Chapter 540: Jiang Li in the Eyes of a Young Beast
Shuangji brought everyone to the Beast Taming Sect. On the way, the group looked around left and right, observing the sect.
After all, they might end up staying here in the future, so it was good to familiarize themselves with it early.
The group overheard some Beast Taming Sect disciples talking.
“Look, it’s Senior Sister Red Fox! She’s finally back after three years as an exchange student studying abroad. I wonder what she learned at the Joyous Sect.”
“And Senior Sister Jade Rabbit! I heard she’s now qualified to become the Baize Emperor’s personal bodyguard!”
“What? Senior Sister Jade Rabbit is that strong already?”
“Just qualified, that’s all. Senior Sister Jade Rabbit still needs to deepen her cultivation. The requirements to be the Baize Emperor’s personal bodyguard are extremely strict. With her current cultivation level, her chances of actually passing aren’t great.”
“There’s Junior Sister White Wolf! I heard she went out to train in order to comprehend how to break through to the Nascent Soul stage, and now she’s a mother.”
“…I feel like you skipped over a lot of the process there.”
The group passed by the two Beast Taming Sect disciples. In that brief moment, they heard a massive amount of information from their conversation.
Within the Beast Taming Sect, the relationship between humans and demons was harmonious.
Here, one could see shape-shifted demon beasts chatting affectionately with humans to build rapport, humans and demon beasts forming contracts, Li Er wandering around aimlessly, and humans and demon beasts cooperating in combat…
Did I just see something strange mixed in there? Jiang Li pondered.
“This is Hatching Peak.” Shuangji brought everyone to their destination.
Hatching Peak was a place all Beast Taming Sect disciples loved to visit. It was full of adorable little demon beasts—fluffy, soft, curled up into balls, and utterly endearing.
Especially the female disciples, who actively chose to come to Hatching Peak to care for the young demon beasts.
Shuangji was the person in charge of Hatching Peak. It was here that she first met the Sect Master of the Beast-Taming Sect, and it was also here that she gave birth to their daughter.
“You have half a day to move around Hatching Peak freely. After half a day, gather here with a demon beast cub. I will decide who passes this exam based on the situation.”
The implication was that forcing a demon beast cub to come along was not allowed.
“So it depends on whether the demon beast cubs take a liking to you or not,” Jiang Li mused. He truly had never interacted with demon beast cubs before and didn’t know if they would be affectionate towards him.
If he had to say what kind of young he had interacted with, it would probably just be eggs.
…
“Come here, come to big sister.”
The Mermen Tribe Princess, Yu Xiaomeng, squatted down and clapped her hands, a refreshingly sweet smile on her face that was very effective at capturing the hearts of demon beast cubs.
The demon beast cubs sensed that Yu Xiaomeng was a demon beast like them, and also felt the goodwill radiating from her, deciding she was someone trustworthy.
A group of little demon beasts wiggled their bottoms, swaying left and right as they ran up to Yu Xiaomeng, rubbing against her body and making her giggle from the ticklish sensation.
…
Jiang Li stroked his chin. “I treat people amiably. The demon beast cubs should be able to sense goodwill from me. This shouldn’t be difficult.”
Jiang Li released his spiritual sense, enveloping Hatching Peak, and quickly found a demon beast—a little pig. Its intelligence was equivalent to a three-year-old child.
Like Yu Xiaomeng, Jiang Li squatted down, clapped his hands, and beckoned the little demon beast over.
The little pig turned its head to glance at Jiang Li, then, as if seeing a ferocious beast or a evil ghost pouncing towards it, immediately turned and ran away as fast as its legs could carry it.
“…”
Jiang Li found a few more demon beast cubs, but the results were similar. None of the cubs were particularly fond of him; they all ran away the moment they saw him.
“Am I really that scary?” Jiang Li bared his teeth, which scared away even more demon beasts.
“Could it be that my aura is too strong, frightening the little ones?” Jiang Li couldn’t figure it out.
