Follow the path of Dao from infancy

When Ren Qianqian brought several large cauldrons for the blood, Li Hao waved his hand, and the Dragon Soar Sword flew out. Its Sword Qi piercing the heavens, it charged towards the Black Bird.

Under the blade of this Divine Weapon, the body of the Black Bird Demon King was sliced open.

Li Hao severed its neck, and the life-rich treasured blood gushed forth, but Li Hao covered it with his power to manipulate objects, drawing it into the large cauldrons.

During this process, he also used his object-controlling power to wring out the moisture from the treasured blood, simply refining it, so that only the thick, fishy, and viscous alien blood remained.

The huge bronze cauldrons were filled to the brim, a total of nine cauldrons.

Afterwards, Li Hao sealed the cauldrons with iron water and set them aside for the time being.

Next, following the advice of Elder Feng, Li Hao plucked the gold-inlaid feathers from the back of the Black Bird Demon King.

The feathers were glittering with gold. Although the Demon King was dead, the feathers still flickered with faint golden light.

Li Hao collected all seven gold-inlaid feathers then proceeded to cut out the heart of the Demon King.

This heart from the Tao Heart Realm was covered with divine patterns and contained a profound and vast aura, with natural patterns formed by the power of heaven and earth on it.

If one could comprehend it, they would be able to understand the Tao Heart that the Demon King had comprehended.

Li Hao found a large white jade tray and caught the heart, half a meter in diameter, on it.

The flowing dark gold divine patterns still contained surging power, and even if left to sit naturally, they would not decay for a hundred years.

Apart from these, the other parts were also extremely precious, but Li Hao planned to share them with the martial artists of the entire city.

The other black feathers, though not suitable for crafting Divine Weapons, could still be forged into decent weapons, good enough for use up to the Heavenly Human Realm.

The flesh of the body was also extremely precious, and eating it raw could have great medicinal effects, but the Demonic Qi contained within was too powerful. It would be better to refine it before absorption.

After all, there are some differences between the Human Race and the demons' constitutions.

The little white fox could eat it raw, but having grown up by Li Hao's side, it had become accustomed to cooked food.

"Elder Feng will take care of setting up the pot and lighting the fire," Li Hao said with a smile, rolling up his sleeves, ready to prepare the Black Bird Demon King for the feast.

Feng Boping also became excited about this shocking venture. All the martial artists of the city were in for a treat that evening.

Li Hao manipulated the Dragon Soar Sword, starting to pluck and debone the Demon King.

Ren Qianqian assisted Li Hao, searching for containers to hold the various parts.

When Li Hongzhuang learned of the news and rushed over, she was dumbfounded upon seeing Li Hao truly using his sword to cut meat, and beside him, preparations being made—setting up a huge pile of firewood and an enormous iron pot that had been sourced from who knows where.

This was a Tao Heart Realm Demon King, whose body's value was inestimable, saying that a tael of gold per tael of meat was not an exaggeration.

Li Hao was actually planning to waste it like this.

"Hao Er, are you really going to cook with this Demon King?!" Li Hongzhuang approached Li Hao and asked, astonished.

Li Hao turned his head to look at her. Just before, this little aunt had also rushed to reinforce them, contributing to their side in the battle outside. Smiling at her, he said,

"What flavor do you like? Spicy or steamed?"

"..."

Li Hongzhuang had nothing to say in response.

Having defended the frontier pass for over a decade, she never imagined that one day she would have the opportunity to feast on the flesh of a Demon King, something she wouldn't even dare to dream of.

Seeing Ren Qianqian struggling to find the right utensils, Li Hongzhuang stopped being coy. As a tiger girl from a military family, her disposition was rather forthright like a man's, and she immediately waved over a deputy from the Bloodsha Army.

Soon, the canteen squad that always accompanied the Bloodsha Army arrived.

They brought bowls and chopsticks, serving utensils, and a vast array of condiments.

Watching Li Hao handle the corpse of the Demon King, the soldiers of the canteen squad all exclaimed in awe, feeling as if they were seeing something new.

They wanted to step forward to help, but they were all declined by Li Hao, who only allowed them to assist with menial tasks such as arranging ingredients.

