Raise a sword!

"The Skilled Craftsmen Sect offers two second-tier puppets as a token of our congratulations to our ancestor!"

"The Azure Wave Merchant Guild congratulates our Ancestor! We present him with a set of magical inner armor!"

"Caiyun Pavilion offers its congratulations to the Ancestor..."

"The Qin family congratulates their ancestor..."

"The Cangshan Sect congratulates our Ancestor! We present a portion of Yi Wood Crystal Essence as a token of our appreciation!"

The birthday banquet began with celebratory chants and songs.

Interestingly, Liu did not arrange the order of guests based on their relative power or influence. Instead, the guests exchanged glances and then rose to present their gifts.

Often, when two factions stand up at the same time, they will exchange pleasantries, and then one of them will sit down.

This is the advantage of not arranging the order.

No one felt that sitting down was a sign of weakness, and those who rushed to sit down were not considered particularly powerful.

In addition, whenever a congratulatory gift is received, the Liu family patriarch will immediately promise a return gift of equal value.

The Yi Wood Crystal offered by the Cangshan Sect is a second-tier refining material, which can be used as the main material to forge a second-tier magic weapon suitable for cultivators with wood spirit roots.

The Liu family's return gift was a second-tier refining material with a water-elemental root.

"Master has a water elemental root," Sun Yinxi explained in a low voice after offering her greetings and sitting down.

Jiang Peng nodded slightly.

Back in Da Cang City, he had witnessed the peak master of Ni Chang raise the waters of the moat into the sky with a wave of his hand, a scene that left a deep impression on him.

It's clear that, regardless of whether the reputation of the Rainbow Peak Master is good or bad, it is indeed renowned, so much so that when the Liu Clan Ancestor returned the gift, he had to be somewhat considerate.

After the offering of gifts, the banquet officially began.

Graceful maids moved between the tables, removing the fruits and snacks from the tables and replacing them with plates of exquisitely presented dishes.

This immediately piqued Jiang Peng's interest.

He couldn't wait to pick up his chopsticks and start tasting each bite.

"This cold dish is quite ingenious, using several kinds of spiritual ingredients as a base. It's refreshing, delicious, and light."

"Hmm, braised pork hock? This is a dish made by a mortal chef. Although it uses demon beast meat, the cooking method has been changed, and it's cooked thoroughly. Not bad."

"Hmm, this pan-fried neck meat is also good, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. It's a pity that it wasn't marinated long enough. The texture inside is good, but the flavor is a bit bland."

Jiang Peng ate while making quiet comments.

He knew he was a guest, so his mutterings were barely audible to Sun Yinxi next to him.

The reason I was hesitant was partly because I wanted to learn.

Having studied cooking for many years, Jiang Peng had long known that ingredients imbued with spiritual energy could not be simply prepared using the cooking techniques from her previous life.

Now that he has seen the truly presentable delicacies of this world's spiritual cuisine, he naturally can't help but compare the two, taking the essence and discarding the dross.

Soon, Jiang Peng saw a fish being served on the table.

The fish was covered in a dark, murky liquid, and a handful of minced garlic was sprinkled on its body.

His eyes were wide open.

Jiang Peng narrowed her eyes slightly, a sense of foreboding rising in her heart.

He picked up his chopsticks and took a small bite, raising an eyebrow slightly as he forced himself to swallow the fish without being impolite.

After a moment of silence, he finally couldn't help but mutter aloud.

"A perfectly good fish that had reached the demon level, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a spirit fish, and it's being wasted like this."

Just then, a man dressed as a fat, big-eared monk, wearing a haphazardly draped robe, passed by.

He seemed to hear Jiang Peng's voice, and immediately stopped in his tracks, laughing, "This is the famous Jade Vinegar Fish."

Jiang Peng looked at the monk, stood up, bowed, and apologized.

If you were to nitpick, starting with removing the fishy smell from the fish, Jiang Peng could give a very eloquent explanation.

But there's no need, especially since the other party is clearly a monk who has attained enlightenment.

