vncnus Chapter 43 Job Hopping
Chapter 43 Job Hopping
Chapter 43 Job Hopping
Chen Yi used this spiritual energy to temporarily enhance his comprehension of two cultivation techniques.
Suddenly, the phantom images of two sets of cultivation techniques appeared before my eyes—
The domineering trajectory of the Blood Fiend Technique in devouring essence and blood, and the Geng metal path of the Vajra Skill in refining flesh and blood, gradually fit together like puzzle pieces under the blessing of the Fire Spirit!
Chen Yifu, guided by his spiritual mind, used the Fire Spirit as a "flux" to reconstruct his cultivation technique with the system's assistance:
While retaining the Blood Fiend Technique's swiftness in plundering the essence of demonic beasts, it uses the system as a medium to remove the fiendish energy, increasing the purity of the golden radiance by 20%. The Geng metal energy of the Vajra Technique envelops the fire spirit, creating the effect of "fire refining true gold," thus improving the efficiency of bone refining.
Finally, a wisp of new, dark gold-red energy was born in his meridians. Chen Yi's muscle fibers seemed to have been forged and tempered, and his bones faintly gleamed with a metallic sheen.
The third level of the Vajra Skill has advanced the bone refining progress by about 110%.
"After the cultivation method was improved, although the requirements for the quality of the demon beast's flesh and blood are higher, the effect of the Golden Radiance Body Refinement is more profound."
Chen Yi estimated that if he continued to cultivate in this way, when he initially mastered the third level of the Vajra Skill, he would be equivalent to others achieving the minor success of the third level.
The third level, bone refinement, is a physical cultivation process that runs throughout the entire Foundation Establishment stage.
This is also a qualitative transformation process in Vajra Kung Fu. Initially, the bones are made of iron; in a smaller stage, they become bronze; and in a larger stage, they become gold, corresponding to the early, middle, and late stages of Foundation Establishment.
Chen Yi's goal is at least to reach the Golden Bone realm; without it, it would be almost impossible to break through to the next major realm of body refinement.
In the body-refining system, the bones are far more important than the flesh and blood. They are the foundation of the entire body-refining path, bearing the entire load of muscle bursts and serving as the fundamental basis of the great path of body-refining cultivation.
Advanced body cultivators use their bones as "spiritual veins." When the Golden Bones are fully developed, the bones can form spiritual energy circuits, allowing the physical body and magic to perfectly merge.
When one's lifespan is about to end, the flesh and blood will decay, but the golden bones can remain intact for thousands of years. Even after ancient body cultivators pass away, the golden bones can still suppress evil spirits.
If one can refine golden bones at the third level of body cultivation, not only will their strength far surpass that of their peers, but they will also lay a perfect foundation for subsequent "filth refining," "marrow refining," and "blood exchange," which will determine how far they can go on the path of body refinement.
Therefore, Chen Yi did not rush for quick success in the third level of body refinement, but instead prepared to devour a large amount of resources and repeatedly hone his skills.
The good news is that Chen Yi has gradually figured out a unique way of spiritual cooking during his body refining cultivation.
Initially, it was just to remove the stench when processing the flesh and blood of demonic beasts, but later he discovered that specially cooked spiritual food could actually improve the efficiency of body refining.
He combined his advanced culinary skills from his past life with his current spiritual cultivation philosophy to create the unique "Golden Radiance Calcination Method."
By breaking down the meat fibers, the golden essence penetrates every inch of the muscle, precisely removing blood impurities and preserving the purest essence of blood and qi.
Combining techniques for processing talisman skins, the meat of demonic beasts is cut, alternating between cutting with and against the grain to preserve the channels of spiritual energy.
Furthermore, through his powerful divine sense, he perceived the changes in the five elements of the demon beast meat during the cooking process.
They experimented with adding spiritual herbs and medicines to the processing of demon beast meat to harmonize the five elements and further enhance its medicinal properties.
For example, when processing Xuanhuo snake meat once, Chen Yi had a sudden inspiration to add half a plant of Ice Crystal Grass. After the system absorbed the fire poison of the Xuanhuo snake meat and the cold poison of the Ice Crystal Grass, the two ingredients combined to create a dish with a slight alternation of hot and cold properties, which significantly enhanced the effect on meridian tempering.
