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Chapter 5 - Meal

After the senior brother left, Gao Yang picked up The Detailed Explanation of Foundation Building and began reading carefully.

He was just an ordinary man. The world of cultivation was still new and mysterious to him, stirring both curiosity and awe.

At first, Gao Yang assumed the book would teach him how to form his foundation and cultivate immortality.

But when he turned the first page, he was startled to see—an anatomical diagram of the human body.

The book stated that the potential of the human body was infinite, yet humans could only ever utilize three percent of it.

Foundation building, it explained, was the process of opening the body's internal energy channels. This energy was called Qi.

Only after forming the foundation could one draw Qi from heaven and earth, strengthening the body, opening the senses, and seeing through the illusion of the mundane world.

Qi was usually stored in the dantian, though some cultivation methods allowed it to be stored elsewhere and mobilized through chants or techniques.

There were many ways to build the foundation, but the book detailed only one method—using spiritual pills.

However, the section on the pills was vague and fragmented. Gao Yang stared for a long while, unable to understand how such elixirs could help one establish a foundation.

Xiao Man softly reminded him, "Master, you've been reading for three hours already. It's time to eat."

Gao Yang closed the book in surprise. "I only felt like I'd read for a short while. Three hours have passed already?"

Xiao Man explained, "The Immortal Mistress once said that these books can only be read by those with talent. For people like me, even a glance would make us faint."

She added admiringly, "Master truly lives up to being the disciple personally chosen by the Immortal Mistress. You can read for three hours straight— even Senior Brother couldn't manage that."

Gao Yang asked, "So the other disciples weren't personally brought back by her?"

Xiao Man shook her head. "No. Only Senior Brother, Third Brother, and Twelfth Sister were. The rest were brought back by Senior Brother and Second Brother together."

Suddenly, Gao Yang understood why everyone seemed so cold toward him.

He had been at Azure Mountain Sect for only a few hours, and the only ones who had come to see him were Senior Brother, the blind brother, and Twelfth Sister.

They were jealous.

He recalled what Twelfth Sister had said earlier and couldn't shake the feeling.

Could this be what the book meant by 'opening one's senses and seeing through the essence of things'?

Xiao Man interrupted again, "Master, please go eat. The Immortal Mistress instructed that no meal shall begin until everyone is present. If you're late, your senior brothers and sisters will be angry."

Gao Yang nodded. "Alright."

The dining room was behind the main hall, where a five-meter-long table was set. The head seat was empty, and six people sat on either side.

When Gao Yang arrived late, someone said mockingly, "No wonder Master brought you back herself. Such an important new disciple—you even make us wait."

The speaker was a dwarf standing on a stool, with a hooked nose, pointed ears, and a face full of wrinkles.

"Old Six," another voice cut in, "Thirteen's new. No need to be so harsh."

The man who spoke had only half a body—half a head, half a face—grotesque and unsettling.

Xiao Man whispered, "That's Fourth Brother."

The dwarf banged his bowl against the table—clang, clang, clang—then shouted toward the kitchen, "You useless lot! Everyone's here—what are you dawdling for?!"

From the kitchen stumbled out a trembling man, clutching a platter raised over his head.

Old Six snatched the platter and slammed it down with a thud!

The dish was crawling with maggots. Grinning wide, the dwarf grabbed a handful and shoved them into his mouth. "Delicious!" he laughed.

Gao Yang froze. His mind screamed—it was happening again. Another hallucination.

He shut his eyes, forcing himself to believe what he saw was unreal.

When he opened them again, the dishes were neatly arranged across the table. The maggots were gone.

Senior Brother stood, his head brushing the ceiling, bending low as he introduced the dish Old Six had just eaten. "This one's called Immortal Pupae. We rarely bring it out. Tonight, to celebrate your arrival, I had the kitchen prepare it specially."

Gao Yang looked again—the wriggling worms had become luminous insects, shimmering faintly with a sweet, ethereal scent.

Senior Brother gave him an encouraging look. "Thirteenth Junior Brother, try one."

The image of crawling maggots still clung to Gao Yang's mind. He picked one up gingerly and placed it in his mouth.

A rancid stench burst across his tongue. The texture was soft, squishy, writhing.

"Ugh—"

He barely managed to cover his mouth before bolting outside.

He doubled over, coughing and retching violently. He hadn't eaten all day; nothing came out but green bile.

Then—hee-hee… hisss…

A sound. Above him.

Instinctively, Gao Yang looked up—and froze.

A pale face hung upside down just inches from his own.

"Ah!"

He stumbled back in horror.

Above him, a woman's face floated in the air, her neck impossibly long, snaking into the darkness several meters away. Her eyes were wide, gleaming with malice; her lips stretched into a smile that was too wide, too human to be human.

The serpent-woman opened her mouth. A forked tongue slid out, glistening.

"Hee-hee… hisss…"

Her laughter was a wet whisper, dripping like venom into the night air. Her neck twisted and coiled, wrapping around Gao Yang in a sinuous, suffocating grip. The cold, slick surface of her scales brushed against his skin as her tongue flicked across his cheek.

"Hee-hee… hisss…"

Gao Yang remembered Senior Brother's warning: Do not go out at night.

He had read for three hours—it must already be midnight.

His heart sank. I'm doomed.

"Big Sister Serpent~" came a sweet, teasing voice.

The serpent-woman's body jerked as if slashed by a blade. She screamed—a shrill, inhuman cry—and vanished into the darkness with a wet slithering sound.

A shadow darted away into the distance.

Twelfth Sister skipped out from behind Gao Yang, carrying a blade as tall as herself. "Going out at night? Do you have a death wish?"

Gao Yang forced a strained smile. "Thank you, Twelfth Sister."

"No need to thank me," she chirped, grinning mischievously. "Just give me your Foundation Pill, and we'll call it even." Her tone was light, almost playful, yet her eyes glimmered with something sharp. "That dish earlier—the Immortal Pupae—disgusting, right? I think so too. Those fools eat maggots every day without even realizing it. Ha-ha-ha…"

Cold sweat beaded down Gao Yang's spine. He feigned ignorance. "What do you mean, Twelfth Sister?"

She leaned closer, inhaling deeply, then smirked. "You can't fool me. You smell just like Senior Brother and Third Brother. Let me guess—Third Brother visited you after I left? Even gave you a little notebook?"

Gao Yang said nothing.

Twelfth Sister circled him slowly. "You don't have to hide it. I've been through everything you have. Just remember this: when Master returns, whatever she gives you—don't eat the Foundation Pill. Do you understand?"

Gao Yang hesitated.

Suddenly, Twelfth Sister grabbed his collar. Though she stood barely chest-high, her strength yanked him forward violently.

Her half-rotted face was inches from his, her breath foul and cold. "I said, do you understand?" she hissed.

Gao Yang nodded quickly.

Only then did she release him, reaching into her robes to toss him half a steamed bun. "If you can't stomach the kitchen's food, eat this instead."

The bun bore two neat rows of tiny teeth marks.

Gao Yang's stomach growled. He hadn't eaten all day.

After a moment's hesitation, he lifted the bun to his lips—and bit down.

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