Liu Bing set Luo Li down on the sofa, then walked over to the fridge and took a look inside. There really was nothing in it. But then he remembered that she had turned into a ghoul and couldn't eat normal food, so he understood.
Luo Li had regained her senses, and she no longer felt particularly hungry. She had no idea how Liu Bing had managed it, but she was still grateful that she hadn't eaten anyone.
Before, that terrifying hunger had left her with no choice. She'd had to find someone to eat.
Seeing what Liu Bing was doing, she asked in confusion, "What are you doing?"
"Just checking to see what you've got to eat. I haven't had dinner yet," Liu Bing said casually.
Liu Bing had thought they could go out to eat, but since Luo Li was a ghoul, she'd obviously done her best to avoid the subject. So all they'd done was drink coffee and watch a movie.
"I've turned into a ghoul. What kind of food do you think I'd have around?" Luo Li's expression darkened. She was getting disgusted with her ability again. Why did she have to get such a revolting power?
She'd always been a foodie, and used to keep snacks stocked at home. Now, she'd thrown out not only her snacks but even all the ingredients. She couldn't eat them, and just seeing them annoyed her.
"Right, you've turned into a ghoul, so you can only eat human flesh." Liu Bing shook his head and walked over to sit beside her on the sofa.
The moment he sat down, Luo Li punched him. "I've never eaten human flesh."
"Then why were you chasing me just now?" Liu Bing shrugged. "If I hadn't been quick on my feet, you'd probably be clinging to me and gnawing on me right now."
Luo Li fell silent. Curling up on the sofa, she hugged her knees and said softly, "I didn't want to, either, but I was so hungry. I hadn't eaten in days, and I'd been getting by on coffee. I could feel that I might lose control at any moment. I didn't want anyone to find out I'd turned into a monster like a ghoul, so..."
"Ah, so you decided to find someone good-looking to eat?" Liu Bing said with a faint smile.
Luo Li glared at him in annoyance. "Is it so wrong to find ugly people unappetizing? If I'd already decided to eat someone, I was obviously going to pick someone I liked looking at."
Liu Bing laughed, then gave a casual wave of his arm. Suddenly, a tableful of all kinds of dishes appeared on the previously empty coffee table!
The dishes were a dazzling feast, their fragrance filling the room. They were all meals he'd made in the Primordial World and stored in his pocket dimension.
Liu Bing had developed a habit of stockpiling food in the Primordial World, especially after acquiring a storage space. That only made the habit stronger.
He didn't have time to cook every day. He often needed to meditate in seclusion to comprehend the Dao, which left him even less time to prepare meals. But as a Chinese person, hot meals were an ingrained fixation.
Even after he'd achieved freedom from the need to eat, he'd still kept the habit of having three meals a day.
He'd even spent some time learning to cook from the Kitchen God and the God of Cookery, turning his dishes into something with effects similar to pills.
After that, whenever he cooked, he prepared a large amount of food all at once and stored it in his storage space for when he needed it. As time went by, he lost track of how many meals he had stored away.
Sometimes he envied people with Fortune talents. Whatever they wanted, they could create out of thin air.
Like Empress Nuwa. Whatever she wanted, she could just make herself. And at her level, she could have practically anything she wanted. It was enough to make anyone envious.
As the dishes suddenly appeared on the coffee table, the entire penthouse seemed to be cleansed, instantly filling with fresh, pleasant air. Rich spiritual energy permeated the room, nourishing everyone inside.
All the food was made from ingredients native to the Primordial World, and it held an astonishing amount of spiritual energy, which was constantly spilling out. Under normal circumstances, the spiritual energy radiating from these dishes would have been too much for an ordinary person like Luo Li to bear—even as a ghoul.
But this world was devoid of spiritual energy. Most of what escaped from the food dissipated into the surrounding world, and Liu Bing had also set up a temporary formation around the penthouse to let the spiritual energy seep out gradually, preventing the violent fluctuations from causing any harm.
Otherwise, if that immense spiritual energy erupted all at once, it could flatten the entire residential complex in the blink of an eye.
Luo Li's beautiful eyes widened as she stared at the coffee table laden with a sumptuous spread. Then that hunger swept over her again.
But soon, she wasn't hungry anymore. She'd only taken a few breaths of the spiritual energy wafting from the food, yet she burped as if she were full.
She stared at Liu Bing in shock. "What is this?"
"Oh, haven't you had home-style dishes like these before? This is braised pork, and this is spicy chicken..." Liu Bing calmly introduced the dishes on the coffee table. As he did, he casually reached out, and a bowl of white rice suddenly appeared in his hand.
Is he seriously asking if I recognize the dishes? Of course I know what they are. What is wrong with this guy? He's always missing the point.
"Is that what I'm asking?" Luo Li couldn't help rolling her eyes.
"I'm asking what's going on with these dishes. Why am I full just from smelling them?"
"Oh, the food contains spiritual energy. You know about immortal cultivation, right? The kind of spiritual energy you need to cultivate," Liu Bing said. He put a piece of braised pork in his mouth and chewed, savoring the burst of juices, then shoveled down a huge mouthful of rice.
"Spiritual energy!" Luo Li exclaimed in shock. Then she thought of something and asked urgently, "Does this mean spiritual energy has returned to the world?"
"More or less," Liu Bing said without hiding anything.
"Then are you a cultivator?" Luo Li asked, looking at Liu Bing with anticipation.
"Yeah, you could say that." Liu Bing nodded.
"Then can you help me get rid of my ghoul identity?" Luo Li asked, finally voicing her goal. She was truly disgusted by her ghoul abilities. Whether it was taking on a ghoul form or eating people, it all revolted her.
"Sure." Liu Bing nodded, then continued, "But won't you regret it? It is a supernatural power, after all."
"Regret it? Not a chance. I don't want to eat people." Luo Li pursed her lips, making it clear that she was a normal person and had no desire to become a monster that ate people.
"Fine." Liu Bing pointed a finger, destroying all the ghoul cells in Luo Li's body.
Just as Liu Bing finished, the door was suddenly smashed open, and someone who looked like he was wearing armor charged into the room.
The moment he entered, he began breathing greedily, even letting out a series of blissful moans. "Ah, this energy is so pure..."
Then his black-and-red eyes turned toward Luo Li and Liu Bing. "Hahaha, two more meals. Nice, very nice."
Before you continue