In the world of cultivation, one grinds for proficiency and longevity.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh~

The poor papaya birds couldn't escape from within Chen Changqing's sight.

"One, two... five, twenty-one..."

Zhou Youran started picking up the prey, grinning from ear to ear, praising and complimenting Chen Changqing profusely.

Gradually, she stopped laughing.

In the end, he ended up with a bitter face.

After all, when birds fall, some can still flutter and land in places with lush vegetation or mud, which would be really difficult for her, given her not-so-slender figure, to pick up.

However, the hunt was far from over.

Chen Changqing had learned from Zhou Youran that every three of these papaya birds could be exchanged for 40 merit points at the library.

"That's enough, Brother Chen, we can't finish eating."

Someone, carrying a small sack of papaya birds, made the suggestion in a disheveled state.

However, three birds equal four spirit stones, and Chen Changqing was unwilling to give them up.

"We've already fought quite a few today. Maybe the Duan family has noticed and will stop letting the birds come. Why don't we have a good fight?"

"You can do it with just a flick of your finger, that's easy. But I, this girl, have to run around like a monkey, and I'm exhausted, but I'm not happy at all!" Zhou Youran thought fiercely to herself.

"Don't worry, you'll have plenty of birds for the next few days."

Sensing Zhou Youran's slack attitude, Chen Changqing quickly offered her empty promises.

"Okay! Let's do it!"

Sure enough, this is irresistible to a foodie.

Having witnessed Chen Changqing's unerring accuracy, and with Zhou Youran's enthusiastic invitation, every single bird catcher on the lakeshore joined in.

Suddenly, the hunting party that originally consisted of two people became a team of more than a dozen people.

However, the only true "hunter" was Chen Changqing; the others served as his eyes and eyes, while others went to collect birds.

Finally free, Zhou Youran vividly described Chen Changqing's roasted bird skills to everyone, making their mouths water.

In the end, after walking around Cuiya Lake, a total of more than 360 papaya birds were hunted!

[Spiritual Power Flick: Experience Points +361]

"Amazing! Today we've managed to capture all the papaya birds that dared to emerge, restoring peace and quiet to Cuiya Lake."

"That's right, the little spirit fish are finally brave enough to swim freely on the lake again."

"The Duan family is going to cry today, hahaha!"

"This is all thanks to Fellow Daoist Chen. I wonder if we will have the good fortune to taste your culinary skills?"

Returning home with a full load, everyone was in good spirits, and someone made a suggestion.

Chen Changqing, a man of the martial arts world, was naturally bold and would not keep his prey to himself. "Alright, I, Chen, am not very talented, but I will make a fool of myself for everyone today."

With too many people, Chen Changqing naturally wouldn't invite them to his home; even if he were extremely careful, the flowers and plants in the yard would still suffer.

Besides, he didn't like it either.

Therefore, the barbecue location was chosen to be a shady spot by the lake.

Boil water, pluck feathers; gut and eviscerate; gather firewood, make charcoal...

Chen Changqing wasn't involved much in the preliminary work; he simply asked someone to buy a considerable amount of pepper and star anise, and he prepared the secret ingredients.

Before long, the papaya bird was placed on the shelf, its fragrance filling the air.

"Gurgle~, gurgle~"

Everyone was drooling with anticipation, their eyes practically watering at the sight of it.

Most of them were low-level cultivators or promising immortals from the Zhou family.

Papaya birds can be sold for money, so they're not usually eaten.

"No rush, it'll be ready soon. Everyone will get a share, and everyone will be full."

At this moment, Chen Changqing transformed into a barbecue restaurant owner, busily tending to several barbecue grills.

Zhou Youran then transformed into a waiter, assisting Chen Changqing with tasks such as passing things and fetching water and charcoal, thoroughly enjoying herself.

Moreover, the temperature was high at the scene, and she seemed to be afraid of the heat, so she went back home to take a shower and change into very cool summer clothes. She had a unique charm by the beautiful lake.

After they started eating, although the roasted bird tasted excellent, there was no scrambling or fighting over it, demonstrating that even the lower-level cultivators had a very high level of civility.

After a while, Chen Changqing called over his brother Li Erniu.

Zhou Youran's two best friends also showed up to join in.

Uh… that’s right. These two were the other two women that the Fifth Elder had introduced to him. One was called Azhu, and the other was called Laiqing. Both of them were at the third level of Qi Refining.

Having been rejected before, the two of them were quite critical of Chen Changqing when they met him, and they looked down on Zhou Youran for being "close" to Chen Changqing.

However, after taking a bite of Chen Changqing's roasted bird, the two of them turned into little fans, especially when they heard that he had hunted all three hundred birds on site by himself.

"Brother Chen, you're so ruthless! You have such great cooking skills and you kept it from me until now... No way, I like grilled fish, I'll go home and get some for you to grill for me!"

"Young Master Chen, you're not only handsome, but also excellent in bed..."

"Ah, this is so delicious, I wish I could eat it every day..."

"If I were a girl, I'd marry him tomorrow..."

Chen Changqing was so tired of hearing praise today that he was practically sick of it, and he was also constantly being forced into "blind dates" and "extra work."

Originally, he didn't want anyone to know about his skill.

Who would have thought that a momentary whim would develop into this? It's truly frustrating.

"Don't bring any other meat. I only know how to roast bird; anything else tastes terrible!"

He first trampled this "terrible road" to death, and then said:

"A barbecue can't be complete without alcohol. I'll go get some."

Chen Changqing stood up and said that he actually wanted to take the opportunity to avoid the situation for a while.

"Brother Chen, have you burned the roasting? Didn't you see the mountains of wine piled up here?"

They all live not far apart, and many people have already gone back home to bring back fine tea and wine.

That's good now.

Chen Changqing thought that eating two hundred birds was the maximum he could manage, and he was even thinking of saving some to exchange for spirit stones.

did not expect……

In fact, as a cultivator, one can absorb only the spiritual essence of food and discard its dross.

This undoubtedly greatly increases appetite.

Seeing the great atmosphere, Chen Changqing generously ordered that the remaining hundred or so papaya birds be roasted.

This drew cheers from the crowd.

There is no drunk driving in the cultivation world, so Chen Changqing naturally drank quite a bit.

However, he has an excellent capacity for alcohol and behaves very well when drunk.

Thinking that capturing so many papaya birds at once might cause trouble for the Duan family.

With his meticulous mind, he instructed his men to send a few to each of the Zhou family's higher-ups.

Of course, Zhou Ruoyun, the young lady who had given him gifts, was also among them.

……

After the cheers subsided, everyone left satisfied, their bellies full.

Zhou Youran said she was drunk and asked Chen Changqing to take her home.

Regardless of whether it was true or not, Chen Changqing directly passed this "difficult" task to her two best friends.

Back home, he practiced his martial arts while drinking.

Although he ate quite a few birds, his cultivation level increased by eight points and then remained stable.

This barbecue, just considering the birds that Chen Changqing hunted, was worth nearly 500 low-grade spirit stones, which could be considered a super luxurious feast for a low-level cultivator.

Even the generous Chen Changqing couldn't help but feel a pang of regret when he started calculating the cost.

But he knew that this was not his achievement alone, so he didn't dwell on it for long.

Besides, he didn't pick up a single bird, but he improved his skills and gained everyone's favors, so it wasn't a loss.

[Symbol Drawing Experience Points +1]

[Symbol Drawing Experience Points +1]

……

"Your liver is overworked, it's time to rest."

Thinking about tomorrow's plans, Chen Changqing's lips curled up slightly.