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Jing Nan said in a clear voice: "Zhenhuang Mountain is a famous and upright sect, and the disciples must be good. I am the casual cultivator Nan Jing." Feng Gui nodded: "Casual cultivator Xi Feng."
Du Heng: ...He's going to die. These two people said to change his name, so he changed it. He hasn't decided what to call himself yet.
Xuan Yu nodded: "The casual cultivator Yu Xuan and his Taoist companion Du Heng, as well as the spiritual pets Xiao Xiao, Nianniansuisui, and Wonton Ciba."
After Xuan Yu finished his introduction, Shi Jun on the other side fell strangely silent. Du Heng could feel Shi Jun's consciousness swaying back and forth on the backpack behind him. After a while, Shi Jun said, "This is the first time I've seen such a docile spirit pet."
Feng Gui gave Xuan Yu an ambiguous smile. His nephew had become a spirit pet? Xuan Yu looked back calmly. What else could it be but a spirit pet?
Shi Jun led Jing Nan and the others to the southern cliff, where there was a cave. Standing at the entrance of the cave was a pretty girl in purple clothes, with her hand on a purple whip at her waist.
After seeing Shi Jun, she frowned slightly: "Brother Shi, why didn't you discuss it with us before bringing people here?"
Shi Jun said, "Now that Senior Brother Xu and Senior Brother Wen have been injured by the evil shark, we three cannot cross the river. These four fellow Taoists don't look like bad guys, and they also want to cross the river. Why don't we sit down together and think of a solution?"
The purple-clothed girl looked at Du Heng and the others, and when she saw Feng Gui, she was amazed. When she saw the cats and dogs Du Heng brought with him, her eyes lit up: "Well! Senior Brother Shi is right. Anyone who can be so kind to pets in Dongji Mountain must not be a bad person."
Jing Nan conveyed the message to everyone: "These should be disciples from large sects who came out to gain experience. They are all stupid." Although he didn't want to admit it, Du Heng felt that what Jing Nan said made sense.
There were two young men lying deep in the cave, one of them had lost a leg and was leaning against the cave wall to recover from his injury, and the other was lying on the ground with a blood-stained gauze wrapped around his head. When Du Heng saw Shi Jun before, he thought that Shi Jun and his group were masters. But when he saw the young men on the ground, Du Heng thought he was overthinking.
Shi Jun scratched his head awkwardly. Just when he was about to say something, the young man leaning against the mountain wall opened his eyes. His cultivation was the highest among the group, reaching the middle stage of the Golden Core. As soon as he opened his eyes, a sword energy filled the air.
This young man was a disciple of the Sword Sect. As expected, he opened his mouth and said, "Xu Changge from the Shenxu Palace." This was like introducing himself.
Hearing Xu Changge's name, Du Heng felt very strange. He didn't expect that he would meet someone from Shenxu Palace before leaving Dongji Mountain. To be honest, he had a bad impression of the people from Shenxu Palace because Jinghong stole the Hun Tianzhu and gave it to the lover of Shenxu Palace, which made Xiaoxiao unable to transform. However, when he saw Xu Changge, he actually felt that he was worthy of being a disciple from a big sect. His aura made people dare not approach him.
Although he looked cold and arrogant, his temperament was very reserved. When Du Heng saw him for the first time, he remembered the first time he saw Xuan Yu. Xuan Yu also had such a cold and reserved temperament, and he looked very noble.
Xu Changge went straight to the point: "The five of us came to the ruins of Dongji Mountain to train, but we got separated from our sect and are trapped here. The evil shark in the river has the cultivation level of Nascent Soul. We have been fighting with it for several days. If we still can't find a way to cross the river, we will all die in the mountains when the snow closes the mountain."
Jing Nan smiled and said, "Don't worry about the evil shark for now. I'm a medical practitioner. Let me take a look at your injuries."
Xu Changge frowned slightly, and after thinking for a moment, he nodded: "Thank you."
