After exchanging pleasantries, everyone began the introductions. "Young Master Chen here placed first in Nan Commandery's provincial examination. Not only does his learning fill five cartloads, he is also a cultivator who has entered the world."
Mo Caihuan had sensed a surge of Righteous Qi when she entered. This man really is extraordinary, she thought, then immediately said, "It is truly the good fortune of three lifetimes for a humble woman like me to meet Academician Chen."
"You are too modest, Miss Mo. I have read your 'On Essential Flavors' over and over, and it grows more flavorful with every reading. To draw principles of governance from the cooking done at an ordinary stove, without the slightest sense of incongruity-your insight surpasses mine. There are still some points I do not understand, and I hope you will enlighten me."
"I would not presume to offer instruction. We can learn from one another and improve together," Mo Caihuan said. "I also have quite a few questions that I hope you can answer, Academician Chen."
This Academician Chen's name was Chen Bufei. Born to an ordinary family, he had been found to possess a Spiritual Root as a child and taken as a disciple by an elder of the White Dew Academy. He could truly be called a favored son of heaven. Now, at only fifty, he had already reached late Foundation Establishment. A year earlier, he had entered the world to cultivate in preparation for Core Formation.
Last year, he had easily placed first in the provincial examination. What made him all the more remarkable was that he remained free of arrogance, never putting down his books as he diligently pursued his studies. It was also said that he had a beautiful fiancée.
Now, as he listened to Mo Caihuan explain the 'Treatise on Original Flavor' with one sparkling insight after another, he could not help becoming entranced. It was as though everyone else in the room had vanished, leaving only him and her.
After that, he came to the Full Fragrance Restaurant whenever he had time. He believed Mo Caihuan was entirely capable of founding her own school of thought, and even gave it a name-Mohism.
Mo Caihuan was thus the founding ancestor of Mohism.
Mohism was not limited to Confucianism. Instead, it advocated Three Teachings Unity, emphasized the unity of knowledge and action, and stressed practice. It was quite a mixed stew. Still, this carried forward the spirit of "The Six Classics Annotate Me," so it was hardly out of place.
Did I interpret the Six Classics, or did the Six Classics interpret me?
The original text and its interpretation were not the same thing.
For example, some interpreted "What passes is like this river" as a corpse floating down from upstream. The original was the original, and the commentary was the commentary.
What, exactly, did the original text mean?
"I interpret the Six Classics" meant that one should adhere to the original meaning of the Six Classics and strive to recover the intent of the original text.
"The Six Classics Annotate Me," on the other hand, meant using scripture to explain one's own ideas, stepping beyond the original meaning. Interpreting that line as a corpse floating down from upstream was an example of the Six Classics interpreting oneself.
Mo Caihuan used the scriptures of the Three Teachings to explain her own ideas. Though the original lines were the same, her interpretations were completely different from the traditional ones.
In this way, the scriptures gained new meanings and ideas better suited to the times. Young people certainly disliked the interpretations of hidebound bookworms. They preferred fresh explanations that could express their own thoughts.
Traditional Confucianism regarded Mohism as a betrayal of the scriptures and the proper path, but young people liked it, and it quickly spread among Taichang City's young Confucian scholars.
Through Chen Bufei's introductions, cultivators who practiced the Confucianism Cultivation Method also came to hear her lectures. In turn, Mo Caihuan learned something about their cultivation method.
The Confucianism Cultivation Method used Righteous Qi as a guide to draw in spiritual energy. Using Righteous Qi as that guide was its greatest difference from ordinary cultivation methods.
To produce Righteous Qi, one had to enter the world. Making a name for oneself at the Imperial Court would improve the conversion of Righteous Qi.
Mo Caihuan was deeply envious. Cultivators really could turn anything into cultivation. As long as they had a Spiritual Root, they could cultivate by eating, sleeping, or entering the world to serve as officials. Having a Spiritual Root truly was something.
The Confucianism Cultivation Method was good, too. Unfortunately, she could not learn it either.
"Righteous Qi has nothing to do with me, but Flesh-and-Blood Qi can help with Body Tempering and improve my cultivation." While recruiting talented people, she was also buying books and gathering information on Body Tempering.
She had found a path for Body Tempering: the path of Flesh-and-Blood Qi. If she could use spiritual energy, there would be no need to learn anything about Flesh-and-Blood Qi. She could simply go somewhere rich in spiritual energy and cultivate the Diamond Art. Unfortunately, as a mortal, she could not enter those sects where spiritual energy was abundant. She could only blaze another trail and try using other forms of qi.
The path of Body Tempering was extremely difficult. Few complete paths devoted solely to Body Tempering existed in the Lower Realm. Body Tempering was merely an aid to immortal cultivation; cultivators would not choose to pursue it alone.
