It was impossible for Xu Xiaoshou to shut up.

He lowered his voice as he watched Elder Sang cultivate the magic pills and explained the process to Mu Zixi.

As the “Mastery of Cooking” had been developed, wood, rice, oil, and salt appeared in his mind whenever he saw the magic pill tripod and the flame.

To explain the cultivation of the magic pills with the principle of cooking seemed to be justified.

Xu Xiaoshou was shocked to discover that many things could be swapped out for food as long as a flame was involved. It seemed that many things could be included in the “Mastery of Cooking.”

Xu Xiaozhu had somewhat of an epiphany when he remembered the illusionary realm he'd developed the skill in, and wondered if he could use heaven and earth as a furnace to cultivate everything with this pa.s.sive skill after it was fully developed.

“Look, cultivating the herb is exactly like cooking vegetable dishes,” he thought to himself.

“Treating other creatures the same way would be the same as cooking meat dishes.

“Things are, after all, just animals and plants if we think of heaven and earth from the perspective of 'Mastery of Cooking.'

“A fire, a pot, plus meat and vegetables means everything can be eaten.

“Hiss!”

Xu Xiaoshou was startled. He'd previously thought that Master of Cooking was only useful for controlling flames, but, after thinking it over, he wondered if such a technique was actually just as useful as Master of Swordsmans.h.i.+p.

“I've gone down one line of thought, which has limited my thinking,” he thought. “What if I could use it as a combat skill? It would probably have some kind of special effects.

“Moreover, the technique might be more effective when unexpected!

“However…

“Using Mastery of Cooking for combat sounds like a weird idea.”

Xu Xiaoshou felt troubled. In fact, he thought his current combat technique was a bit off. If he added this technique…

“Well, being off won't matter as long as the technique is effective in combat!” he thought. “I have to go back and carefully think it over!”

By this point, Elder Sang had almost finished the process of extracting the medicinal liquid and Xu Xiaoshou had several hundreds of Pa.s.sive Points in his mind.

Most of the points were from “suspected,” probably because of those “slightly spicy” and “very bitter” remarks.

A few “admired” points were most likely from the fact that his broad knowledge had impressed the two of them.

And he couldn't be selective and ignore the curses. Xu Xiaoshou told himself that his dictionary didn't have these pejorative words in it.

Mu Zixi didn't believe what Xu Xiaoshou said at first. She thought that this guy's descriptions were too odd. It sounded like he'd tasted all of them himself from him describing them as “sweet, sour, bitter and spicy.”

Yet, judging by the fact that Elder Sang didn't refute him, she wasn't so sure now.

In the end, the series of nonstop explanations offered by him seemed to have brainwashed her, as she felt what Xu Xiaoshou said made sense.

She wondered if he had been a disciple of Elder Sang for a long time and learned a lot of knowledge from him.

Wiping the saliva from the corners of her mouth, Mu Zixi pointed at the nearly congealed medicinal liquid in the large bathtub and asked, “What is this?”

“The collected essence!”

Xu Xiaoshou's confidence in his own words made Elder Sang feel dizzy, and he almost lost his temper. However, after so many explanations and descriptions from Xu Xiaoshou, even the old man felt a little numb, and, surprisingly enough, he didn't refute what he said.

Xu Xiaoshou drew a circle with his hand in the air. “Have you eaten the ham before? After putting the wine in the pot, stew it over a small fire until it looks dark red. The most important part is the juice. If you don't collect it, the stewed ham will be soulless.”

After a pause, he continued, “Cultivating the magic pills is the same.”

Mu Zixi kept on nodding her head, her twin ponytails swinging side to side, and she swallowed a few mouthfuls of saliva.

A large black ball cracked in the bathtub, and the magic pill finally took shape and rolled down from it.

Elder Sang packed up the magic pill, then tossed a jade scroll to Xu Xiaoshou, saying with a grim expression, “This is the method for condensing the magic pills. You go elsewhere to study it. I'll teach your junior sister to collect the liquid first.”

Xu Xiaoshou was startled. Was his master biased?

He had to study on his own while he taught his junior sister?

