Chapter 95: The Law of True Fragrance

This chicken soup was stewed from chicken bones and Ginseng.

After being simmered by fire Qi, the medicinal properties had fully permeated, thick as if it had been thickened with starch.

It is a highly nourishing substance.

Xu Jia ladled out a large bowl, letting the Ginseng float on the surface of the soup.

On the small stove nearby, Hu Jinhua had cooked rice; the rice was set with two tiers, the top one being brain-flower soup—brain-flower on top, tofu on the bottom—drizzled only with a little sesame oil.

The second tier was a bowl of wolfberry and chicken-kidney soup; it was just two chicken kidneys. These kidneys were extraordinary, being the male reproductive organs that grew after the reverse-feathered chicken demon transformed from a hen into a rooster. With Yin and Yang harmonized, and because this chicken was constantly exposed to wind, this item had the effect of warming the kidneys and preventing wind-cold. After eating it, one would not feel cold or drafty in the lower back, making it the most nourishing for kidney Yang.

Resting on the rice were several eggs; eggs boiled while cooking rice absorb the essence of the grains, unlike those boiled in plain water.

Medical practitioners call it "Middle-Nourishing Qi-Boosting Pill," also known as "Xiao Huan Yuan Dan."

Xu Jia also personally prepared some medicinal dishes. After pounding the chicken demon's breast meat and letting the little ghosts blow cold air to chill it for a night, the meat texture had loosened. It was perfect to coat in egg wash and breadcrumbs, then fry into chicken cutlets using the chicken oil rendered from the bird itself.

One chicken leg was made into excellent Kung Pao chicken; paired with peanuts, the taste was superb.

One chicken leg was made into "Three-Cup Chicken," also full of flavor.

Two chicken wings: one made into secret-sauce roasted wings, the other into deep-fried spicy wings.

A plate of stir-fried chicken gizzards.

Steamed chicken liver with sauce, sliced for dipping.

The chicken heart was paired separately with astragalus; it was Xu Jia's nourishing medicine for cultivation.

Xu Jia had originally promised the foxes a "full chicken banquet," but later brushed them off by having Niu Congcong roast a chicken.

Now, the promise was finally fulfilled. How could this not count as a full chicken banquet? After finishing this "farmhouse private kitchen firewood rice" and stir-frying two fresh seasonal vegetables that Hu Jinhua had grown herself, along with fresh wild greens the little foxes had picked on the mountain, he smiled, wiped his hands, and came out to see Niu Dafu and Lady Niu, who had already arrived.

"It's just some home-cooked food! Uncle, please eat freely!"

Niu Dafu looked at the Ginseng floating in the soup, finding it more familiar the more he looked: "Congcong, why does this root of Ginseng look like the one from our house?"

"Dad, it has to be you; your blade is still sharp, your eye is still vicious. This is indeed the Ginseng from our house!"

Lady Niu sat with Xu Mu and asked in a low voice: "A while ago, my house caught ten chickens. This rebellious son said he wanted to entertain guests, but in the middle of the night, he made everyone in the manor feel panicked and chaotic. Several maids even said they wanted to quit and go back to their hometowns. He was also acting mad a while ago... I see these others here; what exactly are they? Are they human?"

Xu Mu deliberated: "They should be the same batch that came to your house to eat chicken before. Um... don't be scared. Their nature isn't bad. The chicken we are eating today is that reverse-feathered big rooster from Qingfeng Pavilion. They are the Fox Immortal Hall Fox Immortals that everyone is talking about... They formed a Karmic Connection with our two families, so today is a proper gathering."

Lady Niu: "Aha? When did we form a Karmic Connection with them?"

"Hmm~ it was formed when my son passed the exam and returned from the dead. Later, when your Congcong came to visit, that was probably when your family formed one too. But there is no need to fear; they are all quite respectful of teachers and the Dao. They took my son as their master and just called me Grand-Mistress."

