"Since you seek death, do not blame me!"
"Roar~"
A roar like a dragon's cry resounded.
Ink-black venom spewed from the snake's maw, transforming into large masses of purplish-black, viscous mist. This mist quickly mingled with the rain and fog controlled by the Black Fish Spirit.
Then, as if contagious, the fog that enveloped the entire repair shop turned an eerie purplish-black.
"Great King, it's poisonous!"
"Help us!"
The offspring of the Black Fish Spirit scrambled to escape. Many with weaker constitutions soon flipped onto their backs, floating and falling to the ground.
"Insolent!"
Seeing more than half of his offspring perish and the rest in agonizing torment with nowhere to go, the Black Fish Spirit grew anxious.
He cursed his carelessness, which had led to the deaths of so many of his brood.
"Gather!"
The Black Fish Spirit employed a spell, drawing the diffused rain and fog inward, condensing it into a water sphere about thirty meters in diameter.
The dozen or so small black fish outside the sphere lost their support and fell to the ground with plops, weakly slapping the ground with their tails, half-dead.
"Go!"
The giant water sphere smashed through the surrounding wall and plunged heavily into a nearby ditch.
Boom!
Whoosh...
A massive wave surged, then its power waned, like a heavy downpour falling, flowing along the ditch into the distance.
The air again became damp and heavy.
The Black Fish Spirit conjured a large expanse of rain and fog once more. The lingering offspring on the ground leaped up, happily swimming within it again.
However, they had lost their earlier arrogance, all hiding behind the Black Fish Spirit, their eyes glaring fiercely at Wang Xiaoli.
"Halt!"
"Bold snake demon, how dare you harm my brood!"
The Black Fish Spirit looked at the motionless fifty-odd offspring on the ground, his heart aching as if bleeding.
He recalled that decades ago, during a time of war, a small boat had sunk into the Clear Water River.
Soon after, all the aquatic life in the river felt an inexplicable summons.
It was a summons ingrained in their very blood, a primal calling.
Billions of fish gathered at the shipwreck, engaging in a fierce life-and-death struggle.
The Black Fish Spirit, by hiding in the mud to conserve his strength, rushed out at the last moment and swallowed the Dragon Pearl in one gulp.
Over the long years, he gradually awakened his intelligence and, without a master, learned the art of summoning wind and rain.
Yet, he remained lonely.
Later, the Black Fish Spirit, enduring his innate repulsion, fathered countless offspring with ordinary black fish from the Clear Water River.
Most of them were only slightly stronger than their kin, while only a few inherited his talent. They independently gnawed on the dragon bones at the riverbed, gradually awakening their intelligence.
The Black Fish Spirit cherished these offspring greatly, hoping that one day they would grow powerful and restore the glory of the ancient demon race.
He never expected that today, more than half of them would be poisoned to death by a snake demon!
"I will take your life!"
At this moment, the Black Fish Spirit had no interest in taking a warm bed companion. He only wanted to eat Wang Xiaoli's flesh and drink her blood.
"Hmph, I'll make sure all your brood dies!"
Wang Xiaoli again spewed venom, which dispersed in the air, forming large clouds of poisonous mist.
Having witnessed the power of this move, the Black Fish Spirit dared not confront it directly. He quickly used the rain and fog to flee.
"Stop! Weren't you going to have me warm your bed?"
Wang Xiaoli twisted her massive snake body in pursuit, spitting venom mouthful after mouthful.
"You!"
"Waaah, this makes me so angry, old Hei!"
The Black Fish Spirit shrieked in rage, but he also felt pity for his remaining offspring and refused to fight Wang Xiaoli, only fleeing.
A few minutes later, Wang Xiaoli's body rapidly shrunk, transforming into a mass of black mist, preparing to chase and beat the Black Fish Spirit.
"Wait!"
Just then, Lin Fan ran over, pinching his nose, "Once you reach a large body of water, your snake venom will be greatly reduced, and you might even be at a disadvantage. Don't chase."
"Hmph, then I'll poison all the aquatic life in the river!"
Wang Xiaoli had finally found an opportunity to retaliate. She was a vindictive person, how could she just give up like this.
"If all the fish in the river die, the authorities will definitely send people to investigate. What if they trace it back to you?" Lin Fan tried to persuade her earnestly.
Only then did Wang Xiaoli stop, landing on the ground and transforming back into human form.
"Lin Fan, what are you doing here?"
She raised her head proudly, "Just a mere Black Fish Spirit. If you hadn't meddled, I would have killed it long ago."
Hearing this, Lin Fan was amused.
He had kindly come to help, and she was still putting on a brave face?
If the Black Fish Spirit hadn't been concerned about the casualties of his offspring, and if they had truly fought, it was uncertain who would have won.
"Impressive! Impressive!"
*Clap, clap, clap!*
Lin Fan clapped his hands forcefully. "When I was a child, I watched cartoons. The demons in them dominated their territories, moving mountains and seas, catching stars and pulling moons."
"How is it that between the two of you, one just spits and spits, and the other just yells and yells? What are you two doing, watching Peking Opera too much?"
His unreserved denigration caused Wang Xiaoli's expression to change drastically.
"You, Lin Fan, you really think I wouldn't dare kill you!"
"No, no, no, I know you're powerful."
Lin Fan waved his hands with a playful smile.
A faint, mocking smile played on his lips, easily enraging Wang Xiaoli.
"When the Black Fish Spirit comes again, you go try it yourself."
Wang Xiaoli left him with those words and transformed into black mist, rising into the air.
"Don't just leave by yourself! At least send me back!"
Lin Fan waved his arms and shouted, but he couldn't keep Wang Xiaoli there.
"Sigh, I just spoke the truth, and you have to get so angry?"
Perhaps to ordinary people, the battle between Wang Xiaoli and the Black Fish Spirit was bizarre and thrilling.
But compared to the omnipotent demons in myths and legends, they were merely a pathetic squabble.
These two rural demons, with barely any learned spells and no magical treasures, relied entirely on their innate divine abilities to fight each other.
If their ancestors had seen this, they would have likely burst into laughter.
"Heh heh."
Lin Fan couldn't help but chuckle.
At this moment, the Golden Silkworm Gu flew up and down before his eyes.
"You want to eat fish?"
Lin Fan pointed at the fierce-looking black fish on the ground, each longer than a person. "They died of poison. Will you be safe if you eat them?"
Information came into his mind, telling him it was fine!
"Then go ahead and eat."
"If you feel unwell, stop eating immediately, understand?"
As soon as Lin Fan finished speaking, the eight Golden Silkworm Gu vanished.
The food was too abundant. They each chose the largest black fish, pounced on it, and burrowed inside while devouring it.
"Looks like I have to clean up."
Lin Fan shook his head and sighed, throwing the black fish one by one into the drainage ditch of the repair shop.
As for whether they would be discovered later, by then he would have returned home. At most, it would become a local tall tale, none of his business.