When he had first tasted Foxtail Grass seeds, Jiang Yuan had discovered that their greatest benefit was not dispelling baleful energy. Like Fierce Beast meat, eating them could increase his cultivation.
Although the increase was extremely slight, almost negligible, that was because Jiang Yuan had only eaten a small amount—just two or three seeds.
If he ate twenty or thirty thousand, or even two or three million, the increase in his cultivation would no longer be negligible. It would be quite substantial.
What's more, eating Foxtail Grass seeds to improve his cultivation had another advantage: it was safer than eating Fierce Beast meat. No matter how much he ate, he didn't have to worry about baleful-energy poisoning.
"These seeds are less like grass seeds and more like natural spirit stones—the crystallization of innate spiritual energy."
That was Jiang Yuan's assessment of Foxtail Grass seeds: naturally formed crystallizations of spiritual energy that could be used like spirit stones, directly absorbed and refined.
If they could be cultivated on a large scale, simply harvesting the seeds they produced each year would bring the Human Race enormous profits.
And this was only Foxtail Grass. If it could be domesticated and cultivated into a better grain—millet—then not only would the yield increase greatly, but the innate spiritual energy contained in each seed would rise as well.
If that happened, there would be enormous profit in growing it. It could even become the Human Race's main source of income.
Who said that because Primordial Beings didn't need to eat, they didn't need grain? Food rich in pure innate spiritual energy that could improve one's cultivation was exactly what Primordial Beings needed most.
For the sake of such food, Primordial Beings could certainly learn to develop the good habit of eating.
Moreover, Foxtail Grass seeds also had a mild ability to dispel baleful energy. Presumably, once they were domesticated and cultivated into better millet, that ability would grow stronger too.
The baleful energy in Fierce Beast meat cooked with spices was already reduced by seventy or eighty percent. Eating it alongside millet porridge that could dispel baleful energy would undoubtedly remove the rest completely.
That way, no matter how much Fierce Beast meat they ate, they wouldn't have to worry about baleful-energy poisoning anymore. The problem would be solved once and for all.
Once the hidden danger of Fierce Beast meat was completely eliminated, Primordial World beings would have no more qualms. Their desire to hunt Fierce Beasts would only grow stronger.
There was no doubt that this would effectively reduce the number of Fierce Beasts and, in turn, lessen the damage they inflicted on the Primordial World.
If that wasn't a great merit, what was? By this logic, after Jiang Yuan cultivated Foxtail Grass into millet, he deserved a share of great merit.
And this merit would be different from what Jiang Yuan had received before. It wasn't merit for enlightening others, but merit for saving the Primordial World. It carried greater weight, so the merit he received should be greater too.
There was another point worth mentioning: if millet was equivalent to natural spirit stones, that meant it had some value as currency.
At the same time, millet could be grown not only by the Human Race but by the Ten Thousand Races as well.
Put those two factors together, and wasn't millet a natural currency? Its arrival would fill the void left by the Primordial World's lack of money.
And to develop trade, a common currency was indispensable. Of all the many treasures, millet might not be the most perfect, but for now it was the most suitable.
If millet truly became the Primordial World's legal tender, could he earn another share of merit? Merit for advancing the Primordial World!
The arrival of currency would undoubtedly promote exchanges among the Ten Thousand Races and thereby advance the development of the Primordial World. That, too, would benefit Heaven and Earth and deserve a reward of merit.
And that wouldn't be the end. It would be a new beginning. Following this line of thought, the next thing to establish would be a system of measurement.
After all, once millet ripened, it would have to be weighed. Otherwise, would they count it one seed at a time? If it had to be weighed, a standardized system of measurement was essential.
And establishing such a system could also advance the Primordial World's development. Wouldn't that earn him another share of merit?
It was because he had thought of all this that Jiang Yuan shifted his attention from the meat in the clay pot to the Foxtail Grass in his hand.
Compared to all those ideas, merely inventing the clay pot and creating the cooking method of boiling meant nothing.
Even perfecting the Culinary Path wouldn't bring benefits anywhere near as great as the ones he had imagined.
This was truly an unprecedented achievement!
"Millet is of immense importance. I have to find a way to cultivate it. Only once millet has been cultivated can I find out whether my ideas are feasible."
Clenching the Foxtail Grass in his hand, Jiang Yuan silently resolved that, aside from cultivation, his main task would be to cultivate millet as soon as possible.
Later generations used "state and millet" to refer to all under Heaven. The state was the earth, and millet was the grain cultivated from Foxtail Grass. That showed just how important it was—it was practically half the world.
Jiang Yuan wasn't worried that he couldn't do it. If people in later generations could cultivate Foxtail Grass into better millet, then he could too. After all, he wasn't like people of later generations. He had a cheat.
Just as Jiang Yuan was imagining the future, Tao arrived with members of the tribe suffering from baleful-energy poisoning—not just one or two, but more than a hundred.
"Come on, line up. One bowl each. Don't fight or push."
Jiang Yuan came back to himself and said nothing. He simply picked up the ladle and bowls he had prepared earlier and served each of them a bowl of rich meat broth.
Just smelling the aroma eased their symptoms considerably, making them eager to see what effect the broth would have.
So as soon as they got their hands on it, they didn't even care that it was hot. They all gulped it down in one go.
Seeing this, Jiang Yuan quickly released his divine sense and carefully observed the changes in their bodies, wanting to see just how well the broth dispelled baleful energy.
The results, of course, weren't very good. The broth had dispelled the baleful energy in the Fierce Beast meat inside it, but the baleful energy in the people's bodies wasn't in the broth. How could its effect be any good?
However, although the broth wasn't very effective at dispelling baleful energy, its effect on strengthening the body was immediate.
Jiang Yuan could clearly sense that after drinking the broth, the physical constitutions of these Post-Heaven Realm tribesmen had all improved noticeably.
That meant they could withstand the erosion of baleful energy for a few more days.
"I made a mistake. I shouldn't have added meat. I should simmer these spices into a broth and have them drink it."
Realizing he'd made a fool of himself, Jiang Yuan hurriedly corrected his approach. And just as his words fell, merit suddenly descended from the heavens.
It wasn't merit for enlightening others, but merit for saving the Primordial World. Making pottery brought no merit, but the appearance of pottery had made it possible to popularize boiling as a cooking method, which did bring considerable merit.
After being simmered for a long time, Fierce Beast meat not only contained less baleful energy, but the innate vitality within it also became easier to absorb.
This undoubtedly strengthened the desire of the Primordial World's inhabitants to hunt Fierce Beasts, inflicting considerable harm on the Fierce Beast race.
Fierce Beasts were a great scourge upon the Primordial World. Killing them was not only blameless but meritorious. The more one killed, the more merit one gained.
The cooking method of boiling could inflict lasting harm on the Fierce Beast race. Jiang Yuan, who had invented and popularized it, naturally deserved a share of merit.