Spiritual Meals

Their Wutong District had a place that specialized in making Spiritual Meals. Usually, only disciples at the Late-stage Qi Refining occasionally went there, since the prices were steep.

A single plate of stir-fried Demonic Beast meat and two bowls of Spirit Rice cost the two of them one Low-grade Spirit Stone.

"So expensive!"

Lin Shiyu picked up a piece of meat with a pained expression.

"Senior Sister! This is Demonic Beast meat, not ordinary meat. And this rice is Spirit Bamboo Rice from Qingzhu Workshop. It contains Spirit Energy, so it isn't expensive."

The Servant Disciple beside them patiently explained.

Lin Shiyu took a bite. It really was delicious.

As for Zhou Er, although he had Taotie in his heart, Lin Shiyu was treating him, after all, so he didn't want to seem too greedy. He focused on eating the Spirit Bamboo Rice in his own bowl and rarely reached for the meat.

This little bowl of Spirit Bamboo Rice couldn't have weighed even half a catty, and Zhou Er finished it in just a few bites.

Lin Shiyu still had half a bowl left. Seeing Zhou Er's bowl already empty, she said, "Senior Brother, I can't eat any more. You can finish it for me!"

Even Spiritual Meals contained only a limited amount of Spirit Energy. The ones they ate were mainly meant to fill the stomach, and only eating them regularly would bring some benefits.

Lin Shiyu had already taken a Bigu Pill, so she didn't have much of an appetite.

Though the rice did have a faint bamboo fragrance and tasted good, Lin Shiyu didn't crave it that much.

"Junior Sister Lin, there's no need."

Zhou Er felt a little embarrassed.

"If you don't eat it, Senior Brother, it'll just go to waste."

Lin Shiyu pretended to sound helpless.

The Servant Disciple cleaning nearby heard them and secretly rejoiced. Usually, if customers couldn't finish their food, the Servant Disciples could sneak the leftovers.

But Spiritual Meals were expensive, so not many people ate there. And those who did usually cleaned their plates.

"All right!"

Seeing this, Zhou Er took Lin Shiyu's bowl.

"Hehe!"

Lin Shiyu was delighted to see Zhou Er eating so happily, and she felt happy too.

Only then did Zhou Er realize how intimate things between him and Lin Shiyu had become. He stopped eating and paused.

"What's wrong, Senior Brother? Did you find something nasty in your food?"

Lin Shiyu asked curiously when she saw Zhou Er stop.

"It's nothing. Something went down the wrong way."

Zhou Er pretended not to notice the awkwardly intimate atmosphere.

"Here! Have some water, Senior Brother."

Lin Shiyu handed Zhou Er a cup of tea.

"Thank you, Junior Sister Lin."

Zhou Er nodded.

After polishing off every last bite, the two left the Spirit Restaurant.

The Servant Disciple was disappointed as he cleared away their spotless dishes.

Zhou Er returned to his small courtyard. After completing three rounds of cultivation as planned, he lay down on his small bed.

As he drifted off, Zhou Er thought back over the day.

His relationship with Lin Shiyu really had grown much more ambiguous.

Zhou Er was a normal man, and this body was at an age when its blood ran hot. He wasn't averse to romance.

Still, he had some reservations: did Lin Shiyu really like him?

Zhou Er remembered their first meeting. Lin Shiyu had paid him special attention because of his connections.

That gave Zhou Er reason to suspect that Lin Shiyu was so good to him now not because she liked him, but because she wanted to leverage his connections.

Over the three months they'd spent together, though, Zhou Er had come to see that Lin Shiyu was a pretty good girl. She came from a decent family, was well-mannered, never tried to take advantage of anyone, and lived frugally.

Her social circle was clean, too. Aside from him, her neighbor, she only occasionally kept in touch with friends who had once worked as Servant Disciples in the Spirit Herb Garden.

