Chapter 526: The Best Cook
Translator: Subudai11 Editor: Chrissy
The Best Cook 1
The cultivation of immortal path should not be done in haste. If the foundation was not strong enough, then the future achievements would be limited. For most of the orthodox cultivators, this was basically the common sense the masters repeatedly taught their disciples at the beginning of the cultivation.
However, for someone, common sense is just something to be broken.
"... In regard to our current situation, I think I have made myself clear."
In the main hall of the Dragon Palace, the voice of Ouyang Shang echoed lightly, but it was like a hammer in the hearts of everyone.
Black tide, sewage, three years deadline… Even if all the people present were elites, the heavy pressure could not be ignored.
"But we are far from hopeless. For us, three years is too much… From now on, everyone's first priority is to break through their current stage at all costs. In three years, I want all of you to reach Jindan Stage."
"What?"
Before his voice even fell, there was already an uproar in the hall.
Ouyang Shang's prestige was beyond doubt, but because of his personality, his Junior Brothers and Sisters were not afraid of him. At this time, hearing that they would have to reach Jindan Stage within three years, they were inexplicably astonished.
"Senior Brother, you're funny. Jindan Stage in three years, o you think you're making instant noodles?"
"Jindan Stage in three years… We need help from the immortal world's panacea."
"If it's Senior Brother Yang Fei, Senior Brother Zhang Sheng, and the others, then that's fine since they're already in Peak Xudan Stage, and it's not important to jump a stage ahead of time. But for us who are still in low-level Xudan… it is possible for us to advance to middle-level Xudan in three years if we double our effort. But if it's Jindan... that's simply a joke."
"Alas, I haven't even reached Xudan Stage, am I not even more hopeless?"
This chaotic discussion continued for quite sometime before Ouyang Shang began to talk again.
As soon as he opened his mouth, the discussion immediately stopped.
"No one is asking you to condense a pure golden core, as long as you have a golden core, or even an 18 karat gold… even a lump of gold is enough!"
As a result, just as his voice fell, everyone began to quarrel again. "A lump of gold? Then that's just a waste core!"
"Is golden generation going to become golden lump generation?"
Ouyang Shang sighed. "Even if it's a waste core, it's still a kind of golden core… In short, in three years time, I want to see seventy-three Daoist Masters of Jindan Stage. If not, this place will be our burial ground."
After listening to this, everyone immediately went silent.
That was true. Now was not the time to pick and choose. Outside the Dragon Palace, the huge black tide had completely polluted the Blessed Fountain, which had strong corrosion effect and sinister poison—without the body protection of Jindan Stage, it would be really hard to resist. When they were doing the cleaning, although everyone was on full alert, still, two of them were injured accidentally by the power contained in the sewage.
If they wanted to break away from the Dragon Palace, the pressure would increase by hundreds of times. Except for several people, this would be a dead end for everyone else.
For the elites present in the scene, they could indeed have great progress, comprehend the essence of the sword intent further, manage to greatly cultivate a method, or refine a powerful piece of original magical treasure… But in such a desperate situation like the present, those were just as fleeting as clouds… Logically, there was nothing more effective than having the golden core.
Even if it was just a lump of gold.
The title of Daoist Master was only granted in Jindan Stage. This custom had its own meaning.
In the cultivation of immortal path, such as body refinement, qi cultivating, and foundation establishment… in the earliest great desolation era, this kind of division in cultivation base didn't exist. At that time, everyone's path of cultivation was unique, so it was difficult to have a unified standard in the results of the cultivation. For the last few thousand years, it was gradually discovered that after practicing to a certain extent, cultivators would have special abilities that they had never had before, and this made the strength of the cultivators greatly differ from that of the previous ones, thus there was this division of stage.
Among which, Jindan Stage was an important watershed stage. Perhaps for the gifted cultivators from great sects, Jindan Stage was only a matter of time, so their goal was a long-term one. However, actually, for the vast majority of the cultivators, as long as they could have a golden core, even if it was just a lump of gold, they would die without regret.
Moreover, as for the present elites, they could make up for the lack of quality of the golden core in a variety of ways, at worst, under the care of their elders, they could break it and recast it. Although it would be very hard and difficult, it would be of great benefit in the end. In short, the seventy-three gold lump tactic was indeed feasible.
"But, Big Brother, even if we lower the standard, even to a gold clump… as the saying goes, the cleverest housewife can't cook without rice. Although this place is located in a Feng Shui line node, the Feng Shui line itself is not much of a good quality. If it's divided for us more than seventy people, it's just enough to maintain our daily cultivation. But if we want to advance through a stage, the most important thing is the amount of accumulation. To simply put, the demand for the surrounding spiritual energy is several times more than normal times, which this place simply can't provide."
Cai Xia had raised a very real problem.
"It's not enough to rely on the Feng Shui line, but in addition to Feng Shui line, we still have this," Ouyang Shang said and reached out his hand to point upward.