Li Hao preferred to have full control over the cooking himself.

He dismantled the Demon King's thighs and wings one by one and then chopped them into smaller pieces.

The Dragon Soar Sword, the foremost among the ten famous swords, now served the role of a kitchen knife, skillfully dismembering the Demon King's body under Li Hao's hands.

Seeing such high-end ingredients, Li Hao couldn't help feeling a bit of regret. If only he had broken through the bottleneck in his cooking path, how much experience would cooking a Demon King from the Four Stands Realm have added? Perhaps tens of thousands?

Although it was his first time making a communal meal, Li Hao was not careless or perfunctory; he was extraordinarily serious instead.

Carrying the essence of cooking in his heart, he strove to make each dish as exquisite and delicious as if it were a specialty item.

Therefore, cooking a good communal meal was a deeper challenge.

Li Hao threw himself entirely into the process. The ordinary roaring flames of the firewood were not hot enough to stew the Demon King's flesh and blood to tenderness, and stir-frying was even more difficult.

While cooking, Li Hao was also massaging the ingredients, softening them, and making them easier to cook.

When necessary, he would employ the Zixiao Palm to raise the temperature.

Now, having stepped into the Grandmaster Limit of Martial Arts, each of his many cultivation techniques was accompanied by another state—the Immortal Tao.

By harnessing immortal power, he could unleash more formidable might from the techniques.

This Superior Purple Sky Palm had also transformed into an Immortal Force Purple Sky Palm, whose steaming heat could easily melt demons and monsters of the Heavenly Human Realm.

Against demons of the Three Immortal Realms, it could inflict tremendous damage.

Used in cooking, it was a godsend for Li Hao.

During the cooking process, the residual will within the flesh of the Demon King would sometimes manifest, and Li Hao used his Spiritual Thought to shatter it.

The remnant thoughts within the pores and channels of the Demon King were gradually fading away.

At first, Li Hao didn't notice, but later he suddenly had a peculiar feeling.

The ingredient itself seemed to possess a transcendent flavor.

At the Sixth Stage of cooking, Li Hao's culinary skills had already reached the peak of taste buds, the ultimate enjoyment for his tongue.

Even in the best restaurants of the Imperial Holy City, Li Hao could take to the kitchen and assume the role of head chef.

But this was not the limit of culinary arts.

Spiritual Awakening.

At this moment, Li Hao suddenly realized that Spiritual Awakening in cooking wasn't just about the ingredients themselves.

It was about cooking something else, something beyond what the flesh could feel—the soul of the ingredients!

Li Hao's culinary arts had already reached the Sixth Stage, but he had never thought he would be the first to primarily focus on culinary arts as a means of Spiritual Awakening.

And now, it was an unintentional act, a spontaneously started cooking session, that suddenly seemed to touch the elusive bottleneck.

Li Hao gradually lost himself to the process.

He no longer eradicated the lingering thoughts in the Demon King's flesh; instead, he soothed them with his own will, calming them from an enraged screaming state to gradual tranquility.

Those lingering thoughts still remained within the ingredients.

At this moment, what he was cooking was no longer mere flesh, but the residual spirit of the Black Bird Demon King!

The Divine Soul of the Black Bird Demon King had long been erased; this residual spirit could be considered soul dust, merely unconscious emotions and thoughts.

Therefore, most of the lingering thoughts were filled with violent and bloodthirsty auras.

But now, under the manipulation of Li Hao's Spiritual Thought, they gradually softened and embedded themselves into the ingredients.

Meanwhile, these lingering thoughts also became a vessel, much like pores in meat, capable of absorbing seasoning and broth, bringing delight to the taste buds.

And so these lingering thoughts did, as Li Hao infused them with his grateful thoughts towards the many Martial Artists, allowing them to be absorbed, then immersed into the ingredients.

Unnoticed, panel prompts started to float before Li Hao's eyes.

[Culinary experience +2712…]

[Culinary experience +2539…]

[Culinary experience +2934…]

He took that step, Culinary Arts, Spiritual Awakening.

The bottleneck of his Culinary Arts was also broken, and he could once again gain culinary experience points.

But at this moment, Li Hao was wholly immersed in his cooking, ignoring these prompts.