“I'm not going anywhere. I'll stay here for three days and nights to study hard!”

Elder Sang felt sick to his stomach. “You stayed here for three days and nights before, and I was afraid you'd blow up the Spiritual Library Division,” he thought. Now you want to stay here for three days and nights again? You're going to make me starve to death!”

“No, you can't stay here for one more minute,” he said. “Get the h*ll out of here!”

Xu Xiaoshou scowled. “The problem is that I have many enemies outside. I'll stay here for three days as long as I think the spirit site isn't safe!”

“If you can't solve these trivial issues, how can you accomplish anything great in the future?”

Elder Sang put up three of his fingers. “I'll give you three seconds!”

Xu Xiaoshou looked at Mu Zixi and saw the girl's gloating smile.

“Heh,” he thought. “I told this junior sister all those things for nothing!”

Xu Xiaoshou walked out without looking back.

Elder Sang looked at Mu Zixi. After giving her a meeting gift, he proficiently pulled out a ring.

“Hehe, you are quite familiar with the process. Your senior brother also explained quite a bit to you. Although he didn't get everything right, he did correctly describe the basic medicinal properties.”

He remembered that he hadn't taught Xu Xiaoshou that much, but the lad had nonetheless learned a lot. It was obvious he must've studied hard on his own.

“As expected, my teaching method is very effective!” he thought.

“You don't have an Innate Level Physique, so this old man will teach you the techniques of a regular magic pill cultivator rather than the method of cultivating pills from the Infernal Lineage. The detailed method is described in the jade scroll contained inside the ring.

“You'll practice the step of refining the medicinal liquid yourself. Your senior brother has done the same.”

“This step can only be done with practice. Work on it!”

Having said that, he disappeared, leaving the little girl alone.

“What's going on?” she thought.

“It was dandy earlier, but now I'm alone?

“There's something wrong with that master and disciple!:

At the Spiritual Affairs Division.

The old man wearing a conical hat landed in front of the office of the first affair and took away the array plate from Qiao Qianzhi's hand. Elder Qiao's heart skipped a beat.

“What for?” he asked.

“Giggle, giggle.”

Elder Sang covered his stomach with his hands while licking his lips. “Go! Let's go stew a ham!”

Xu Xiaoshou returned to his new spirit site in the inner courtyard.

Since Elder Sang wouldn't allow him to stay in the Spiritual Library Division, he'd had no choice but to come here. There was nothing else he could do but follow the old saying: the soldiers will stop the incoming generals and the dirt will stop the flowing water.

Judging by Zhang Xinxiong's two recent actions, Xu Xiaoshou thought that the possibility of Zhang striking personally very low, as many pairs of eyes would be watching when someone of his level made a move.

Yet, if the veteran thirty-three didn't come in person, the others of lower levels, no matter how many of them came, would be inconsequential.

Moreover…

Xu Xiaoshou thought of his neighbors. Though there were only two of them, they should be counted as among the strongest fighters in the inner courtyard!

It be on him if he was discovered when he went out wandering the streets. However, if someone dared to make trouble for him here, they would face serious consequences.

Well, provided that the two neighbors were at home.

“It shouldn't be a problem,” Xu Xiaoshou thought inwardly.

“What Elder Sang said makes sense,” he thought. “If I keep on hiding to avoid troubles, I won't achieve anything great in the future, as I'll encounter even more dangerous and more trying situations in comparison.”

Xu Xiaoshou took out the magic pill tripod, which still had bloodstains on it from the person he'd smashed.

“Well, I wonder if it will affect the taste of the pills.”

Having cleaned it meticulously, he walked out of the main house after some pondering to arrive at a large open s.p.a.ce in the courtyard.

There was a little bit of suns.h.i.+ne.

Xu Xiaoshou silently carried the magic pill tripod to the guest room.

A bed, a table, and a bench, and a large open s.p.a.ce were found in the room. This place was completely different from the small house in the outer courtyard.

Feeling pleased, he put everything in a corner and set down the magic pill tripod. Then, he nodded in satisfaction.

“Very good. From now on I'll cultivate the magic pills in the guest room!”