary fish flesh eaten merely to fill their bellies—this was a treasure, one that could enhance their cultivation and power with every bite. No demon would find such fortune excessive.

So, Lu Fei joined in, biting into the half-cooked shrimp meat. Firm, springy, and full of flavor—it was, without doubt, the most delicious meat he had tasted in either of his two lifetimes.

What followed was a competition to see who could eat faster.

As the lowest-ranking demons of Wandering Mountain, Lu Fei’s original body had never tasted demon flesh, nor had the Pig Demon Redhide. Only the Crow Demon, being the most senior, had once tasted a sip of soup made by the Toad Spirit, though it was just a single mouthful.

Now, with the chance to feast on two demon corpses in a single night—such a great opportunity could not be wasted. Even the usually talkative Crow Demon was too absorbed in eating to speak, though his sharp beak and the tender flesh meant he was constantly pricked by fish bones, cursing as he picked them out one by one.

Redhide, the little Pig Demon, was made of sterner stuff. Even when bones stabbed his mouth, he uttered not a sound, nor did he pause to pick them out—he simply chewed on, swallowing bite after bite.

Lu Fei, meanwhile, enjoyed his giant shrimp alone. The Crow Demon and Redhide, being novices at eating fish, naturally gravitated toward the more substantial flesh of the Grass Carp Demon, leaving the shrimp for Lu Fei. Perhaps, after all Lu Fei had done that day, the other two had left it to him on purpose—for without his guidance, methods, and leadership, they would never have enjoyed such a feast.

Half a meter of shrimp tail was not enough to satisfy Lu Fei’s appetite. After quickly finishing the tail, he placed the shrimp’s head into the fire to roast. The head shell, impenetrable by ordinary blades, was unscathed by the flames.

Having devoured the entire Shrimp Demon, leaving only the shell, Lu Fei turned his gaze to the massive Grass Carp. By now, the two-meter-long corpse had been half-consumed by the Crow Demon and Redhide.

Lu Fei joined the fray. The other two had abandoned the fire, slicing off raw slabs of carp and devouring them directly.

Not to be outdone, Lu Fei adapted quickly and began eating the raw flesh himself. Perhaps due to the structure of his mouth and body, he felt only a little discomfort, with none of the nausea one might expect.

The three demons ate faster and faster, as if in a contest.

Soon, the entire Grass Carp Demon, including its head, was gone.

The Crow Demon sat back on the grass, spat out a mouthful of blood-tinged saliva, and patted his slightly distended belly. “That was a good meal, if only there weren’t so many bones…”

The Pig Demon Redhide, stoking the fire, nodded. “Yes, too many bones…” He swallowed the warm blood still oozing from his mouth.

Though he had eaten at least half the fish, Redhide’s belly appeared no different from before. It bears mention that, even in human form, a demon’s stomach remains as it was in their original shape—transformation changes not the insides.

As for Lu Fei, with his nearly three-meter-long true form, he could have easily eaten the whole Grass Carp Demon himself.

“I’m actually looking forward to the fight with Serpent Coil Mountain in two days,” the Crow Demon said, leaning back and watching Lu Fei, who was busy with the shrimp shell. “I wonder if we’ll get to eat like this again when it’s over…”

Redhide looked at Lu Fei as well. “Perhaps,” he replied.

Lu Fei, meanwhile, was examining the cleaned shrimp shell, wondering if he could fashion some armor from it.

He would not forget the battle with Serpent Coil Mountain in two days’ time.

When the first pale light streaked the eastern sky, the three returned to their stone cave on Wandering Mountain.

This time, instead of collapsing straight into bed, the Crow Demon and Redhide, feeling the heat surging through their bodies and an unfamiliar strength filling their limbs, sat cross-legged and began their breathing meditation. Clearly, Lu Fei was not the only one to experience the invigorating effects of their feast—they had all been nourished by their meal of shrimp and carp demon.

Lu Fei, not in a hurry to sleep, checked the arrows he had stashed away before settling onto his stone bed.

He willed it, and at once, lines of faint white script appeared before his eyes.

[Host: Lu Fei]
[Realm: Level One Demon Soldier (63/100)]
[Experience: 72/200]
[Soul Power: None]
[Technique: Demon Clan Breathing Method (Proficient) (5/500)]
[Skills: Spearmanship (Beginner) (18/100); Archery (Beginner) (6/100); Harpoon Technique (Beginner) (15/100)]
[Supernatural Abilities: None]
[Talent: Celestial Wolf Devours the Moon (Beginner) (7/100)]
[...]

“My realm increased by twenty-one points?” Lu Fei was astonished. He kept meticulous track of his own physical data, and no change escaped his notice. He remembered clearly—his realm had been at forty-two points; now it was sixty-three.

A leap of twenty-one points in one night—this was undoubtedly the result of eating the Shrimp and Grass Carp Demons. The effect was immediate.

To gain twenty-one experience points through breathing meditation alone would require seventy or eighty hours of unbroken practice. At eight hours a day, he would need ten full days.

With such remarkable results, it was no wonder the Crow Demon had been so excited when Lu Fei told him of this method, nor that the Lord of Wandering Mountain would go to war for it.

In Lu Fei’s place, he would have done the same.