Chapter 31: For Months, One Forgets the Taste of Meat

Wen Yue gazed at the several large basins of meat before her, feeling deeply satisfied. She had been in the cultivation world for nearly a year, yet ever since her arrival, she had subsisted entirely on spiritual food. At the canteen, she had naturally prioritized whatever was cheapest and simplest, meaning she hadn't seen a proper serving of meat in months.

How to prepare it was indeed a problem. She had nothing prepared, nor was there any way to prepare properly. But that was fine; she had a pot, salt, and some seasonings she had found in the wild grass patches from before. Though they were common items, having grown in spiritual fields, they were imbued with enough spiritual energy to be safe for a cultivator to consume.

She acted on the thought at once, cooking a massive portion. With her storage space, she could just keep it inside and eat it slowly. Given her limited conditions, she couldn't fuss over presentation. She simply stewed it. Since she only had an ordinary iron pot, she had no choice. It took a full day and night to cook through, largely because the mundane iron pot prevented her from using spiritual wood for the fire. It was fortunate the tiger had only been at the Qi Refining stage; otherwise, it would never have softened.

It seemed she couldn't stew the rest. Next time, she would go up the mountain to chop some spiritual wood for roasting instead—that would be much faster.

Having spent a day and night laboring, Wen Yue wouldn't enjoy the fruits of her work without her little companion.

"Little Golden Thread, are you cultivating? I've made something delicious. Come back and eat."

"What delicious thing?"

"Stewed tiger meat. Come back and have a taste."

"Alright, wait for me. I'll be right back."

By the time Little Golden Thread returned, Wen Yue had already set the table. A basin of meat sat in the center, flanked by two bowls of white rice and a pair of chopsticks beside each, adding a sense of ceremony to the meal.

It was the first time Little Golden Thread had seen chopsticks. It curled its stems around them: "What are these for?"

"Chopsticks. For eating," Wen Yue said, pulling out a stool to sit down. She picked up the chopsticks, plucked a piece of meat, and ate it to demonstrate.

"How come I never saw you use them before?" Back at the Heavenly Demon Sect, they had always used spoons.

"I don't know. The canteen provided spoons, so I used spoons. Besides, there was nothing that really required chopsticks." At the sect, the meal was just a scoop of rice and a scoop of vegetable soup; where would one need chopsticks for that?

"How do I use them?"

Wen Yue looked at Little Golden Thread, which had neither hands nor a mouth. "Use them however is comfortable for you. I just feel like eating this way is more satisfying."

"Wait, let me scoop you another basin of meat." If Little Golden Thread’s floating roots dipped into the main basin, she wouldn't be able to eat anymore—and neither would it, likely!

Wen Yue scooped another portion for Little Golden Thread and pushed it forward. "Dig in!"

With that, Wen Yue stopped worrying about her companion and began to eat in a leisurely manner. Little Golden Thread felt conflicted, thinking, *If I start now, the Master will have only eaten two pieces before I finish everything!*

Eating a bite of tiger meat, full of spiritual energy, followed by some rice—it was truly refreshing for both body and mind. If only there were a soup to go with it; it would be even more delicious with a vegetable broth.

No wonder those with resources cultivated so quickly. She was a practitioner with full spiritual roots and had even gained insights into mystical phenomena. Eating this tiger meat was nearly as effective as actual cultivation.

One should never underestimate this spiritual energy. If one is willing to pile on resources and eat food rich in spirit daily, a cultivator with ordinary roots could achieve a speed of progress nearing that of someone with full spiritual roots.

Talent is innate, and insights require the accumulation of one's own experiences. While insights can be improved, they need a foundation—one cannot simply sit there doing nothing and expect to grasp the universe.

Wen Yue was able to perceive these phenomena because she was born in an era of information explosion in her previous life, filling her head with all sorts of knowledge, useful or not. If one were to take an old man who had never cultivated and ask him to seek insight, it would fail; his scope of knowledge would be too narrow and his thinking not flexible enough. Thus, it was Wen Yue’s past life that forged the Wen Yue of today.

Returning to the matter at hand: improving insight is not easy, and talent is fixed, but resources can be fought for. That is why the cultivation world is so full of contention, with everyone striving to move forward.

Even the members of the Heavenly Demon Sect—the Sect Master, Granny Corpse, Red Robe—they all did it to advance further. The world is bustling with those coming for profit, and surging with those going for it. Even her own diligent cultivation was for the sake of one day being able to roam freely between heaven and earth.

Previously, she had been cultivating passively, terrified of losing her life at any moment, never once considering *why* she was cultivating. Now, she understood: she cultivated to roam freely through this world, and equally, so that she would never be at the mercy of others.

In that moment of realization, spiritual energy surged toward her from all directions. Wen Yue knew she had encountered something wonderful: this was the legendary epiphany.

She immediately hopped off the stool, sat cross-legged, and began to channel her energy. Wen Yue was excited, but her movements were gentle, and the flow of her energy was steady. She could not afford to make a mistake now.

Without any obstruction, she broke through to the fourth layer of Qi Refining. Wen Yue continued to cultivate; if she pushed on, she could reach the fifth layer, but she resisted the temptation and stopped once she reached the late stage of the fourth layer.

Upon finishing, she looked over and saw Little Golden Thread beside her. Its state was off; spiritual energy was practically overflowing from it.

"Little Golden Thread, what's wrong?" Wen Yue asked with concern.

"Master, the spiritual energy you fed back to me was too much. I was already on the verge of the fourth layer; I can't wait any longer," Little Golden Thread replied.

"Then hurry and advance! I'll keep watch for you."

"No need, I will advance in the trees." The reason it hadn't left earlier was simply to wait for Wen Yue.

"Then go quickly! Do you need me to carry you?" Even as she said this, Wen Yue had already lifted Little Golden Thread and walked outside the formation.

Once out, it was only a hundred meters to the base of the large tree. Wen Yue watched as Little Golden Thread flew up; in an instant, its stems covered the center of the treetop.

Wen Yue felt a bit uneasy, but she didn't want to put herself in danger—especially since her neighbor was known for snatching children. She retreated to the edge of the formation to wait.

She didn't know how long the advancement would take, but it shouldn't be long. Its previous accumulation was already sufficient; it would have advanced in these two days regardless, and with her feedback, it should go smoothly.

Wen Yue understood the logic, yet she couldn't truly rest until she saw it succeed.

As expected, Little Golden Thread’s advancement was swift. In about an hour, an excited voice echoed in her mind: "Master, I succeeded!"

"Success is all that matters. I still need to go back and tidy up." She had been in the middle of a meal when the advancement happened, and everything was still left out.