Moreover, it tastes extremely delicious.
This is also why Qin Chengcheng kept thinking about the smell after she went to Chen Yi's room last time.
Chen Yi's current spiritual dishes are quite distinctive: the outer skin is golden and crispy, the meat inside is tender and juicy, and the essence of the demon beast is perfectly locked in.
When cut open, you can see fine golden threads. After tasting it, spiritual energy is released gently, which not only preserves the nourishing effect of the monster's flesh and blood, but also removes the fishy smell.
This level of spiritual cuisine is already top-tier among Qi Refining stage cultivators.
Chen Yi didn't know if the profession of spirit chef was divided into levels. If it was, he estimated that he could reach the peak of the first-level high-grade and approach the second-level spirit chef skill.
Chen Yi took out two black iron boxes, inside which lay the Crimson Flame Tiger's eyeball and the Wind and Thunder Eagle's marrow. The former was as red as fire, while the latter was purplish-blue and crackling with lightning.
He activated the system, and a dark golden glow covered his hands, palms facing down above the materials.
The system notifications "[Mutant Fire Spirit Detected] [Wind and Thunder Spirit Detected]" flashed one after another.
Blood-red flames erupted from the Crimson Tiger's eyes, but upon contact with the golden light, they vanished like snow meeting the blazing sun, impurities turning into black smoke. Two strands of pure light entered Chen Yi's meridians. He let out a soft groan, and dark golden patterns appeared on his skin, his muscle fibers reforming like golden threads in a furnace.
Fifteen minutes later, the material's luster dimmed by 30%, and more than half of its core spirituality was absorbed.
Chen Yi set up a copper pot, heated oil in it, and stir-fried the processed Xuanhuo snake meat with the remaining essence, then added semi-spiritual herbs to the broth and stewed it.
Half an hour later, the divine dish was ready. The outer layer was golden and crispy, while the nectar inside was solidified and did not dissipate.
Chen Yi took a bite. The Xuanhuo Snake meat was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with a rich fire spirit aura. The meat was fresh, tender, and chewy, with a lingering fragrance.
After the spirit and flesh enter the stomach, the pure essence and blood surge rapidly within the body.
He activated the improved Vajra Technique, transforming his vital essence into a dark golden glow, which tempered his bones like a furnace.
The fire elemental power contained within the golden radiance perfectly merges with the metal elemental energy, causing the bone density to increase at a visible rate, and a metallic luster to faintly emanate from the depths of the bone marrow.
He estimated that if he could maintain this level of training efficiency, he could complete the "bone refining" stage of the third level of the Vajra Skill in another five years.
Chen Yi's progress in body refinement has recovered somewhat, but in terms of Qi cultivation, he is still lagging behind because he possesses a low-grade spiritual root with three spiritual roots, and is also located in a talisman shop with a first-tier low-grade spiritual vein.
His Qi Refining cultivation is much slower; it might take him several years to accumulate enough Qi to reach the sixth level.
When they encounter the bottleneck of the later stages of Qi Refining, it could take several years to break through to the seventh level. Furthermore, the accumulation of magical power between the seventh and ninth levels of Qi Refining also requires a large amount of spiritual energy.
This is also a problem for Chen Yi.
"Let's focus on the present for now. We can talk about Qi cultivation later."
In the following days, Chen Yi resumed his normal cultivation life.
In the talisman shop, the demonic beast that Liu Cheng had just brought back had indeed regained its flesh and spirit.
However, due to the large groups of demonic beasts in the lake that clashed with human cultivators, the hunting of high-grade demonic beasts has become increasingly rare.
This also affected Chen Yi's cultivation speed.
Not only Chen Yi, but other shops that relied on monsters were also affected, and the Dong family's income decreased significantly.
After discussing with Qin Chengcheng and several other Foundation Establishment stage cultivators, Dong Chang'an decided to join forces to form a demon-hunting team to try to eliminate the newly arrived second-tier peak tortoise-snake beast in the lake.