Everyone looked up and saw that the Dragon Palace was trembling slightly under the impact of the Blessed Fountain sewage.
"... Big Brother, you're not telling us to borrow that thing's power right?" Cai Xia incredulously stared at him with her eyes opened wide. "That's an extremely poisonous blood seal!"
Ouyang Shang said with a smile, "The fierce toxicity is just an indication of how much energy is in it. Since we are in a difficult situation, we can't afford to pick and choose."
"But that is too…" Everyone felt that it was hard to accept.
In principle, it was not impossible to absorb the power of the black tide. However, it was necessary to turn the extremely poisonous blackt ide into spiritual energy that could be used in immortal cultivation. Not only this required the pinnacle processing skill of the black tide, the cultivators themselves had to pay a heavy price. This was nearly a way of self-destruction… Even if in the future it could be broken and recast, the risk would still be doubled.
While everyone hesitated, Wang Lu opened his mouth.
"You young people are favored by the heaven since you were born, and you also accept the best elite education within the Union of Ten Thousand Immortals. Therefore, you people have never actually suffered, never experienced the difficulty of the resource shortage. Do you know that when there is a famine in the world, even horse dung was eaten by others."
In order to enhance his words' credibility, he revealed a very serious expression, as if there was a personal pain.
The disciples of Spirit Sword Sect in the hall were all shocked, thinking that when ordinary mortals had no way to make a living, the suffering people even went to eat that kind of thing… which truly made them speechless.
Even Ouyang Shang didn't expect Wang Lu to have such an experience. He curiously asked, "Is it delicious?"
"... You'll know it when you try it." Wang Lu really wished that he could trash him.
"In short, your current situation is no different than those victims of famine who are on the verge of death. If you don't use the power of the black tide, you will not be able to reach Jindan, but if you can't become a Jindan, you will not be able to break the siege of the black tide, and thus could not save your own life. Therefore… that thing is there. If you want to eat it or not, think about it yourself."
"You have already reached Jindan, so of course you can say that it doesn't matter." Cai Xia shook her head in disapproval.
Wang Lu turned around and cast her a glance. "What you say is reasonable. For this eating excrement kind of thing, if the leading cadre who shout the slogan does not take the lead in demonstrating it, then it is tantamount to bullying. Therefore… although I have already performed it for you, I'll show you again."
Wang Lu then beckoned at Ouyang Shang. The latter was a bit surprised but then nodded. His right index finger curled upward, and immediately, a gap was opened on the Dragon Palace dome, then the black water of Blessed Fountain flooded through the gap like a waterfall.
During the fall, the sewage seethed out with black mist, looking as if there were numerous ghosts. Wang Lu sneered as he lightly tapped the ground with his foot and then flew up. While in mid-air, the golden core in his Jade Mansion suddenly shrunk in and the special characteristic of Void Spirit Root was exerted to the limit.
In the hall, more than seventy disciples of Spirit Sword Sect felt as if there was a terrifying black hole on top of their head, which madly absorbed the nearby energy. The intensity of the force was such that it even slightly shook their Jade Mansions. The sewage that flew down from the top was swiftly swept into a whirlpool and involuntarily absorbed by Wang Lu. It was shaped like a giant funnel, with Wang Lu's open mouth as its end.
For a moment, the sewage that poured down from the Dragon Palace dome was absorbed by Wang Lu. The sewage that was enough to submerge a room only caused Wang Lu's abdomen to slightly raise, revealing a veritable Sumeru-Mountain-In-A-Mustard-Seed skill.
However, the cultivators of Spirit Sword Sect who had just done the clean up were very clear that the key was not to absorb but to suppress. Just now, it could be said that he would swallow a battalion of killer shadow into his belly! How would he process it then...
"Hehe." Wang Lu let out an indifferent chuckle and then closed his eyes. His chest and abdomen then sharply contracted, squeezing the sewage inside his body with brute force. For the power of the black tide, Wang Lu actually had no special method to digest it. The only thing that he could do was to break everything with brute force. The next moment, everyone heard as if something was crushed from a distance, and then a thin black mist sprayed out from the pores on Wang Lu's body. Once the black mist came out, it formed a crippled human form, which then tried to escape in a panic.
"Come back," Wang Lu said and then made a hooking gesture. The golden core in his Jade Mansion once again let out a suction force and inhaled the broken black shadow back into his body, only then did it become completely silent.
"See? I have already finished eating it. Moreover, I finished it with empty plate. The next plate is yours."
Wang Lu then looked around at the people in the hall maliciously.
Those who were touched by his gaze could not help but bow their heads, not daring to look straight.
It was a bit hard for anyone to look straight at someone who boldly ate such a special food...
However, no matter what, after Wang Lu had demonstrated it to them, they no longer considered eating the black tide to be so repulsive. Although there was no way to cleanly digest it like Wang Lu, but… if there was no other choice, they had to bravely face it!