When Hai Mei saw that Dong Santong had not eaten any of the Phoenix Meat she had served him, surprise flashed through her eyes, then vanished. Her smile blossomed like a flower as she asked, "Second best? Then what would the best be?"
"Haha! The best was naturally the food my mothers back in my courtyard cooked!" Dong Santong laughed as he ate.
"Your mothers?" Hai Mei froze, rather puzzled, but did not ask further.
Li Xiaoya, sitting beside him, understood perfectly well what he meant by "mothers." He was not nearly as particular about food as Dong Santong, but he knew how formidable his friend was. Once Dong Santong had sniffed something, he would certainly know if anything was wrong with it; Li Xiaoya had experienced that firsthand. He began eating too, and genuinely found the dishes delicious. After swallowing them, he could even feel wisps of spiritual qi merging into his magic power.
Still, this also revealed their secret to him. Besides the exquisite cooking, the more important reason for their flavor was that the herbs in these dishes had been combined according to elixir formulas. No wonder they had such marvelous effects. As for how much they could actually improve a cultivator's cultivation, however, that was harder to say. They would have to be eaten regularly over a long period to be useful.
Seeing the two begin eating without standing on ceremony, Hai Mei kept introducing the dishes, pouring wine and serving tea, never mentioning why she had summoned them. Li Xiaoya and Dong Santong likewise never asked, simply devouring the food in great mouthfuls. The two disciples standing behind them found the whole affair rather baffling.
The meal lasted more than two hours. The three swept through the dishes like a gale scattering clouds, leaving everything