The delicacies of the heavens begin with obtaining gem meat.

Chapter 98 Braised Horse Meat and Tree Spirit Porridge

Looking at the tree spirit pollen in his hand, Jiang Yan thought for a moment, then went to examine the tree spirit itself.

The tree spirit was found to have a faint fragrance.

Jiang Yan decisively chopped down the tree spirit's main body.

The bark of the tree spirit can be made into spices, the trunk into smoked wood, and even the vines that connected the tree spirit flowers can be used as food.

Adding to the tree spirit fruits and buds he had obtained earlier, Jiang Yan discovered that this tree spirit was truly a treasure trove.

While cutting down the tree spirit, Jiang Yan also discovered some mandrakes.

These mandrakes growing on the fifth floor of the underground labyrinth looked much larger than the ones he had obtained before, so Jiang Yan casually put them away.

After leaving the park with a bountiful harvest, Jiang Yan continued his search for monsters, but unexpectedly, good fortune followed one after another.

I had just walked a short distance out of the park when a faint sound reached my ears.

Jiang Yan paused, then looked ahead.

A chicken-snake, head held high and chest puffed out, slowly walked over.

Seeing the chicken-snake soup that appeared, Jiang Yan couldn't help but smile. He had been wanting to compare the differences between the snake-tailed chicken and the chicken-snake soup.

The snake-tailed chicken was already in our possession, but we were still missing the chicken snake. We thought it would take a long time to find it, but we came across it just a hundred meters from the park, which was not to be missed.

Without a doubt, this chicken-snake had no chance of resisting Jiang Yan.

Before the chicken-snake could launch an attack, Jiang Yan had already moved forward and swiftly severed its two heads.

After putting away the chicken-snake, Jiang Yan followed the traces left by the snake and soon found its nest in a half-collapsed room.

The nest was lined with hay and feathers, and inside were four huge chicken-snake eggs, which were then neatly put away.

Jiang Yan then continued searching for monsters in the town ruins on the fifth floor.

Using his keen senses and formidable strength, Jiang Yan successively captured a demonic wolf and a minotaur.

These many gains made Jiang Yan even happier.

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After feeling hungry, Jiang Yan settled down in a relatively intact stone house near a water source and began preparing dinner.

Take out a piece of water-dwelling horse meat, cut it into even pieces, set up an iron pot, pour in water, and after the water boils, put the horse meat pieces into the pot to blanch and remove blood foam and impurities.

The blanched horse meat is pink and tender. After draining the water, set it aside for later use.

Pour an appropriate amount of olive oil into a wok. Once the oil is hot, add chopped scallions, ginger, garlic, star anise, tree bark, and other seasonings, and stir-fry over low heat.

With a sizzling sound, the rich aroma of spices wafted out, making one's mouth water.

Once the spices have released their caramelized aroma, Jiang Yan adds an appropriate amount of soy sauce and cooking wine, stir-frys evenly, then adds the water chestnut meat chunks to the pot and stir-fries quickly to ensure each piece of meat is evenly coated with the sauce.

Add enough water, rock sugar and a little salt to taste. Bring the soup to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low heat and simmer.

The broth bubbled and boiled, the aroma of the sauce and meat gradually blending together, filling the entire stone house and making one's mouth water.

While the stewed water-dwelling horse meat was being cooked, Jiang Yan took out the tree spirit fruit and cut open the top part of the fruit.

The tree spirit's fruit has a hard outer shell, plump flesh inside, and a faint fragrance.

Scoop out the orange-yellow flesh inside, cut it into small pieces, and wash and shred the tree spirit flower buds that were picked along the way.

Next, Jiang Yan took out a tree spirit vine.

Peel off the outer skin, put the inner core into water and cook it until done, then take it out and grind it into a fine paste.

Set up a new pot, pour in water and bring it to a boil. Then pour in the ground tree spirit vine paste and stir it well with a spoon.

Once the broth boils again, add the chopped tree spirit fruit pieces and simmer over low heat for twenty minutes.

Finally, add the tree spirit flower lace and cook for another three minutes. The tree spirit porridge is now ready.

Jiang Yan poured the porridge into the shell of the tree spirit fruit that he had previously preserved.

By this time, the braised horse meat in soy sauce had been stewed until tender. Jiang Yan lifted the lid, and a rich aroma of soy sauce wafted out.

The stewed aquatic horse meat is reddish-brown and glossy, with a thick sauce coating the surface of the meat, making it exceptionally tempting.

Remove the aquatic horse meat, cut it into thick slices, and arrange them on a plate.

This is Jiang Yan's dinner for today.

Jiang Yan picked up a piece of aquatic horse meat and took a bite.

Although the fibers of aquatic horse meat are slightly coarse, the meat is firm but not dry. When you bite into it, the rich aroma of the sauce and the meat juices come together, with a savory and slightly sweet aftertaste.

The fragrance from the tree bark is the icing on the cake, leaving a lingering aftertaste.

Pick up the outer shell of the tree spirit fruit, scoop up a spoonful of tree spirit porridge and put it in your mouth. The faint floral fragrance and the sweetness of the fruit flesh fill your tongue.

It has a thick and rich texture, yet it is exceptionally smooth without any cloying feeling.

"It turned out to be surprisingly good."

A hint of surprise flashed in Jiang Yan's eyes. He had only intended to cook a bowl of porridge and hadn't put in much effort, but he hadn't expected that the ingredients from the tree spirit would create such a wonderful flavor when combined.

The food-loving cells in the body are awakened and become active.

After eating and drinking his fill, Jiang Yan laid out a blanket in the stone house and took out his magic books to begin studying.

The next day, after waking up and having breakfast, Jiang Yan resumed his search for monsters.

Over the next two days, Jiang Yan traversed the ruins of the town, capturing many more monsters with his formidable strength, while also becoming increasingly familiar with the environment of the fifth level of the maze.

That evening, after finishing dinner, Jiang Yan took out his magic book to read it, when a sudden urge to try it out welled up inside him.

Having studied for so long, Jiang Yan believed he had mastered the material quite well.

Without hesitation, Jiang Yan focused his mind on sensing the magical power within his body, following the method recorded in the book, and began chanting obscure incantations.

"&*#@————"

As the incantation ended, a faint wisp of magic surged from Jiang Yan's body, condensing into a small ball of light in his palm.

The ball of light emitted a soft white glow, slowly rose, floated into the air, and illuminated the surroundings.

"It's a success!"

Jiang Yan was overjoyed. He had only wanted to try it out before, but he never expected that he would actually succeed.

This sudden sense of accomplishment greatly excited Jiang Yan, and he couldn't help but activate his magic power again and chant the incantation.

One after another, orbs of light condensed and rose in Jiang Yan's palm. In a short while, more than a dozen orbs of light floated in mid-air, their light intertwining, illuminating the surrounding streets as if it were daytime.

However, in the already dimly lit fifth level of the underground labyrinth, such a dazzling light was like a lighthouse in the night, instantly attracting the attention of a large number of monsters around.

Of course, Jiang Yan had thought of it, but he didn't care at all.

If any monsters are attracted here, they'll be food delivered to our doorstep.