All in all, if Zhou Er judged her by the standards of matchmaking in his previous life, she was a perfect woman.

And she was young and beautiful.

Having lived two lives, Zhou Er knew that love never came without a reason.

Lin Shiyu's kindness toward him surely took his background and connections into account, but that didn't mean she couldn't also have some affection for him.

If they became Dao Companions and grew stronger together, it might be a good thing.

Zhou Er thought about it for a long time, and eventually came to terms with it.

"Let things take their course. If the feelings come, then they come. If they don't, forcing it won't end well."

Zhou Er decided not to dwell on it. His attention still needed to be on cultivation; he would let his feelings develop as they might.

If it worked out, having a Dao Companion to walk the Great Dao with would be a good thing.

After all, wealth, companions, cultivation methods, and a place to practice all aided cultivation.

If it didn't work out, his Dao Heart was firm. He could still walk the path to immortality with unwavering resolve, without letting a failed romance drive him to despair.

Besides, time would reveal whether someone was sincere. Zhou Er could use it to observe what kind of person Lin Shiyu truly was.

Over the next few days, Zhou Er focused on cultivation. In his spare time, he found open spaces to practice the Fireball Technique and repeatedly reviewed his performance.

Even without Lin Shiyu's help, Zhou Er could conjure a decent-looking fireball. Its power and speed just weren't ideal.

[Fire Attribute Amplification (White): Increases the power of fire-attribute spells by thirty percent.]

[Solidification Condition: Master the Fireball Technique to Great Mastery. (Minor Mastery 26%)]

Still, his Fireball Technique had already made some progress and could at least be used in actual combat to inflict damage.

Before he knew it, Lin Shiyu's next day off had arrived.

"Senior Brother Zhou, do you still need me to teach you the Fireball Technique?"

Lin Shiyu found Zhou Er and asked with a smile.

"Sure! I could use a few pointers from Teacher Lin."

Zhou Er made a little joke.

"Then let me see how my little Zhou student has been doing."

Lin Shiyu played along.

The two exchanged smiles, then headed to the Dojo together.

This time, Zhou Er first demonstrated what he had accomplished through more than ten days of practice.

Lin Shiyu was dumbfounded by how quickly Zhou Er had improved. Then she said, "Senior Brother Zhou, you've reached this level in such a short time? It took me several months to get where you are now. I feel like there's hardly anything left for me to teach you."

"Junior Sister Lin, you're flattering me. I'm still far behind you."

Zhou Er said.

Over these past few days, aside from his daily cultivation, he had spent all his time practicing the Fireball Technique. He even dreamed about how to form the spell faster.

His fireballs were still slow to launch, but they could already inflict some damage.

Lin Shiyu was only being modest when she said she had nothing left to teach him. Zhou Er's spell still had some flaws, but with Lin Shiyu's guidance, his Fireball Technique improved by leaps and bounds and had nearly caught up to hers.

The only difference left was in their levels of practice. There were no obvious shortcomings in his technique.

"I didn't teach Senior Brother Zhou much today, so I won't take any payment."

Lin Shiyu said.

Zhou Er was eager to learn, and having lived two lives, he had a good aptitude. He learned quickly and picked things up as soon as she taught them, so she hadn't needed to spend much time explaining.

"That won't do. Junior Sister Lin spent time keeping me company. I can't let you leave empty-handed."

Zhou Er said.

"You didn't waste my time. I like being with Senior Brother Zhou."

Lin Shiyu said softly.

Even after two lifetimes, Zhou Er felt a little nervous hearing that. Was she hinting at something?

"I like practicing spells with you too, Junior Sister Lin. After all, we're good friends!"

Zhou Er still played it off with a laugh.

"That's right. We're good friends."

Lin Shiyu nodded, a trace of disappointment showing in her eyes.

"If Junior Sister Lin insists on refusing the Spirit Stone, then let's do what we did last time and have Spiritual Meals together!"

Zhou Er changed the subject.

