Could it be that I, Old Huang, am really getting old Is my meat becoming tough Have I fallen out of favor

They looked up in bewilderment, finding no one around, and were just about to resume their movements.

"Aooo! My Seven-Colored Auspicious Tenderloin?! Who?! Is it you again?!"

A shrill, mournful deer cry suddenly pierced the tranquility of the back mountain, carrying unbelievable grief and indignation.

"Squeak! My Lightning Hind Leg! Shameless thief! Give me back my meat!"

A bolt of lightning leaped up like a cat with its fur standing on end; a rabbit's silhouette flickered, surging with towering rage.

However, before their voices could fade, the void in front of them trembled slightly, and a small bottle of crystal-clear Connate Spirit Marrow, swirling with Dao rhythm, appeared before each of them.

Immediately after, Gu Changge's flat yet unquestionable voice echoed in their divine souls like a heavenly decree:

"What are you yelling for? Slicing off this little bit of meat is to stimulate your qi and blood. Hurry up and refine this Connate Spirit Marrow; your cultivation bases are still too low. Cultivate diligently and strive to break through to the Great Saint realm as soon as possible. Only when your realm is higher will your meat taste better."

Deer and Rabbit: "???"

Their mournful howls caught in their throats. Feeling the boundless vitality and Dao rhythm contained in the bottles of Connate Spirit Marrow, and hearing this demonic logic of encouraging breakthroughs just to make them tastier, the deer and the rabbit froze in place. The massive grievance mixed with an even more massive stroke of fortune left them utterly dizzy.

In the end, they silently put away the Spirit Marrow, aggrievedly crawled back to their original spots, and began to cultivate like mad—

Get stronger! We must get stronger! At the very least... at least we have to be more tender than that old bull's meat from before!

Meanwhile, inside Gu Changge's small courtyard, several pieces of top-grade fresh meat had silently appeared on the stone table. Flowing with rosy light, radiating dense spiritual energy, and even faintly quivering, the deer meat and rabbit meat were placed separately, emitting a strange and tantalizing aroma.

Fatty Wang stared so hard his eyes went straight, almost drooling: "M-Master... this meat... its spiritual energy is way too abundant!"

Gu Changge glanced at him, a smile in his eyes, and said plainly, "Mm, sit down. Today we shall taste the flavor of the Seven-Colored Elk and the Lightning Rabbit."

Having said that, he lightly flicked his sleeve, and an ancient, majestic three-legged cauldron engraved with profound runes appeared in the courtyard. Earth fire naturally ignited beneath the cauldron, while a clear spring boiled inside, misting with rich spiritual energy.

Various prepared rare spiritual medicines, divine fruits, and immortal herbs—things Fatty Wang had never even seen before—were casually tossed into the cauldron by Gu Changge to stew alongside the glowing spiritual meat.

Instantly, an indescribable, complex, and exotic aroma diffused through the air. It was refreshing to the heart and mind, bringing a wave of comfort to one's very soul, as if the Great Dao itself was resonating.

Xiao Ruobai, Fang Hanyu, and Ling Xi familiarly gathered around to sit, while Xuanyangzi and Shi Wanshan also took their seats with smiles, clearly having looked forward to this scene for a long time.

Deep within the spiritual fields, Lao Huang, who had kept his massive bull head buried tightly in the moist soil, his muscles tense with anxiety as he waited for that familiar moment of meat-slicing, waited for quite a while. Yet, the expected slice never came.

Unable to hold back any longer, he carefully and extremely slowly pulled his huge bull head out of the dirt. His bell-sized eyes, covered in mud, stealthily peeked toward the small courtyard.

When he saw that Gu Changge had already brought out that familiar large cauldron, and that what was boiling inside was remarkably the deer and rabbit meat exuding seven-colored rosy light and lightning aura—and not his, Lao Huang's, beef...

A tremendous, indescribable wave of ecstasy and relief instantly washed away his anxiety!

"He didn't... he didn't cut mine?! This time it actually wasn't my meat?! The heavens have eyes! Ancestors bless me! Old Lao Huang has survived another disaster!"

He was so excited he almost jumped out of the soil. His bull nose sniffed hard at the enticing meat aroma in the air, feeling that this scent was more wonderful than ever before!

However, this ecstasy of surviving a calamity only lasted for a few breaths.

