Chapter 189: Poria Cake

Chapter 189: Chapter 189: Poria Cake

’The Patriarch of the Ye Family is only at the Meridian Passage Late Stage. As expected, the Ye Family is among the weakest of the families in the Imperial City.’

After the Ye Family’s Patriarch left, Liu Chen slowly shook his head. The Royal Family’s Crown Prince was at the Meridian Passage Late Stage, but according to Junior Sister Suyao, she had met many of the reclusive elders deep within the Imperial Palace. They were the true foundation of the Royal Family.

Furthermore, the current public head of the Royal Family was at the Qi Refining Early Stage.

And according to what Senior Brother Yang had said, the Yang Family had several Qi Refining Realm Elders as its foundation.

’The Black Feather Dynasty and the Great Xia Dynasty are comparable in strength. To cultivate peacefully in the Black Feather Dynasty, I’ll need the strength of the Qi Refining Realm at a minimum. However, an unfamiliar Qi Refining Realm cultivator would be too conspicuous. It would be best to get settled first, then slowly cultivate my way to the Qi Refining Realm once I’m there.’

Liu Chen continued to mull it over. The situation in the Great Xia Dynasty was too complex, and the chances of running into someone he knew were high. Thus, the Black Feather Dynasty was his first choice. As for Tianya City, it had no unified governance and was simply a gathering place for Loose Cultivators. There was no telling what kind of trouble he might find there, so he ruled it out completely.

After seeing the Ye Family Patriarch out, Liu Chen opened the gift box from Ji Feng. Inside was a cleaver—a First Grade Spiritual Artifact cleaver.

The design was quite unique, but unfortunately, Liu Chen had no use for it. Magic was far more convenient than using a cleaver.

’So much for that pleasant surprise.’

Liu Chen shrugged and tossed the Spiritual Artifact into his Storage Ring. If he ever found someone buying scrap, he’d sell it. If not, he’d melt it down for materials the next time he was refining a Spiritual Artifact.

After dealing with those tiresome matters, Liu Chen resumed practicing the Eye-blocking Technique. His mastery of this Basic Magic Technique was on the verge of becoming ’Unique’.

An hour passed peacefully. With a point of his finger, Liu Chen turned the stone table before him into gold. He then observed it closely. Even with his Insight boosted tenfold by the Bright Eyes Technique, Liu Chen couldn’t spot a single flaw. He reached out and knocked on the surface—its texture seemed to have changed as well.

[Eye-blocking Technique: Unique]

Liu Chen glanced at the message that appeared before him, a smile gracing his lips. He then circulated his Spiritual Power to his eyes. Under this focused gaze, the golden table reverted to its original stone form.

’Practically perfect. Cultivators of the Same Tier would find it impossible to see through, unless they had a magic technique similar to the Bright Eyes Technique.’

Liu Chen nodded in satisfaction and dispelled the Eye-blocking Technique. After a moment of thought, he used it to change his Purple Cloud Valley disciple robes into a plain Black Robe.

He found a Silver Mirror to confirm the illusion’s effectiveness, then dispelled the magic. All he needed to do now was master the Transformation Technique, and he’d have no problem posing as a Loose Cultivator.

At dinnertime, his two junior sisters arrived as expected. Seeing them, Liu Chen set aside his practice of the Transformation Technique and instead began to learn about Spiritual Cuisine from Junior Sister Linglong.

"We’re going to be making pastries?"

Liu Chen watched, a little puzzled, as Junior Sister Linglong took out a large pile of ingredients. This was his first time attempting to make pastries. The Spiritual Cuisine he’d made before could all be considered main courses, but this was his first foray into desserts.

"These are the ingredients for Poria Cake. It took us all afternoon to find and buy ones that contained Spiritual Qi."

Ye Linglong subtly glanced at the eagerly waiting Ji Suyao. It was Suyao’s craving that had led to this special request. Linglong herself wasn’t sure if their senior brother could create a Spiritual Cuisine version of Poria Cake, but they had to at least give it a try.

"Then let’s give it a shot."

