ARLQLCC chapter 3

 

Su Ji carried Chu Zhaoye all the way to the kitchen and placed him on a clean stove counter.

The little black cat widened his eyes and looked at him. In a good mood, Su Ji smiled and rubbed his head. “Hungry? The food will be ready soon.”

Feeling the other party’s hand resting on his head, Chu Zhaoye’s little cat face twisted for a moment—after becoming the Demon King for so long, no one had ever dared to touch his head like this.

After petting him, Su Ji went to cook, leaving him, a single cat, in a daze.

Su Ji busied himself in front of the stove, and the fragrance of food quickly spread through the kitchen.

Chu Zhaoye, who had still been despising himself, suddenly heard his stomach let out a string of growls.

The growling reached Su Ji’s ears. He was dividing the freshly steamed fish fillets into two portions. Hearing it, he pursed his lips in a smile and placed one plate of steaming fish fillets in front of Chu Zhaoye.

“Ma Tuan, hurry and eat. After we finish eating, we’ll go open up the fields. Living by the mountain, we have to rely on the mountain, so we can’t be lazy.”

The fish fillets in front of him gave off a rich aroma. The fish was white and tender, soaked in a rich broth and garnished with chopped scallions, silently tempting the starving Chu Zhaoye.

He glanced at Su Ji, who was eating with great enjoyment, not expecting the chance to investigate to come so quickly.

The moment it entered his mouth, the fresh fragrance that had completely seeped into the fish exploded in Chu Zhaoye’s mouth. The fish, marinated in advance, had not the slightest fishy taste. The freshness of the fish itself blended perfectly with the seasonings. Even after swallowing, it lingered with a hint of warmth, leaving him wanting more.

Since becoming the king of his clan, Chu Zhaoye had tasted countless delicacies, but the food prepared by this cultivator was truly exceptional—no less impressive than the dishes made by the demon race’s finest chefs, and perhaps even better.

He ate both the fish and the broth until nothing was left. The little cat licked away the last bit of soup, then licked his teeth with lingering satisfaction. Raising his head, he saw Su Ji looking at him with a smile.

Looking at the plate in front of Ma Tuan, cleaner than his face, Su Ji teased, “I didn’t expect such a tiny cat to have such a big appetite. You’re not still hungry, are you?”

Chu Zhaoye lowered his head to look at the plate, then felt the signal from his stomach telling him he could still eat an entire fish. Guiltily, he turned his head away.

Su Ji was amused by his movement and coaxed, “We don’t have much food right now. Once I open up the fields and raise spirit beasts again, I’ll let you eat as much as you want, okay?”

Having eaten someone else’s food, Chu Zhaoye gave a small “meow” to indicate he understood.

After the meal, Su Ji efficiently washed the dishes and scrubbed the pot, then carried Chu Zhaoye to the back courtyard of the cafeteria.

The spirit fields, untended for a long time, were overgrown with weeds. Su Ji cast a dust-repelling spell on the kitten and set him on the ground to run around and play while he himself took up the farming tools and began reclaiming the land.

Plowing the fields was not difficult. When Su Ji’s master was still alive, he often craved good food. He had taught Su Ji how to farm and had also passed down all of his cooking skills to him.

Everything Su Ji was capable of today was closely tied to his master’s guidance.

The back courtyard occupied the largest area, and spirit fields made up two-thirds of it. The land used to grow spirit grains and spirit plants had extremely high requirements and could not be handled with spiritual power as a shortcut, so Su Ji could only do it himself, reclaiming plot after plot by hand.

Fortunately, he was a cultivator. He had trained diligently since childhood. Besides possessing strong spiritual power, his body cultivation was also quite good. A whole morning of reclaiming the land was not too tiring, and the results were remarkable.

All the weeds had been dug out and piled to one side. The soil in the spirit fields was loose, and each plot was clearly defined, ready to be planted directly.

After turning the soil, Su Ji leaned the hoe against the wall and took out several bags of seeds from his storage artifact, scattering them one by one into the prepared pits.

The entire time Su Ji worked the fields, Chu Zhaoye watched from the side. Although Su Ji had cast a dust-repelling spell on him, so that even rolling in the mud wouldn’t leave him dirty, Chu Zhaoye was no longer the dazed little cub he had been yesterday. Naturally, he couldn’t bring himself to do something so embarrassing.

As time passed and the spirit fields were reclaimed one plot after another, subtle changes gradually began to appear inside Chu Zhaoye as he lay there watching Su Ji work in a daze.

When Chu Zhaoye had broken through, the inner demon he had previously suppressed and forced into slumber came out to cause trouble. Although his soul had slept for several days after he reverted to his original form, the inner demon had not slept along with him. Instead, it seized the opportunity to rampage through his body.

If not for the physical body of a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator being too powerful, he probably would have exploded and died by now.

After Chu Zhaoye awoke, the inner demon was no longer as rampant as it had been while he was unconscious, but it still remained, likely knowing that no matter how powerful Chu Zhaoye was, he was now in his cub stage and had little way to deal with it.

But ever since he ate the grilled fish yesterday, the inner demon’s movements had lessened. After eating the fish fillets this morning, the fluctuations of the inner demon could even be described as faint.

Until now, Chu Zhaoye’s dantian was warm all over, while the inner demon had fallen into slumber on its own, even without the suppression of cultivation.

Chu Zhaoye could feel that after this sleep, the inner demon would be much weaker than before.

And the internal injuries he had suffered from the failed breakthrough were also slowly healing.

Feeling the changes inside his body, he looked at Su Ji’s busy back and was inwardly shocked.

A thousand years ago, the devil race stirred up chaos. The human race and the demon race joined forces and, after a hundred years of war and paying many painful costs, finally forced them back into the Devil Domain and sealed them completely.

