Minor Accomplishment

Autumn passed and winter arrived.

In the mountain forests of the Southern Border, even at the end of the year, with the deep winter of the New Year only a few days away, it was still as hot as ever. Only the scant rain and slightly dry weather could prove winter had any presence at all.

Du En's routine remained unchanged as well. He spent his days burying corpses, then went out to hunt a Strange Owl once he finished.

"Goo~"

Accompanied by the mournful cry of the last great owl in the flock, this group of Strange Owls officially came to an end.

After that, if he wanted to hunt a great owl again, he would either have to hurry and strike before they returned to their nests, or go farther afield to find the nest of another flock.

Once these Strange Owls had eaten everything, there were still the Grey Jackals, which also fed on carrion. Once the Grey Jackals had eaten everything, there were still other carrion-eating birds and beasts. By the time he worked through them all in turn and looked back, a new flock of Strange Owls would probably have migrated over and settled in for quite some time. There was no fear of ever eating them all.

The stench of corpses from the Corpse Burial Wasteland was the finest bait, drawing carrion-eating birds and beasts together without end.

Du En carried the great owl all the way back to the little courtyard.

The other corpse buriers had long since grown used to it.

"Boss, New Year and the new month are just around the corner. That fellow surnamed Liu—do you think he'll raise the protection fee when he comes to collect it again?"

Wei Ming asked worriedly at that moment.

Naturally, he was referring to the Blood Eagle Gang's protection fee.

More than fifty days had passed since Liu Qixiang came over. During that time, they had been charged twice more. Du En had avoided making any trouble, and after accounting for food, clothing, and purchases, the twenty-five Low-grade Spirit Stones that had remained with him had dwindled to just four.

As the attention gradually faded, Liu Qixiang's attitude was visibly growing arrogant again. It probably would not be long before he raised the fee once more.

The others were worried about this as well.

Du En remained calm and answered evenly, "I don't plan to pay next time."

Wei Ming and the others immediately froze when they heard this.

Only Ning Caize quickly grasped the key point. "That's right. We do still have Spirit Stones, but we can't just take them out casually. By that calculation, we've probably already used up the wages Du En got back last time. Naturally, we should return to the tougher stance we had before that."

"But... will Liu Qixiang let us off so easily?"

Wei Ming had been a corpse burier for several months already. In the past, that would have made him one of the old hands, more than qualified to be a boss himself. Yet the longer he lived, the more timid he became.

As he came to understand his situation, he had also fully grasped his own powerlessness and helplessness.

"Don't worry. I'll handle it."

Du En's soft words soothed everyone's unease.

Looking at him, everything remained as usual. He was once again stewing a Strange Owl with medicinal herbs.

The sun-warmed medicinal herbs by the edge of the wasteland had almost all been plucked and gathered by him. He had long since moved beyond just those same three ingredients.

Wei Ming and the others sighed with emotion, then turned around and went back to their rooms in unison.

They had no choice. Du En's cooking skills were visibly improving by the day, making the finished stewed Strange Owl smell more and more fragrant.

If this continued, they would be unable to resist shamelessly going over and begging for a taste.

Whenever that happened, images of Strange Owls eating chunks of corpses and corpse broth would surface in their minds. They would also recall the miserable experience from back when they had refused to believe the rumors and tasted boiled Strange Owl.

Their craving, disgust, misery, and the intertwined struggle between instinct and personal emotion made them tacitly choose to retreat whenever this happened.

By the time Du En found a moment to bathe and returned, there was no sound from their rooms. They had either fallen asleep or were cultivating.

He sat back down in front of the mud stove. Smelling the increasingly fragrant assorted stew of owl, he waited silently. Then, at a certain moment, inspiration struck as naturally as water flowing into a channel. He scooped up the large pot with both hands and lifted it down. His magic power spilled out, extinguishing the heat and seeping in slightly. This was the final seasoning.

The fragrance immediately drew inward, and the panel appeared before his eyes.

[Age: 19/91]

[Spiritual Root: Low-grade]

[Cultivation: Early Qi Refining (23/100)]

[Technique: Yellow Earth Technique (Proficient 49/50)]

[Spells: Earth Bullet Technique (Initial Glimpse 15/20), Sand Raising Technique (Proficient 31/50)]

[Divine Ability: None]

[Hundred Arts: Appraisal (Initial Glimpse 0/20), Culinary Arts (Initial Glimpse 0/20)]

He had finally caught a glimpse of the path to cooking spirit cuisine. After accumulating enough experience, he now understood how to use magic power to assist with the finishing touches.

