1.The Starting Point of a Chef

"Da da da da da da." The kitchen knife was rapidly bouncing on the chopping board. A perfect piece of streaky pork was quickly and completely cut into small dices. The seasonings of scallions, ginger, and garlic were also chopped into minces and set aside. After simply preparing the ingredients, Xu Shan reached out and fished out a fat fish from the water tank in the kitchen. He slammed it hard onto the chopping board and started to scale it and remove its internal organs. Once the scales were scraped clean, he made evenly spaced cross-hatch cuts on the fish.

He heated oil in the pot, then put the streaky pork in and stir-fried it. The aroma of the meat, along with the steam, burst out of the pot, and soon filled the entire kitchen. The diced streaky pork was taken out of the pot. He poured out the hot oil and replaced it with cold oil, then sprinkled a thin layer of salt. With a sizzling sound, the fat fish was put into the pot. He added the diced streaky pork, then the seasonings, and finally poured in two ladles of water and covered the pot with a lid. The fragrant fish soup was bubbling in the pot.

After finishing all these operations, Xu Shan leaned against the stove, looking gloomy as he waited for the fish soup to be cooked... Three months had passed. It had been exactly three months since he came to this world. Originally, he was a wage slave in an advertising company. He got drunk in a clubhouse and had a fight with a client. He even slapped the client's face with a shoe sole until it turned black. In the end, his colleagues joined the client's side, and he couldn't win the fight... He ran out of the clubhouse and was somehow hit by a meteor. When he opened his eyes, he was in this damned place and had taken over someone else's body.

He was an outer disciple of the Xinglan Sect in the world of cultivating immortals, with a lower-grade spiritual root. It was hard to say whether his background was good or bad. At least, it was much better than that of an ordinary person. But this kind of thing was really hard to accept. He wasn't an orphan. It wasn't like he would start fantasizing about using what he learned in his previous life to fight and dominate the world, have a harem, and start a beautiful new world as soon as he transmigrated. Although his family's living conditions weren't great, his parents were still alive. It was really hard for him to accept being in such a situation now.

Cultivating immortals sounded wonderful, but in essence, it was just a version of the underworld with longer lifespan and enhanced power, without any romance at all. Gangster movies were romantic, but asking him to be a gangster was like asking for his life! Cultivating immortals? How could cultivating immortals be as enjoyable as getting a promotion and a raise, or being a carefree young master?

The only consolation for him at the moment was probably the "meteor" that hit him back then. That thing wasn't a meteor at all. It was a cyan jade seal with constantly changing runes on its surface, and it was right in his mind... While waiting for the dish to be ready, Xu Shan sank into his consciousness and began to communicate with the cyan seal. Runes faintly flashed between his eyebrows. With a thud, a washing machine fell to the ground, and a towel also appeared out of thin air, slowly draping over the washing machine.

Xu Shan stared at these two things in a trance. After a moment, he squatted down and started to study them. Since the day he came here, he had discovered something unusual about himself. He could summon these two objects at will. He would study them when he was alone. But these two things looked extremely ordinary. Except for one thing... No matter what destructive actions like burning with fire or slashing with a sword were taken, they couldn't be damaged. He was sure that these weren't ordinary objects and there must be some other special features.

The cyan seal had brought him to this world, and the secret to going back must also be hidden in it. These two things were derivatives of the cyan seal. If he couldn't even figure out these two things, it would be ridiculous to think about understanding the cyan seal. He opened the door of the washing machine and crawled inside, constantly checking every detail up and down. After looking at it inside and out countless times, he still found nothing. Helplessly, Xu Shan crawled out.

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his mind. Xu Shan took a deep breath and covered his right arm. He had bumped into the wound when crawling out of the washing machine. It was a long sword wound left from a sparring match a few days ago. He released his right arm to check, and a trace of blood had already seeped through the cloth. Xu Shan frowned, stood up, picked up the towel on the washing machine, and wrapped it around the wound. He had already tried using blood and urine, and even sputum and a concentrated solution of... you know what. But they had no effect on these two things at all. But now, it was just right to use the towel produced by the cyan seal to wrap the wound, as this thing wouldn't get stained by dirt.

