“They’re all force-grown, injected with growth accelerators and blood essence elixirs. They have the flesh and blood, but almost no spiritual power.”
“As for the dishes ordered, those are beasts fed nurturing beast pills to forcibly raise their cultivation—just the leftover scraps after the monster core is extracted.” Yu Qiuyu said.
“So that’s how it is. The high-tier farmed demonic beasts are raised for their cores, and after taking the cores, the leftover bones and meat are sold for cooking.” Ruo Xuan also joined the discussion.
“Exactly. The only difference is how many years they’ve been raised. Personally, even though I don’t usually order big meals, I still go to the small shops nearby to eat spirit chef cuisine costing twenty or thirty spirit stones. At least the ingredients are higher grade than what’s in the cafeteria.” Shangguan Yun said.
“I go to those small shops too, but not exclusively. I mix it up with the cafeteria sometimes.” Ruo Xuan said. Her family was fairly well-off too.
“I envy you two. But I heard that the small shops nowadays all use pre-made spirit cuisine. They make it in advance and seal it, then heat it up and serve it when you go.” Yu Qiuyu added.
“There’s nothing wrong with pre-made spirit cuisine. The age is clearly stated—a hundred years is a hundred years, a thousand years a thousand years.”
“It can’t compare to a chef cultivator cooking it fresh, but it’s more than enough for cultivation.” Shangguan Yun said calmly.
“I can’t really accept it. I don’t know the processing details, and who knows what kind of meat they mix in. Some demonic beast meat has toxins or impurities. Those immortal chef cultivators might not have handled them properly and mixed poison meat in, which could block your meridians.” Yu Qiuyu said.
“The Spiritual Moon Sect should have food safety controls, right? There’s no way they’d let disciples eat poison meat. Any pre-made spirit cuisine allowed into the sect must have passed hygiene inspections.” Ruo Xuan said quietly.
To that, Yu Qiuyu only replied, “Hard to say. If they really mix something in, we Qi Refining disciples wouldn’t notice. By the time we find a problem, it might be too late.”
“And I heard those spirit cuisine companies have come up with new tricks lately—synthesizing demonic beast meat and using additives to boost spiritual energy content. The sect can at most guarantee the cafeteria is trustworthy.”
“The cafeteria isn’t that trustworthy either. It’s all outsourced to spirit cuisine companies. Since there’s risk either way, I’d rather choose the small shop’s pre-made cuisine. At least the ingredient list is very clear.” Shangguan Yun stated her opinion.
Mu Yanxi, listening nearby, was stunned silent. She couldn’t join in this kind of conversation at all. She knew nothing about chef cultivators, farmed demonic beasts, or pre-made spirit cuisine. In her previous life, she didn’t even eat.
But she also realized this was a golden opportunity to understand the customs of this world. She had checked a lot of information on the Dao web before, but it was all too high-level and comprehensive, not grounded in everyday concerns that ordinary disciples cared about.
Only through this kind of casual chat between ordinary disciples could she learn the finer details. As they talked, Mu Yanxi had her immortal brain search in real time, and she quickly understood what pre-made spirit cuisine was.
In simple terms, spirit cuisine companies mass-purchase ingredients, have a large number of chef cultivators produce spirit cuisine on an assembly line according to fixed recipes, then seal it with magic arts and sell it to shops. Once unsealed, it’s ready to eat.
On the Dao web, Mu Yanxi could even see a huge amount of pre-made spirit cuisine for sale. There were all kinds, from Dao Yi sky water steamed rainbow carp to red candle fruitwood roasted phoenix bird—mouthwatering just to look at.
And they had clear prices. For just ten or twenty spirit stones, she could buy pre-made spirit cuisine made from nine-hundred-year-old demonic beasts or spiritual plants. A nine-thousand-year item was only a few hundred spirit stones. Even she could afford it.
But the controversy they were discussing, Mu Yanxi had also seen on the Dao web. Pre-made spirit cuisine was highly controversial.
For example, many spirit cuisine companies were exposed for passing off inferior products, using immortal additives to fake the age, improper handling of demonic beast meat, and production quality worse than chef cultivators cooking fresh.
She even saw other bigger controversies they hadn’t mentioned.
Just then, Yu Qiuyu suddenly asked, “Mu Yanxi, what’s wrong? You haven’t said a word. Are you feeling unwell? Could it be that it’s a fake pre-made spirit cuisine? It’s been all over the news lately, hasn’t it?”
“Ah? No, I was just thinking about the big meal we had yesterday…” Mu Yanxi quickly brought up the controversies she had seen on the Dao web.
“That incident? Passing off pre-made spirit cuisine as fresh cooking from a master chef, and charging big meal prices—that really is heartless.” Yu Qiuyu cursed.
“Don’t worry. I eat both grand meals and pre-made cuisine often. I can easily tell the difference. Last night’s meal was definitely freshly cooked spirit cuisine.”
“Besides, the Spiritual Moon Sect prides itself on high-quality service. How could it allow pre-made spirit cuisine into its own restaurant? Wouldn’t that be slapping its own face?” Shangguan Yun said with a smile.
Mu Yanxi didn’t immediately understand why high-quality service meant pre-made spirit cuisine couldn’t be allowed in, but she could tell they both thought it was wrong.
At least she managed to join the conversation a little by checking the Dao web and improvising.
For Mu Yanxi, either was fine to eat. Especially after the physical cultivation class, she really needed to supplement meat and blood energy.
She even felt she had ordered too little. The girls at the next table had piles of various bird legs and roasted meat stacked like a small mountain.
Physical cultivation required a lot of meat, and the cafeteria had cheap demonic beast meat that could be ordered freely. Maybe that was the advantage.
Anyway, the four girls ate quickly. After cleaning their plates, they finally sat down to talk about the band.
“What instruments do you play? Classmate Ruo Xuan, I can play piano and violin. I can handle keyboards or violin without issue.” Shangguan Yun asked first.
“I can play guitar. Though I haven’t fully entered the common dao yet, I’ll work hard. I can also play other instruments. Do you want me to demonstrate?” Ruo Xuan’s attitude was much more confident than yesterday.
Yesterday she had only said she had touched a guitar, not that she could play, but today she claimed she could play guitar and even demonstrate on the spot.
Did she also go through simulated learning or a sound dao illusion?
“I don’t think that’s necessary. I believe you.” Shangguan Yun nodded. “I can learn other instruments too. Getting started is easy.”
“No problem. Yanxi said her specialties are guzheng, yangqin, and flute. What level are you at?” Shangguan Yun asked.
“I’m okay, I guess. I finished the sound path foundation.” Mu Yanxi downplayed it a little. Actually, she had formally entered the sound dao in the illusion, but she hadn’t played yet.
“It seems we are indeed missing a key instrument. Classmate Qiuyu, what about you?” Shangguan Yun took charge like a team leader, decisive and efficient.
“Drums, right? Of course. I can handle that.” Yu Qiuyu said.