Chapter 359: Leftovers and Scraps, Grafting a Spiritual Body

Inside Zhang Long's home.

It had been no more than ten minutes.

An elderly master with graying hair, a spirited demeanor, and a very reliable appearance arrived with two nimble-handed middle-aged assistants, carrying cases, and knocked on the door of Zhang Long's home.

After a brief self-introduction, this gray-haired master looked at the ingredients on the table with glowing eyes, revealing a radiance as if he were seeing peerless treasures.

He hurriedly began tapping and feeling the lamb chops and chicken legs.

And he kept exclaiming:

"Good stuff, this is all such good stuff!"

"May I... begin working now?"

Zhang Long noticed the other party looking at him with eager eyes and couldn't help but nod.

Afterward, he watched the three of them carry the ingredients into the kitchen.

The relative who had made the phone call had introduced him earlier.

That gray-haired master who looked so reliable.

Was one of the most senior Grandmasters in a certain culinary school.

Now retired, he had also been hired as a special head chef by the most famous hotel in the area.

It was said that one had to queue and make a reservation to eat the chef's special menu.

Zhang Long didn't understand these things; he just felt that as long as everyone was happy, it was fine.

However, among the trio processing the ingredients, the two responsible for assisting soon sensed something wrong.

"These aren't top-grade ingredients!"

One male assistant couldn't help but speak up.

His voice wasn't loud.

But Zhang Long's home wasn't large either.

This made it so that everyone in the living room heard it clearly.

Some were a little disappointed, while others breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that although those ingredients didn't look bad, they were only mid-grade ingredients.

For ingredients of this quality, some of the wealthier families among them could still afford to eat a meal of it once a year if they gritted their teeth.

The gap between them and the family of Zhang Long's parents... was far less than they had initially imagined.

However.

The words that followed from the kitchen made them all widen their eyes in succession:

"You only just realized they aren't top-grade?"

"Let me tell you, these are special-supply ingredients that only transcendents can enjoy!"

"I heard from experts that the beasts these ingredients come from might have already become Demon Beasts."

"This here is legendary Demon Beast meat!"

"A special-supply item that surpasses top-grade!"

In the living room, a long silence fell.

Even Zhang Long's parents were shocked by the things in these words, staring wide-eyed at Zhang Long.

Zhang Long looked at the gazes of his relatives and friends and knew he couldn't hide it anymore.

He spread his hands and laid his cards on the table:

"Mom, Dad, I don't know what kind of special-supply items these are either."

"They were all prepared for me by my Senior Brother, and I haven't eaten them either."

Speaking of this, Zhang Long paused for a moment.

The uncle who had made the phone call earlier recovered from his wooden state and asked nervously:

"You have a Senior Brother? Did you join an Immortal Sect?"

"Oh my god, what is your Senior Brother's name?"

He couldn't wait to ask.

And he soon heard an answer from Zhang Long's mouth that made him extremely excited:

"I am currently an Outer Sect Disciple of the Cloud Coming Immortal Sect."

"My Senior Brother... is Zhou Xuan, the one who was on television before."

"Hoo!"

In this instant, everyone in the living room breathed more heavily.

The gazes they cast toward Zhang Long became even more fervent.

Originally, they had only thought Zhang Long had been scouted to be a subordinate of some spokesperson, equivalent to becoming a provincial graduate in ancient times, and one favored by a high official at that.

They never expected that the other party was far stronger than they had imagined!

He had directly become an Immortal master!

A disciple of the Cloud Coming Immortal Sect... if he achieves success in his cultivation in the future... I dare not imagine, I simply dare not imagine how glorious the Zhang Family will be in the future!

Might they, these relatives and friends, also have a chance to rise to the heavens?

Zhang Long experienced a feeling of being the center of attention like never before.

Every move he made became the absolute focus of the banquet.

Zhang Long had originally thought he would like this feeling.

It was just that... after finishing the meal the chef had made, watching his relatives and friends pack up the leftovers with humble, fawning smiles to take home.

And secretly competing with each other over who got a little more.

Zhang Long felt dazed for a moment, thinking that he might not like such clamor after all.

"It can be considered fulfilling a childhood wish of not being looked down upon, right?"

"Becoming the 'good kid' in the eyes of relatives and friends!"

"The wish is fulfilled, and now that I know this feeling is just so-so, it doesn't compare at all to the satisfaction brought by cultivation."

"I somewhat understand why the senior brothers are so indifferent to fame and fortune."

"This worldly fame and fortune... is truly meaningless."

Zhang Long spoke to himself in his heart, then watched the last few outsiders, that trio of cooks, leave the house.

Zhang Long's heart stirred, and the room door closed without wind.

Then Zhang Long glanced at the dining table.

After finishing the meal, the eldest aunt had gathered the courage to be the first to ask him if she could pack some up to take back for the elders at home to taste, and after receiving Zhang Long's agreement.

Only a dozen or so bare plates and vegetable bowls remained on the dining table.

