After Uncle Jiu carried the child-sized tomato back to his room, he stared at the massive fruit with a headache. "It's so big... how am I supposed to eat this? Do I have to cut it open? No, if I cut a spiritual object like this, it might lose its efficacy. I'd better just eat it whole."
Worried about ruining his dignified image, Uncle Jiu quickly double-locked his door. Only when he was sure no one could see did he begin to devour the tomato. With the first bite, a surge of sweetness flooded his mouth, followed immediately by a massive wave of Spiritual Qi.
As a bit of a miser, Uncle Jiu placed great importance on money in his daily life, and in his cultivation, he valued Spiritual Qi even more. To prevent the energy from dissipating, he used his Dharma Power to seal the Spiritual Qi inside himself while eating as fast as he could. By the time he finished the entire thing, his belly was distended, looking exactly like a pregnant woman in her eighth or ninth month.
"I'm stuffed to death... I have to refine this Spiritual Qi immediately."
Meanwhile, Qiuxia felt that breakfast was nearly ready and was about to wake Wencai when he saw Qiusheng ride his bicycle into the Yi Zhuang. After parking his bike, Qiusheng froze for a moment upon seeing Qiuxia. "Are you... are you Junior Brother Qiuxia?"
"It's me, Senior Brother. I went home for a while to take care of some business and just got back. Go and wake up Senior Brother Wencai. Breakfast is ready. I brought some vegetables from home; the taste should be quite good."
"Oh, alright!" At the mention of food, Qiusheng's eyes lit up. He sprinted toward Wencai's room, intending to harass his fellow disciple out of bed so they wouldn't miss the meal.
After handing Wencai's wake-up call over to Qiusheng, Qiuxia went to Uncle Jiu's door and knocked. "Master, breakfast is served."
Inside, Uncle Jiu, who was busy refining the Spiritual Qi, opened his eyes and glanced down at his massive stomach. Damn it, my disciples absolutely cannot see me like this, or my old face will be completely disgraced! Besides, I can't even force down another bite right now.
"Your Master isn't hungry. You, Qiusheng, and Wencai go ahead and eat!"
"Master, I made porridge using the vegetables I brought back from home. Won't you have even a little?"
"Vegetable porridge!" Hearing that Qiuxia had made porridge with those spiritual vegetables, Uncle Jiu felt like a knife was twisting in his heart. At any other time, even if his disciple's cooking was terrible, he would have gone out to try some. But in his current state? Not only would it be humiliating, but he physically couldn't swallow a single drop.
"I won't be eating. You guys enjoy it!" Uncle Jiu choked out the words through metaphorical tears before returning to his cultivation.
"As expected of Master he truly doesn't care for the base desires of the appetite!" Qiuxia left these words behind and walked away.
Uncle Jiu thought bitterly: I'm literally too full to move! Otherwise, see if I wouldn't eat it. If I really didn't care about my stomach, I wouldn't have polished off that entire tomato!
Having broken through to the rank of Celestial Master, Qiuxia's mental power had transformed into Spiritual Sense. He knew exactly what was happening in Uncle Jiu's room; he had only said those words to tease his master.
When Qiuxia returned to the dining hall, Qiusheng and Wencai were already waiting. Seeing Qiuxia approach, Wencai asked curiously, "Little Junior Brother, what delicious things did you make?"
"These are specialty spiritual vegetables from my home. Not only do they taste great, but they can also increase your cultivation. Let's eat; Master isn't joining us this morning."
"Spiritual vegetables? What are those? Why haven't I heard of them before?" Qiusheng asked, looking at Qiuxia with curiosity.
"You'll know in a moment! I'll go serve the bowls."
Entering the kitchen, Qiuxia lifted the lid of the pot to reveal a white and green vegetable porridge. Because the Spiritual Qi and aroma were sealed, there wasn't even a hint of a scent.
Using Dharma Power to transfer the porridge into a large serving tureen, Qiuxia brought three sets of bowls and chopsticks back to the hall. He placed the tureen in the center of the table, and Qiusheng and Wencai leaned in close.
