NOVEL NEXT Chapter 8
Chapter 8: Ancient Delicacy: Stewed Ethereal Kun
Lin Xuanqing’s statement was extremely arrogant.
He didn’t place Yin Tianchen in his eyes at all.
This undoubtedly enraged Yin Xuan who stood nearby.
“Purple Empyrean Patriarch, don’t be so excessive!”
“Thirty thousand premium spirit crystals are enough for your sect’s income for ten years!”
Before Lin Xuanqing could speak, Yin Tianchen immediately scolded: “Silence!”
“Lin is your elder, how dare you speak this way?”
Then he looked at Lin Xuanqing and said calmly: “Friend Lin, it’s my fault for not considering thoroughly.”
“Premium spirit crystals are obviously useful for ordinary cultivators, but for Emperor Realm masters like us, they indeed aren’t very valuable.”
“As it happens, some time ago, I accidentally caught a large fish. Would you like to share it with me?”
“Fish?”
Lin Xuanqing was quite puzzled that Yin Tianchen had such a good temper.
He secretly thought: “This is different from the novels I read before.”
“Aren’t most antagonists in fantasy worlds easily provoked to anger?”
Lin Xuanqing looked at him, considering whether to just attack directly.
On the other side of the tea table, Yin Tianchen was also constantly active in his thoughts.
He secretly thought: “As expected, that’s what you want.”
“Hmph, do you think I’ll let you have your wish?”
So, he immediately picked up the fish basket beside him and placed it on the tea table.
Inside the bamboo woven fish basket, a fish with black and white stripes was jumping vigorously.
Zi Zhantian looked at it, puzzled: “Elder Yin, this fish…”
Yin Tianchen lightly stroked his beard and said: “Purple Empyrean Sect Master, this is no ordinary fish. It comes from the Void Ancient River.”
“Void Ancient River?”
Zi Zhantian was slightly shocked upon hearing these words.
“Legend has it that the Void Ancient River sank beneath the continent ten thousand years ago. Where did Elder find it?”
Yin Tianchen glanced at Lin Xuanqing, then chuckled: “Sect Master Zi, in the Three Lives Secret Realm of the Yellow Springs Sect, there is a bottomless stream that connects to the Void Ancient River.”
“Yellow Springs Sect, Three Lives Secret Realm?”
Zi Zhantian found it incredible that the Yellow Springs Sect had such a place.
“That’s right.”
“Although this place is a secret realm, it couldn’t escape Friend Lin’s divine eye.”
Yin Tianchen recalled how Lin Xuanqing deliberately let Yin Xuan return to the Yellow Springs Sect, assuming he must know about the Void Ancient River.
If he knew about the Void Ancient River, wasn’t it for this fish?
Might as well be straightforward about it.
Meanwhile, Lin Xuanqing was completely baffled.
What secret realm?
When did I know about this?
Nearby, Zi Zhantian heard that his own patriarch had known about the Void Ancient River long ago, and his heart surged with emotion.
No wonder the Patriarch didn’t want thirty thousand premium spirit crystals; he wanted something from the Void Ancient River!
His own strategic thinking was far inferior to the Patriarch’s!
“Legend has it that the creatures inhabiting the Void Ancient River are descended from spiritual seeds left at the formation of the Heavenly Domain,” Zi Zhantian stared at the fish in the basket. “Elder, this fish must be extremely rare, right?”
“Hehe, that’s right.”
“I sat by the ancient river fishing for over thirteen hundred years before catching this one.”
Speaking of fishing, Yin Tianchen felt quite a sense of achievement.
Little did he know that in Lin Xuanqing’s eyes, catching just one fish in over a thousand years was pathetically unsuccessful.
“Elder, there are many fish species in the Void Ancient River. This fish has black and white stripes all over its body; may I ask what species it is?”
Yin Tianchen said proudly: “Ancient texts record that the source of the Void Ancient River is in the Northern Abyss.”
“In the Northern Abyss there’s a fish, named Kun.”
“This fish is called the Ethereal Kun!”
“Ethereal Kun?!”
“That’s right, the Ethereal Kun.” Yin Tianchen patted the fish basket. “If not for this Emperor-grade treasure basket, I really couldn’t have contained it!”