The last time they'd eaten Spiritual Meals, Zhou Er's Taotie Attribute had gained thirty catties of progress, and his cultivation had increased by one percentage point. It had helped him a lot.

"Sounds great! Sounds great!"

Lin Shiyu quickly put her disappointment behind her.

When they arrived at the same Spirit Restaurant as before, they were about to order the same dishes when the waiter recommended a new one.

"Senior Brother, Senior Sister, our Wutong District Spirit Restaurant has a new Spiritual Meal: Seven-Colored Spirit Pheasant Noodles. The regular price is seven Spirit Fragments per bowl, but there's a discount on this new dish, so it's only five. The noodles are made from Fire Wheat grown near Earth Fire and are very beneficial to cultivators with a Fire Spirit Root."

Ten Spirit Fragments equaled one Low-grade Spirit Stone.

Two bowls of Seven-Colored Spirit Pheasant Noodles came to exactly one Low-grade Spirit Stone. Lin Shiyu also had a Fire Spirit Root, so Zhou Er nodded and said, "All right! We'll have two bowls."

Zhou Er nodded.

"Coming right up! Please wait a moment, Senior Brother and Senior Sister!"

The waiter took down their order and went to the kitchen.

While they waited, Lin Shiyu told Zhou Er about her work.

"My Fire Control Technique is quite polished now. Elder He said I've been working very hard, so next I can try extracting Essence of Food and making Bigu Pills to practice."

Bigu Pills were made by extracting Essence of Food, and were the most basic pills.

"Then I can help Junior Sister Lin test them."

Zhou Er said with a smile.

"But Elder He won't let me use her Alchemy Furnace. I don't even have a chance to practice."

Lin Shiyu said, sounding a little disappointed.

"I remember the Alchemy Hall rents out Alchemy Rooms, and they have Earth Fire too."

Zhou Er thought for a moment.

After all, he had been in Xiayun Sect for nearly three months, so he had learned a little about the Alchemy Hall.

"But renting one for three hours costs a Spirit Stone. I can't afford it."

Lin Shiyu said helplessly.

Right now, aside from her basic monthly stipend, Elder He only paid her eight Low-grade Spirit Stones a month.

Even if she spent every last one on renting an Alchemy Room, she couldn't afford even a full day.

One day wasn't nearly enough to learn anything.

"If only I had an Alchemy Furnace of my own."

Lin Shiyu said.

"You'll have one someday."

Zhou Er consoled her.

There was nothing he could do about the problem. An Alchemy Furnace couldn't be bought for just one or two Low-grade Spirit Stones.

Zhou Er didn't know the exact price of an Alchemy Furnace, but he had seen the price of a Low-grade Artifact.

Even the most basic Low-grade Artifact cost several hundred Spirit Stones.

The worst Alchemy Furnace was definitely more expensive than an Artifact. Zhou Er guessed it would cost at least five hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones.

To be honest, Zhou Er also wanted an Alchemy Furnace so he could put it in his Equipment Slot and see what Attribute it would have.

If he could, he'd be willing to buy an Alchemy Furnace together with Lin Shiyu. Once he had solidified the Attribute, he could give the furnace to her.

But even if the two of them pooled all their Spirit Stones, they probably wouldn't have enough to cover even a fraction of the furnace's price.

Everyone knew the Hundred Arts of Cultivation could earn Spirit Stones, but the skills weren't the only hurdle. Just buying the tools needed to produce anything was enough to defeat countless people.

Lin Shiyu was only venting. She wasn't actually planning to buy an Alchemy Furnace right away.

After all, she knew the price. Even the most basic Purple Cloud Furnace cost five hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones, far beyond what Outer Sect Disciples like them could hope to afford.

"Goodbye, Senior Brother Zhou!"

After their meal, Lin Shiyu and Zhou Er went their separate ways.

