Chapter 188

Chapter 188

Wen Qiao noticed Hu Yansheng and, considering how he had been diligently sparring with her these past few days—though it might have been for the spirit pills—she greeted him.

"Tiger Senior, would you like to eat?"

Hu Yansheng didn't reject her offer as arrogantly as usual but instead sat down silently beside her.

Wen Qiao glanced at him, thinking that the allure of good food was indeed irresistible, even to beasts. She promptly handed him a plate of freshly grilled meat.

"What is this?" Hu Yansheng, smelling the enticing aroma, swallowed his saliva.

Wen Qiao replied, "Sandworm."

Hu Yansheng: "..."

He gave her a look that clearly said, "Are you kidding me?" He wasn't unfamiliar with sandworms; those low-level soft-bodied star worms were beneath his dignity—although the smell was incredibly tempting.

"I'm just teasing you. It's actually a plant's tendril, though it does resemble a sandworm."

Since arriving in the Endless Sea, Wen Qiao had encountered many marine beasts and edible seafood. She found that the sandworms she had seen before looked quite similar to the tendrils of a plant-type beast.

Besides, sandworms tasted great, and Wen Qiao loved them.

In the eyes of a food lover, there was nothing in the world that couldn't be eaten; it all depended on how well it was prepared.

Upon hearing this, Hu Yansheng assumed it was just a plant's tendril that resembled a sandworm and didn't think much more about it. He awkwardly picked up a piece of the meat with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth.

Instantly, Hu Yansheng's eyes widened.

He quickly finished the entire plate of grilled meat and savored its flavor, increasingly convinced that the so-called human cultivator food cooked by Haizhuer must have been waste, otherwise, how could it taste so terrible?

When he tasted the roasted suckling pig, Hu Yansheng could no longer express his admiration for human cultivators.

So this was what human cultivators usually ate. He finally understood why they were willing to spend so much effort cooking food—they didn't find it troublesome at all.

If food always tasted this good, he'd be willing to spend some time preparing it too.

One roasted suckling pig wasn't enough for these big eaters. Hu Yansheng, still craving more, stared at the empty plate and couldn't help asking, "Do you have any more of that piglet you roasted earlier?"

"No," Wen Qiao answered truthfully. "This was the last one."

The young Qing Lao pigs they had caught in the Thousand Islands had finally been eaten up.

Hu Yansheng was genuinely disappointed.

At that moment, Ning Yuzhou suddenly said, "Beasts like pigs only exist in the human cultivator continent. If you want to eat them, we'll have to catch a few piglets when we go there. If you're interested, you can come find us, and I'll cook them for you for free."

Hu Yansheng looked at Ning Yuzhou suspiciously. Was he really that kind-hearted?

It wasn't that Hu Yansheng wanted to doubt him, but although he didn't particularly like human cultivators, he felt these two were different from the others outside. They were tolerable. However, after several bouts of diarrhea, Ning Yuzhou was the prime suspect, making him believe that alchemists were all evil and ill-intentioned.

Ning Yuzhou said calmly, "Consider it a thank-you for guiding Chui these past few days."

Hearing this, Hu Yansheng's doubts vanished, feeling somewhat pleased. He realized he was indeed remarkable for being willing to guide a human cultivator. Not many beast cultivators were as kind as he was.

"If there's roasted suckling pig, I wouldn't mind going," Hu Yansheng said.

After Hu Yansheng left, Wen Qiao couldn't help staring at Ning Yuzhou.

Ning Yuzhou put away the stove and turned to look at her, smiling, "What are you looking at?"

"Husband, are you really going to cook roasted suckling pig for Hu Yansheng?" Wen Qiao asked, sensing deeper meaning in his actions.

Wen Tutu and Wen Guangun also protested, feeling that Big Brother Ning had changed, giving food to other beasts without ever having cooked for them.

Ning Yuzhou calmly replied, "Yes, if he goes with us to the human cultivator continent, it's fine to cook for him."

Wen Qiao: "..."

She seemed to understand. Her husband indeed had his methods, casually securing a king-level beast to protect them in an unfamiliar land.

After celebrating, Wen Qiao continued to take the two beasts out of the palace every day to fight with other sea beasts.

Later, their activities extended beyond Star Crossing Gorge, venturing into the deep sea where Wen Qiao practiced her boxing, fought, and tempered her body under the immense water pressure.

Wen Tutu and Wen Guangun also battled with ninth-stage sea beasts daily.

Ning Yuzhou rarely went out, spending most of his time inside the palace refining pills, meditating, or refining the Heart Flame Fire, keeping himself busy.

