Xuanjian: I am the tenth son of Zhenchi, and I plot to seize the throne from Zhenlong.

Five months later...

Minghua swallowed the last broken spirit stone whole, feeling the spiritual power filling his body transform into a milky white aura that rushed through his acupoints, and he exhaled a few bubbles with satisfaction.

Although this body lacks the convenience of a human, its cultivation is truly extraordinary. Perhaps it is a characteristic of demons, but she only needs to continuously consume spiritual objects, which she can then transform into pure spiritual energy and store.

It can also be used to fight enemies when in danger. If it is stored and not used, it will spontaneously transform into spiritual energy to open the hidden meridians, just like before. There is no need for meditation or cultivation techniques. Breakthroughs are achieved entirely by consuming it.

However, every loss has its gain. The carp's body and meridians are different from those of a human, and it doesn't have hands for her to make hand seals, so she can no longer use the various spells she knows.

The only thing I can do now is to follow my own senses and transform into a stream of water to conceal myself, or to control the water flow within a certain range around me.

Minghua carefully sensed the changes in her body. In the next instant, a water blade formed in front of her, stirring the water and suddenly shooting out, leaving a slash several inches deep on the rock at the bottom of the pool.

A hint of joy appeared in her eyes. She observed the cut marks on the stone, then pondered and comprehended them carefully. Another stream of water was controlled and compressed by her, but this time it did not form a water blade.

She had been somewhat presumptuous. Forming a water blade in the water not only requires more spiritual energy, but its power would also be partially neutralized by the water along the way.

"Pfft~"

A soft sound echoed in the pool. Minghua transformed into a stream of water and emerged from the cold pool through a crack in the rock. She had already left a hole the size of a fist on the rock, big enough to fit half an arm.

Minghua swam close to the riverbed, pondering. She was not good at collecting spiritual objects, and other demons would always be attracted to the vicinity of spiritual objects, making this inefficient and risky.

Demons rarely keep such things. She has stolen all the spiritual items in the vicinity that could be stolen. Now, if she wants to quickly accumulate spiritual power, she will have to actively hunt down some demons.

Having broken through to the second level of Qi Refining, her water control ability has improved significantly, making that clumsy catfish the perfect target.

……

In the dim mud cave, the catfish, which had been sleeping soundly with its eyes closed, suddenly awoke with a ferocious glint in its eyes. It had just sensed the presence of that thief fish again, which was passing through its territory and seemed... somewhat weak.

Despite being as large as a wild boar, its brain was only the size of a walnut kernel; anger and greed once again took over the high ground of its intelligence.

That thief fish is weaker than it. If it can be swallowed, it can both take revenge and make the thief fish stronger.

Thinking of this, the catfish no longer hesitated. It swung its tail violently, stirring up the water. Amidst the flying mud and sand, the fish darted out of the mud hole and headed straight for the direction of that scent.

Sure enough, it hadn't swum far when it sensed the thief fish resting under a rocky bay. The water where it followed the scent still faintly smelled of blood.

Suddenly, the thief fish awoke with a start, clearly having noticed its approach. It darted out of the bay and swam further away, seemingly in a panic.

The catfish became excited and stopped trying to hide its presence. It mobilized all its strength to chase after the thief. In its perception, the thief's speed was far less than that day, so it must have been injured.

With its all-out pursuit, it only took a few breaths to see the thief fish scurrying about in the water, swimming erratically.

As the catfish got closer, it could clearly see the thief's condition—the thief's tail fin was injured, and as it fled, the water was squeezing out strands of blood from its tail fin.

The blood energy overflowing from the water completely stripped it of its last shred of caution. It had to eat the bait quickly, or it might attract other monsters.

Closer and closer, it seemed to sense it already. The water currents disturbed by the prey's struggle brushed against its tentacles, and flesh and blood imbued with spiritual power bloomed in its mouth.

The catfish opened its mouth, its spiritual energy circulated to its limit, and a huge suction force was generated. As it expected, the injured thief fish had no time to avoid the huge suction force and was instantly caught in its swimming trajectory. The water flow carried her towards the big mouth.

Before the catfish could even get excited, a sudden sense of crisis made it instinctively shut its mouth and turn its head.

A peculiar stream of water swept past its body, leaving a bloody gash, and a tentacle on one side of its mouth was also severed by the attack.

The intense pain sent its anger and greed flying into the distance. It became terrified, unable to understand what had attacked it, and turned to run away.

This catfish was able to transform from an ordinary fish into a monster because of this—it knew that its brain wasn't very sharp, so whenever any unexpected situation arose, it would abandon thinking and run away without looking back, following its instincts.

Minghua was also somewhat surprised that the catfish could dodge the water arrow. According to its plan, the catfish had its mouth wide open, and the arrow would have bypassed its hard head and pierced through it.

Despite the unexpected turn of events, she didn't hesitate for a moment. The immediate priority was to sever the catfish's fins and leave it alive. So, a water blade and a water arrow instantly condensed and were unleashed.

The catfish was completely flustered and tried to run away in a random direction. The whole fish was sideways, not to mention its body, which was the size of a wild boar. At such close range, it had no way to dodge.

A water blade struck its pectoral fin squarely, splitting it in two, while another water arrow drilled a hole in its tail fin.

The pain made it even more panicked. The catfish, which was changing direction, suddenly swung its tail, and a large stream of water rushed out from the hole, disrupting its movement. A torn pectoral fin also made it lose its balance, and it immediately spun around on the spot.

Minghua had already taken the opportunity to reach its soft belly, and with another water blade, it severed another pectoral fin, then quickly moved away from the catfish.

Seemingly knowing it couldn't escape, the catfish became ferocious, gulping down its food in an attempt to turn the tide. But it was too late. Half of its tail fin was severed by Minghua through the hole, and having lost its pectoral fins, it was now a lamb to the slaughter.

The black carp only caught a glimpse of the moment when it was exhausted and still struggling to inhale deeply, when a jet of water shot down, piercing straight into its brain from its mouth and ending its life.

Such a commotion and the presence of blood energy naturally could not be hidden from the other demons in the river. Minghua sensed that two or three auras had already approached.

Without hesitation, she plunged into the catfish's mouth, devouring its heart and liver, which were richest in spiritual energy. Then, she burst out of its belly, the turbulent water tearing the catfish apart, the blood deliberately scattered everywhere.

The demons who were hiding their presence could no longer sit still. The clam demon was the first to come over and fight for it, followed by a three-legged toad and an old turtle.

The demons fought fiercely for the meat with the thickest spiritual energy, completely muddying the water. Minghua didn't get involved. After pretending to fight a few times, she seized the opportunity, transformed into a stream of water, and escaped with a piece of fish belly.