The Ninth Layer of Body Tempering

Had I inherited a Daoist's fortune-telling skills?

Li Ye wondered.

More precisely, the power of every Divine Ability he obtained had been enhanced countless times by the Corpse Incineration Furnace, far surpassing that of the corpse's owner.

It was as if Li Ye had grasped the very essence of these Divine Abilities.

The chimney went out. The Black-Clad Academician stepped forward, opened the door, tossed in a day's wages, and left.

Li Ye shoveled out the Daoist's ashes, took them to the Back Mountain and buried them, then returned to close the gate and practice the Nine Heavens Crimson Thunder Art.

The next day, the corpse was fairly ordinary.

It showed only the faintest signs of Corpse Transformation.

Li Ye burned it without a hitch and gained a measure of Body Tempering cultivation.

The third day passed just as peacefully.

It was only the cause of death that made Li Ye suspicious—Yang Depletion.

Yang Depletion again.

Two corpses brought in with Yang Depletion in just a few days.

That was too much of a coincidence.

This corpse had clearly undergone Body Tempering. Could the women in the brothel really be that skilled?

Her?

This time, Li Ye took note of the woman on the bed.

She was the same woman who had tended to the Daoist and the woman who had been present when the young man died horribly, granting Li Ye the Words Manifest Reality Divine Ability.

To be precise, she wasn't human. She was a Snake Demon.

So many days had passed that Li Ye hadn't thought of it the last time.

"Is she at Yihongyuan?"

Li Ye exclaimed in surprise. He hadn't expected that two days ago, he had already passed by her Dao Field and even heard her voice.

He had no idea how powerful this Snake Demon was.

Buzz!

A wisp of white mist drifted out of the Corpse Incineration Furnace and shot into Li Ye's body in the blink of an eye.

The next moment, a series of crackling pops rang through his body. The breathing method of the Nine Heavens Crimson Thunder Art flowed of its own accord, resonating as his aura surged.

A familiar sensation washed over him. Li Ye heard a deep rumble reverberate through his body, and then he smoothly broke through to the Ninth Layer of Body Tempering.

He reckoned his strength had now reached... two thousand catties.

That was one ton.

"The Ninth Layer of Body Tempering, huh? At this rate, I should break through to the Qi Gathering Realm soon."

Li Ye thought.

After the Black-Clad Academician left, he disposed of the ashes, secured the gate, and began his daily practice of the Nine Heavens Crimson Thunder Art.

He soon fell into rhythm. The five viscera and six bowels within him rumbled like thunder.

The practice shook loose a great deal of impurities from his body.

His strength, too, increased little by little.

Before he knew it, the night had passed.

"Right, it's the third day. I wonder how things are going with Zhou Bao."

Li Ye thought, then stopped practicing and washed himself off.

A little worried about Zhou Bao, he went down the mountain.

As before, he entered through the North City Gate and headed toward South City.

A faint scent of rouge drifted into Li Ye's nostrils, and Yihongyuan came into view.

Along the second-floor corridor, row after row of slender, alluring women stood with their robes half-open, waving silk scarves and handkerchiefs as they beckoned to passersby.

Li Ye came to a halt and, without thinking, looked toward a certain room in Yihongyuan.

He clearly remembered that three days ago, the cry of "Yang Depletion!" had come from that room on the second floor.

Was the Snake Demon inside?

Li Ye murmured, then hurried away.

With his current cultivation, he was still no match for the Snake Demon.

It was better not to provoke her for now.

"Brother Li Bai!"

Zhou Bao, busy in the courtyard, was overjoyed to see him.

Li Ye walked in and noticed that there were quite a few more people in the yard.

They looked familiar.

They seemed to be some of the men among the refugees they had hired that day, helping Zhou Bao dry bay leaves, cinnamon bark, Wild Star Anise, and other things.

Zhou Bao must have hired them.

The goods were piled everywhere, covering the entire courtyard—at least a thousand catties.

"Not bad!" Li Ye praised.

Zhou Bao had changed enormously.

He wore a fine robe and a Hair Crown. His hair was combed to perfection, and he had shaved his beard.

He looked every bit the shopkeeper.

The workers at his side did as he said.

