Chapter 5: The Path of Cultivating Immortality

  In the bathroom, I stood facing the white porcelain and said with a bow:

  "Thank you, White Big Brother, for killing the Demon Heaven Wolf and avenging my grandfather's death. This is a gesture of gratitude from my mother, thanking you for your great kindness and virtue."

  After finishing, he bowed to the ground. Bai He Xi nodded and calmly accepted this courtesy, then Yu Ze Cheng began teaching him how to make soup.

  Yu Zhen Cheng taught in detail, and did not hide anything from Bai He Xi. Bai He Xi also learned carefully, and personally tested every place.

  Time flew by unnoticed for a while, and Yu Ze Cheng handed everything over to Bai He Xi. Yu Ze Cheng said:

  "It's roughly like that, as long as the mother soup is cooked, there's no need to wait for a day and night each time you cook the soup. However, the mother soup cannot be kept for more than three days, even if it's frozen into ice cubes, otherwise the flavor will go bad."

  "Alright, you've basically learned everything from Big White Brother, now I should teach you the three most crucial points."

  Bai He sighed and said with a smile:

  "You're not afraid that others will learn, and even sell the secret to the chef, but no matter what, he can't make a soup like this. These three points are your trump card, aren't they?"

  Yu Ze smiled and said:

  "I'm afraid I've let you down, Brother Bai. This soup is what's been keeping me alive, so naturally I want to hold back a little, but for you, Brother Bai, I'll teach you everything."

  The first point is to put salt, since ancient times people can't do without eating salt, wine and dishes want to be delicious, putting salt is important, in fact this putting salt has a lot to say, my soup relies on putting salt to adjust the flavor. I remember that when I was reading "Yuanheng Zongyao", I saw a story about a chef of Chen State who set up a banquet for the king, and he spent a whole day preparing the wine table, but in the end, he forgot to put salt on the last dish, thinking that this was a capital offense.

  The result was not as expected, everyone praised the dish for being delicious because all the dishes had salt in them. These people had been eating for a day and were already saturated with salt, so when they ate the dish without salt, it tasted refreshingly savory and incredibly delicious.

  So when I taught the chef, I told him to add a little salt. This salt is absolutely normal for these soups, and he's an old chef who can't see anything wrong with it. In fact, there's a story behind this. Every time my soup is served last at the banquet, everyone has already eaten their fill of other dishes and absorbed enough salt from them. By the time they drink my soup, I don't add any salt, and they no longer need it. So when they taste it, the flavor feels just right, not too salty or bland.

  Those who don't know this, the chef still adds salt according to my teaching method, and the soup tastes normal when it's done. However, when it's served at a banquet, it will inevitably leave a salty aftertaste, and since this soup is mainly for nourishment, once it's salty, all other fresh flavors disappear, so the taste is not right, and it's not good to drink.

  Secondly, look at these three Chinese medicinal herbs, Mu Ke, Huang Qin and Gou Jian. Actually, whether or not to include them in the decoction is optional. My purpose of including them is to prevent others from stealing my recipe.

  Muxiang grass emits a bitter smell when it meets vinegar, Huangshen emits a fishy smell if it is cooked for more than an hour, and Goulian emits an astringent taste when it meets beef.

  However, as long as you match these three flavors reasonably, they will neutralize each other and become a tempting fragrance, and there will also be a kind of salty feeling, which will cover up the secret of not putting salt.

  "This combination requires precise control over the proportion of ingredients, cooking time and serving time. If any of these are off by even a little bit, the flavor of the soup will change. Alright, now I'll explain it to you in detail, Brother Bai..."

  Bai Hezi was particularly interested in this and asked detailed questions, carefully studying it. Yu Zecheng gradually understood that Bai Hezi attached great importance to the secrecy of this soup, not to mention being like himself, wanting to rely on this soup to curry favor with some powerful person and stand out from the crowd. At the same time, he was also afraid that others would learn from him and snatch his business away.

