Food System in Cultivation World

Cuiwei Ridge, amidst the rain and fog on the mountain path.

An old Taoist raised a Glazed Pearl.

He watched as the small round bead emitted a hazy purple light, which seemed ready to produce a clear direction as the purple light surged.

But who would have expected, at this crucial moment, the old Taoist suddenly felt an indescribable emptiness—

It was as if he had used all his strength to throw a heavy punch, but the punch hit nothing!

Uncontrollably, the old Taoist staggered forward, the light from the Glazed Pearl in his hand condensed back.

Pft!

Unable to control the surge of blood, he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, as if his internal organs were being hammered from a distance.

It was a mysterious force acting from who knows where, or perhaps he was defying the heavens and had already been rebuked by them.

Or maybe because he forcefully smashed the clay statue of the Saint Venerable, stealing its Holy Fire Glazed Pearl, he suffered this backlash.

No, not right!

The old Taoist suddenly realized he had been schemed against by that sinister swindler, the Saint Venerable.

This Glazed Pearl...

Suddenly, a tremendous suction force emanated from the Glazed Pearl, adhering to the old Taoist's palm, and fine purple-red tendrils thinner than hair projected from the Glazed Pearl.

From all directions, forming a dense net.

They climbed onto the old Taoist's arm, crossed his chest and body, and seemed ready to enter his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose cavities directly.

Moreover, some of the fine strands stained with the old Taoist's blood, their power surged fiercely, transforming into sharp fine swords, stabbing violently towards the old Taoist.

If it were an ordinary time, the old Taoist would naturally not fear such attacks.

But at this moment, it was precisely when he had forcefully divined the celestial mechanism, suffering a massive backlash.

The old Taoist's face changed dramatically, making a prompt decision.

He muttered a low incantation: "Heaven and Earth stagnant, Yin and Yang cease, settle!"

As the incantation left his mouth, quickly as if speaking was delayed, a powerful force surged forth from the old Taoist's body, like the tides of a star sea.

The majestic aura connected heaven and earth, seemingly freezing the entire world in that moment.

The old Taoist lifted his hand and pushed, and the Holy Fire Glazed Pearl, stuck to his palm, immediately flew out like a bullet.

Bang!

The Glazed Pearl exploded in midair, turning to ashes.

Simultaneously, the old Taoist could no longer sustain himself.

His blood furiously surged, and his whole body contracted instantly by three feet—

No, he wasn't contracting; instead, from a white-haired elder, he had reverted to a youth, shrinking in stature, becoming a child of eight or nine years old!

Reborn, this was the old Taoist's rebirth.

The Great Derivation Reincarnation True Skill allows one to rejuvenate when reaching the brink of senescence, shedding chronic ailments, and living anew.

The cost, however, was losing most of his power, retaining only a small fraction.

Though the foundation remained, returning to the peak, it was uncertain how much effort it would take.

The old Taoist was unwilling to reconstruct the Great Derivation Reincarnation True Skill at this time, but unforeseen circumstances forced his hand, overzealousness led to its misuse, necessitating reconstruction.

With blood pouring down from the oversized and ragged Taoist robe, he gazed southward.

"Though the heavenly secret is obscured, unable to ascertain the exact location of the divine opportunity, roughly... it's in the south and won't be wrong."

"This Taoist must head south! Having lived anew, how could I remain in ignorance in this life?"

...

In a secluded courtyard, within a small pavilion.

Chen Xu, caressing a wine cup, slightly furrowed his brows.

At that moment, Cui Yunqi, engrossed in reading his manuscript, his eyes brimming with admiration, suddenly noticed his expression change and exclaimed, "Brother Chen, could it be that you are dissatisfied with this kind of poetry?"

What dissatisfaction?

Is it dissatisfaction with "Pity the Farmer," or "Flowers Are Not Flowers," or perhaps "Palace Poems"?

