Mmm... Delicious

Night quietly shrouded Purple Bamboo Peak, yet the summit was not dark. Dense spiritual energy naturally gathered, emitting a faint luminescence that illuminated the surroundings as if draped in a soft veil of moonlight.

Xiao Ruobai and Fang Hanyu moved nimbly. In the open space before Ling Xi's brand-new yet roughly built bamboo cabin, they had already set up a large iron cauldron.

Flames danced, licking the bottom of the rather extraordinary black iron cauldron. Inside, a milky-white broth bubbled and boiled.

An incredibly rich, exotic aroma spread with the steam. Just inhaling a single breath made one's pores open and their vitality and blood circulation naturally accelerate.

Ling Xi sat to the side, looking at the pot of soup with a complex expression. Is this how everyone normally cooks?

Gu Changge sat lazily on a bamboo chair. Seeing the soup boiling, he casually tossed in the box of translucent meat slices harvested from the flood dragon earlier that day.

The moment the meat slices hit the boiling broth, they curled up instantly, their color becoming even more lustrously white, as if containing glowing rays of light. An indescribable, boundless energy and savory aroma erupted, almost stirring up the surrounding spiritual energy.

Half an hour later, the meat was fully cooked.

"Alright, let's dig in."

Gu Changge was the first to pick up a bowl and chopsticks. He naturally scooped out a large slice of flood dragon meat, blew on it, and popped it into his mouth. After chewing twice, he nodded in satisfaction.

"Mhm, the heat was just right. Old Mo's meat is indeed getting chewier."

Xiao Ruobai and Fang Hanyu were already accustomed to this. They each served themselves a large bowl and buried their heads in their food, eating until they were sweating profusely. Their vitality and blood surged uncontrollably around them, clearly reaping immense benefits.

"Junior Sister, don't just sit there, eat! This is good stuff!"

Xiao Ruobai urged indistinctly, his mouth full, as he served himself another bowl.

Ling Xi took a deep breath, suppressing the various doubts and shock in her heart, and served herself a small half-bowl.

The broth in the bowl was clear yet heavy as mercury, and that slice of flood dragon meat was crystal clear, looking like something entirely out of the mortal realm.

She carefully picked up a slice and placed it into her mouth.

The next moment—

Boom!!!

It was as if a clap of thunder had exploded within her body!

The flood dragon meat melted in her mouth. It did not turn into ordinary juices, but instantly transformed into a violent and extremely pure torrent!

It was a boundless energy far superior to the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, containing the essence of the Dragon race's vitality and blood!

This energy tyrannically rushed into her limbs and bones, washing through her meridians, nourishing her organs, and even crashing directly into her sea of consciousness!

"Ugh!"

Ling Xi let out a muffled groan. Her face instantly flushed red, and the pores all over her body opened involuntarily, spewing out wisps of essential glowing vapor.

She felt as if her entire body was about to burst, her meridians transmitting waves of tearing, swelling pain!

The energy of this meat was so overbearing, so pure, and its effects so terrifying!

What exactly was this meat? Where did Master get it?

This quality... the faint dragon might contained within this essence of vitality and blood... could it be the meat of a Saint-level flood dragon?!

Ling Xi's heart trembled violently. She had tasted flood dragon banquets in her past life, and this was absolutely no ordinary Saint-level demonic beast!

The purity of its bloodline and the strength of its power were probably already close to that of a True Dragon!

But Master... he clearly only has the cultivation of the Cave Heaven Realm. How could he obtain such a divine item? Could it be...

A thought suddenly flashed through her mind. Could it be that Master, in order to welcome me into the sect, did not hesitate to use his most precious, bottom-of-the-box treasure?

It might even be a heaven-shaking fortuitous encounter he obtained by chance in his early years, which he had always been reluctant to use, yet he brought it out for me today...

Thinking of this, a complex trace of warmth and emotion could not help but well up in Ling Xi's heart.

She raised her eyes to look at Gu Changge, who was still sitting lazily on the bamboo chair, her gaze holding a bit more indescribable gratitude.

She did not dare to be the slightest bit negligent and immediately circulated the core Emperor Sutra from her past life, the Heaven Swallowing Dao Art, with all her might.

Once the cultivation method was circulated, the violent energy that had been running amok seemed to have found an outlet. It was quickly guided, refined, and assimilated into her dantian's spiritual sea and her limbs and bones.

Her cultivation had originally only just entered the Foundation Establishment Realm, but at this moment, it skyrocketed crazily as if riding a flying sword!

Early Foundation Establishment... Mid Foundation Establishment... Late Foundation Establishment...

Bottleneck?

Under the impact of that vast energy, the so-called bottleneck was as thin as paper, shattering with a single poke!

Rumble!

A loud noise that only she could hear echoed within her body. Her overall aura suddenly surged, and spiritual energy gathered madly, forming a tiny vortex above her head.

Core Formation Realm!

Ling Xi slowly opened her eyes, brilliant light shining in her beautiful pupils. She looked inward in disbelief at the surging, majestic spiritual power in her body that far exceeded her imagination.

