Chapter 121 : Eating the Great Hui
Chapter 121: Eating the Great Hui
Seeing her junior brother stunned in place, Li Wan’er asked doubtfully, “What’s wrong, was it too little?”
She looked at the ice sculpture, her eyes showing hesitation. “Should I give you another piece of viper meat?”
“No, no need.” Chen Beiwu waved his hand. “The viper gall is enough for me, thank you, Senior Sister.”
Hearing this, Senior Sister revealed a smile and generously patted his shoulder.
“What are you thanking me for? If it weren’t for your sharp eyes, Junior Brother, I wouldn’t have noticed this Great Hui at all. This is what you deserve. Later, you should eat more viper marrow—this stuff nourishes the body.”
“Croak!”
The Three-Colored Star Toad, who had witnessed everything, declared that it had something to say.
If it had not led the way so well, they would not have encountered this Great Hui.
“You didn’t find that loach. As for the forty percent we agreed earlier, that doesn’t count. At most, you get ten percent of the viper meat,” Li Wan’er said protectively.
“Croak.”
The Three-Colored Star Toad hesitated but reluctantly accepted Li Wan’er’s distribution.
A Great Hui that could transform into a flood dragon surely had extraordinary bloodlines. Its flesh and blood were highly nourishing, greatly beneficial for cultivation.
Even though it had not fought, merely leading the way still earned it a ten percent share—indeed, not a bad result.
After all, the Green-Mang Blood Viper was over twenty zhang long. Even after removing some toxic parts, there were still hundreds of thousands of kilograms of edible flesh.
The only thing that left the toad dissatisfied was why a mere Qi Refining brat was entitled to the most precious viper gall.
That was a treasure even it coveted!
Sensing the Three-Colored Star Toad’s covetous gaze, Chen Beiwu quickly stored the viper gall into his storage pouch with great care.
Ordinary snake galls he could swallow and refine in one gulp, but this Second-Realm viper gall was different. It needed to be consumed in multiple doses to barely refine its essence.
“Junior Brother, can we start cooking?” Li Wan’er swallowed her saliva.
“Now is fine.” Chen Beiwu rolled up his sleeves.
“Seafood is like this—the more poisonous it is, the fresher it tastes. But the preparation must be handled properly, or else one might be poisoned to death.”
Saying so, Chen Beiwu gripped his sword hilt with his right hand and drew out the Cold Pool Spirit Sword, using it as a kitchen knife.
“The first dish is braised viper heart.”
“Slice the tenderest meat of the viper’s heart into thin slices, place them on a plate lined with crushed ice, then heat oil in a wok and stir-fry with Celerygrass, Pepper Blossom, and Seven-Flower Herb.”
Chen Beiwu turned to Senior Sister Wan’er. “Senior Sister, do you have any spirit wine?”
“Can Drunken-Heart Brew do?” Li Wan’er casually took out a wine bottle.
Chen Beiwu opened the cork and sniffed lightly. “This wine is good—it can remove the fishy smell and enhance the flavor.”
“Gululu.”
Catching the aroma of the wine, Golden Egg swallowed hungrily, his casting of Water Cannon Art momentarily faltering.
“If you want to eat viper meat, work harder and stop slacking.” Chen Beiwu glanced at Golden Egg.
To give both Golden Egg and Iron Egg the right to sit at the table, he had deliberately assigned them meat-cleaning and fire-tending duties.
…
An hour later, dozens of exquisitely prepared, fragrant dishes were freshly served.
Li Wan’er licked the corner of her lips and couldn’t help but ask, “Junior Brother, can I try a piece?”
“Croak.”
The Three-Colored Star Toad also hopped onto the stone table, its eyes fixed on the braised viper heart, drool dripping nonstop.
“Senior Sister, help yourself.” Chen Beiwu smiled.
Picking up a slice of translucent viper meat, Li Wan’er’s eyes lit up.
“Mmm, delicious!”
After praising her junior brother’s cooking, she stopped speaking. Her chopsticks turned into afterimages faster than the eyes of even Qi Refining cultivators could follow.
