Dark Immortal Cultivation

In the afternoon, Zhang Qing returned to Qing'anji.

Instead of going straight home, he turned a corner and came to the shop in the middle of the street with the wooden sign that read "Meng's Meat Shop".

"Brother Zhang is here! What would you like to order?"

The burly shopkeeper, Meng, was carrying a butcher's knife. Upon seeing Zhang Qing, a hearty smile immediately spread across his face: "I just bought a plump yellow-horned sheep today. Cut a few pounds of mutton to stew at home; it'll warm you up perfectly!"

Zhang Qing shook his head slightly: "I'm not buying meat today."

Although there are three butcher shops on Qing'an Street, Meng's butcher shop benefits from the influence of the Changfeng Association and receives its protection and support.

Therefore, when members of the Changfeng Association, such as Zhang Qing, came to buy meat, they could always enjoy some discounts.

Therefore, he stopped going to the market and only went to this shop.

Recently, Zhang Qing's cultivation has taken a toll, resulting in a greatly increased appetite. He has been visiting Meng's butcher shop more and more frequently and has become quite familiar with the straightforward shopkeeper.

And this burly butcher is a body cultivator just like Wei Xiong!

As he spoke, he raised his hand and opened the storage bag at his waist. With a slight tilt, a dark, heavy object slammed onto the long elm wood chopping board with a thud.

"Manager Meng, can you handle this ferocious beast?"

"what?"

Shopkeeper Meng's eyes lit up when he saw the ferocious beast's corpse, which was covered in dark patterns and over ten feet long, on the chopping board.

He put down his butcher's knife, reached out and ruffled the fur of the beast carcass, his tone full of admiration, "This is a striped fanged beast! Look at its size, it must weigh at least two hundred pounds!"

"What a pity about this fur; it's badly damaged. Did you use a Flame Burst Talisman, young man?"

The striped fang beast is a common ferocious beast in the ancient ruins of the mountains and forests, and occasionally it will invade the camp with the momentum of the black tide.

The larger this ferocious beast is, the stronger its fighting power.

A size of 200 jin is already rare, and Zhang Qing was able to hunt it all by himself. Even the well-informed Manager Meng couldn't help but look at him with new respect.

In his view, even if Zhang Qing relied on the power of the talisman, his courage and strength were still commendable.

Zhang Qing showed a hint of shyness and nodded slightly.

He made no attempt to explain himself to Manager Meng for his misunderstanding.

During his day and night practice of the "Blazing Fire Technique," Zhang Qing had already been able to simulate the destructive effects of the Exploding Flame Talisman.

"Explosive Flame" is an upgraded version of "Blazing Fire".

However, it takes the middle stage of Qi Refining to master it.

Manager Meng's misunderstanding was exactly what he had expected.

Otherwise, Zhang Qing wouldn't have so casually brought the carcass of the striped fanged beast and entrusted it to the other party for processing.

He had never hunted such a large and ferocious beast before, and fearing that he might cause damage if he handled it improperly, he simply handed it over to a professional like Manager Meng.

This is the safest approach!

"Good lad, you've got potential!"

Shopkeeper Meng's eyes shone even brighter. He reached out and patted the body of the spotted beast, his thick palm causing the flesh to tremble slightly.

He then picked up the butcher's knife and rubbed it twice on the whetstone next to him.

The blade instantly became even sharper.

"Don't worry, it'll be at most the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. I guarantee I'll break it down completely for you, without wasting a single bit!"

Zhang Qing asked, "Manager Meng, how much is the processing fee?"

"Talking about money is vulgar!"

Shopkeeper Meng waved his hand dismissively, then gently poked the striped beast's lower abdomen with the tip of his knife, a sly smile playing on his lips. "Young man, this thing is mine, so the processing fee is waived, how about it?"

Zhang Qing glanced down and immediately understood, then smiled and replied, "No problem."

The spotted fanged beast he hunted was male, and its body was nearly a foot long.

He hadn't expected that Manager Meng would have such a taste.

Since the other party has made the offer, there is naturally no reason not to grant it.

