Mouthwatering Chicken, Water-Boiled Fish

"All right, go."

Fang Hong said.

Reluctance showed on Zhao Feixue's face. "My lord, your humble concubine..."

"Go."

Zhao Feixue slowly rose and backed away several steps before finally taking flight on a streak of light and flying into the distance.

Fang Hong watched her retreating figure, his expression as still as an ancient well.

After investigating her repeatedly and checking again and again, he had finally concluded that the Seven Great Medicines within her had indeed taken effect.

Even when the Tiger-Rope Demon-Binding Seal Divine Ability dissipated on its own and her magical power and Divine Sense fully recovered, she still obeyed Fang Hong in everything, utterly compliant.

Even when Fang Hong ordered her to kill herself, she had immediately acted without the slightest hesitation. Had he not stopped her in time, she really would have been a corpse by now.

This battle had given him a deeper understanding of his [Fate Mirror] talent.

Divine Abilities were no match for fate.

Zhao Feixue was a distinguished True Disciple of a great Golden Core sect, yet once she became causally entangled with his fortunes and misfortunes, she could not escape being precisely divined either.

She had not lost to the Azure Sky Divine Armor, Kui Water Yin Thunder, or Upper Clarity Sword Talisman.

Rather, she had lost to Fang Hong's calculated preparations against her lack of awareness.

Only when Zhao Feixue disappeared over the horizon did Fang Hong leisurely summon his flying carriage and Snow Lion Talisman Beast and head straight back to the Yin-Yang Sect.

The Yin-Yang Sect.

The White Jade Pavilion on North Island.

When Fang Hong returned, he discovered a mass of five-colored auspicious clouds several dozen feet across hovering above the pavilion. Layers of radiant cloud churned, gathering and dispersing without settling.

It was none other than the Separation-and-Reunion Five-Cloud Gui Su Yao had won in the market drawing that day.

With the Fish-Dragon Assembly approaching, Su Yao was practicing with this second-tier Dharma Treasure.

However, activating a second-tier Dharma Treasure with Qi Refining cultivation consumed enormous amounts of both Divine Sense and magical power. She probably could not keep it up for long.

Fang Hong had only just put away his flying carriage and talisman beast when a clear, lovely laugh rang out from the five-colored clouds. "You're back just in time, husband. Take this!"

Before her words had faded, the five-colored clouds transformed into a huge hand with five long, powerful fingers and reached straight for him.

Spiritual energies surged. Fang Hong felt the air around him instantly turn into refined steel, rendering him immobile.

"Trying to murder your own husband..."

Fang Hong broke into an involuntary laugh. Just as the great hand of cloudlight was about to seize him, a streak of golden swordlight suddenly flew from his sleeve and circled the hand several times like a flash of lightning!

The hand of cloudlight instantly shattered.

Without losing momentum, the swordlight flickered lightly, swept over the roof of the White Jade Pavilion, and pierced straight through the remaining five-colored clouds hovering there.

The cloudlight dispersed, revealing Su Yao's tall figure.

She wore a simple, elegant white dress. Her long, fine, straight hair, glossy and jet-black, lay against her back and buttocks. Her legs were long and strong, and her waist-to-hip proportions were nearly perfect.

She looked toward Fang Hong and saw his broad sleeves fluttering, his entire person resembling an incomparably sharp sword, with a faint, keen Sword Intent emanating from him.

"Your swordsmanship has actually become this formidable, husband. That Romantic Painting Album from the Teaching Hall's Hall Master truly is wondrous."

Her beautiful eyes lit up, and a sweet smile spread over her exquisite, radiant face.

When Fang Hong had previously been summoned by Rogue Person Xuanyin, he had used the Romantic Painting Album as his explanation to her upon his return.

She also knew that he had subsequently been using the Romantic Painting Album to hone his swordsmanship.

Fang Hong floated up to the rooftop, pulled Su Yao into his arms, scooped her up by the waist, and laid her facedown across his lap. He slapped her full, rounded bottom and snorted. "You dare attack your husband? You're asking for a spanking!"

Playing along, Su Yao begged for mercy. "Don't hit me, husband. I won't dare next time."

"Hmm? You dare think there'll be a next time?"

Another crisp smack rang out.

Su Yao giggled. "I'll never dare again. Please punish me, husband."

"Then hurry up and attend to your husband's bath."

An hour later.

The third floor of the White Jade Pavilion.

Draped in sheer gauze, Su Yao lay languidly on Fang Hong's chest, her slender, snow-white fingers tracing circles over his muscular chest.

Fang Hong's gaze fell on her tender, rosy lips. Inwardly, he had to admit that she was a young woman of extraordinary oral accomplishments: the moment she opened her mouth, she made him feel wonderfully comfortable, with audible smacking, great depth, and a profoundly moving effect.

"How long can you keep that Separation-and-Reunion Five-Cloud Gui going?" Thinking of the approaching Fish-Dragon Assembly, he began worrying about Su Yao again.

"About thirty breaths. Don't worry. Not everyone in the outer sect has a supreme-grade first-tier flying sword and swordsmanship like yours."

A lingering flush colored Su Yao's pretty face as she murmured softly, her breath fragrant as orchids.

