"A deal?" Li Yi touched his nose and chuckled softly, murmuring to himself, "How the tables turn. Just now, I was proposing a deal to Ruolin, and now it's my turn..."
"Elder, why don't you spell out what the deal is?"
"It's Venerable, not elder," the Serpent Venerable huffed, his semi-transparent body quivering slightly, "You've already seen that I am a spirit, so you must also know that my current situation is peculiar. But you don't need to know why I've become like this. What you need to know is that your cultivation of Tianmo Nine Transformations is intimately connected to me. The Dou Qi cultivated from it is greatly beneficial to my spirit form. So, if you're willing to nourish me with the Dou Qi you cultivate in the future, I might consider training you into a formidable warrior. Otherwise, starting to cultivate Yuanqi at your age, even if you achieve something, it will be limited!"
Li Yi hesitated for a moment, then shook his head and said, "No!"
"What did you say?"
As he let out a fierce shout, a powerful aura burst forth, pressing down on Li Yi so hard that he flew up and slammed into the steep, smooth cliff beside the pond.
The Serpent Venerable's eerie form slowly floated in front of Li Yi, his semi-transparent hand clutching Li Yi's throat as he spoke slowly and deliberately, "You have to agree, whether you want to or not. Since when does my request allow for your doubt?"
Li Yi's face turned pale, and with great effort, he managed to say in a hoarse voice, "If I'm not wrong, if it weren't for my cultivation of Tianmo Nine Transformations, you wouldn't be able to come out today! What do you mean by training me into a strong warrior and then having me nourish you with Dou Qi? That's all nonsense... There are countless ways to become a strong warrior, why should I make such a deal with you? As for you, if you don't get nourished by the Dou Qi from my Tianmo Nine Transformations, you know the consequences... So, if you want to make a deal, you might as well start by begging me!"
The Serpent Venerable's face underwent several changes. His cold gaze was fixed on Li Yi, but Li Yi did not shrink back and met his gaze head-on.
Finally, the Serpent Venerable released Li Yi, threw his head back, and laughed loudly, "Good! Very good! You do have some brains and guts! If you had submitted to me just now, I would have killed you with a slap! I don't need a successor who only knows how to bow and scrape!"
Li Yi coughed a few times against the cliff, rubbed his sore throat, and said hoarsely, "Old guy, if you want to kill, just kill. Why all the talk?"
The Serpent Venerable chuckled darkly, "Who said I'm going to kill you? I cherish you too much to do that!"
The word "cherish" coming from an old man truly sent shivers down Li Yi's spine, igniting a rare fear in his heart... This old pervert, he couldn't possibly have those kinds of tendencies...
Of course, the Serpent Venerable couldn't see through Li Yi's thoughts at the moment. He simply waved his hand gently, and Li Yi landed back on the stone platform. Then the Serpent Venerable, still floating in mid-air, said in a low voice, "Boy, I'm giving you a chance now. Kneel and accept me as your master, and I will pass on all my skills to you. How about it?"
Li Yi's eyes narrowed slightly. Although he knew the so-called Serpent Venerable was extremely powerful and encountering him was a rare opportunity, as a man, Li Yi naturally had his pride. He smiled coldly and said lightly, "I won't kneel. Find someone else."
The Serpent Venerable was taken aback, then said sinisterly after a moment, "Boy, do you believe I can kill you right now?"
Li Yi snorted, "Do you dare to kill me? Can you guarantee that after killing me, you will find another person who cultivates Tianmo Nine Transformations?"
At this point, the Serpent Venerable was at a loss with Li Yi. With his experience, he could see that pushing this stubborn young man wouldn't yield any results.
"So, what do you propose?"
Li Yi's eyes narrowed as he stared at the Serpent Venerable in mid-air, and after a moment, he said lightly, "A deal, still a deal. Since you said that Tianmo Nine Transformations is closely related to you, you must have a way to make me cultivate faster. And, I need combat techniques, not those low-level ones, at least similar to the middle-grade Zhuque that Ruolin used. Finally, about the nourishment of Dou Qi, only when I'm willing to nourish you with Dou Qi after I have cultivated it, you can't even think about it if I'm not willing. These conditions, whether you agree or not, you can take your time to consider."
