"All right, then."
Ye Qingyun promptly brought Shen Tianhua a basin.
The basin was piled high with white rice.
When that basin of rice was set before Shen Tianhua.
The expression on his old face was quite a sight.
He probably had never eaten so much rice in a single meal in his entire life.
But to achieve a breakthrough, Shen Tianhua gritted his teeth and went all out.
He picked up the basin and dug right in.
At that moment, the old man was a true rice warrior.
One of a kind.
Even Ye Qingyun, who had always prided himself on being a rice warrior, had to admit defeat.
"Take it easy, old sir."
Watching Shen Tianhua eat as though he were fighting someone to the death, Ye Qingyun could not help trying to dissuade him.
"It's fine. I can handle it."
Shen Tianhua's words were muffled by the food in his mouth.
Beside him, Xiao Shi was focused solely on stuffing herself and paid no attention whatsoever to how Shen Tianhua was doing.
Ye Qingyun soon finished eating.
He sat there, watching the master and disciple frantically shovel down their food.
After watching for a while, Ye Qingyun felt a little like throwing up himself.
The three plates of food on the table had nearly been polished off.
Xiao Shi picked up the plate of stir-fried tomatoes and eggs, tipped her rice onto it, gave it a vigorous stir, and continued feasting.
Shen Tianhua refused to be outdone.
He flipped the plate of braised pork straight into his basin.
He scraped every last bit of meat and sauce off the plate.
Ye Qingyun watched, dumbstruck.
Wasn't this a little too much?
Even reincarnated hungry ghosts would be no worse than this, would they?
How many years had it been since they had eaten a proper meal?
Before long.
Xiao Shi could not take any more.
She abruptly put down her bowl and sat there burping nonstop.
Ye Qingyun hurriedly poured her a cup of water, afraid she might throw up in a moment.
Shen Tianhua glanced at his disciple.
Hmph!
Old ginger was still the spiciest.
You little girl still needed a few more years of cultivation.
Shen Tianhua continued his struggle.
At the same time, however, he was deeply puzzled.
I've already eaten so much. Why haven't I broken through yet?
The bottom of the basin was already coming into view.
Shen Tianhua's stomach was on the verge of bursting too.
Just as Shen Tianhua struggled to swallow the final mouthful of rice.
An unprecedented presence surged out from within his body.
For a moment.
Shen Tianhua felt incomparably comfortable all over.
He felt as though he had grown several years younger.
Earlier, observing that lotus painting had brought his cultivation to the late Heaven-Reaching Realm and granted him more lifespan.
And now, although Shen Tianhua had not broken through.
His body had blossomed with even greater vitality.
Shen Tianhua could clearly sense that another hundred years had been added to his lifespan out of nowhere.
This left him both surprised and delighted.
Although he had not broken through, gaining more lifespan was extremely difficult in its own right.
After all, only with a longer lifespan would he have enough time to pursue higher realms.
After this.
Shen Tianhua would no longer have to worry about his lifespan running out.
"I... I can still eat!"
Shen Tianhua wanted to keep stuffing himself.
He had figured it out.
As long as he ate more, he was bound to benefit.
Whether it was a breakthrough in cultivation or an increase in lifespan, he needed both.
For that.
Even if his belly burst, he would grit his teeth and keep eating.
Ye Qingyun looked utterly speechless.
"Ahem, you certainly have an astonishing appetite, old sir, but you and your disciple have already eaten all the rice I had."
Ye Qingyun brought out the empty rice pot.
At the sight, the master and disciple felt both regretful and relieved.
"Master, I'm a little stuffed."
"Don't talk. I feel like throwing up too."
Seeing the master and disciple each looking more miserable than the other, Ye Qingyun did not know whether to laugh or cry.
"Have some digestive tablets."
Ye Qingyun took out two small tablets.
He had made them himself.
Naturally, he had made them under the system's tutelage.
"Digestive tablets?"
Shen Tianhua and Xiao Shi both looked puzzled.
But since they were gifts from an expert, they were bound to be extraordinary.
The master and disciple each swallowed one.
Before long, both felt much more comfortable in their stomachs.
After each circulated their Spiritual Qi for a while, almost all their discomfort was gone.
"Thank you, Young Master Ye!"
Shen Tianhua led Xiao Shi in bowing respectfully to Ye Qingyun.
Ye Qingyun waved a hand. "Old sir, you mustn't eat like this again. It won't do to ruin your health."
He then looked at Xiao Shi.
"You should talk your master out of it, not join him in eating and drinking to excess."
The master and disciple were deeply embarrassed.
If your food weren't so delicious, and if it couldn't improve our cultivation and extend our lifespans, we wouldn't have eaten so much.
But on second thought, Ye Qingyun's words likely held a deeper meaning.
Shen Tianhua pondered this for a while.
Then he suddenly understood.
"The expert is warning me that haste makes waste, and that biting off too much leaves you unable to chew!"
For a moment, Shen Tianhua was filled with even greater shame.
Having cultivated for so many years, he should have understood this principle long ago.
Yet faced with temptation just now, he had still lost his composure and completely exposed his weakness.
He truly should not have done that.
An expert was indeed an expert.
He had seen right through him, and had even offered such a tactful reminder.
"I shall engrave your advice upon my heart, Young Master."
Shen Tianhua bowed solemnly to Ye Qingyun.
After the meal, Shen Tianhua and Xiao Shi did not linger and chose to take their leave.
On this trip, they had successfully met Ye Qingyun and gained a great deal besides.
Their visit had not been in vain.
Ye Qingyun escorted them out of the courtyard and watched them head down the mountain.
At the foot of the mountain, Shen Tianhua looked back at Floating Cloud Mountain, his heart brimming with emotion.
"Who would have thought that the expert on this mountain would be so extraordinary? Today has truly opened this old man's eyes."
"Master, since this expert lives here in seclusion, why don't we come pay our respects regularly? Perhaps we could receive more guidance from him?"
Xiao Shi said.
Shen Tianhua's face darkened.
"Absolutely not!"
Xiao Shi froze. "Why?"
"The expert lives here in seclusion to cultivate in peace, and more importantly, to wander the mortal world as an ordinary man."
"Didn't you notice? From beginning to end, he never once presented himself as an expert, nor did he ever discuss cultivation."
"Perhaps this expert has already reached an unfathomably profound realm. He has forgotten his own existence and truly regards himself as an ordinary man."
As Shen Tianhua spoke, reverence appeared in his eyes.
"If we keep coming to disturb him, we might disrupt his state of mind. If we displease him then, that would be a grave offense!"
Hearing this, Xiao Shi felt that her master's words made a great deal of sense.
"I was foolish."
Shen Tianhua looked at her. "It's good that you understand."
Just as the master and disciple were about to leave, they suddenly saw a woman approaching from afar.
The woman also spotted the master and disciple, and a trace of puzzlement appeared on her face.
"Have you two just come down from Floating Cloud Mountain?"
The woman stepped forward and bowed. It was Bai Suyi.
"Yes. Are you heading up the mountain?"
Xiao Shi studied Bai Suyi. Seeing how young and beautiful she was, her expression could not help turning a little strange.