Chapter 260: Mortal Gourmet Food
The old man had no trace of Spiritual Energy on him.
However, a Mortal without Spiritual Energy could not possibly enter this place.
Being able to completely hide oneself to appear as a Mortal could only prove that the old man before them was of an unfathomably high cultivation level.
Chen Miaomiao fell silent for a moment, standing in place and contemplating the potential consequences of the secrets of various Spirit Herbs being discovered.
The old man seemed not to notice Chen Miaomiao’s arrival.
He marveled at the Spirit Herbs in the thriving Experimental Field surrounding Chen Miaomiao.
Although the back mountain of the Flying Sparrow Sect had been replaced with Tier 2 Spirit Herbs, only those in the Experimental Field were cared for more meticulously by Chen Miaomiao.
They grew even denser than the Spirit Herbs in ordinary Spiritual Fields.
Generally, the Root Systems of Spirit Herbs would absorb more Spiritual Energy, and their Root Systems could not intertwine with each other.
Chen Miaomiao had broken this balance.
Because the Tier 2 Spirit Herbs were themselves grafted, she had already altered the underlying logic.
As for the Spirit Liquid the old man mentioned, she had a method to produce it, but the Materials required were too expensive, and it was only a low-tier version.
It was impossible to use it on a large number of Spirit Herbs to promote growth; it would be putting the cart before the horse.
After standing in place for a while, Chen Miaomiao steadied herself and slowly stepped forward, “Are you interested in these Spirit Herbs, elder?”
The grey-robed old man then straightened up and turned his head to look at Chen Miaomiao.
His face was aged, but upon closer inspection, his eyes were bright and sharp, and his spirit was excellent.
Seeing Chen Miaomiao, he showed no awareness of intruding on someone else’s territory. Instead, he sized her up with a direct probe, “Did you grow all these Spirit Herbs?”
Chen Miaomiao nodded, “Yes.”
The old man pointed at the Spirit Herbs, “Wild or cultivated Spirit Herbs cannot grow this densely. Your survival rate in this field is also so high, and I see you haven’t added any Spirit Liquid for nourishment. How did you achieve this?”
Chen Miaomiao stared at the old man.
She looked at those eyes filled with genuine curiosity.
She was weighing her options.
This was someone who could annihilate a Sect with a flip of his hand.
As she thought, the back of her head gradually tensed up.
After a long pause, Chen Miaomiao said softly, “Elder, these are the things our Sect relies on for survival. How can we casually tell outsiders?”
The old man narrowed his eyes and, after a moment, clicked his tongue, “Fine, if you’re unwilling to say, then so be it.”
This person was clearly inquiring about another Sect’s secret, yet he exuded an air of righteous entitlement.
But only after hearing his words did Chen Miaomiao let out a barely perceptible sigh of relief. Her tense neck relaxed, and a few drops of Cold Sweat trickled down.
This was the first time in her long time playing the Game that she had encountered a threat greater than a Demonic Beast.
One wrong move, and their Game might have to close down today.
“If you won’t tell me, then I can at least look, right?”
With him saying that, Chen Miaomiao was indeed helpless.
After all, he had already seen it, what could she do?
She could only pray that the Grafting technique she had developed through numerous Experiments would not reveal more flaws to him.
Seeing the old man genuinely staring intently at the Spirit Herbs, Chen Miaomiao thought for a moment and bought a bottle of Spirit Wine from the Sect.
She also asked a Player below the mountain to buy a few side dishes and bring them over.
Next to the Experimental Field was a simple small house with bamboo stools and a bamboo table.
It was where Chen Miaomiao usually rested.
She placed the Spirit Wine on it and said gently, “Would you like to have some Food and drink some Spirit Wine, elder? This is a local Specialty product.”
“Hmm?” The old man was not very interested in these foods.
He didn’t completely practice Grain Avoidance, and would occasionally eat something to satisfy his Craving for food.
But the last time he had eaten was at least several years ago.
It was only when he heard the words “Spirit Wine” that he showed a slight interest, “Spirit Wine, what kind of Spirit Wine?”
“Spirit Wine brewed from Spirit Herbs and Mortal Grain. It tastes very good, you can try it.”
“Brewed from Spirit Herbs and Mortal Food?”
The old man was a little surprised.
He had indeed never seen this before.
He came closer and saw that faint wisps of Spiritual Energy were indeed emanating from the wine pot.
Not strong, but present.
Chen Miaomiao explained as if it were natural, “This bottle is brewed with Blood Bead Grass. The one brewed with Yi Qi Grass always has a bit of bitterness, and most people don’t like it except for those who enjoy drinking.”
The old man’s interest was piqued. He sat down with a thud and said unceremoniously, “Let me try it.”
He was not surprised by Chen Miaomiao’s natural hospitality.
Smart people could see through his questions; he liked clever juniors.
Chen Miaomiao took out wine cups and poured him some wine. The side dishes on the table were personally prepared by a chef Player.
Stir-fried mixed vegetables.
Sweet and sour pork.
Mapo Tofu.
Di San Xian (Three Earthly Delicacies).
Braised pork.
And a fish soup so delicious it would make your eyebrows fall off.
Since she didn’t know his specific tastes, she had prepared several dishes with different flavors.
Yunzhou Continent had no shortage of cuisines, but many Seasonings were products of Modern times that had evolved over Time.
Here, besides basic oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar, there were occasional Seasonings like pepper.
Therefore, even with good ingredients, the taste could become monotonous after eating for a while.
Many of the Seasoning elements were developed by Players of the current era.
Not to mention that among the Players who entered later, there were master chefs who, upon entering, did not hide their skills and taught their unique techniques to the locals.
— Primarily because Fan Guozhou provided Spirit Stones.
This was because the Restaurant needed more variety of dishes to attract customers.
Relying solely on online Information, the few Life Players willing to cook might not necessarily be skilled chefs.
The presence of master chefs was exceptionally important.
These Mortal Foods, once insignificant in the eyes of Cultivators, were now something many Cultivators visiting Wang’an County were willing to patronize the Restaurant for a few hearty meals.
The rich aroma entered his nostrils, and the powerful, intense heritage craftsmanship from a later era made the old man twitch his nose.
He, who rarely used his mouth, picked up his chopsticks first and took a piece of sweet and sour pork.
In an instant, he narrowed his eyes slightly and praised without reservation, “Not bad. I’ve traveled extensively, and the taste of this meat is among the best I’ve ever had.”
Chen Miaomiao then smiled faintly, “Please try something else.”
The old man then took other dishes.
He also began to drink the wine Chen Miaomiao had poured for him.
The simple dishes, with their complex flavors, made the old man’s eyes widen.
He had eaten quite a bit of Mortal Food before, so why was the taste here so rich?
Compared to some ingredients he had tasted that others wouldn’t even dare to imagine, this method of combining and maximizing the inherent flavors of Mortal ingredients to the extreme was something he had never seen.
Delicious!
He hadn’t expected to stumble upon such an interesting place by chance today.
The old man finished all the dishes in a flash.
He even ate the crucian carp in the fish soup, not even spitting out the bones.
However, it was not an issue for Cultivators to eat these; they were directly consumed by Spiritual Energy.
After finishing his meal, the old man, still unsatisfied, asked, “Are there any other dishes?”
“Yes.”
Chen Miaomiao showed an even brighter smile, “In the Restaurant at the foot of the mountain, there are hundreds of dishes with different flavors.”
