The exotic fragrance was so intense it almost broke through the lantern’s seal. For Elder Wei, inside Zhao Tiansheng’s little diner, the effect was even more pronounced. He completely lost interest in the fresh, delicious water celery dish, simply drooling at the aroma while occasionally taking a bite of plain rice.
He then fixed his gaze eagerly on Zhao Tiansheng’s location inside the diner.
Forget Zhao Tiansheng; even Chi Xuan, the Jade Food Immortal, felt a little creeped out by that stare, despite knowing the other man couldn’t see her.
At that moment, however, Zhao Tiansheng had no time to deal with the old Daoist’s impatience.
After all, the ingredient he had specially gone out to select was a seasonal delicacy that had truly reached the Yellow D Level, and a top-tier one at that... the Yan Cong Mushroom!
In the Jiu Province World, even Ordinary ingredients contained an imperceptible trace of flowing Primordial Qi. Ingredients rare enough to be specially categorized were divided into four levels based on the Primordial Qi and other natural boons they held. From highest to lowest, these levels were Celestial A, Earth B, Profound C, and Yellow D.
This Yan Cong Mushroom, which relied on hundred-year-old pine trees to grow, had absorbed the worldly essence of plants and trees, despite its brief growing season.
Even so, it was still ranked among Yellow D Level ingredients, possessing an extremely subtle, regenerative power of flora.
...
"Grandmaster Wei, you’ll just have to bear with it. The Yan Cong Mushroom still needs another twenty-five minutes."
Zhao Tiansheng only managed to look up and say that one sentence before once again focusing all his attention on the countless ingredients on the stove.
It wasn’t that Yan Cong Mushrooms were inherently that precious. In fact, during early spring and the transition between autumn and winter, these mushrooms were quite plentiful. Many people from Jinning Town would make special trips into the mountain forests to pick this type of mushroom, and selling them to the Prefecture City was a source of considerable income.
After all, one could only eat these mushrooms fresh during specific seasons.
In Xiang Prefecture, such a seasonal mountain delicacy was considered a rare ingredient, but ultimately, it wasn’t exceedingly precious. What was truly precious were these specific mushrooms that Zhao Tiansheng had personally gone to pick from those hundred-year-old pine trees.
Not only were they a suitable size and a dark, bluish-black color, but their caps were also still closed. They were fresh and rich, with thick, fleshy bodies that were large without being too small.
Moreover, these mushrooms had absorbed the fragrance of the pine wood and the essence of the surrounding vegetation, giving them an additional layer of flavor compared to ordinary ones.
The best way to use such mushrooms was to render them into Mushroom Oil. This not only preserved the flavor for much longer, but once the oil was simmered and infused with the mushrooms, it became a top-tier delicacy. Whether used as a complement to other dishes, mixed with noodles and rice, or used for fried rice, the result was sublime.
Of course, some people felt this method was a waste of the mushrooms, believing that making soup or a stir-fry with them fresh was the best way.
It was a matter of personal preference.
...
Having spent a fair amount of time in Jinning, Elder Wei naturally knew about the seasonal nature of the Yan Cong Mushroom.
However, he had just tasted the Garden Banquet-level Diving Carp, which had been cooked using only Ordinary ingredients. Now, Zhao Tiansheng was using a Yellow D Level ingredient. The taste and flavor of this Mushroom Oil...
Just imagining it while smelling the aroma was enough to make the old Daoist’s mouth water even faster.
"I can’t take it anymore. I need to calm down."
Elder Wei suddenly realized his Mental Realm was in too much turmoil. It was clear this wasn’t just because of Zhao Tiansheng’s cooking, but also because of the Diving Carp’s effects. It had left him somewhat sensitive, and his spirit and life-force were now slightly out of kilter.
Calming his mind and qi, he achieved extreme emptiness and abided in profound stillness, soon entering a deep meditative state.
At this moment, many old, cracked, and dry riverbeds seemed to appear within Elder Wei’s mind. But now, it seemed as if streams of lava were flowing over these channels, billowing smoke and making the riverbeds even more dilapidated.
But after the lava passed, what it left behind also filled in the cracks and flaws of the riverbeds. More importantly, wisps of ethereal clear water, like sweet rain after a long drought, entered these channels.
For a moment, Elder Wei’s Heart Spirit merged with that clear water, and he quickly sank into an extremely wondrous Realm. It could truly be called ’a withered tree greeting spring’!
...
At almost that very instant, deep within the Xiangshui, a dark shadow seemed to sense the spreading of an exceptionally rare aura.
Within those unfathomable depths, amidst the undercurrents, a being that roamed at will stirred its long body, revealing a pair of pupils like lanterns.
’This aura and power...’
’It’s in that direction!’
It had reached the final, critical step. Any special power that appeared now, especially one that could strengthen its body, would not be ignored.
And with that, turbulent waves surged across the Xiangshui.
Beneath the water’s surface, a long, dark shadow slithered away!
...
’To think Wei Jie actually managed to grasp a sliver of worldly fortune!’
With Chi Xuan’s sharp eye, how could she possibly miss the states of ’sweet rain after a long drought’ and ’a withered tree greeting spring’ emanating from Elder Wei?
In the eyes of an Immortal Spirit like her, a being born from worldly creation itself, every person and every living thing was filled with this creation; it was just a matter of whether they could unearth it themselves. Moreover, these boons came in all sizes.
For the beings of the Non-human World, wasn’t the Transformation into human form a type of nourishment from this worldly creation as well?
Even if Elder Wei managed to mend his old injuries, his potential was still a far cry from what it used to be. However, in Chi Xuan’s view, this was still much better than before, when he could only languish in Jinning and practice his Cultivation as its Garrison.