254: Wang Yao's Chicken Soup

"Ouch, ahaha..."

"I'm so dizzy, why do I feel so terrible?"

Zhou Yan clutched his head, only daring to maintain a hunched posture. He didn't dare move, feeling as if he would explode if he moved another inch, or melt if he shook even slightly.

"Senior Sha, what... what on earth is going on?"

"Why do I feel so awful? I feel like if I keep vomiting much longer, my stomach is going to come out."

Sha Fulin shrugged his shoulders.

"Actually, you've already vomited your stomach out."

He pointed at the wisps of Spiritual Qi rising from the pile of food residue on the ground and said,

"You have achieved the dao body, becoming one with the Primordial Chaos."

"Now that your stomach Qi is surging upward, what you are losing is naturally the essence of your stomach."

"The Spiritual Qi you've vomited out is a component of your stomach; it just lacks vitality, so it has no physical form. However, it's no different from vomiting out your actual stomach."

"Is that the point?" Zhou Yan said with a face full of helplessness.

"Ahem, well... it's normal for this state to occur."

"After all, you experienced Old Ancestor Yu Kou's crude manipulation of space. Being in such a space, it's only natural to feel unwell."

Next, Sha Fulin began to explain in great detail, while simultaneously injecting mana into Zhou Yan's body to help regulate him.

"The Old Ancestor should have told you that he passed away long ago."

"What you saw was him from thousands of years ago."

"He was able to achieve this by relying on his application of space. You were actually always in the same position; in fact, you overlapped in space."

"The reason you could see him was that he infinitely elongated the space between you."

"Thus, you could observe him while he was still alive on the scale of time, and through your observation, he could converse with you in this state."

"In that space, every step you took and every thing you did was actually completed within a square inch."

"It was only when you later headed to the final trial that you were truly moving."

Sha Fulin scratched his head.

"As for the remaining specific details, I can't explain them clearly either."

"After all, his Senior self was a Mahayana of Space during his lifetime. Although I also practice the Dao of Space, I didn't intend to achieve my path through it, so I only have a superficial understanding of these methods."

As Sha Fulin continued to exert his power, Zhou Yan finally recovered from his previous state.

He still didn't understand exactly what Yu Kou had done to him, but the space at that time was likely kneaded arbitrarily like a lump of plasticine, which was why he had become so dizzy.

"Do Mahayana experts never truly die?"

Zhou Yan asked a critical question.

If all Mahayana experts were like Yu Kou—having been dead for who knows how long yet still able to easily interfere with reality—it would be far too terrifying.

Even if there were various restrictions as they said, those restrictions were set by themselves; who knew if they could break them.

If Sha Fulin's next words confirmed this point, Zhou Yan would have to find a way to get rid of that Yao Venerable's consciousness in his backpack.

Once confirmed, that wouldn't be the previous bouncy, silly bug, but a nuclear bomb that could explode at any time.

Sha Fulin fell silent for a moment, as if organizing his words, then slowly spoke.

"Mahayana experts certainly die and enter Reincarnation as well."

"They have merely achieved accomplishments that transcend Immortals and Gods, but that doesn't mean they can be eternal like Immortals and Gods."

"It's just that Old Ancestor Yu Kou's situation is quite special."

"There are many reasons maintaining his current state, one of which is that the Dao of Space is too difficult to practice."

"Since Old Ancestor Yu Kou's passing, the position of Mahayana of Space has remained vacant, with no successor."

"In this way, as a Senior on the path of space, he can exploit some loopholes and utilize a portion of his authority."

"As for the other reasons, I'm not entirely sure either."

"And even if I were, I couldn't reveal them to you; you'll have to explore them yourself."

After all that, he still had to figure it out himself.

Zhou Yan didn't plan to press for more details about those matters just now.

In any case, the current main quest was very clear.

Increase his cultivation and investigate the truth of the world.

The goals were quite straightforward and few, but for some reason, they felt... very difficult.

Hiss, I was so focused on feeling miserable, I feel like I forgot something?

Zhou Yan scratched his head, feeling his scalp itch, as if he were about to grow a brain.

However, such a rare event as growing a brain probably wouldn't happen; an itchy head was likely just growing lice.

Lice? Lion?

"Oh no!"

Zhou Yan slapped his thigh, startling Sha Fulin beside him.

"Where's my cat!"

When Zhou Yan saw Yuan Chenling again, it was already in Wang Yao's Immortal Cave.

Originally, Zhou Yan wanted to go find him quickly himself, but he was stopped by Sha Fulin. Only then did he realize that there was a powerful expert right beside him whom he could ask for help.

So, with Zhou Yan providing the location, Sha Fulin quickly teleported Zhou Yan to the destination and found Yuan Chenling in no time.

Zhou Yan looked at Yuan Chenling, who was currently munching on a bunch of banana-shaped spiritual fruits, and felt a surge of irritation.

"I was over there with Yu Kou studying the theory of relativity, feeling absolutely miserable, and here you are swinging bananas into your mouth in pairs?"