  Yu Ze continued:

  "One more thing, I'm not even sure I understand it myself, and I don't know why. We chefs all have some internal skills, sometimes we use our internal skills to help fuel the stove fire, so that the soup dishes come out faster and taste better."

  "My internal strength may be weak, but when I use it to help with the stove fire, the soup that comes out is better than theirs. That's why Chef Zhang gave up on learning my recipe."

  Yu Ze Cheng finished speaking, and Bai He Xi nodded silently, then he reached out to touch Yu Ze Cheng's head, circulating his internal energy, after a while, he said:

  "How did you discover these secrets?"

  Yu Ze Cheng replied:

  "The art of putting salt I found in 'Yuanheng Zongyao'. As for the conflict and harmony of those three herbs, I read it in 'Bencao Gangmu'. I experimented hundreds of times before summarizing this."

  Bai He nodded and said:

  "You're so young and yet so diligent, you're a good seedling. The third reason I know why, your body has the five elements spiritual root, although it's a pseudo-spiritual root, but none of them have this. This soup is said to be a soup that already has the medicinal properties of circulating Qi and dispersing stagnation, only those with spiritual roots can refine it. Moreover, you may have a natural talent for alchemy?"

  Yu then asked in surprise:

  "What is Linggen?"

  Bai He said:

  "Have you heard of Xianren?"

  Yu nodded and replied:

  "I heard from my father that he had seen immortals flying in the air."

  Bai He nodded and said:

  "In fact, all immortals were once ordinary people who cultivated themselves to become so. However, with the same secret scriptures and immortal methods, some people can cultivate themselves into immortals, while others cannot absorb spiritual energy into their bodies no matter what they do, and are unable to produce true primordial power, and thus cannot become immortals."

  After countless generations of research, it was found that ordinary people who can cultivate true yuan power must have spiritual roots in their meridians. If a person does not have spiritual roots, then don't even think about cultivating immortality, because you can't even feel the spiritual energy, let alone cultivate magical powers!

  You belong to the Five Elements Spirit Root, which is one of the most common Spirit Roots. The Tiger Roar Heaven Technique you cultivate originally evolved from the basic cultivation method of Xian, so when you use internal energy to assist in refining, with your body possessing a Spirit Root, you can draw spiritual energy into the soup, giving it the embryonic form of an elixir. After this soup is done well, it will have a weak medicinal effect that disperses and supplements human vitality. This is what I find curious - how could an ordinary chef make such a soup?

  Yu then stood in stunned silence, saying:

  "Five Elements Spiritual Roots? Refining Medicine? White Big Brother, I can also cultivate immortality?"

  Bai He sighed and nodded his head, saying:

  "Cultivation is indeed difficult, you see me being magnificent on the outside, but in reality I'm just an outsider, struggling to find a way in. If I can use this soup to enter the inner circle and receive the old ancestor's reward, break through the pre-heavenly boundary, and establish my foundation, I won't forget about you."

  Yu Ze Cheng said:

  "Thanks, Big White Brother! What's this 'building foundation' you're talking about? In my memory, Innate Experts are the strongest experts under the heavens!"

  Bai He learned how to make soup today and felt a sense of direction in his heart, so he couldn't help but say a few more words.

  "Born with great talent, haha, in the mortal world, being a master of the Innate Realm is indeed famous throughout the land, but for cultivation, that's just the beginning."

  Ordinary people cultivating immortality must go through five major periods and fifteen realms. These five major periods are: Refining Qi, Building Foundation, Golden Elixir, Primordial Infant, and Void.

  Each stage is also divided into three realms: the Refining Qi stage is divided into Guiding Qi, Fetal Breathing, and Prenatal; the Building Foundation stage is divided into Shaping the Body, Merging, and Spiritual Quietude; the Golden Elixir stage is divided into Forming the Elixir, Heart Movement, and Dragon-Tiger; the Embryonic Breath stage is divided into Forming the Embryo, Exiting the Cave, and Separating the Spirit; the Void Refining stage is divided into Entering Emptiness, Crossing the Calamity, and Great Vehicle.