With a woman's strange sense of rivalry, Lady Niu asked: "Then what about my son? What is the relationship?"

"Your son now calls my son Master, so you are on the same generation as my son. By that count, you should call me Grand-Mistress?"

Lady Niu pouted: "We were classmates before! Truly useless, how did he drop a generation! They can discuss theirs, we will discuss ours. You are still my bosom friend; I don't care, I want to be a Grand-Mistress too."

Niu Dafu, on the other hand, looked at Xu Jia, then at his old classmate Xu Zhiyuan, and finally at the nest of foxes and weasels. He stared fiercely at Xiaopangdun and gritted his teeth: "Good, this is a mountain king, dragging old parents up the mountain to join the gang!"

Niu Congcong immediately said: "Dad, your words are too harsh. Those on the mountain are Immortals and Immortal families, not some mountain kings!"

"I can't tell." Niu Dafu was a businessman. Businessmen chase profit and have sharp eyes. Having traveled north and south to acquire medicinal herbs, he had seen plenty of filth on the road, and rumors of spirits and monsters were things he had experienced firsthand; he just hadn't expected to have one in his own home.

Xu Jia said: "This is also because I didn't want to hide it from you, right? Aside from anything else, let's eat properly first. We can talk while we eat."

Xu Jia personally added a bowl of soup for everyone: "This soup is very nourishing. A hundred-year-old chicken demon—you don't usually get to eat such good things!"

Xu Zhiyuan was not polite; he took a sip, his eyes lit up, and he couldn't stop.

Xu Mu also pulled Lady Niu to drink the soup. Xu Mu usually ate vegetarian and wanted to vomit at the smell of raw meat, but this soup had no fishy smell; instead, it carried a faint fragrance.

The little foxes had long been impatient, but the soup was hot. As they drank, one stuck out its tongue, another slurped the edge of the bowl—*smack, smack*. Niu Dafu gave up helplessly; the hundred-year-old chicken demon truly piqued his curiosity. He tasted a bit, and immediately the True Fragrance law took effect. He secretly thought: "Since this Ginseng was used to make soup and eaten by my own family, it's not a loss."

It wasn't just those with physical bodies eating; the infant spirits on the Hall Genealogy were also working hard to absorb the fragrance.

After consuming the fragrance, their bodies became much clearer and lighter, emitting a faint clear light. One by one, they were white and chubby, playing and frolicking with each other.

The Sparrow Spirit Zhan Ying and the little turtle demon Gui Linggao, who came along, also had meat in front of them. They ate while chatting with each other.

Huang Silang and Huang Jiuniang had even less table manners. At first, they could maintain human form, but as they ate, their tails appeared, their ears appeared, and even while burping, they kept stuffing things into their mouths. They simply didn't know when to stop; Xu Jia was afraid they would burst themselves.

Just like that, everyone had a tacit understanding. Although they said, "We'll talk about things at the dinner table," not a single person spoke. Even Niu Dafu, after eating, felt full of happiness, completely losing his previous dissatisfaction. He even looked at the others eating and felt a sense of satisfaction: "It's been a long time since I've eaten so happily and so contentedly."

He even started to find the little foxes quite pleasing to the eye.

After eating, waves of hot Qi rose up. Those among them with cold constitutions immediately began to sweat, forcing out cold and dampness. Some who had evil Qi in their bodies sneezed twice, expelling the evil Qi.

Xu Jia, meanwhile, silently practiced his technique, digesting what he had eaten.

There is a saying in cultivation: thirty percent practice, thirty percent eating, thirty percent nourishing, and the remaining ten percent depends on aptitude and fate.

Xu Jia deeply understood this principle. He had been focusing on eating and nourishing, and now he was officially beginning to refine.

This time it wasn't the Turtle Breath Hibernation Technique, but the Qingcheng Mountain Inner Landscape Yellow Court internal refining method.

Previously, it was washing the body with spirit; now, it was replenishing original Qi. At sixteen, his body was at its peak, but the amount of medicine that could be gathered each day was limited. Now, there was just the right amount of external medicine being injected, neither too aggressive nor too intense.