A more complex, more indescribable sense of bitterness and disappointment quietly wrapped around his heart like vines.

Lao Huang's huge bull eyes gazed longingly at the boiling deer and rabbit meat in the cauldron, which were highly favored by the Lord. Then, he looked down at his own solid but seemingly out-of-favor muscles, and his gaze gradually turned aggrieved...

"Why didn't the Lord cut my meat this time?"

"Does he think I, Lao Huang, haven't been working hard enough at plowing the fields? Or was the tenderloin I contributed last time not fresh and tender enough?"

"Could it be... the Lord feels that the Seven-Colored Elk's meat is more auspicious? That the Lightning Rabbit's leg is chewier? That they taste better than my beef, which has been tempered a thousand times and contains the profound virtue of the earth and the fragrance of hard work?"

"Could it be that I, Lao Huang, am really getting old? Has my meat become tough? Have I fallen out of favor?"

The more he thought about it, the more wronged he felt. He even began to feel that the Lord sparing him this time was not out of mercy, but rather a silent denial and disdain for his beef quality!

This complex crisis of losing favor caused this Azure Sky Bull King to secretly grieve in the spiritual field; even the spiritual herbs emitting enticing aromas nearby no longer smelled good to him.

He listlessly lay back down in the dirt, revealing only a pair of bull eyes filled with bitterness and self-doubt. From afar, he gazed longingly at the feast he couldn't participate in, his heart a jumble of mixed feelings.

Just then, Gu Changge, sitting at the head seat, seemed to casually sweep his gaze across the spiritual field, perfectly meeting Lao Huang's aggrieved, mud-stained bull eyes.

The faint trace of a smile at the corner of Gu Changge's mouth seemed to deepen a bit. His tone was flat, yet his voice clearly reached Lao Huang's ears, as well as the ears of everyone in the courtyard:

"Lao Huang, stop lying there."

Lao Huang's massive bull body suddenly stiffened, and his heart pounded wildly, thinking the Lord had finally remembered his tough meat and was going to make up for that missed slice. He instinctively wanted to bury his head back in the dirt.

But then he heard Gu Changge continue, "Go fetch some Purple Flame Spirit Rice."

"Ah?" Lao Huang was stunned, a trace of bewilderment flashing through his huge bull eyes. He wasn't going to cut meat? He... he was supposed to fetch rice?

Immediately after, Gu Changge paused and added another sentence. His tone was casual, but it made Lao Huang's bull eyes widen in an instant.

"While you're at it, come over and sit down. Let's eat together."

"What?!"

This time, not only was his meat not being cut, but he was actually being invited to the table to eat with them?!

This sudden grace was like a massive pie dropping on his head, making him dizzy for a moment. His enormous grievance and bitterness were instantly shattered by this tremendous surge of pleasant surprise!

"Moo—!"

He violently jerked his head up from the dirt, letting out a bull's moo filled with disbelief and ecstasy. The sound was so loud and resonant that it shook the spiritual herbs in the field.

Ignoring the mud caked all over his face, his massive body leaped out of the spiritual field with an agility entirely unsuited to his size, his four hooves generating wind as he moved.

He quickly ran over carrying the spirit rice, terrified that if he was even a second too slow, the Lord might change his mind.

Lao Huang carefully used a gentle force to take out a large sack of plump, light purple rice grains that faintly swirled with flame patterns—this was exactly the Purple Flame Spirit Rice.

Seeing Lao Huang's massive contrast in behavior, the people in the courtyard were taken aback at first, but then they all couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Xuanyangzi pointed at Lao Huang, who was sprinting back with the rice in his arms, and laughed so hard he slapped his thigh. "Hahaha! This old ox! He changes his tune faster than you can flip a page! Just a moment ago he looked like a forsaken little wife, and now his tail is practically pointing up to the heavens!"

His eyes darted mischievously, and he deliberately raised his voice at Lao Huang, "Hey! Lao Huang! Seeing how aggrieved you acted just now, were you actually upset that Junior Brother didn't carve off a piece of your meat? How about... I do you a favor and reluctantly help you fulfill that wish?"

Hearing this, Lao Huang glared with his massive ox eyes and let out a grumpy snort in Xuanyangzi's direction. "Shoo, shoo! Xuanyangzi, stop fanning the flames!"