Start practicing from Mr. Fox

Chapter 98: Bamboo shoots in the clouds

It’s still the same arrangement as before.

The old pine is green, the fire in the cauldron is still, and the kingfisher is chirping on the eaves.

Seeing the old abbot coming back, the kingfisher flapped its wings and flew down to peck at his cuffs and fingers.

"You are so lazy, you fellow! I told you to watch the fire and let you know if anything happened. You are just lazily basking in the sun, and you still want to eat?"

"Chirp!"

The kingfisher ignored the old monk and just kept pecking at his fingers.

"Okay, okay, I'll give it to you."

The old abbot shook his head and took out a small bean from his pocket and handed it over.

The kingfisher took a bite and then flew back to the eaves to rest contentedly.

"I made everyone laugh."

The old abbot shook his head, waved his hand and summoned the cushions again, asking them to sit down.

Miss Bai looked at the kingfisher with great interest, her eyes moving around.

"The master of the temple is really good. A single communication spell can cultivate the spirit and transform it into a bird. If it continues like this, I'm afraid it will transform into a spirit beast in a few years."

"Ok?"

Among all the people present, only Taoist Master Xiyun already knew what this was.

Chen Ji glanced sideways, but couldn't tell that this kingfisher was actually a spirit nurtured by the Bluebird Communication Technique.

However, Mr. Su looked at it carefully and raised his eyebrows.

"It really is a magical spirit. You, an old Taoist, are so idle that you are willing to use your cultivation to nurture a magical spirit, and you are unwilling to come to Xiantai Mountain to see me."

"Go to Xiantai Mountain to find fellow Taoists?"

The old abbot laughed heartily.

"If I really go there, I'm afraid the demons in Xiantai will panic. They are all friendly neighbors, so there is no need to scare them. But fellow Taoist has achieved much more advanced cultivation and even has a physical form."

"Could it be that the Ghost Immortal is about to achieve great success?"

"I haven't become a ghost immortal yet."

Mr. Su waved his hands hurriedly to explain that he had absorbed the Peach Fairy ghost body.

"I see, no wonder it has this effect."

The old abbot nodded and looked at Mr. Su with a smile.

"Fellow Daoist is originally a Confucian cultivator. Now that you have obtained the Peach Fairy ghost body, you have the potential to become a ghost fairy. This is a blessing. You deserve a pot of wine!"

After saying that, he clapped his hands.

"Chirp!"

The kingfisher just now chirped lazily and flew away with its wings.

After a while, he came over with a food box in his mouth.

The old abbot took the food box, placed the wine pot and wine cup on the low table, and took out three other side dishes.

"I am poor in the mountains, so please bear with me for a while."

Chen Ji smelled the aroma and recognized that it included the mung bean tofu that he had eaten before, but the other two dishes looked like ordinary dates and black fungus.

Just as I was about to ask, I heard Miss Bai speak.

"It's Huozao and Wuer."

"Mist Ears are formed from the spiritual mist in the mountains, forming a mirage. It is the manifestation of spiritual energy. After taking it, it can increase the affinity of water-based magic and can also master water escape more quickly."

"Fire Dates... well, they were originally a magical item bestowed by the Queen Mother of the West. Consuming them can protect against water and fire. But this is probably just a name. I feel like it only provides temporary protection from the harm of fire miasma, right?"

"Senior Fox is indeed very knowledgeable!"

Taoist Xiyun bowed.

"Indeed, these are the two things we harvested when we went to the foot of the mountain to exorcise the monster. I picked the fog ears myself, and the fire dates were given to me by my client."

"Master wanted to keep it for cooking, but he didn't have any other ingredients to go with it, so today is just the right time to treat you all."

"It's really a waste of money for the abbot."

Chen Ji said slowly.

"Fellow Daoist, you really flatter me. You gave me the Peach Fairy Ghost Body without blinking an eye. If I were to be stingy, I would be committing a great sin." "These are just a few spiritual herbs, and they are of no great use. I'll just give you a taste of something new. This is the real good stuff in the furnace."

