Using a Wok to Reorganize Life and Fly to Immortality Chapter 8
TLed by Serena Love
Edited by Liya
Chapter 8 Seven Relish
Inside the kitchen, Su Yu looked solemn. She looked at the stove in front of her.
For this immortal cultivation world version of the four-bird feast, she was inspired by the Three-nested Duck, a famous Huaiyang dish.
A pigeon was stuffed into a wild duck, which then was stuffed into a fat domestic duck.
[T/N: Pictured HERE. It's almost like a Turducken but steamed instead of roasted. A duck is placed inside a mallard, and then a pigeon inside.]
[E/N: Refer to this website for more info on this dish]
This dish required a combination of dexterous fingers and excellent knife work. She had to remove all the bones and internal organs one by one whilst ensuring that the cormorant skin stayed intact and even able to contain water without tearing. When the skin was held against the light, the brightness of the light coming through had to be almost equal from left to right.
Perfect knife work was the foundation of this famous dish. This was to ensure that when the dish was steamed, it would be cooked well and the taste would spread evenly.
Next, the focus was on the cooking method.
The three different birds had their own characteristics. These characteristics needed to be preserved to the greatest extent in this dish. However, they had to be highly unified and could not conflict with each other.
When Su Yu first followed her grandfather to learn this dish in the kitchen, the process of mastering removing bones alone took no less than two years of practice. Her thumb was grounded red by duck bones. She also practised mixing the seasoning no less than a thousand times.
Thinking of the past, she couldn't help thinking of those failed products that could not be served on the table and could only be eaten by herself. Instantly, she felt a little full.
Su Yu shook her head helplessly. She stretched out her hand and scooped up a spoonful of Garuda's wing bone soup with clear pale gold color. Her eyes became focused and she slowly poured it on top of the stuffed spirit birds that had been prepared.
Three flavors in "one bird," with the garuda stock on top as the finishing touch.
Place the steamer, light the fire, and simmer them on a low fire.
The colorful iron cauldron in her dantian also lit up simultaneously.
Four lifelike birds appeared in front of her eyes and their chirping could be heard. There were three birds of different sizes, followed by a huge magnificent bird with dark brown wings and a little golden light sticking closely behind them...
"Second Senior Sister, what is this?!"
Lu Yizhou hugged his qin and rushed to the door of this small kitchen.
His eyes fell on the stove shrouded in red mist and his demeanor of an immortal cultivator was gone.
Hearing Lu Yizhou calling her, Su Yu awoke from the illusion in front of her eyes. She felt that the five-element cauldron in her dantian vibrated faintly and the meridians in her whole body seemed to be cleansed from impurities. She was filled with saturated spiritual energy that she could never use up.
'Comfortable.'
Su Yu couldn't help but squint her eyes.
The purple-red mist shrouded in the large pot on the stove quickly gathered and disappeared at the bottom of the pot.
Su Yu put down the cooking ladle in her hand, washed her hands and looked into the pot with scrutinizing eyes.
At the bottom of the pot lay a pale white pill the size of a fist in the shape of a spirit cormorant, with raised head and widespread wings. A golden thread lingered on its wings, faintly giving color to the cormorant's body, adding a sense of vivid beauty.
'Um.'
Her busy morning was not wasted.
This time's dish was finally a level higher than that of the Jade Pill Powder.
Su Yu felt that this was a dish with a passing grade.
After completing this new immortal cultivation world dish, she thought about the effect from the past two dishes. She had tasted the golden wing bone soup when she was halfway through cooking and now she felt full. Immediately, she pulled her guinea pig over.
"Fourth Junior Brother, come and give it a try."
'Try... how to try this?'
Lu Yizhou hugged his qin and slowly took a step back, "Second Senior Sister, this is... an elixir?"
He thought it had failed.
However, what lay in the pot this time was not powder but a large solid bird far beyond his expectations.
Second Senior Sister can actually make alchemy?
But what is this elixir? So big and also in a 'bird' shape!
Lu Yizhou had never seen an elixir like this before.
While he was shocked, Su Yu had already stuffed a pair of chopsticks in his hand, "Have it while it's hot."
"..."
Lu Yizhou froze and felt that the whole thing was bizarre.
"Second Senior Sister, wait. I'm going to find Third Senior Brother and eat it in front of him."
Su Yu: "?"
---
Since his meridian and golden core were damaged, Wei Zhao vacated his room in the main courtyard with the most spiritual energy on Zhiqiong Peak. He then moved to a different courtyard where the spiritual energy was thin and no one stayed in it.
This was what he asked for himself.
Since he couldn't cultivate anymore, he might as well give up his position to other junior brothers and sisters.
When he moved away from the main courtyard with many disciples into an empty courtyard, Wei Zhao clearly felt the loneliness that he had never felt before.
Now, he was lying on the bed, staring at the phoenix tree outside the window. He froze when he heard the sound of vigorous footsteps coming towards his room.