"It looks nice, but why is it like water? There's no smell at all," Wencai remarked curiously.
"I was worried the Spiritual Qi would leak out while cooking, so I sealed both the energy and the aroma. You'll taste it once you start eating."
As he brought it over, Qiuxia used his Dharma Power to cool the porridge to the optimal temperature. He ladled out two bowls for Qiusheng and Wencai, took one for himself, and began to eat.
Qiuxia had eaten this kind of spiritual vegetable porridge many times in the Naruto World. Even without any extra ingredients, porridge made with just these vegetables and rice was incredibly delicious, leaving one craving more.
Even Qiuxia found it excellent, so one could only imagine how Qiusheng and Wencai felt. From the first bite, the two of them were like hungry ghosts reborn, frantically gulping it down. Bowl after bowl followed until the tureen was scraped clean. By the end, both of their bellies were bulging.
"Senior Brothers, there is quite a bit of Spiritual Qi in that porridge. You should cultivate immediately to refine it."
Hearing Qiuxia's advice, the sluggish Qiusheng and Wencai sat cross-legged right there in the hall to begin their meditation. Once they were settled, Qiuxia tapped the air. He used his powerful Spiritual Sense to lock the spiritual energy within their bodies and directly manipulated the flow of their Qi.
Under Qiuxia's control, their original energy fused with the Spiritual Qi from the vegetables, transforming into Dharma Power that poured into their Dantians. With Qiuxia's help, the two of them advanced by leaps and bounds, jumping from the level of a Warlock to that of a Taoist Priest.
Now that they were Taoist Priests, as long as they possessed the Sage's Theft or the Grain Clothing Heart Method, they could reach the Human Master realm regardless of how poor their natural talent was. If they worked hard enough, they might even reach the heights of an Earthly Master or a Celestial Master.
After refining the energy into Dharma Power within their Dantians, Qiuxia used his vast mental strength to draw in more Spiritual Qi, sealing it around the hall to let them continue their training. He then went out to the courtyard to research some lingering questions regarding Maoshan Taoist Arts.
Uncle Jiu didn't emerge from his room until evening. Although his stomach had returned to its normal size, he still had no appetite for dinner. After refining the energy from the massive tomato,
he felt as though he had saved over six months of cultivation time. Furthermore, the bottleneck of his Earth Soul felt loose. He felt that if he ate these vegetables for a few more days, he could temper his Earth Soul and advance his cultivation further.
Stepping into the courtyard, Uncle Jiu saw Qiuxia studying Maoshan Taoist Arts and nodded in satisfaction. However, he didn't see the other two. This displeased him. "Qiuxia, where did your two senior brothers run off to?"
"Master, after breakfast, Senior Brothers went to the hall to refine the Spiritual Qi. They are still cultivating now. From what I can sense, they have both successfully condensed their Dharma Power and become Taoist Priests."
"Oh! They've condensed Dharma Power!" Uncle Jiu's eyes lit up. Although reaching the Taoist Priest rank at their age didn't make them geniuses, it was still a very respectable achievement. Once they were Taoist Priests,
they could practice the Grain Clothing Heart Method. Moreover, with the Sage's Theft that Qiuxia had perfected and created, it wasn't impossible for them to reach the Earthly Master level. As for the Celestial Master rank above that, the hope was slim, but not non-existent.
"Good, very good! Before, they were a source of embarrassment, but now they won't be quite so shameful."
"Master, I think the next step should be to strengthen their knowledge of Maoshan Taoist Arts and Taoist theory. Otherwise, they might have decent Dharma Power but won't even be able to use a single Talisman. If outsiders find out, they'll be looked down upon."
Uncle Jiu nodded in agreement. "You have a point. From now on, we should intensify their studies in Taoism, Taoist arts, and the crafting of Talismans."
The two disciples, still deep in their meditation, had no idea they had just been "arranged." If they knew, their faces would surely pale as they scrambled for excuses.
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