Chapter 22: Chapter 20: Steady Improvement

"Brother Hao, you can’t abandon me!"

Hearing that Wang Hao wanted to sever all ties with her, Fang Min felt like her world was falling apart.

She had mercilessly abandoned Mo Qi to curry favor with Wang Hao, becoming what many considered a cruel and faithless person.

Her father, Fang Hua, had lost his life over it, and her own face had been ruined.

If Wang Hao abandoned her now, she would truly have no one and nothing left.

Heedless of her injuries, she crawled to Wang Hao’s feet and clung to his leg.

"I’m begging you, don’t leave me. I won’t ask to be your wife. Just let me stay by your side, even if it’s just as a handmaiden."

Wang Hao’s heart softened for a moment—she was his woman, after all. But when he looked down and saw the unconcealed side of Fang Min’s face, any trace of compassion vanished.

’It’s too disgusting, too horrifying. With a face ruined like that, she’s too repulsive even to be a handmaiden.’

"Get lost! And don’t ever let me see you again!" Wang Hao shoved Fang Min away with his foot and departed without a backward glance.

As he left, Wang Hao tossed one last sentence over his shoulder: "You’d best keep your mouth shut. You know what will happen otherwise."

Wang Hao wasn’t worried about Fang Min exposing what had happened. He had never been directly involved, merely offering opinions and some support. Besides, Fang Min had no proof.

’With the Wang Family’s standing in the Void Sect, what could anyone do to me? It wouldn’t matter if there was no proof—even with conclusive evidence, I’m untouchable.’

As Wang Hao departed, Fang Min’s mind went completely blank.

’It’s over. Everything is over.’

He hadn’t said it outright, but the meaning behind Wang Hao’s "don’t ever let me see you again" was clear: she was to leave the Void Sect of her own accord.

Without the Sect’s protection, it would be difficult for her to survive in the Martial Arts World, especially as a woman.

Staying was not an option. Fang Min knew Wang Hao’s temperament all too well. If she lingered, Mo Qi’s fate would be her own.

"Mo Qi, it’s all your fault! If my face wasn’t ruined, how could Wang Hao possibly drive me away!"

Fang Min placed all the blame on Mo Qi, never once reflecting on her own actions.

Even now, she felt she had done nothing wrong.

"You ruined my future, so I’ll make sure you can’t rest in peace!"

Fang Min wanted revenge on Mo Qi, but he was already dead. So how could she get it?

Simple. She would find Uncle Niu’s family and kill them all. They would serve as a funeral offering for Fang Hua and her own ruined future.

Liu Hui had to die, too. Everyone close to Mo Qi had to die!

"Mo Qi, I’d love to see how you explain this to that old good-for-nothing Niu in the afterlife! HAHAHAHA!"

...

The Yang Fire of the Netherworld Flame was perfect for cooking.

The four-piece kitchen set, forged from Obsidian, was pitch-black and looked utterly ordinary. It was unremarkable, showing none of the characteristics one would expect from a treasure.

Yet this simple set gave Mo Qi an unprecedented sense of enjoyment as he cooked.

The Obsidian was dense, hard, and nigh indestructible. Enhanced by the Chaos Scripture, it could withstand the searing heat of the Netherworld Flame.

Moreover, the Netherworld Flame was linked to Mo Qi’s mind, allowing him to change its temperature at will.

When preparing Medicinal Cuisine, Mo Qi could achieve a seventy percent success rate, even when using supreme treasures of the highest grade.

And as time passed, with countless treasures to practice on, his success rate with the Medicinal Cuisine steadily improved.

The piglet, that suspected Spirit Beast, had no complaints.

After all, a failed Medicinal Cuisine only lacked medicinal effects; the flavor remained.

And it was that delicious flavor that the piglet valued most.

Though it was only the size of his palm, its appetite was astonishing.

