Spirit Chef's First Experience

Li Xiuchang glanced at the length value in the lower-left corner of his vision.

Five days of practice had increased his length value from "1.13" to "1.28," more than double the speed of growth when practicing martial arts.

Of course, he had also been practicing more diligently.

When practicing martial arts, he was still a mortal, needing to sleep, eat, drink, and use the restroom every day.

Now that he was a cultivator, his need for sleep was minimal, and he could use Grain-Aversion Pills to replace meals, saving a considerable amount of time.

"At this rate, it will only take me a little over a month to accumulate an inch of length. Accumulating five inches in half a year will be no pressure."

"This is just me fumbling around practicing Cultivation Techniques. If I had guidance from a master, my progress would only be faster, and the growth of my length value would be even quicker."

In the past, Li Xiuchang only accumulated an inch of length after a year as a cook, and two inches after half a year of practicing martial arts. This length was hard-earned, and he was reluctant to use it casually.

But now, he could gain at least a foot (10 inches) of length per year. Li Xiuchang felt he could start experimenting with his length.

He sacrificed his cultivation time, focusing his energy on improving his Cultivation Techniques. Wasn't the primary goal "length" after all!

Therefore, this "length" must be worth the investment, at least enough to compensate for the cultivation progress he lagged behind due to practicing techniques.

He needed to put his "Length Cheat" to use as soon as possible, rather than just letting it be a decorative item.

He planned to use one inch of length once he accumulated two inches, ensuring he would always have at least one inch reserved for emergencies, so he wouldn't be caught without it when needed.

In another five days, it would be the day Li Xiuchang went to Wangping Mountain to undergo Elder Zhao's disciple acceptance trial.

Li Xiuchang planned to buy some spirit herbs and spirit wood then, to see if they could help him cultivate the Fire Starting Skill.

Under normal circumstances, absorbing external wood-attribute spiritual qi could indeed speed up the cultivation of the Fire Starting Skill. However, Li Xiuchang had practiced the Fire Starting Skill incorrectly, turning it into the Charcoal Burning Skill, so it was uncertain whether wood-attribute spiritual qi would still be useful.

Of course, before that, he still had to continue practicing the way of the Spirit Chef.

"I haven't used that Artifact Fire Furnace since I bought it. It will be useful for practicing the Blanching Method later."

Among the ingredients Li Xiuchang purchased this time was a large piece of non-grade Yellow Beef.

It was likely from a farmer's yellow cattle that had accidentally consumed some spirit herb, imbuing its flesh with some spiritual power, without truly transforming into a Demonic Beast.

Such beast meat, even if non-grade, was much cheaper than actual Demonic Beast meat.

The most common method for processing meat ingredients was the Blanching Method: put the meat in cold water, gradually add various seasonings, both to remove the gamey odor and to moderate the volatile spiritual power within the meat.

This step required fire. The low-grade Artifact Fire Furnace Li Xiuchang purchased could be put to use here.

Ordinary flames lacked sufficient power, whether for Artifact Refining, Alchemy, or cooking Spirit Delicacies.

Only Spirit Fire would suffice.

The function of the fire furnace artifact was to stabilize the fire source and amplify its power; it did not have the ability to start a fire.

Cultivators who practiced fire-attribute cultivation techniques had a natural advantage in starting fires, able to use their own Mana to ignite Spirit Fire.

Cultivators of other attribute techniques could only rely on external means, such as purchasing spirit item fuel or utilizing Earth Vein Fire.

Although Li Xiuchang had not cultivated fire-attribute Mana, his charcoal-attribute Mana also had the effect of starting fires, saving him some expense on ignition.

However, his Mana-induced fire had a side effect: it produced smoke...

The quiet room on the first floor was originally intended for Outer Sect disciples to practice their techniques, but to avoid filling the entire house with smoke, Li Xiuchang had to start the fire in the courtyard outside.

Li Xiuchang placed the artifact fire furnace in the courtyard and injected his charcoal-attribute Mana into it. Soon, flames and thick smoke billowed from the furnace...

He immediately controlled the Courtyard Protection Array, opening a gap at the top to ensure the smoke could drift away.

Li Xiuchang practiced controlling the furnace, adjusting the size and power of the flames, and after a while, he could handle it with ease.

This artifact fire furnace would be useful for future Cultivation Techniques that required Spirit Fire, such as Artifact Refining or Alchemy, making it a very practical auxiliary tool.

Li Xiuchang placed the pot on the furnace and poured in Spirit Spring Water with a faint trace of spiritual qi. Ordinary water could not withstand Spirit Fire; it would evaporate in an instant.

This practice session naturally needed to be economical. Li Xiuchang only poured half a bowl of Spirit Spring Water, just enough to cover the bottom of the pot, and then added some ingredients and seasonings.

Only then did he pick up his cleaver and slice a thin, cicada-wing-like piece of Yellow Beef into the pot.

His knife skills were superb, comparable to a meat-slicing master at Lanzhou Lamian.

The cleaver was also sharp. Although it was a non-grade artifact, it was forged from solid first-grade materials, making slicing the beef as easy as cutting tofu.

Therefore, this large piece of Yellow Beef would last Li Xiuchang for a long time of practice.

Soon, the water in the pot boiled. Li Xiuchang fished out the slice of beef, examined it for a moment, and shook his head.

The already scarce spiritual qi in the beef had been greatly lost, and it had not served to regulate the spiritual qi. The first attempt at the Blanching Method had failed.

This was within Li Xiuchang's expectations; success rarely came on the first try.

This slice of beef, the Spirit Spring Water in the pot, and the many seasonings were all wasted with this failure.

Although the loss was not significant, if practiced year after year, it would become a considerable expense.

Any Cultivation Technique was like this; it required constant practice, repeated failures, and accumulated experience to get started, which also meant investing some cost.

It could be said that one exchanged Spirit Stones for experience.

The Talisman Path attracted so many practitioners precisely because the cost of early practice was low.

The key point was that while others like Li Xiuchang gained nothing from a failed attempt except the experience of failure, Li Xiuchang could still accumulate length.

This was his advantage.

Li Xiuchang glanced at the length stat. The failed blanching attempt just now had taught him a lot, and the length stat had increased by 0.01.

He poured out the wastewater from the pot and was about to attempt blanching a second time. Staring at the thick smoke rising from the fire furnace, he suddenly had a thought.

Among the many ways to prepare ingredients, there was a more advanced technique specifically for handling meat: the "Smoking Method."

It was similar to the folk method of smoking cured meat.

However, it required specific types of Spirit Wood as fuel to smoke Spirit Meat.

And that Spirit Wood was often expensive, which was why the Smoking Method was usually only used for precious Demonic Beast meat. A Spirit Chef Apprentice like Li Xiuchang would never be able to practice with it.

But looking at the thick smoke generated by his Charcoal Attribute Mana, Li Xiuchang couldn't help but get an idea.

"Can the smoke produced by my Charcoal Attribute Mana be used to smoke Spirit Meat?"

As soon as the thought popped into his head, Li Xiuchang felt his heart race. He couldn't wait to try it.

If this worked, he could make a fortune in the future just by helping others smoke Spirit Meat!

Li Xiuchang immediately cut off a piece of Yellow Beef. This time, he was exceptionally generous, cutting a piece twice as thick as a cicada's wing!