Fragrant Leaf Valley and Tushan are very far apart, and even with the cultivation of Lu Zheng and Tu Yuya, they still flew for a long time with everyone.

However...

Is flying for a long time really a problem?

Even in modern Blue Star, people drive a hundred kilometers just for a farm-to-table meal, not to mention the Tu Family Sisters who value time even less.

So, Lu Zheng took the Liu Qingyan Sisters, and Tu Yuya Sisters brought six young Celestial Fox girls and boys with low cultivation, flying all the way to the Northwest, finally arriving at Fragrant Leaf Valley.

"We're here, it's right over there," Tu Yuya pointed ahead and said.

Following the sound, Lu Zheng looked and saw among the rolling mountains, several adjacent valleys veiled in a faint grey-green miasma, which even the cold winds of the Northern Domain could not disperse.

"Toxic miasma?"

"Indeed, toxic miasma!"

"I thought such miasma only existed in the mountains of the Southern Border," Lu Zheng remarked in wonder.

Because on Blue Star, so-called toxic miasma is only found in tropical and subtropical rainforests; when have you heard of miasma inside Da Xing'an Ridge?

But the Xianxia World is different, where even the biting cold winds cannot blow away the miasma shrouding those valleys.

This is due to the effects of terrain, Spiritual Qi, and the Natural Array.

"Let's just wander around the periphery, catch about a dozen, and leave," Tu Yuya suggested.

"Is that Old Man Ji very powerful?"

"With over three thousand years of Dao Practice, he's not extraordinarily powerful, but enough to chase us off without the elders intervening," she replied.

Lu Zheng nodded, indicating he understood.

Thus, everyone kept a low profile, concealing their presence, and quietly landed at the outermost area of the valley cluster.

Fragrant Leaf Valley is not a single valley but a group of valleys amongst rolling mountains, consisting of at least a dozen valleys, extending radially over an area of more than a hundred miles.

Their location was at the very periphery entrance of the outermost valley.

As they landed, a Five-Colored Pheasant suddenly darted from the shrubs, swiftly pecking at a centipede, making two clack sounds, and swallowing it.

The pheasant then looked up and spotted Lu Zheng and the others, startled, it turned to flap its wings to leave, but as it turned, a shadow fell over its head — a wildcat leapt down from a tree.

"Snap!"

With one bite, the pheasant's neck was broken.

The wildcat glanced warily at Lu Zheng and the others, biting the pheasant as it prepared to leave. However, its vision blurred, and the pheasant vanished from its mouth.

"Meow—"

It let out a threatening growl, and suddenly a piece of fragrant cooked meat appeared before it.

"Meow?"

"Though it's your hard-won prey, I can't let you go hungry. This piece of meat is more substantial than the pheasant. How about exchanging it?" Lu Zheng stood before the wildcat, holding the pheasant with a smile.

Although the wildcat didn't understand Lu Zheng's words, the substantial chunk of cooked beef was undeniable.

"Meow—"

With a simple call, the wildcat decisively grabbed the beef with its mouth, climbed the nearby tree, and swiftly disappeared into the forest.

"Didn't we catch the first one already?" Lu Zheng raised his eyebrows at everyone, then stored the pheasant in his gourd.

"Hehe, not bad luck! Let's go, into the valley!"

Tu Yujiao laughed gleefully and pulled Liu Qingquan into the valley.

Inside Fragrant Leaf Valley, a faint grey-green mist permeated everywhere, mixed with the toxic gases emitted by poisonous insects and plants.

However, these insects and plants aren't spiritually enhanced, affecting only ordinary creatures and those with slightly lower cultivation; for Lu Zheng and the Celestial Fox Lineage, naturally, it's no problem.

The group boldly entered the valley, seeing that aside from some fallen snow on the leaves, there wasn't any white elsewhere.

Lu Zheng sensed the valley's temperature was over ten degrees warmer than outside.

"Geothermal?"

Tu Yuya nodded, explaining, "This region is low-lying, and a shallow vein of fire underground ensures there's no winter despite being in the Northern Domain."

Next moment, Tu Yujiao waved, and a plump Five-Colored Pheasant flew from the forest, landing in her hand, unable to escape despite flapping its wings.

"Snap!"

The pheasant's neck was twisted and then stored in her colorful bag.

...

The group didn't venture further, only wandering on the periphery of the valley cluster to catch a few pheasants.

Due to their natural resistance to toxins, the pheasants almost have no natural enemies here, only dying from insect attacks or venturing outside and being eaten, while few beasts endure the miasma to hunt here.

Besides, the remaining ones are drawn by the tasty pheasant meat but faced by pheasants that have refined into spirits; such occurrences are rare, so everyone practices moderation.

There's no shortage of pheasants in the valley, and the group soon caught twelve.

They were all plump, meaty roosters, sparing several chicks and hens.

Holding a large rooster, Tu Yujiao couldn't help but lick her lips, repeatedly urging, "Let's go, go, go, and eat chicken outside!" 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Lu Zheng nodded, having sensed a hidden gaze observing them, "Let's go!"

...

The group quickly left the valley, nearly noon, they casually chose a mountain peak.

Tu Yuya lightly waved her hand, setting a barrier near the mountain peak, blocking all the whistling cold winds.

Lu Zheng patted his gourd, and an array of kitchen wares and spices flew out, neatly accumulating into a pile.

"Wow!"

The small foxes exclaimed in unison at the sight of these shining kitchen tools and myriad spices, perceiving Lu Zheng as highly professional.

Lu Zheng looked at the twelve pheasants laid out before him, simply waved his hand, and they all began to float automatically.

As a gentle breeze swept past, their feathers separated from their bodies.

With sword qi faintly visible, their necks were bled, and they were gutted and cleaned.

A few streams of water appeared out of thin air, and the plucked pheasants were thoroughly cleaned.

Some were marinated whole, others chopped for preparation, all neatly arranged, organized perfectly, earning everyone's collective awe.

By now, it was near noon, and Lu Zheng didn't have time for manual preparation, so he used casting to perform prep work with no difference from hands-on.

The critical cooking process required a personal touch; otherwise, the dish would lack soul.

Casting allowed the marinade flavors to seep quickly into the chicken, and Lu Zheng started cooking one by one.

Spicy Chicken!

Beggar's Chicken!

Five-Spice Roast Chicken!

Crispy Fried Chicken!

Kung Pao Chicken!

Saliva Chicken!

Steam Chicken!

Sichuan Pepper Chicken!

Chestnut Roasted Chicken!

Cumin Roasted Chicken!

White Cut Chicken!

Saucy Chicken!

Twelve whole dishes, an alluring aroma permeated far and wide!