Cultivating with Symbiosis Panel

Flowing from the teapot was clear and fragrant tea, the aroma seemingly infused with sunlight and dew, bringing peace to the mind with just a whiff.

This tea was brewed from the leaves of the Earth Element Tea Tree in Li Ye's cave mansion, mixed with the Spirit Honey produced by Li Yulan.

As tea, it's actually a bit too sweet.

It's practically "honey tea."

Not sure why Wei Qingye likes to drink this kind of tea.

Li Ye thought to himself and casually said, "If you like it, I can have the beavers pack some for you later, since it's all homegrown and not worth much."

"Then I won't hold back." Wei Qingye agreed with a smile, then revealed his purpose for this visit: "The Hell Path Trial Palace..."

"I'll give you a spot." Li Ye replied directly, "However, the spatial array in the Trial Palace needs long-term stabilization, so I can only give you a quota of three hundred people."

"Alright."

Wei Qingye wasn't bothered by the small number.

As long as there were spots, he knew how sought-after slots in this Trial Palace were. Many cultivators wanted to train themselves through magical duels, and it was rumored that major sects had sent people to the Four Seasons Sect to inquire.

If he hadn't directly approached Li Ye for a backdoor, Celestial Vein Sword Mountain might have only got a hundred slots even as a favor between the two sects with good relations.

After talking about sect matters.

Wei Qingye proactively said, "This time, the demonic qi entering my body did bring me some fortune. But having suffered such a calamity for you, how will you compensate me?"

"..."

Li Ye took a sip of the sweet honey tea and asked back:

"What do you want, Brother Wei?"

This stumped Wei Qingye, who thought for a moment and casually said, "How about you show me your fields? I haven't relaxed in a long time."

"Sure, I haven't rested in a while either. How about we go for a stroll under the sea together and maybe catch some fish for a barbecue?"

Li Ye was quite looking forward to it too.

Therefore, the two of them set off immediately, going directly to the seabed where the Potato Dragon grew — by now, this place was teeming with vitality. The enormous Potato Dragon had formed a "Peach Blossom Spring" for the fish with its body.

Various fish swam freely among the sprawling Potato Dragon vines, many endowed with their own spiritual power, with scales reflecting a gem-like multicolored radiance.

And with the spirit plants like jewel corals and Azure Spirit Water Vines nurtured by the spiritual qi from the seabed, the entire seafloor sparkled, dazzling as if in broad daylight.

Among them were quite a few fierce spirit fish, such as the Sword-blemished Shark, Catastrophe Moon Paddlefish, and Exotic Spirit Jellyfish, yet they coexisted harmoniously without any signs of suppression.

"Oh my."

Wei Qingye marveled, "When it comes to creating grand scenes, your Four Seasons Sect is truly impressive. Such natural and harmonious scenery is far more beautiful than splitting mountains with a single sword."

"This isn't my doing." Li Ye reached out to pat the robust vines of the Potato Dragon, "It's all thanks to this child's ability. It's become part of the Dragon Clan, naturally able to govern the countless aquatic species."

The Potato Dragon, flattered by Li Ye's praise, shyly twisted its massive body, then swiftly captured a large golden fish and presented it to Li Ye.

The poor fish was suddenly caught by its dragon senior and struggled but didn't dare struggle too much, just wagging its tail pitifully.

[Name]: Sea Yellowtail Fish

[Mood]: Anxious, uneasy, joyful, expectant

[Status]: An extremely rare spirit fish, delicious in flavor, with a unique taste no matter the cooking method.

[Able to Bind]: Any spirit plant with seasoning properties.

Li Ye squinted at the fish, somewhat surprised.

This was indeed a rare kind of fish.

In the eyes of many gourmets, its value is considered even higher than a spirit treasure because this creature...is a truly naturally born spiritual object.

Generally, after catching it, no matter how you carve its flesh, even if only the skeleton remains, it would not die but re-enter the sea to regrow.

To it, that flesh is always expendable, and it might even float to the surface to find someone pleasing to give its meat to.