After Jing Nan injected two needles, the young man next to Xu Changge groaned and woke up. Seeing the young man wake up, Shi Jun and the girl next to him were very excited: "Brother Wen, you are awake! How do you feel?"
The young man sat up from the ground dizzily: "What's wrong with me? Who are these people?"
At this time, the rocks on the mountain wall in the cave moved slightly, and a young man with a backpack walked out from the mountain wall. Seeing so many people in the cave, he was shocked: "Hey? What's going on?"
Du Heng and his friends soon heard another tragic story.
These people are all direct disciples of the big sects. The five people present are just from the five major sects in the world of cultivation. The purple-clothed girl is Liu Lingling, and she is the last disciple of Yu Jing, the master of Langhuan Pavilion. The one whose head was hit is Wen Tingzhi, and he is the fifth disciple of the head of Tianyi Sect. The last person who appeared from the mountain wall is Mu Qian, and he is also a direct disciple of the head of Dingkun Sect.
The five of them each took their juniors to the ruins in Dongji Mountain for training, and the training period was set at one month. At first, everything went smoothly in the ruins, and the young disciples practiced well, but they didn't expect that when the training was about to end, a thick fog suddenly appeared in the ruins.
It was unknown which unlucky kid had triggered the protection barrier of the ruins. The moment the barrier was opened, all the people in the ruins were bounced to various places in Dongji Mountain. After Xu Changge and his companions left the ruins, they wandered around in Dongji Mountain and unexpectedly gathered a group of people.
However, there were too many evil creatures in Dongji Mountain, and the younger disciples with weaker cultivation died one by one. In the end, only a few of them were left from the five major sects. They saw that the Great Life Gate was in front of them, but they were blocked here by the blood-sucking vines and the evil sharks.
During this period, Xu Changge and his team tried many ways to cross the river, but unfortunately they failed and got injured. If it weren't for Jing Nan, Wen Tingzhi would still be dizzy.
Liu Lingling frowned: "We have also tried to fight with the blood-sucking vines with four vines, but we lost several disciples in just one encounter." Those who survived were the elites, and those with slightly weaker foundations died.
Xu Changge was a cautious person. He questioned Jing Nan and the others about their situation: "Are the four of you independent cultivators? How did you get here?"
Jing Nan's eyes curved, "Don't mention it. We originally wanted to try our luck in the mountains and see if we could find some spiritual treasures to exchange for spiritual stones. Unexpectedly, the hydrology and weather in Dongji Mountain were so unpredictable this year that we almost couldn't get out."
Xiaoxiao jumped out of the backpack, sat on the ground, and began to eat the snacks in the storage bag. It was lunch time and he was hungry.
As soon as Xiaoxiao started eating, the serious atmosphere changed. Liu Lingling's eyes were glued to Xiaoxiao and she didn't move away. She looked at Du Heng expectantly: "Daoyou Du, your pet is so cute~ Can I touch it?"
Du Heng looked at Feng Gui awkwardly, and Feng Gui looked calm. Du Heng said, "You can try. If Xiao Xiao lets you touch it, you can try to touch it."
Liu Lingling groped in her sleeve for a while and took out a bottle of medicine. Jing Nan smelled it and found that it was a medicine made by a human cultivation sect specifically for increasing the spiritual energy of spirit beasts. It was also the most common medicine they ate when they were young, the Peiyuan Pill.
Liu Lingling took out a middle-grade Peiyuan Pill from the bottle. She placed it on her palm and tempted Xiaoxiao: "Little darling, come here."
Xiaoxiao glanced at the pill, then he got up and walked towards Liu Lingling. Liu Lingling put her palm in front of Xiaoxiao: "This is for you, can you let me touch it?"
Xiaoxiao looked up at Liu Lingling, then he lowered his head and picked up the pill. He turned around and faced Liu Lingling with his round buttocks, then he threw the pill on the ground and split it in half with his claws. He called out to Niannian Suisui: "Chirp."