Lin Shiyu knew that an ordinary disciple like her could only study slowly and save money bit by bit, then hope for a chance to become an Alchemist and change her fate.

After saying goodbye to Lin Shiyu, Zhou Er returned to his small courtyard and checked the Taotie Attribute.

[Taotie (White): Hollow Abdomen, Greatly Increased Appetite, and the ability to Get stronger by eating.]

[Solidification Condition: Eat and digest ten thousand catties of food. (1207/10000)]

He hadn't digested the Spiritual Meals he'd eaten today yet. By tomorrow, they should be gone, and the Taotie Attribute's progress would increase by another thirty catties.

Normally, Zhou Er took one Bigu Pill a day, which only added ten catties of progress.

A single Spiritual Meal added three times as much.

If Zhou Er could eat food as nutritious as Spiritual Meals every day, he could solidify the Taotie Attribute within a year.

But he couldn't afford that.

"In the end, I'm still just poor!"

Zhou Er thought.

Still, Zhou Er was improving quickly each day.

In half a month at most, his Fireball Technique would reach Great Mastery.

Then he could temporarily remove the Spirit Gathering Pill from his Equipment Slot and replace it with a Fireball Talisman, solidifying the Fire Attribute Amplification Attribute.

He would take it one step at a time and improve steadily.

Half a month later.

[Name: Zhou Er]

[Cultivation: Qi Refining Second Layer (33.81%)]

[Equipment Slot (3/3): Five Animals Health Technique, Spirit Gathering Pill, Bigu Pill.]

[Unsolidified Attributes: Spirit Gathering (White), Five Animals Health Technique (Perfected), Longevity, Taotie (White).]

[Solidified Attributes: Fire Attribute Amplification (White), Spirit Qi Purification (White), Qi Induction, Strength Increase (White).]

After mastering the Fireball Technique, Zhou Er successfully solidified the Fire Attribute Amplification attribute. His cultivation had also reached one-third progress. With just two more months, he could break through to Qi Refining Third Layer.

Zhou Er counted the Spirit Stones he had on hand. Including the monthly stipend he had just received, he had six Low-grade Spirit Stones left.

He had spent one of them on Bigu Pills.

Lin Shiyu worked as a Fire Control Attendant in Elder He's alchemy room and had gotten to know several of Elder He's disciples. They practiced by refining Bigu Pills, and Zhou Er could buy them at the internal price: two hundred pills for one Spirit Stone. He wouldn't have to worry about running out for at least half a year.

Still, the Hundred Arts of Cultivation—represented by alchemy, artifact forging, formations, and talismans—really did earn Spirit Stones. Zhou Er couldn't help feeling envious.

Of those three, alchemy, artifact forging, and formations all required huge investments upfront. Most people simply couldn't afford to get into them.

Without the backing of an Aristocratic Clan or access to resources, the only viable path for ordinary people was talisman-making.

Zhou Er thought he might as well learn from others and start drawing talismans himself.

"I heard Senior Brother Zhu Shunyang is a First-tier Talisman Master. I could go pay him a visit."

Among the Outer Sect Disciples in Wutong District, only a handful were Talisman Masters. Zhu Shunyang, the steward in charge of the district, was one of them.

Though Zhou Er didn't want to use Master Jide's name, he was badly short on resources and desperately needed someone to lead him through the door to talisman-making.

Compared with that paltry bit of pride, quickly acquiring resources and strengthening himself mattered more.

But when he thought about paying a visit, Zhou Er realized he didn't have a single decent gift to bring. It was truly awkward.

"Should I take over a Spirit Gathering Pill? But Spirit Gathering Pills are useful for disciples like me in the Qi Refining Early-stage. They might be no use to Senior Brother Zhu, who's at Qi Refining Tenth Layer. Giving one to him might just make me a laughingstock."

Zhou Er thought.

It was like asking for a favor in his previous life and bringing a box of Wahaha. Not only would it fail to get the matter handled, it might even sour the other person on him.