"Of course, before we complete this deal, you must do one thing, and that is to make me a Fighter within two months! Otherwise, the deal is off!"
"Fine... fine, you're tough..." the Serpent Venerable said through gritted teeth, "Back in the day, when I roamed the Dou Shen Continent, countless youngsters like you wanted to become my disciples, and I didn't even spare them a glance! And now, when I decide to take on a disciple, you come with all these demands..."
"Let's get this clear, I'm talking about a deal, not about becoming your disciple," Li Yi interjected.
The Serpent Venerable stared at Li Yi for a moment, then burst into laughter, "Fine! Boy, I accept your terms. But I believe that one day, you'll come crying to me, begging to be my disciple!"
Li Yi smirked, "We'll talk about that when the time comes... As for now, let's get down to business. Since you've agreed to my terms, let's start with the first task: make me a Fighter in two months. You say you're so powerful, so this shouldn't be difficult for you."
"Heh," the Serpent Venerable chuckled, "Such a practical young man. It seems I have to show some real skills to make you believe in me... Well then, let me ask you... Boy, do you know what 'demon' is?"
Li Yi shook his head indifferently, "If I knew, why would I ask you?"
The Serpent Venerable gave him a look and continued, "Simply put, a demon is something that harms others for personal gain. This is key to cultivating Tianmo Nine Transformations. There are two initial methods for practicing it. The first is a gradual progression through regular cultivation. Of course, you could also use your clumsy method of absorbing a bit of the aura of blood and evil to speed things up a little... But even that method isn't very fast. As for the second method, it's the fastest and safest way to cultivate Tianmo Nine Transformations... but..."
"But what?"
The Serpent Venerable chuckled mischievously, suddenly changing the subject, "Boy, do you mind killing people?"
Li Yi rolled his eyes and said indifferently, "Depends on the person. If they pose a threat to me, killing them is no big deal. But why would I kill someone who has nothing to do with me? Do you think I have too much energy to spare?"
"You're indeed interesting," the Serpent Venerable glanced at Li Yi, "Since you don't mind killing, I have a method that could greatly increase your strength... Go and kill that little girl over there."
Li Yi frowned, "Kill her? What's the benefit?"
The Serpent Venerable grinned sinisterly, "Kill her, and use the Tianmo Nine Transformations technique to devour her soul. Then you can acquire the Dou Qi seeds she cultivated in her lifetime. If you can refine that bit of Dou Qi seed in your body, then becoming a Fighter with a formed Dou Qi vortex is just a blink of an eye away. How about it, want to give it a try?"
"Refine someone else's soul? Do you think I'm a freak?" Li Yi snorted, "Besides, weren't you protecting her just a moment ago? How quickly you forget your debts of gratitude..."
The Serpent Venerable smiled coldly, "Now that I've agreed to your deal, I naturally want to complete it as soon as possible. What happens to others has nothing to do with me."
Li Yi raised an eyebrow and said lightly, "No way, find another method... I still plan to get that combat technique from that woman. Killing her would be such a waste."
The Serpent Venerable chuckled, "Boy, you really have some of my past traits, lustful and greedy. If you're unwilling, then let's find another method... We'll still rely on the aura of blood and evil to speed up your cultivation."
With that, the Serpent Venerable extended his hand slightly, and all the weapons in the pond clattered as they floated into the air.
He glanced over them and chuckled, "Heh." Then he let the weapons fall back into the pond and said indifferently, "Boy, these things you've gathered have some aura of blood and evil, but so weak. You want to speed up your cultivation with these? Don't make me laugh... These low-grade weapons are embarrassing to even display. This pile of stuff isn't even comparable to that little girl's fourth-grade curved knife!"
Li Yi frowned, "What do you mean?"
The Serpent Venerable looked at him closely, then chuckled softly, "It seems you really don't understand. Boy, let me tell you, weapons in this world are classified into nine grades, and above the ninth grade are divine weapons... The higher the grade of the weapon, the heavier the aura of blood and evil it emits upon drawing blood! If you could refine the aura from the divine weapons on the Godly Weapons List and refine the aura of blood and evil from them, then your cultivation speed would be at least ten times faster than it is now!!!"