He didn't like the Pei Yuan Dan, but Nianniansuisui could use it. After Nianniansuisui picked up the Pei Yuan Dan, Xiaoxiao looked at Liu Lingling eagerly. Liu Lingling reached out and touched Xiaoxiao's back: "Ah~ So soft~"
Liu Lingling touched her twice, but Xiaoxiao refused to do it anymore. He chattered at Liu Lingling righteously.
Jing Nan said, "Xiao Xiao said that you can only touch a pill once. If you touch it twice, you have to give him another one." Seeing that the cultivators were all looking at Jing Nan, Jing Nan said, "After you have raised it for a long time, you will know what he means."
Du Heng covered his face. Is Xiaoxiao actually this kind of person?
Liu Lingling was obviously stunned, but she was not angry because Xiaoxiao was cute. She smiled and said, "What species is this little spirit beast from? It's so cute and human."
Hearing this, Feng Gui and the others all narrowed their eyes and smiled. Isn't this human nature, because this is a child, not a spiritual pet!
Liu Lingling actually bargained with Xiaoxiao seriously: "Do you know how many spirit stones this Peiyuan Pill costs? It's really a waste to just let me touch it once. How about this, I'll give you another pill, and let me hug you?"
Xiaoxiao raised her little wings: “Chirp!” Deal.
Xiaoxiao gave the pill she got this time to Ciba. After Ciba took the pill, he fell asleep on the ground, while Xiaoxiao nestled in Liu Lingling's arms and let her touch him as she pleased.
After Xiaoxiao's disturbance, no one could be serious anymore.
Du Heng looked at the sky and said, "It's getting late. Shall I make lunch? Let's keep it simple today. How about hot and sour noodles?"
Du Heng had consumed a lot of spiritual energy this morning, so he wanted to eat something hot and spicy. Afraid that Jing Nan would have an opinion, he said to Jing Nan, "If you don't like it, I'll cook you three-fresh noodles."
Xuan Yu got up and said to Jing Nan and the others, "You guys continue chatting. Du Heng and I are going to cook." Jing Nan waved his hand and said, "Go ahead."
Feng Gui looked at the cultivators in the cave and said calmly, "Don't be surprised, fellow Taoists. When we are out practicing, there will always be emergencies. You all know the price of elixirs in the cultivation world now. Sometimes, in order to save elixirs, we will eat some food in moderation."
As soon as Feng Gui said this, Shi Jun looked at them with sympathy. There are also levels for cultivators in the cultivation world. In addition to the strict levels of cultivation, there are also inequalities in status.
Disciples from large sects often look down on disciples from small sects, and disciples from small sects often look down on independent cultivators.
Take Zhenhuang Mountain where Shi Jun is located as an example. He is a core inner sect disciple, and he can receive the most elixirs and spirit stones every month among all the disciples. Even so, he will have more expenses than income. Sometimes when he sees a treasure and wants to buy it, he can only borrow money from friends or buy it on credit from the sect.
Core disciples like them have their share of hardship, not to mention those from the outer sects and small sects. He had heard that the core disciples of small sects earn less in a month than the outer disciples of their sects. The bigger the sect, the more resources it controls, so people in the cultivation world are trying their best to get into the big sects.
As independent cultivators have no sect, it is more difficult for them to advance. Every year, countless independent cultivators enter Dongji Mountain to try their luck, but most of them never come back.
Shi Jun and the others watched Xuan Yu and the others setting up the stove, and they couldn't help but feel a trace of sympathy in their eyes: Poor them, without any medicinal pills, they can only eat the food that ordinary people eat to replenish their spiritual energy. Thinking about it this way, they are really lucky.
229
Feng Gui looked at Xu Changge and Wen Tingzhi and asked, "What does the evil shark in the river look like?" Feng Gui's attitude was the same as usual, and Du Heng and the others didn't think there was anything wrong with it. It was just that he was used to looking down on others, and now when he used his usual tone to talk to a cultivator who seemed to be at the same level as him, it would give people a sense of arrogance.
