Chapter 59
Everyone sat down as Xiang Yu served the meal. Rather than individual portions, he placed a large pot at the center of the table, allowing diners to refill as desired.
As they took their first bites, a collective silence fell over the gathering. The food transcended mere flavor—it was a revelation. Each morsel exploded across their palates in a symphony of tastes, with every subsequent bite unveiling an entirely new spectrum of sensations. What made this feast truly extraordinary wasn’t just the initial taste but what happened after swallowing.
The food seemingly vanished upon reaching their stomachs, dissolving completely into various essences that spread throughout their bodies. Some elements nourished the mind and soul directly, others accelerated healing processes, replenished stamina, or gathered as concentrated qi that settled naturally in their dantians.
This miraculous quality solved spirit food’s greatest limitation—stomach capacity. Spirit foods had one big limitation which was that one couldn’t consume as much as they wanted as they would eventually get full. By diffusing instantly without leaving physical residue, it allowed continuous consumption without fullness. Even Xiang Yu, despite lacking spiritual roots, could benefit from the soul nourishment, enhanced healing, and stamina recovery aspects of his own creation.
“This…” Elder Guo’s voice faltered after his first taste. The mind and soul nourishing effects struck him profoundly. At the Golden Core stage of cultivation, one typically had to continuously feed spiritual energy to their core until it eventually shattered, sprouting a nascent soul that marked breakthrough to the Nascent Soul realm. This meal’s soul-nurturing properties were actively accelerating his nascent soul’s development. If he continued consuming such food regularly, the time needed to manifest a nascent soul would decrease dramatically.
But there was something even more significant occurring. Years ago, Elder Guo had suffered a devastating injury that destabilized his cultivation, damaging his qi pathways irreparably. Though technically at Golden Core stage, his combat abilities had deteriorated to mere Core Formation level, and his shattered core meant advancement was impossible—a broken core could never sprout a nascent soul.
Now, as he savored each bite, he felt healing essences flowing through his meridians, gradually realigning his damaged qi pathways. His core, long thought permanently damaged, showed signs of regeneration. It was subtle yet undeniable—hope blossoming where none had existed before.
Tears welled in his eyes as the realization hit him. All this because he’d once chosen to rescue a poor boy from a ruined town’s pavement. The cosmic serendipity overwhelmed him, streams of tears rolling unbidden down his weathered cheeks.
The disciples noticed their master’s unexpected emotion, exchanging confused glances.
“Could it be…” Elder Huang thought privately, quickly assessing the situation. She turned to the bewildered disciples with a reassuring smile. “Just enjoy your food. Senior brother is simply emotional because of how delicious everything tastes,” she explained smoothly.
Accepting this explanation, the disciples returned their attention to their meals. Elder Huang gave her senior brother a knowing glance before resuming her own feast. Though she typically delighted in teasing him and would normally seize the opportunity to call him a crybaby, she chose to spare him this time.
…
As Li Yao continued savoring her meal, she suddenly realized the Immortal Empress had fallen unusually quiet.
“You still there?” Li Yao inquired mentally, her chopsticks pausing midway to her mouth.
[Stop talking, just eat,] came the abrupt reply, the empress’s tone carrying unexpected urgency.
“What?” Li Yao couldn’t mask her surprise. The empress’s voice held none of its usual dignified poise, replaced instead by something almost… desperate? Why such concern over whether she ate? True, the food provided remarkable cultivation benefits with each bite, but the empress’s keen interest seemed peculiar.
A warm thought blossomed in Li Yao’s mind—perhaps the ancient empress truly cared for her wellbeing after all.
[Stop your delusions and eat,] the empress cut through her moment of sentimentality. [Our souls are connected, so when the food nourishes your soul, it nourishes mine too.]
Understanding dawned on Li Yao, the empress’s unusual silence wasn’t concern but self-interest—she was allowing Li Yao to eat undisturbed so she could maximize her own benefits from the soul-nourishing essence.
A smug smile curved Li Yao’s lips as she picked up another morsel. “Now you get what I always see in Senior Brother?” she teased, her mental voice lilting with satisfaction.
[Yeah, yeah, just eat,] the empress replied dismissively, though lacking her usual aloofness.
Li Yao’s smile widened as she continued eating. She’d never imagined the haughty Immortal Empress had this side to her—so nakedly appreciative of something as simple as food. It seemed the soul-nourishing essence was particularly valuable to souls who lacked physical forms to cultivate normally.
The feast stretched on luxuriously, the four cultivators indulging in Xiang Yu’s extraordinary creation for nearly two hours before finally emptying the last dish. Though the food dissipated immediately upon consumption, leaving their stomachs physically empty, they all reclined in their chairs with the distinct sensation of fullness, their bodies heavy with pleasant fatigue from the extended dining session.
They simply couldn’t stop until every morsel was consumed—the cuisine was too exceptional to waste. Each bite had been an investment in their cultivation.
Elder Guo settled back in his chair, expression serene as Xiang Yu collected the empty plates. His meridians and qi pathways, damaged for so long, now flowed with renewed vitality. He could feel his Golden Core strength returning, though he recognized the risk of exerting it prematurely. Better to allow his core to heal completely before attempting any significant moves.
Still, the progress was remarkable. He estimated his core would fully regenerate after just a few more such feasts. While daily banquets of this magnitude might be impractical, even Xiang Yu’s regular meals would contribute to his healing—just at a slower pace. Having long abandoned hope for recovery, Elder Guo found himself unexpectedly patient. What was a longer wait when compared to the miracle of having any hope at all? And perhaps his talented disciple might achieve yet another breakthrough in his cooking skills.
Xiang Yu finished washing the utensils, his movements efficient and unhurried. As he dried his hands and turned from the basin, his expression shifted subtly—a calculating gleam entering his eyes.
The time had finally come for the main topic. Time to get his money’s worth…
…
A/N – Someone managed to guess the Elder’s cultivation, since I’m feeling generous today, I’ll add an extra bonus chapter.
Daily (2/2) Bonus (0/2) Extra (0/1)