The over three hundred recipes that Master Paotu developed were quite different.
These recipes were all targeted at "non-food ingredient monsters." He had classified "food ingredient monsters" as standard ingredients.
"Myriad Poisons Salad (Green): Fight poison with poison; the more poison, the less poisonous it becomes. Consuming this dish can permanently enhance an individual's resistance to toxins."
"Gazing at the Abyss (Green): The abyss gazes into you as you gaze into it, consuming this dish can permanently enhance spiritual power."
"Mercury Bug Egg Soup," "Lava Eruption Soup," "Eyeball Platter," ...
Each dish could be called a work of art.
They also had quite artistic dish names.
Mu Yuan: "..."
"But to be fair, these dishes sound and look a bit unsettling, but the taste is quite good."
Even setting aside the taste, the permanent enhancements to spiritual power, toxin resistance, and other effects were enough to make people eagerly seek them out.