Liu Buli was right. Since the matter was connected to him, Lu Wuming naturally couldn't refuse.
He nodded honestly, but still felt a bit conflicted. Lu Wuming frowned and said, "Master, that place is truly too dangerous. I'm still not entirely at ease taking you there. So if I were to go alone..."
"Don't even think about it. I won't give you that chance." Liu Buli rolled his eyes. He knew that when it came to such matters, Lu Wuming always said something unsatisfactory.
Interrupting him and not giving him a chance to retort, Liu Buli withdrew his gaze, not even looking at him anymore. He turned directly towards Qiyu and explained his reasons for being so pleased.
After all, with the time they had spent together, Liu Buli had come to trust his nominal master. Moreover, even if he wanted to hide something from Qiyu, he couldn't completely escape her watchful eyes.
Take Lu Wuming's race for example.
Qiyu had actually noticed it from the moment they first met. But as she had said, she felt a connection to them and truly regarded them as her successors. Therefore, whether Lu Wuming was of the ghost race or human was of no consequence to Qiyu.
It was precisely because of this understanding that Liu Buli had explained Lu Wuming's cultivation methods and attack patterns to Qiyu several times.
Faced with his explanations, Qiyu simply found it impressive.
After all, she had never had close contact with the ghost race before. Now that she had encountered one, and one who was important to his beloved disciple, there was no need to be afraid, even if their cultivation techniques and methods were a bit strange.
This was Qiyu's thought process, and how she had always acted.
Now, after hearing Liu Buli's idea of killing monsters, Qiyu tapped her chin with her finger. She seemed to seriously recall memories related to the ghost race, and then, as if she had thought of something, she smiled and replied, "I don't think there's any problem with your idea. It's worth a try. I've seen the monsters you mentioned. Their resentment and malevolent energy are indeed abundant. If Wuming can improve himself with these, then those monsters are definitely good practice."
Hearing Qiyu's endorsement, Liu Buli felt even more reassured. However, he was still a bit curious. Seeing Qiyu's familiarity with these things, he directly asked, "Master, do you know how those monsters are born? I've never seen anything like them in the human world. Their malice and malevolent energy are too strong and intense. They don't seem like things that would grow naturally between heaven and earth."
"But they are things born of heaven and earth," Qiyu shook her head and said, "Everything in the universe has a pattern. Where there is light, there is darkness. The world cannot be all beautiful. Places that accumulate pain, despair, and all the dark emotions of this world are the Ghost Realm. They are monsters born from these dark emotions. They have existed since the era when all things had spirits. In fact, one could say they are more like deities than we are. Just not the kind of deities that people would like."
Qiyu's way of explaining things was truly in her own unique style. Liu Buli couldn't help but smile wryly, shaking his head, but he didn't offer any objections.
Now that he had asked about the irrelevant matters, his gaze returned to the medicinal formula. It had to be said that Qiyu was indeed a deity in this regard. At least in terms of knowledge, she was much more learned than Liu Buli. Many of the ingredients listed were things Liu Buli had never heard of before. However, since Qiyu had written them down, Liu Buli trusted that she would at least not do anything to harm him.
While Liu Buli was diligently studying the formula, Lu Wuming was frowning, lost in thought.
After a while, Lu Wuming suddenly looked up at Qiyu and asked with confusion, "Grandmaster, if you were to follow your methods and refine the pill according to this formula, and then have my master eat the pill, would it be able to force out the other soul from his body?"
Since Qiyu was an alchemist, it was quite normal for Lu Wuming to imagine this possibility.
However, to his surprise, upon hearing his question, both Qiyu and Liu Buli shook their heads at him. While denying his assumption, Qiyu also provided the answer, saying, "It's not about refining the pill and having Buli eat it. It's about having Buli directly take those materials into the furnace, treating his body as part of the ingredients, and refining both souls out of his body."
Liu Buli had seen the formula, so he naturally understood what Qiyu meant. Hearing this explanation, he didn't have many other emotions.
But Lu Wuming was different.
Upon hearing Qiyu's words, he immediately shook his head in disagreement. His eyes widened as if they had said something utterly unacceptable, and Lu Wuming firmly stated, "How is that possible? To put Master into the refining furnace, if there's even the slightest mistake in control, Master would..."
"Don't worry. It's called soul refining, but in reality, it's just forcing the soul out. Even if it fails, it will only destroy this body and won't cause any harm to my soul," Liu Buli quickly explained to Lu Wuming before he could erupt. After a pause, he continued, "Didn't you tell me before that you could find me many bodies? So it's okay if this body is destroyed, right? After all, I still have you, and you can find me replacements, can't you?"
Liu Buli was always the one who understood Lu Wuming the best.
Just at this moment, hearing Liu Buli's words, Lu Wuming's emotions indeed calmed down a bit. He breathed a sigh of relief, but still asked with some uncertainty, "Master, are you sure you're not lying to me?"
"What would I gain by lying to you?" Liu Buli said with a wry smile. "You want me to live well, and that's my goal too! Do you think I want to die? I don't want to be buried with that beast either. Since that's the case, I certainly wouldn't do anything that's absolutely dangerous and has no guarantees."
What he said seemed to make sense.
However, before Lu Wuming could fully relax, another very important and serious question suddenly appeared in his mind.
He looked at Liu Buli with an unprecedentedly complex gaze and said, "Master, if you are going to enter the furnace and refine with those materials, then who will ignite the furnace and tend the fire? Who will oversee it? Is it... that I have to do these things?"