Several Foundation Establishment cultivators joined forces to explore the bottom of the lake, only to discover that the ice crystal ore at the bottom of the lake had mutated into second-tier low-grade ice crystal essence.
The value of the entire ice mine suddenly rose to 10,000 spirit stones!
Dong Chang'an directly organized a team to develop the project and promised to share profits with the Foundation Establishment cultivators who assisted.
The cultivators of the Dong family, the independent cultivators who have signed contracts, and all cultivators above the mid-level of Qi Refining are all within the scope of the Dong family's mobilization.
Previously, everyone was asked to slay demons at the bottom of the lake, but they were unwilling to cooperate. However, now they are mining under the supervision of Foundation Establishment cultivators, and it is a second-tier spirit ore. The mined spirit ore can be exchanged for resources with the Dong family.
The situation was completely different. With most independent cultivators eager to try, the Dong family's conscription became a matter of course.
Upon hearing this news, Chen Yi immediately sensed something was wrong.
With his current strength, underwater mining is no problem for him; in fact, he's more suited for it than other Qi Refining cultivators.
But the old turtle-snake at the bottom of the water was watching him the whole time. Everyone else could go into the water, but he couldn't.
"Fairy, didn't you say you were recruiting spirit chefs a few days ago? I've come to apply."
Chen Yi stood in Qin Chengcheng's messy boudoir, his gaze calm as still water, undisturbed by the scattered robes and undergarments on the floor, and shamelessly stated his request directly.
Qin Chengcheng, her eyes glazed with intoxication, leaned languidly against the soft couch, a half-overturned wine pot beside her jade-like feet.
She looked at Chen Yi with a half-smile, "Didn't you say it would take a year or two, to prepare in advance, and for things to fall into place naturally?"
What, you came here as soon as you heard that all the cultivators under the Dong family were going to mine underwater?
With your strength, you could easily blend in with mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators, and you'd be more than capable of protecting yourself even if you encountered ordinary second-tier demonic beasts. Why don't you go?
Chen Yi couldn't explain the complex messages conveyed in the eyes of that near-third-tier tortoise-snake beast when they locked eyes that night.
He had a hunch that as soon as he entered the water and used the Concealing Breath Technique, the old turtle might sense the special Concealing Breath fluctuations and come looking for him.
Perhaps the old tortoise migrated here because of its previous shell.
To be on the safe side, Chen Yi would never go into the water.
"Mining underwater would take up a lot of time studying formations, which might delay your grand plan and affect your lifespan. I cannot bear to do that."
Moreover, the Dong family secretly colluded with evil cultivators, forcing lower-level cultivators to sign unequal contracts; they are hardly a good employer.
Besides, I have no secrets between me and the fairy, so I might as well abandon the darkness and embrace the light as soon as possible.
Chen Yi is lying through his teeth.
"That sounds nice! All this talk about grand plans, inequality, and turning away from darkness for light—I think you're just afraid of dying."
Just a few days ago, she said she would wait, afraid that her connection with her would be discovered. But now that she heard the Dong family was going to conscript men to mine, she immediately came to join them.
Qin Chengcheng was too lazy to point it out.
However, for the sake of the bigger picture, she nodded and agreed to Chen Yi's request.
"Very well, I'll take you as my spiritual chef. You'll start working here tonight. I'll speak to Dong Chang'an about it, and from now on you won't be a subordinate cultivator of the Dong family."
"Please don't rush, fairy, this matter still needs to go through some procedures."
Chen Yi pulled out a scroll of bamboo slips filled with tiny characters from his sleeve, on which twenty-three points of attention were densely listed:
"First, you need to tell the Dong family's Foundation Establishment cultivators that the female cultivators of Miaoyin Pavilion have delicate voices. The female cultivators of Miaoyin Pavilion are very particular about spiritual food; if they don't eat well, it can easily cause throat inflammation and affect their music."
Furthermore, they plan to publicly recruit five spiritual chefs from the market, who will compete against each other in a cooking contest, with the highest score winning.
Then it will be officially held, and I will register to participate then.