In just one minute, a bone mountain more than six feet high piled up in front of her.
The Three-Colored Star Toad was not to be outdone. With one wide gulp, it swallowed all the meat before it without chewing or spitting.
The dozens of dishes on the stone table visibly diminished.
“Gululu!”
“Woof!”
Golden Egg and Iron Egg grew anxious.
“Don’t worry, I saved some for you two.” Chen Beiwu smiled and placed two plates of Bone-Marrow Crisp Meat before them, weighing about a dozen catties.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to save more, but the two beasts had limited cultivation years and could not eat much, especially the latter.
“Gululu.” Golden Egg’s eyes sparkled as he started eating immediately.
“Woof woof woof.”
Iron Egg, however, didn’t eat. Instead, he balanced a plate of Bone-Marrow Crisp Meat on his head and crawled to Chen Beiwu, dragging his paralyzed hind legs, offering the food for his master to eat first.
Seeing this, Chen Beiwu fell silent.
Even though Iron Egg drooled all over the ground, he still didn’t take a bite. Looking again at the greedy Golden Egg beside him, Chen Beiwu understood the difference—this was loyalty.
“It’s fine, you eat. There’s plenty of viper meat.” Chen Beiwu felt warmth in his heart and stroked Iron Egg’s head.
Hearing this, Iron Egg finally lowered his head and began eating heartily.
Meanwhile, Golden Egg sensed something amiss through the Companion Contract. He stopped eating, his big eyes secretly glancing at Iron Egg and Chen Beiwu, shuddering inside.
He wasn’t a stupid fish.
Over time, as his body grew, cultivation years increased, and his strength improved, his spirituality also kept rising. He had begun to understand many things.
If he wasn’t mistaken, that sly traitor had just earned huge favor with their master again, while he had nearly fallen into the role of a solitary servant.
“Gululu.”
Golden Egg imitated Iron Egg, pushing his plate of Bone-Marrow Crisp Meat to Chen Beiwu, showing that he too was a loyal subject.
Noticing Golden Egg’s little scheme, Chen Beiwu was speechless. “Where did you even learn these idioms?”
“Gululu!”
“Go ahead and eat, I have more here.” Chen Beiwu took out a bowl of Viper Spine Marrow Soup and added, “Make sure to cultivate more and stop reading those Southern Wastes novels, especially things like ‘The Strongest Dragon’ and ‘Fish-Dragon Battle Chronicles’.”
“Gululu!”
“Alright, you’re both loyal.”
After comforting Golden Egg, Chen Beiwu downed the Viper Spine Marrow Soup in one breath.
The viper’s spine marrow was the Great Hui’s essence, especially nourishing for qi and blood, perfect for replenishing what he had lost cultivating the Qi Refining Aperture-Consolidating Method.
“Boom!”
The rich broth surged into his stomach like molten lava, scalding his mouth and burning his throat.
His dantian flared like a furnace, radiating intense heat that burned his organs and mana.
“The Second-Realm viper spine marrow truly is extraordinary!”
Feeling his qi and blood ignite at once, Chen Beiwu’s expression shifted. Without hesitation, he began circulating the Qi Refining Aperture-Consolidating Method, silently reciting the key incantations to open the Abyss Pool Acupoint.
“Qi sinking into the abyss, spirit condensing into the void, heels connected to the nether, acupoint opening to the Tianshu…”
Under his control, streams of pure mana poured ceaselessly from his dantian into the hollow at the center of his heels, attempting to open the Abyss Pool Acupoint.
“Bang!”
“Bang!”
“Bang!”
With his heartbeat quickening, each thump grew heavier. Chen Beiwu’s body turned red like a boiled shrimp, radiating heat that immediately drew the attention of one person and one beast.
“Huh? Is Junior Brother attempting to break through to the Tenth Level of Qi Refining?” Li Wan’er spat out a viper bone, licking her oily red lips.
“Croak.”
The Three-Colored Star Toad shook its head slightly, thinking Chen Beiwu was too hasty and bound to fail this breakthrough attempt.