A year had passed since the collapse of the Yin and Yang Spring space. No beast cultivators were watching Star Crossing Gorge anymore, and Hu Yansheng no longer stopped Wen Qiao from going out. Sometimes, he even followed her, seeking special environments underwater for cultivation, watching her lead the two beasts in practice.

Hu Yansheng did things completely contrary to his fierce appearance, entirely unaware of it.

***

Two years passed unnoticed.

Three years had gone by since Wen Qiao arrived in the Endless Sea.

During these three years, Wen Qiao, Ning Yuzhou, and Wen Tutu had all diligently cultivated. Wen Tutu successfully advanced to the ninth stage beast, Wen Qiao reached the late stage of the Primordial Void Realm, and although Ning Yuzhou hadn't left the palace, his cultivation steadily grew, reaching the late stage of the Primordial Pulse Realm.

When Ning Yuzhou successfully advanced to the late stage of the Primordial Pulse Realm, Wen Qiao was particularly happy. "Husband, your cultivation speed has indeed increased. Is it because of the spirit vein in the space?"

Ning Yuzhou smiled and said, "Partially, but mainly because I managed to refine the Heart Flame Fire."

After nearly three years of effort, Ning Yuzhou had finally refined the Heart Flame Fire given to him by Qin Hongdao.

However, merely refining it wasn't enough to subdue it. Ning Yuzhou didn't plan to subdue it now; he just needed it to facilitate his pill and artifact refinement.

Only by completely subduing the strange fire can one unleash its full power, which very few cultivators can resist, making it a formidable weapon. However, most cultivators can only harness one to two percent of its power after refining it, which is sufficient for alchemy and crafting.

Ning Yuzhou accepted this strand of strange fire primarily for alchemy or crafting purposes, not really caring whether he could subdue it or not.

After successfully refining the Heart Flame Fire, his cultivation effortlessly reached the late stage of the Yuanmai realm. Although slightly slower than Wen Qiao, it was still incredibly fast compared to other cultivators.

Wen Qiao was quite satisfied. After three years in the ocean, they had all made significant gains.

"Keep up the good work and ideally advance to the Yuankong realm in one go," Wen Qiao encouraged him.

Ning Yuzhou sighed with a smile, "Yes, I will try my best. But even though my cultivation has improved, my combat ability might not be that great."

Wen Qiao shrugged, "Isn't that normal? You're an alchemist."

Although Ning Yuzhou excelled in more than just alchemy, in Wen Qiao's mind, his primary role was still as an alchemist. Alchemists were generally weaklings; even if their cultivation was high, it was often because they needed it for alchemy, and their combat abilities were usually poor. No one expected them to be strong fighters.

Being able to refine pills isn't enough?

Because of this, she never asked Ning Yuzhou to join her in fighting sea beasts to hone his combat skills. After all, everyone had their specialties, and cultivators had their preferences—some liked combat, others preferred strategy. As long as they could protect themselves, there was no need to differentiate so much.

Even without combat skills, as long as one's cultivation was high, other cultivators wouldn't easily provoke them.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you," Wen Qiao patted his shoulder, "After all, you are my husband."

So she would never look down on him for being weak.

Hearing these matter-of-fact words, Ning Yuzhou found them both amusing and heartwarming.

"I'll rely on Chui to protect me then," he said gently, not feeling embarrassed at all.

Wen Qiao nodded vigorously, "As long as we don't encounter someone as unreasonable as Fairy Liu Yun, I'll definitely keep you safe."

In the cultivation world, although high-level cultivators often didn't value the lives of low-level cultivators, those from reputable sects usually cared about their reputation and wouldn't easily attack lower-level cultivators.

Fairy Liu Yun was a rare exception among the righteous path, and Wen Qiao couldn't believe how shameless she was.

Ning Yuzhou's eyes turned cold, and he pursed his lips slightly.

"When Fairy Liu Yun knocked us into the spatial passage, many people saw it. I wonder what happened afterward," Wen Qiao pondered, chin in hand. "The Red Sky Sect also values its reputation; Master probably won't let her off easily."

Ning Yuzhou said, "Don't worry, Fairy Liu Yun won't have a good ending. Judging from her appearance back then, she must have been severely injured in the secret realm. Even if she survived, her cultivation would have dropped significantly, and she won't be able to maintain her status as a Yuanzong True Person. Besides..." He smiled wryly, "I suspect that after she knocked us into the spatial passage, the leaders of other sects on the Sacred Martial Continent would have arrived soon. She can't escape."