Liu Chen had never actually tried Poria Cake before; the last treat he’d had at Junior Sister Linglong’s was a different kind of tea snack. Even if Junior Sister Suyao hadn’t been craving it, Liu Chen would have wanted to learn how to make pastries anyway. After all, gifting someone a main course was a bit strange.

But pastries were different. Even if he didn’t plan on revealing his skills as a Spirit Chef later, it would be nice to make them occasionally to satisfy his own cravings.

It took Ye Linglong a full hour to prepare the Poria Cake, and that didn’t even include the final cooling and setting time. Liu Chen, who had been full of confidence just moments ago, was starting to think that maybe he didn’t need to eat Poria Cake that badly after all.

However, since he had already started, Liu Chen wasn’t one to give up. By using magic for each step, he managed to get the Poria Cake to its final stage in just half an hour, with only the cooling process remaining.

’If I had the Clear Wind Technique, the cooling would probably go a little faster.’

Liu Chen commented idly as he watched the Poria Cake absorb Spiritual Qi. He had successfully created the Spiritual Cuisine version, but he felt the process could be shortened even more. If he wanted to enjoy Poria Cake more quickly in the future, he would have to prioritize learning the Clear Wind Technique.

"That was already very fast."

Ye Linglong said calmly. She had just stepped away for a moment to compose herself, worried she might lose her composure in front of her senior brother. When she returned, the Poria Cake was already finished, save for the final step.

For a mortal, such a thing would be impossible, but with the aid of magic, it was a different story entirely.

However, that didn’t make Ye Linglong feel it was simple. The magic her senior brother had just used was incredibly powerful. She felt that even if she cultivated for her entire life, she would never reach his level of skill.

"Senior Brother, for my share of the Spiritual Cuisine, could I have the Poria Cake?"

Ji Suyao popped a piece of Ye Linglong’s Poria Cake into her mouth and asked expectantly. Her grandfather’s influence had made her fond of Poria Cake as well. She thought that if she could give him a portion of this Spiritual Cuisine during the upcoming ceremony, he would be overjoyed.

"No problem."

Liu Chen nodded. He was planning to spend the next few days mastering this craft anyway, so making an extra portion of Poria Cake was no issue at all.

"Thank you, Senior Brother!"

Ji Suyao leaped to her feet. Beside her, Ye Linglong shook her head with a resigned sigh. ’She’s so easy to please.’

"Senior Brother, what did the Patriarch of the Ye Family say?"

While they waited for the Poria Cake to cool, Ye Linglong’s thoughts turned to the Spirit Contract she had felt break that afternoon. It signified that she no longer had any ties to the Ye Family. Following her parents’ wishes, they also planned to leave the family and move to the Purple Cloud Valley Marketplace to cultivate in peace.

"He wanted the Ye Family to sell my Spiritual Cuisine for me, but I turned him down."

Liu Chen recalled the Ye Family Patriarch and shook his head. The man had great ambitions, but Liu Chen had no intention of helping him. If a suitable opportunity ever presented itself, Liu Chen wouldn’t hesitate to take care of the Patriarch who actually expected him to act like a true Honored Guest Elder of the Ye Family.

’But I probably won’t get the chance,’ he thought. ’After we return to Purple Cloud Valley, it won’t be long before Master leaves, and I’ll be leaving too. It’s not worth making a special trip just to deal with a Patriarch I don’t like.’

"That..."

For a moment, Ye Linglong was at a loss for words. The Patriarch, the man she called Uncle, had actually tried to compete with Purple Cloud Valley for business. Even if her senior brother wanted to sell large quantities of Second Grade Spiritual Cuisine in the Great Xia Imperial City, any intermediary would have to be a member of Purple Cloud Valley.

This was an unspoken rule that all the families understood, which was why most of them were waiting. Only after a few days, when Purple Cloud Valley was no longer selling the Spiritual Cuisine, would the other families approach her senior brother to acquire some.

It was an unwritten rule. If word of what her senior brother had just said got out, her uncle would almost certainly be stripped of his position as Patriarch.