Treasure Crab! Is This Really an Ordinary Crab?

Su Mu took a Big Black Pot from the Stone House. With a sweep of his hand, the pebbles on the ground automatically formed a stand. He placed the dry firewood he had picked up during recent patrols inside and used only a small piece.

He had discovered that the dry wood along the riverbank was incredibly slow-burning. Even a small piece could burn for days and nights without going out; it had to be pinched out by hand.

After lighting the firewood, he set the black pot over it, added water to the bottom, then placed in a steamer basket. Only steamed Chinese Mitten Crab could preserve its original, authentic flavor.

Once all the preparations were complete, he began steaming them.

Such huge crabs would need at least half an hour to steam, right? While the crabs steamed, Su Mu rested beside them.

Half an hour later, Su Mu lifted the lid and found the family of three crabs staring at him with wide eyes.

Forget being cooked—they were still full of life and boundless energy. Why did it feel like he was giving them a sauna? Su Mu put the lid back on, turned up the heat, and decided to steam them for eight hours first! Naturally, he would not sit idle while the crabs steamed. He picked up his hoe and sickle, put on his bamboo hat, and prepared to patrol.

Congratulations, you discovered three breaches along the riverbank and repaired them in time. Favor Points +30

Congratulations, weeds had overrun the riverbank. You cleared them away. Favor Points +10

Congratulations, you saved a small fish tangled in a broken net. Favor Points +20

...After a whole busy day, Su Mu returned to the Stone House. He walked up to the stone pot and lifted the lid, only to see three pairs of large eyes all staring straight at him.

Those looks seemed to say, What the hell, little bro? Turn up the heat! Su Mu was dumbfounded. Judging from this performance, these three crabs were undoubtedly Treasure Crabs.

They had been steamed for so long, yet nothing had happened to them.

Rather than getting angry, Su Mu became even more excited. Good, good—very good.

He knew ordinary fire definitely could not cook them.

He stepped forward and circulated his cultivation technique. Vast spiritual power burst forth, transforming into blue Spirit Fire that began to scorch the Treasure Crabs.

Once empowered by Spirit Fire, the three crabs finally lost their leisurely expressions and were clearly starting to panic.

Su Mu continuously poured out Spirit Fire. Fortunately, his foundation was extremely solid; even after three hours of such intense output, he did not feel the slightest depletion.

For two entire days, Su Mu did not pause for even a moment. Only then did he finally feel somewhat drained. An ordinary Spirit Transformation cultivator probably would not have lasted more than three hours under such intense Spirit Fire output.

Finally, on the third day, an unusual fragrance overflowed from the stone pot. The instant Su Mu smelled it, he perked up. They were finally cooked.

Su Mu stopped supplying Spirit Fire and lifted the lid. At last, the family of three had their eyes closed.

Heh heh!

Weren't you acting pretty tough just now? Staring me down with those big eyes, even provoking me?

Feeling good now?

Su Mu took the entire family out, found a flatter pebble, and lined them up one by one on top of it.

A rich, unusual fragrance wafted out. Just one breath of it made him feel refreshed from body to soul, utterly clear and at ease.

Treasure Crabs, Treasure Crabs indeed!

The time had come. Time to dig in!

He would start with the fattest female crab. Since it was simply too huge, Su Mu found a large cleaver and chopped off all four crab claws.

"Holy shit?"

"This meat is golden!"

After extracting all the meat from the crab claws, Su Mu discovered that the crab meat sticks were golden in color.

Finally, he prepared to smash open the crab shell with one punch!

His fist struck the shell, but it felt as though he had punched a piece of Ten Thousand Year Profound Iron. The pain made Su Mu fling his hand around.

What the hell, crab bro? You're already cooked, and your shell is still this hard?

It reminded Su Mu of playing games with his brothers before he transmigrated. A certain guy had been hard-mouthed from head to toe—after cremation, even his mouth would not melt, because it was too hard! And here he was, an unparalleled great power in the Transformation Spirit Realm. Why was opening a crab shell this damn difficult?

At that moment, that familiar sense of doubt returned. Could it be that the immortal cultivation I practice is really fake?

After trying several times and still failing to break open the crab shell, Su Mu started from the underside.

Sure enough, the underside was the softest part of a crab. With a hard pull, he tore it straight open.

Crab roe was revealed.

Wait, why was this crab roe black?

Not only was it black, it had a crystalline, blocky texture, giving it the look of black crystal.

After taking out the intact crab roe, Su Mu placed it on the pebble. The more he looked at it, the more it resembled a diamond-shaped piece of black crystal.

At last, he prepared to deal with the male crab.

Strangely enough, this male crab's shell was extremely brittle. One punch shattered it.

However, its crab claws were incredibly sturdy. No matter what method Su Mu used, he could not extract the claw meat. Left with no other choice, he had to give up.

When he opened its underside, though, he found that this male crab did not have any crab roe at all. Its entire belly was completely empty! The only edible parts of a crab were the claw meat and the roe.

This male crab had no roe, and its claws were too tough to break open. In the end, there was nothing he could eat from it.

Su Mu vented his anger on the little crab.

It was easy. He removed all of the little crab's claw meat and roe perfectly intact.

Very good. The whole family was neat and complete!

The esteemed Mr. Su was about to enjoy his afternoon tea!

One bite per piece of crab claw meat, and Su Mu's eyes widened as he ate.

It was too delicious!

This deliciousness was no longer merely a pleasure for the taste buds. Every single cell in his body was enjoying it.

After finishing all the crab claw meat, Su Mu could feel an incomparably vast energy gathering in his abdomen.

He planned to eat everything first, then slowly digest it.

Su Mu crunched through the black-crystal-like crab roe. Fortunately, his teeth were strong, but it still took him a full hour to finish it all.

After he was done, Su Mu's entire face was flushed red. The vast energy in his abdomen could no longer be suppressed. If he did not find a way to digest it soon, he felt he would burst apart and die.

Su Mu sat cross-legged and circulated his cultivation technique, slowly digesting the energy bit by bit.

He remained seated for an entire day.

Then, Su Mu suddenly opened his eyes. His aura surged several times over! The Spleen Divine Treasury was complete!

Su Mu had never expected that simply eating three Treasure Crabs would directly allow him to complete the Spleen Divine Treasury!

Now, his Heart Divine Treasury and Spleen Divine Treasury had both been fully cultivated, while his Kidney Divine Treasury was nearly complete as well.

Of the Five Divine Treasuries, he had nearly completed three!

With this cultivation speed, looking across all of history, who could compare?

Although Su Mu's cultivation kept growing stronger, the more he cultivated, the more he felt something was off. He lacked the overwhelming presence and strength that a great Transformation Spirit cultivator ought to have!

Would a normal Spirit Transformation powerhouse have such a hard time just eating a crab?

Maybe this crab was simply far from ordinary. Su Mu could only console himself that way.

Su Mu picked up the crab claws he could not pry open and the crab shells he could not smash apart.

These crab claws and shells could be used as weapons, right? At that moment, Su Mu sensed an extremely faint fluctuation of life from the female crab's shell. His brows furrowed slightly. He turned the shell over and looked toward a corner inside.

"Hmm?"

"W-What is this?"