"Really?" Wen Qiao asked happily.

Ning Yuzhou nodded slightly, "The spatial passage of the Thousand Islands Secret Realm appeared within the Thousand Islands Sea. The leaders waiting outside the secret realm would quickly arrive."

Wen Qiao said happily, "For Fairy Liu Yun to do such a shameless thing, if she doesn't face any consequences, it would be too outrageous."

Knowing that Fairy Liu Yun might not have a good end, Wen Qiao put aside her grudge against her.

After Ning Yuzhou successfully advanced, they celebrated in the palace with food and drinks.

Hu Yansheng still joined them shamelessly, but he wasn't just eating and drinking for free. He brought over plenty of delicious seafood, like the ugly fish that Little Dolphin once gave Wen Qiao to taste.

Transformed demon cultivators were different from untransformed sea beasts; they began to appreciate fine cuisine.

Eating the fragrant grilled fish, Hu Yansheng couldn't help but recall the roasted suckling pig he had tasted before, lost in thought about whether he should visit the human cultivation continent.

"What are you eating? It smells so good."

A cheerful voice rang out, and the group looked up to see a couple standing at the entrance of the guest courtyard. The man was delicate and handsome, while the woman was bright and heroic, creating a harmonious scene.

"Lord Xuan, why did you come out?" Hu Yansheng asked in surprise, then added excitedly, "Could it be that your injuries have healed?"

Xuanlun walked over, smiling, "Though not fully healed, it's no longer a problem."

Lan Jinshang, smelling the aroma in the air, glanced at Hu Yansheng and teased, "Yansheng, didn't you say humans were pretentious, cooking everything? Why aren't you complaining now?"

Hu Yansheng stiffened, "Aunt Lan, these are different."

"What's different? Aren't they all cooked food? How are they different?" Lan Jinshang was puzzled.

Hu Yansheng, being honest, replied directly, "To put it simply, the food Ning Gongzi cooks is what normal human cultivators eat, while the food Haizhuer cooks is like excrement."

Everyone: "…………"

The entire palace seemed to fall silent, stunned by Hu Yansheng's powerful analogy.

Wen Qiao clearly saw Lan Jinshang trying not to vomit, grateful that she hadn't eaten the food Haizhuer served, or else it would have felt like eating excrement.

Ning Yuzhou, who hadn't touched it either, remained calm.

Lan Jinshang finally couldn't bear it and slapped Hu Yansheng's back, angry, "Don't let the sea clan hear you say that."

After all, the sea clan prided themselves on being different from those who ate raw meat. They loved refinement and treated food like human cultivators, cooking it before eating. Their food was prepared by Haizhuer, who could cook human food, which is why Lan Jinshang had the palace's Haizhuer serve Wen Qiao and the others.

Hu Yansheng, though not thinking he was wrong, knew the sea clan's ways and said bluntly, "I know, I'm not stupid."

In the end, Xuanlun and Lan Jinshang joined them to share the human delicacies.

Lan Jinshang took a bite of the grilled meat and sighed, "Human cultivators truly are the most creative beings, turning any edible ingredient into such deliciousness."

Xuanlun agreed, "Indeed."

Although cultivators didn't indulge in culinary pleasures, occasionally enjoying fine food was a way to relax and enjoy life.

"What's the big deal? If you tried roasted suckling pig, that would be the ultimate delicacy," Hu Yansheng said, regretting the lack of roasted suckling pig here, unable to let Xuanlun and Lan Jinshang taste such heavenly food.

Lan Jinshang asked about roasted suckling pig, and after hearing Hu Yansheng's description, she felt a desire to try it.

It's a pity that boar beasts only exist in the Human Cultivation Continent. If you want to eat them, you have to go there to catch them.

Speaking of the Human Cultivation Continent, Xuanlun suddenly said, "Young Master Ning, Miss Wen, my injuries have healed quite well. When do you plan to go to the Human Cultivation Continent?"

Wen Qiao and Ning Yuzhou looked at him simultaneously.

When he appeared so rarely, Ning Yuzhou had a faint premonition and said, "If Senior Xuan is fine, let's set out in two days."

"Alright."

In just a few words, they decided on their departure.

Yansheng was a bit confused, as if he hadn't fully processed what was happening.

After a while, he looked down at the grilled fish in his hand, suddenly swallowed it whole, and then grabbed another one.

"Why are you eating so fast? Don't you need to spit out the bones?" Lan Jinshang teased.

Yansheng didn't say anything but thought to himself, without these two human cultivators around, there will probably only be Haizhuer's cooking from now on, so I should eat more now.