CHAPTER 63: CHAPTER 63: JOURNEYING BENEATH THE AZURE HEAVENS, RIDING THE WIND FOR A THOUSAND MILES

On this evening, Chen Xu was inside the magical cavern in the corner of the kitchen.

He rescued two Mouse Demons and drank a cup of tea.

He made a promise to meet again after achieving scholarly fame. Before parting, he suddenly raised his hand and gently stroked the fluffy head of Little Mouse Ashi.

With that touch, the gray-golden little mouse leapt backward swiftly, retreating several dozen feet.

It jumped out of the stone chamber’s door, hiding its agile body by the cave wall, and cautiously peeked its head out to watch Chen Xu.

Chen Xu laughed heartily, and Master Jiu also chuckled, saying, "I will escort you away, my friend. If you wish to return in the future, just knock two long and one short strikes at the corner of the stove three times."

Chen Xu’s senses expanded, and suddenly, it felt like countless strange lights were condensing into tangible lines before him.

The lines were multicolored and bizarre.

They sped around Chen Xu, forming a peculiar passage. Just as he tried to examine them closely, his vision suddenly blurred.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself back in his own kitchen.

In his ear, Master Jiu’s old but soft voice continued to echo, "I wish you literary fortune on this journey, may your wings grow and rise into the azure sky, and let the wind carry you a thousand miles. Awaiting your return..."

The ethereal voice seemed nearby but had already departed.

Chen Xu stood amidst the dimly lit kitchen, observing that the celestial light had long dimmed. He focused his thoughts and lit an oil lamp on the shelf nearby using Heart Fire.

Orange-yellow light illuminated the surroundings as Chen Xu exhaled a long breath.

Within his body, Innate Qi circulated through the meridians, clearing his mind.

On the Food Cauldron Celestial Book Plate, Chen Xu noticed he had suddenly gained a new status.

[Divine Master Position: Chen Xu]

[Title: Firework Apprentice]

[Cultivation: Early Stage Meridian Passage Realm (3.1%)]

[Current State: Awakening Innate Divine Power (1%)]

[Special State: Perfect Foundation Establishment, Returning Qi to the Innate]

Innate Divine Power!

The Golden Spirit Jade Liquid Tea Chen Xu drank in the Mouse Demon cavern had indeed initiated his awakening of Innate Divine Power.

Although the food entry explained: [Within ten days, there’s a 30% chance to obtain an Innate Divine Power]

It indicated that the awakening might not be 100% successful, but Chen Xu faintly felt something had changed within him.

He couldn’t help but feel a surge of emotions, brimming with anticipation.

Chen Xu returned to his room, holding the lamp.

The pattering night rain continued outside, and the nighttime in Ping’an Lane always imparted an eerie yet lively sensation.

With his prominent Tri-Attribute now, Chen Xu’s hearing and vision were keen, allowing him to easily overhear the nighttime conversations next door.

"Mother, did Scholar Chen next door hire you to sell cakes for him again today? Is he planning to switch careers to become a chef? Will he still take the imperial exams then?"

"Who knows? Isn’t it fine if he doesn’t take them? I sell food for him every day and will ensure it’s well sold, so his business prospers more and more..."

Chen Xu heard this and couldn’t help but smile.

He intentionally diverted his focus away from eavesdropping next door, opting instead to consume 100 Fireworks Value to enter the Fire and Smoke Kitchen for his daily routine practice.

Of course, it wasn’t mere arduous training, but a combination of meditation cultivation and Spiritual Food preparation.

Chen Xu inventoried all his current spiritual materials; those he had already used, like one Mace of Heart Fire Divine Lotus or three Taels of Heart Monkey Dust Flame, need not be mentioned again.

The unused ones, or those not yet exhausted, like Blood Agar, still had over three pounds, and Millet Paste Mud Embryo still had fifteen pounds, etc.

Fire and Smoke Kitchen had a complete list:

[Spiritual Materials]

[1. Soul-Cutting Silkworm (*1), 2. Blood Agar (3.2 pounds), 3. Millet Paste Mud Embryo (15 pounds) 4. Evil Thought Pearl (*1), 5. One Tael of Happiness, Three Parts Melancholy (*1)]

6. Worry Relief Grass (*1), 7. Ghost Spirit Incense one Mace, 8. Three Fox Demon Spirit Whiskers...]

Among these, the Spiritual Food recipes for Soul-Cutting Silkworm were the simplest, just batter-fry them, and even a child next door would cry for them.

Previously, Chen Xu hadn’t prepared them mainly because the recipe required 80 Fireworks Value to unlock, and his Fireworks Value balance had been insufficient.

