Chapter 56

"What work shall we do?"

"I'm going to chop wood."

"Then I'll go repair the road!"

"Hmm?" Lin Jue thought for a moment, "You should come with me to chop wood."

"That's right! My magical power is not enough now; I run out of magical power after repairing the road for a while, so I might as well go chop wood!"

"Hmm..."

Lin Jue's thoughts were different—

Chopping wood is actually swinging a knife, swinging the knife from various angles, and chopping toward firewood at different angles.

This is very useful after going down the mountain, whether dealing with demons, ghosts, or people. In addition, skillful wood chopping actually requires the whole body to exert force, and the effect of exercise and consuming strength is also relatively good.

So the two of them each took a wood-chopping knife, went straight over Fuqiu Peak to Tianmen Peak, didn't catch their breath, and chopped wood for half a day, and after finishing, went to Scissors Peak to continue chopping wood.

They swung the knife who knows how many times, and went up and down who knows how many times.

The whole mountain was filled with the sound of breaking wood.

The woodshed was full.

The senior brothers were stunned, exclaiming that they wouldn't be able to burn it all this year.

From morning to night, they were finally tired.

They ate a bowl of rice and went to sleep.

They slept until noon the next day.

When they got up, they almost couldn't climb out of bed.

Sure enough, as the ancient book said, their whole bodies ached, and there was no place that didn't hurt; just the pain in their legs was more severe than when they first took the God-Walking Pill, so they had to walk while leaning against the wall.

The two went out almost at the same time, looked at each other at the door, both extremely weak, with bitter smiles on their faces.

"Third Shixiong brother..."

"Good morning, junior sister."

"Morning..."

Both of their tones were a bit strained.

The following days were a process of gradual recovery, and also days of extreme hunger, every day hungry enough to feel their chests touching their backs.

Even the meals cooked by the seventh senior brother, Lin Jue could eat two or three bowls. Fortunately, although the temple was on the mountain, they raised many poultry, so eggs were plentiful, and they also killed a few chickens to eat, which ensured the nutrition needed for physical recovery. In addition, daily meditation and cultivation also warmed the body, so they gradually recovered day by day.

Until another morning, when they woke up and suddenly felt full of energy, all the soreness in their bodies was gone, their spirits were not tired, but instead full of strength, and they knew they had completely recovered as before.

On Fuqiu Peak.

Lin Jue picked up the heavy wood-chopping knife and swung it casually, feeling it as light as a wooden knife.

When he chopped dead wood again, he was surprised to find that just swinging the knife gave him a feeling of ease, and with one stroke, it actually generated wind; branches that were originally difficult to chop and required two or three strokes broke with just one.

Not only that, climbing up the mountain just now was also much easier.

As for other aspects, although there was growth, it was not as obvious as climbing the mountain and swinging the knife.

This pill truly had a significant effect.

The techniques mentioned in the ancient book were also truly useful.

"The effect of this kind of spiritual pill, especially the effect of the first one, is simply too strong," Lin Jue could not help but sigh, "No wonder there were so many alchemists in ancient times who didn't cultivate, but just hid away to focus on refining pills; this feeling of being able to have obvious changes after eating one pill is truly fascinating."

Even adding the process of collecting and gathering alchemy materials and refining, it is equally fascinating.

It might even add a bit more fun.

In short, Lin Jue at this time, if he had a broadsword in hand, even if he encountered the group of strange monkeys on the road that day, even if he were alone, he would have no need to fear.

As for the second one, Lin Jue planned to eat it after a while.

First, slowly get used to this growth.

As for the third one, he would see the attenuation of the second pill's effect before eating it.

Inside the inner courtyard of Fuqiu Temple.

An orange cat walked through the courtyard with leisurely steps, followed by a hemp-colored cat one size smaller than it, then a colorful civet cat one size smaller, and a black and white cat one size smaller; walking at the very end was a fox that showed a bit of red in its gray-yellow fur. They lined up extremely neatly, with the same spacing, and walked in a straight line.