Jiang Peng didn't know much about Buddhist cultivators, and there weren't any particularly powerful Buddhist or Buddhist forces in the Southern Mountain Region.

Jiang Peng only knew that Buddhist monks had different levels of spiritual attainment and cultivation methods.

The five realms of entering meditation, enlightenment, golden body, Dharma form, and emptiness correspond to the realms of Qi cultivation, foundation building, golden elixir, nascent soul, and spirit transformation, respectively.

As for anything higher, Jiang Peng wasn't quite sure.

The fat, big-eared monk in front of them was actually a monk who had reached the Foundation Establishment stage.

Jiang Peng would never argue with such a person over trivial matters.

Jiang Peng didn't argue, but the monk simply sat down at the table and beckoned a maid to bring him a new set of bowls and chopsticks.

"This humble monk, Miaoyin, was just listening to you talk about the wonders of spiritual food for a while, and I was eager to try it. I hope you won't be offended that I came uninvited."

The monk Miaoyin offered this explanation, then said to Sun Yinxi beside him, "I also have some acquaintance with Fellow Daoist Ni Chang, so I hope you won't send me away."

Sun Yinxi gave Jiang Peng a subtle glare.

He's always talking too much; he's gotten himself into trouble.

Then, she smiled slightly at Monk Miaoyin and said, "Master, you are too kind. My junior brother's cooking skills are quite superb. You have come to the right person if you want to discuss the art of cooking with him."

"That's excellent."

The monk Miaoyin was very informal; with a wave of his hand, the surrounding sounds were immediately cut off.

"Then there's no need to worry about being impolite," he said with a smile. "Speaking of this Jade Vinegar Fish, this humble monk happens to know its secrets! Let's start by discussing how to prepare this spirit fish."

"Then there's no need to worry about being impolite," he said with a smile. "Speaking of this Jade Vinegar Fish, this humble monk happens to know its secrets! Let's start by discussing how to prepare this spirit fish."

"This fish is called the Purple Scale Fish, a spirit fish of the deep sea."

"When cooking, it's important to ensure the spiritual energy within the fish doesn't dissipate..."

"There's a proper way to make vinegar..."

"There's an order to steaming, boiling, frying, and grilling; the plating and shaping at this point are already taken into account during the cooking process..."

The monk Miaoyin spoke eloquently and logically.

Jiang Peng listened attentively, nodding repeatedly.

It wasn't until the monk Miaoyin had talked for a long time and his mouth was dry that Jiang Peng finally spoke.

"So why not remove the fishy smell?"

Monk Miaoyin was taken aback.

"Didn't I just say that these deep-sea purple-scaled fish won't live long once they're caught? If we remove the fishy smell, the spiritual energy within their flesh will be affected..."

"But it won't taste good if you don't remove the fishy smell," Jiang Peng added.

Monk Miaoyin frowned.

"Why don't you listen to me, kid? The chefs have already gone to great lengths to prepare this fish to its current state, balancing the spiritual energy within the meat with the perfect seasoning..."

Jiang Peng, now caught up in the moment, waved his hand before the monk Miaoyin could finish speaking, saying, "You expect to cultivate using the spiritual energy in the ingredients?"

The monk Miaoyin was taken aback.

Jiang Peng then said, "If you want to cultivate, why not just take elixirs? Senior is a high-ranking monk who has attained enlightenment; fasting is commonplace for him. No matter how good the spiritual food is, can it compare to elixirs?"

Upon hearing this, the monk Miaoyin subconsciously frowned.

"Hmm, that seems to make sense... But if that's the case, why would they use this inedible purple-scaled fish and go to such lengths to make this Azure Vinegar Fish?"

The monk Miaoyin looked at Jiang Peng, his face full of confusion.

Jiang Peng couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"How can you sell ordinary fish for a high price?"

"Ordinary fish, no matter how elaborately they're prepared, will only fetch silver," Jiang Peng said calmly. "But with the purple-scaled fish, it's different. Customers know this fish is expensive, so they'll willingly part with their spirit stones, won't they?"