Chapter 19

"Eight Treasure Brocade Rice, Red Braised Coiled Dragon Feast, Pan-fried Ink Spirit Scorpion, Braised Green Crow Chicken..."

Old Man Ma’s culinary skills had indeed reached an extraordinary level. In less than an hour, he cooked thirteen dishes of extreme deliciousness once again.

Chen Xi felt very happy, a kind of happiness he had never experienced from childhood to adulthood. Each dish he had never tasted before not only greatly satisfied his senses but also the pure and thick spiritual energy contained within the dishes gathered in his dantian like a heavenly rain, gradually condensing the fourth true essence purple cloud in this short period of time!

At the innate realm, every step of improvement would result in a cloud of true essence condensing in the dantian, known as the foundation-building cloud ladder. Once nine clouds condensed, one could open the Purple Mansion and become a Purple Mansion cultivator, officially stepping into the immortal mansion with a Dao foundation.

Chen Xi had been stuck at the third level of the innate realm for five years, not because of poor talent, but because the longevity lock left by his mother, Zuoqiu Xue, had quietly absorbed his true essence over these five years. It wasn’t until the longevity lock broke, revealing the jade pendant inside, that the restriction seemed to be lifted. Since then, he no longer worried about his cultivation stagnating.

However, even so, without the support of spirit stones, elixirs, and other external aids, his progress was extremely slow. He never imagined that just by eating a dozen dishes, his realm would surge like a geyser, breaking through another level, which naturally filled him with joy and surprise.

However, along with the happiness, he also felt a kind of torment. Each time Old Man Ma cooked a delicious dish, the enticing aroma that stimulated his sense of smell made him unable to stop. Originally, he planned to just taste a little, but in the end, he completely lost control, devouring the food without regard for his image. This made him increasingly ashamed and increasingly feel like a glutton who couldn’t resist temptation.

Old Man Ma was also greatly surprised by Chen Xi’s eating appearance. Looking at the empty fourteen jade plates, he couldn’t believe his eyes. After a long while, he muttered in a daze, "Freak, is this guy’s stomach a bottomless pit? The disciple I’ve taken in is too... bizarre, right?"

Hearing this, Chen Xi felt even more ashamed. His usually expressionless face, which rarely showed any emotion, now revealed a rare hint of embarrassment.

He also found it strange. After devouring the fourteen dishes, he not only didn’t feel full but also had an impulse to eat a lot more.

"You freak, you’re just like those physical cultivators who do hard labor, pure gluttons!" Old Man Ma muttered again.

However, these words made Chen Xi think of a problem. It seemed... since he started practicing the 'Zhou Tian Star Slaying Body Forging Technique,' he had never felt full. Could this be the reason?

Chen Xi carefully felt the changes in his body, sensing an endless vitality in his flesh and skin, even his bones seemed to have become lighter, and a surging, powerful force filled his entire body.

At this moment, he finally understood. These spirit-rich dishes were not only beneficial to qi cultivators but also had an excellent nourishing effect on the physical bodies of body cultivators!

Seeing Chen Xi lost in thought, Old Man Ma seemed to have a change of heart and stopped saying things that made Chen Xi feel embarrassed. He asked directly, "How many of these fourteen cooking methods have you memorized?"

Talking about the main topic, Chen Xi’s expression finally returned to normal. He pondered and said, "I’ve basically memorized them all."

"Really?" Old Man Ma’s eyes suddenly widened.

Chen Xi thought for a moment and nodded seriously.

Old Man Ma still didn’t believe it and pointed to the kitchen counter, saying, "Go and operate it. Hmm, cook that Pan-fried Ink Spirit Scorpion."

"Okay!" Chen Xi responded quickly and moved to the kitchen counter. Following the memory in his mind, he began to operate step by step.

Dissecting the Ink Spirit Scorpion, mixing the seasonings, controlling the spirit fire...

Old Man Ma watched Chen Xi’s orderly operations, his originally skeptical gaze gradually turning to surprise, astonishment, and finally shock when he saw Chen Xi using true essence to adsorb his palm, precisely and evenly controlling the iron spoon and pot.

Not a single step was wrong!

Old Man Ma couldn’t help but think, when I first learned cooking, I failed dozens of times before barely reaching this guy’s current level. Could I really have taken in a disciple with astonishing talent in the culinary arts?

Thinking of this, he suddenly felt excited. Perhaps, the goal I never reached can be achieved through this guy...

After a while, a plate of crispy and juicy Pan-fried Ink Spirit Scorpion was cooked.

Old Man Ma rushed forward in a hurry, picked up a cooked Ink Spirit Scorpion, and put it in his mouth, chewing slowly. His expression became dazed again. The taste and the purity of the spiritual energy... were on par with what I cooked!

Chen Xi couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious. During the cooking process, he almost lost control of the spirit fire several times. Fortunately, his calm and steady nature helped him overcome the difficulties and persist until the end.