“So this fish basket is an Emperor-grade treasure, no wonder…”
Everyone knows that a Kun is so large that it can’t fit in a single pot.
Without an Emperor-grade treasure restraining it, it would have likely escaped.
“Friend Lin, this Ethereal Kun is a rare treasure.” Yin Tianchen continued, “I know a medicinal dish, using the Ethereal Kun as the main ingredient, that can increase our Emperor Realm cultivation.”
With that said, he immediately took the spiritual herb tied at his waist and placed it on the tea table.
“Elder Yin, what’s this?”
“This also comes from the Three Lives Secret Realm, called the Yin-Yang Root-Growing Grass, to be used as a supplement.”
“I also have a pot of water from the Bottomless Stream for cooking.”
“Friend Lin, shall we enjoy this delicacy together?”
Hearing this, Lin Xuanqing agreed immediately.
Why?
Because Lin Xuanqing had been stuck in the Tai Xu Palace for a hundred years and hadn’t eaten anything good.
Cultivators usually eat medicinal pills and chew spiritual herbs, so Lin Xuanqing’s Tai Xu Palace only had these things.
It could be said that before the system appeared, he was living quite miserably!
However today, since this old man surnamed Yin wanted to show off his cooking skills and share some fish meat, Lin Xuanqing decided to eat first and talk later.
Yin Tianchen immediately got to work, taking out a sharp knife from his sleeve and beginning to scrape the fish scales.
In no time, the Ethereal Kun was processed and ready to be cooked with the accompanying ingredients.
Yin Xuan watched all this, very confused.
Both the Ethereal Kun and the Yin-Yang Root-Growing Grass were extremely rare treasures; how could they be shared with the Purple Empyrean Patriarch?
So he secretly transmitted: “Clan Elder, this isn’t worth it…”
Yin Tianchen cooked while replying: “Xuan’er, for such treasures, do you really think I’m going to hand them over?”
Hearing this, Yin Xuan’s expression changed slightly.
“Xuan’er, the Ethereal Kun meat indeed can increase an Emperor Realm cultivator’s strength, and the Yin-Yang Root-Growing Grass can enhance its effect.”
“After cooking them together, even a tiny piece of fish meat contains powerful energy.”
“But as the saying goes, medicine at its extreme becomes poison!”
“For an ordinary Emperor, just a sip of the fish soup would make their dantian explode.”
“Before coming here, I visited the Medicine God School, one of the Three Great Schools, and obtained three Emperor Pills which I’ve already taken in advance.”
“Without the Emperor Pills to assist, I guarantee that this Lin fellow will die from body explosion within half an hour after consuming just one piece of fish meat!”
While speaking, Yin Tianchen was still focusing on cooking the fish in the pot.
Two and a half hours passed, and the contents gradually turned golden, making it look extremely appetizing.
Zi Zhantian at the table swallowed his saliva, feeling the powerful energy contained in the fish soup.
He vaguely felt that if he could absorb one piece of fish meat, it might help him break through the bottleneck of the Saint Realm.
“Elder, does this delicacy have a name?”
“Yes, of course it does.”
“According to ancient texts, this medicinal dish made from Ethereal Kun and spiritual herbs has an elegant name—”
“Stewed Ethereal Kun!”
Lin Xuanqing heard this name and felt something was odd about it.
“Friend Lin, bowls and plates are ready, please enjoy.”
Yin Tianchen’s dining equipment was quite complete, with knives, pots, spoons, bowls, and chopsticks.
Lin Xuanqing didn’t think too much and first ladled some into his bowl.
Smelling the fragrant aroma and looking at the golden fish soup, Lin Xuanqing wanted to eat it but didn’t rush.
He wanted to confirm with the system first.
“System, they say this fish meat is nourishing even for emperors, so it should be nourishing for me too, right?”
“Maybe it could even restore this body’s cultivation or something?”
[Ding: Host is overthinking.]
[Ding: Your body was damaged by the Heavenly Dao Tribulation; eating this won’t help.]
“So it’s really useless.”
Lin Xuanqing felt it didn’t matter if it was useless; he would enjoy the delicious food first.
Then, he picked up a piece of fish meat and quickly swallowed it.
At this moment, Yin Tianchen, whose face had been very kind all along, suddenly turned cold.
“Friend Lin, how is the taste of this dish?”