Wei Zhao was taken aback.
He was now a disabled person, but his fourth junior brother visited him so diligently...
The door opened and Wei Zhao looked at the woman in yellow who walked into his room with his fourth junior brother.
She was standing beside Lu Yizhou with her arms and hands behind her. She was wearing a pale yellow dress, which enhanced her fair cheeks beautifully. Her eyes, which used to be mean and dark, had become much brighter.
Wei Zhao looked away awkwardly.
"...Second Senior Sister."
He called her extremely softly and his face was filled with shame.
In the past, she encountered a bottleneck in her cultivation and targeted him all the way, causing him to hate this second senior sister very much. He always kept a distance from her and never cared about her.
But now, it was him who stayed behind closed doors and became a waste lying on the bed. Not only did she not escape, but she also refined Jade Pill Powder for him. And now she came to visit him.
In contrast, he simply didn't deserve it. He didn't deserve to be her junior brother, didn't deserve to be a junior brother with a higher cultivation level than her!
Wei Zhao fell into self-blame and felt ashamed to see Su Yu.
However, he heard his fourth junior brother say, "Third Senior Brother, Second Senior Sister has made an elixir!"
Wei Zhao, who was consumed with self-blame and shame, suddenly felt like he was struck by thunder.
He looked at Su Yu in shock but saw that she was standing calmly. Her expression did not change at all, as if this was some kind of trivial matter.
"Third Senior Brother, you didn't believe that I only comprehended the qin art of <Hundreds of Birds Facing the Phoenix> after taking the chicken powder refined by Second Senior Sister. Then, I will try this new elixir in front of you now. I ask Senior Brother to witness it for me."
?
Su Yu's calm expression did not change, but her feelings almost went berserk.
'Comprehend the qin art?'
She looked at Lu Yizhou.
When he finished speaking, he looked at her with eyes full of admiration and care, showing a respectful expression and asked her for instructions, "Sister, I will take this elixir now. Do you have anything else to tell me?"
"Is this elixir more ferocious than before? Do I need to meditate first?"
Su Yu had a strange expression.
'Do you have to meditate?'
She didn't know anything.
But if the head chef showed uncertainty in front of his deputy, they would lose credibility. If a group of dragons had no head, the back kitchen would be in chaos.
"How do you normally take elixirs? You can do the same."
Su Yu glanced at him, not looking guilty at all.
"Cautiousness is always good."
Lu Yizhou blushed immediately.
"What Senior Sister said is right." How could he bother Second Senior Sister with such trivial matters?
In the past, when Eldest Senior Brother was here, he would never make such a foolish mistake.
Immediately, he lifted up his white robe and sat cross-legged beside his second senior sister.
He quietly felt his sea of consciousness and he found that the grey fog that made him very disturbed was no longer covering it.
He carefully took out the large plate of 'elixir' from his spatial storage bag with both hands and brought it out slowly.
Wei Zhao, who was on the bed, had finally regained his composure. However, when he saw the elixir, he sat up in a panic.
"What is this?"
'Why is it so big!'
'Is this even an elixir?'
'Isn't this a meal?!'
Why is it in the shape of a spirit cormorant?
"What kind of elixir is this?!"
He had never seen an elixir that wasn't in the form of a pill or powder.
'Will it be okay to take it?'
"This elixir," Su Yu looked into the distance with calm eyes, "is called Seven Relish."
Wei Zhao was speechless.
'Why Seven Relish?'
Su Yu did not explain immediately.
Because at this time, Lu Yizhou, who was sitting on the ground, had finished adjusting his breath. He took out the chopsticks from his spatial storage bag and carefully poked at the snow-colored 'spirit cormorant'.
Wei Zhao: "???"
'What is this pose?'
Su Yu interrupted Lu Yizhou, who was about to put his chopsticks on the cormorant's beak first.
"When taking this pill, first open the back of the cormorant's body and take one mouthful. Then try the next layer of spirit river duck and take one bite. Thirdly, go into the next layer of water-pulling pigeon and taste it. Then, combine the first two layers and eat them, next eat the last two layers and lastly take the first and last layers together. Finally, take three layers together."
"A total of seven flavors, seven layers and seven changes. Hence, the name Seven Relish."
Wei Zhao: "...???"
Lu Yizhou was stunned. He had never heard of this way of taking elixir, "Second Senior Sister, this... How to distinguish the seven layers?"
Su Yu calmly said, "Cut it open."
Lu Yizhou did not dare to do it. Hence, Su Yu took out the original owner's water-breaking sword from her spatial storage bag.
After sterilizing the sword with spirit fire, she slashed the bird on the plate with this sword.
They saw the 'spirit cormorant' elixir was instantly splitted from top to back. The incision was smooth.
Su Yu held the hilt of the sword and flicked it lightly, revealing the vertical section of this pill.
