Chapter 422: Chapter 269: A United and Loving Big Family?

When Immortal Cultivation reaches a certain Realm, although one can survive without food, some people inevitably still have a taste for it.

After all, the Immortal Cultivation of this world doesn’t demand the "eradication of human desire."

Additionally, some Cultivators, believing they have no hope of advancing, will, like He Wenxuan, focus their energy on pleasure.

However, He Wenxuan didn’t know that Zou Feng had no intention of making being a Spirit Chef his main career.

To him, becoming the Dining Hall’s Head Chef meant he could not only handle any trouble the Purple Cloud Association might stir up, but also have more opportunities to earn Immortal Fate.

For starters, the Monthly Allowance alone was much higher than what he earned doing odd jobs.

A full twenty points of Immortal Fate each month.

And that wasn’t counting the various side benefits that came with the position of Head Chef.

Back when Zou Feng was a servant in the Yang Mansion, the perks in the kitchen were plain to see.

After leaving He Wenxuan’s courtyard, Zou Feng’s status changed instantly.

Although this was all still small-time stuff in the Outer Sect, he had in fact already passed the most difficult initial stage of his development.

Get a head start, stay ahead. Zou Feng never planned on staying in the Outer Sect for long anyway.

’Earn Immortal Fate, practice the Evil Skill, and forge the most suitable Spirit Body as quickly as possible, then immediately try to break through to the Spiritual Energy Realm.’

Upon his return to Courtyard Nine, the way the other Outer Disciples looked at Zou Feng had completely changed.

Before, even after Zou Feng had taken out Yang Haoyu, many had been waiting for the other shoe to drop, eager to see the show.

After all, there was no way the Purple Cloud Association wouldn’t try to get even.

However, just a moment ago, the disciples from the Dining Hall had all received a pop-up message on their tokens.

The message, of course, informed everyone that Zou Feng had taken Yang Haoyu’s place as the new Head Chef of the Taian Mountain Dining Hall.

At this, the disciples who had mocked Zou Feng were not only dumbfounded and confused, but also instantly panicked.

Everyone working in the Dining Hall knew it was all too easy for the Head Chef to make someone’s life miserable while staying within the rules.

The fact that the previous Yang Haoyu had thrown his weight around, with two female Outer Disciples even willing to serve as his Maids, was a case in point.

A petty official, sure, but one with real power...

"Greetings, Brother Zou!"

"Congratulations on becoming the new Head Chef, Brother Zou!"

"Brother Zou, this is some Spirit Wine I brought from my hometown. Please, have a taste and see if you like it."

On the way back, the looks of ridicule and schadenfreude were all but gone.

All the junior and senior brothers had suddenly become chummy, the atmosphere warm and friendly.

At least in the vicinity of the Taian Mountain Dining Hall, it felt like one big, happy, united family.

Zou Feng understood social niceties, but that didn’t mean he had to play that game with everyone.

For those whose change of heart was a little too obvious, Zou Feng simply offered a cold smile that didn’t reach his eyes, leaving the turncoats to stand there breaking out in a cold sweat.

When he entered Courtyard Nine, his neighbors suddenly popped out of the woodwork, all acting like they were old friends and eagerly calling him "brother."

But Zou Feng had no memory of these neighbors. Since moving into Courtyard Nine, he had only ever seen Yang Haoyu, his two Maids, and Qiu Lan.

Qiu Lan, on the other hand, didn’t come out to congratulate him.

Zou Feng actually hoped she would have a bit more backbone; it would prevent things from getting even more awkward later on.

These encounters only served to confirm that with such a vast number of Outer Disciples in the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect, it was inevitable they’d be a mixed bag.

Those with decent Talent or strength in a particular area wouldn’t stay in the Outer Sect for long before quickly advancing to the Inner Sect.

"Brother—Feeeeng—!"

Teng County and Gongsun Jinghong, of course, had already heard the news about Zou Feng’s promotion to Head Chef.

Teng County was the first to burst out, yelling, "I want to eat Heavenly Comet Fried Rice too!"

The two women were naturally curious about a fried rice dish that could win over He Wenxuan in a single go.

After he had cooked for He Wenxuan, there were still some ingredients left in the basket, so Zou Feng obliged the two women and quickly fried up two small portions.

Eating it caused the two women’s clothes to burst, one after another, forcing them to begin cultivating the Dragon and Tiger Kan and Li Skill ahead of schedule.

They trained all the way until midnight.

Zou Feng emerged, one hand on his lower back, a weary look on his face.

He sat by his door, enjoying the night breeze while checking his Token to see where inside the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect would be best for cultivating the Evil Qi-Guiding Art.