Never mind leftovers, even the residual oil on the plates had been scraped quite clean.

Even the bone fragments spat out by everyone while eating had vanished, as if they had never existed at all!

Zhang Long's parents were also a bit reserved at this moment.

It seemed they were also a bit reserved because the change in status between the two sides was too great.

Zhang Long sighed inwardly, but quietly slipped out a bottle of Pill and placed it in his mother's hand.

"Mom and Dad, this is a Little Rejuvenation Pill specially refined by my senior brother."

"It's not of much use to a Cultivator, but it can help ordinary people strengthen their bodies."

"Keep it safe, don't tell anyone, if anyone asks, just say it's a health supplement you bought..."

Here in the Eastern Ancient Kingdom, after the rise of the extraordinary, many companies specifically serving the elderly have successively announced collaborations with Daoist temples or Buddhist monasteries to launch jointly developed health supplements.

These health supplements also keep pace with the times by packaging the medicine in the shape of Pill bottles.

Zhang Long had learned about relevant posts on the internet, which is why he said it like that.

Just as Zhang Long finished saying this, he heard his mother nodding repeatedly:

"That's perfect, I bought quite a few health supplements a while ago, and the bottles inside look exactly the same as yours."

Zhang Long opened his mouth, not expecting his parents to have actually bought these things.

He knew full well that the vast majority of those things were just playing word games.

In fact, they didn't use water or medicinal herbs nourished by Spirit Qi at all.

For the very few that had the real deal, they were in short supply and would never sink into the mass market to hire so many sales staff to promote them.

"Ahem, no need to buy them next time... no, still buy a little, but don't be too obvious about it."

Zhang Long thought for a moment and gave a reminder.

Afterwards, he began to teach the two elders hand-in-hand how to practice the Health Preservation Technique after taking the Little Rejuvenation Pill.

At the same time.

In a detached villa in a high-end residential area.

A sturdy old man with a ruddy complexion and graying hair frowned as he opened the door and walked in.

As soon as he entered, he looked at his wife, who was fiddling with something in the living room, with some dissatisfaction:

"Don't you know I have a cocktail party tonight?"

"Why were you in such a rush to have me come back?"

"By the way, my secretary mentioned that you spent five million not long ago?"

"It seems you even promoted someone directly to the position of deputy general manager of the branch company."

"You mustn't mess around!"

As the sturdy old man said this, he also walked near the expensive solid wood dining table and saw the leftovers on the plate.

It was a pile of meat chunks of unknown origin, bones, rice stained with sauce, and a mixture of about seven or eight kinds of vegetables.

The old man hadn't seen such a hodgepodge without any aesthetic appeal on a dining table for who knows how many years.

And he also saw the plastic bag next to the plate.

Hmm... the cheapest, least environmentally friendly kind of transparent plastic bag.

Thinking that this hodgepodge of leftovers had very likely been taken out of this cheap plastic bag.

The old man somewhat suspected that his wife had finally grown old and reached the age where she could be easily fooled.

"Hmph!"

The sturdy old man was a bit dissatisfied, looking at his wife, who was over sixty in actual age but looked at most forty:

"You called me back just for this?"

"Don't tell me the money you spent and the position were also for this..."

"Heh! You don't know quality when you see it!"

"This is good stuff! Tonight's dinner is to eat this!"

Hearing this, the sturdy old man was even angrier and turned to leave:

"Then you can eat it slowly! I'm going back to hold a meeting... by the way, I won't approve that appointment of yours."

The lady rolled her eyes at the sturdy old man, took another deep look at the hodgepodge on the dining plate, and took out the usual knife, fork, and chopsticks to place on the table.

Then, the lady sat down gracefully and said softly toward the back of the old man who intended to leave:

"Do you know where these things came from?"

Hearing this inquiry, the old man stopped his anger and his footsteps, turned his head and asked:

"Where did they come from?"

"Remember that Xiao Zhang from the branch company?"

"Little Zhang? Which Little Zhang?"

"Heh, that Little Zhang who has been tightening screws for thirty years, won the advanced worker award every year, and has been commended by you twice in the last few years!"

The lady shook her head and said:

"I thought he was just like that, but I didn't expect that he is actually the second uncle of that Zhang Long Daozhang!"

"Zhang Long Daozhang?"

The old man's heart stirred; hearing a familiar name, he finally calmed down and walked back to the dining table.

He saw his wife use a fork to pick up a piece of meat stained with rice, gently place it into her red lips, and taste it slowly.

Anyone who didn't know would think she was tasting some peerless delicacy.

"Is he a relative of that Zhang Daozhang?"

"Then... what are these?"

Hearing this, the old man already had a guess.

"The leftovers from their family banquet today."

The lady replied.

Hearing that it really was leftovers, the old man still couldn't help but frown slightly:

"High-grade ingredients are hard to come by, there's no need to be reduced to eating leftovers."