But even so, the cultivators of both races who survived were continually tormented by inner demons. They tried every possible method, but apart from using cultivation to suppress them by force, there was no other way.

Divine pills and miraculous medicines were useless. Talismans and spells were as good as waste paper. Many cultivators could not endure the impact of the inner demon and exploded to death, while inner demons that left their hosts would not dissipate. Instead, they would seek out the next cultivator to parasitize, continuing until that host died as well.

Thus, even though the devil race had been sealed away, the shadow left behind by their inner demons still hung over the hearts of most people.

Chu Zhaoye had believed that his cultivation ranked among the top three on the continent and that he had nothing to fear from inner demons, yet he had still been ambushed at the critical moment. But now reality was telling him that a person using the most ordinary spirit beasts to make food could suppress inner demons.

Chu Zhaoye even felt that if he ate a few more times, the inner demon would grow weaker and weaker until it was completely cured, or killed by the host.

Looking at the young cultivator fiddling with farm tools in front of him, he felt as though he were looking at a gold nugget.

If this kind of ability were to become known, the cultivators coming to beg for food would probably wear down the threshold.

For a moment, Chu Zhaoye did not know whether this failed breakthrough was a blessing or a curse.

…

There was still some time before lunch, and Su Ji planned to use it to activate the seeds first.

Unlike mortal farming, which only required sowing seeds and watering and fertilizing them every day, seeds in the cultivation world required one extra step. The person sowing them had to pour their own spiritual power into the soil where the seeds were planted, activating the spiritual energy within them. Only then, with watering and fertilizing, could they sprout and bear fruit.

Su Ji stood in the middle of the spirit fields and closed his eyes.

Green spiritual power flowed from his body, carrying traces of vitality as it spread into the different spirit fields.

As the spiritual power was infused, the previously ordinary seeds emitted tiny points of green light and sank into the soil.

A completely ordinary spiritual power irrigation had ended, but the seeds’ response was anything but ordinary.

Before Su Ji had even had the chance to carefully nourish them, the seeds that had just been planted immediately sprouted tender shoots and broke through the soil!

Facing an entire spirit field full of lush green sprouts, Su Ji opened his eyes and froze on the spot.

Among the batch of seeds he had planted, there were indeed some with short growth cycles and fast growth speeds, but sprouting immediately after being planted—forget Su Ji, even Chu Zhaoye, who had lived for several thousand years, had never seen such a thing.

Chu Zhaoye, who had been lying down, stood up this time. Looking at the rows of tender seedlings that seemed full enough to drip with water, the entire cat was stunned.

Who exactly was this Su Ji? His cooking could weaken inner demons and heal injuries, and his farming could accelerate growth.

Could he be some ascended mighty figure who had descended to the lower world for a spring outing?

Su Ji was also frightened. Somewhat at a loss, he looked at the tender shoots covering the ground, then walked back to the kitten and rubbed his head several times to calm himself.

Rebirth itself was already shocking. To possess an unknown ability after being reborn was even more unheard of.

Su Ji did not know whether this ability was related to his rebirth, but from the current perspective, if it merely accelerated the growth of spirit plants, it was still a good thing for him and Ma Tuan.

Rubbing the little cat in his arms, Su Ji said softly, “That really startled me just now. Although I don’t know where this ability came from, it shouldn’t be a bad thing. It’s good that spirit plants grow quickly. Before long, we’ll have new dishes to eat.”

While being rubbed until his whole body felt comfortable, Chu Zhaoye muttered inwardly: So he doesn’t know he has this ability either. Then he probably also doesn’t know that his cooking can heal inner demons.

Su Ji had no reason to lie to a little cat. Since even the person involved did not know, Chu Zhaoye, though curious, temporarily set aside his doubts.

Not to mention that a kitten could only meow when it opened its mouth—even if he could speak, he would not be able to ask anything meaningful.

More importantly, after spending the entire morning supervising from the same spot, Chu Zhaoye was hungry again.

In any case, Su Ji treated him well. His cooking was not only delicious, but could also heal injuries and weaken inner demons. Even if he returned to the demon race now, there might not be any spirit pills more effective than the food Su Ji made.

He might as well stay here until his injuries healed, then return to human form and repay the other party.

With an ability as unheard of as Su Ji’s, once he recovered, he would think of a way to lure him to the demon race. A gold nugget like this could not be allowed to fall into the human race’s hands first.

Having thought it through, Chu Zhaoye very naturally rubbed against Su Ji’s palm and raised a front paw to pat his stomach.

Seeing the kitten’s actions under his hand, Su Ji laughed. “Hungry again? You’re clearly still such a tiny cat—how can you eat more than me?”

Chu Zhaoye protested, “Meow!”

This Lord is injured! Eating more to help my wounds heal is perfectly reasonable!

“All right.” Su Ji picked him up. “But I’m not cooking at noon. Working in the fields all morning is tiring too. I’ll take you to the cultivation world market street for lunch, and while we’re there, we can buy some spirit beasts and seeds to bring home.”

Since he would not get to eat Su Ji’s cooking for lunch, Chu Zhaoye let out a listless meow. Su Ji found it amusing. “It’s already good enough that you have something to eat, and now you’re being picky?”

Chu Zhaoye placed a paw on his hand and let out a dissatisfied meow, but with his big eyes and round face, the sound had no imposing aura at all.

Su Ji surrendered to the cuteness. “All right, then. We’ll buy some ready-made dishes to bring back later. You can order what you want, and whatever you point to, I’ll cook for you.”

As Su Ji carried him down the mountain on his sword, Chu Zhaoye’s mind still echoed with what Su Ji had just said.

How had he never realized before that cats who act spoiled have such a blessed life?

 

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