Certainly not, Chen Xu just suddenly felt as though an unusual gaze from some unknown place seemed to be peering at him!

But ultimately, that strange gaze fell short.

The Tribulation Mirror had already activated automatically.

[When there's a negative or causality-related prying power aimed at him, it mostly falls short.]

This is the Tribulation Mirror.

Who is gazing at him from the unknown?

Suspicion arose in Chen Xu's mind, yet he remained calm outwardly.

In the afternoon, Cui Yunqi and Ning Xing took their leave.

Feng Yuanbai stayed behind, usually busy, so having come, it was to study and discuss with Chen Xu, wasting no time.

Yet during a break in their discussions, Feng Yuanbai casually remarked, "Xu Zhi, the Spirit Wine you gifted me is truly exquisite, almost rivaling the Toad Palace Wine I once had at the Lu Ming Banquet."

He sighed as he spoke, reminiscing about his youthful days, pondering whether it was the taste of Toad Palace Wine or the enthusiastic atmosphere of the Lu Ming Banquet that made the wine so delightful.

[Praise +50]

Interestingly, this casual compliment from Feng Yuanbai still brought Chen Xu 50 praise points.

This meant that even though Feng Yuanbai hadn't had any Spirit Wine that day, his recollection and praise of the Intoxicated Spirit Wine's taste still netted Chen Xu 50 praise points.

When a diner recalls a particular delicacy, the praise is captured by the Food Cauldron Celestial Book—

Chen Xu had known this for a while.

However, what he knew mostly applied to ordinary mortals and common delicacies; today, he understood how an advanced scholar like Feng Yuanbai responds to recalling Spiritual Food.

He pondered briefly, discerning the numerical differences.

For example, if Feng Yuanbai, with an advanced scholar's cultivation, ate ordinary food, his daily praise point limit would be 300 points.

But if he consumed Spiritual Food, the limit would increase from 300 to 1600 points.

Single instances of Spirit Wine praise could earn 500 points; subsequent praises would decrease successively until the 1600 daily cap was reached.

Without consuming Spiritual Food, merely praising it once still gave 50 points, with a daily cap remaining at 300 points.

In conclusion, gifting Spiritual Food daily proved most economically advantageous for individuals with cultivation.

Of course, that was because it was Feng Yuanbai; someone else, regardless of skill, wouldn't easily receive Spiritual Food from Chen Xu.

While deliberating, he suddenly turned over his palm, revealing a small wine gourd holding two taels.

He handed the small wine gourd to Feng Yuanbai.

Feng Yuanbai was astonished, knowing full well what the gourd contained; the slightest whiff of its wine aroma confirmed it as Intoxicated Spirit Wine.

Even though Chen Xu had already given him Intoxicated Spirit Wine, it wasn't in unlimited supply, so Chen Xu gifting more now made Feng Yuanbai exclaim:

"Xu Zhi, this Spirit Wine... no, this must be the newly learned Sleeve Universe technique?"

Not long ago, Chen Xu hadn't known any "magic," yet now, after opening the Sea of Literature, he had progressed rapidly, mastering many wondrous techniques as if they taught themselves.

Feng Yuanbai speculated this was also a blessing brought by Chen Xu's exceptional poetic talent.

Otherwise, for ordinary scholars, even with titles opening up the Sea of Literature, learning the use of Literary Qi would still require repeated honing at the Imperial Court's academy, nowhere as convenient as Chen Xu's experience.

"However, Sleeve Universe is still a Taoist magic." Feng Yuanbai's tone was both amazed and envious, "Xu Zhi, did you obtain this through 'Flowers Are Not Flowers'?"

What?

"Flowers Are Not Flowers" could achieve effects similar to Sleeve Universe?

Chen Xu was even more surprised than Feng Yuanbai, suddenly realizing how crude his use of Literary Qi truly was.

He had much to learn, and County Magistrate Feng was simply a treasure trove!