  The fifteen realms of cultivation, each realm is further divided into primary, intermediate and advanced levels, plus a final breakthrough period's peak state, so each period will be divided into ten level states.

  Xiang Ma Lao Hei's internal skill has been tempered for thirty years, and he can now wield his knife. As a high-ranking martial artist who can release his true energy externally, this is equivalent to the initial stage of the fetal breathing realm in the refining qi period. The characteristic is that it can emit true energy to form a sword energy knife halo protective cover.

  Like Mo Tianlang, who entered the Tao through martial arts, his white hair turned black, and he rode the void with ease. That's when he entered the higher level of the Xiantian realm, marked by the ability to stand in mid-air. However, this is just the beginning in the cultivation world. One needs to reach the peak of the Xiantian realm, then build a foundation, refine their body again, and transform from an old man into a young one. Only then can they truly enter the cultivation world, be recognized by it, and become an official disciple of various sects.

  "As soon as one enters the Immortal Realm, what they cultivate is no longer true energy, but rather True Yuan magical power. At that time, learning immortal techniques and spells or possessing magical artifacts will be possible. Even the weakest of cultivators in the Qi Refining stage, if they possess powerful immortal techniques and magical artifacts, can still kill a pre-heavenly strong martial artist."

  After finishing speaking, Bai He Xi's hand moved slightly, and a fireball appeared on his palm, about the size of a human head. It floated above his palm, emitting a powerful heat.

  Bai He sighed and waved his hand again, and the fireball disappeared, saying:

  "Mo Tian Lang has reached the Pre-Heaven High-Level Realm, while I'm only at the Pre-Heaven Primary Level, a full two realms higher than me. However, under my weak Dao Fa and the bombardment of fireballs, in the end, he was still broken through his True Qi shield, exhausted his True Qi, and killed on the spot."

  The greatest benefit of cultivating immortality is that it can prolong one's lifespan. When a cultivator enters the fetal breathing state during the Qi-refining stage, they can live to be over 70 years old. If they enter the prenatal state, living to be around 150 years old is not an issue, and their body will be strong and healthy, free from all diseases.

  If one can lay a solid foundation and enter the foundational period, refine and transform the body, their lifespan will increase by at least two cycles of sixty years, allowing them to live for at least three hundred years. Entering the realms of fusion and spiritual quietude each add another cycle of sixty years to one's lifespan, reaching an advanced age of four hundred years.

  "If one can enter the Golden Elixir stage, their lifespan will increase by a factor of two, and they can live up to 800 years. They can also achieve liberation from the flesh and be reborn through transmigration. If one can enter the Primordial Infant stage, it can be said that they have achieved immortality, at least living for thousands of years until the calamity of heaven arrives, when there is a risk of falling."

  Yu Hua silently listened, engraving all of these in his mind, then said:

  "What about after Mahayana?"

  Bai He sighed and said:

  "That's the ascension to heaven, either as a celestial being or a deva, entering the realm of immortals. That is the highest state for cultivators, but the tribulation stage is extremely perilous. According to ancient legends, forming the yuan infant is easy, but passing the tribulation is difficult."

  It's a bit off topic, but now in the six regions of Tiān Nán, Mò Běi, Gǔ Qín, Chǔ Xī, Miáo Xiāng and Suí Yuǎn, there are thirty-seven continents. As long as one reaches the Golden Elixir stage, they can establish their own sect, control the country, and divide the world. Even a transcendent like Yuányīng would only have one or two of the 108 top disciples from the 72 schools of the 36 sects. Not to mention that it's been three or four thousand years since a transcendent in the Separation Realm has appeared in the world.

  Yu Ze Cheng was speechless for a long time, completely stunned. Bai He Xi continued:

  "Xiao Yuzi, do you really want to be a chef for your whole life?"