After three days and nights of non-stop cooking, Mo Qi had transformed countless Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures into delicacies. Aside from the one or two bites he took to test the flavor, everything else went into the piglet’s stomach.

Although the success rate for the Medicinal Cuisine was only seventy percent, the cumulative medicinal effect was still immense.

After all, every single herb here was thousands of years old.

Even with his limited experience, Mo Qi knew that a true Spirit Beast would have long since eaten until it exploded from all this Medicinal Cuisine.

But the piglet acted as if nothing was wrong—or rather, like no pig was wrong. It just lay stiffly beside him, sleeping. Whenever a dish of Medicinal Cuisine was ready, it would open its mouth, inhale the food, and swallow it with immense satisfaction before grinning and waiting for the next.

Mo Qi had made gains as well. From just those tiny bites he took while taste-testing, his Nine Transformations into Spirit had broken through the Third Transformation Breath to reach the Fourth Transformation: Bone Tempering in just three days.

He was at the Peak of Bone Tempering, in fact, and would soon break through to the Fifth Transformation Nourishing Divine Being.

He could feel that his body and strength had more than doubled in just three days.

The core principle of the Creation Golden Body Technique was to cultivate the physical body instead of the meridians. It involved nourishing the body with Spirit, Entering the Spirit with the Body, comprehending all Daos, and forging an Indestructible Golden Body.

Mo Qi was destined to eat constantly, collect Heaven and Earth Spiritual Objects unceasingly, and nourish his physical form. He had to raise himself as if he were a Spiritual Object in order to grow stronger.

The Wailing Abyss was practically his own personal paradise.

He had also noticed that the piglet wasn’t as proud and majestic as the Spirit Beasts of legend.

If he hadn’t known from the start that this piglet was something special, he might have mistaken it for a common pig that did nothing but eat and sleep.

"Um... Pig Emperor."

Pig Emperor was the title the piglet had given itself. Mo Qi hadn’t forgotten why he’d jumped into the Wailing Abyss. He asked tentatively, "This junior’s elder has remains that fell down here. Might I be permitted to rest for a while to find them? I will continue to cook for you once I’m done."

The piglet opened its eyes, waved a trotter, and said, "Go on, go on. From now on, you only need to feed me for twelve hours a day. The rest of the time is your own. But I’ll warn you, don’t stray more than ten li from here."

The piglet couldn’t be bothered to explain. Having said its piece, it fell back into its dreams.

Mo Qi was overjoyed. This way, he could not only retrieve Uncle Niu’s remains, but also find time to practice the Basic Staff Technique.

He hadn’t forgotten his duel with Wang Hao.

Fang Min had desecrated Uncle Niu’s grave and led people to kill him; Wang Hao had to be the one backing her.

If not for a stroke of luck, his soul would have long since descended to the Nine Netherworld.

To not avenge this grievance would be an offense against heaven itself.

Uncle Niu’s remains were soon recovered. Mo Qi decided to bury him right here in the Wailing Abyss.

’Here, at least, no one will disturb his rest.’

He dug a grave and gently placed Uncle Niu’s remains inside.

Mo Qi took out the Jade Pendant and placed it with Uncle Niu’s remains before burying them together.

He knelt before the grave and kowtowed three times, his forehead striking the ground with heavy thuds.

"Uncle Niu, I was too weak. I couldn’t even let you rest in peace after your death. But rest assured, from this day forward, no scoundrel will ever disturb you again."

"As for Wang Hao and Fang Min, I will send them to the grave with my own hands to atone for what they’ve done to you."

"And I will ensure the skills you taught me are passed down for a thousand generations. You are more than worthy of the title of Kitchen God."

Mo Qi knelt before Uncle Niu’s grave for two hours, murmuring to him. When he finally rose, he wiped the grief from his face.

This experience had taught him a valuable lesson: kindness and mercy were limiting. Raw power was a guarantee of survival, but true ability was the foundation of everything.