"If you really want to eat them, you could have the chef process them, reheat them, and plate them again..."

"Who said these are high-grade ingredients."

The lady chuckled coldly, took another small bite, and said:

"These are special-supply grade ingredients that you couldn't get your hands on even if you begged everyone you knew!"

"This is real Demon Beast meat!"

"It greatly replenishes vital energy, nourishes yin and the kidneys, and can strengthen the body and prolong life!"

The lady recited the research report on this type of special-grade ingredient that the experts had told them about when she attended the training.

"Among those cooperative projects, there is one in ten thousand with this quality."

"It is rumored that what is currently circulating on the market are all non-sale items flowing down from other worlds."

"With such rare and good things, you still intend to let the chef ruin them?"

The sturdy old man nodded repeatedly upon hearing this, and then, noticing his phone vibrating, he took it out, glanced at it, and chose to turn it off.

He then sat down next to the lady and, without any disdain, picked up his knife and fork to enjoy the meal.

Although this plate of hodgepodge didn't look very appetizing and had already gone cold.

But it had to be said.

The taste was truly excellent.

The two of them swept through the leftovers like a whirlwind.

They even bit through the chicken bones and swallowed them.

The sheep bones were hard to swallow.

But that couldn't stop their desire to consume them.

They were put into a blender and ground into powder.

Then, after being mixed into alcohol, the two of them happily clinked glasses and drank it down.

Until not a single scrap was left.

Only then did the old man turn his phone back on and begin to deal with the various friends who had heard the news and wanted a piece of the pie...

Because of Zhang Long's existence.

The friends and relatives who benefited from Zhang Long did not encounter any strong-arm tactics.

However, no one held firm in the face of fame and fortune.

Many of the leftovers that people claimed they were packing up to take home for the elderly or children to taste.

In the end, all fell into the hands of others.

And so, the leftovers that were originally only enough for ten people.

Were forced into the stomachs of over thirty people.

A small portion was taken by the research institute, which confirmed through research which two types of Demon Beast meat they were.

This could be considered side evidence that everyone hadn't spent their money in vain.

Regardless of whether the dietary supplement effect was truly useful, you had to admit that this Demon Beast meat really was from a Demon Beast.

When these people attended cocktail parties in the future, they could also brag that they were mortals who had eaten Demon Beast meat.

Zhang Long had seen his family and finished handling his worldly affairs.

Not having received a summons to return to the Pot Heaven, he followed the advice of Senior Brother Zhou Xuan.

He shouldered his pack and began a solo journey.

He began to observe the morning sun at the mountain peaks and bathe in the moonlight on the surface of the lake.

He felt the profound pressure coming from all directions in the depths of the Dahai.

And feeling that it was not enough, during a thunderstorm, he raised the Thunder Attraction Bead and flew into the sky, enduring the strikes of ten thousand bolts of lightning.

And because of this, he was filmed by quite a few tourists using their various recording devices.

He became another person on Water Blue Star to face a tribulation!

Zhou Xuan stayed in the Daoist temple like an ordinary Daoist, doing nothing but his daily lessons, refining pills, and drawing talismans.

He only used a little time to watch the news and keep up with current events.

And because of this, he saw the news of Zhang Long facing the lightning tribulation.

He naturally knew that Zhang Long could not possibly be undergoing a tribulation.

He did not yet have that level of cultivation.

It was just that, seeing Zhang Long had only been cultivating for such a short time.

Yet he already dared to use thunder to assist in his cultivation.

Needless to say, being able to do this was certainly related to his talent.

This made Zhou Xuan feel somewhat envious, and even a trace of jealousy deep in his heart.

After all, he was the first disciple from Water Blue Star to enter the Cloud Coming Immortal Sect.

Why was it that in the end, he appeared to be the one with the worst cultivation and the slowest progress?

Although he also had a bit of talent for alchemy.

But clearly, this bit of talent was still far inferior compared to the Spirit Bodies of his junior and senior brothers.

Just at this moment.

Zhou Xuan suddenly received a summons from Su Ping.

He immediately agreed in his heart.

And then entered a newly expanded mountain peak within the Pot Heaven.

This mountain peak had been arranged by Su Ping to be as gloomy as a ghost realm.

Everywhere were decorative items or special structures drawn from the gacha, such as large locust trees.

As Su Ping's realm improved, the effects of these ordinary special structures were basically useless in Su Ping's hands.

Their products, however, could be given to those disciples for self-protection.

Strange Tree Seeds and other items that could be effective for those below the Golden Core realm were still very useful to Zhou Xuan and the others.

Bringing Zhou Xuan here, Su Ping spoke in a gentle tone, pointing to a large locust tree and saying:

"I have placed a Seal on the Divine Soul of a great Heavenly Demon from the demonic path within this tree."

"This demon possesses a rare Earth Spirit Root and a Fire Control Spirit Body related to alchemy."

"I think this is quite suitable for you."

"Are you willing to endure some hardship so that I may graft their talent onto you?"