Just a few slices of meat had actually allowed her to break through from the early stages of Foundation Establishment all the way to the Core Formation Realm in one fell swoop!

She stiffly raised her head and looked at the large cauldron still emitting a golden glow. More than half a pot of flood dragon meat remained inside, each slice exuding an energy enough to drive cultivators mad.

Looking again at Xiao Ruobai and Fang Hanyu, the two had already served themselves three bowls each. Their vitality and blood steamed around them like a layer of glowing clouds, yet they were still burying their heads and eating madly.

Such a fortuitous encounter was incredibly rare in this world!

She took a deep breath. The impossibly rich, exotic aroma and boundless energy seemed to be madly tempting her.

"To restore my cultivation... to uncover the true background of Purple Bamboo Peak..."

Ling Xi frantically made excuses for herself in her heart. When her gaze fell upon the pot of flood dragon meat, it was already occupied by intense desire.

She could no longer care about any Empress-like demeanor. She abruptly stood up, grabbed a massive bowl capable of holding three regular bowls of soup, pushed her spiritual power to the limit, and scooped up a brimful bowl of flood dragon meat, to the point where even the broth overflowed.

"Mmph!"

As soon as the scalding meat slices entered her mouth, an even more violent energy exploded once again, but this time, there was only excitement in Ling Xi's eyes.

While frantically chewing, she circulated the Heaven Swallowing Dao Art. The spiritual energy vortex around her spun even faster, and the luster on her core became increasingly dazzling. The Mid Core Formation Realm was right before her eyes!

"Mmph... so good!"

She mumbled a praise, but her movements did not stop in the slightest. Bite after bite, she ate several times more fiercely than before.

Her speed and heroic posture made even Xiao Ruobai, who was hard at work eating beside her, occasionally look up and cast an approving gaze.

For the sake of cultivation!

Mhm, this meat is indeed exceptionally delicious...

Mainly, it's still for cultivation!

This broth actually contains Dao aura as well...

Restoring my cultivation is what's important!

While Ling Xi repeatedly emphasized her noble purpose in her mind, her chopsticks flew like the wind. She ate until a slight sweat broke out on her forehead. Her vitality and blood steamed, glowing clouds lingered around her, and her aura climbed steadily.

Her originally aloof and cold face was now dyed with a blush due to the surging blood and energy impacts, actually revealing a bit of vividness and... fierceness that was absolutely impossible on normal days.

Seeing her hungry tiger pouncing on its prey appearance, Xiao Ruobai, with his mouth stuffed full of meat, didn't forget to give her a thumbs up, his eyes filled with the approval of this is how it should be.

Fang Hanyu also raised his eyes, a rare, faint smile curving the corners of his mouth.

Only Gu Changge remained lazily sitting on the bamboo chair. Watching Ling Xi eat like crazy, he spun a spirit fruit between his fingertips, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes. This disciple was actually much more pragmatic than he had imagined.

The feast, cleared like clouds blown away by a gale, came to an end.

Ling Xi slowly exhaled a breath of impure qi, yet even this breath contained pure spiritual light.

She looked inward. The newly formed Golden Core within her dantian was not only perfectly flawless, but also massive and highly condensed. Its surface was densely interwoven with Dao patterns, exuding a boundless spiritual power that far surpassed that of an ordinary Core Formation cultivator. Impressively, she had already reached the late stage of the Core Formation Realm!

And this was only because she had deliberately diverted the vast majority of the flood dragon meat's pure energy to temper her flesh and bones, as well as to widen her meridians.

In her past life, she had been an existence at the Great Emperor Realm. Her comprehension of the laws of heaven and earth had long been carved into the very depths of her soul. Now, treading the path of cultivation once more, the concept of a bottleneck in her state of mind simply did not exist for her.

As long as her physical vessel and spiritual energy reserves were sufficient, advancing to the next realm would be as natural as water flowing into a channel.

On the other side, the surging vitality and blood qi around Xiao Ruobai and Fang Hanyu gradually settled. However, the powerful auras faintly radiating from them, which they could barely suppress, proved that their harvests had been equally immense.

To think that both of them had already reached the peak of the late Cave Heaven Realm! It was obvious that they were intentionally suppressing their breakthroughs to polish their foundations, striving to achieve absolute perfection in every single realm.

Seeing that they had mostly finished digesting the energy, Gu Changge leisurely set down the spirit fruit in his hand. His gaze swept across his three disciples before finally landing on Xiao Ruobai and Fang Hanyu.

"Ruobai, Hanyu, you two explain the rules of Purple Bamboo Peak to your junior sister."

Upon hearing this, Fang Hanyu immediately straightened his posture. An excited look washed over his face, a perfect blend of bearing a heavy responsibility and feeling that it was finally his turn.

He cleared his throat and turned to Ling Xi. He tried his best to maintain a solemn expression, but the eager anticipation dancing in his eyes simply could not be hidden.