Return to Purple Moon Mountain

Purple Moon Mountain's peak rose a thousand zhang high. Its forests were lush, flowers bloomed in clusters, Spirit Beasts of all kinds bounded and leaped through the woods, and flocks of spirit birds soared and danced, filling the mountain with vibrant life.

From halfway up the mountain, wisps of Spiritual Qi drifted through the air. This was where Purple Moon Mountain's sole Tier 2 Spirit Vein lay, as well as the Purple Moon Wolf Pool.

High in the air, Yang Tianyou sat cross-legged on the Twin Blades, which had been enlarged seven or eight times. At ease, he gazed down at the beautiful scenery below.

"Purple Moon Mountain is still as beautiful as ever. Don't you agree, Fengling?"

"Awoo..."

"You think the Wolf Pool is the prettiest? No, no, no, the Floral Pavilion is still the most beautiful."

"Awoo..."

Man and wolf argued as they slowly descended outside a courtyard.

Blue bricks, green tiles, old vines, and yellow flowers.

The familiar building stirred something in Yang Tianyou's heart, while Fengling, unable to wait any longer, happily ran inside.

Passing through the front hall and along a covered walkway, Yang Tianyou arrived at a sizable medicine garden.

At that moment, a beautiful woman in green sat beneath a pavilion, smiling at him. Beside her, Fengling sat like a proper person, gnawing on a plump piece of spirit meat.

"Mother!"

Yang Tianyou called softly.

Duan Hongyu beckoned, and Yang Tianyou hurried over.

Stroking her son's cheek, Duan Hongyu looked at him with a trace of heartache. "You've lost so much weight!"

"In Mother's eyes, her son is always thin."

Yang Tianyou teased.

"Of course. You're my only son. If I don't worry about you, who else would I worry about?"

Duan Hongyu tapped Yang Tianyou's forehead with a slender, jade-white finger and spoke in exasperation.

Mother and son spent a little more time together before Duan Hongyu told Yang Tianyou to get some rest and hurried off to busy herself in the kitchen. Her son had been away for nearly a year, and she had decided to make it up to him.

In the Spirit Medicine Garden, a riot of color filled the front, while a sea of gold stretched out behind it. The two strikingly different landscapes blended together, creating a beauty all their own.

Yang Tianyou strolled through the garden, occasionally plucking a flower and chewing it slowly. Its sweetness seemed to take him back to his childhood, when his mother often made him all sorts of snacks with these Spirit Flowers. They had tasted wonderful.

Suddenly, a swarm of bees, each the size of a fingertip, flew over. Fengling hurried behind Yang Tianyou and peeked out from his hiding place.

"You wouldn't have been stung so badly if you hadn't stolen their honey last time."

Even now, whenever Yang Tianyou thought of it, he couldn't help laughing aloud.

Recalling how Fengling's body had swollen to nearly twice its size made it even funnier.

"Awoo..."

Passing through the various spirit medicines and Spirit Flowers, Yang Tianyou came to a rice paddy.

The spirit rice in the paddy was nearly ripe. A rich rice fragrance filled the air, and stalk after stalk of Golden-Pattern Rice, their grains plump and full, swayed in the wind. The sight of their heavy ears was deeply satisfying.

Looking at the three mu of Golden-Pattern Rice before him, Yang Tianyou couldn't help showing how touched he was.

Golden-Pattern Rice was a Metal Attribute, First-Tier Middle-Grade spirit rice, suitable for those who cultivated Metal Attribute Cultivation Methods.

His mother, Duan Hongyu, and his father, Yang Qiongchu, both cultivated Earth-attribute Cultivation Methods, so there was no need to say who the three mu of Golden-Pattern Rice were for.

People said the Immortal Dao was heartless, but Yang Tianyou had rarely felt that way. His parents, his older brothers and sisters in the Lineage, and his uncles all cared for him deeply. Even when they scolded him sternly, it was only for his own good.

By the time he finished exploring the Spirit Medicine Garden, evening had arrived. His father, Yang Qiongchu, had learned of his return and put aside the Lineage's official business to hurry home.

"The Qi Refinement Fifth Layer? Good, good! It seems my son hasn't neglected his cultivation!"

A father's concerns were always different from a mother's. Seeing that Yang Tianyou had broken through to the Qi Refinement Fifth Layer made the already excited Yang Qiongchu even happier.

"I heard you, Tianxue, and Tian Wang made a great contribution to the Lineage?"

Yang Qiongchu asked with a smile after sitting down.

"That's right. Here's what happened..."

As Yang Tianyou recounted the events, Yang Qiongchu nodded from time to time. When he heard that Yang Tianyou had slain a Qi Refining eighth layer cultivator, he sprang to his feet in excitement, praising him again and again.

"What's so good about it? This is all because of what you taught him as his father! With a cultivation of only the Qi Refinement Fifth Layer, he dared fight someone at the Qi Refining eighth layer! How dangerous was that?"

Duan Hongyu, who was carrying a dish over at that moment, heard the conversation between father and son. She slammed the dish onto the table, her face livid.

At this, neither Yang Tianyou nor his father dared make a sound. It was clear who called the shots in this household.

"Tianyou, you mustn't ever do that again. It's not that I object to you fighting others. After all, fighting is unavoidable for Cultivators. But don't ever again fight someone three layers above you like you did before. You're my only son. If anything happened to you, how could I go on living?"

As she spoke, Duan Hongyu's eyes reddened slightly. Yang Tianyou's earlier actions had clearly frightened her badly.

Seeing this, Yang Tianyou and Yang Qiongchu hurried to comfort her. Only after Yang Tianyou repeatedly promised it would never happen again did they put the matter behind them.

Duan Hongyu returned to her work, bringing one delicious dish after another to the table, each made with precious Spirit Materials.

The Three-Tailed Green Pepper Fish in the center had been made from an entire middle-grade spirit fish. The ingredients alone had cost more than ten Spirit Stones.

And that was without counting the fact that Duan Hongyu, a Spirit Chef, had cooked it herself. It was certain to delight the eyes, nose, and palate, while also providing exceptional nourishment.

Finally, a bowl of golden Golden-Pattern Rice was placed before Yang Tianyou. The distinct grains resembled yellow crystal, interspersed with flecks of snowy white. Those were the whites of Flower Cloud Bird spirit eggs, steamed together with the Golden-Pattern Rice until tender, smooth, and delicious.

Looking at the lavish dishes before him, Yang Tianyou swallowed despite himself.

Come to think of it, he hadn't eaten his mother's cooking in a year. He had missed it terribly.

"Go on, eat. I suppose I'm sharing in your good fortune. If you hadn't come back, who knows when I'd have had a meal like this?"

Yang Qiongchu sounded rather aggrieved, but when Duan Hongyu shot him a sidelong glare, he hastily gave her an apologetic smile and buried his head in his rice.

Seeing his father's awkward predicament, Yang Tianyou smiled, then picked up his white jade chopsticks and took a bite of fish.

It melted in his mouth, its flavor exquisitely fresh. Once it reached his stomach, it quickly turned into a stream of mellow, gentle Spiritual Qi that his body absorbed.

As expected of a First-Tier Superior-Grade Spirit Chef. In terms of value alone, this Three-Tailed Green Pepper Fish was no less than two or three Spirit Pills of the same grade. More valuable still, the Spiritual Power produced by Spirit Cuisine was easier for the body to absorb and left no additional pill toxins.

For that reason, Spirit Chefs ranked only a notch below Spirit Alchemists.