It also possesses a unique ability to leap between bodies of water, capable of jumping from the sea to any body of water, as long as there is water available.

It's said that in the mortal world, a young man once encountered such a fish when he came out to fish in the harsh winter to nourish his mother, lying on the ice surface to melt the ice after taking off his clothes.

"I haven't tried the taste of this fish before. Have you, Brother Wei?" Li Ye reached out to pat the large yellow fish, gifting it with some spiritual power.

Feeling the Tianren spiritual power Li Ye gave it, it tightened its body.

Its fish flesh began to shed voluntarily, like peeling off clothes, with translucent flesh arranging perfectly in front of Li Ye, leaving its size greatly reduced.

Finally, only a fish bone-like yet crystal-clear spine supported its body, which didn't appear terrifying but rather had a unique beauty.

After brushing against Li Ye's hand, it vanished with a leap.

"Quite clever."

Pity it couldn't be bound.

Li Ye could even guess what it would be like if it were bound, perhaps it would be ready to season itself directly.

That would truly be a walking delicacy.

"..." Wei Qingye blinked, eyeing the floating fish flesh in the seawater, and laughed, "My sword technique is decent; I can handle the ingredients for you."

Since when did that mean keeping the beavers from helping?

Li Ye glanced at the beavers eager to get involved in the distance, waving them off before replying, "You handle the ingredients and I'll do the cooking. I've picked up quite a few cooking styles over the years."

He, in fact, was somewhat eager to try.

Recently, he had been busy with earth-shattering events every day, and hadn't properly enjoyed a meal for a long time, feeling his cultivation had reached a bottleneck.

Despite his spiritual power being at its peak, there was still no sign of advancing, which was indeed abnormal.

Considering he's already undergone the Five Elements Ascension to become a Celestial Being, there shouldn't be any bottlenecks before the mid-Nascent Soul period, and his Taoist technique—rooted in natural law—didn't require a magical duel for realm advancement.

So there could only be one possibility.

He'd been too tense these days.

Ever since the transformation into a dragon, trivial and major matters had piled up, contradicting his initial cultivation goal of lying unmoving.

And now, as he began handling the fish meat, he surprisingly felt a momentary "relaxation" of his bottleneck.

Admittedly hard to believe.

But cultivation and fate are inherently mysterious.

While occupied, he soon immersed himself in the process of culinary creation — with all the fish meat and sea ingredients delivered by the Dragon Clan, there were plenty for preparing a sumptuous feast.

Beside him, Wei Qingye, using his lifebound spirit sword to handle ingredients, initially chatted and laughed with Li Ye.

But soon he sensed something amiss.

He abruptly looked at Li Ye.

Seeing around Li Ye, the seawater and the essence of day and night surrounded his body with a magnificent sight visible only to outsiders, assisting Li Ye in breaking through to the late Golden Core period.

The grand sight he observed was merely ethereal drifting sea vapor and reflected brilliance to Li Ye.

Really... felt oddly peculiar.

As if these blessings from the Celestial Dao also felt cautious?

Out of curiosity, he took a few more looks at Li Ye.

But before long, the magnificent vision rippled like waterwaves and suddenly vanished.

Li Ye had already finished preparing a plate of appetizer sashimi, with exquisite fish meat sprinkled with a bit of vinegar, the slightly red vinegar and crystal-clear fish flesh irresistibly appetizing.

"Hungry? You've been staring at me."

"Here, have some of this to tide you over first."

He casually handed the plate to Wei Qingye.

The latter, at a loss for words, remarked, "You're in the late Golden Core period?"

While getting ready to prepare the next dish, Li Ye paused, nodded calmly, "Yes."

Wei Qingye: "..."

This meal is becoming hard to swallow!

Breaking through so effortlessly as if just having a meal?

At a loss for words, he could only convert frustration into appetite, devouring the whole plate of sashimi and not sparing the vinegar either.

Only to be cringed by the sourness of the special spirit vinegar.

Li Ye: "..."

Looks like he really enjoys vinegar, better give him a jar of spirit vinegar later.