Zhou Bao hurried over, brimming with excitement. "Brother Li Bai, do you see? We've harvested far more than we ever imagined."

"Bay leaves are piled thick on the ground. We've got over two hundred catties of dried leaves, and we can put them on the market tomorrow."

"As for these fresh ones, there must be sixteen or seventeen hundred catties. After drying, we should still have several hundred. But I'm not sure how to price them..."

The harvest had far exceeded their expectations. Li Ye pondered, then asked, "Have the major restaurants in Licheng City sent anyone to gather these?"

Zhou Bao told him that at first, only workers from Hongbin Tower and a few servants from various estates had come out to gather some.

Li Ye nodded. There hadn't been many people that day, so the other restaurants probably hadn't heard the news yet.

The owner of Hongbin Tower might not even know Li Ye had already sent people out to gather these things in great quantities. He probably thought there were plenty more outside the city, and so hadn't realized what a business opportunity this was.

"What's happening at Hongbin Tower?" Li Ye asked.

"They were busy from morning till night yesterday. The place was packed."

"Their two signature dishes, braised beef and Eight Treasure Chicken, have crushed every other restaurant in the city," Zhou Bao said.

"An imposing tree catches the wind. The other restaurants must already be probing for the recipes."

"We'll see results in the next couple of days."

"Sell the goods then, directly to the major restaurants."

Li Ye gave Zhou Bao a knowing look.

Hongbin Tower had already beaten the other restaurants half to death. They would accept whatever price Zhou Bao named by then.

Li Ye estimated that this batch of goods could earn Zhou Bao one or two thousand taels.

Just then, a man walked in from outside. "Brother Zhou, it's all burned. Nobody noticed."

Zhou Bao was delighted. "Good!"

As it turned out, Zhou Bao hadn't had the bay leaves, cinnamon bark, Wild Star Anise, and the rest outside the city burned until early that morning.

That meant Zhou Bao's stock was now the only supply in Licheng City.

Now that everyone had gathered, Zhou Bao told them all that Li Ye was their real leader.

He was only the second-in-command.

"Brother Li Bai, don't go. Let's do this together. There are plenty of other cities, too. Tomorrow, I'll send a group of refugees out to gather more."

"We'll share the riches and glory!"

In the room, Zhou Bao spoke earnestly to Li Ye.

He had just sent someone outside to buy food, and the two of them talked as they ate.

Li Ye shook his head. No matter how much money a person had, he was still only a mortal. It meant nothing to Li Ye.

Once again, he turned down Zhou Bao's offer.

"Brother Zhou, this world doesn't belong to mortals. If you have too much money, I'm afraid you won't be able to keep it."

"They say that a blacksmith must first forge himself strong. I have a Body Tempering Manual and a recipe here. I tried practicing them myself, but didn't succeed. Once you've earned some silver, you could buy a few sets of medicinal ingredients and try following the instructions."

Li Ye spoke, set down his chopsticks, and took a manual from his robes to hand over.

Before coming, he had copied out a Body Tempering Manual and a Body Tempering Recipe from the Divine Concealment Sect for Zhou Bao.

Zhou Bao had decent innate talent. If he was willing to work hard, he should see some results.

A legendary manual of the immortals?

Zhou Bao was so overwhelmed he could hardly believe it. He had never imagined he would be blessed with such a stroke of immortal fortune.

"Brother Li Bai, you... you're truly like a second father to me. I don't know how to thank you."

"From now on, my life is yours."

Zhou Bao was thirty years old, and he felt that only Li Ye had ever truly treated him like a person.

As for his former friends Old Knife, Butcher, and the others, they had gotten along well enough, but those fellows didn't even treat themselves like people. How could they possibly treat Zhou Bao like one?

Li Ye smiled. He wasn't helping Zhou Bao because he meant to place a chess piece or cultivate his own faction.

He was helping him sincerely.

"Brother Zhou, you're making too much of it. By the way, don't go to Yihongyuan. It's dangerous there."

Li Ye warned him before leaving.

In an age when people never knew whether they would live to see the next day, many would spend any money they got on food, drink, and pleasure—or go to a brothel to find women.

They called it "leaving no regrets."

Li Ye couldn't control what other people thought, but he had to warn Zhou Bao.

Yihongyuan was far too dangerous right now.