15 Granting An Opportunity - One (1/2)

Ming Ren laughed and extended his hand to Little Fu and the rest, ”Please, I can't finish it all by myself anyway!”

”Then, we will accept your kindness!” The Elder and the others joined Ming Ren. Little Fu was already stuffing himself with the stew.

The flavor of the bloody stew was something they never tasted before. Not too strong, not too mild, just right. They could feel spirit energy revitalizing and nourishing their bodies and soul.

Ordinarily, this would be impossible with just the spices Ming Ren received. When he collected those herbs before, many were used in pill recipes, but also used in the culinary arts. Some, despite being common, had special hidden effects to the body of a cultivator.

Among them, there was an extremely common and ordinary herb called [Worker's Grass]. Its seed was widely used by common people for porridge, hence the name.

While a Spirit Beast's flesh, blood, and core had their values accepted to cultivators because of its direct and immediate effect, and herbs recognized by the Way of Pills and their usefulness, Culinary Arts were not widely accepted as beneficial and regarded as secondary to cultivators.

This stemmed from the fact that certain mixtures and reagents can decrease the effects and purity of the raw material. Besides, as cultivators grew older and reached new heights, things like eating became less and less important and more of a habit than a physiological need.

But Ming Ren had time inside the scripture and knew how powerful the Culinary Arts could be. Some powerful Spirit Beast materials needed to be made into pills before ingested, but cooking could also do the job. The worker's grass had only a small effect on common people, but to cultivator's, when combined to Spirit Beasts blood and flesh, it had the remarkable ability to help clear the body of impurities and hasten the opening of the meridians.

Besides the [Worker's Grass], Ming Ren also used [Starflower], another common herb without much value. However, it had a great effect on a cultivator of the peak of the Body Tempering Realm.

Starflower was often used in the upper realms as a cheap and effective way to create a Body Tempering Realm breakthrough pill, but in the lower realms, it was an unknown herb.

Ming Ren didn't have a pill cauldron nor was able to use Spirit Energy, so he could only use it in cooking. Although somewhat of a reduced effect, it would still bring great benefits to anyone that ate it.

Breaking through from the Body Tempering Realm to the Spirit Sea Realm consisted of two requirements: one, to form a complete Spirit Sea and be able to emit Spirit Energy outside the body; two, to sense True Elements and Rare Energies. While one was able to break through even without sensing any True Elements or Rare energies, he could only be considered a common talent.

However, the biggest reason a cultivator could not progress to the next step was being unable to form a complete Spirit Sea. This was extremely common with low-grade cultivation laws and low perception cultivators. The Starflower herb helped solidify the Spirit Sea to those unable to do so and, in extreme cases, to form a pseudo-Spirit Sea, allowing him to forcefully reach the next realm.

Before, with a single glance, Ming Ren knew the Elder was stuck in the peak of the ninth layer and unable to break through for a long time, at least 20 years. Next time he tried to do so, it would be much easier. Little Fu and the rest also benefitted greatly from this.

”Young man, this is truly marvelous!” The elder praised.

”Brother, we're from the Forest Clan in Redwater Town, why don't you join our clan?” Little Fu asked.

Elder, Lin Shu, Others: ”...”

The Forest Clan was only a sixth-ranked influence in a small town. If someone was talented, why would they join their clan and not one of the bigger ones? Even if cooking wasn't considered important to cultivators, those at the Body Tempering Realm only lived around 80 years, while those at the Spirit Sea Realm 150 years. It was not enough time for them to forego the pleasures of eating.

”Brother, you have to come… My father is the Patriarch, if I can eat this food every day I will never complain about training!” Little Fu blinked his eyes and tilted his head trying to be cute.

Elder, Lin Shu, Ming Ren, others: '...You're not even trying to hide your true intentions!!!'

”Brother, the world is vast, full of mysteries and things to see. I plan to roam, I do not wish to settle down just yet,” Ming Ren refused politely.

Little Fu was about to insist when the other young man with the greatsword went ahead first.

”Brother, my name is Lin Yin, your sword skill before was truly marvelous!” Although Ming Ren held back it was still a superb sword art.

Lin Shu, green haired girl and Elder all nodded. Ming Ren smiled and thanked them for the praise.

”Brother, whether to compare notes with me on the Way of the Sword?” This Lin Yi was a Way of the Sword fanatic. Unlike Little Fu, he was extremely dedicated. Too bad his cultivation was lacking, at eighteen years old he only reached the 7th layer of the Body Tempering Realm.

Ming Ren nodded, ”As long as Elder isn't opposed to it. Oh, right, Elder, that jade from before was…?” He glanced both at the Elder and green haired girl.

”Oh, I'm a Beast Summoner, Little Red is my pet summon!” The green haired girl added happily.

”I've never heard of Beast Summoners using Jade to summon spirit beasts,” Ming Ren questioned.

”Indeed, that jade is a little special, but only a low-grade treasure. Our clan got it by chance while exploring the Thousand Gates Secret Realm,” the elder added. By this point, they pretty much already trusted Ming Ren. He befriended them all by their stomachs.

Thousand Gates Secret Realm!