Chapter 425: Delicious
"How is it?" Bai Feng asked while enjoying the food in his bowl, and Ye Tianfan replied.
"Not bad, not bad. It's way more delicious than the food at the disciples' canteen!" Ye Tianfan said as he ate.
"Isn't it? The first time I snuck in here, I found that the food here is much tastier than outside. Now, I eat directly here and no longer at the disciples' canteen," Bai Feng continued eating without pause.
If the food at the disciples' canteen is like a street stall, then the main canteen serves meals prepared by world-class chefs.
The difference is just that vast.
"Hey, Lao Qi? Why are you here?"
Just as Ye Tianfan was devouring his meal, a familiar voice came from behind.
When Ye Tianfan heard that voice, he turned around, and was so shocked that he choked.
Ye Tianfan furiously patted his chest, finally swallowing the food, then hurriedly stood up,
"Master!"
The person who came was none other than Tian Chu Zhenren.
Tian Chu Zhenren was about to ask Ye Tianfan why he was here, but upon seeing Bai Feng with him, he knowingly nodded.
Then, before Ye Tianfan could explain, Tian Chu Zhenren patted his shoulder and said, "Not bad, being able to come here shows your skill. Enjoy your meal here, as the food is much better than what we have at Taihuo Peak."
After saying this, Tian Chu Zhenren sat elsewhere with three middle-aged people unfamiliar to Ye Tianfan; presumably, they were the heads of other peaks or elders.
Seeing his master leave, Ye Tianfan sat back down and resumed eating.
"Try this, the hundred-year demon beast, stir-fried Steel Rooster," Bai Feng seized the moment while Tian Chu Zhenren was around to fetch another dish.
"Stir-fried Steel Rooster? Can you even chew something like a Steel Rooster?" Ye Tianfan hesitated, looking at the stir-fry that seemed full of metallic texture.
"Of course you can eat it. You might not know, but this dish is extremely chewy. The Steel Rooster, as the name suggests, has a body as tough as steel, yet the taste is incredibly delicious. To savor the Steel Rooster meat, an elder invented a method to consume it," Bai Feng said while picking a piece of the Steel Rooster meat and popping it into his mouth.
"This stir-fried Steel Rooster is first soaked in Five-Spirit True Water, then marinated with Dragon Saliva Star Anise, Phoenix Leaf Cinnamon, Tiger Roar Pepper, Turtle Suppressing Fragrant Leaf for forty-nine minutes. After marinating, it's stir-fried without oil in a Celestial Profound Iron Pot, then the legendary Jade Dew is added and sautéed, finally adding segments of Lava Onion and Knife Mountain Pepper with some common spices for the final dish,"
Ye Tianfan was dumbstruck listening to Bai Feng's explanation. Dragon Saliva Star Anise? Phoenix Leaf Cinnamon? They all sounded impressive, not to mention Lava Onion, Five-Spirit True Water; these ingredients seemed so rare.
Seeing Ye Tianfan's astonishment, Bai Feng continued, "I was also amazed when I first heard it. I didn't expect this dish to be so luxurious. Five-Spirit True Water, as the name implies, is a new water formed by combining the five spirits of Heaven, Earth, Man, God, and Ghost.
Celestial Water, water from the sky, is relatively easy to obtain.
Earth Water, water from underground rivers, also easy to obtain.
Human Water, water imbued with human aura, known as well water. Although well water is also from underground rivers, the difference is it's in the presence of humans.
Divine Water is also rainwater, but not ordinary rain; it's lightning-struck water, rain touched by lightning that hasn't evaporated from the lightning's high temperature, a rainwater full of thunder ambiance, extremely rare.
And Ghost Water is even rarer, formed in the Ghostly Land among the ten forbidden lands. Ghostly Land is barren for thousands of miles, and you never know when or where a drop of water might form. This droplet, upon hitting the ground, evaporates immediately, even rarer than Divine Water."
Ye Tianfan blinked, staring at the stir-fried Steel Rooster on the table, somewhat absent-mindedly picked a piece, and began to eat.
Wow, such a refreshingly unique taste, the chewiness of the Steel Rooster, the amalgamation of flavors—sour, sweet, spicy, and numbing—surpassed any dish he'd eaten before. It felt like a warrior ready for battle, like the feeling of striking a blade a thousand times, simply marvelous!
Bai Feng, still eating, continued to explain: "Dragon Saliva Star Anise is made when the saliva of dragon-blooded demon beasts drips onto star anise. Phoenix Leaf Cinnamon, legend has it, occurs when the Phoenix lands on a parasol tree, and the tree is a cinnamon tree, producing Phoenix Leaf Cinnamon within ten years. As for Tiger Roar Pepper and Turtle Suppressing Fragrant Leaf, it's basically when demon beasts with White Tiger and Black Tortoise bloodlines happen to roar towards peppers, and rest on fragrant leaves. These spices, wild ones, are almost impossible to find, but nowadays, the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect can artificially cultivate these spices, so they're not as hard to get.
Ye Tianfan, after eating a piece of the stir-fried Steel Rooster, was so captivated by the meat that he didn't quite catch what Bai Feng was saying.
But he understood the gist of it, these near-unattainable spices are now available from the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect.
"Based on what you're saying, these spices are so precious, and the meat so exceptional; wouldn't just smelling it give you a lifespan of 360 years, and eating one extends your life by 47,000 years?" Ye Tianfan suddenly recalled the ginseng fruit meme and blurted it out.
"Smelling it gives you a lifespan of 360 years, and eating one extends your life by 47,000 years? How is that possible? Although these spices are precious, each on its own might increase some cultivation, for other dishes, for someone of our level, eating it might boost your rank by two or three levels. But this dish is different." Bai Feng explained.
"Hic!" Ye Tianfan hiccupped, then asked, "What's different about this dish? Why don't I feel anything after eating it?"
"This dish, to soften the texture of the Steel Rooster meat, is prepared by infusing all the spices. Then the chef uses that special Spiritual Qi to modulate the Steel Rooster meat. Once the meat is fully tender and chewy, the chef uses any remaining special Spiritual Qi to enhance the flavor. Eventually, the Steel Rooster, with its juices softened, is only exceptionally tasty and has no other value. That special Spiritual Qi, too, is depleted completely. Simply put, this dish is about taste; all the special effects are washed away and added to the texture," Bai Feng said while grabbing the last few pieces of meat.
Oh my, people here are such connoisseurs of food? If I use the techniques of the Eight Major Cuisines to cook demon beasts, I wonder what would happen? As Ye Tianfan thought of this, he subconsciously swallowed his saliva.
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