Hard to Eat

In the small courtyard.

An iron pot sat over a stove, the water inside constantly bubbling.

Ju Zi stood beside it, placing a dark yellow gelatinous solid into a bowl before heating it over water.

Before long.

The previously hard Whale Rubber gradually softened, its color turning translucent, like a piece of melted amber.

If one ignored the smell, it actually looked fairly appetizing.

Huo Yuhao sat at the table and craned his neck for a look.

The next second.

A thick, fishy ocean stench drilled into his nostrils.

"Ugh..."

Huo Yuhao clapped a hand over his mouth, nearly vomiting up the breakfast he had just eaten.

He had lived through two lifetimes and smelled every sort of strange odor.

Yet the thing before him effortlessly rewrote his understanding.

It stank.

It was both foul and fishy.

This did not look like something edible at all. It looked more like ancient garbage pulled from the belly of some sea soul beast and left under the sun for three months.

"This is Whale Rubber?"

Huo Yuhao's face went pale as he silently scooted back a little.

Ju Zi nodded.

"Whale Rubber produced by thousand-year whale soul beasts can strengthen the body. It can also increase the age of Soul Rings you can absorb in the future."

Ten thousand years ago, Whale Rubber had merely been some rather improper special drug.

Later, a Soul Master accidentally discovered that consuming Whale Rubber could improve the body's endurance. Only then did its value begin soaring.

By now.

A single piece of high-year Whale Rubber was enough to make countless Soul Masters fight until their heads bled.

Unfortunately, many people could not distinguish the age of Whale Rubber. Combined with its terrible appearance before heating, many valuable pieces were still treated as ordinary junk.

The Whale Rubber Ju Zi had brought back had been purchased cheaply from border caravans.

There were eight pieces in total.

Even the worst piece was nearly a thousand years old.

"Eat."

Ju Zi pushed the softened Whale Rubber before Huo Yuhao and looked at him gently.

Huo Yuhao lowered his head toward the bowl.

The semitransparent gelatinous liquid swayed slightly, and an even stronger foul stench assaulted his face.

"Do I have to eat it straight?"

"Yes."

"Can't I add some sugar?"

"It will affect absorption."

"What about some salt?"

"That won't work either."

Huo Yuhao fell silent.

So living off a woman came at a price.

He took a deep breath, scooped up a small piece with his spoon, shut his eyes, and stuffed it into his mouth.

The moment it entered his mouth.

Huo Yuhao's expression froze instantly.

It felt like taking a month-old unwashed stinky sock, mixing it with dead skin from a homeless man's feet, then pouring it into a cup of hippopotamus bathwater, stirring it evenly, and swallowing it in one gulp.

Foul.

Fishy.

And it was incredibly sticky, clinging between his tongue and palate so tightly that even vomiting could not get it all out.

Huo Yuhao braced both hands against the table, his face changing from white to green.

"Ugh..."

He rushed to the corner of the courtyard and bent over, dry-heaving for a long while.

But that piece of Whale Rubber seemed to have chosen him, stubbornly sticking to his throat until he ultimately swallowed it.

Huo Yuhao's eyes had even begun to water.

This was not food.

It was a biological weapon.

"Huo Yuhao, are you alright?"

Ye Guyi walked to his side and gently patted his back.

Her complexion was not looking too good either.

However, the bowl before her was already empty.

Ye Guyi had endured plenty of hardship over the years. Sometimes, while hunting Evil Soul Masters, she could eat nothing but dry rations and wild vegetables for days on end.

Whale Rubber might taste terrible, but it could improve her strength.

That was enough.

Just now, she had not even furrowed her brow much before finishing her own piece of Whale Rubber in a few bites.

It took Huo Yuhao a long while to recover before he raised his head.

"Thank you, Sister. I'm fine."

After saying that, he glanced at Ye Guyi's empty bowl, admiration appearing on his face.

As expected of a Holy Angel Soul Master.

When she was ruthless, she did not even spare herself.

"Finish the rest too."

Ju Zi walked over carrying the bowl.

Huo Yuhao's body stiffened.

Looking at the more than half a piece of Whale Rubber still left in the bowl, his stomach churned again.

He truly could not eat any more.

Two more bites, and he would probably die here today.

"Sister Ju Zi."