In truth, the Dragon and Tiger Kan and Li Skill wouldn’t cause lower back discomfort, as long as one didn’t get too experimental with the positions.

But today, Zou Feng had first fought Yang Haoyu, then cooked multiple servings of fried rice, and immediately followed that up with cultivating the Dragon and Tiger Kan and Li Skill. He’d had almost no rest, so his exhaustion was inevitable.

But no matter how tired he was, cultivating the Evil Qi-Guiding Art had to be his next priority.

Otherwise, if similar trouble arose again, it might not be so easy to handle.

’In fact, Yang Haoyu wasn’t weak. If he hadn’t underestimated me, I probably would have gotten off with light injuries at best.’

’Still, the Lightning Strike Talisman he used had a fantastic effect on my Tribulation-Indestructible Body Cultivation.’

"Tribulation-Indestructible Body (Peak of Perfection), Progress: 52%"

It had jumped more than twenty points in one go.

But then again, it was his first time using lightning for Cultivation, so the effect was bound to be especially potent.

Using the same method again would yield greatly diminished results.

Zou Feng wasn’t worried about that. He still needed to practice the Evil Qi-Guiding Art first.

Although the Dragon and Tiger Kan and Li Skill was a Daoist Art, its focus was more on nourishing the body to better enjoy the path of dual cultivation.

To quickly increase his combat strength, he needed to cultivate Daoist Arts like the Evil Qi-Guiding Art.

After a quick search, he found the perfect place to cultivate the Evil Qi-Guiding Art: the Earthly Evil Gully, located about twenty li from Taian Mountain.

With the power of the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect, clearing out the earthly evil qi or any other kind of Evil Qi would be a simple matter.

The only reason it was left untouched was to provide a convenient training ground for disciples cultivating corresponding Skills.

The only thing that was a pain in the ass was that cultivating in the Earthly Evil Gully wasn’t free.

Every hour spent cultivating there cost one point of Immortal Fate.

And that was just the fee for the outer edges of the gully. To go deeper, into the areas with the densest Evil Qi, you had to pay extra!

Luckily, Zou Feng didn’t need to enter the more expensive zones for now. Practicing on the outskirts would be enough to start.

After memorizing the gully’s location, Zou Feng set out immediately.

He still had some Immortal Fate left, which should be enough to cultivate the Evil Qi-Guiding Art until it appeared on his status panel.

He had just gotten up and taken a few steps when he ran into Qiu Lan, who happened to be coming out of her room for some reason.

Qiu Lan hadn’t expected to run into Zou Feng so late and was instantly flustered.

"Z-Zou... Brother Zou..." It seemed she wasn’t planning on holding her ground after all; her form of address had already changed.

In the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect, you didn’t call someone senior or junior brother based on seniority.

If you were strong enough, a white-haired old geezer would cup his hands and call you Brother.

Zou Feng shot her a glance, couldn’t be bothered, and walked briskly out of Courtyard Nine.

At this, Qiu Lan’s expression fell, and she remained rooted to the spot, vexed.

’I finally managed to get a foothold in the Outer Sect without having to pay the price of my special constitution, and now it turns out I picked the wrong side?’

’But who the hell could have guessed that a Martial Artist from the Outer Realm who just joined the Immortal Sect would not only be incomprehensibly strong, but also have an incredible talent as a Spirit Chef?!’

After standing frozen for a long while, Qiu Lan knew exactly what she had to do to resolve the situation.

’Judging by the two female Outer Disciples living in Zou Feng’s house, and the obscene sounds that could be heard coming from it from time to time, this Zou Feng was definitely a demon among lechers.’

’Therefore, to resolve the situation, she would probably have to pay the price she had refused to pay Yang Haoyu...’

’But even though she knew this, the question remained: was it worth it?’

’Besides, would the Purple Cloud Association really just let this go simply because Zou Feng became the Head Chef?’

Gritting her teeth, Qiu Lan ultimately decided to wait and see how things played out, not rushing to act just yet.

Meanwhile, the distance of twenty-some li was no problem for Zou Feng.

Moving like a gust of wind, it didn’t take long for Zou Feng to arrive at the entrance of the Earthly Evil Gully.

Since this place charged a fee, it was naturally guarded by Immortal Sect disciples at all times.

"What do you want?" Just as he steadied himself, a man in black robes emerged from a nearby stone hut, his body exuding a sinister Ghost Qi.

Seeing the man’s state, Zou Feng actually felt a sense of kinship. He’d finally met another practitioner of Evil Skills... or rather, that was what they were called now. A fellow traveler on the same path.