Fortunately, he is good-looking, so people can tolerate him because of his looks.
Jing Nan tried to smooth things over for Feng Gui: "Don't be surprised, fellow Taoists. My friend usually speaks like this. What he meant was that both of you were injured and must have had direct contact with the evil shark. Have you seen the appearance of the evil shark? And what are its attack methods?"
Wen Tingzhi scratched his head in embarrassment: "I'm ashamed. As soon as I saw the evil shark, I saw a black mass bursting out in the water. Then I didn't know anything."
Xu Changge pursed his lips and said, "On the first day we came here, there were eight of us. We tried using flying swords, but there was a restriction on the river surface so we couldn't fly swords and could only wade across. There was a cultivator with water spirit roots among us at the time, and he wrapped a barrier around us and then went into the water together.
"We didn't expect that a whirlpool would suddenly appear when we were in the middle of the river, and our three companions were swept into the water. It took a lot of effort for the five of us to climb ashore. The evil shark kept an eye on the water surface at all times and would float up if there was any fluctuation in spiritual energy.
"We have no choice but to live in a cave on the edge of the cliff and observe the situation on the river. During this period, I observed that the whirlpool in the water would calm down at midnight every night. So I think the evil shark should take a rest at midnight.
"I originally wanted to cross the river while the evil shark was asleep, but I failed. Whenever I dived to the middle of the river, a whirlpool would appear. The river was turbulent, and it was too difficult to cross the river without using spiritual energy."
Jing Nan frowned slightly: "Have you ever tried to cross the riverbed?"
Xu Changge nodded: "I tried, but there was too much mud and sand in the water, and there were countless undercurrents at the bottom of the water. Once in the river, I couldn't see what was ahead of me. The evil sharks were lurking in the water, and I didn't know which direction they would rush towards me. My leg was broken on the riverbed."
Jing Nan said to Feng Gui, "It seems that this is not going to be easy." Feng Gui sent a message back, "In the past, we had hundreds of ways to deal with the evil shark, but now none of them can be used."
Du Heng placed the stove at the entrance of the cave. He didn't like narrow places, which would affect his cooking. Just as he bent down to move the kimchi jar out, Xuan Yu blocked Du Heng's way.
Du Heng heard Xuan Yu's voice: "Du Heng, I'm going to seal the Fantasy Sky Pearl." Du Heng was about to look up when he heard Xuan Yu slowly say: "Don't be afraid, it won't hurt. Stand up slowly and face me, and move naturally."
Du Heng put the kimchi jar on the chopping board, and turned to look at Xuan Yu. Xuan Yu put his hand on Du Heng's chest and smiled, "It doesn't hurt, don't be afraid."
Du Heng felt a warm current rushing to his chest, then enveloping his heart. The heat flow circled around his heart for a few times, and Du Heng felt his chest tighten, but it didn't hurt, just a suffocating feeling. Fortunately, the feeling was fleeting, and Du Heng soon became full of energy.
Xuan Yu explained in a voice transmission: "Before the seal is lifted, the dishes you cook will not be rich in spiritual energy." Du Heng understood: "That is, they will taste good and be easy to digest. It seems that everyone's appetite will double from today on."
Xuan Yu smiled and nodded: "I'm sorry for putting you in such a difficult position." Du Heng clenched his fist and gently touched Xuan Yu's chest: "What nonsense are you talking about?"
As soon as the pickle jar was opened, a sour and spicy smell wafted out. Du Heng took out two handfuls of sour cowpeas and a handful of pickled peppers. Upon smelling this smell, the cultivators who had just been talking about their experiences with deep hatred immediately stretched their necks.
Feng Gui even stood up and said, "Give me one." Ever since she ate pickled cowpeas for the first time under Lao Dao's guidance, Feng Gui fell in love with the taste.
