Chapter 574
Eating her dishes had already reached the limits of heaven and earth.
Now, to become her dish?
“There's no rush with the Xuan Dan (玄丹) business. Bing Tuozi, you must be hungry, right? So am I. Let’s head back and cook something.”
Li Mo stepped out of the Longhu Dan Furnace without a hint of hesitation.
That bit of fortune was just enough to make him a bit more imposing; it wasn’t a big deal.
“Hey, Junior Brother Li, you’re here! It’s not every day we get to see you, so how could we not prepare lunch for you?”
Tang Xiaobao came running over, balancing a tray and two food boxes.
Perhaps influenced by the national fortune, his tone was as delicate as a finely carved little eunuch.
“.......”
At that moment, Li Mo wished he could take two of his own heartstrings and place them in Tang Xiaobao’s body:
“I had quite a bit for lunch, at least four dishes and a soup...”
“Here you go, four dishes and a soup.”
Tang Xiaobao shook the food boxes in his hands and set down the tray on his head.
“I’m a bit picky with my food...” Little Li still wanted to protest.
“Today we have Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, boiled cabbage, Wensi tofu, and Three Treasures Roast Duck. The soup is Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea.”
With a flick of his hand, Tang Xiaobao revealed a table full of exquisite dishes, each one a feast for the senses.
This was basically a national banquet.
“......”
After a moment of silence, Li Mo asked, “Do you guys at Dan Ding Peak usually eat this well?”
Tang Xiaobao chuckled, “That’s thanks to you, Junior Brother Li. You provided the idea of practicing alchemy through cooking, so the disciples at Dan Ding Peak are working really hard.”
“The results are pretty good. Not only can they really practice alchemy, but there are also leftovers. After all, the alchemical pills they practice making might not be edible, but the dishes definitely are.”
Great, it turns out this was all Li Mo’s doing.
“But...”
Little Li, who had been metaphorically hit by a boomerang, opened his mouth to say something more.
But just then, Ying Bing turned her beautiful face, her eyes glimmering as she picked up a piece of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall with her chopsticks.
“Eat up.”
“I suddenly don’t feel hungry anymore...”
“Be good, here comes the little flying vegetable.”
“.....”
Ying Bing crossed her legs, and while he was sweating and at a loss, she squinted and asked softly:
“What’s the effect of that divine pill Elder Xue is studying?”
“It’s just... the kind that women can eat but men can’t. Eating it is good for cultivation; that’s all I know.”
“Really?”
“Really, sister.”
Ying Bing wiped the corner of his mouth, sensing something was off but unable to pinpoint what it was.
However, even though she hadn’t delved into alchemy, she could feel a strong vitality from the Xuan Jing (玄晶) just now, and its effects should align with what Li Mo said.
He must be telling the truth, right?
“Bing Tuozi, I can eat by myself; you don’t have to keep...”
“I like feeding you, just like you enjoy cooking.”
Seeing this scene, the passing disciples of Dan Ding Peak couldn’t help but exchange glances.
Is this really the radiant, awe-inspiring Li Shaoxia, who silences the world with his presence?
Is this truly the cold fairy, as clear as the moon, detached from the world, and standing alone?
Everyone had a belly full of words stuck in their throats; clearly, they hadn’t eaten lunch yet, but suddenly they felt full.
It wasn’t until the afternoon that Li Mo handed a scroll of the “Zhou Tian Xing Dou Xuan Dan Jing” (周天星斗玄丹经) to Bing Tuozi.
Though it was called a Dan Jing, it was actually a martial art based on alchemy.
Once it involved martial arts, the master of the Gui Palace seemed to return; this time, she studied it with exceptional focus for a long time.
Li Mo watched her hold the book and was momentarily reminded of that cold Bing Tuozi, who had spent years in the icy Gui Palace, diligently writing martial arts, occasionally revealing a hint of solitude in her eyes.
Even if she had created unparalleled divine skills, the frost and snow on her face remained unchanged.
It seemed she was using what she excelled at to fulfill some kind of mission, rather than genuinely enjoying it...
“Alright.”
Ying Bing set down the Xuan Dan Jing, her radiance brightening the summer day.
“Bing Tuozi, have you learned to refine pills?” Li Mo was taken aback.
“No.”
“Then should we wait for Elder Xue to come out?”
“But I’ve learned to hang shiny stars in your inner world.”
“....”
Bing Tuozi didn’t even realize how impactful her words were.
