3,500 middle grade spirit stones!!

As time passed, Cheng Yuan shed his initial reserved demeanor and grew more at ease, joining Yang Qing in enjoying the remaining dishes. They chatted and laughed like old friends, though their contrasting appearances made it seem more like a grandfather sharing a meal with his grandson.

Cheng Yuan couldn't hide his astonishment as he sampled the various dishes, realizing that all the ingredients were at the peak of the foundation realm. The sheer quality left him curious about the identity of the restaurant's owner. The red starlight wood, a single log of which was worth over a thousand mid-tier spirit stones, the chef who was half a step into the palace realm, and now the extraordinary ingredients—all of it painted a picture of someone remarkable. He couldn't help but wonder if the owner was a member of the Order.

"No member of the Order owns any business establishment within these grounds," Yang Qing said casually, as if reading his thoughts. "To avoid infighting and competition for such a prime location, all Order members are prohibited from owning businesses here. Every owner is an outsider who has undergone rigorous testing to prove their integrity and capability."

Cheng Yuan shivered slightly at Yang Qing's uncanny timing. Does Yang Qing read minds? he thought, feeling a twinge of unease as he glanced warily at him.

"I don't read minds either," Yang Qing said, flashing a playful smile.

They moved on to the penultimate dish: steamed lotus root stuffed with sticky sweet rice. Yang Qing's eyes lit up, his expression shifting into one of exaggerated anticipation. His excitement was noticeably heightened compared to the other dishes, his voracious enthusiasm practically radiating from him.

What Cheng Yuan found odd, though, was that despite Yang Qing placing the plate on the table, there was no scent emanating from it. The plate could very well have been empty for all the fragrance it gave off. He couldn't help but find this a bit suspicious.

"You're in for a treat, Cheng Yuan," Yang Qing said, a gleam of excitement in his eyes. "This steamed lotus root stuffed with sweet sticky rice was made by someone close to the level of the chef who brewed the oolong tea. Though she's younger, in the middle stages of the core formation realm, she's already begun walking her path—still in the early stages, but it's something interesting. Her dishes will be more beneficial to you than the oolong tea, since she's closer to your rank than Jiang Fu. It's easier for you to grasp the concepts. And the best part? This dish is absolutely delicious."

Yang Qing's excitement was palpable as he quickly fished out two small bowls faster than Cheng Yuan's eyes could follow. He split the soup between them, then dipped the steamed lotus root into his bowl before gently chewing.

"Mmmmm," Yang Qing groaned in satisfaction. "Qi Shan, you've really outdone yourself this time." He quickly grabbed another lotus root, eager to dive in again.

Cheng Yuan, seeing Yang Qing's reaction, grew curious and hurriedly dipped his own piece into the soup before taking a bite.

Boom

The taste and scent exploded in an instant. Cheng Yuan had never imagined he could taste a scent, yet that was exactly what he was experiencing. The flavors and aroma of the steamed lotus root stuffed with sweet sticky rice blended together perfectly. They didn't overwhelm each other; rather, they complemented one another, elevating the dish to a whole new level. The lotus root was so soft that it practically dissolved with the slightest movement of the tongue, its sweetness balanced by a hint of sourness from the wolfberry soup. Though the dish was mixed together, each element retained its individuality, and their harmonious combination created a revolving balance of taste, flavor, and scent.

Cheng Yuan felt his qi circulate automatically as he used his cultivation technique, the Green Water Light Saturation Sutra. With each completed cycle, the technique became smoother and faster. He was astonished—he had been using this technique since he established his foundation over 80 years ago, but he had never felt this attuned to it before. It was as if the sutra were adjusting to his body rather than the other way around, making his qi circulation feel more natural than it ever had. His qi was bubbling with energy, vibrant and alive, and even his body seemed rosier and younger.

After a few minutes, his qi calmed, flowing gently like a slow-moving river. He exhaled the turbid qi from his mouth, then froze in fright. He had momentarily forgotten where he was and, out of instinct, had blown out his turbid qi as he would in his own private abode after a cultivation session. For cultivators, blowing out turbid qi was akin to passing gas, and here he was, doing it absentmindedly in front of a judge at a fine restaurant. Panicked, he tried to suck it back in, but it was too late. It had already escaped.

He nervously glanced at Yang Qing, bracing himself for the worst—but the dreaded slap never came.

"Maybe my turbid qi isn't that bad after all... and the aroma from the lotus root might've masked it," Cheng Yuan thought, letting out a quiet sigh of relief. He stroked his beard, adopting a more relaxed expression as he silently congratulated himself on surviving the awkward moment.

