"So, what does Fellow Daoist Li think?"
After explaining everything in detail, Yang Yuqing looked at Li Ye with bright, hopeful eyes.
"What do I think?"
Li Ye let out a soft chuckle.
"While I do have the Myriad Beast Physique manual in my collection, I usually spend most of my time practicing alchemy and array techniques, along with meditation and cultivating qi. I don't have much interest in body refinement, and I've never considered hunting demons specifically for it."
"If Fellow Daoist truly wishes to repay me, why not go deal with the tiger demon yourself? If you manage to acquire its blood or demon core, I wouldn't mind purchasing them from you for pill refinement."
"What do you say?"
To her surprise, Li Ye had simply tossed the question back to her.
His words indicated he wasn't particularly interested in the proposal.
Yang Yuqing's smile froze for a moment.
She had assumed that since Li Ye had acquired the Myriad Beast Physique manual early on, he must have some plans to cultivate it. She figured her invitation stood a decent chance of success.
What's more, she harbored no malicious intent she only wanted to borrow Li Ye's array of skills. Everything she had said was completely true.
Yet Li Ye's reaction was so indifferent it was obvious he had no intention of joining her.
If Li Ye knew what she was thinking, he might have laughed out loud on the spot.
It wasn't that he had no intention of cultivating the Myriad Beast Physique after all, he had planted Blood Amber Flowers specifically to prepare for crafting body-refinement pills aligned with the technique.
Of course, if he later found a more suitable body refinement method, he could just adjust his pill recipes and use the Blood Amber Flowers to refine Tier-2 qi-and-blood pills instead.
No time or effort in the spiritual fields would go to waste.
But the truth was he knew nothing about this woman's background. She'd remained in seclusion at Sanhui Market for a suspiciously long time, and now suddenly showed up at his doorstep with an offer. It was all too odd.
With his current wealth and status, it wasn't far-fetched to think someone might try to set him up. It was only natural to be wary of traps.
Besides, it was just a tiger demon he wasn't in a rush to start body refinement, so why take the risk?
"If I could deal with the tiger demon on my own, I wouldn't have come all this way to ask Fellow Daoist Li for help…"
She spoke softly, showing a hint of vulnerability.
But when she looked up again and saw that Li Ye still looked thoroughly disinterested, she could only sigh and drop the act.
"It was presumptuous of me… Since Fellow Daoist has no intention of getting involved, I'll look for someone else to help me hunt it down. If I succeed, I'll be sure to bring the demon's blood and core to you for sale."
Her tone turned more serious.
"That said, I'll still owe you a debt of gratitude and this doesn't quite settle it…"
"As it happens, I know a secret regarding the Myriad Beast Physique. Let me share it with you. If it proves useful in any way, let it count as a form of repayment."
"I'm listening," Li Ye finally showed a flicker of interest.
Seeing this, Yang Yuqing felt even more deflated, but she quickly continued.
"The Myriad Beast Physique is quite well-known in our Southern Frontier cultivation world. Aside from tempering the body, it also allows the refinement of beast blood to gain corresponding abilities and after reaching the Golden Core stage, it even unlocks unique divine abilities…"
"But tell me, Fellow Daoist Li…"
"Did you know that if one recklessly refines too many different types of beast blood without a clear order or focus while it may result in rapid progress and overwhelming combat strength at first it will also cause the qi and blood to become chaotic, and the cultivator will suffer from constant internal damage due to conflicting beast energies?"
"It can severely hinder future advancement in the technique, pollute the physical body, and even obstruct breakthroughs in cultivation!"
"Is that so?"
Li Ye nodded thoughtfully.
He had long wondered given how widespread the Myriad Beast Physique was, and the fact that it allowed a cultivator to refine the blood of multiple demonic beasts to enhance physical strength and vitality why such a powerful technique wasn't considered as valuable as other ancient inheritances like Heavenly Craft Scripture or Wood God Art that he had recently acquired.
Now that he understood its major hidden flaw, it all made sense.
"Does Fellow Daoist Li not wish to know how to resolve this issue?" Yang Yuqing asked again, now with a trace of a confident smile returning to her face.
"Since you said you're repaying a favor, I trust you wouldn't keep anything back," Li Ye replied calmly.
At this point, Yang Yuqing naturally didn't try to argue further provoking Li Ye would serve no purpose.
She nodded and said simply:
"The solution to this hidden danger is quite straightforward…"
"One way is to only refine a small number of compatible or inherently harmonious beast bloodlines using them as a foundation for body refinement."
"The other is to refine a single, overwhelmingly dominant bloodline that can suppress all others allowing the cultivator to absorb myriad beast essences without conflict and forge a truly powerful physical body."
At this point, she chuckled lightly.
"But the second option is far too difficult it's more a stroke of fortune than something you can deliberately pursue."
"The first approach, however, is much more feasible. You can categorize by elemental affinity, by similar abilities, or even by complementary balance like Dragon and Tiger, Dragon and Phoenix, Serpent, and Tortoise, or the Four Spirits, Four Symbols, Five Divine Beasts, and the like, all of which have interrelated bloodlines."
"Once collected and refined properly, the resulting divine abilities may even surpass the brute-force benefits of refining a chaotic mix of beast blood!"
"Well played, Fellow Daoist Yang!"
Li Ye suddenly chuckled. "After all that, aren't you just circling back to that tiger demon?"
"It's purely a coincidence," Yang Yuqing replied with a sweet smile. "Whether you agreed to help or not, I intended to tell you all this anyway… It just so happens that the tiger demon aligns well with the Myriad Beast Physique."
She was all smiles now, thinking her careful persuasion had finally swayed Li Ye to accept.
But he only responded:
"In that case, I'll ask you to slay the tiger demon and bring back as much of the corpse as possible. I'll make sure to give you and your companions a very generous price for it."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Yang Yuqing felt as if Li Ye's aura had changed an overwhelming sense of wealth and confidence seemed to smack her right in the face.
"I… see…"
She was momentarily speechless.
Only now did she finally realize where her earlier assumptions had gone completely wrong.
Li Ye, known for his mastery in both alchemy and arrays, lacked neither cultivation resources nor defensive means to remain safe while secluded in the mountains.
With such capabilities that allowed for steady improvement through mere diligent cultivation, why would he bother risking his life for a bit of tiger demon blood as she would?
She gave a bitter laugh.
"I'll do my best, then…"
"By the way, can Fellow Daoists craft Tier-2 arrays? I'd like to purchase a suitable formation for trapping and killing, to improve our odds against the tiger demon."
Li Ye gave a light smile, activated his magic power, and a set of formation tools flew out from his storage pouch.
"This is the Whirling Sand and Stone Array… good for both trapping and attacking. It's only slightly less effective in aquatic environments, but otherwise adaptable to most terrains. Should be suitable for dealing with a vicious beast like the tiger demon. What do you think?"
Yang Yuqing's face lit up with joy.
"Excellent, excellent! How many spirit stones for the array, I"
"It's just a temporary formation. Consider it an advance payment from me. You just need to swear an oath that once the tiger demon is dealt with, we'll settle things accordingly."
With a casual wave of his hand, Li Ye once again exuded that air of carefree affluence.
"I… I suppose that's fine…"
Yang Yuqing replied, almost mumbling.
But then, a strange feeling crept over her.
She had come here intending to ask Li Ye for help in slaying a demon yet now, it somehow felt like she had taken on the commission to hunt the demon for him.
Wait a minute… wasn't this a bit backward?
-support me on Patreon for more chapters, 285+ chapters in there
patreon.com/LordoftheReader