Chapter 117 - 78: Hardworking Xiaoyu (Forced)

Chapter 117: Chapter 78: Hardworking Xiaoyu (Forced)

Bamboo Forest Peak, inside Li Yinsheng’s Bamboo House.

With a tap of Li Yinsheng’s finger, the perfectly fried insect slowly floated out of the boiling oil wok, catching a thin sprinkle of fine salt. His heat control was incredibly precise. The large, fleshy insect’s originally snow-white and tender body had transformed into a paper-thin, crispy golden crust, yet it maintained the plump and full shape it had before entering the wok. As a rich aroma wafted over, Li Yinsheng nodded in deep satisfaction. Though he always felt his cooking skills were decent, he had absolutely outdone himself this time. The heat control was simply flawless; a fraction less and it wouldn’t be aromatic enough, a fraction more and it wouldn’t be tender enough.

Standing to the side, Mu Xiaoyu’s nose twitched. Staring blankly at the fried insect Li Yinsheng had placed on a piece of oil paper, she continuously slurped back her drool. Her face showed not a trace of fear toward the bug, only an overwhelming craving for food.

"Perfect!" Li Yinsheng clapped his hands. "Junior Sister, give it a taste!"

CHOMP!

Given the green light, Mu Xiaoyu grabbed the fried insect and took a massive bite. Suddenly, a deeply peaceful expression washed over her small face. She slowly set the insect back down on the oil paper, closed her eyes, and began to chew thoroughly and deliberately. She chewed that single bite for a very long time, swallowing only when Li Yinsheng started to wonder if he had over-fried the bug.

"Senior Brother," she said, looking earnestly at Li Yinsheng, "I feel my life is complete."

"Your life is way too easy to satisfy," Li Yinsheng quipped. "Is it really that exaggerated? You weren’t even like this when you ate the Crane Egg or that peach."

"That’s different!" Mu Xiaoyu replied without hesitation.

Li Yinsheng shrugged, unable to comprehend the mindset of a foodie.

"Eat the rest of it. The texture won’t be good if it gets cold," Li Yinsheng said, pointing at the remaining two or three bites of the fried insect.

"You should take a bite too, Senior Brother!" Mu Xiaoyu urged. "You’ll know why I said that the moment you taste it!"

A Sword Light manifested at Li Yinsheng’s fingertips. He sliced off a small piece of the fried insect and popped it into his mouth with some skepticism.

He thought to himself, "Could it really be that exaggerated... Holy crap!"

An indescribable, rich aroma and mellow savoriness melted in his mouth.

"My culinary skills are truly unparalleled in this world!" Li Yinsheng thought to himself, sighing with emotion. Of course, the ingredient itself also deserved much of the credit.

While urging Mu Xiaoyu to finish the rest of the fried insect, Li Yinsheng pondered whether he should try to find some more Spiritual Insects to fry. Although it was impossible to match this large, fleshy bug that could increase one’s Cultivation by twenty or thirty years, they should at least taste somewhat similar, right? Unfortunately, there didn’t seem to be any Daoist Temple under the Zhengyang Dharma Vein that bred bugs. Perhaps once his Cultivation was higher in the future, he could take a trip to the Thousand Insects Valley. It shouldn’t be hard to find delicious insects there, right?

Speaking of which, he hadn’t carefully inventoried Chongyun’s Qiankun Bag yet. There might just be something edible inside.

"I’ll take a look later!" Li Yinsheng thought to himself, immediately making a plan.

A moment later, Mu Xiaoyu reluctantly swallowed the last bite of the fried insect.

BURP...

She let out a subconscious burp, and then she felt something was off. It seemed like something had "condensed" all over her body, making her feel exceptionally "full." The sensation was bizarre. She could sense it wasn’t harmful to her, nor did it affect her movements or the circulation of her Magical Power, but it was just very uncomfortable, as if her entire body was about to be stretched out.

"Senior Brother, I don’t feel right. Is this bug poisonous?" Mu Xiaoyu asked with some concern.

"Oh? What feels wrong, Junior Sister?" Li Yinsheng asked.

Mu Xiaoyu described her feelings to Li Yinsheng, who nodded in a completely unsurprised manner. This was simply because the excessively pure and dense energy within the fried insect couldn’t be refined all at once. As a nourishing item prepared by a True Cultivator for himself, how could a junior sister with only about ten years of Cultivation easily enjoy it? When she ate the Crane Egg, her Qingxuan Scripture had instantly broken through from the First Layer to the second. After eating the peach, the Qingxuan Scripture advanced again to the Third Layer. But after finishing this fried insect, her Cultivation remained practically unchanged. Right now, all the energy from the bug had solidified inside her body, failing to convert into Cultivation. Only as she slowly engaged in Refinement would it gradually become her own.

Fortunately, she had already gone through Washing Marrow and Cleansing Veins, and her meridians had been consolidated and expanded during the Third Layer of the Qingxuan Scripture, allowing her to contain this energy and move freely. Any other Cultivator with a similar level of Cultivation would have their normal Magical Power circulation severely impeded.

"Don’t worry, Junior Sister. It’s just because the energy within the bug is difficult to refine," Li Yinsheng comforted her with a smile. "Once you undergo Refinement for all of the energy, you won’t feel this way anymore."

Mu Xiaoyu breathed a sigh of relief. "Then how long will the Refinement take?"

"Given your current Cultivation, Junior Sister, if you train tirelessly every day, it will take at least five or six years," Li Yinsheng said, rubbing his chin.

"Oh..." Mu Xiaoyu nodded, unhurried. Five or six years wasn’t considered long. Besides, she wasn’t feeling unwell. It was just a bit strange to constantly feel an unresponsive lump of energy within her body. But once she got used to it, she should be fine, right?

