Da Zaojun

Chapter 185 The Thief of All Things

After calming down Doctor Li, Song Wuji said to City God Tian, ​​"You entrusted Taichang Realm to me before, saying that you could also host a banquet for the gods and spirits. Now I want to cultivate to the seventh rank, but I cannot succeed."

Tian Chenghuang said, "Back then, I had no idea about these things. But you can try your luck with me. However, if you want to go to the Netherworld and pass through five passes, you can't get in through my connections."

He asked in surprise, "Little Song, are you about to complete the seventh-rank ritual?"

"Of the five flavors, only sourness remains unresolved."

Upon hearing this, Tian Chenghuang offered advice: "As the saying goes, sour foods are for boys and spicy foods are for girls, but I've heard that some people who want children will eat sour foods like crazy."

"I've also heard that the most heartbreaking thing is not getting what you want, or perhaps it's envy and jealousy."

"Xiao Song, why don't you ask the pregnant women in the city and try making some special dishes for them? Or find some people who are down on their luck and ask them what they envy or regret losing."

Song Wuji thought for a moment: "Everyone feels jealousy and envy, but pregnant women with big bellies are still too few people. Perhaps I can make some use of the theme of unrequited love. Thank you for your guidance, City God."

"These are all minor matters." After saying that, Tian Chenghuang gave Song Wuji several bottles and jars: "These are the seven emotions and six desires mixed in with the incense offerings. I have categorized them one by one according to the emotions. Perhaps they will be of use to you."

Song Wuji already had a condiment related to emotions in his hands, namely the Seven Non-Salts, which he obtained from the Corpse Pickling Forest and whose use was actually slightly "demonic".

The same applies to these bottles and jars representing the seven emotions and six desires; their function is more to amplify people's emotions.

However, emotions are mostly governed by the seven spirits, which are turbid and heavy, and govern evil, while the three souls are pure and clear, and govern good.

Regardless of the emotion, it is very important to avoid amplifying it. Being easily swayed by emotions is a weakness. Moreover, the seven emotions restrain each other in order to form a complete personality. Any sudden change in emotions is a "major change in temperament" for the individual.

Although Song Wuji accepted these bottles and jars, he did not intend to use them for cooking. Instead, he thought about refining something else, such as adding them to the stove fire to refine them. What would he get then?

Putting aside the sour taste, I just intend to try out the effect of stealing everything again.

Back in the kitchen, Song Wuji took out a piece of Luohu python meat from the kitchen cabinet. This was the most quintessential part of the meat, the heart and soul of the Luohu python, which Song Wuji had intentionally kept to make snake soup.

The rest of the flesh and blood were given to Chen Xiu so that he could train soldiers and two hundred county militia. After all, training soldiers is extremely taxing. This is not like sacrificing one's head to save a warrior. It can also increase the Three Treasures. Since ancient times, the poor are scholars and the rich are warriors. Two hundred soldiers would consume three to five hundred catties of demon flesh and blood every day, plus staple foods such as blood rice.

Only in this way can they increase their strength, stamina, and blood energy. Moreover, they also cultivate techniques. Originally, they practiced the Five Rats Transporting energy, but this technique consumes too much energy and is used to refine essence into qi and increase true qi, so it does not increase strength much.

Therefore, the army modified the simplified version of "The Buddha's Discourse on the Powerful Man Moving Mountains" that Song Wuji brought out from the secret realm of the monks.

This sutra was originally very similar to the "Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill," which is said to cultivate the power of ten dragons and ten elephants.

This manual, "The Mighty Warrior Moves Mountains," describes someone with the power to move a great snow mountain.

However, this sutra mainly increases strength, but it does so little by little, like the story of the Foolish Old Man Who Moved Mountains.

As long as you persist in your training, you will see a small increase every day, but the consumption is also quite large. Even those with mediocre talent can gain two or three hundred pounds of strength after two or three years of training, while those with better talent can easily gain a thousand pounds of strength.

Taking the average ninth-rank martial artist's 3 points of essence as an example, which is equivalent to three times the physique of an ordinary person, if an average adult male can lift 100 jin (50 catties), then a ninth-rank master's ordinary strength would be able to lift a weight of about 300 jin (150 catties), in addition to true qi and exquisite martial arts. An eighth-rank martial arts master already has the strength of a thousand jin (500 kg) on ​​average, like Song Wuji, who has reached the level of "Buddha throwing an elephant".

Of course, entering the ranks is not just a narrow change in strength; it is also the sublimation of life and a variety of other unique abilities.

When Song Wuji first entered the Ninth Rank, he felt like he had broken through from the Acquired Realm to the Innate Grandmaster Realm in a martial arts novel.

The ninth rank of cultivation is more like the Qi Refining stage, and breaking through to the eighth rank is like the Foundation Establishment stage. Therefore, Song Wuji's fantasy about the seventh rank is that of a Golden Core cultivator.

In fact, it's pretty much the same. The only seventh-rank cultivator I've ever encountered is Xiao Pusa. His methods are quite mysterious, and he also has a Buddhist magic treasure in hand. However, he seems to be more like a pseudo-core cultivator in the Golden Core stage, relying entirely on external forces: the Bodhisattva's prediction, the Golden Light Muni Relic, and the Impure and Pure Land Treasure Tree. His actual abilities are actually similar to those of an eighth-rank cultivator.

Unfortunately, Xiao Pusa was a hungry ghost in disguise, and Song Wuji was averse to human form; otherwise, he would have cut off Xiao Pusa's flesh and made a dish called "Cutting Flesh to Feed the Eagle."

However, Luohu Python's flesh was enough. After thinking for a while, Song Wuji decided to make it according to the Taishi Snake Soup recipe.

It's definitely a revised version.