After going through this entire process, I realized I had no connection with the fairy and was able to smoothly leave the Dong family and enter the Miaoyin Pavilion.
This way we can deceive those people and prevent them from conducting a thorough investigation into us.
Qin Chengcheng beckoned with her slender hand, summoning the jade slip from afar. After reading a few lines, her eyes widened, and her red lips parted slightly.
She never imagined that recruiting a spirit chef would involve so many intricacies.
"For someone as lowly as mid-stage Qi Refining to apply for a cook job is really troublesome!"
She carefully read the instructions on the bamboo slips, and was utterly speechless at the sight of this younger man who was two years her senior.
But upon closer reflection, she genuinely didn't want Chen Yi to attract attention.
Several Foundation Establishment cultivators have arrived at the market, and almost all of them are here for her.
Moreover, that young master from the sect will be arriving soon. That person is practically a leech; you can't get rid of him. Once he arrives, he'll probably investigate everyone around her.
Therefore, although this matter was troublesome, Qin Chengcheng agreed.
"Okay, I'll be the examiner then, and I'll secretly give you a high score so you can get in through the back door."
"No, that's not good, it leaves a flaw."
The fairy herself did not participate in the scoring; instead, the other fairies from the Wonderful Sound Pavilion conducted a double-blind scoring process.
The entire selection process is conducted without either party knowing the other's identity, ensuring fairness and impartiality, and absolutely preventing anyone from placing their own people in the selection process.
"Double-blind?"
"Yes," Chen Yi took out another jade slip, which specified the selection rules that the judges and the chefs participating in the selection would not know each other's identities.
Upon seeing this, Qin Chengcheng was both speechless and astonished.
"You haven't been focusing on your cultivation these past few years; instead, you've been scheming about these things. If you had put all your energy into cultivation, you would at least be at the ninth level of Qi Refining by now!"
Three days later
With most of the merchants in the market as witnesses, the competition for the newly recruited chefs at Miaoyin Pavilion has concluded.
Double-blind selection,
Chen Yi was selected as the second-rank spirit chef seed simply because he only demonstrated mid-grade first-level culinary skills.
He specifically observed the cooking skills of the other top applicants and selected the one with the second-best cooking skills.
The top-ranked chef is the head chef of a spiritual food restaurant in the market.
Qin Chengcheng had discussed this matter with Dong Chang'an beforehand. Since they were only five Qi Refining stage spirit chefs, Dong Chang'an naturally gave Qin Chengcheng face.
From then on, Chen Yi officially broke away from his identity as a rogue cultivator under the Dong family and also moved from the talisman shop to the Miaoyin Pavilion.
At this moment, at a tall building in the market, Dong Chang'an, the foundation-building expert of the Dong family, was half a step behind a young man in brocade robes, bowing slightly, and said:
"Young Master Xu, we've investigated. None of the five new cooks at Miaoyin Pavilion have any connection to Fairy Qin."
From registration and selection to onboarding, Fairy Qin didn't interfere at all. Even the culinary skills evaluation was done by several fairies from Miaoyin Pavilion who judged the dishes blindly, not the cooks.
Among these people, one was a head chef at a restaurant, and another was a mortal martial artist who had risen through the ranks, working at a talisman shop making talisman skins and processing demon beast meat.
Two others were pharmacist apprentices, and the last one had previously worked in the Li family's canteen.
Their backgrounds are all fine; they're all between thirty and forty years old, and the highest cultivation level is only at the seventh level of Qi Refining. They don't have much of a future or any great opportunities.
This should just be a normal recruitment of spirit chefs by the Myriad Sounds Pavilion.
After these people were confirmed, Qin Chengcheng spoke with Dong Chang'an about it.
He didn't care about giving away a few cooks to Miaoyin Pavilion.
There are at least eighty, if not a hundred, of these small-time cultivators in their forties who are still at the mid-stage of Qi Refining in this market.
He felt a little sorry for the two pharmacist apprentices.
But he looked down on people like Chen Yi who only knew how to deal with demonic beasts and make leather. He gave them away without asking for any spirit stones, treating it as a favor.
(End of this chapter)