Chapter 24: Fat Sister Takes Action

Half a year later, Mu Tong emerged from her training room. The materials she had acquired took only a month to process, and she had spent the remaining time in cultivation. Regrettably, as always, there was not a shred of progress.

Should she leave the small town to find her own destiny? Mu Tong pondered. But outside the town’s protective barrier, the beasts were at least at the Golden Core stage—how could she possibly deal with them? She feared that instead of finding her destiny, she would lose her life.

A sound-transmission talisman flew in. Mu Tong reached out to catch it, and the voice of Sister Pang echoed from within: "Little Tong, I’m planning to head to Flying Immortal Mountain outside the town. I’d like to invite you along to help me process the meat of the beasts I hunt. You can keep any materials you need, and I’ll pay you for your cooking services. How does that sound?"

In the past, other divine beings and immortals had invited Mu Tong on hunts. Some beast meat, even when stored in a storage ring, would lose the quality of the flavor it had when freshly killed, primarily due to the loss of spiritual energy contained within the flesh. Thus, many immortals preferred to kill the beasts on the spot and immediately prepare the meat to prevent any dissipation of energy.

Mu Tong’s fees were calculated based on the quantity of dishes prepared; simply put, the more she cooked, the more she earned.

Mu Tong was tempted. She would never leave the town alone. While others had invited her before, she had never agreed. But Sister Pang was someone she knew well, and having once helped her during a difficult childbirth, she surely wouldn't bring her any harm.

Divine beings placed great importance on the laws of karma; if one committed evil acts against a benefactor, they would inevitably be consumed by their own inner demons in the future.

After accepting the invitation, the two agreed to meet at the edge of the town the following morning.

Knowing she would be leaving and uncertain of when she might return, Mu Tong began to tidy up, stowing her personal belongings and daily necessities into her ring. Items not frequently used were placed into her storage space.

The next morning, Mu Tong arrived at the edge of the protective barrier and found Sister Pang waiting as expected.

Sister Pang was dressed in a clean, agile hunting outfit. Seeing Mu Tong arrive, she didn't waste time with words and headed east out of the barrier, with Mu Tong following closely behind.

Throughout the journey, Sister Pang took great care of her. Mu Tong didn't have to engage in any fighting; she focused entirely on preparing the prey Sister Pang caught. To complement the meat, she would forage for unique spiritual vegetables on the mountain. The combination of spiritual greens and beast meat resulted in dishes that were nothing short of perfection.

To prevent others from stealing her techniques, Mu Tong ground various seasonings into powders and mixed them herself; no one but her knew which ingredients went into which dish.

Sister Pang had no complaints about Mu Tong’s craft, eating to her heart's content every day. Any leftover food was cherished and stored away like treasure. Of course, she paid Mu Tong her fees daily, as per their agreement.

Mu Tong was also very satisfied. For the past half month, in addition to receiving a handsome fee for her cooking, she was able to claim all the various materials for alchemy and artifact refining that Sister Pang discarded as useless. The divine beings had high standards and looked down upon low-level materials, but to Mu Tong, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, these were treasures.

Even if she couldn't use some of them now, who could guarantee she wouldn't have a use for them later? Mu Tong did not believe she was a failure destined to remain at the Foundation Establishment stage forever. Thus, as long as it was a material Sister Pang intended to throw away, she collected it like a treasure into her storage space.

Fortunately, Mu Tong usually crafted many storage items, otherwise, she would have been worried about how to carry so many things back.

Flying Immortal Mountain was treacherous and towered into the clouds; it was said that its highest peak reached a hundred thousand meters above the ground. The mountain was teeming with beasts, and even the lowest-level ones at the foot of the mountain were at the Nascent Soul stage. Had it not been for Sister Pang, Mu Tong would never have dared to come here.

"Little Tong, you'll have to work hard today. Help me process these three beasts," Sister Pang said, taking three Huntian Rats, each over thirty meters long, from her storage ring.

The Huntian Rat was a Level 7 beast, equivalent to an Integration stage cultivator. Its meat was succulent and tender, and its hide, tendons, blood, heart, and liver were excellent materials for artifact refining and alchemy.

"Leave the hides for me; you can keep the rest of the materials," Sister Pang said with a smile. The hides of the Huntian Rats were vibrant and smooth, making for luxurious robes. She intended to make a few for her husband and son.

The skin of a Level 7 beast was incredibly tough; Mu Tong’s own power was not enough to pierce or peel it. However, Sister Pang lent her a dagger that could be considered a spiritual treasure. Although she could not refine it, it was sufficient for skinning. She would have to return the dagger after they returned, as it was a loan, not a gift, so Mu Tong could not—and dared not—attempt to refine it.

"Understood." Processing these three beasts and preparing them into dishes would take at least three days and three nights. For a cultivator, skipping sleep for three days was a trivial matter.

During those three days, Mu Tong stayed within the protective barrier Sister Pang had set up, focusing intently on her cooking. The barrier could repel attacks from Level 9 beasts, so she didn't have to worry about anything jumping out to harm her.

When Mu Tong finished, Sister Pang returned right on time.

"Come, let me take you to the summit," Sister Pang said. After packing up, she brought Mu Tong to the top of the mountain.

The peak of Flying Immortal Mountain was shrouded in beautiful, swirling clouds. Mu Tong took a deep breath of the thick spiritual energy; it was ten times more potent than at the base, and far richer than anything within the town's barrier.

"What do you think?" Sister Pang asked.

"It's magnificent!" Mu Tong looked down at the mountain. The clouds churned, obscuring everything below. Unless she used her divine sense, she couldn't see a thing. Naturally, with her level of cultivation, she couldn't possibly see the base of the mountain a hundred thousand meters below.

"Look there!" Sister Pang pointed to the northeast. Mu Tong followed her gaze and saw a cluster of grey-tinted clouds that looked quite unusual.

"What is that?"

"From what I know, it's a space-time turbulence. If you enter it, there is no telling where you might end up," Sister Pang said.

Space-time turbulence was a chaotic intersection of time and space, a terrifying trap similar to a black hole. Once a living being was swept into it, they might be cast into the future or the past. That was assuming one could withstand the assault of the space-time storms and survive. At the very least, someone like Mu Tong could never survive such a place.

"This..." Mu Tong stared at Sister Pang in shock. Why knock her out? She couldn't fathom Sister Pang's intentions, for before she could understand, she lost consciousness.

"Child, I'm sorry. I cannot allow you to ruin Feng'er's future." Sister Pang confiscated all the food from Mu Tong’s storage bag. Because she was sending Mu Tong away and feared she would never again taste the delicious food she prepared, she had spent these past days hunting relentlessly, having Mu Tong cook as much as possible.