The Fire Beneath the Stove, People of the Mortal World

Late at night, yet the light within Embers Kitchen remained constant, bright as day.

This time, Chen Xu did not rush to cultivate. Instead, he opened his God of Cookery Recipes page and chose to spend 80 Firework Value to unlock the recipe for [Five Reds Blood Nourishing Soup].

Speaking of which, he had accumulated quite a few spirit ingredients in Embers Kitchen by now, but Chen Xu had not used all of them.

That was mainly because he had never had enough Firework Value. Under limited conditions, he had to make choices.

The main ingredient of [Five Reds Blood Nourishing Soup] was the blood agar obtained after killing Lin Qi's incarnation. Its primary effect was to strengthen Vital Blood.

Chen Xu lacked neither attribute points nor Vital Blood. His reason for brewing Five Reds Blood Nourishing Soup now was entirely for another purpose.

He unlocked the recipe, washed the pot, and lit the fire.

With a thought, Fire Control instantly stirred the energy within the firewood beneath the stove. A sizzling sound rose from the pot as the moisture inside was dried away.

Chen Xu ladled in a large amount of Jade Dew Spring Water, brought it rapidly to a boil over high heat, then added the ingredients one by one before turning the fierce flame into a gentle simmer.

Throughout the process, he maintained meticulous control over the flames—

What he controlled was the firewood beneath the stove, not the fire in his own heart.

It was rather wondrous when one thought about it. He was clearly controlling firewood—"external fire." In theory, this should have been easier than heart-fire, which consumed his own essence.

After all, it did not require him to expend too much of his own energy.

Yet in actual practice, Chen Xu discovered that controlling "external fire" was plainly more difficult than controlling "heart-fire."

With a thought, Chen Xu immediately spent another 300 Firework Value to unlock Level Two Fire Control.

[Fire Control Level Two (1/1000)]

In an instant, all manner of subtle and profound incantations exploded through Chen Xu's mind like sparks of fire.

As Chen Xu absorbed the new incantations, it was as though he had opened the door to an entirely new world.

Level One Fire Control: observe the heart-fire within.

Level Two Fire Control: let the flame rise upward.

Just as Level Two Wood Chopping possessed the effect of Microscopic Vision, Level Two Fire Control was likewise developing in a similar direction.

To sum it up: from within to without, from oneself to Heaven and Earth!

From being able to control only oneself, to being able to slightly control certain objects and qi within thirty paces of one's surroundings.

To connect oneself with Heaven and Earth was the Innate realm.

Chen Xu gained an insight, and found the rhythm of cultivation more and more clearly.

Yes, he appeared not to be cultivating, but in truth, he was cultivating.

If one entered the Dao through food, how could one simply bury oneself in bitter cultivation and stay far from the kitchen?

Refining spirit food could not only advance Chen Xu's cultivation of the God of Cookery Cultivation Scroll, but also strengthen Fire Control, Wind Summoning, and all sorts of other skills alongside it.

[Fire Control Level Two (3/1000)]

[Fire Control Level Two (5/1000)]

[God of Cookery Cultivation Scroll, First Layer (16/100)]

[19/100]

Only after twelve hours had passed did Chen Xu finish brewing a full thirty bowls of Five Reds Blood Nourishing Soup, while also advancing his cultivation to [Vein Opening Early Stage 2.9%].

During that time, he had also added three points each to the Three Essences of Spirit, Qi, and Body.

It was precisely because his Threefold Attributes had increased again that his cultivation progress had been so obvious.

Using attribute points to cultivate was simply more convenient and satisfying than taking any kind of pill.

After finishing his cultivation, Chen Xu silently sensed the Innate Qi within him, now strengthened by another sliver, and actually said to himself: Refreshing!

The only pity was that his Firework Value had dwindled to just [173] points again.

This time, Chen Xu did not spend all his Firework Value in one go. Instead, he planned to save it up. On one hand, it could serve for unforeseen needs; on the other, he wanted to accumulate enough Firework Value to unlock Draw Water next time.