"I plan to change the way I teach cooking." After a long while, Old Man Ma, after deep thought, said slowly, "Pure imitation might not be a challenge for you anymore. Since that’s the case, start cooking your own dishes."

Chen Xi was stunned and asked, "How should I do it?"

"Very simple, take the 1,308 most basic ingredients, and based on their yin-yang and five elements properties, cook your own dishes."

Old Man Ma said indifferently, "As long as the color, aroma, and taste are all excellent, and the spiritual energy in the dishes reaches the best level, you will be a true One-Leaf Spirit Chef!"

Chen Xi felt a bit uneasy. He had just become a spirit chef apprentice, only memorizing the 'Myriad Phenomena Ingredients Atlas' and the 'Spirit Fire Collection.' As for cooking skills, he had only memorized the steps for fourteen dishes, with no foundation at all.

In such a situation, why would Old Man Ma make such a demand?

Chen Xi was puzzled.

"Like how cultivators have vastly different understandings and insights into the Heavenly Dao, each spirit chef’s cooking skills are also different." Old Man Ma said indifferently, "Your talent in the culinary arts is extremely astonishing. Instead of following my path, you should explore your own—path in the culinary arts!"

At this point, a passionate and yearning light reappeared in Old Man Ma’s eyes. He suddenly turned, staring intently at Chen Xi’s eyes, and said solemnly, "However, I will test you at regular intervals. If you fail, don’t expect to receive the salary from Qingxi Winehouse!"

Chen Xi was stunned, suddenly feeling a sense of abandonment, accompanied by a ruthless exploitation.

...

In the small black room.

Could the Pan-fried Ink Spirit Scorpion I cooked be really bad? Is Old Man Ma retaliating against me?

Chen Xi looked at the mountain of various ingredients around him, the shiny new kitchen counter, and the kitchen utensils, his gaze lost and his thoughts swirling.

There was only him here. According to Old Man Ma’s meaning, unless he could cook his own dishes and reach the level of a One-Leaf Spirit Chef, he wouldn’t be able to leave this small black room.

This old man has a strange temper and even stranger behavior, he’s a complete lunatic!

Thinking of Old Man Ma’s words, even with his patience, Chen Xi couldn’t help but feel annoyed. He just wanted to earn some spirit stones to help his brother pay for tuition, he never thought about pursuing a path in the culinary arts!

After the annoyance, Chen Xi quickly calmed down. Looking around, he knew that complaining was useless. It would be better to think about how to use these ingredients to cook dishes that would satisfy Old Man Ma and get him out of this damned small black room.

He walked to the mountain of ingredients and began to observe them carefully.

"To become a One-Leaf Spirit Chef, I must cook a dish suitable for postnatal cultivators to supplement their cultivation. These ingredients not only vary in type but also in taste. Most importantly, I need to distinguish their yin-yang and five elements properties, ensuring they complement each other and do not conflict..."

When Chen Xi became serious, he undoubtedly possessed an astonishing burst of energy. His mind raced, combining the knowledge he learned from the 'Myriad Phenomena Ingredients Atlas' and began to sort out the mountain of various ingredients.

After a while,

All the ingredients were sorted into two large piles, representing yin and yang properties. Each large pile was then divided into five smaller sections, representing the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Each type of ingredient with the same five elements was further divided into smaller areas based on taste, growth environment, main ingredients, and auxiliary ingredients.

This process took him almost a whole day. To ensure accuracy, he even tasted the blood of demonic birds and the extremely disgusting liquid ingredients, his tongue almost numbed by the strange and stimulating flavors, and he almost vomited several times.

However, when he saw the ingredients neatly arranged before him, Chen Xi felt a sense of relief. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he began to calculate the method to create new dishes.

Time passed slowly. After a long while, Chen Xi stood up, picked out a dozen ingredients, and went straight to the kitchen counter.

Splash!

After processing the ingredients and seasonings, Chen Xi began cooking without hesitation. However, in less than half an hour, a burnt smell began to spread from the bottom of the pot.

He was already prepared for failure, so he wasn’t surprised. He put the dish on a jade plate and ate it bite by bite.

"The spiciness is too strong, the spiritual energy of the indigo flower and the fragrant fish is unbalanced, it seems I should use a gentle fire to cook slowly..."

The taste was strange, but Chen Xi seemed unaffected, chewing mechanically, his mind fully focused on analyzing the reasons for the failure.

After eating, Chen Xi started cooking again.

Imbalanced five elements, failure!

Seasoning mistake, failure!

Improper ingredient processing, failure!

Too heavy cooking technique, true essence dissipation, failure!

...

After more than ten consecutive failures, Chen Xi had no feeling left. He swallowed each failure, calmly analyzing the reasons for each failure, and then started again. His calm and expressionless face showed no emotion, like a tireless machine, monotonously repeating the same actions.

Chen Xi didn’t notice that his spiritual energy, far from being depleted, was actually increasing at a visible rate, like a stream swelling under a heavy rain.

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