Chapter Forty-Four: The Banquet of Fish

Though he had sworn to deliver a surprise, it amounted to nothing more than preparing a meal. Yet Liu Ping did not find this laughable. Despite the vast gulf between the value of this meal and the Condensing Spirit Jade Elixir, as long as the gratitude was genuine, his senior sister would surely sense the sincerity behind it.

But before all else, he needed to restore his body to good health.

The Condensing Spirit Jade Elixir was the perfect aid. After exchanging a few casual words, his senior sister and the two little girls took their leave.

After a brief meditation, Liu Ping hurriedly swallowed the pill in one gulp.

He felt as if he had swallowed a block of ice, shivering instinctively. He quickly circulated his spiritual energy to refine the medicine.

The Condensing Spirit Jade Elixir slowly melted within him, reversing its flow and surging toward his head.

Within the human body, there are three dantian.

Namely, the lower dantian, the middle dantian, and the upper dantian.

The lower dantian is located at the kidneys, governing essence.

The middle dantian is at the heart, governing spiritual energy.

The upper dantian is near the temples, governing spirit.

The supplement for the soul comes from the transformation of spirit energy, and at this moment, the effect of the Condensing Spirit Jade Elixir was to accelerate the condensation of spirit.

In Daoist practice, the physical body is largely disregarded, for it will inevitably be cast aside.

If it is to be abandoned sooner or later, why expend effort to cultivate it?

Thus, there have always been practitioners of energy refinement, but rarely those who focus on body cultivation.

The most primitive method for refining energy is to refine essence into energy, transforming the body's essence into spiritual energy. Later, practitioners learned to rely slowly on external substances, and understood how to draw from the world around them.

Similarly, there is a method for cultivating the soul, which is to refine energy into spirit.

Previously, Liu Ping's soul had not survived the ordeal of yang fire and was too fragile to endure the nourishment of spiritual energy transforming into spirit, so he had never practiced this method.

But now, having passed through the ordeal of yang fire, his soul could not only walk beneath the sun but had undergone a qualitative transformation and was no longer fragile, making the refining of energy into spirit possible.

After resting for a day, Liu Ping had already restored one-twentieth of his soul's injuries through this method. Now, aided by the Condensing Spirit Jade Elixir, his recovery speed soared tenfold.

"Ha!" In the blink of an eye, the night passed. Morning arrived, and the sun slowly leapt above the horizon. Liu Ping exhaled a breath of turbid air and, upon inspecting his soul, found it nearly seventy or eighty percent healed. Though still slightly uncomfortable, it was no longer a problem.

"This elixir is indeed miraculous. The Essence Treasure Codex also contains chapters on external alchemy, but I've never had the time to pursue them. Most importantly, I simply lack those rare ingredients and top-tier furnaces."

Stepping onto the balcony, Liu Ping quietly performed breathing exercises in the sun, greedily absorbing the pure spiritual energy within this world.

Not long after, the purple aura faded and could no longer be absorbed, but Liu Ping did not stop, continuing his breathing exercises until his internal spiritual energy was fully replenished. Only then did he cease his practice.

Leaving the attic, he swiftly made his way to the kitchen, where he saw a small figure diligently at work. Liu Ping remarked, "Little Ye'er, you are truly industrious."

"Because I am the only one who does it. It's my responsibility," Ye'er replied with an air of aged wisdom.

"But today, I'll make lunch," Liu Ping said.

Ye'er asked with obvious disdain, "You?"

"Of course. Don't look at me like that—I am your master-uncle," Liu Ping replied.

Ye'er questioned skeptically, "Do you actually know how to cook? It's difficult; even a slight misstep makes it taste bad."

"I wouldn't have offered if I weren't confident. Trust me and watch," Liu Ping said.

Ye'er sensed Liu Ping's seriousness but remained half convinced. "Fine, I'll let you cook a meal. But if it's bad and Master scolds me, you must take responsibility."

"Naturally. By the way, do you have any fishing gear?" Liu Ping asked.

Ye'er replied, "We do have a fishing rod."

"That's enough," Liu Ping said.

Soon, he took the fishing gear to the small creek in front of the attic, dug up a worm, attached it to the hook, and cast it into the water. Instantly, the float sank.