At dawn the next day, there was no need to dwell on the trivialities.

Chen Xu packed quite a few useful items and provisions, hired a carriage, and set out on the road back to the village early in the morning.

Seven Rivers Township, Little Bend Village.

That morning, the Chen household welcomed several distinguished guests.

It turned out that the family Madam Luo had chosen for her eldest son Chen Ping had sent people to their door.

According to local custom, the first stage of looking into a match between two families was for the matchmaker to offer guidance and carry messages.

If the woman's family wished to take things a step further, an elder from her side would personally visit the man's home.

This was the second stage of the match: the woman's elder would personally inspect the man's family circumstances, household members, family customs, and other conditions on site.

If everything was to their liking, they could proceed to the third stage of negotiations.

Things such as the betrothal gifts and dowry would be the key matters discussed at this stage.

Of course, the betrothal gifts were inevitably more important than the dowry. That was beyond question.

"Your family only has these few rooms?"

In the Chen family courtyard, a middle-aged woman in a russet fine-cotton blouse paced back and forth several times. When she turned around, her gaze slanted faintly as she glanced at Madam Luo.

The speaker was the mother of the daughter from the family Madam Luo had chosen for Chen Ping. Throughout the neighboring villages, she was known as Madam Qiu.

Madam Qiu was a woman with a long face and fair skin. Though middle-aged, she was still slender and delicate-looking. One could imagine that she must have been quite lovely in her youth.

And that was indeed the case. In her younger days, Madam Qiu had been a famous beauty across several nearby villages.

The daughter she had borne was even more renowned, said to be more beautiful and virtuous than Madam Qiu had been in her youth.

Madam Luo had not dared to be careless in choosing a match for her eldest son. She had searched according to these very highest standards—

Though it had not been that way from the beginning.

At first, Madam Luo had only hoped for a girl of good character, a good temperament, and decent looks.

But she could not endure repeated failures. Every time they looked into a match, either something went wrong here or there was a conflict elsewhere. Later, the matchmakers sent her nothing but crooked melons and split dates, or girls whose families had glaring shortcomings.

Madam Luo truly could not bear it anymore, so she told the matchmakers that unless the girl was the very best, they were not to bring her before her again.

After going back and forth like this, the matchmaker found the Qiu family for Madam Luo.

The matchmaker had her own words to say: "It is also because this girl is filial. A few years ago, the old lady in her family was in poor health. Miss Qiu could not bear to see her parents both toil in the fields and care for the elder, so she voluntarily asked to remain at home for several more years.

"She served the old lady at home for five years. Only last year did she see the old lady off, and then she observed mourning for another year. Wasn't that what delayed her?

"Ah, if not for losing a few years to that delay, the Qiu family would surely never have been willing to let their daughter look for a husband in the countryside.

"With her looks and talents, what small wealthy household in the city could she not marry into?

"Not that she would be calling servants and ordering maids about, but at least she would no longer have to suffer the wind and sun, or trudge through mud in the fields.

"Madam Chen, wouldn't you say that is the truth of it?"

Though Madam Luo was somewhat pleased with Miss Qiu's qualifications, hearing the matchmaker belittle her family both openly and between the lines naturally left her displeased.

But the matchmaker changed her tone and said, "Of course, your family has a scholar. Who knows when that scholar might make something of himself?

"If Miss Qiu marries his elder brother, perhaps she may share in some of the scholar's glory by following your eldest son in the future.

"And that is precisely why the Qiu family thinks highly of your eldest son, isn't it?

"Elder sister, don't dislike my blunt words. It is all the heart one has for one's children. Wouldn't you say so?"

The matchmaker had said both the flattering words and the cutting ones, and so Madam Luo became somewhat more enthusiastic.

That day, when the Qiu family came to inspect the match, Madam Luo welcomed them warmly.

Unexpectedly, without so much as a word of small talk, the first thing they said was, "Your family only has these few rooms?"