After serving Xia He a small bowl, Wu Shan placed the remaining large pot of food before Jiang Xuan.
Seeing this, Xia He immediately picked up her spoon and began eating.
After carefully taking just a small taste, Xia He's lively eyes instantly lit up, her face filled with satisfied bliss.
Jiang Xuan, meanwhile, performed the Feast Ritual. Once it was over, Jiang Xuan, surrounded by a terrifying and eerie aura, finally picked up his spoon and scooped a heaping mouthful of braised rice into his mouth.
Boom!
The moment the fried rice entered his mouth, Jiang Xuan's first sensation was deliciousness. The rich fragrance and delicate sweetness of the grains gave him an indescribable sense of satisfaction.
After that rich fragrance came his second sensation: warm sunlight.
Once swallowed, the golden grains of rice suddenly burst apart like tiny suns.
The exploded rice grains were not particularly hot. Instead, they were exceptionally gentle—it felt as though he stood beneath the clear sky at the turn of summer and autumn, wrapped in warm sunlight, his entire body suffused with steady peace of mind.
The overwhelming security and satisfaction even gave him the urge to immediately take a nap.
Fortunately, the Feast Ritual was still extremely effective. Before long, Jiang Xuan devoured and digested that languid warmth.
Moreover, the appetite brought by the Feast Ritual left Jiang Xuan hungry again.
Yet after this experience, Jiang Xuan could not help but sigh. As one of humanity's most fundamental Dao Branches, the Food Cultivator Lineage truly had profound mysteries, and Senior Brother Wu Shan was genuinely capable.
However, that thought quickly vanished from Jiang Xuan's mind. With his heart full of food, he swiftly tasted a second spoonful of Golden Sun Braised Rice.
This time, Jiang Xuan gained a new sensation.
Through the Thousand-Drawing Tongue, Jiang Xuan seemed to see grains shooting upward beneath the sunlight, see them condense strand after strand of solar power into plump kernels, and feel his senior brother use blazing Sunflame to completely awaken the sunlight power within those grains.
Through the Thousand-Drawing Tongue, he even sensed the functions of the black-boned chicken and treasure fish.
"Fish wander over the water's surface, black-boned chickens fly through the sky, and grains take root in the earth... This is the sky, the ocean, and the earth... The cauldron is like a heaven-and-earth furnace, containing everything within. Does this symbolize the world?"
Through the Feast Ritual, Jiang Xuan sensed many things.
And by thoroughly consuming the food through slow chewing and swallowing, all the meanings Jiang Xuan perceived were incorporated into his body and Soul Spirit beneath his chewing and swallowing.
Thus, after every spoonful of fried rice, Jiang Xuan gained another thread of comprehension regarding warm sunlight, summer, and the sun.
The Communion with Truth of the Three Purification Incantations made this ritual even more efficient.
This perfect fusion also caused Jiang Xuan to begin glowing by the time he reached the end.
It was not a figure of speech. He was like a gentle little sun, radiating soft golden light from his entire body—this was both the passive overflow of excessive sun power from the braised rice and the glow of Dao Resonance that he voluntarily emitted after comprehending the Warm Sun Dao Resonance.
\n[Congratulations, player. You have comprehended the Summer Warm Sun Dao Resonance. In the future, the difficulty of cultivating related techniques will be reduced by one tier.] [You have unlocked more professions related to summer and the sun.] [Your Clear-Heart Sword Disciple can advance to Sun Knight.] [Your Daoist Acolyte profession can advance to Sun Priest.] [Your Qi Refiner profession has unlocked a new advancement...]
The prompts within his sea of consciousness did not affect Jiang Xuan in the slightest, but the sight before him left Wu Shan utterly dumbfounded.
"W-Warm Sun Dao Resonance? How is that possible?!"
His shock was understandable. As an Inner Disciple of Summer Valley, he was required to comprehend the Dao Resonance, and he had comprehended the Warm Sun Intent as well.
Yet it was precisely because he had done so before that he was so astonished.
Back then, in order to comprehend the Warm Sun Intent, he had sat beneath the sun for a full three months. His skin had been tanned bronze before he had barely managed to touch the edge of Sun Dao Resonance.
Even so, he had been considered exceptionally talented among disciples of the same generation.
Yet the nearly hundred days of cultivation he had spent were crossed in a single meal by Jiang Xuan!
How could Wu Shan's mentality not shatter at such a heaven-and-earth difference?
"Hahaha... So comprehending Dao Resonance is such an easy matter? You don't need to sit beneath the sun and rack your brains—just enjoy a good meal, and you can comprehend it? Hahaha..."
"This simply defies reason!"
While Wu Shan grabbed at his hair and muttered to himself nearby, Jiang Xuan continued eating. Before long, he had swallowed the entire pot of Golden Sun Braised Rice.
When it was all over, Jiang Xuan had eaten to his heart's content and felt incomparably satisfied.
Putting down his spoon, Jiang Xuan only felt thoroughly comfortable, more fulfilled than ever before.
The solid texture of the grains and the fully awakened solar power mingled within his body, filling him from head to toe with inexhaustible strength. The pallor caused by his previous loss of qi and blood was swept away entirely.
"That felt amazing... Thank you, Senior Brother Wu."
He thanked him with complete sincerity, while already considering how to build a good relationship with Senior Brother Wu Shan so that he could eat spiritual meals like this every day.
On the other side, Wu Shan still looked dazed, but years of habit made him ask instinctively, "No need to thank me... What did you think of the taste?"
