“Senior Brother Gu, what are you doing here?”
Li Xunmiao had come over at some point, holding two chicken drumsticks in her hand, and casually handed one to Gu Ze.
Bai Yazhi’s figure had already vanished into the sea of clouds; Li Xunmiao didn’t notice at all.
The freshly roasted chicken drumstick sizzled with oil, exuding the lingering fragrance of fruitwood charcoal, incredibly plump and juicy, making one’s mouth water just by smelling it.
“Nothing much, just watched a little play.”
That was all.
Li Xunmiao blinked her suspicious eyes, looking around, but there wasn’t a single theater troupe in sight.
She didn’t ask further, her gaze returning to the chicken drumstick in her hand.
“Senior Brother, you were right before. When I was a mortal, I never got to eat my fill. If I started fasting as soon as I began cultivating, that’d be just too pitiful for myself… From now on, I’ll eat ten… no, a hundred chicken drumsticks every day!”
After speaking, she began wolfing down her food.
Watching the oily corners of Li Xunmiao’s mouth, Gu Ze couldn’t help but smile.
Whenever Li Xunmiao ate, her eyes sparkled and her lips curved upward slightly—she looked so content.
Such a pure appearance made it hard for Gu Ze to believe that the girl gnawing on a drumstick before him would someday become the cold, peerless Sword Immortal described in the book.
Whether it was the “Yellow Springs Heart Sutra” or the Zangtian Sword, both pointed to a ruthless path of cultivation.
With his influence, perhaps she might walk a different road?
“Senior Brother, what are you thinking about? Why aren’t you eating?”
“Hmm… just pondering which came first, the chicken or the egg.” Gu Ze made up an excuse offhandedly.
He’d said he’d bring Li Xunmiao for a big meal, yet the drumstick in his hand was actually bought by Li Xunmiao herself.
As a personal disciple, Li Xunmiao had just entered the sect and already received a hefty sum of spirit stones.
Her storage pouch at her waist was bulging; Gu Ze even worried that she’d attract the attention of thieves.
Come to think of it, it was a bit ridiculous—he’d nearly spent all his spirit stones to bribe the Manager Senior Brother of Biluo Peak just to get the job of welcoming new disciples.
The savings he had left were actually less than Li Xunmiao’s.
No, this can’t go on! If things keep up like this, he really would become a kept man. Today, even if he had to break the bank, he had to preserve his dignity as a senior brother.
With that, Gu Ze led Li Xunmiao through the sea of clouds, and soon, after crossing several layers of clouds, a three-story Cloud Sea Restaurant appeared, floating above the mist.
Colored lanterns hung high, treasured lights shimmered; at the entrance, two Fairy Attendants were inviting customers.
Li Xunmiao followed closely behind Gu Ze. As the number of passing cultivators increased, her gaze turned wary, keeping a close eye on strangers.
It wasn’t until she and Gu Ze were seated in a soundproof private room that she finally relaxed a little.
“Junior Sister, to celebrate your first step into Qi Refining and officially embarking on the Immortal Path, you can order anything you like.”
The exquisite menu even displayed the dishes’ appearances directly before their eyes. Li Xunmiao scanned through, her brows furrowing and relaxing in turn.
***
After a while, her tiny hand pointed, “Don’t want these vegetarian ones. The rest… I want to try them all, is that okay, Senior Brother?”
Those innocent eyes were impossible to refuse.
Gu Ze’s mouth twitched.
“Are you sure you can finish all that?”
“Mm…” Li Xunmiao’s little face reddened as she lowered her head to stare at her feet, no longer speaking.
Gu Ze asked the Receptionist Girl to serve the dishes, and soon, the table was covered—piled two layers high.
Li Xunmiao’s eyes lit up, and she began this feast like a ravenous storm.
Gu Ze pinched his chin, wondering if Li Xunmiao was bound to some kind of Super Glutton System.
All this food could fill him to bursting three or five times over.
Wait, in the book, there was mention of Li Xunmiao’s special constitution. Anything she ate would be refined instantly, and she was immune to all poisons.
Gu Ze’s gaze fell to the table and he suddenly noticed that for every dish Li Xunmiao touched, she only took the half on her side.
She’d left the other half for Gu Ze.
Mm, even that half was enough to stuff him twice over.
“Junior Sister, you don’t need to leave some for me. Today is your celebration. Watching you eat is plenty for me.” Gu Ze pushed over a few plates she couldn’t reach.
“All right, it’d be disrespectful to waste food, so I’ll finish it all.”
Li Xunmiao gobbled down her food, while Gu Ze silently calculated the cost.
Ten spirit stones, thirty spirit stones… two hundred seventy spirit stones…
How many spirit stones would Junior Sister devour in a single meal? He really had raised a Little Swallow Gold Beast.
Still, to cultivate a future Phoenix Overlord, a little sacrifice was worth it.
Before long, Li Xunmiao finished her “battle,” patted her still-flat belly, her face brimming with happiness and still a bit unsatisfied.
“Senior Brother, let’s come again next time.”
Looks like Senior Brother Gu will need to do more sect tasks to save up spirit stones. Gu Ze felt a tinge of bitterness.
Just as he was wallowing, he suddenly sensed that Li Xunmiao’s cultivation had risen sharply.
Though he found it hard to believe, he immediately opened his panel, his gaze falling on Li Xunmiao’s cultivation level.
[Cultivation: Qi Refining, Second Layer]
So Phoenix Overlord’s constitution was one where she could increase her cultivation just by eating?
The Immortal Delicacies here were mostly made from spirit beasts and spirit plants, each imbued with spiritual energy. If consumed in enough quantity, it was possible to achieve a qualitative transformation.
