"The most common is this Foxtail Weed. Its seeds may taste awful, but they can dispel sha. The fruit of the Star Anise Tree, Cinnamon Tree bark, and Cinnamon Tree leaves can dispel it too."
As he spoke, the man brought out some Grain Foxtail Weed he had picked by the roadside on his way back as an example.
"What is this..."
Jiang Yuan's expression was strange. It really was common. This so-called Grain Foxtail Weed looked almost exactly like the Foxtail Grass he remembered, with at least eight similarities out of ten.
Clearly, this Grain Foxtail Weed was the ancestor of Foxtail Grass.
Thinking of Foxtail Grass and its ancestor brought memories of his past life, buried deep in his mind, surging back with startling clarity.
He remembered seeing a report somewhere that said Foxtail Grass was the ancestor of millet. And millet was the grain in the phrase "the state's grain," the earliest crop cultivated by the Human Race.
Could millet dispel sha?
And that so-called Star Anise wasn't just star anise? Cinnamon Tree bark and leaves were just cassia bark and bay leaves. These were all spices commonly used in later generations to stew meat and remove its gamey smell.
Stew meat! Remove the gamey smell!
Jiang Yuan suddenly understood. So, in the Primordial World of antiquity, a gamey smell was sha, and removing the gamey smell was the same as dispelling sha.
In ancient times, innate spiritual energy had been abundant. All living beings could survive just fine without eating, so they had never needed to worry about food shortages.
But while they didn't need to worry about food, they did need to worry about whether they had enough resources for cultivation.
It was easy to understand if you replaced eating with cultivation. Primordial Beings didn't need to eat, but they did need to cultivate.
And to rapidly increase their cultivation, they needed resources. So cultivation resources were their food.
It wasn't that Primordial Beings didn't eat. They ate at a higher level.
They ate Fierce Beast meat rich in Innate Vitality. But the meat contained sha, just as raw meat in later generations was too gamey and unhealthy to eat in large quantities without first cooking it and removing the smell.
Later generations used spices to remove the gamey smell. So spices could also be used to dispel sha now. Sha was definitely more harmful than a gamey smell, but all the spices here were spirit medicines, their medicinal power far beyond anything in later generations. Naturally, they could resolve sha.
With that comparison, Jiang Yuan understood everything. Countless Methods to Resolve Sha surged through his mind, and he could hardly resist grabbing a brush and writing them down.
"Now that we have a way to dispel the sha, we must act quickly and treat those who've been poisoned. We can't let things get worse by waiting."
"Also, from now on, all Fierce Beast meat must be cooked before eating. While it's cooking, add every spirit medicine that can dispel sha, so we can remove as much sha from the meat as possible and keep anyone else from being poisoned."
Suppressing his urge to write, Jiang Yuan gave the orders. They couldn't wait for someone to be poisoned before dispelling the sha each time. They had to eliminate the problem at its source.
That meant cooking Fierce Beast meat with a mixture of spices to dispel all the sha in it. Then, no matter how much anyone ate, they wouldn't be poisoned by sha again.
"Cooked?"
The man stared blankly, not understanding what Jiang Yuan meant. It wasn't his fault. In the Primordial World as it was now, the concept of boiling food didn't exist. The only way to cook was to roast.
"You don't know how to boil things? That's my fault for not explaining it properly. Come with me."
Jiang Yuan realized he'd made another assumption. He gestured for the man to follow, intending to make a Clay Pot on the spot.
Boiling wasn't difficult. They just lacked a container, so all they needed was a Clay Pot. And that wasn't hard for Jiang Yuan. It was a simple matter.
As for why he hadn't thought of making a Clay Pot earlier, the reason was simple: he had no use for one.
First, Jiang Yuan didn't need to drink water. Second, he didn't need to cook Fierce Beast meat before eating it. He could simply circulate the Creation Profound Art and transform it into wisps of vital energy, which he then absorbed into his body.
It was easy to overlook things you didn't need, so he hadn't bothered making one. He only recreated things when he thought of them.
Last, and most importantly, Jiang Yuan had been in his twenties in his previous life, but how long had he been in the Primordial World? More than a hundred years!
And a hundred years in the Primordial World was longer than a thousand years in his previous life.
How could twenty years of experience compare to a century in the Primordial World? He had long since adapted to this era and to the life of a cultivator. Naturally, he had forgotten many habits from his days as a mortal in his previous life.
With magic power, making a Clay Pot wasn't difficult. Jiang Yuan had one ready before long. He glanced up at the sky. No Merit came down, which meant the Heavenly Dao didn't think Clay Pots were useful?
Though puzzled, Jiang Yuan said nothing. Instead, he called the man over and taught him this cooking method called "boiling."
Set up the Clay Pot, add meat, water, and spices, then light a fire underneath and bring the water to a boil.
The process was simple; anyone could learn it just by watching. Then all they had to do was wait until the Fierce Beast meat in the Clay Pot was tender enough, and it would be ready to serve.
As the meat boiled, its fragrance was drawn out, and a rich meaty aroma spread through the air, making everyone instinctively swallow.
"So this is boiling? It smells wonderful!"
The man exclaimed in amazement. He hadn't expected meat boiled in water to smell so delicious.
"Have you learned it?"
Jiang Yuan didn't explain. He asked instead.
"I have."
The man nodded. It wasn't difficult at all.
"I was asking about making a Clay Pot. Have you learned that?"
Jiang Yuan clarified.
"I learned that too!"
The man replied. That wasn't difficult either.
"Good. From today onward, Tao will be both your given name and your surname. You have one task: teach the tribe to make pottery and use it skillfully."
Seeing that he had learned, Jiang Yuan immediately assigned him the task. As a very busy man, he certainly had no time to teach people how to make pottery, so he had to leave it to someone else.
"Thank you, Master Yuan!"
Tao was overcome with excitement. One sentence from Jiang Yuan had changed his fate.
"All right, the meat is nearly done. Bring over everyone who's been poisoned by sha. I want to see how this meat soup affects them."
Jiang Yuan waved for him to get up, then gave the order.
"Yes!"
Tao didn't dare delay and hurried off to find the others.
Jiang Yuan stepped forward and carefully studied the Fierce Beast meat in the Clay Pot.
He discovered that as it boiled, the Innate Vitality in the meat was drawn out even further, making it easier for the human body to absorb.
At the same time, the sha in the meat rapidly decreased under the combined effects of the heat and spices. It didn't disappear completely, but less than one-tenth remained, too little to harm the body.
"Alchemy?"
"No, it'd be more accurate to call it medicinal cuisine!"
"The Culinary Path has great potential. Balance yin and yang, harmonize the five elements, and cultivate it deeply—one could open up the Culinary Path and nourish the body through food."
Jiang Yuan mused. Even if the Culinary Path couldn't match the Path of Alchemy, it was still one of the hundred arts of cultivation. If he could establish this path, the least he could achieve in the future would be the Daluo Realm, and he might even glimpse the mysteries of the Quasi-Saint Realm.
But that was a long way off. For now, Jiang Yuan had more important things to do.
Drawing his gaze back, Jiang Yuan looked at the Foxtail Grass in his hand—the ancestor of millet. If he cultivated the First of the Five Grains, millet, ahead of time, would he earn great Merit?