Just like when he had an epiphany at the Grandmaster Limit, he did not seek; therefore, he achieved.

The most precious things in the world often don't come from seeking but naturally occur.

Just like life, conceived from the womb without asking for it.

Just like the sunlight that bathes the world, and the alternation of the sun and the moon, without soliciting it.

Mountains and rivers follow natural rules; to seek is to row against the current, causing water at the foot of a mountain to flow uphill, which can be accomplished with vast human effort, but it is not lasting.

And the ultimate Tao is natural and completes itself, just like this.

Li Hao's mind had been on achieving Spiritual Awakening through the Art of Painting and Fishing, but he hadn't placed hopes on Culinary Arts; yet it was this art that surprisingly came to fruition.

...

As the sun set and the evening glow spread across the sky like the blush of a young girl,

All the Martial Artists in the city, upon receiving the news, gathered in the center of the town.

The scent of the food had already spread, covering the entire Cangya City, even the Star Bureau officials and other elderly scholars on the city walls, who were still studying the carvings of Arrays, smelled it.

"What's that smell?"

Xia Xiang Lan exclaimed, lifting her head and sniffing with her delicate, fair nose. She smelled the aroma coming from within the city and couldn't help but look up, but being too far away and her realm too low, she couldn't see clearly.

"That young master seems to have cooked the Demon King and is inviting everyone to dine."

Next to her, one of the scholars projected his Divine Soul into the air, seeing and hearing the commotion in the distance, showing a hint of surprise on his otherwise expressionless face.

"What, stewing the Demon King?"

The others were all stunned, and the Star Bureau officials also appeared contemplative, looking up and murmuring, "That gentleman really is mad."

Xia Xiang Lan thought of the gentle and jade-like young man in the courtyard, somewhat bewildered, finding it hard to associate him with such a wild act as cooking a Demon King.

In the center of the city.

The scene was set with many tables and chairs; the soldiers of the cooking squad helped serve the dishes—a variety of Demon King flesh cuisines were presented.

Stir-fried meat slices, steamed fatty liver, braised tendons, and more.

The Demon King was turned by Li Hao into more than fifty different dishes, with a diverse array of styles including hot dishes, cold dishes, and pastries made from a mixture of muscles and other ingredients.

A total of over a hundred tables were prepared, with more than fifty servings per table.

In the afterglow of the setting sun, Li Hao wiped the sweat from his forehead and sat down at a table with Feng, beginning to eat.

There were no special speeches or words of thanks; all the emotions were invested in the dining table.

But Li Hongzhuang still spoke on behalf of Li Hao, saying a few words of thanks before announcing the start of the meal.

When the food was tasted, the flavors blossomed on the tip of the tongue, and the emotions and intent infused by Li Hao into the Demon King's lingering thoughts were also conveyed.

In an instant, everyone understood the young man's heartfelt gratitude, a collision of souls that surpassed words.

Some of the more sentimental women even had their eyes moistened with tears while they ate.

The only sound remaining was the clinking of bowls and utensils.

"You, this kid…"

Feng Boping, as usual, picked up some stir-fried meat slices and ate them. Soon, it seemed as if something flew out of the spicy meat, giving him an indescribable feeling.

It was like a consciousness injected straight into his heart, without the need for verbal communication, yet he could taste the intensity of the emotion within.

This was no simple dish anymore.

Li Hao had Ren Qianqian prepare some food boxes to send to the people of the Heavenly Observatory on the city walls.

At this time, he ate his own cooking, sipped his liquor, and although he couldn't absorb the essence of the Demon King's flesh like the others, he could attest that the flavor was indeed excellent.

In his leisure time, Li Hao pulled up his panel to check it, and upon seeing that his Culinary Arts had risen from the Sixth to the Seventh Stage, he showed a hint of a smile.

The feeling was not one of surprise but rather a smile of satisfaction, as if everything had naturally fallen into place.

The Spiritual Awakening of Culinary Arts also helped Li Hao find the way to Spiritual Awakening in the Art of Painting and other arts.

However, it would still require some trials and errors; after all, talking about it and doing it were two different things.

No matter what, he was now finally able to continue leveling up.