Xu Jia focused on his spleen and stomach, digesting the Foundation Establishment soup he had drunk, then sensed the Fetal Breath Qi sense, followed the Qi, and directly began the Small Heavenly Circuit Circulation.

To outsiders, Xu Jia had closed his eyes to rest after drinking the soup, and then his forehead began to steam. Not just his forehead, his whole body began to steam, and his face was red, as if he had just exercised.

The medicinal potency of one bowl of soup was about the same as one tael of "Eight Treasures Purple Gold Paste" from his previous life, but that Eight Treasures Purple Gold Paste cost several times its weight in gold.

This hundred-year-old chicken is still top-tier! Xu Jia opened his eyes, saw them all looking at him, and only said: "This is the technique of circulating Qi to nourish the body, a longevity art. No need to be surprised!"

He was indeed putting on a calm front.

Xiaopangdun quickly chimed in: "Brother Xu once said: 'The Immortal strokes my head, I tie my hair and receive Longevity!' We are fated to see this, so we must never spread it!"

Xu Zhiyuan was puzzled: "Is this the cultivation method you said costs money? So the ones you taught us are the methods that don't cost money?"

Xu Jia nodded and said: "Thanks to this chicken demon. If it weren't for it, and I had to use other medicinal herbs and ingredients, it would have cost at least ten thousand taels of silver."

Niu Dafu understood the implication: "Nephew, you aren't asking me to pay, are you! Truly, one's mouth becomes soft after eating someone's food."

Xu Jia laughed: "That is exactly the intention. This pot of soup is the effect. I have several Immortal recipes here that can return essence to the brain, nourish the body, strengthen a man's Yang Qi, and nourish a woman's blood Qi. Although it doesn't cure all diseases, it can prolong life and keep people from falling ill. I intend to cooperate with you, Uncle. Once we earn the silver, we can convert it into what is needed for cultivation."

Niu Dafu looked at Xu Zhiyuan: "Brother Zhiyuan wants to cultivate too? I heard there is an Evil Sect in Nansheng, the Longevity Sect, which uses longevity to deceive people... If you are like this, Nephew, if I don't cooperate, can I not leave here? Is this rebellious son also helping you hold me hostage? Have you long planned to inherit the family business?"

Xu Jia held his forehead: "How did I become the Longevity Sect?"

"We are proper cultivators and have no connection with the Longevity Sect. These recipes are also proper recipes and do not involve any placenta, fetal remains, or the like."

Niu Congcong said: "That's right, we even killed a member of the Longevity Sect! Father, we are not an Evil Sect, and we never said you couldn't leave, so stop talking nonsense!"

Father Xu said: "My child practiced cultivation in a past life and has awakened Past Life Wisdom in this life. Do not think we are tricking you; at first, I did not believe it either, but later my child found me a pill that almost completely transformed my body. If you do not believe me, you can wait for my provincial examination results; I will certainly pass and earn the rank of a promoted scholar!"

Niu Dafu only felt that these people were all crazy, and with many spirits present, he could only calm down in the end: "Can you let me see the prescriptions? If we don't talk about these God Immortals and strange tales, and only talk about these prescriptions, we can still negotiate."

Xu Jia took out the prescriptions he had prepared in advance, not afraid that Niu Dafu would run away or leak the secrets. These prescriptions were developed by Xu Jia in his past life, led by the Small Five Elements Pill, followed by the "Yellow Sprout Pill" and "Yin Huan Dan," all of which were secret cultivation medicines that could assist in Returning Essence to the Brain, Fetal Breath Sensing Qi, Hundred Days Foundation Establishment, and even the Small Heavenly Circuit stages of cultivation.

Of course, they were also excellent nourishing medicines; those who had not practiced cultivation could also take them to compensate for deficiencies and replenish kidney water and heart yang.

(End of this chapter)