There are still two pork ribs left from the pig demon. Use them to make soup, and add some Dream Mushrooms picked from the Soul Calling Secret Realm.

While simmering the soup, Song Wuji also processed the heart meat of the python. If it were ordinary snake soup, he would simply peel off the skin, remove the bones, cut it into smaller pieces, and simmer it over low heat. Finally, he would season it. The snake skin, after processing, could also be used to extract collagen. It would then be shredded and sprinkled into the original soup to improve the taste.

But the python was too big, a lump of muscle, and if not processed, it wouldn't break even after being pressure-cooked for seven or eight hours.

Song Wuji then used the Yinye knife to cut it into thin slices following the grain. After cutting it into thin slices, he continued to use a butterfly knife.

Song Wuji's swordsmanship imbued the python's flesh with a unique aura. Soon, these butterfly-like slices truly took flight, transforming into individual butterflies that, when joined together, formed a butterfly snake. They then fell into the pork rib broth, like a python entering a lake. As the fire simmered, the entire pot of snake soup gradually emitted a faint golden glow.

This means that the soup already has its own "umami" flavor without the need for seasoning.

But that's far from enough. According to the theory of theft of all things, the food must be made into "food spirits" before it can be consumed. So the time is not yet right.

Therefore, Song Wuji continued to wait until the pale gold color turned into a pure gold color, then he turned the heat down to low and added seasonings to the soup.

A small spoonful of floral dew, two spoonfuls of salt.

Suddenly, a burst of golden light appeared, the steam on the soup condensed, and a small snake swam around in the soup.

For a moment, there was neither moisture nor fragrance.

Only this little snake was causing trouble above the soup.

It is the essence of the entire soup.

However, this thing has a very short lifespan; it will dissipate on its own once the food tastes bad.

Song Wuji swallowed it in one gulp, and an extreme umami flavor exploded in his mouth. He faintly heard a dragon's roar, but his mind was filled with insights into controlling lightning.

Besides transporting water vapor to create floods, the Luohu python also possesses a lightning-fast technique, which it uses to move water through its horns.

However, Song Wuji did not have an organ that could generate electricity; he only possessed a kind of insight that evolved from combining all his knowledge.

"By consuming the spirit-devouring beast Blackwater Serpent, one can comprehend the supernatural power of lightning. Although the comprehension fails, one learns some skills and masters the spell: Wind and Fire Explosion."

By compressing air and flames, damage similar to a thunderous explosion can be produced. If taken to the extreme, it might evolve into lightning magic, since lightning is atmospheric friction generated by the interaction of high-temperature and low-temperature air masses.

However, this spell is rather useless, regardless of whether it's for friend or foe. Its power is also average, since the explosion damage is actually caused by shrapnel, which is not as good as using fire to create rain. Its only advantage is that it might be louder than fireworks and firecrackers.

Of course, it's also possible that the level of cultivation is insufficient. In the future, when one masters the True Dragon Transformation and becomes a Flood Dragon or a Young Dragon, one will have dragon horns as an organ for generating electricity. However, at that time, one will no longer value this magic.

After consuming the food spirit, the golden light of the snake soup turned into a pale gold. Although it was still somewhat delicious, its effects were greatly diminished.

Song Wuji directly distributed the food to the elderly cooks.

Next, I decided to use the magnolia flower in cooking. After thinking about it, I realized there was no other way. I decided to coat it with egg wash, then with a layer of flour paste, and fry it. After frying, I would dip it in some wildflower honey. Otherwise, using it in soup or stir-fry would damage the integrity of the magnolia flower. If I were to eat it raw, it would not have been cooked or seasoned.

If you really don't know how to do it, just do it this way; at least it will make the neighbor's kid drool.

Soon, Song Wuji finished these preparations and put the Qionghua flowers into the pot to cook.

After all, the magnolia flower is a flower, and it will easily burn if fried for too long. Song Wuji took it out just as it was about to set, drizzled it with honey, and even used his carving skills to sculpt a carrot bee.

Although a layer of golden light also transformed into a food spirit, this time the food spirit was a plump green caterpillar that emerged from its cocoon on the magnolia flower.

Song Wuji didn't want to eat the giant green worm either, but he still pinched his nose and ate it.

After a burst of sweetness, came the fragrance of magnolia flowers, and a sense of absorbing moonlight for cultivation filled his mind.

"By consuming the rare Jade Flower of Yaochi, one comprehends the talent [Bathing in the Three Lights]. If the comprehension fails, one learns the cultivation technique [Nourishing the Spirit with Moonlight], collects moonlight, condenses it into Taiyin Jade Liquid, and cleanses the soul with cold water."

Song Wuji felt a cool sensation.

The Qionghua flower's "Bathing in the Three Lights" refers to bathing in sunlight, moonlight, and starlight, which synthesizes a low-end version of the "Three Lights Divine Water" within the body, also known as Qionghua Brew.

However, Song Wuji only grasped the technique of collecting moonlight to bathe his soul. This was originally used by plant and tree demons to enhance their spirituality, but it could also be used by humans. If there was any similar technique, it was most likely the [Taiyin Refining Technique], which was the method for cultivating the Corpse-Dissolving Immortal.

After all, yin alone cannot last. If one only cultivates the spirit, and the moonlight is too yin and cold, it is easy to freeze the physical body and suppress the yang energy. In the end, the yin refinement cannot be completed, and one can only cultivate a pure spirit ghost.

However, if one is originally a ghost, then this method is a pure cultivation method for ghost immortals. But ghost immortals don't just refine moonlight; they also need to return to yang, so it is still somewhat limited.

But something is better than nothing. Anyway, if we keep eating, it will eventually be integrated into something useful.

(End of this chapter)