Of course, Mi Xiao would occasionally sneak up to steal a bite.
Zhu Yanyi took a sip of the sour and spicy soup. The flavors hit her tongue, sharp yet refreshing, without being overly harsh. The sourness and spiciness came naturally from the medicinal herbs themselves, making the taste very pure. It was no wonder the Medical Elder recommended this soup.
There were also pieces of animal meat in the soup, which made it feel warm and comforting to the heart and lungs. Zhu Yanyi guessed the meat likely came from a spirit beast.
"This tastes really good," Mi Xiao nodded while eating. "Third Senior Brother, can you make this after tasting it?"
Ouyang Tianyun was a culinary cultivator. His special ability was to analyze any food he ate and recreate its recipe.
Ouyang Tianyun took a sip and said slowly, "I can figure out the recipe. But it uses rare spirit beast meat. If you want to eat it later, you must provide the meat yourself. I won't go hunting for you."
Killing spirit beasts casually was considered immoral.
Although they were enjoying the spirit beast soup now, they felt uneasy about the shop serving such meat. They decided to avoid this place in the future. People who killed spirit beasts were rarely good.
Mi Xiao made a funny face at Ouyang Tianyun.
"Fifteen, look! Third Senior Brother is bullying me. Tell me, can you make it?" Mi Xiao turned her hopes to Zhu Yanyi.
"I am not a culinary cultivator," Zhu Yanyi smiled gently. Although she could use other methods to copy the flavor, her version would never be exactly the same. Of course, she wouldn't tell Mi Xiao that.
Hearing this, Mi Xiao groaned in despair. "Such delicious food, and I might never eat it again. Life will be so hard!"
"You can eat it a few more times while we are still here," Gu Jun said calmly.
Mi Xiao sighed. "I suppose that is the only way." She then began to eat heartily.
Mi Xiao was a lively person. Her enthusiasm for food made everyone else hungry. Before they realized it, they had finished everything they ordered.
After paying and leaving the shop, Cui Chang’an said seriously, "So many people eating, and it only cost three low-grade spirit stones. That is very cheap."
"Do not think it is cheap," the Medical Elder laughed. "We ate a lot, but the actual cost of ingredients was less than two low-grade spirit stones. The shop owner is honest, at least he did not overcharge."
"Medical Elder, where should we go next?" Since they were here, everyone wanted to look around.
"Ahead is a street selling magic items. They sell small magical tools. If you are interested, go take a look. You might find some fun trinkets."
The Medical Elder did not plan to keep the students confined all the time. Some freedom was necessary. This was part of the Sage Academy’s style.
"Great! Let’s go look. Maybe we can buy some souvenirs or local specialties to take back," Shi Chengchen said.
"Souvenirs, maybe. But forget about local specialties. You will not like them," the Medical Elder said with a grin.
Seeing the Elder’s expression, Zhu Yanyi sensed something unusual. Curious, she asked, "Medical Elder, what are the local specialties here?"
The Medical Elder looked at their curious faces. "Want to know?"
"Yes," everyone nodded.
"People," the Medical Elder grinned. "If you want to find a partner, you can buy someone here. People are the local specialty."
(⊙o⊙)…
Why did everyone feel the Medical Elder was being disrespectful?
Seeing their reactions, the Medical Elder knew what they were thinking. He continued with a smile, "Do not think I am lying. In the Shangmo Plane, ordinary people are the least valuable.
In their minds, ordinary people exist only to reproduce. If they can give birth to someone with magic, they have achieved their greatest goal.
Otherwise, these people have no reason to exist. They are just wasting food. So, people become a commodity, bought and sold occasionally."
"How can people have such thoughts?" Jian Feiyan frowned slightly.
Not only Jian Feiyan frowned; everyone else did too.
"The Shangmo Plane is called 'Shangmo' for two reasons. First, they worship magic. Second, they admire the practices of demonic cultivators. Therefore, the Ruthless Dao is the choice for cultivators here.
Because of this, they believe people fall into two categories: valuable and worthless. So, people become a specialty. Those without value are sold," the Medical Elder explained seriously.
"I do not know why, but people in the Shangmo Plane, both men and women, are very good-looking. So, some people come here to buy them, just to enjoy their beauty."
After the Medical Elder finished speaking, Zhu Yanyi suddenly said, "Perhaps the Shangmo Plane does this to embody the idea that the strong rule."
"Zhu Yanyi is exactly right," Martial Elder spoke up. "People living here feel superior. They see themselves as the strong. In their hearts, only the useless are sold."
Zhu Yanyi shook her head slightly. "A lack of understanding of life is the biggest obstacle to the Ruthless Dao."
"Fifteen, why do you say that?" Gu Jun heard this and asked.
Zhu Yanyi explained, "The Ruthless Dao is one of the three thousand paths, but it is not truly heartless.
True Ruthless Dao appears heartless but contains compassion. The path seems compassionate but is actually detached. It is not simply cutting off all emotions. That is not Ruthless Dao; that is severing emotion.
However, I doubt these people understand this. So, very few can truly cultivate the Ruthless Dao."
"Zhu Yanyi, you are absolutely right," the Medical Elder praised. "People here do not understand the true essence of the Ruthless Dao. So far, the highest cultivation level here is only the mid-stage of Void Transformation. They cannot even break through to the late stage.
Wait, there is one person at the peak of Void Transformation. He is the Dean of the Shangmo Academy. Others cannot even reach the late stage."
As he spoke, the Medical Elder pointed ahead. "Come, the magic item street is just there. I will take you to look. Remember, only look, do not speak much, and stay alert. People there will attack with magic if they are displeased."