They saw the outermost layer of snow-colored spirit cormorant, the next layer of a pale red spirit river duck and in the centre was a vermilion water-pulling pigeon. It was actually three layers of elixir!
These three layers had different colors and outlines. The layers were clear and distinct.
Wei Zhao almost thought it was an illusion.
Lu Yizhou didn't dare to move his chopsticks.
But when the pill had split open, the spiritual energy from the elixir began to dissipate. He could only bite the bullet and consume this shocking elixir.
According to Su Yu's instructions, his chopsticks first picked up the outermost layer. At this time, he was still a little apprehensive.
As soon as it entered his mouth, he felt a firmness in the texture accompanied by the fresh and delicious taste of spirit cormorant, full of salty fragrance... In an instant, he visualized the figure of a large agile bird flying above the sea, flapping its wings, gliding rapidly and breaking the water!
The bursts of cries that resounded through the heavens and the earth echoed in his ears!
Lu Yizhou was shocked all the way into his sea of consciousness and his complexion changed.
"Fourth Junior Brother?" Wei Zhao saw that there was something wrong with his junior’s expression and regretted it too late.
Generally, when taking a strong elixir, you had to find someone to protect the Dharma to avoid the effects of the elixir being too strong and accidents happening. But he previously thought that Su Yu was only at the fifth level of Qi Refining, so there should be no accident.
When he was about to ask Su Yu to call someone, he saw Lu Yizhou's face suddenly stretched out with a smile, as if he had successfully entered a meditation state.
Wei Zhao was stunned.
Su Yu saw that it seemed that this would take a while, so she simply walked to a chair in the room and sat down comfortably.
After a stick of incense, Lu Yizhou opened his eyes.
'So fast? It seems that although there is some effect, it is not that strong.'
Wei Zhao breathed a sigh of relief.
This was also good. It seemed that it would not be easy to get into trouble and hurt his spiritual root.
"Third Senior Brother, Second Senior Sister," Lu Yizhou opened his eyes, felt his dantian, and said excitedly, "I feel that my <Hundreds of Birds Facing the Phoenix> have already broken through 30% of the cultivation realm and are approaching 40%!"
Earlier, he still felt that his sea of consciousness was covered by a grey fog and the sun was hidden. Forcibly comprehending the song would lead to madness, but now... he actually did it so easily. He even faintly uncovered the true meaning of other birds!
Wei Zhao, who was on the bed, opened his mouth wordlessly: "?"
---
In the Huoling Peak of Tiansheng Academy.
Mei Zhen'er smiled lightly while instructing her junior brothers and sisters to share the herbs, but a few anxious figures flew over to her.
"Second Senior Sister, Fourth Senior Brother failed to comprehend the sword move and was attacked by the spirit fire! Now he is unconscious. His sea of consciousness is seriously injured. Please go and see him!"
Mei Zhen'er suddenly stopped her smile.
'How come?'
On her wrist, the white moonlight beads seemed to lose some of its lustrous color. Its brilliance had also faded a bit.
---
Soon after, Lu Yizhou took a bite of the second layer of the bird elixir with great interest, the pale red spirit river duck.
A softer texture and delicious taste lingered in his mouth. After consuming the second layer, another teal bird figure swam in his sea of consciousness.
"Second Senior Brother, Third Senior Sister, I realized something again."
"??"
Then, he proceeded to taste the innermost layer of the pill, which was the water-pulling pigeon. The taste was delicate and tender, almost melting in the mouth, and the umami taste was stronger than the other two layers.
"Third Senior Brother, Second Senior Sister, I'm..."
Then, he proceeded with the three combinations of two by two layers and finally all three layers together...
After another incense stick, Lu Yizhou opened his closed eyes for the seventh time, "Third Senior Brother..."
Wei Zhao: "!"
'Tired!'
He was tired of listening!
Once Su Yu saw that he had finally finished taking the whole thing, she looked at him with great interest, "How is it? How are the specific taste, enjoyment level and the overall effect."
Lu Yizhou opened his eyes and said excitedly, "Second Senior Sister, there are indeed seven layers. After taking one layer each time, my understanding of the qin art is even better."
When one was stepping into the threshold of the realm of perfection, each stage was ten times more difficult than the last. Not only did it take longer and longer to comprehend, but it also depended on one’s comprehension ability, opportunities and luck. Not everyone could comprehend the Dao. If you went in the wrong direction, the best case scenario was that your cultivation would be stagnant. However, in the worst case scenario, your sea of consciousness would get a backlash.
For ordinary qin cultivators who learned ordinary qin skills, it was already very good if they could master three forms of the art to the point of transforming qin sounds into spectral visuals.
"I feel that if I play <Hundreds of Birds Facing the Phoenix> again, the power will be twice as strong as yesterday."
Wei Zhao leaned against the bed. He was already numb.
"Cough!"
Su Yu coughed on the spot.
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