Suddenly the orange cat stopped and turned to look into the distance.

The hemp-colored cat, colorful civet cat, black and white cat, and fox behind it all stopped in order, and also turned their heads in order to look into the distance.

A group of Daoists under the pine tree were eating breakfast.

Not in the dining hall, but in the courtyard.

This morning's meal was actually okay.

The seventh senior brother used scrambled eggs to cook egg soup, and threw in some vegetable leaves and dried bamboo shoots to soak the rice.

It looked very simple, but it was actually quite rare.

However, in Lin Jue's view, it was best to finish it; otherwise, even if only some soup and water were left, it would likely appear in dinner tonight, mixed with some other things to form a strange taste.

Fortunately, the junior sister's appetite had greatly increased now.

"Lin Jue, have you recovered?" Daoist Yunhe put down his chopsticks and wiped his mouth.

"Recovered, Master."

"It's good that you've recovered. According to the time, it's your turn to cook this month," Daoist Yunhe said. "Your seventh senior brother saw that you were uncomfortable all over the past few days, so he helped you do it for two extra days."

"Is it my turn?"

"Yes..."

Many senior brothers also looked at Lin Jue, their eyes either measuring him or being a bit guarded.

Daoist Yunhe was the most open-minded: "You have been in the temple for two months, so you should be familiar with the affairs of the temple. Cooking is very simple; remember to do it on time and don't forget. Just cook the food and wash the bowls clean."

"Understood."

Lin Jue answered casually.

"Qingyao, you should learn more too; it will be your turn next month. You should have cooked at home before, right?" Daoist Yunhe looked at the junior sister.

"I only know how to add water and cook it..."

"That's enough!"

Daoist Yunhe nodded repeatedly.

The junior sister was still nervous.

The bad news was that this breakfast indeed had some soup and water left; the good news was that from now on, the authority of the kitchen was in Lin Jue's hands.

So after eating, he collected the bowls and chopsticks, and Lin Jue carried the pot and poured the pot of soup and water outside.

"Junior brother, why did you pour it out? You can cook it in the rice at night; it can add some salty taste."

"..."

Sure enough, it was exactly as expected.

Lin Jue ignored him.

He actually felt a bit of the feeling of being in power.

But if it could be used to improve his own life, it was also a good power.

Lin Jue thought as he walked into the kitchen.

The kitchen in the temple was not big, but it had everything needed.

Lin Jue looked around to see what was edible.

This was the first meal he had cooked himself.

Half a jar of white rice was the staple food in the temple every day. The eggs picked up fresh in the morning all came from free-range chickens and were the most common meat eaten in the temple. Several jars of pickles were salty and crunchy. There were also some dried bamboo shoots sent by villagers from down the mountain, which were common vegetables in this area.

A few strips of cured meat hung overhead, which looked okay.

Lin Jue suddenly saw a small sack made of coarse cloth, so he walked over and opened it, and was surprised to find that it was the wheat he had obtained from Xiaochuan Village.

"Hmm..."

Lin Jue pondered about dinner.

Just then, a figure appeared at the door; it was his junior sister.

The young girl's brows were a bit worried, as if she were worried about herself a month later, and she asked him: "Third Shixiong brother, what are you cooking for dinner?"

"I'm still thinking."

"Is there anything I can help with?"

"Help..." Lin Jue thought for a moment, and there really was, "Can junior sister's 'Stone-Crushing' method turn stones into powder?"

"Yes."

"Can you turn other things into powder?"

"Yes, but it's not as powerful as it is on stones. And it has to be something harder," the junior sister said, standing at the door. "If you want me to help you turn meat into paste or filling, it won't work. This spell was not originally intended to hurt people; Master said that it must be practiced to a profound level before it can be used to hurt people."

"Can wheat become powder?"

"Wheat? It should be possible, but the wheat husk won't work."