With the stinging pain in the wound, he had no mood to study anymore. With a thought, the washing machine disappeared on the spot. He walked to the side of the water tank, put his hands on the edge of the tank, and looked at the strange face with a full beard in the tank. His emotions were indescribable. The original owner was an honest person. He usually had little interaction with others and didn't take care of himself, so he had a scruffy beard. But looking at his eyebrows and eyes, he was quite handsome. Since he had come here for three months, he hadn't taken care of it either, and the original full beard had become even messier. His face was filled with depression and frustration.

It was probably impossible to figure out the derivative items of the cyan seal in a short time. For now, there was only one right path... to continue cultivating in the sect and move up step by step. Only by improving his cultivation level and seeing more things would he have the opportunity to uncover the secrets behind the cyan seal. However... However, his lower-grade spiritual root was really poor. It was already the worst among the worst. If the Xinglan Sect wasn't a small sect, he wouldn't even have the chance to cultivate immortals.

Outer disciples had assessments. If they couldn't break through to the Foundation Establishment stage all the time, they were likely to be expelled. If one didn't reach the Foundation Establishment stage, they would have to live among ordinary people. In an environment without spiritual energy, their cultivation level would eventually dissipate completely, and then there would be no way to study the cyan seal. The original owner was a hardworking person. In the nearly twenty years since he entered the sect, besides doing his chores, he had devoted all his heart to cultivation. But he had been stuck at the Great Perfection of the Qi Refining stage for a long time. Xu Shan continued to cultivate based on his progress, but there was no change at all in three months.

In a while, it would be almost the deadline for the assessment of this batch of outer disciples. This was the last chance for the disciples who were stuck at the Great Perfection of the Qi Refining stage but couldn't establish a foundation. If they passed... it would prove that they still had the potential to be cultivated and could enter the inner sect and be rewarded with a Foundation Establishment Pill. Of course, if they still couldn't break through after taking the Foundation Establishment Pill, they would still have to leave.

"Pui! Damn it!" The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. Xu Shan cursed in a low voice. Looking at the fat fish swimming leisurely in the tank, he spat into it. "Slurp." The fat fish ate the spittle and swam away happily.

The fish soup was cooked, and its rich aroma had filled the entire kitchen. Xu Shan exhaled, suppressed his complex emotions, and walked towards the stove. Delicious food was now the only thing that could comfort him. Usually, when he was in his rental house, he also cooked by himself. He thought he had good cooking skills. He often learned how to cook on Douyin, and the food he made could give him a taste of his hometown.

Today, something big had happened in the sect. The sect master had broken through his cultivation and left seclusion, and he had invited many people from other sects. As far as he knew, this kind of thing was quite common in the world of cultivating immortals. Although there was fierce competition, there were also many connections between sects. Once someone made a major breakthrough, they were willing to share their own experiences and exchange ideas with others to strengthen the relationship with other forces.

The outer disciples were given a rare day off on this occasion. Usually, the cultivation intensity was high and there were many miscellaneous tasks. When the outer disciples got this opportunity, most of them were resting or going out for an outing to relax. Only he had found the opportunity to sneak into the kitchen and cook a good meal for himself. The disciple who usually cooked for the outer disciples made food that was like military camp stew. It was so bad that even pigs would be disgusted by it. Today, he was going to improve his meal...

He walked to the stove, lifted the big pot lid, and immediately, a more fragrant smell filled the room that already had the aroma of meat. Xu Shan closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then served a bowl of the freshly cooked rice. He scooped a spoonful of the fish soup, which was red and oily, and poured it over the rice. After taking a bite, a rare smile appeared on Xu Shan's lips. Just as he was about to pick up a piece of fish to eat, unexpectedly, the door of the kitchen was kicked open with a bang!

Xu Shan's hand that was holding the piece of fish froze, and he looked at the door in surprise. A man with a delicate appearance and a hint of lechery between his eyebrows was standing outside the door. It was a completely strange face. Xu Shan frowned and was just about to ask, when the person at the door spoke first. "Outer disciple, do you have... Holy crap, it smells so good!"...