“You can rest assured, it’s not just us taking things. The teachers take them too. If we don’t take, how can the teachers feel comfortable taking? If the teachers don’t take, how can their cultivation level improve?”
As she spoke, the senior sister went to open a third black jade clam, once again skillfully opening the clam to retrieve the pearl.
Because they had obtained too many black jade pearls, she not only shared them with the other senior sisters from the Housekeeping Department but also gave one to each of the first-year disciples who had helped.
This time, Mu Yanxi accepted it without any hesitation or inner conflict. She took the black jade pearl and put it into her Terminal Ring.
She had also come to understand that the teachers indeed took things as well. For instance, the feathers they had plucked earlier—the teacher had specifically said they could be exchanged for money, likely intending to pack them up and take them away.
And that teacher, as the warehouse manager, could certainly take more than just feathers.
After everyone’s busy work, the kitchen finally got on track.
Various demon bird meats were skewered and sent into the roasting oven. Tall steamers emitted white steam. Young maiden immortal chefs stood before woks, stir-frying various ingredients, showcasing their fire control and culinary skills.
In the seafood section, the senior sister had already placed the stuffed black jade clams on the grill. Also placed on the grill were demon face crabs, filled with crab roe, as large as a human face.
The preliminary preparations were complete. During the cooking process, the first-year disciples finally had a chance to rest.
When Mu Yanxi sat down, the voice of her immortal brain sounded in her mind:
“Would you like to simulate learning the culinary skills of the targets present?”
“Even this can be learned? But if I remember correctly, simulated learning can only learn skills, not realms or cultivation levels. I have no foundation in the Culinary Dao.
In such a case, don’t you usually recommend that I start with immersive learning from the basics of the Culinary Dao?” Mu Yanxi asked.
“If it’s about seeking the Dao, that is true. But the master does not intend to become a culinary cultivator. That being the case, simply simulating learning culinary skills as a technique, as a practical daily skill, is acceptable,” the immortal brain said.
“Makes sense.”
Mu Yanxi agreed with the immortal brain’s reasoning. The senior sisters’ crisp and proficient culinary skills were enviable. If she had these skills, she could later procure ingredients and cook for herself, maybe even help her parents.
“Then let’s begin simulated learning.”
In an instant, many figures of young maidens wearing chef uniforms appeared in Mu Yanxi’s mind. Some were chopping vegetables, some were stir-frying, some were drizzling sauce.
Mu Yanxi’s memory repeatedly experienced their cooking processes, and soon she fully mastered their skills. Knife techniques, tossing the wok, flipping the pan—countless culinary arts flooded into her mind.
When the simulated learning ended, Mu Yanxi revealed a bitter smile.
She could somewhat understand Senior Sister Yu Mowen’s feelings now.
After simulated learning, she indeed knew how to make these dishes, but only these dishes.
She had not learned the basics of the Culinary Dao, nor did she understand any principles of cooking.
For example, which combinations enhance freshness, which ingredients remove fishy odors, which ingredients can be paired together, and which absolutely cannot be combined—she knew nothing about all of this.
To be serious, the Culinary Dao is a cultivation path as complex as the Dao of Alchemy.
It involves extensive selection and handling of ingredients, pairing of main and secondary ingredients, choice of condiments, different cooking methods, and even how to arrange a whole meal’s menu and the order of serving dishes.
Moreover, the entire process of these dishes is interconnected and complementary. All these arrangements and details, from ingredient handling to cooking process to plating, together constitute the Culinary Dao. Missing even one step means it cannot be considered Dao.
But Mu Yanxi did not understand any of this.
She could only mechanically replicate the fixed dishes—exactly the same dishes the senior sisters were making. Mu Yanxi could perfectly recreate their operations but didn’t know why they did so.
For example, for steamed dragon trout, Mu Yanxi could now make a dish of steamed dragon trout, but she didn’t know why it needed to be marinated with ginger, green onion, salt, and wine before steaming, why the bones had to be removed and the fish cut open for presentation, nor why the water had to be discarded after steaming and a separate sauce prepared.
She could also make a heart and liver hangover soup, but didn’t know why cold water had to be poured first, and then the heart and liver had to be taken out alive and sliced.
In short, she could do it, knew how to do it, and was capable of doing it, but didn’t know why it was done that way.
In this situation, Mu Yanxi could only mechanically replicate the banquet dishes currently in the hall using the same methods. She couldn’t make any other dishes. Even if the main ingredient changed or if some condiments were missing, she wouldn’t know how to adapt. She was still far from truly knowing how to cook.
This situation was quite similar to Yu Mowen’s.
However, aside from being torn from her original common dao world and the resulting unfamiliarity, Yu Mowen also had a severe mental barrier that made her refuse to accept new sensations of the Music Dao. Her condition was more serious.
Mu Yanxi, on the other hand, was different.
Although she knew nothing of the Culinary Dao now, she could still learn and integrate the knowledge in her mind. Even if she didn’t study the Culinary Dao, she could experiment with the cooking techniques she already knew and learn simple cooking.
It was a considerable gain—this was Mu Yanxi’s evaluation of the simulated learning results.
When she came out of the immortal brain’s simulated learning and returned to reality, the first batch of dishes was already taken out and plated.
The senior sisters arranged the finished dishes on plates, presenting them in beautiful shapes, almost like works of art. Then they cast a spell to keep the dishes in their just-cooked state.
According to the immortal brain’s analysis, this preservation technique was a basic spell that all immortal chefs knew. Although not within the scope of the Culinary Dao, it was a must for immortal chefs.
After plating, the senior sisters began instructing the first-year disciples:
“Hurry up and take the ingredients out. Place them on every table and every seat. Don’t miss any table, and don’t put them in the wrong positions. Each dish must be placed according to the arrangement. Most importantly, absolutely do not eat any of the dishes meant for the guests!”
Any change could disrupt the integrity of the meal.
Before plating, it was fine to eat a little; after plating, the immortal chefs knew clearly when it was acceptable to take something and when it absolutely wasn’t.
Mu Yanxi also took a tray and delivered the cooked dishes to the seats one by one.
She felt a very novel sensation.
In her previous life, she had sat at the seats and been served. Now she had to try serving other cultivators.
If it was just serving tea and dishes, Mu Yanxi thought it was fine. But if she had to lean into the arms of male cultivators like some maidservants in her previous life, pour wine for them, feed them, and be groped randomly, she absolutely could not accept that.
However, that job wouldn’t fall to her anyway.
Because Mu Yanxi saw a group of senior sisters from the service department gathering by the venue, and a teacher was arranging their service work assignments.
In addition, Mu Yanxi also saw senior sisters clad in dancer outfits and carrying musical instruments entering the venue.