"Oh? What dish did you, the old Taoist priest, cook again?"

Seeing the old abbot's confident look, Mr. Su became interested.

"Back then, you said you wanted to become a Taoist through cooking. How's that going now?"

"It's OK. Fellow Daoist Su, you'll know after trying it."

The old abbot spoke slowly without showing off, then looked at the alchemy furnace and sniffed the scent.

"It's almost cooked, it's time to take it out of the pot."

"Xiyun, go divide it up and serve it out."

"Yes, Master."

Taoist Xiyun stood up and went to the alchemy furnace.

As soon as the lid was opened, an extremely rich smell wafted out, and even Chen Ji couldn't help but twitch his nose and take a few more breaths.

The fragrance wafted in the wind. It did not belong to any kind of food he had ever seen, but it was familiar everywhere. Just smelling it made him feel his blood surge and he felt much more energetic.

Soon, Taoist Master Xiyun brought it back in a bowl.

Only then did Chen Ji look carefully.

The bowl contained something that looked like Tremella soup, but it wasn't Tremella. Instead, it looked like some kind of bamboo shoots. There were also two side dishes on the side that I didn't know what they were.

"It's amazing that we can even find this kind of food. The master of the temple is really taking the trouble."

Miss Bai looked at the ingredients in the bowl in astonishment, somewhat surprised.

"what is this?"

Neither Chen Ji nor Mr. Su knew what was going on, so they could only look at Miss Bai.

"The bamboo shoots in the clouds are even rarer than the fog ears."

The white girl explained with a smile.

"High in the mountains, clouds linger year after year. Birds carry magical bamboo rice to the clouds. After wind and rain, cloud bamboo grows. If it persists for years, it becomes cloud bamboo shoots. It is an extremely rare food and medicinal ingredient. Legend has it that consuming it can grant the ability to transform clouds and mist, but no one has ever spoken of it."

"Even famous mountains and grand views don't have such treasures. I didn't expect that fellow Taoist still has it?"

"I was lucky enough to get a few slices, and since you all happened to be here today, let's try them together."

Then he took the initiative to introduce this soup.

"This is Cloud Soup."

"I've already said it in Yunzhongsun, so I won't say more."

"This is a five-colored mushroom. It requires the spiritual energy of the five elements to be nurtured in the forest, and naturally forms into a mushroom. It requires careful cultivation, which is a bit troublesome, but not difficult."

"The other one is the Red Sun Fruit. Legend has it that it was formed when the essence of the sun fell to the ground. It's also a rare spiritual fruit."

"The most precious ingredient in this soup is the bamboo shoots in the clouds. I'm trying to test that ethereal effect. The other two ingredients are just supporting ingredients to bring out the flavor of the bamboo shoots in the clouds."

"Please enjoy it, fellow Taoists!"

Chen Ji scooped up a spoonful and put it into his mouth. It was indeed delicious.

At first, it felt like soup, but after a few breaths, it transformed into a puff of clear air that was slowly absorbed, as refreshing as swallowing a cloud of clouds. I could vaguely hear the sound of bamboo shoots bursting in my mouth, and even my mind felt clear and bright.

Before I knew it, a bowl of soup went into my stomach and I felt warm again. I felt light as if floating on the clouds.

Even the ghost Mr. Su was floating in the air, looking extremely satisfied.

“Great craftsmanship indeed!”

Chen Ji sighed truthfully.

I admire the old master's strength even more.

It is difficult to become a cook, and it is even more rare to be able to prepare spiritual ingredients into such delicious food.

The key point is that the old master really retained the ability of the bamboo shoots in the clouds.

The clouds and mist are transforming, but I don’t know what kind of ability it is.

Well, this is something Chen Ji just noticed.

After eating the Yunxia Soup, the Strange Stories Record turned to another page without them noticing, which recorded their experience of taking the Yunxia Soup.

(End of this chapter)