Cultivation: I Can Steal Lifespan from Spirit Beasts

Chapter 149: The Way of the Spirit Chef

“The ‘chef’ in Spirit Chef is not the same as a mortal chef.”

In the kitchen, Bao Chao stood before a chopping board, his demeanor completely transformed. He spoke with grave seriousness.

Wang Ba, shedding any airs of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, listened attentively. He knew humility was the price of knowledge.

Bao Chao continued, “Mortal chefs aim to satisfy the appetite and the palate. We Spirit Chefs, however, strive to preserve and amplify the spiritual essence of our ingredients while purging the impurities that are useless or harmful to cultivators. Our craft is an auxiliary method of cultivation—a way to shorten the time and effort required to absorb energy.”

“This differs from alchemy. Alchemy harmonizes the energies of plants, minerals, and metals to create specific effects. While toxicity is considered, efficacy is the supreme goal.”

“This is why almost all pills contain Pill Toxicity. It isn’t just the foreign spiritual energy; the formulas themselves often include metals and minerals the human body cannot naturally absorb.”

Wang Ba nodded, enlightened. He had always assumed pills were made purely of herbs. The revelation that they contained minerals explained the persistent issue of toxicity.

A thought struck him. “Master Bao, I once consumed a Blood Dharma Pill, yet I detected no toxicity. Why is that?”

Bao Chao looked at him in surprise. “You’ve eaten a Blood Dharma Pill? Interesting. The answer is simple: although it is called a pill, the formation used to create it employs methods akin to our own.”

“It is less a pill and more… the concentrated essence of human flesh and blood.”

“In reality, it is no different from your Spirit Poultry essence.”

Wang Ba felt a wave of nausea. He had consumed two of them. Even if the Soul Nurturing Pearl had absorbed the energy, the act itself remained unsettling.

“But the formation sacrificed other cultivators,” Wang Ba countered. “Surely their bodies contained Pill Toxicity? Wouldn’t the Blood Dharma Pill inherit those impurities?”

“That is the core of our craft,” Bao Chao replied. “The methods of a Spirit Chef—and by extension, the Blood Sacrifice Formation—are designed to purge everything unfavorable to the cultivator. Including toxicity.”

Bao Chao paused, then asked, “Speaking of the Blood Sacrifice Grand Formation, do you know why such a thing came to exist?”

Wang Ba shook his head.

Bao Chao’s expression turned strange. “Compared to rare spiritual materials, humans—the leaders of all living things—are abundant and possess innate spirituality. We are natural cultivation resources.”

“In ancient times, feeding on humans, or even farming them, was standard practice for many Demonic Sects.”

Wang Ba felt a chill. He knew the demonic path was cruel, but hearing it stated so plainly was disturbing.

“However,” Bao Chao continued, “demonic cultivators discovered that consuming humans in large quantities made them susceptible to Inner Demons. Their minds would fracture, their souls disintegrating into madness.”

“Some cultivators abandoned the practice. They turned to common Spirit Beasts and crops, refining their essence into safe, absorbable Spirit Chow.”

“Others, too poor or desperate to change, sought a solution to the madness.”

“They adapted the purification techniques of the former group. After countless trials, they created the Blood Sacrifice Formation.”

“Many variants exist now, but the principle remains the same.”

Bao Chao looked Wang Ba in the eye. “You have guessed the origin of our lineage, haven’t you?”

“Demonic cultivators?” Wang Ba ventured.

“Exactly! The Spirit Chef lineage is a branch severed from the ancient traditions of the demonic path.”

“Our creed is simple: Plunder the essence of all things to nourish oneself!”

A fanatic light gleamed in Bao Chao’s eyes.

“We lack the systematic progression of alchemists or formation masters. There are no strict grades for Spirit Chefs. Skill is measured solely by one’s mastery of ingredients and purification.”

“The higher the grade of the ingredient, and the more essence preserved without impurities, the greater the chef.”

Wang Ba nodded. “Where do I begin?”

Bao Chao smiled and stepped aside, revealing several large wooden buckets filled with writhing, toad-like creatures.

“These are unranked Spirit Beasts: Eel-Tailed Toads. Your task is to dissect them. Classify every bone, every fiber of muscle, every patch of skin… until you know them better than you know yourself!”

Wang Ba stared at the buckets. The toads were piled atop one another, their skin covered in weeping tumors and oozing poisonous slime.

His skin crawled.

He looked at Bao Chao, suspecting revenge. Wang Ba wasn’t afraid of much, but he had a visceral phobia of such disgusting, tumor-ridden creatures. Every time he saw them, he felt paralyzed, torn between freezing in horror or fleeing in panic.

He fought the urge to draw his sword and incinerate the entire bucket.

“Can we… swap?” Wang Ba asked, his voice tight. “Spirit Poultry, perhaps? I have plenty.”

Bao Chao shook his head firmly. “There is no better beast for a novice. The Eel-Tailed Toad’s anatomy is complex but foundational. Master this, and you will master most First-Order ingredients.”

Wang Ba gritted his teeth. He glanced at the toads, then mentally shut off his sense of touch and sight.

Bao Chao seemed to anticipate this. “Oh, and Senior? To truly master the anatomy, you must use all five senses in conjunction with your Divine Sense. Feel every texture.”

Wang Ba: “…”

For the freedom of Spirit Poultry essence… I will endure!

…

Two months passed in the blink of an eye.

In a kitchen on the outskirts of the Sword Billow Garrison market.

“Huff—”

A wisp of Magic Power dissipated from Wang Ba’s fingertip.

Before him lay a massive wooden table covered in countless tiny fragments—bones, muscle fibers, organs.

All of them came from a single Eel-Tailed Toad.

Wang Ba’s dissection was so meticulous that a palm-sized toad had been spread to cover the entire table.

“The anatomy of this toad is absurdly complex,” Wang Ba thought, wiping sweat from his brow. “No wonder Bao Chao said mastering this unlocks the rest.”

For two months, he had done nothing but study these wretched creatures. As a Foundation Establishment cultivator, his focus and precision allowed him to learn at a terrifying pace.

He could now dissect a toad blindfolded, separating every component perfectly.

But this was only the foundation.

According to Bao Chao, the next step was to use Magic Power to excise a specific, microscopic organ while the toad was still alive and moving.

After that, he had to perform the entire dissection instantly using only Magic Power.

Only when he knew the ingredient to an impossible degree could he proceed to the second step: processing and preservation.

And the third step… purification.

It was a long, tedious road. Even his Lifespan Panel couldn’t help him here, as there were no techniques to upgrade—only raw skill and muscle memory.

This was the reality of the secondary professions. They were time sinks.

Unless one was exceptionally talented or had hit a cultivation dead end, most cultivators only dabbled in these arts. They preferred to focus on increasing their Magic Power and lifespan first.

Wang Ba’s advantage was his realm. His Divine Sense allowed him to observe and manipulate the toads in ways a Qi Refining cultivator couldn’t dream of. What took him two months might have taken a novice a year.

This experience dampened his enthusiasm for learning other crafts.

Alchemy, for instance, was even deeper and more demanding. Without supreme talent and decades of effort, success was impossible.

“Once I master the Spirit Chef methods for Spirit Poultry essence, I’m stopping,” Wang Ba decided. “Cultivation must come first.”

If not for the direct benefit to his farming and cultivation, he would have quit already.

He bid farewell to Bao Chao and took the teleportation array back to the Eastern Sage Garrison.

He had been gone for two months. The Spirit Rice next to the chicken farm should be ready for harvest.