Chapter 3

After all, one must know that the old abbot, despite decades of cultivation, was unable to reach the stage of Qi Refinement and Spirit Transformation even at the end of his life, which he considered a lifelong regret.

After all, even if one is exceptionally talented, a genius among geniuses, it's still difficult to achieve something without the necessary conditions.

Jia Kedao was overjoyed, but soon the rumbling of his stomach brought him back from his elation.

He might as well return first; his hunger was truly unbearable.

Returning to the cave, the black light sphere was still there, which slightly relieved Jia Kedao.

If the black light sphere had disappeared while he was meditating, Jia Kedao would have been on the verge of tears.

Reaching out with his left hand, the black light sphere expanded into a black light door once again.

Jia Kedao stepped through, and his body disappeared into the light door. A moment later, the light door returned to a light sphere, floating in the cave.

Back at the temple, Jia Kedao, for the first time, took out two banknotes from under his bed.

These two hundred yuan were what Jia Kedao had saved over the years for emergencies. Today, feeling elated, he naturally wanted to treat himself.

With such a portal to another world, Jia Kedao believed that his days of enjoying delicious food were about to begin. Why should he care about such a small amount of money?

I, the poor Daoist, am rich now. I can eat roasted chicken, just the chicken butt, and salted eggs, just the yolks that ooze red oil.

As Jia Kedao walked towards the village, his eyes were fixed, and a thread of saliva dripped from the corner of his mouth. He couldn't help but think about these things in his mind.

"Hey, Abbot Mingyang, why are you down the mountain today?"

The old man Wang at the village store was quick-eyed. Seeing Jia Kedao's joyful expression, he hurriedly greeted him. He knew that this Abbot Mingyang often went hungry, and when he came down the mountain alone, it was usually because he had made a little money. How could he not try to attract customers for his business?

Jia Village was located deep in the mountains, with rugged roads. The village store naturally became the first choice for villagers to buy daily necessities. Unless they found some precious herbs, the villagers generally wouldn't leave the mountains.

Therefore, the store sold a wide range of items, from seeds and fertilizers to cigarettes, snacks, and braised dishes, all available.

"Boundless Heaven, Old Wang, what good things do you have to recommend?"

Seeing it was Old Wang, Jia Kedao put aside the idea of going to the butcher's to buy a pig's head and prepare it himself. After all, he was too hungry to wait.

"I have, I have. This morning I braised a big goose and two pig's heads. Take a look."

Old Wang smiled, revealing a row of teeth stained black and yellow from smoking. He quickly went into the back room and brought out a large tray with braised goose, pig's heads, and some braised eggs.

Old Wang might not look good, but his braising skills were on par with the old-established shops in the county town.

Smelling the aroma of the braised dishes, Jia Kedao's mouth watered.

At this moment, Jia Kedao didn't care about his appearance. He grabbed two braised eggs and stuffed them into his mouth, chewing and swallowing while giving Old Wang a thumbs up.

Seeing Jia Kedao devour the food, Old Wang couldn't help but laugh. It seemed the business was done.

After swallowing the two braised eggs and drinking a large pot of old mountain tea that Old Wang brought, Jia Kedao let out a long breath, feeling comfortable.

His rebellious stomach was finally subdued.

Those who have never been hungry don't know how unbearable the feeling of hunger can be.

The whole body feels cold, slightly trembling, with a burning sensation in the stomach, as if a hand is reaching out.

Jia Kedao didn't want to stay hungry any longer.

Old Wang then took out a plastic bag, packed a pig's head, a braised goose, and twenty braised eggs, and handed it to Jia Kedao.

When Jia Kedao returned to the temple with the bag of braised dishes, his excitement had passed, and he felt a bit of pain.

Although the prices in the mountains were lower than in the county town, a braised pig's head, a braised goose, and twenty braised eggs cost him 208 yuan.

Old Wang waived the change, and the two banknotes that Jia Kedao had just warmed in his sleeve were now in Old Wang's hands.

Jia Kedao instantly went from having a little money to being penniless, which couldn't help but make him feel the pain.

At this moment, Jia Kedao realized that if he had bought the ingredients and prepared the dishes himself at the temple, it would have been much cheaper.

But it was too late to regret now.

Back at Laojun Temple, he checked the rice bin and found only a little white rice at the bottom. He didn't care and started cooking.

On the chopping board, Jia Kedao split the pig's head into four pieces. He put three pieces and the braised goose in a bucket and hung it in the well to prevent it from going bad. He sliced the remaining piece thinly, sprinkled some sesame seeds and scallions, and took a bite. It was delicious.

When the aroma of the rice wafted from the pot, Jia Kedao couldn't wait to scoop out a large bowl.

He picked up a piece of pig's head meat, took a few bites of rice, swallowed a braised egg, and took a few more bites of rice. When the rice was gone, he scooped out another bowl.

After a while, the sound of his ravenous eating finally stopped.

The half-meter-high rice pot was now empty, and the meat on the plate was all gone.

Jia Kedao, holding his protruding belly, leaned against the wall and slowly walked to the side room.

After all, as a successful cultivator, Jia Kedao's appetite was much larger than that of ordinary people. Plus, he had been hungry for almost a day and had good food, so it was normal to be overfull.

Back in the side room, the black light sphere was still floating in the air, but Jia Kedao didn't have the heart to pay attention to it. He carefully lay down on the bed, groaned a few times, and suppressed the food that was about to come up.

This meal was too comfortable.

In Jia Kedao's memory, he had only eaten so comfortably when the old abbot took him to the provincial capital for a religious conference.

However, his eating manners at that time had embarrassed the old abbot.

After lying down for a while, Jia Kedao fell into a pleasant sleep and didn't wake up until evening.

After waking up, Jia Kedao didn't forget to do his evening meditation, but he changed the location to the cave in the other world.

After all, the effect of evening meditation in the cave was ten times better than at Laojun Temple.

After drinking five large bowls of porridge and eating a piece of pig's head meat, he burped and swept the main hall. Then, he enthusiastically returned to the side room, carrying a mat, an incense burner, and a few sticks of sandalwood incense, and stepped through the black light door.

The location of the cave was excellent, with just enough sunlight. Sitting on the mat, he lit the incense and inserted it into the burner. Under the warm sunlight, Jia Kedao began reciting the scriptures.

An hour passed, and Jia Kedao stood up from the mat, feeling refreshed. Looking at the distant wheat fields, he couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.