It might seem like only one small step had been added, but it had brought about an obvious qualitative change in the whole process.

First-tier Mid Grade!

Du En set the pot of spirit cuisine aside without rushing to eat it, silently savoring the epiphany that had come as naturally as water flowing into a channel.

Before he knew it, he had grown a year older.

Because he was facing an Evil Cultivator whose depths were unknown, relocation and retreat had been his primary strategy.

Moreover, Sand Raising Technique could be practiced openly by slipping it into gaps in his work. The yellow sand it produced could be gathered into clumps and thrown into the corpse pit, so Du En chose it as his main focus, allowing it to catch up from behind and overtake the others.

In turn, this also promoted his Earth Bullet Technique. Without needing much additional practice, it had already accumulated fifteen points of proficiency.

Unfortunately, when he broke through to Initial Glimpse, it had not promoted the Yellow Earth Technique, which was at Proficient. When he broke through to Proficient, there had been some promotion, but only by two points.

Otherwise, the Yellow Earth Technique would have broken through by now.

"Of course, it's only a little slower."

After finishing his reflection, Du En focused his gaze on the pot of stewed owl.

Tonight, with its help, he would surely break through in one go!

He carried the pot straight into his room, sat cross-legged on the bed, and began to eat.

The meat was no longer strangely tough and rotten. Instead, it had been steeped in sweetness, rich without being greasy, with silky strands of smoothness. It had become extremely delicious. Yet Du En's expression remained as calm as an ancient well, completely unchanged from when the food had been unappetizing before.

He quickly ate it all. His body, which had been compacted and nourished by earth, growing ever stronger, worked at full force to digest it. At the same time, he circulated his magic power, both aiding digestion and refining the Cuisine Power seeping from the spirit cuisine.

His mind felt clear and his body refreshed. The slightest fatigue vanished without a trace, and he entered his optimal state.

Naturally, he did not miss the opportunity. He placed the empty pot to one side and began cultivating his technique.

His magic power was fully mobilized, sensing the spiritual energy around him. The Greater Celestial Circuit, which he had long since practiced with exceptional familiarity, circulated again and again. Faint changes began to appear, growing increasingly obvious.

After nine cycles, his accumulation was sufficient, and he completed the breakthrough as naturally as water flowing into a channel.

Various new insights welled up spontaneously. The circulation of his magic power adjusted naturally as well, continuously sensing more spiritual energy and rapidly refining the last of the Cuisine Power.

From the outside, he seemed not to have changed much. In truth, however, his entire body was being strengthened further during this cycle of cultivation.

Yellow earth piled up, then erupted in a sudden burst. The qi and blood throughout his physical body grew full and vigorous, as if he had been reborn. Ordinary iron weapons could no longer harm him in the slightest. He also seemed silent and unobtrusive, drawing no attention.

Thick earth carried virtue; there was no need for clamor.

Within his meridians, the gaseous, earthy-yellow magic power appeared even more vigorous and pure. It radiated a solid, heavy sensation, yet moved with great lightness during circulation. Without Du En needing to exert additional control, it traveled through the meridians and refined his qi on its own.

In terms of basic efficiency in sensing and refining spiritual energy alone, it had increased by ten percent over what it had been.

The time required to complete one Greater Celestial Circuit had shortened again, while the mental effort consumed had grown even smaller. With the aid of spirit cuisine, he could now complete twelve cycles every night!

Overall, his cultivation efficiency had risen by sixty-five percent compared with before!

This was Minor Accomplishment!

[Age: 19/93]

[Spiritual Root: Low-grade]

[Cultivation: Early Qi Refining (31/100)]

[Technique: Yellow Earth Technique (Minor Accomplishment 0/100)]

[Spells: Earth Bullet Technique (Proficient 3/50), Sand Raising Technique (Proficient 36/50)]

[Divine Ability: None]

[Hundred Arts: Appraisal (Initial Glimpse 0/20), Culinary Arts (Initial Glimpse 0/20)]

"With the technique breaking through to Minor Accomplishment, my Lifespan Limit increased as well. At the same time, the Earth Bullet Technique was carried along and broke through too. But now... it's still not enough. My cultivation is too low."

He took a moment to glance at the panel, then continued cultivating. Before dawn, he completed another cycle.