Since ascending to the Jade Pool, Hu Shiyi Niang has served as a female official holding incense beside the Snow Goddess. She usually follows the Jade Pool Fairy to abstain from grains and cultivate immortality, eating only the dew and drinking the water from the Kunlun Mountains that have never melted for ten thousand years, and drinking only the wind from the vast sea of clouds. When others hear this, they all say, "So elegant."
"Oh dear, Madam Xu, although those spiritual creatures are very beneficial to the growth of cultivation, they cannot satisfy the hunger in our stomachs. Ordinary dishes in the mortal world are mostly impure and have no spiritual energy. It takes a long time to expel the impurities from the body after eating a meal, so it is better not to eat them. Although there are many jade nectars and immortal peaches and fruits in the Jade Pool, my mouth is always craving a bite of meat. The Empress is compassionate and knows the difficulty of our beast bodies being reborn, so she allows us to go down to the mortal world every month to supplement our diet with some meat."
Knowing that Xu Milu liked fluffy little animals, Shiyi Niang transformed into her original form and nestled in Xu Milu's arms, her fox face speaking human language:
"The higher one's cultivation level, the less one needs to eat. When one reaches the level of the Snow God, one can absorb spiritual energy from all things in heaven and earth. Unlike us little demons whose cultivation is not up to par, we still have to rely on daily cultivation to obtain even a trace of spiritual energy!"
Xu Milu stopped petting the fox, thought for a moment, and asked, "Is cultivation for beasts really that difficult?"
While wiping the table, Mo Xuan couldn't help but chime in:
"That's for sure. I once heard my father say that in ancient times, the fortune was in the hands of demons. The dragon and phoenix clans monopolized the fortune of the world, and the demon race was incredibly prosperous. Even the witch clan was no match for them. After several changes, the human race is now in the lead, so it is naturally more difficult for demons to cultivate. For example, my little niece who is about to be born, if it weren't for Madam Xu's monthly supply of 100,000 catties of spiritual vegetables to the West Sea Dragon Palace, I'm afraid she wouldn't be able to transform into human form yet!"
Prince Moang of the West Sea Dragon Palace once traded 10,000 bushels of pearls for ingredients grown on Earth with Xu Milu. Later, when the pearls in the system's inventory were full, Xu Milu changed the trading method—exchanging seafood from the sea for ingredients. Two-thirds of these ingredients were transported back to Earth for resale, and one-third were supplied to the Mountain and Sea Restaurant for its exclusive use, which was quite convenient.
Xu Milu suddenly remembered that there was still a gold incense coin left in the system slot. Thinking of this and recalling what Hu Shiyi Niang had said, she had a new guess about the purpose of the incense.
"Spiritual energy" is a mysterious and profound existence, and it can even be regarded as a kind of energy. Cultivators use "spiritual energy" to cultivate. The higher the cultivation level, the greater the energy required to support their own operation. At this time, the concepts of "incense" and "wish power" came into being.
All living things survive on spiritual energy, and the most numerous of these living things are "humans." Humans offer "incense and prayers" to immortals, and while immortals eat the "incense," they also feed back their spiritual energy to heaven and earth to nourish all things, forming a near-perfect ecological chain.
Although Xu Milu didn't know if her guess was right, the incense offerings made by just Wang Pozi and Ding Si Niang last time had made her feel full, which meant that at least her line of reasoning was correct.
After all, the power of incense offerings and prayers is not a one-time thing, but will grow continuously like chives.
Just as Xu Milu was about to delve deeper, she suddenly felt a series of gazes from the void. The hairs on the back of her body stood on end, and a wave of dizziness rose from between her brows, as if countless eyes were falling on her from the darkness.
It was a calm and meaningless glance from above by a higher-dimensional being.
Although the Mountain and Sea Restaurant partially blocked the view of those exploring, Xu Milu still couldn't help but lick her lips:
It seems she has really discovered something incredible.
Xu Milu immediately stopped thinking, gently tossed the fox ball in her arms to the ground, and changed the subject with a smile:
"Just a couple of days ago, the West Sea Dragon Palace sent some silverfish and coconuts. Mo Xuan, go to Aunt Ma's shop on the front street and buy a few live chickens. I'll make you coconut chicken stew and crispy fried silverfish. Hu Silang also sent a lot of autumn wild vegetables yesterday. After that, we can have a hot pot. A hot pot of vegetables will leave you all with a lingering fragrance!"
"Really?! Are we having chicken today? My dear wife, my dear wife, I've been craving a big, fat chicken ever since I was in Yaochi. I even drool while meditating at night!"
Eleven Niang herself was a fox spirit, and her favorite food in life was chicken. Upon hearing this, she couldn't help but transform back into a charming and delicate fairy, and, wearing embroidered shoes, she was about to help kill the chicken.
Mo Xuan immediately threw down the rag in his hand and said:
"No, no, Madam Xu, how can five chickens be enough? This fox probably eats a lot. I'll go and buy more. The ones we can't finish can be buried under the wisteria tree as fertilizer!"
The wisteria tree in the backyard rustled its leaves, not even caring as the wisteria blossoms fell, clearly agreeing with Mo Xuan's words.
"Then buy a few more young chickens, and make the rest into roast chickens. When Eleventh Sister goes back, take a few with her. They won't get cold if you put them in a Qiankun bag. Also, buy two pieces of raw tofu from Tofu Li's family to make soup."
Xu Milu took five taels of silver from the money box behind the counter and handed it to him. The latter couldn't wait and disappeared in a flash.
...
...
Before long, Mo Xuan swaggered back to the restaurant with a flock of live chickens. The chickens were all young chickens with their yellow feathers plucked, each one round and plump, and the roosters' combs had not yet grown.
"Come, come, come!"
Eleventh Sister had a knack for dealing with chickens. She simply pointed at the chickens from a distance, and the dozen or so chickens seemed to have been bewitched, following her to the backyard in a daze.
—It's a perfect depiction of being "dumbfounded".
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