After a meal, asking about the flavor was an instinctive habit for many chefs.
Xia He had only two words in response: "Delicious."
After saying that, Xia He felt that she ought to praise it more, so she added, "I feel so satisfied. I feel full of strength now."
As she spoke, she flexed her slender, fair arm, trying hard to show some sense of power. Unfortunately, because her face was so pretty, the gesture only made her look adorable.
Jiang Xuan also nodded and praised it immediately. "It was hearty, a meal that truly fills you up."
After saying that, he hesitated for a moment before adding a few more remarks—after advancing to Gourmet, Jiang Xuan's cooking had not improved, but his ability to evaluate food had undergone a qualitative leap.
And in many cases, cooking ability and tasting ability could not simply be equated.
Just like now, through the Feast Ritual and Thousand-Drawing Tongue, Jiang Xuan could detect certain shortcomings in the Golden Sun Fried Rice.
"Using grains as the main ingredient, adding no unnecessary seasonings, and relying only on Sunflame to draw out the grains' own rice fragrance and solar power—Senior Brother, your idea is excellent, and your fundamentals are extremely solid."
"But the black-boned chicken and treasure fish added afterward feel somewhat like drawing legs on a snake. You were probably trying to combine the powers of the sky, earth, and ocean to make a Golden Sun Great World Braised Rice, but using grains as the principal ingredient for fusion does not work very well. They are too independent and have difficulty perfectly blending the three powers together."
"If Senior Brother wishes to continue in this direction, I suggest using water as the core to harmonize them."
"Of course, the earth can also contain all things. Senior Brother could try grinding the grains into flour and making noodles or other wheat-based foods."
As these words came out, Wu Shan's thick brows immediately furrowed tightly.
His expression also made Xia He shoot Jiang Xuan a fierce glare. Though she said nothing, Jiang Xuan understood the meaning in her eyes:
Senior Brother Wu kindly made you food, so why are you picking faults in it?!
Jiang Xuan returned an innocent look. I'm not criticizing it. I just want Senior Brother to become better.
That truly was Jiang Xuan's real thought. Many times, pointing out problems was not making things difficult for someone, but identifying their shortcomings so they had room and direction for improvement.
Of course, it was also because Senior Brother Wu Shan was kind-hearted and treated him well that Jiang Xuan pointed out the slight flaws he sensed. Had it been someone else, he would not have done something that could easily become a thankless task.
But Jiang Xuan felt that if it were Senior Brother Wu, he should be able to understand the deeper meaning behind his actions.
And before long, Jiang Xuan learned that he had done the right thing.
However, there was one thing Jiang Xuan had not expected—he had not expected Senior Brother Wu's next reaction to be so intense!
Upon hearing Jiang Xuan point out the flaws, Wu Shan first frowned in thought. Then he walked over to the great cauldron, pinched up several remaining grains of rice, placed them into his mouth, and carefully savored them.
Several breaths later, Wu Shan abruptly opened his eyes. His gaze at Jiang Xuan was filled with incredulous excitement and wild joy.
"It's actually true... You can detect the flaws in spiritual meals?!"
Without denying it, Jiang Xuan said calmly, "My tongue is merely somewhat more sensitive."
"This is far more than being somewhat sensitive." After saying this, Wu Shan's expression grew solemn, as though he had made some kind of decision. He stepped forward, tightly grabbed Jiang Xuan by the shoulders, and said in a deep voice, "Jiang Xuan, come to our Summer Valley!"
"Not only did you comprehend the Warm Sun Dao Resonance after one meal, you also possess such heaven-defying talent for evaluation. This is simply a match made in heaven with Summer Valley's inheritance! As long as you are willing to come, within ten years, the position of Summer Valley's chief disciple will definitely be yours!"
"Huh?!" Wu Shan's excited words and his praise for Jiang Xuan's future left Xia He completely bewildered.
Jiang Xuan, on the other hand, remained very calm. "I will learn Summer Valley's techniques."
The moment he said this, Wu Shan immediately understood. Jiang Xuan still intended to walk the path of the Four Seasons Cycle.
This left him looking as though he wanted to speak but hesitated.
Previously, he had not opposed Jiang Xuan taking this path.
This road carried great risk, but if one succeeded, the rewards would be immeasurable. Moreover, he and Jiang Xuan had not been very familiar before; they had only met once, so it was naturally inappropriate to advise deeply when their friendship was still shallow.
But things were different now.
To comprehend the Warm Sun Intent after one meal and even detect flaws in spiritual meals through tasting—such talent was simply an invaluable treasure to Summer Valley.
At the very least, as long as Jiang Xuan lived and regularly ate the spiritual meals he cooked, Jiang Xuan could continually point out the deficiencies in his cooking, allowing his culinary skills to steadily improve without bottlenecks.
And in Summer Valley, culinary skill and cultivation realm were closely intertwined.
Moreover, he held even greater expectations for Jiang Xuan.
Within the Divine Firmament Sect, the grades of each Dao Branch's techniques were not fixed forever. If a genius or powerhouse emerged, they could add to, remove from, revise, and optimize the techniques to a certain extent.
Some supreme geniuses could even directly raise the grade of a technique.
And in Wu Shan's eyes, Jiang Xuan possessed such potential.
Jiang Xuan's compatibility with Summer Valley is unmatched, and his talent is also first-rate. If he can remain in Summer Valley and cultivate wholeheartedly, he may be able to eliminate the core flaw of the Flameglory Supreme Profound Canon and push it to the level of a mid-tier Dao Branch.