Mu Shiyue understood what Ke Chongbo meant.
In summary: because of fluctuations in spiritual qi, a great deal of knowledge had been lost, and those who still possessed that knowledge used it to form monopolies.
She couldn't help frowning.
A thousand years ago, she failed her tribulation and was struck down into the present.
And at the time, spiritual qi was in turmoil.
So was the spiritual qi turmoil first, followed by her tribulation failure, or was it the other way around?
Or did the two things happen at the same time?
But no matter how she thought about it, she couldn't connect the two together. They should only be related in terms of timing, with no causal relationship.
Moreover, before she underwent her tribulation, the outside world already seemed somewhat unsettled.
But it's still the same old saying, she'd been busy grinding away. Other people wouldn't bring such matters to bother her, so she didn't know what was going on outside.
And now, she cared even less about what had happened a thousand years ago.
"Then do we need to go find Myriad Beast Sect for help?" Chu Jingzhuo looked full of regret.
He really hadn't known before that contracting a spirit beast would be this troublesome.
He had only thought that, with Master being so formidable, she should know how to handle it.
But after hearing Ke Chongbo say all this, he felt a bit regretful.
If he had known earlier, he should've asked clearly before incubating the egg. This time, he had truly been too careless!
Ke Chongbo also had a bit of a headache.
When everyone had discussed the spirit beast egg earlier, he hadn't thought too deeply about it.
After spending some time with Chu Jingzhuo and the others, he knew that Chu Jingzhuo was someone meticulous and clear-headed.
So back then, he'd assumed that Chu Jingzhuo understood contracts.
Plus with Mu Shiyue, such a powerful Master, they should've had confidence.
Ke Chongbo hadn't stayed long in Wanxuan Sect, but he had seen many things that refreshed his understanding.
So he had also been quite confident in them.
But after today's discussion, he finally realized it. Turns out they didn't understand the details of spirit beast contracts at all!
"Your spirit beast has already been incubated. If you want them to help with the contract now, it'll cost at least two excellent grade spirit stones," Ke Chongbo said.
"What?! Two?!"
Several people were instantly dumbfounded.
"Wasn't it one?!"
One excellent grade spirit stone alone was already painful enough, how did it become two?!
Ke Chongbo explained, "People from Myriad Beast Sect have said that contracting at the spirit beast egg stage is much easier. But once it's incubated, the difficulty increases. After all, spirit beasts have their own consciousness."
And just like that, the price changed.
Chu Jingzhuo's expression changed completely.
The others' expressions weren't much better either.
"This is way too expensive!"
"So expensive!"
Although their sect now also had some excellent grade spirit stones, it wasn't yet at the stage where they could spend them freely.
Taking out two would still be extremely painful for them.
Ke Chongbo knew it hurt, but he still continued, "And they'll also charge based on the potential strength of the spirit beast."
"What does that mean?"
"If your spirit beast has a high potential upper limit, their fee will increase. If it's just an ordinary spirit beast, their fee will be lower."
Everyone had more questions, "Then how do they guarantee how strong the spirit beast will become later? What if something happens halfway?"
Spirit beasts are the same as cultivators, high talent doesn't mean a smooth path all the way.
"That has nothing to do with them," Ke Chongbo shook his head. "Anyway, that's how they've set the rules."
Everyone frowned deeply, exchanging looks.
"Even so, there are still many people who want to contract spirit beasts. And the beast feed they sell is also very popular. My father often buys beast feed from them, its very expensive!"
"Beast feed?"
Another new key point.
"Don't spirit beasts eat their usual food?"
"Yes," Ke Chongbo nodded. "But spirit beasts contracted through Myriad Beast Sect all really like the beast feed they make. It's like snacks for them, they often eat it."
"Did they do something sneaky during contracting?" Meng Fanzé joked. "Or did they place some kind of restriction on the spirit beasts?"
"No," Ke Chongbo shook his head. "My father's contracted beast eats normally, cultivates normally, and cooperates very well with my father. It just really likes Myriad Beast Sect's beast feed. It's just like a child, it eats proper meals, but also likes snacks."
"Oh, just like Little Tiger Baby and the others liking the steamed buns Master makes!" Meng Fanzé suddenly realized.
As soon as he said this, everyone immediately understood.
That's right. Little Tiger Baby, Little Sesame, and Ah Lang all had their own food.
Little Tiger Baby's teeth had grown out and it could eat meat, managing to eat a whole chicken every day.
But aside from meat, it was also completely hooked on the steamed buns Mu Shiyue made.
Mu Shiyue relied on steamed buns to firmly grasp several little cubs.
Not just the little cubs, Hu Niu and Da Yanzi (1), the Iron-Eating Beast's name, also especially liked the mush Mu Shiyue made.
Originally, Da Yuanzi liked eating bamboo, it would also eat chicken, and would occasionally even snatch the cubs' steamed buns.
Previously, when Mu Shiyue made mush for Hu Niu, it had curiously come over and taken a bite.
From that moment on, there was no turning back!
Now it fought Hu Niu every day for food, and had even set its sights on Hu Niu's food bowl before.
If Mu Shiyue hadn't intervened in time, the two might've fought.
Don't be fooled by the difference in their strength, Da Yuanzi was genuinely fierce and didn't back down at all.
Everyone was already used to these spirit beasts' foodie antics.
Perhaps the beast feed from Myriad Beast Sect was similar to what Master made, which was why it had such strong appeal to spirit beasts.
"Alright, let's stop talking about this for now," Qin Yiwei couldn't listen any longer and pulled the topic back. "Is this really our focus right now?!"
Beast feed or not, that's not today's focus at all!
—They'd gone off topic!
With Qin Yiwei interrupting like this, everyone finally came back to their senses.
"Oh right, our focus is contracting spirit beasts!"
"Yes, yes, yes, that's the key point!"
Mu Shiyue held several little cubs in her arms, letting them go off topic in all kinds of ways.
There was no helping it. Once there were many people, the conversation would inevitably drift.
Anyway, in the end, someone would always pull it back on track.
"So do we need to go to Myriad Beast Sect?"
"But going to Myriad Beast Sect requires queuing. No matter what, it'll take at least half a month in advance," Ke Chongbo frowned, but soon perked up again. "But it's fine, I'll help you!"
"No need." Mu Shiyue finally spoke, rejecting his suggestion. "I can do it."
"You can?!"
Ke Chongbo was shocked again.
He realized that ever since arriving at Wanxuan Sect, he had been unable to stay calm, shouting in surprise every day, getting shocked again and again.
"I can," Mu Shiyue nodded. "It's not that difficult. There's no need to run that far."
"Master, you really know how to make a contract?" Chu Jingzhuo was also overjoyed.
"Yes," Mu Shiyue nodded.
She hadn't said anything just now, letting them discuss freely.
After all, a thousand years had passed, and she also wanted to hear about the changes in the outside world.
Ke Chongbo was the eldest young master of Changtian Sect and knew far more than they did.
Now that the gossip was done, they could return to the main topic.
She didn't know how Myriad Beast Sect monopolized things, but helping a disciple contract a spirit beast was extremely simple.
Back then, she had been both obsessively driven and wildly unfocused, she had handled all three types of contracts.
And moreover, no one knew this, but she not only knew how to contract, she also knew how to release contracts!
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(1): Big Dumpling