"So quick," Liu Ping smiled, yanking the rod upward.

The first catch was a great success—a bass a foot long, writhing energetically and bending the rod. Liu Ping chuckled, "Such a large bass to start—an auspicious sign."

How could it not be? In these lands, nurtured by such dense spiritual energy, even fish, birds, and beasts often grew into spirits, not to mention the ordinary fish which swarmed in abundance and could be caught by hand.

However, these fishing activities displeased the aquatic spirits, who did not know Liu Ping and saw their territory’s food being hunted. Annoyed, they approached to challenge him, chattering in their native tongue.

No doubt they were saying things like, "Bold trespasser, how dare you fish in the king’s domain? Ignorant fool, leave at once!"

Liu Ping naturally could not understand their language.

But that hardly mattered.

He was nearly a half-step to immortality; how could these young spirits compare?

He revealed a hint of his aura, instantly terrifying the spirits into silence. They knelt, begging for mercy, deeply regretting their rashness. Truly, humans should not be provoked; how could they have been so foolish? It was that tortoise spirit’s bad idea—when they returned, they’d strip its shell and punish it thoroughly. For now, they could only apologize repeatedly.

Though the language was foreign, their gestures were unmistakable—Liu Ping understood and found it amusing. Such fear of the strong and bullying of the weak was truly instinctive. He was about to let them go but thought of something, grinned, and gestured commands.

After a while, the spirits understood Liu Ping’s intent and assured him in their native language that there was no problem.

Their assurances proved effective; soon, they fetched various fish for him.

"Well done," Liu Ping nodded, praising them with a smile. Though it had taken some effort to communicate, the results were well worth it.

Returning with the fish, Ye'er was stunned. "These fish are so pungent! Are you really going to cook them for lunch?"

Liu Ping explained, "A bit of ginger will remove the smell. You've never tasted these fish—don’t be too quick to object."

Ye'er, proud of her own cooking skills, was unconvinced, hands on her hips, waiting to see Liu Ping embarrass himself.

He searched the kitchen thoroughly for all usable ingredients and went out to pick Sichuan pepper and other seasonings.

After washing and preparing the fish, he spent an hour and a half getting everything ready.

He began to cook. Liu Ping, especially picky about taste, took pride in his cooking; in his previous life, during hard times, he had worked as a cook in a restaurant to make ends meet.

With so many fish, it was only fitting to prepare a full fish banquet.

He boiled the bass in clear water with ginger slices and Shaoxing wine—not for soup, but simply to cook it. Once done, he drained the water, placed the fish on a plate, poured soy sauce, sprinkled sesame seeds and a generous handful of scallions, then poured hot oil over it with a sizzling sound. The scallion oil bass was complete.

Nearby, the snakehead fish was cut into fish blossoms and fish bones.

Three thin slices connected to form a floral fish slice, thin as cicada wings but held together by the skin.

He stir-fried the fish bones with Ye’er’s pickled vegetables, ginger, and chili paste, then added water and seasonings, brought it to a boil, and transferred it to a large bowl. Next, he cooked the fish blossoms and poured them, along with the broth, into the bowl, adding scallions, salted vegetables, garlic, Sichuan pepper, and sesame seeds, finishing with a splash of hot oil. Pickled fish was done.

Then followed cauliflower and perch balls, tomato fish, fish head soup, braised fish, pan-fried fish mouths, chopped chili fish head, and more. Along the way, he cooked a pot of rice.

When everything was ready, just at noon, the dishes were brought to the table. Drunken Dust and Flower, along with Ye’er, were drawn by the aromas, swallowing repeatedly and staring at the dishes. At first, they managed to eat slowly, savoring each bite, but as the flavors overwhelmed them, they could no longer control themselves, devouring the meal with abandon.

These flavors and preparations had never been seen in this world, their uniqueness easily captivating anyone.

Since coming to this world, he had never cooked, adhering to the saying, "A gentleman keeps away from the kitchen." But here, in this small realm, it hardly mattered. Though he had confidence, he was still a bit nervous—after all, the diner was the renowned Jade Immortal; what had she not tasted?

This surprise was only a small one, but if it failed to satisfy, he would feel embarrassed. Now, seeing them enjoy the meal so contentedly, he was filled with joy.

That smile alone was enough.