…
“You could try cooking, using the aroma to attract the demon beasts,” Seven Kill Daozi suggested. Having often eaten food made by Yu Xiaomeng and Li Jiaojiao, he knew how rare it was to get a normal, decent meal.
Yu Xiaomeng and Li Jiaojiao eagerly volunteered, which scared Seven Kill Daozi so much he quickly said he would do it himself.
Seven Kill Daozi’s cooking skills were only above average, but he himself had a physique that easily attracted demon beasts. Combined with his reasonably good dishes and the towering golden light emanating from them, he quickly attracted quite a few demon beast cubs.
Seven Kill Daozi served the food onto plates and placed them on the ground. The demon beast cubs chomped down happily, thoroughly enjoying themselves.
After the cubs finished eating, Seven Kill Daozi removed the plates, but they still gathered around him, showing no intention of leaving.
…
“Demon beasts are still young and tend to act on instinct. The fragrant aroma produced by cooking is an irresistible temptation for them.”
“I’m not very good at anything too complicated; it’s easy to overcomplicate things and ruin it. Why not switch to barbecue? It’s simple and easy to handle.”
In the eyes of the demon beast cubs, Jiang Li cut the meat into pieces, skewered them, and roasted them fiercely over a fire. It was as if they themselves were being treated this way by Jiang Li. Empathizing deeply, they huddled together in fear, trembling uncontrollably.
This human is terrifying.
As expected, Jiang Li failed. He ate his skewers sulkily.
“The taste of my barbecue is pretty good, though.”
…
“Demon beasts revere bloodlines. Although I am not of the Dragon Clan, as a branch of the Dragon Clan, my blood contains a portion of dragon blood. The demon beast cubs should like me.”
The South Flood Dragon Clan Princess, Li Jiaojiao, used a Spiritual Treasure to prick her finger and let a few drops of blood fall.
The scent of the mixed dragon blood was pungent and aromatic. Humans didn’t perceive it this way, but for the immature demon beast cubs who operated purely on instinct, it was a fatal attraction.
Soon, a group of little demon beasts came pattering over, surrounding Li Jiaojiao, dancing, cheering, and jumping for joy.
Li Jiaojiao affectionately stroked the little demon beasts’ heads, thinking they felt very nice to the touch.
…
“Demon beasts revere bloodlines. As a Mahayana Stage cultivator, my blood contains infinite power. Even a Tribulation Transcendence Stage cultivator couldn’t withstand a single drop of my blood. My blood should be able to attract demon beasts.” Jiang Li tried again to find a new method.
Jiang Li tried to use his finger to cut a Spiritual Treasure, but found his body was too strong and the treasure couldn’t withstand it. So he bit his finger and let a single drop of blood fall.
A pig tribe cub was waddling around aimlessly when it accidentally witnessed this scene.
In its eyes, the single drop of blood Jiang Li shed instantly erupted with spiritual essence, causing the Nine Provinces to change color, capable of destroying heaven and earth, obliterating spiritual energy. This drop of blood contained energy akin to the apocalypse, scaring it into fleeing immediately.
Clearly, both demon beast cubs and human children could see things ordinary people could not.
Jiang Li clicked his tongue in annoyance.
…
Half a day passed quickly. Shuangji stood at the peak early, ready to inspect the results.
“Deputy Sect Master Shuangji, please look at my group of little demon beasts,” someone said, intending to show off. Many little demon beasts followed behind him, making him particularly conspicuous.
“I saw long ago that you used intimidation to force the little demon beasts to follow you. You lack a heart that treats demon beasts with kindness. You fail.”
“Please look at my few demon beasts.”
“Do you really think I can’t tell that you used puppet techniques to control the demon beasts? You fail.”
“Please look, Deputy Sect Master, the young of the Sky-crying Frog.”
Sky-crying Frogs were famous for their loud cries and could take human form upon reaching adulthood.
Shuangji saw him holding a basin of water filled with tadpoles.
“You fail.”