Xiaoxiao jumped out of Liu Lingling's arms, and he brought Niannian Suisui and the others to Du Heng's stove and surrounded Du Heng to ask for sour cowpeas.
Mu Qian looked at the location of the cave entrance with envy: "That's great." He hadn't seen such a homely scene for a long time. He still remembered that before he got into the art of cooking, he would follow the elders in his family and circle around the stove in his hometown.
Liu Lingling said with relief: "I knew Brother Du was a good person as soon as I saw him. Look how well he takes care of his pets. Only people with kind hearts will treat their pets well." Only people with kind hearts can be trusted to cooperate.
Du Heng took out the sweet potato flour he had prepared before, which he had made in Yun Zheng's cave. Yun Zheng and his friends found a lot of sweet potatoes for Du Heng, all of which were white-hearted sweet potatoes. They tasted dry when baked directly, and they didn't need too much to make side dishes. If they were all put in the refrigerator, they wouldn't fit.
While practicing, Du Heng washed the sweet potatoes and ground them into powder to make sweet potato flour. The color of the sweet potato flour was a little gray when it was first made, but it turned into milky white after being dried in the sun. It usually takes 100 kilograms of sweet potatoes to produce 17 or 18 kilograms of flour, which can be stored in the refrigerator for use whenever you want.
Du Heng wanted to use the Tianhu scale to weigh five kilograms of flour, but after looking at the people in the cave, he put the Tianhu scale away. He took half a basin of sweet potato flour and estimated that he would divide it into two halves, and added water to one half to make a paste.
The big pot was half filled with water. Du Heng also prepared a large wooden basin on the chopping board, which was also half filled with clean water.
Xuan Yu asked, "Do you need my help?" Du Heng nodded, "Yes! I'm going to make vermicelli later, you have to help me stir it and scoop up the vermicelli." After Du Heng said this, Xuan Yu didn't understand what he was supposed to do specifically, but he soon found out.
After the water in the pot boiled, Du Heng scooped a spoonful of boiling water and poured it into the sweet potato powder that had been mixed into a paste. The sweet potato powder turned into a brown solidified block when it came into contact with the boiling water. Xuan Yu immediately understood what he was going to do. He took a wooden stick and began to stir the sweet potato powder frantically.
With the addition of boiling water, half a basin of sweet potato flour was scalded into a brown and transparent paste. Just when Xuan Yu thought it was about done, Du Heng poured the sweet potato flour he had just separated into the sweet potato paste: "Come on!"
I have to say that Xuan Yu and Du Heng have a great understanding of each other. The two of them cooperate well, making everyone around them jealous.
Liu Lingling held her face in her hands and said, "Great! Daoist Fellow Yuxuan and Daoist Fellow Duheng are a perfect match. It's obvious that they have been Daoist companions for a long time. They have such a good understanding!"
Jing Nan and Feng Gui looked at each other, neither of them expressing their opinions.
Du Heng started making vermicelli, and the cultivators couldn't sit still. Liu Lingling and the others were quite reserved at first, but soon they gathered around the stove and watched: "What are they doing? It looks very interesting."
After being stirred, the flour paste in the wooden basin has changed from transparent to turbid... paste. If you dip the chopsticks in it, you can see that the paste is pulled up and then slides down from the chopsticks continuously.
At this time, Du Heng took out the colander he had just made. The colander was round in shape with densely packed round holes at the bottom. The diameter of the round holes was about the same as that of chopsticks. Du Heng used a spoon to scoop a large spoonful of the powder paste into the colander.
The sticky powder overflowed from the hole below, gathering at the bottom of the hole, and then condensed into round drops that fell from the colander. Behind the big drops were a stream of vermicelli. Du Heng lowered the colander in his hand, and the big drops fell into the wooden basin and merged with the powder below.
The big heads broke off one after another, and the colander was covered with evenly distributed vermicelli. At this time, Du Heng moved the colander to the top of the pot. The vermicelli fell into the boiling water and turned into transparent vermicelli. They fell into the pot in long and short pieces and floated up soon.