"Yes?"

"Can I handle the remaining Whale Rubber myself?"

Ju Zi did not agree immediately.

She looked at Huo Yuhao, then at the remaining pieces of Whale Rubber on the table.

"What are you planning to do?"

"I can't say for now."

Huo Yuhao wiped the corner of his mouth, his expression turning serious.

The existence of the Heavenly Creation Cauldron was his greatest secret at present.

Even though Ju Zi treated him very well, he was not prepared to reveal it so soon.

It was not a matter of trust.

Rather, the fewer people who knew of certain trump cards, the more valuable they were.

Ju Zi looked at him quietly.

Huo Yuhao did not avoid her gaze either.

After a moment.

Ju Zi placed the bowl in her hand back on the table.

"Alright."

Huo Yuhao was slightly stunned.

That easy?

He had originally prepared a whole pile of reasons, yet he did not need a single one.

"Aren't you afraid I'll waste it?"

"This was yours to begin with."

Ju Zi's tone was calm, as though these valuable thousand-year Whale Rubbers were merely pieces of candy found everywhere.

She did not know what Huo Yuhao intended to do.

However, after spending these past few days with him, she had already noticed that the current Huo Yuhao differed somewhat from the rumors of his past life.

He was more composed, and he hid quite a few secrets.

Ju Zi did not mind.

Everyone had their own trump cards.

She only needed to know that Huo Yuhao would not harm her. That was enough.

"They're all yours."

Ju Zi reached out and pushed the wooden box toward him.

Huo Yuhao hugged the wooden box, a smile immediately spreading across his face.

"Sister Ju Zi, you're so good to me."

The corners of Ju Zi's lips lifted slightly.

"Then how are you planning to thank me?"

The smile on Huo Yuhao's face stiffened.

Living off a woman really was not free.

A day of training soon came to an end.

After dinner, Huo Yuhao carried the wooden box back to his room and casually shut the door tight.

He sat cross-legged on his bed, his consciousness slowly sinking into the Sea of Spirit.

Deep within the empty Sea of Spirit, the Heavenly Creation Cauldron floated silently.

Nine strange Dao patterns flickered in and out of view around its body.

Huo Yuhao arrived before the cauldron and extended his consciousness toward the hazy Creation Mist.

Very soon.

He sensed his first Soul Ring.

The originally pale yellow Centennial Soul Ring was now floating within the great cauldron, wrapped in wisps of Creation Origin.

The Soul Ring's color had not changed much.

But the power contained within it was transforming at an exceedingly slow rate.

According to the information conveyed by the Heavenly Creation Cauldron, this nurturing process would take roughly a month.

Once the transformation was complete, his first soul skill would undergo a qualitative improvement.

Huo Yuhao did not know exactly how much it would improve.

But with a supreme treasure of the Great Dao acting personally, it should not merely increase his eyesight a little.

After confirming that the Soul Ring was stable, Huo Yuhao withdrew from the Sea of Spirit.

He opened his eyes, his gaze falling on the wooden box beside him.

Thousand-Year Whale Rubber truly was good stuff.

But eating it directly tasted far too inhuman.

Since that was the case, he would change the way he ate it.

Huo Yuhao pressed a hand to the wooden box, his thoughts shifting slightly.

The next second.

The Whale Rubber vanished all at once, stored within the Heavenly Creation Cauldron's internal space.

Then, he retrieved a cloth bundle from the corner of the room.

It contained several medicinal herbs Ju Zi had prepared for him during the day, all ordinary ingredients meant to invigorate the blood, strengthen the foundation, and restore vitality.

Taken separately, their medicinal effects could only be considered average.

But the most unreasonable thing about the Heavenly Creation Cauldron was that it did not care whether its ingredients were precious.

As long as the medicinal properties were suitable, it could automatically deduce a pill formula.

And its refinement success rate was one hundred percent.

There would be no explosions.

No ruined pills.

Nor did Huo Yuhao need to learn any fire-control techniques himself.

The only thing it consumed was Soul Power.

Huo Yuhao placed the medicinal herbs into the cauldron one by one.

When the final herb fell into the cauldron, the Heavenly Creation Cauldron trembled slightly.

Now, all he had to do was wait, and perfect pills would appear on their own.