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"Has Ye Qinghui lost his wits along with his Inner Core? Instead of going after the Dragonblood Stone, he's catching Spirit Fish here."

"What good is the tiny bit of spiritual energy in Spirit Fish? Dragonblood Stone can greatly boost spiritual energy and help you break through."

"He's picked up a sesame seed and thrown away a watermelon. What a fool!"

Even the cultivators who had nothing to do with them shook their heads and whispered. Shen Xingyan, Jiang Kui, and the others curled their lips in disdain. "Those paupers from Cloudsky Sect have never seen the world. I bet they've never even eaten Spirit Fish." They flew straight toward the summit on their swords. The Dragonblood Stone would be theirs!

[Wow, that fish looks so plump and delicious.]

[Each one must weigh twenty or thirty pounds. The soup would be so rich and fragrant.]

[Too bad I don't have teeth yet, so I can only drink the soup. Once I'm a little older, I'm going to roast a fish and sprinkle pepper on it.]

The Spirit Fish was too big for an ordinary pot, so Ye Qinghui dug a Purple-Iron Cauldron out of his Heaven-and-Earth Bag and used the Artifact as a cooking pot. He added some Spirit Spring water, then heated it with Spirit Fire. At first, the fish thrashed about, but before long, it was bubbling away, cooked through and so fragrant it made mouths water.

[First Senior Brother, add the milk from my bottle too.] Little

foodie

Ye Zhenzhen began directing him again.

With the milk added, the fish soup grew richer and smoother. Each sip spread a velvety fullness across the tongue. The concentrated essence of heaven and earth flowed down the throat and into the heart, lifting the spirits and bringing a deep swell of happiness.

Cultivators stopped needing food after reaching Foundation Establishment, but a bowl of fresh soup now and then was delicious. Soup made with Spirit Spring water also helped guide the spiritual energy within the body, leaving muscles and bones at ease.

At nine years old, Ye Qingchuan was still in the Qi Refining stage and had yet to stop needing food. He was growing, too, so he drank three bowls of fish soup in a row and ate plenty of fish. The Spirit Fish was as tender as tofu and more flavorful than poultry. As he ate, the pallor faded from his face, leaving it rosy, and light shone in his lovely peach-blossom eyes.

Ye Zhenzhen sucked the delicious soup from her bottle while stealing glances at Ye Qingchuan. She watched him eat the fish belly, then the tail, and could hardly bear it. [Third Senior Brother, the head is tasty too. The brain especially—it's the best part of the whole fish.]

"I'm not eating that."

[Dear Senior Brother, could you get it for me? Sorry for the trouble.] Ye Zhenzhen pleaded in her muffled little voice.

Ye Qingchuan looked at the way her round eyes fixed longingly on the fish head, her little mouth smacking. The faintest smile touched his lips. He deftly cracked the fish skull, scooped the translucent brain into a spoon, and fed it into Ye Zhenzhen's wide-open mouth.

A silken warmth bloomed gently across her tongue.

Ye Zhenzhen felt as though her entire life had been elevated. Besides, eating brains was supposed to nourish the brain. She was already clever, so surely she had become even cleverer.

[Third Senior Brother, use my Heaven-and-Earth Pearls to take all the Spirit Fish in here.]

[Then we'll have fish whenever we want. Just thinking about it makes me happy.]

Here they went again.

Ye Qinghui and Ye Qingyao had seen the pair behave like bandits before, but they still could hardly watch.

"Zhenzhen, you mustn't be so greedy..." Ye Qinghui was about to stop her when her thoughts caught him short. [First Senior Brother, this isn't just for eating. We'll need them when we go up the mountain.]

Ye Qingchuan smoothly drew the Spirit Fish and Spirit Spring water into the Heaven-and-Earth Pearls. He had grown practiced at it. Besides, the fish really was delicious. Its lingering taste still filled his mouth, and he couldn't help smacking his lips.

[Third Senior Brother is the best. From now on, you can have half the fish belly.]

[First Senior Brother and Second Senior Sister can drink the soup and have some tail.]

She had apportioned everything neatly according to everyone's contribution.

Gathering Spirit Mountain looked unremarkable, but a mysterious Barrier sealed the entire mountain. No one could approach it on a sword, much less fly straight to the summit. Everyone had to climb the old-fashioned way.

Halfway up, dozens of Demon Beasts resembling giant beetles suddenly charged out. They were all low-level beasts with no intelligence, but their bodies were as sturdy as little hills, and they blocked the path.

Shen Xingyan and the others hurriedly drew their swords and struck, but the giant beetles seemed indestructible. They could neither drive them off nor wound them, and even Fire Technique failed to set them alight.

Enraged, the Demon Beasts thrust out their scissor-like mandibles to tear them in two.

Shen Xingyan took a stack of Earth-Diving Talismans from his Storage Ring and handed them to the members of the Kongtong School, allowing them to slip past the beasts with ease. But as they climbed toward the summit, the Demon Beasts only grew more numerous. Their strength rose from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core, and they gradually closed in around the group.

There were Black Bear Monsters strong enough to tear a person to shreds in moments; Leopard Demons that bared their fangs and lunged at anything alive; and Lion-Tiger Beasts with savage red eyes. The last had reached the Golden Core Late Stage and could rip open a cultivator, seize their Inner Core, and swallow it whole.

Wherever they ran, the Demon Beasts followed. Anyone caught was devoured by the pack, without even a scrap of bone left behind.

Ye Qinghui and the others also began encountering Demon Beasts halfway up the mountain.

Giant beetles lined up before them, glaring fiercely and extending their mandibles to tear them apart.

[Third Senior Brother, get the Spirit Fish out, quick.]

[These Demon Beasts have been sealed on the mountain for years. They've eaten all the flowers and grass, and they must be sick of the taste. One whiff of fish and they won't be able to walk away.]

After a moment's hesitation, Ye Qingchuan tossed several Spirit Fish to the giant beetles.

Sure enough, they came forward to sniff the fish, wagged their heads with delight, and fought to seize them in their mandibles before gobbling them down.

"One fish per beast. Once you've eaten, you can't block our way again," he said.

The giant beetles clumsily nodded their enormous heads in agreement.