If his abilities—his culinary skills—hadn’t been enough to impress the piglet, that suspected Spirit Beast, he would have been a dead man. Even if he’d possessed the power of the Void Sect’s Sect Leader, it would have been useless.

Many people believed strength was everything. But without abilities to match that strength, one would eventually stagnate.

’Perhaps that’s what they call a bottleneck.’

Therefore, while it was urgent to raise his cultivation and increase his strength, he could not neglect his work with Medicinal Cuisine.

His mind made up, Mo Qi returned to the piglet’s side. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

He opened the Basic Staff Technique manual and began to study.

Staff Technique, a form of armed martial arts, focused on striking, uncovering, chopping, covering, pressing, clouding, sweeping, piercing, propping, raising, lifting, and deflecting.

Practicing the Staff Technique required fluid arm movements, the use of both the tip and the butt of the staff, and the unification of body and weapon. Power had to flow through to the very tip of the staff, allowing for fierce, rapid attacks that, as the saying went, "could strike a wide swathe."

The Basic Staff Technique manual provided detailed descriptions of these fundamental movements—striking, uncovering, chopping, covering, pressing, clouding, sweeping, piercing, propping, raising, lifting, and deflecting—complete with illustrations and key points for each stance.

Mo Qi took out the Fire Stick forged from Obsidian, but he didn’t immediately begin practicing the stances.

With one hand, he gripped the end of the staff, extended his arm straight out in front of him, and held it perfectly horizontal, unmoving.

’In my view, whether it’s Martial Techniques or the culinary arts, nothing is more important than the fundamentals.’

’If I can’t even hold the staff steady, how can I possibly master its techniques?’

So, his first task was to become one with the Fire Stick. He needed to be able to move like a flood dragon, with world-shattering power, yet remain as still as the universe, as steady as a mountain. There could not be the slightest deviation in any of his movements.

Just like his Sword Skill, it all came down to one word: steady!

The Fire Stick, forged from Obsidian, weighed a terrifying fifteen thousand jin. Yet in Mo Qi’s hand, it remained perfectly still, even as his face flushed crimson from the strain.

"Two thousand nine hundred ninety-eight... two thousand nine hundred ninety-nine... three thousand!"

Mo Qi was counting his breaths. When he reached three thousand, he switched the Fire Stick to his other hand and continued the exercise.

After another three thousand breaths, Mo Qi collapsed to the ground, exhausted. He panted heavily, his arms swollen to twice their normal size, yet his expression was one of pure elation.

’This is the feeling!’

It had been just as agonizing when he first began practicing his Sword Skill. The memory was almost nostalgic.

This kind of overload training pushed not only his physical body to its limits, but his Spiritual Power as well.

Without the Chaos Scripture to restore him, Mo Qi would have long since died from the complete collapse of his body and spirit.

Even so, the agony was more than any ordinary person could bear, let alone enduring it day after day for years.

But Mo Qi had persevered. And he had succeeded.

’Uncle Niu, I swear I won’t let you down...’

His physical stamina depleted and his Spiritual Power drained, Mo Qi passed out on the ground.

A short distance away, the piglet opened its eyes, glanced at Mo Qi, then closed them and went back to snoring.

Hours later, Mo Qi was jolted awake by a sharp rap from a stick.

"This emperor is hungry."

The piglet tossed aside a long stick that resembled a stalk of sugarcane and spoke languidly.

Mo Qi clutched his throbbing head, utterly speechless. If he thought he could win, he would have beaten the little pig senseless.

’Is it even possible for us to get along? Has it never heard of waking someone up on the wrong side of the bed?’

Mo Qi stretched his limbs. The Chaos Scripture hadn’t failed him; all his aches and pains were gone.

What’s more, his physique felt even stronger than it had the day before.

Mo Qi let out a long sigh, then expertly began gathering Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures to prepare the piglet’s Medicinal Cuisine.

Twelve hours later, he once again began practicing the Staff Technique in his own way.