Chapter 209 - 208: List

High above the kitchens, in the open-air meditation pavilion of the eastern quarters, Lin Yuan sat in a flawless lotus position.

The morning wind rustled his pristine black and white robes. His eyes were closed, his breathing practically nonexistent. Within his Sea of Consciousness, the newly integrated Nine Essences were continuously refining his Cultivation, compounding his strength with every passing second.

The sound of hurried, heavy footsteps echoing on the wooden stairs broke the absolute silence of the pavilion.

Lin Yuan did not open his eyes, but a faint smile touched his lips.

"You should focus on cultivating your foundation, Chen’er," Lin Yuan said, his voice a calm, resonant rumble that carried through the open air. "The Core Formation Realm is but a step away for you."

Bai Chen reached the top of the stairs, panting slightly. He bowed hastily. "I know, Brother-in-law! I was practicing my sword forms, I promise! But I have a highly critical, incredibly urgent mission that requires your immediate attention."

Lin Yuan finally opened his deep purple eyes, analyzing the boy’s completely unthreatened aura. There was no killing intent, no panic, only a strange, vibrant curiosity.

"A critical mission?" Lin Yuan asked, raising a single eyebrow. "Has the Chu Provincial Lord returned for round two?"

"Worse," Bai Chen said, marching over and sitting cross-legged directly in front of Lin Yuan. "I need to know your favorite food."

Lin Yuan stared at the young man. For a man who possessed Against Heaven Understanding, who could deduce the hidden secrets of ancient formations and predict the flow of cosmic karma, the question felt entirely alien.

"My... favorite food?" Lin Yuan repeated, genuinely startled.

"Yes!" Bai Chen nodded vigorously. "If you could eat absolutely anything in the mortal or spiritual world right now, a meal that brings you absolute joy, what would it be? I need specifics."

Lin Yuan looked past Bai Chen, his gaze drifting toward the azure sky of Sky Jade City.

The question sent a strange, profound ripple through his spiritual sea. Did he have a favorite food?

His consciousness had existed within this brutal and unforgiving world of cultivation for more than one hundred and thirty years. The vast majority of those years had been spent within the time-dilating isolation of the Rivers of Years Pagoda, where he had devoted himself to endlessly refining his cultivation.

The immense and crushing weight of time had gradually worn away almost every lingering mortal attachment he had once carried from his previous life on Earth, before his transmigration. Memories that had once felt vivid and precious had become increasingly distant, like faint images reflected upon the surface of a fading dream.

He no longer craved the superficial things of his past life. He was an Expert. An immortal. Sustenance was merely a transfer of ambient Qi.

But as Lin Yuan searched the vast archives of his memory, his mind did not go to the modern world of Earth, nor did it go to the lavish banquets that Lord Zhao occasionally prepared for him.

His mind drifted back to the moral world within the Dream Domain.

He remembered the illusionary lifetime he had lived to cultivate his Mortal Heart. He remembered the quiet, dusty streets of the simulated mortal town, Qingshui Town. He remembered the profound, agonizingly beautiful years he had spent raising his illusory son, Lin Fan.

In that dream, he was not a Spirit Severing expert. He was just a father.

"Lanzhou hand-pulled noodles," Lin Yuan spoke, his voice suddenly thick with a heavy, nostalgic warmth that completely transformed his sovereign demeanor.

Bai Chen scrambled to pull a piece of parchment and a charcoal stick from his spatial ring, writing furiously. "Lanzhou hand-pulled noodles. Got it. What else?"

"Roujiamo," Lin Yuan continued, a distant, fond smile breaking across his flawless face as he remembered sitting at a small, rickety wooden table with Lin Fan, the boy laughing with sauce on his chin. "The meat must be braised slowly, entirely tender, and the bread must be perfectly crisped on the outside."

"Roujiamo. Braised slowly, crispy bread," Bai Chen mumbled as he wrote. "Anything else?"

"Peking duck," Lin Yuan added, the memories flooding back with crystal clarity. "Sliced thin, with the skin glistening and rendered perfectly."

Lin Yuan paused, his thoughts drifting away from the Dream Domain and retreating even further into his past, back to the days when he had first embarked on the path of body forging. He remembered the agonizing pain of those early days, when every muscle, bone, and organ seemed to scream beneath the relentless tempering. He remembered swallowing dense beast marrow, enduring its violent energy as it coursed through his body, filling his flesh with the vitality and strength of mighty beasts.

Those were the days when he began walking the Beast Route of the Body Cultivation Path, tempering his physical body through their blood, and marrow.

"And a stew," Lin Yuan continued, his tone shifting back to the grounded reality of a martial artist. "A heavy, thick marrow stew. When I was body forging, there was nothing that sustained me quite like the rich marrow of a beast. Specifically, feline beasts. A Shadow-Leopard or a Mountain-Tiger. The marrow from a feline beast possesses a unique, fiery heat that settles deep in the bones."

Lin Yuan suddenly chuckled. If not for Emperor Tianxu, who had appeared before him back then as the old man with the sable, he would never have discovered the exquisite delicacy hidden within the marrow of those mighty beasts.

Bai Chen then finished writing, blowing on the charcoal to dry it. He looked up at Lin Yuan, his eyes wide with a mixture of respect and mild disbelief.

"Hand-pulled noodles, braised meat bread, duck, and feline marrow stew," Bai Chen read aloud. "Brother-in-law, with all due respect, you are a Spirit Severing Expert who just extorted a Half-Step Transcendent. I expected you to ask for the liver of a thousand-year dragon or a salad made of celestial lotus petals. This is... this is incredibly mortal."

"The Great Dao is built upon mortal foundations, Chen’er," Lin Yuan replied softly, his eyes returning to focus on the boy. "Never forget the dirt from which you grew, no matter how high into the heavens you ascend. Why do you ask?"

"No reason!" Bai Chen said quickly, scrambling to his feet and stuffing the parchment into his robes. "Just conducting a thorough assessment of my brother-in-law! I will leave you to your meditation!"

Before Lin Yuan could question him further, Bai Chen spun around and sprinted back down the wooden stairs, his footsteps echoing rapidly until they faded entirely.

Lin Yuan watched the empty stairwell for a moment. He shook his head slightly, an amused, knowing smile touching his lips. He closed his eyes, drawing the ambient Qi back into his lungs, and returned his consciousness to the quiet, fulfilling void of his meditation.

Down in the grand kitchens, Bai Qingyue was already surrounded by clouds of fragrant steam when Bai Chen burst back through the doors.

"I have the list!" Bai Chen announced, waving the parchment triumphantly in the air.