Still, Great Jin was a paradise for cultivators, the place with the richest cultivation culture in the Lower Realm, and it preserved many legends.
The Flesh-and-Blood Qi path was one of the rare, complete Body Tempering paths that could lead beyond the ordinary and into transcendence. It required no Spiritual Root. A mortal body alone could cultivate all the way to the Nascent Soul realm, without any need for spiritual energy.
"The Star Tear Cultivation Method." Mo Caihuan had learned the name of a method for cultivating Flesh-and-Blood Qi. Next, she needed to go to the Cultivator Market to inquire about the Star Tear Cultivation Method.
"Senior, have you ever heard of Flesh-and-Blood Qi?"
"No, but I imagine it is much the same as the Bloodline Secret Art I taught you, something like how Demon Beasts condense Life Energy within their bodies. The Star Tear Cultivation Method, however, should be a complete Body Tempering method. If you can find it, it will certainly be of great benefit to your cultivation. But Body Tempering methods rarely circulate, so do not get your hopes too high."
Mo Caihuan also knew that hearing about Flesh-and-Blood Qi did not mean she could find the method. "I'll start with what I can do."
"What you can do? Recruit talent and develop the Mo Kingdom?" Food Immortal asked.
"Exactly." Mo Caihuan did want to succeed at Body Tempering, slip into the Upper Realm, implant a Spiritual Root, and attain the Great Dao. But that goal was far too distant. She could only do all she could and leave the rest to heaven.
What she could do was unite every force that could be united and bring science and mystical knowledge together. Science and immortal cultivation were both materialist, and both followed laws.
Even immortal cultivation could not break the rules. If Possession could only be performed once, then once was the limit. Even powerhouses of the Upper Realm could not break that rule.
Science was the same. Some things could not be reversed, such as entropy increase.
In short, the two had similarities. Mo Caihuan hoped to combine them and improve mortal lives. She was a mortal herself. If mortals lived well, she would share in their good fortune.
Food Immortal said, "You are the first mortal I have spent so much time with. You truly do walk your own path. Even I am beginning to hope you succeed at Body Tempering."
"Thank you for the encouragement."
Food Immortal thought that if Mo Caihuan had a Spiritual Root, she would certainly be taken on as a disciple.
She entrusted the Confucian cultivators with inquiring about the Star Tear Cultivation Method and purchasing lifesaving medicinal ingredients. She herself continued refining Mohism to attract more talented people.
Chen Bufei was unquestionably talented. He had a foot in both the immortal and mortal worlds, with friends among mortals and connections in the cultivation world. Moreover, he felt an inexplicable fondness for Mo Caihuan.
His tireless service to Mohism, however, displeased someone else.
Chen Bufei had a fiancée who was also a cultivator, as well as the treasured daughter of the Prefect of Nan Commandery. She had thought her fiancé was studying hard in Taichang City, preparing to place first in the imperial examination. She had never imagined he would be dallying with some loose woman.
When she learned of Mo Caihuan's existence, she traveled day and night to catch them in the act.
When she learned that Mo Caihuan was a cook, she immediately concluded that all of Mo Caihuan's achievements had been brought about by her fiancé alone. How could a cook possibly establish a school of thought? The very idea sounded impossible.
"Proprietor, have Chef Mo prepare a table of fine dishes for me." Chu Fangfang took out a gold ingot and handed it to the proprietor, her expression unfriendly.
"Please come to a private room, honored guest."
Chu Fangfang had intended to find fault, but after tasting Mo Caihuan's food, she immediately sensed a certain sincerity. Without sincerity, how could anyone create such delicious food?
She was a noble young lady, and it was not as though she had never tasted delicacies from mountains and seas. Yet none had been so distinctive. After eating, not only was her tongue comforted, but even her heart could not help settling into peace.
"Why?" She was a cultivator; she knew perfectly well whether her mind was calm. These dishes really did have something to them.
After the meal, she followed the usual custom and asked Mo Caihuan to come meet her.
This was Mo Caihuan's first time meeting a female customer dining alone. Confucian scholars occasionally brought female companions, but this was the first time a woman had come to eat by herself.
At her first glimpse of Mo Caihuan, Chu Fangfang's gaze became fixed, and a thought rose in her mind: How could some ordinary scholar, some wine sack and rice bag, possibly deserve such an exquisite woman?
As it turned out, Chu Fangfang possessed a special art for reading people. The sincerity she had sensed while eating had also come from an extension of that art.
Now, as she observed Mo Caihuan, she saw a Misty Qi between her brows, while a subtle fragrance greeted her nose. A beauty like this should stay by my side and help me cultivate, she thought.
She had come to catch an affair, but now she meant to steal the beloved instead. She was a privileged young lady; whatever she wanted, she never failed to obtain.