Xuan Yu was already standing by with long chopsticks. When he saw the vermicelli floating up, he scooped it up and placed it in a wooden basin of cold water. Seeing Du Heng struggling to hold the wooden spoon, Xuan Yu gently caught the wooden spoon with his spiritual energy and said, "Let me do it. You just need to scoop out the vermicelli."
With Xuan Yu's help, Du Heng was much more relaxed. Xuan Yu's spiritual energy wrapped around the vermicelli in the wooden basin and poured into the colander. The long vermicelli under the colander fell into the boiling water. Without waiting for Du Heng to remind him, Xuan Yu cut off the vermicelli and winked at Du Heng: "Is this long enough?"
Du Heng gave a thumbs up: "Great! As expected of Xiaoyu, you are amazing!"
If there weren't so many people staring at him, Du Heng would have given Xuan Yu a kiss. After a while, the rice noodles in the wooden basin turned into gray-brown vermicelli in another basin. Du Heng moved the wooden basin to the chopping board and said, "Now let's make hot and sour noodles and three-fresh potato noodles!"
The soul of hot and sour noodles is sour beans, and Du Heng will not accept any rebuttal on this point!
He chopped the sour beans into fingernail-sized pieces and also chopped the pickled peppers. Then he took out a fist-sized piece of mountain meat and chopped it into minced meat.
After the oil in the pan was heated, Du Heng pushed the pickled peppers into the pan and stir-fried them until fragrant. The sour and spicy taste spread immediately, and Du Heng coughed: "Xiao Yu, smoke from the cooking oil."
Xuan Yu's hand swirled, and the smoke was sucked out of the cave. Du Heng felt better. He poured the minced meat into the stir-fried pickled peppers, and after the fat in the minced meat was stir-fried out, he added some white wine.
After a little stir-fry, he poured the sour cowpea into the pot and stir-fried it evenly. The dish of minced meat and sour beans does not need too much seasoning, because the beans have flavor, and the sour and spicy taste is enough to cover the taste of the meat.
Du Heng placed a plate of yellowish pork and beans on the chopping board. Feng Gui had already stretched out his evil claws to pinch the sour beans and eat them: "It's sour and spicy, delicious~"
Du Heng smiled and said, "Don't worry, it will be ready soon. By the way, fellow Daoist Liu, do you like spicy food or not? I will prepare it so that I can."
Liu Lingling and the others were stunned for a moment: "Eh? Is there a share for us too?" Du Heng nodded: "Yes, as long as you don't mind. As for Fellow Daoist Wen and Fellow Daoist Xu, I will make some porridge for you later."
Xu Changge wanted to say no, but he looked at Du Heng's smiling face and said nothing. He bowed coldly: "Thank you."
Three-fresh soup Du Heng directly used the bone soup base that had been boiled in the refrigerator before, which contained mushrooms. Du Heng was going to cut a braised egg and add a few slices of braised meat. This was the three-fresh potato vermicelli. However, he soon thought of the spiritual energy of the dishes he had made before, and he looked at Xuan Yu in confusion.
Xuan Yu transmitted the message: "It's okay. Their cultivation is not yet at the level where they can notice the difference. We can just say that the meat is from a spiritual beast." Du Heng heaved a sigh of relief. Otherwise, where would he get the three-fresh soup base at this time?
Liu Lingling ate the three-fresh flavor, while Shi Jun and Mu Qian both ate the hot and sour flavor. Eight bowls were quickly placed on the stove, four of which contained bone soup, and Du Heng was mixing the seasonings in the other four bowls.
Du Heng scooped two spoons of chili oil, one spoon of chopped green onion, one spoon of mashed garlic, and one spoon of pepper powder into another bowl, and then added two spoons of vinegar, two and a half spoons of soy sauce, and a small half spoon of salt and sugar. After the base was mixed with boiling water, the bowl suddenly turned red, and a sour and spicy taste strongly stimulated everyone's nose.
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