"Xiaofeng, how about trying a few?" Li Taixing asked as he looked at the Wind Wolf King, pointing at the giant python inner elixirs scattered on the ground.
The Wind Wolf King shook his head, signaling that those elixirs weren't suitable for it. Not only would they be ineffective, but consuming them could negatively impact its body—potentially even resulting in death.
"You don't think they're right for you?" Li Taixing ventured.
The Wind Wolf King nodded in confirmation.
"Oh, so you need wind-attribute inner elixirs?" Li Taixing realized.
The Wind Wolf King's eyes brightened, nodding eagerly as it looked at Li Taixing with anticipation.
Li Taixing rolled his eyes at the wolf. "There's none now, but if you can find the right inner elixirs, your master will get them for you."
Hearing this, the Wind Wolf King's tail wagged, its eyes gleaming with excitement. It pointed at itself with one paw and gestured towards the forest with the other.
"You want to go hunting now?" Li Taixing asked, amused.
"Woo!" the Wind Wolf King responded eagerly.
"No rush," Li Taixing said, gesturing towards the pile of giant python elixirs. "Let's wait until Xiaozhu finishes eating these first."
The Wind Wolf King looked disappointed but didn't press the matter further, lowering its head slightly in resignation.
"What's with that sulking face? We still need someone to guard us while Xiaozhu eats. Your master isn't exactly strong either, you know?" Li Taixing teased.
The Wind Wolf King's eyes widened in disbelief. Weak? If the master was weak, then what were they? Trash? It thought of the scene where it had seen thousands of Qingyue Swords surrounding them before. If Li Taixing was weak, then they must be beyond pitiful.
Ignoring the wolf's confusion, Li Taixing called out, "Xiaozhu, hurry up and eat!"
The Spider Queen gazed at the elixirs with clear longing, but she hesitated. There were too many, and consuming such a large quantity out in the open could attract unwanted attention from other fierce beasts. The risks were too high.
She shook her head, gesturing towards the pile of elixirs and then pointing in the direction of her lair.
Li Taixing frowned. "You want to go back to the lair to eat them? Worried it's not safe out here?"
The Spider Queen smiled—though it wasn't particularly beautiful given her monstrous face—and gave Li Taixing a thumbs up in agreement.
Li Taixing's lips twitched. "Alright, let's head back then."
He understood her concern. It would take time to consume such a large number of elixirs, and if other beasts caught wind of it, things could get dangerous quickly.
With that, Li Taixing collected all the giant python elixirs into his spatial storage.
The Spider Queen looked startled as the elixirs disappeared.
"Don't worry, Xiaozhu," Li Taixing reassured her. "Your master's got them. You'll get them all back soon."
The Spider Queen visibly relaxed, even looking a bit cheerful. She then gestured for Li Taixing to ride on her back, but he declined, his face showing slight disgust. "No thanks. You're not exactly clean. I'll ride Xiaofeng."
Li Taixing mounted the Wind Wolf King, who knelt down obligingly. The Spider Queen gave Li Taixing a long, resentful look but said nothing.
"Let's move."
Together, they made their way back to the Spider Queen's lair.
Meanwhile, not too far behind, Wang Xuanwu stood surrounded by a number of powerful beasts—some even at the Nascent Soul level. She had easily taken them down, leaving their bodies sprawled on the ground, either dead or unconscious.
She was exasperated with Li Taixing. "This kid has no sense of caution at all. Displaying so many python elixirs at once! The mere scent of them is enough to draw in every fierce beast within miles."
"If I hadn't been here, there'd have been a full-blown fight already."
Still, Wang Xuanwu couldn't help but feel intrigued. How was Li Taixing able to multiply these treasures? Yet despite her curiosity, she had never detected anything unusual about him.
Eyeing the bodies of the fierce beasts around her, Wang Xuanwu grinned wickedly. "These inner elixirs will fetch a nice price if I use them to trade for resources. My dear apprentice might unknowingly make me rich!"
Meanwhile, Li Taixing was still on his way back with his pets, noticing the increasing number of fierce beasts lurking nearby.
"What's going on?" he wondered aloud.
The Spider Queen gestured to her mouth, attempting to explain.
Li Taixing raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying it's your breath attracting them?"
The Spider Queen wilted at his words.
She tried again, mimicking the act of swallowing an elixir.
Li Taixing suddenly understood. "Ah, it's the scent of the python elixirs! Of course, bad breath wouldn't attract anyone unless they're masochists."
The Spider Queen looked both embarrassed and relieved.
Li Taixing, realizing his joke might have gone too far, quickly added, "Alright, alright. I'll give you a thousand more elixirs once we're back. Happy now?"
The Spider Queen's eyes lit up with joy, the embarrassment from earlier forgotten. She also made a mental note that her master was a bit of a clean freak.
Meanwhile, the Wind Wolf King stopped in its tracks and looked at Li Taixing expectantly, pointing at its mouth as if asking for the same treatment.
"Get lost," Li Taixing laughed. "You're not tricking me that easily."
With a dejected whimper, the Wind Wolf King continued walking.
Finally, they returned to the Spider Queen's lair. She immediately went to the deepest part of the nest and sealed off the area with her webs to avoid detection.
Seeing that she was ready, Li Taixing took out a thousand giant python elixirs and laid them out before her.
The Spider Queen looked euphoric, greedily devouring the first elixir and savoring the power flowing into her body.
The Wind Wolf King, sitting nearby, watched enviously, drooling slightly.
As the Spider Queen consumed more elixirs, Li Taixing observed her closely. With each elixir, her strength visibly increased. After about a hundred elixirs, she was already showing signs of breaking through to the Golden Core Realm.
"Just a hundred elixirs, and she's close to breaking through!" Li Taixing marveled. "If this works for all my pets…"
He didn't dare imagine the potential, but one thing was clear,'collecting inner elixirs of different attributes was now a top priority.'