It had even become extremely rare to hear of anyone freezing or starving to death.
Even orphans could grow up relying on the charity of the Hundred Families.
On this point alone, the Sacrificial Lineage of cultivation still held a lofty status, and no one could find fault with it.
Saving billions upon billions of lives—this merit alone was indelible.
However, with the development of resources, the existence of non-human entities had also greatly increased. This meant that venison of the quality held by that Traveling Merchant Priest would absolutely be considered an enlightened Deer Spirit in Sheng Province—a member of the non-human ranks.
Unless it had harmed or killed people, Sheng Province would almost never permit the wanton hunting of such a Deer Spirit.
This was also why resources of this level rarely circulated outside the Prefecture City.
This was the first time Zhao Tiansheng had seen an ingredient of this caliber. It had nearly reached the Profound C Level, placing it firmly at the Peak among Yellow D Level ingredients!
...
’Tiansheng, that ingredient is no simple matter...’
’The skill of this Traveling Merchant Priest from the Divine Land is even higher than I first estimated.’
Chi Xuan sensed something was amiss and quickly voiced a warning.
But Zhao Tiansheng just smiled, not the least bit worried.
He had been cooking for non-human entities even before he had officially become a Sacrificial Priest. Why would he worry now, when he had already reached the ’Division’ Realm of Tier Three for a Sacrificial Priest?
’Don’t worry, Sister Chi. I won’t lose.’
This firm thought was not just brimming with confidence, but also a precise self-awareness.
’Besides, with the Mushroom Oil, are my ingredients really any worse?’
Having long since decided to make a fried rice filled with the essence of spring, Zhao Tiansheng naturally had to incorporate the delicacies of the season, including the Yan Cong Mushrooms he had made a special trip to bring back!
...
Taking out an ingredient brought from home—one that could be called his most treasured possession—meant that this Traveling Merchant Priest from the Divine Land had completely given up on the rest of his journey. But it also showed his all-or-nothing attitude toward this Sacrificial Decree.
This could be seen from the expressions of the other Traveling Merchant Priests around him.
’Brother Li’s family’s venison is said to be first-class, even in Luoyi...’
The hot-tempered man spoke in a low voice.
The Traveling Merchant Priest surnamed Tian nodded silently, not knowing what to say.
But it seemed he also saw that his Brother Li might just have a chance of breaking through to the ’Division’ Realm of Tier Three for a Sacrificial Priest.
’Lotus Fragrance Venison Soup...’
’To think I’d have to rely on my family’s help ahead of time just to be confident of winning this round!’
The Li Family of the Divine Land Luoyi had its roots in the path of the Military Family. As for decisively using any advantage he had, this Traveling Merchant Priest surnamed Li felt no shame at all.
The Dao of a Sacrificial Priest was all-encompassing. No matter which path you walked, as long as you could keep moving forward and it wasn’t a dead end, then there was no problem.
Many philosophies from the Hundred Families had also been integrated into it, forming the distinct styles of different Sacrificial Priests.
The Li Family’s lineage was actually unremarkable in the world of Sacrificial Cultivation in the Divine Land. In the world of Military Cultivation, however, they were quite dazzling.
However, his "unremarkable" status was only in comparison to the Sacrificial Priests from all over the Divine Land. When facing a Sacrificial Priest from a small town in Sheng Province, the recipes passed down in his family should be more than enough to crush the competition!
After all, among the grand cuisines of the Divine Land, grilling, soups, steaming, and poaching were the most outstanding.
This Venison Soup he had mastered was a time-tested recipe, and he had spent a great deal of time learning it.
In the past, he didn’t understand the subtle details of this soup dish, but as he traveled between provinces as a merchant, he gradually came to appreciate the mystery of ’Division’ in Tier Three of the Sacrificial Priest Realm.
Though many ingredients seemed to be mixed into one—especially in a soup where everything was bound by the thick broth—in reality, every single ingredient had to be distinct, and every single flavor had to be expressed. Only then could it be considered the ’Division’ of Tier Three, which, in terms of flavor, could be described with one word: ’clarity’.
...
The venison, hunted in Shanglin Garden, was bled and then wrapped in lotus leaves.