"Isn't that just right? It's like a stone mill, and it saves the effort of going down the mountain to find a stone mill."

"I'll try."

The junior sister walked in, grabbed a handful of wheat, held it in her hand, squeezed it, and rubbed it, and a lot of fine wheat powder fell down; the wheat husks only cracked and did not become powder.

After a little sifting, it was flour.

"Is it okay, senior brother?"

"It's okay!" Lin Jue was very satisfied, and then said decisively, "This will be dinner tonight."

"Eat this?"

"Yes!"

"Third Shixiong brother! It seems like you knew how to cook all along!" The junior sister stared at him blankly, feeling something was wrong.

"Yes."

"..."

The young girl fell into silence.

"Junior sister, you keep kneading it; just treat it as practicing your spell," Lin Jue took a piece of cured meat and soaked it in water, "It rained yesterday, there should be some mushrooms in the bamboo forest on the mountain; I'll go find some."

"Thank you, senior brother..."

Said the junior sister, who had gained another opportunity to practice her spell.

"You're welcome."

Lin Jue had already walked out.

It was still a high-temperature season, mushrooms were common, and it rained a lot on the mountain, so there were always many mushrooms.

Lin Jue took the fox up the mountain to take a look, and soon found a termite mushroom.

This little fox became smarter as it grew up; after observing him for a while, it already knew what he was looking for, so it immediately led him to find a few more.

When Lin Jue returned, a bag of wheat had become powder, and after sifting it with a fine sieve, it was flour.

Lin Jue looked at it and was very satisfied.

Since everyone takes turns doing it for a month, and it was his turn this month, he naturally had to put his heart into it, just to improve his own life.

Lin Jue knew how to cook and remembered some methods.

It just so happened that he had long been tired of the food in the temple.

If it were in Shu Village, it would be another matter; the family was tight, and there were no such conditions. The temple was not short of food or money, and didn't have to pay taxes, so naturally, there should be more pursuits.

It was just that there were too many things to do every day before.

Now for the first meal, using the wheat gathered by the many villagers of Xiaochuan Village was the best.

So he took out the cured meat and cut it into small pieces.

The dried bamboo shoots were soaked and also cut small, and the termite mushrooms were washed and he was too lazy to cut them, just tearing them into strips by hand. These three could be used as a soup base, which could be considered the three delicacies of the mountain; just looking at the materials, there was no need to question the taste.

Then he added salt and kneaded the dough, tearing it into thin pieces.

Lin Jue didn't have the skill to pull or cut noodles, but this noodle block dish was also a food he often ate in his memory.

Noodle blocks are also called "quilt noodles," and Lin Jue's favorite way to eat them is with a bowl of fresh soup. In his memory, he often used loofah, cucumber, and stem lettuce for the soup, with stem lettuce being the most delicious. The conditions in the mountain were limited, and there were not many vegetables. The eldest senior brother did plant loofah and cucumber, but for the first meal today, he would do it even better.

Lin Jue sat in front of the stove and patiently added firewood.

There was no need to light a fire; he just breathed out a breath.

"Whoosh..."

The stove immediately ignited with flames.

This was the newly learned fire-spitting method, an authentic Fire-element spiritual method.

At present, the fire spit out by Lin Jue was no different from ordinary fire, looking similar to the fire-aversion technique, but this was just the beginning of the Fire-element spiritual method, and it was already the limit of the fire-aversion technique.

Burning the fire was also a good time to feel the Fire-element spiritual resonance.

"Sizzle..."

The cured meat was first fried in oil, the high temperature bringing out the grease and fragrance, and when water was added, it made a sizzling sound. As soon as it entered the pot, it turned a bit white, then dried bamboo shoots and termite mushrooms were added to boil into a fresh soup, and then the noodle pieces were slowly added to cook.

After taking it out of the pot, the noodle pieces were wide and large, like a quilt.

There is also good food in the mountain.