Now, with [Fireworks Value: 1437], Chen Xu felt a sense of financial abundance.

He prepared all the easily accessible Spiritual Foods once over. The Soul-Cutting Silkworm was fried, increasing Divine Soul by 20 points per use, though he chose to save them for an opportune time.

Blood Agar can be used to infuse wine, Chen Xu took a pound and infused it with five pounds of Fengli Wine.

Unfortunately, in the Great Li Dynasty, selling wine requires a permit. This is hard to obtain, so currently, Chen Xu can only produce small amounts of "Pseudo Spirit Wine" for personal use or gifting, but can’t sell on a large scale.

He took out five pounds of Millet Paste Mud Embryo, combining it with auxiliary materials bought at the pharmacy to create twenty Mud Embryo Pills.

He didn’t intend to use the remaining ten pounds yet; he’s keeping it for when his cultivation grows stronger, to refine Mud Ball Daoist Soldiers.

[One Tael of Happiness, Three Parts Melancholy] was used up before, but he acquired one more portion later.

Chen Xu didn’t delay, using his spare time to prepare it into another portion of [Soul-Devouring Powder].

Worry Relief Grass was stir-fried with extra auxiliary materials to create Clearing Worry Fruit Tea, and although Fox Demon Spirit Whiskers are spiritual materials, being a token gifted by the Fox Demon, Chen Xu chose to preserve them without use.

...

Besides, the most crucial task was spending 500 Fireworks Value to unlock the Water Drawing Technique!

That night, Chen Xu entered the Fire and Smoke Kitchen three times, accomplishing in one night what ordinary people would take three days and nights.

Whenever he got tired, he added some points, meditated for rest, and cycled his meridians.

Thus, his Tri-Attribute saw considerable growth once more.

[Essence: 55]

[Qi Blood: 55]

[Divine Soul: 55]

[Free Attribute Points: 65]

[Cultivation: Early Stage Meridian Passage Realm (6.3%)]

As long as he had sufficient Attribute Points and Fireworks Value, Chen Xu could intensely focus on cultivation, enabling rapid progress.

With the gradual increase in Tri-Attribute, the Innate Qi within his body grew from a trickling stream to something resembling thumb-thick.

Fire Control, Wind Summoning, Water Drawing, Chopping Wood—these four techniques were also improving synchronously.

Among them, Fire Control Skill advanced fastest, while Firewood Splitting Knife Technique lagged slightly.

Finally, Chen Xu’s remaining Fireworks Value was [757] points.

Chen Xu chose not to exhaust it all at once; the time differential in the Fire and Smoke Kitchen could yield benefits at any moment, so having some Fireworks Value on hand is useful for unexpected events.

In the subsequent days, Chen Xu either continued acquiring food materials from the market to stockpile in the Fire and Smoke Kitchen or produced simple porridge cakes to hand over to Granny Lian for sales, generating Likes.

Subtracting the thirty taels of silver previously given to his family, Chen Xu now had two hundred and twenty-three taels of silver remaining.

Though not affluent compared to aristocratic families and their riches, silver truly carries significant purchasing power, a fortune for heading to exams.

In the meantime, Chen Xu visited Wu Zhengze’s residence to fulfill his promise, delivering a small portion of Clearing Worry Fruit Tea to him.

Master Wu drank the tea and immediately granted Chen Xu a whopping 200 Likes!

It wasn’t that Master Wu praised Chen Xu two hundred times after drinking the tea, but the tea triggered a special effect.

[The drinker was extremely delighted, triggering the status "the drinker leaves his name", doubling the daily Like limit, and realizing all Likes once in the day].

This revealed to Chen Xu that Master Wu’s daily Like limit was 100 points!

Master Wu held only the title of Scholar, but his daily Like limit reached 100 points, five times that of Little Mouse Ashi.

Thus, Chen Xu pondered, how many Likes could he truly earn solely by selling street food?

The major source of Likes should undoubtedly stem from those extraordinary beings rarely seen!

Of course, he couldn’t abandon his basic approach; a single path couldn’t sustain alone, walking on two legs was the true long-term strategy.

Just like this, five days quickly passed, arriving at the dawn of the promised day.

Scholars assembled by the North City Gate, a total of five carriages driving out through the gate.

The wheels creaked, horses snorted.

Turning back to Jichuan, another year for exam pursuits had come.

However, unbeknownst to them, ten li beyond, a carriage decorated with rich brocade and embroidered curtains remained parked by the roadside.

Eight guards followed with swords, though unsheathed, they exuded a majestic presence.