"There are isolation arrays specifically designed to target turbid qi, which is why it didn't reach me," Yang Qing explained. "Given the quality of the food here and the fact that even weaker cultivators dine here, reactions like yours aren't uncommon. To preserve the dining experience, the restaurant commissioned a formation master to carve turbid qi isolation arrays beneath each chair and table. I don't know why you were walking around with such a smug expression like your turbid qi was roses." He couldn't help but remark snidely, his tone light as he returned to his meal.

Cheng Yuan's face flushed a deep red in embarrassment, his gaze falling as he instinctively buried his head in his small bowl, much like Zhang Qingge did at the other table. A quarter of an hour later, the last of the dim sum was finished—the yellow radiance egg tarts. Cheng Yuan felt a surge of energy coursing through him from the high-quality ingredients and the techniques used in the dishes. He knew he'd need to go into short, closed-door cultivation to fully digest the energy and process the realizations he'd gained. He couldn't wait for the case to wrap up so he could return to his sect—he felt a breakthrough to the sixth stage of the Core Formation realm was within reach.

Cao Ying came and cleared the food trays, leaving only the parasol teapot on the table. Yang Qing poured the final cup for himself.

"In your current bloated state, drinking the tea would be detrimental. It would overwhelm your other gains," Yang Qing said, his tone patient.

Cheng Yuan understood. He could feel that if he drank the oolong tea now, the delicate balance of energy and thought he had just cultivated would shatter. Yang Qing had been kind enough not to mention the real reason—Cheng Yuan wasn't yet talented enough to absorb all the benefits at once. He would have to choose one harvest over the other. The insights from the steamed lotus roots were far more beneficial to his current state than any lessons the oolong tea could provide.

Cao Ying returned later with the bill, which came to a staggering 3,500 mid-tier spirit stones, leaving Cheng Yuan—ever the penny-pincher—staring slack-jawed in utter shock. That was just the cost of a single meal! He couldn't believe it. For the same amount, he could maintain the formations for the lecture halls and inner sect disciples' courtyards for an entire month. His envy was palpable as he begrudgingly calculated the value of mid-tier spirit stones.

Mid-tier spirit stones contained far fewer impurities and stored significantly more energy than their low-tier counterparts. Cultivators at the Core Formation stage, and even some in the Palace Realm, used them to accelerate their cultivation rather than slowly drawing qi from the environment. Just one mid-tier spirit stone could power a dozen low-tier formation arrays, making them highly sought after.

On the Blue Origin Planet, the hierarchy of spirit stones was as follows:

1 mid-tier spirit stone = 1,000 low-tier spirit stones

1 high-tier spirit stone = 100 mid-tier spirit stones

Cheng Yuan's mind swirled with these figures as his green-eyed glare turned to Yang Qing. His expression made it clear that, if he could, he'd drag Yang Qing aside by the ear and deliver a stern lecture on the importance of not squandering mid-tier spirit stones so carelessly.

Yang Qing, unbothered by Cheng Yuan's reproachful gaze, calmly pulled a palm-sized black jade talisman from his robe. The rectangular talisman gleamed with golden symbols unfamiliar to Cheng Yuan, though it was obvious that it was a special kind of storage treasure.

"Deduct 2,500 spirit stones from here. Dai Chen will cover the balance," Yang Qing said, gesturing casually behind him.

Cao Ying nodded, taking the jade talisman and heading over to Dai Chen's table. There, Kang Huilang—grieving and visibly reluctant—handed over an identical black jade talisman. Cao Ying disappeared briefly into a room upstairs before returning to hand back the talismans, first to Yang Qing and then to Kang Huilang.

As Cao Ying passed by to head back to the kitchen, Yang Qing called him over and handed him ten mid-tier spirit stones, an act that nearly caused Cheng Yuan's eyes to pop out of their sockets.

"All the best as you return to the institute, Cao Ying," Yang Qing said warmly, patting the young man on the back.

Cao Ying smiled and offered a polite bow of gratitude.

"I suppose I'll have to visit the institute and ask them to send the kid my way when his work experience period comes up," Yang Qing mused silently as he rose to leave.

Just as he was about to take his first step, a gruff voice called out, halting him in his tracks.

"You couldn't be thinking of leaving without saying hi, young master Yang Qing?"

The speaker was a short, stout man with cropped brown hair and a thick, grizzled beard, emerging from the kitchen with a broad grin.