"Wa ya ya ya! This is more than a man can bear!"

"It's coming, it's coming, the chicken soup is coming."

"Senior Brother, please help yourself, and try my cooking too."

Just as Zhou Yan was rubbing his hands together, preparing to test his Law Divine Ability on Yuan Chenling again, Wang Yao walked over quickly carrying a small clay pot.

Seeing that the chicken soup was overflowing with Spiritual Qi and was clearly of an extraordinary grade, Zhou Yan temporarily let Yuan Chenling off the hook on the principle of not letting things go to waste.

He picked up a spoon, scooped up a mouthful with chicken meat, chopped green onions, and broth, and tasted it carefully.

As the spoon approached, a crisp, fresh fragrance washed over his nose. It lacked the usual greasiness of meat soup, instead carrying the unique mountain freshness of a third-grade Yao Beast.

The soup was clear as amber, with a few specks of fine golden oil floating on top. When he shook the spoon, the oil droplets stayed together without dispersing, showing the experienced heat control.

He brought the spoon to his mouth, and the warm broth slid down his throat. It was neither too hot nor too cold, and the fresh essence pierced straight to his internal organs, making even his limbs and bones feel warm.

The meat was stewed until tender, falling off the bone with a light touch of the chopsticks. The fibers were soaked with broth and melted in his mouth without any gaminess, leaving only the pure aroma of meat to spread between his teeth.

This soup seemed simple, but it extracted the original flavor of the Yao Beast meat perfectly. The balance of removing gaminess and enhancing freshness was handled with precision, far beyond what an ordinary cook could achieve.

Zhou Yan's eyes widened, and he looked at Wang Yao with some surprise.

"Not bad, your skill is comparable to a professional chef. Did you study this specifically?"

Wang Yao rubbed his head sheepishly.

He knew Zhou Yan's Cooking Skill, and his own method was like showing off his meager skills before a master. To receive Zhou Yan's praise was undoubtedly a very high level of recognition.

"Conditions weren't great in the past, so I used to cook for myself. Compared to Alchemy, I seem to have more talent in cooking."

Zhou Yan took another sip of soup and then pointed at Yuan Chenling nearby.

"What's the deal with him? How did you two meet?"

Wang Yao looked at Yuan Chenling, who was currently slurping up a small portion of chicken soup with great effort.

"It was quite a coincidence."

"He barged into Pill Peak at the time."

"As you know, one cannot enter Qingxu Grotto-Heaven without a Disciple token."

"So those who can enter are basically guests or our own Disciples. If he went elsewhere, people would have no reason to hurt him."

"He would most likely be treated as someone's spirit pet or Mount, or perhaps someone from the Yao Race here for sightseeing and study."

"But as luck would have it, he barged into Pill Peak."

"The Fifth Elder had only just returned a short while ago, and no one could be sure if he had left again."

"An unidentified member of the Yao Race suddenly appearing on Pill Peak would naturally be mistaken for the Fifth Elder's Incarnation coming to trick us out of Medicinal Pills."

"And then..."

Wang Yao pointed to a small bald patch on the back of Yuan Chenling's head.

"He was caught and questioned about his origins."

"I don't know what he was thinking, but instead of being cowed, he became even bolder after being caught. He was quite impressive, fighting one against ten, and even shouted something about 'thirty years in the east, thirty years in the west' while being pinned down."

"Then he was taken to test pills."

At this point, Wang Yao couldn't quite suppress the smile at the corners of his mouth. Yuan Chenling also drooped his ears, covering his ear canals so as not to hear their teasing.

"But don't worry, Senior Brother. Except for those specifically hired, pill testers generally don't test dangerous Medicinal Pills. He only took some recovery pills to regulate his body."

"As for the pill testing, that bald patch is a side effect; it'll probably last for about half a month."

Zhou Yan withdrew his gaze, no longer paying attention to Yuan Chenling.

At least this kid had some conscience and knew to come looking for him, but he just didn't understand why he suddenly pulled a stunt like that.

Wasn't that just making himself suffer for nothing?

Meanwhile, in a corner of Qingxu Grotto-Heaven.

A lion identical to Yuan Chenling hopped out from behind a giant rock.

Then, with a shake of its body, it transformed into a middle-aged man with a sneaky expression.

"Hahaha, the new Medicinal Pills Old Six refined—didn't they still end up in my hands?"

"This move, this move is called substituting the pillar for the beam, stealing the sky and changing the sun, passing off fish eyes as pearls."

"Little lion, oh little lion, don't blame me. This can be considered indirectly helping you Cultivate your Mental Energy."

The Fifth Elder tossed a yellow Medicinal Pill into his mouth.

"Munch munch, this one strengthens the body."

He tossed in a purple Medicinal Pill.

"Munch munch, this one soothes the spirit."

He tossed another red Medicinal Pill into his mouth.

*Thud.*

The Fifth Elder turned purple all over and fell into a peaceful sleep.