This naturally acted as an extra layer of marination and cooking.
In this Sacrificial Decree, the Traveling Merchant Priest could be said to have an absolute advantage in terms of ingredients.
Not to mention, he already knew the preparation for this Lotus Fragrance Venison Soup like the back of his hand.
Shredded bamboo shoots, shredded taro, shredded cabbage, bean sprouts, and shredded lotus root were all prepared. The most crucial ingredient, the venison, was also cut directly into shreds, but it still had to go through a coating process.
The meat shreds, cut slightly more than twice as thick as the accompanying vegetables, needed no marination after being sliced. They already had a faint fragrance of lotus leaf and the unique, gamy freshness of venison.
Not just fresh, but *gamy*-fresh—that unique and exceptionally clear wild taste that some people loved with a passion and others rejected like filth.
The Traveling Merchant Priest surnamed Li had no intention of deliberately removing this flavor. Instead, he used the combination of other ingredients to both highlight the venison’s taste and diffuse it among the other flavors.
This was the secret of the ’Division’ Realm of Tier Three for a Sacrificial Priest.
The more he cooked, the more he could feel the profound and mysterious nature of the Path of Sacrificial Rites.
He scalded the lotus leaves that had wrapped the venison, then used that water to blanch the shredded bamboo shoots, taro, and other vegetables. Finally, this blanching liquid was infused with scallion and ginger, then filtered and left to settle, with the clearest portion skimmed from the top into a small bowl.
This was part of the base broth for the Venison Soup.
The venison for the Venison Soup also needed to be coated.
Thanks to research combining Sacrificial Cultivation and Farmer Family cultivation, almost all staple foods in Jiu Province had been fully developed. High-yield crops like sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn were abundant, leading to an endless variety of processed starches.
The Traveling Merchant Priest surnamed Li didn’t even know what kind of coating the ancient version of Venison Soup used. But the method passed down in his lineage now used sweet potato starch—specifically, sweet potato starch of which one-third had been scalded.
Relying on rapid gelatinization, he coated the outer layer of the meat shreds with the slurry. Then, he placed them one by one into water that had been brought to a boil and immediately reduced to a simmer, where only tiny "fish-eye" bubbles remained, allowing them to slowly poach until cooked.
This method not only preserved the venison’s smooth and tender texture but also avoided the biggest problem with ingredients like venison: its low fat content, which can make the meat coarse.
However, after being cooked this way, the simple base of the Venison Soup would absorb more flavors from the other ingredients, complementing the umami released by the venison itself.
One could say that this Lotus Fragrance Venison Soup was already showing the makings of a Garden Banquet-level dish.
Especially his technique for preparing the slurry and the final appearance of the coated venison—like crimson coral encased in glass—left even the residents of Jinning Town marveling. An inexplicable worry for Zhao Tiansheng began to rise in their hearts.
It was only at this moment that they suddenly realized.
’What in the world has that Tiansheng kid been doing all this time?’
’I didn’t even notice until you mentioned it.’
’The other guy’s dish looks almost done, but I haven’t seen that Tiansheng kid do much of anything.’
The chattering gossip of the residents filled his ears. Uncle Changshu was exasperated; he’d never seen these folks be so loose-lipped.
He couldn’t help but speak in a low voice.
"What’s all the chatter about? Can’t you see Tiansheng is preparing?"
"That guy from the other province just looks flashy."
"When it comes to real skill, you have to bet on our own!"
Indeed, compared to the Traveling Merchant Priest from the Divine Land, Zhao Tiansheng’s setup did seem overly simple. He hadn’t taken out any special ingredients, just some recent seasonal wild vegetables that he was processing in a slow and methodical manner.
Even his movements looked leisurely, as if he wasn’t putting in much effort at all.
However, Chi Xuan, the ’Jade Food Immortal’, seemed to see wisps of an almost tangible spring breeze begin to swirl around Zhao Tiansheng, brushing past the ingredients he was handling before leaping into the stove where the cooking was about to begin...
’This is?!’
At almost the same instant, the hooded figure who had been observing the Sacrificial Decree also sensed something.
A brilliant light flashed in his eyes, as if he were about to perceive all the secrets between heaven and earth!