Shopkeeper Meng chuckled, his mood becoming even more cheerful: "Then please have a seat, young man. It'll be ready in a moment!"

As he spoke, the burly man turned and called out towards the back of the shop, "Xiao Ling, come out quickly and pour Brother Zhang a cup of hot tea!"

"Here you are!"

A young woman of about sixteen years old came out of the inner room carrying a steaming copper teapot.

A round face, round eyes, a round body...

They look very wealthy.

Upon seeing Zhang Qing, who had just sat down on the bench next to her, she immediately broke into a sweet smile and quickly poured him a cup of hot tea.

"Brother Zhang, you're amazing! You actually managed to hunt down such a huge spotted beast!"

The girl had obviously also seen the ferocious beast's corpse on the chopping board.

"Thanks."

Zhang Qing humbly replied, "It was just good luck."

There is definitely an element of luck involved.

Such large, ferocious beasts that roam alone are not easy to encounter.

Previously, when he went out, he only thought about hunting a few small animals such as rabbits and pheasants to make enough food for a few days.

I never expected to run into a spotted fanged beast!

Zhang Qing even had a vague feeling that his luck had really improved a lot since he moved to Qing'anji.

However, good fortune is accompanied by unpredictable dangers.

"This isn't just luck!"

The girl frowned and earnestly corrected him, "In all my life, I've never seen a Qi Refining Level 2 cultivator single-handedly defeat such a large beast!"

Zhang Qing scratched his head, and could only pretend to be stupid.

This girl named Xiaoling is the youngest daughter of Manager Meng. She has just transcended the mortal realm and entered the Dao this year, becoming a cultivator at the first level of Qi Refining.

Manager Meng originally had two daughters. His eldest daughter married into a family of cultivators in the outer city many years ago.

Xiaoling was the only one who was still young, so she stayed in the shop to help with chores.

Over time, I gradually became familiar with him.

"Xiaoling, go boil another pot of water!"

Just then, Manager Meng had already hung the striped fanged beast up with an iron hook, holding its ear in one hand and a knife in the other, and shouted again without turning his head.

"Okay, Dad!"

Xiaoling pursed her pink lips, winked playfully at Zhang Qing, picked up the copper teapot, and turned to go back into the inner room.

Zhang Qing watched the girl's retreating figure and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

He picked up his teacup, took a sip of hot tea, and then his gaze fell on Manager Meng, watching him quietly as the other man dealt with the beast carcass.

The burly body cultivator held a three-inch-long, sharp knife in his hand. With a slight flick of his wrist, the blade precisely sliced ​​open the belly of the spotted beast. The movement was swift and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.

Immediately afterwards, his fingers flew, skillfully separating the animal's heart, liver, stomach, large intestine, and other internal organs one by one, and then arranging them in small porcelain basins to the side, categorizing them accordingly.

The movements were swift and meticulous.

After processing the most perishable internal organs, Manager Meng continued to work with his knife, gently slicing along the torn parts of the animal hide to peel it off.

Ferocious beasts, especially large ones like this, are treasures from head to toe.

Animal hides can be used to make armor, animal meat can be used to nourish the body, animal bones can be used in medicine, and animal sinews can be used to draw bows...

Each one is worth a lot of money.

Unfortunately, the striped fanged beast's fur was blasted open by the blazing fire, and even most of its head was blown beyond recognition.

Its value has been greatly reduced.

Even so, Manager Meng remained incredibly patient, carefully removing the severely damaged parts and peeling off as much of the intact animal hide as possible.

What truly amazed Zhang Qing was the process of Manager Meng separating the tendons and muscles.

A small knife seemed to possess a soul in his hands; the blade flashed and gleamed coldly. There were no superfluous movements; each cut was precise, slicing between the bones and muscles.

In no time, large chunks of bright red, still-warm meat were neatly piled on the cutting board.

Next to it were cleaned bones, which gleamed white.

Not a single scrap of meat remained.

Zhang Qing secretly admired him.

The skill of a master butcher in carving up an ox is nothing more than this!