The courage she gave Little Li at that moment surpassed even Liang Jingru; he turned and jumped into the Dan Furnace, even covering the lid himself.
Whoosh—
The Longhu Dan Furnace blazed with a fierce light, illuminating Ying Bing, who stood beside a pile of heavenly materials.
The familiar sound of oil heating in a pan.
Ying Bing reached in and picked up a plant.
“Next, we should add the ingredients...”
Amidst the intense flames, Li Mo suddenly felt his throat dry, swallowing hard.
“Can you still eat?”
“I can eat... hmm?”
“Then let’s eat all the heavenly materials in order, and then release the inner world.”
Looking at the mountain of materials outside, Li Mo leaned back slightly, pointing at himself.
Is this the result of Bing Tuozi reading the Xuan Dan Jing?
“Isn’t it supposed to refine the Xuan Dan first and then integrate it into the dantian?” That’s how Li Mo and Elder Xue had studied it.
“Why not just eat the heavenly materials directly, using the inner world as the furnace? Isn’t that more convenient?”
“If the inner world is the furnace, then why did I jump into the Longhu Dan Furnace...”
“You jumped in yourself.”
Bing Tuozi seemed curious, but the slight smile at the corner of her lips betrayed her.
Li Mo: “.....”
He glanced at Bing Tuozi, feeling that the bad side of her was coming out.
But now that the atmosphere had reached this point, it would make Little Li look a bit dull if he backed out.
Bing Tuozi tossed in another spirit ginseng, and seeing him silent for so long, she asked:
“How do you feel?”
“With the furnace burning so fiercely, I should be a bit fiery when I come out.”
“?”
Little Li had just been roasted by the flames for no reason; it’s well-known that a gentleman doesn’t hold grudges.
He grabbed the ginseng Bing Tuozi had thrown in, stuffed it into his mouth, and swallowed it whole without chewing.
Tang Xiaobao, Brother Qiu, Sister Fang, and several true disciples of Dan Ding Peak exchanged glances.
They felt like they were refining a new kind of pill, something even fresher than using culinary skills.
Can this work?
As it turned out, this alchemy process that skipped the refining step leaned more towards martial arts, which was her forte.
The inner world released was a towering crimson giant, standing firm amidst chaos, with the starry sky above.
The moment the extraordinary scene appeared, the disciples of Dan Ding Peak felt their divine senses quieting—not disappearing, but rather losing all their extraordinary qualities, becoming ordinary beings.
Because this piece of heaven and earth did not belong to the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.
Perhaps having consumed many heavenly materials, the inner world was now shrouded in a thick mist.
“Hey, where’s Ying Shimei?”
Tang Xiaobao scratched his head, looking around.
Brother Qiu lifted his head, directing him to look up at the sky.
In a realm that didn’t belong to the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, there once hung a bright moon that belonged to him.
Now she had returned, weaving the stars with her delicate hands, as if she had never left.
.....
P.S.: As the New Year approaches, there’s been a lot going on, and my updates have been a bit lacking. I hope the audience can forgive me. I’m too shy to ask for support.
After the small New Year, things should get better. Mwah!
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Chapter 664: How Should We Become?
The mist in the inner world grew thinner.
Through the tempering of various martial arts, they had been absorbed by the starry phantoms in the Xuan Dan Jing, making the stars more vivid and perfect.
Each Xuan Dan must undergo a long period of refinement by a martial artist in the inner breath realm, transforming through the condensation of qi.
But in Bing Tuozi’s hands, it was as easy as plucking a piece from a chess basket.
“The Xuan Dan Jing can be practiced like this?”
The sense of fulfillment brought by each star to the inner world left Li Mo no time to savor it.
He could see that while Bing Tuozi appeared relaxed, each star she hung represented a transformation of a martial art.
And they all resonated with her inner world.
If he were to do it himself, he couldn’t even imagine how much martial insight it would take.
Still, it was just the first layer of the inner scene.
But the starry sky in the inner world now belonged solely to him; projecting the inner scene to the outside no longer required resonance with the heavens and earth.
Stars twinkled, the sun set, and the clear abyss was tranquil in the dusk.
Li Mo retracted the inner scene, feeling as if the imperial fortune that had lodged in his throat was suppressed by the towering crimson giant, no longer able to affect him.
In the inner world, the stars revolved, and Li Mo snapped open the Dan Furnace.
He happened to see Ying Bing, who had also released her inner scene, descending slowly, and saw someone crawling out of the Dan Furnace, arms outstretched toward her, the cold and sacred aura suddenly infused with warmth.
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