"That's true."

Fang Hong recalled the sword strike with which he had just broken through the Separation-and-Reunion Five-Cloud Gui. He had actually unleashed, without intending to, the Sword Intent normally possessed only by Foundation Establishment sword cultivators.

Otherwise, he could not have won so easily.

This had to do with his recent use of the Azure Sky Divine Armor to fight with his flying sword. Having experienced Foundation Establishment Divine Sense and magical power ahead of time, he had cultivated Sword Intent as naturally as water flowing into a channel.

Sword Intent was a realm of swordsmanship in which heart and sword became clear and person and sword became one. When fighting others, one could command the sword like lightning, gain keen spiritual perception, and bring limited magical power to its utmost potential, greatly increasing the might of the swordlight.

In short, once one comprehended Sword Intent, one's swordlight became smoother, faster, and stronger, far surpassing cultivators of the same rank.

"Husband, what happened while you were out this time? Your cultivation has improved quite a bit too."

Su Yao asked softly, her gaze warm and gentle.

"Has it?" Fang Hong replied with a guilty conscience, inwardly marveling at Su Yao's keen spiritual perception.

Zhao Feixue had helped him cultivate a drop of Netherworld Heavy Water magical power, saving him a month or so of hard work, but compared with his overall cultivation, the change was not particularly obvious.

"It has. Haven't you noticed yourself?" Su Yao glanced at him suspiciously.

Fang Hong scratched his head, then suddenly remembered something. He immediately took the frozen spirit fish from his storage pouch and changed the subject. "Oh, right. Take a look-what kind of fish is this?"

Su Yao languidly raised her head to look. A three-petaled plum blossom mark faintly appeared between her brows. After examining it for a moment, she said, "This is an Azure-Snow Spirit Fish. It's extremely rare in the sea. How did you catch it?"

Fang Hong casually recounted his encounter with the sea eagle on his way back.

Su Yao rose and stepped barefoot off the couch, then bent over to inspect the precious fish closely, dividing her attention between two things.

Within her Sea of Consciousness, the dignified, beautiful woman dressed in rainbow robes and a feathered mantle, seated cross-legged in a blue lotus, slowly said, "This fish has remarkable effects in increasing blood and vital energy, cleansing the flesh, strengthening the body, and fortifying the bones. It's comparable to a second-tier spirit medicine."

"This fish increases blood and vital energy..."

She relayed her master's words to Fang Hong as they were spoken, without leaving out a single word.

"So that's it."

Understanding dawned on Fang Hong. He knew Su Yao had always been widely knowledgeable; he had indeed asked the right person.

"Then why don't we eat it while it's fresh?"

He suggested enthusiastically.

Su Yao fell silent for a moment, then slowly said, "As the old saying goes, all things have their innate natures, just as all people have their own gifts. Humans are intelligent and perceptive, yet without superior Daoist methods, they struggle to fulfill their potential; though an ingredient may be fine by nature, without the proper method, it too will lack flavor."

"This fish is best prepared using the Spirit Cuisine Technique. Only then can its natural qualities be brought out to the fullest."

Fang Hong vaguely felt that Su Yao's manner of speaking differed from usual, but he did not pay it much heed. He merely said, "Unfortunately, Xiao Ya isn't here. We'll just have to make do."

The Spirit Cuisine Technique was one of the hundred arts of cultivation. In ancient times, there had even been Food Cultivators who specialized in this path. Its heritage was long and profound, no less so than alchemy, artifact crafting, formations, talismans, or puppetry.

Su Yao chuckled. "My sister was the one who taught Xiao Ya her Spirit Cuisine Technique. This humble little lady knows a thing or two as well. Today, I'll let you taste my cooking."

Her face shone with confidence; she clearly felt certain of her abilities.

A short while later, in the rear room on the ground floor.

Su Yao rolled up her sleeves and used a short knife to slit open the Azure-Snow Spirit Fish's belly.

She deftly removed its innards, then lifted its fin with the tip of her knife. A sweep of the blade's flat revealed a row of cartilage as fine as shredded scallions.

The fin was blue-green, as clear and translucent as a flawless gemstone.

"This is the best part of the fish."

Su Yao set the fin aside, then sliced open the nearly transparent body.

Fang Hong pointed to the smooth, gleaming crystalline pearl by the fish's tail. "I thought it was that pearl."

"That thing is highly poisonous. You can't eat it." Su Yao glanced at him, casually cut out the crystalline pearl, and tossed it into the pile of innards.

Before long, the fish went into the pot of boiling Spirit Spring water. Su Yao added various spirit medicines and seasonings, then formed hand seals and cast a spell. Spiritual light flashed within the large pot, and all manner of mysterious spiritual resonances spread through the air before finally flowing into the pot.

"I never realized you knew the Spirit Cuisine Technique too." Fang Hong leaned against the wall with his arms folded across his chest, leisurely watching Su Yao work.

Su Yao rolled her eyes at him and said proudly, "There's plenty you don't know."

Standing before the spirit stove, she had none of her usual cool, reserved elegance. Instead, she radiated a different kind of vivid charm, that of a newly married woman.

From then on, in flowing skirts she smiled beside the stove, washing her hands to make soup for her beloved.