"Oh, I almost forgot. Before you finish the Refinement of this energy, you might also be slightly affected..." Li Yinsheng said.

Mu Xiaoyu immediately tensed up.

"But they’re just minor side effects..." Li Yinsheng continued.

Mu Xiaoyu relaxed.

"For instance, if this energy remains unrefined for too long and gradually dissipates into your body, it might turn you into a two-to-three-hundred-pound fat girl," Li Yinsheng drawled, delivering the second half of his sentence.

Mu Xiaoyu looked as if she had been struck by lightning. No wonder she felt this full sensation, like she was about to be stretched out! Her mind subconsciously conjured an image of herself weighing three hundred pounds, round as a ball...

"Noooooo!" Mu Xiaoyu shrieked, clutching her head. "Senior Brother! Save me, Senior Brother!" She lunged forward, hugging Li Yinsheng’s thigh as she cried and pleaded, "Senior Brother, I can’t become like that! I absolutely can’t... I wouldn’t even be able to face my parents in the future, boohoo..."

"Fear not, Junior Sister," Li Yinsheng comforted. "This varies from person to person. It doesn’t happen to everyone. Those with good luck remain perfectly fine."

"But Senior Brother, my luck has always been terrible!" Mu Xiaoyu wailed.

"Then once you’ve finished the Refinement of all the energy in your body, you’ll be fine," Li Yinsheng continued to soothe her.

"Five or six years is too long! Way too long!" Mu Xiaoyu cried out again.

"Hmm..." Li Yinsheng thought hard for a moment, then said, "If you’re truly that worried, Junior Sister, I do have a method to help you accelerate the Refinement."

"Senior Brother! I knew you’d have a way!" Mu Xiaoyu instantly turned from sorrow to joy.

"However, while this method can accelerate the Refinement, it is extremely arduous," Li Yinsheng warned. "Since normal cultivation can refine this energy anyway, why subject yourself to unnecessary suffering?"

"Senior Brother, I’m not afraid!" Mu Xiaoyu wore a look of utter resolve, speaking as if every word were cast in iron.

"Good ambition!" Li Yinsheng patted Mu Xiaoyu’s shoulder in satisfaction.

He then tapped his chest, extracting a dense orb of C Fire Qi. This was the method he had thought of to help his junior sister accelerate the Refinement. Although the Blood Refining Core was originally meant to temper Qi Blood, Li Yinsheng had used it for so many years that he understood it to perfection. Developing a new way to use it was effortless. As long as she used her Magical Power to channel the stubborn energy through her heart meridians, she could use the Blood Refining Core to assist in the Refinement. He had even specially designed a simple circulation route for his junior sister to transport the energy and speed up the Refinement, maximizing efficiency.

Though this wasn’t tempering Qi Blood, her Magical Power would still flow through the C Fire Qi, and the energy refined by the C Fire Qi would also transform into Cultivation...

When put into practice, the physical sensation shouldn’t be much different from normal Qi Blood tempering. Truth be told, while the Blood Refining Core definitely wasn’t as painful as the initial few times the Qingxuan Divine Light performed Washing Marrow and Cleansing Veins, she would have to use the Blood Refining Core continuously in her future cultivation. But correspondingly, by using the Blood Refining Core to assist in the Refinement of such pure energy, her foundation would become much more solid than a steady Cultivator’s, and the quality of her Magical Power would vastly improve.

"This object is the Blood Refining Core I previously used to aid my cultivation. Although it was originally only used for tempering Qi Blood, as long as it’s applied correctly, it can also help you with the Refinement of this bug’s energy.

"As long as you follow my method, Junior Sister, and transport that energy to the Blood Refining Core for assisted Refinement, it will take at most seven or eight months to fully convert it all into Cultivation."

Li Yinsheng reminded her, "It’s just that when using this item, it feels like your body is being burned by a raging fire. It is exceedingly agonizing. You must think this through."

There was no fear in Mu Xiaoyu’s eyes, only resolve. "Senior Brother, I cannot turn into that kind of shape. I’d rather die!"

Moved by her determination, Li Yinsheng pushed the Blood Refining Core into her chest. As the C Fire Qi sank into her body, Mu Xiaoyu only felt a warm sensation in her heart since it hadn’t been activated yet. She looked up at the copper mirror on the nearby table. The girl in the mirror was perfectly proportioned. While not a peerless beauty capable of bringing down kingdoms, she was still pretty, delicate, and slimly graceful.

"I absolutely will not let you turn into a giant fat pig!" Mu Xiaoyu swore silently, looking at her reflection in the mirror.

Looking at Mu Xiaoyu’s unwavering eyes, Li Yinsheng couldn’t help but ask, "Junior Sister, do you regret eating that bug now?"

Mu Xiaoyu blanked for a moment upon hearing the question. Several complex emotions flashed across her face, but they ultimately settled into an expression of profound, almost religious devotion—like a seeker who had just heard the Dao and could now die without regrets. She looked up at Li Yinsheng.

"No, Senior Brother, I do not regret it."

Awed by this devotion, Li Yinsheng couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. In that split second, he actually had the illusion of seeing a true Dao Heart within his junior sister. If she applied this level of devotion to the sword, perhaps she could become a world-renowned Sword Cultivator even without a Root Device?

Caught up in his awe, Li Yinsheng accidentally forgot to tell his junior sister one important detail. While it was true that there were cases of people expanding in size due to consuming treasures they couldn’t refine, it was incredibly rare. It was so rare that out of the countless anecdotal records of Xuanzhen Temple, there was only a single documented case.

And considering that the temple’s predecessors would often record hearsay and rumors when compiling these anecdotes... the authenticity of this sole example was highly questionable.