Silken Clothes and Jade Food

Li Yunjing turned his head to look, only to see a short, stout, and wealthy-looking young man smiling cheerfully at him.

"Nice to meet you! I'm Li Yunjing. Did you just arrive as well, Brother Ma? Let's find a seat and eat together!"

Li Yunjing nodded, revealing a friendly smile.

"Great! I'll take you to get some food. I ate here last night and this morning, so I'm familiar with the place."

Ma Xingyuan said with a chuckle. When it came to food, the guy couldn't help but swallow his saliva.

"Brother Ma, it seems the food here tastes pretty good?"

Li Yunjing chuckled. He was observant and had long since noticed that Ma Xingyuan was a glutton.

"Heh! Brother Li, I've eaten at every restaurant in Ming Prefecture, where the imperial capital is located! But I have to say, everything I ate before was trash. This place is a paradise for food!"

When Li Yunjing mentioned this, Ma Xingyuan's eyes lit up, and he spoke rapidly.

The two talked as they walked, soon entering the main hall and finding an empty table to sit at.

The table was square, extremely long and wide, and had a yellowish-white color. Its grain was beautiful, its luster bright, and it possessed an antique charm, emitting a faint, refreshing fragrance.

"Agarwood?"

Li Yunjing was startled. This large dining table was actually made of precious wood!

In the mortal world, this was the kind of rare timber that only the royal family and high-ranking officials could afford to use.

Yet, every single table and chair in the entire hall was made of this same wood.

Judging by this alone, the "Elegant Fragrance Garden" probably used more agarwood than the entire Great Ming Dynasty possessed.

"Heh! These are just external objects, don't worry about them! Come with me to get some food!"

Ma Xingyuan had no interest in this at all and pulled Li Yunjing toward the back of the hall, where a row of food boxes was neatly arranged on a long table.

Each food box contained exquisite dishes.

Smelling the aroma of the food, Li Yunjing's stomach let out a "gurgle."

"Why does it smell so good?"

Li Yunjing couldn't help but ask.

A gray-robed Daoist nearby picked up a food box and, hearing this, smiled. "New here, aren't you?"

"Yes! We are both new here. Greetings, Senior Brother."

Li Yunjing replied.

"Heh! In our Divine Firmament Dao Sect's cafeteria, all the ingredients come from the immortal mountains. The meat is from spirit beasts, the vegetables are spirit herbs and materials, and the rice is spirit rice grown in the mountains! Even the emperor outside can't get a taste of this!"

The gray-robed Daoist explained with a chuckle, then walked away carrying his food box.

"Ah?"

Li Yunjing was dumbfounded. This stuff was for menial disciples to eat?

"Hahaha! Brother Li, don't just stand there, let's go eat!"

Ma Xingyuan laughed heartily, picked up two food boxes, and prepared to head back.

"Brother Ma, you don't need to help me; I can carry my own."

Seeing Ma Xingyuan helping him carry a food box, Li Yunjing felt a warmth in his heart. He reached out to take it, not wanting to trouble anyone else.

"Eh?"

Ma Xingyuan paused, looking stunned, and stammered, "These two are... for myself... you should... go get your own!"

"Hmm???"

Li Yunjing was full of question marks. This guy was eating two portions by himself?

"It's a self-service model, all you can eat! You can eat as much as you want, but you can't waste any!"

Ma Xingyuan seemed to notice Li Yunjing's confusion and added an explanation.

Damn it! I actually thought this fatty was a good guy...

Li Yunjing was speechless. He turned around silently and picked up a food box from the table nearby.

Returning to his seat, Li Yunjing opened the box to find four dishes, one soup, and a bowl of rice as crystalline as jade.

The food was still steaming hot; the food box was clearly a special item that perfectly preserved the freshness of the meal.

The rich aroma made his whole body feel refreshed and his appetite surged.

Li Yunjing picked up the chopsticks provided in the box, plucked a piece of meat of unknown origin, and placed it in his mouth. As he chewed, he felt a lingering fragrance fill his teeth.

"Hmm?"

Li Yunjing's eyes brightened. No wonder that fatty Ma across from him was eating with such gusto—this was truly a delicacy of the world!

Having lived two lifetimes, Li Yunjing had never eaten such delicious food.

Judging by this alone, the treatment of a menial disciple was comparable to that of the emperor!

With such delicious food in front of him, Li Yunjing lost the urge to talk. Plus, he was very hungry, so he couldn't help but wolf down the meal, clearing the food box until he felt completely satisfied.

The energy in the meal was plentiful, and after finishing it, Li Yunjing felt his entire body brimming with strength.

"Good! Good! Good! Truly excellent ingredients!"

Li Yunjing let out a satisfied burp, thought for a moment, and said to Ma Xingyuan, "Fatty, I'm going to grab another portion. Are you coming?"

"Forget it! I'm not eating anymore! The energy in this food is too potent; it's hard to digest if you eat too much!"

Ma Xingyuan looked tempted, but as if remembering something, he refused Li Yunjing's offer with a bitter expression.

Hahaha! This fatty must have already ordered more than three portions!

Seeing the expression on the fatty's face, Li Yunjing immediately understood what was going on.

At this moment, Li Yunjing didn't tease Ma Xingyuan. It wasn't that the guy was just a glutton; the food was simply too delicious for even him to resist!

In a rush, he grabbed another portion and devoured it all once again.

Only then did he pat his stomach and let out a comfortable burp.

This was the life!

However, Li Yunjing immediately calmed down. He had come to cultivate immortality, not to satisfy his gluttonous desires. If he let these things delay his cultivation, wouldn't he be wasting a golden opportunity?

Thinking of this, a thin layer of sweat appeared on Li Yunjing's forehead.

On the path of cultivation, various temptations emerged one after another. Was this appetite before him not also a form of temptation?

"Li Yunjing! Ma Xingyuan! It's you two, right?"

Just as Li Yunjing and Ma Xingyuan were sitting in their chairs, resting and chatting, an arrogant voice rang out.

"Hm? Who are you?"

Li Yunjing turned his head to look at the newcomer.

"I am Yang Chun, the person in charge of the Ten Thousand Laws Society in the Menial Hall! Listen well, you two newcomers: starting today, you are joining my Ten Thousand Laws Society, and you will pay three contribution points every month as an initiation fee."

The man called Yang Chun raised his hand, pointed at the two of them, and spoke arrogantly.

Behind this person followed four other men in grey robes; all five of them were likewise menial disciples.

It seems we've run into a small clique among the menial disciples! But, they're being this arrogant—does the sect not care?

Li Yunjing raised an eyebrow, a look of surprise crossing his face.

In the mortal world, there was such a thing as collecting protection money, but was the Immortal Sect like this too?

In truth, Li Yunjing had only just entered the path of immortality, and he had little understanding of it.

Cultivating to become an immortal was not all light clouds and gentle breezes, nor was it carefree and at ease.