Clearly, Li Xunmiao had undergone that transformation.
Even if someone else could eat as much as she did, they wouldn’t be able to refine it all at once.
Now, Gu Ze no longer felt any pain about the cost—feeding Junior Sister was truly worth it!
To go from entering Qi Refining to the second layer in a single day would make countless so-called geniuses green with envy!
“Senior Brother, I think I broke through?” Li Xunmiao also sensed the change in spiritual energy within her, hardly able to believe it.
“Mm, as expected, with Junior Sister’s talent, you’ll soon surpass me. If you tell the Peak Master when you get back, she’ll surely be surprised.”
“Surpass… Senior Brother Gu?” A complicated look flashed through Li Xunmiao’s eyes, but it was gone in a heartbeat—Gu Ze didn’t notice.
She knew, if the gap between cultivators became too large, even those who were once close friends—or even beloved—would eventually go separate ways, their paths no longer aligned.
At the very least, she didn’t want Gu Ze to leave just because of their difference in cultivation.
So annoying. Could anyone else feel troubled because they advanced too quickly?
However, Li Xunmiao showed no sign of being downcast. After sitting a little longer, she left the restaurant with Gu Ze.
Before Gu Ze could settle the bill at the counter, an older male voice called out from behind.
“This junior brother! What a coincidence, running into you here again.”
A figure appeared behind them. Gu Ze turned—it was the middle-aged cultivator who’d almost been scammed by Bai Yazhi earlier.
Li Xunmiao instinctively clenched her fists as the stranger approached, quietly edging half a step behind Gu Ze.
“I am Gu Ze of Biluo Peak. Senior Brother, what can I do for you?” Gu Ze cupped his hands in greeting.
“Junior Brother Gu Ze, I am Lin Tianya of Songhuo Peak. I truly owe you today. If not for your reminder, I never would have noticed the problem with those three Artifacts.”
“Just now, I went to get a Zhujijing Senior Brother to appraise them. They found that the three Artifacts I forged contained Meteoric Iron!”
“Completely refining Meteoric Iron requires extremely high heat, and when I made them, I couldn’t fully bring out the Meteoric Iron’s properties.”
“That’s why those three Artifacts only appeared to be of lower grade. With another round of forging, they’ll be transformed into mid-grade Artifacts!”
He grew more excited as he spoke.
After decades on the path to immortality, to finally make a breakthrough in forging—his life had not been wasted.
“For Senior Brother Lin to refine Meteoric Iron, your skills must be superb. I’m sure you’ll soon be forging mid-grade Artifacts with ease.” Gu Ze praised, inwardly surprised.
Although Bai Yazhi’s interest in those Artifacts made it clear they were likely mid-grade, for a cultivator at the fifth layer of Qi Refining to forge them was no easy feat.
Usually, cultivators don’t attempt mid-grade Artifacts until at least the seventh layer of Qi Refining.
Meteoric Iron is a rare material—enough to make even high-grade Artifacts. Lin Tianya knew most of his success was thanks to the materials.
A bit embarrassed by the praise, he scratched his head and changed the subject. “Junior Brother Gu… did you also bring a new Junior Sister to the market?”
After glancing at Li Xunmiao by Gu Ze’s side, Lin Tianya sensed her unusual status.
Her plain robes, while simple, bore embroidered patterns signifying a personal disciple.
“That’s right, we’re just strolling about, stopping here for lunch.”
“May I ask Junior Sister’s name?” Lin Tianya’s gaze landed on Li Xunmiao.
“Li Xunmiao.” She poked her head out to reply.
“Junior Brother Gu, Junior Sister Li, meeting you both is my good fortune today. Let me cover this meal—as a token of friendship. If you ever visit Songhuo Peak, I’ll host you personally.”
It was clear Lin Tianya was genuinely delighted.
Gu Ze hurriedly declined.
The man didn’t know about Li Xunmiao’s bottomless appetite—he’d be stunned by the bill.
“No, no, Senior Brother, you’re too generous.”
“I insist, this meal is on me.”
“No need, no need…”
“Enough, you two get going. I’m the Senior Brother here—won’t you give me this bit of face?”
***
In the end, Gu Ze, feeling deeply guilty, dragged Li Xunmiao away.
Lin Senior Brother, I’ll mourn your wallet for a moment.
“By the way, how much was the bill for those two?” Lin Tianya asked. He’d sold quite a few Artifacts today and still had a full 1,100 spirit stones in his storage pouch.
Cloud Sea Restaurant’s Immortal Delicacies were famous for their quality and fair price. Five or six cultivators feasting together would only cost two or three hundred spirit stones at most.
Besides, it was just Gu Ze and the seemingly small-appetite Li Xunmiao.
“One thousand one hundred and eight—let’s call it an even 1,100 spirit stones.”
Gu Ze! Are you the reincarnation of a legendary glutton?!
For the first time in his life, honest Lin Tianya felt that being too upright wasn’t always a good thing.
The immortal boat glided gently as the two rode the evening breeze back toward Biluo Peak.
That brief encounter with Lin Tianya made Gu Ze take notice of Songhuo Peak.
In the book, after cultivating the “Yellow Springs Heart Sutra” and revealing her unmatched talent, no one dared to take Li Xunmiao as a disciple.
Afterwards, she wandered the Cloud Sea Immortal Pavilion’s twenty-four peaks, encountering countless opportunities and perils.
In the end, at the Not Zhou Main Peak, she was personally instructed by Sect Master Gong Lixing, and before turning twenty, broke through to the Golden Core stage.
Songhuo Peak held a fateful opportunity that Li Xunmiao could seize even during her Qi Refining stage.
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