Chapter 298: Double Standards System

Chapter 298: Double Standards System

Zhao Ying and Xiang Xiaoyuan went off to cook.

Though Li Qingran was currently in a Yang Soul Out-of-Body state and couldn’t eat like a normal person, she did have a special method of taking in food. Since she still had two hours left before returning to the Cangyun Realm, Chen Huaian took her for a little walk around the Containment Center.

“This place where Master lives feels so peaceful,” Li Qingran said, lightly pinching Little Qing’s black-stockinged legs and turning to look at Chen Huaian. “Is it because Master already drove away the great demons?”

“Ahahaha, exactly right.” Chen Huaian’s heart skipped a beat. He rubbed his hands together and forced a smile. “Those big demons come from another world. But their goal is to invade this one. This Venerable One figured this world had useful resources, so I fought with them and managed to temporarily drive them back.”

“Oh, I see.” Li Qingran had no doubts.

“So Master helped this world, and yet the Heavenly Dao here still rejects you?” She puffed her cheeks and pouted in indignation. “The Heavenly Dao of this world is seriously ungrateful!”

Chen Huaian: “…”

Ever since he got the Digital Girlfriend, he’d known the Heavenly Dao was very real—and not just a passive system.

But since Li Qingran was from the Cangyun Realm, badmouthing this planet’s Heavenly Dao shouldn’t be a problem.

“Minor issue.” Chen Huaian waved it off breezily. “Your Master isn’t the petty type. Besides, the Heavenly Dao is trying to protect this world’s ecology. If cultivators from the Cangyun Realm all came flooding in here, this place would fall into chaos.”

“Mmm, that makes sense,” Li Qingran nodded. She tilted her head and blinked. “Then… how did Master come to this world? Can disciples of the Sword Pavilion come here too someday?”

Chen Huaian went silent.

Then broke out in a cold sweat.

Then gently placed a hand atop Li Qingran’s head and said solemnly:

“Qingran, some secrets aren’t meant for you to know. You just need to understand—everything I’m doing right now is for you, and for the Sword Pavilion.”

He turned away, gazing up at the ceiling light, leaving her with a tall and noble silhouette bathed in soft golden glow.

Li Qingran’s heart trembled.

What burden was Master carrying? Was it exhausting?

If only… she could just hug him tight and tell him not to work so hard…

The room went quiet.

Some things needed no words.

“This is garlic shrimp, this is braised beef, here’s mapo tofu, and over here: crispy duck, tofu pudding, spicy hotpot, cold skewers, mala soup, Dongpo pork knuckle, and sweet-and-sour fish…”

Zhao Ying listed out the dishes one by one, beaming as she looked at Li Qingran.

To leave a good impression on the C Province Exorcist Division’s secret resource backer, she had really gone all out—pulling every trick she had in the kitchen.

Some dishes were even ordered straight from a famous nearby Sichuan restaurant.

Li Qingran stared wide-eyed at the colorful spread of food, frozen in awe.

Even in her current out-of-body state, she could smell the mouthwatering aromas. She’d assumed the cooking here was just like back in the Cangyun Realm—simple steaming, boiling, stir-frying, or deep-frying.

She never imagined there’d be so many completely new methods of preparation.

Zhao Ying and Xiang Xiaoyuan exchanged a look and both smiled subtly.

They’d guessed Li Qingran came from a Hidden Sect, age unknown—possibly a prodigy who had slept for centuries, or a great cultivator who had maintained eternal youth through seclusion.

Either way, she definitely wouldn’t be familiar with modern food culture.

And as the saying goes: to win someone over, start with their stomach.

Especially when it came to girls!

Nine out of ten girls were foodies.

And the last one? A gourmet.

“These are your usual meals?” Li Qingran asked, stunned.

“That’s right,” Zhao Ying nodded, pushing the mapo tofu toward her. “Want to give it a try?”

Li Qingran swallowed hard.

She recalled her childhood—before entering the Qingyun Sect—when she used to frequent all the top restaurants in the city.

She had always loved food.

But once she started cultivating, she was told to abstain from food.

To strengthen her power and better adapt to the life of a cultivator, her diet got stripped down stage by stage: first bland white rice, then just spring water, then soybeans, and finally Fasting Pills.

Once she reached Foundation Establishment, she fully stopped eating to achieve a pseudo-purified body.

Technically, by the Golden Core stage, she no longer needed to fast.

Her body could fully eliminate impurities from food.

But at that point, cultivators were expected to embrace asceticism:

“How can one cultivate the Dao if they indulge in gluttony?”

“Master…”

She looked toward Chen Huaian, only to find him already chomping down on crispy duck, oil dripping from his mouth.

She gawked—

Wait, doesn’t Master fast?!

“What are you staring at? Eat!”

Chen Huaian tore off a duck leg and plopped it into her bowl.

“D-Disciple… doesn’t need to fast?” she asked nervously. “Isn’t cultivation about letting go of desires…”

Back when they first met, she had no cultivation—was basically a normal person—so eating and drinking was fine.

But now she was officially on the Dao path. Surely the expectations were different?

“Fasting? Forget that nonsense!”

Chen Huaian wiped the oil from his mouth and grinned:

“You’ve already reached the purified body stage. If you want to eat, eat!

Just look at your senior brothers—except for Duan Feng, those two punks Zhen He and Xu An eat like kings every meal, and they still drink too!”

“In my school, we don’t have all those uptight rules. Cultivation isn’t about suppressing your nature—it’s about going with the flow.”

“That’s what we call… Dao follows nature~”

He took a loud sip of ice-cold cola—sssshhhkkk.

A perfect finish.

Li Qingran’s eyes lit up. Her heart stirred with enlightenment.

She had been stuck at early Golden Core for a while, but now—

That bottleneck… seemed to be loosening.

Once she returned to the Cangyun Realm and entered seclusion again, she might just break through to mid-Golden Core.

Truly worthy of being her Master…

She looked at Chen Huaian with absolute adoration.

Only he could turn a simple meal into a profound Dao lesson.

Li Qingran focused, using her spiritual power to lift a spoonful of mapo tofu.

The silky-soft tofu quivered like jelly, giving off an irresistible aroma.

She inhaled deeply.

The scent and color faded from the spoon as the food transformed into a wisp of blue smoke.

Her eyes lit up—

She began chewing in small bites, her cheeks gently puffing, head swaying side to side, savoring every last bit of joy as if trying to spread it throughout her whole body.

Zhao Ying, Xiang Xiaoyuan, and Lin Lingling all stared, unblinking.

It was their first time seeing someone eat with their soul.

No wonder the offering fruits on the shrine spoiled so fast.

They weren’t going bad—

They were being eaten by the soul they were offered to.

When Li Qingran finished the spoonful and looked up, she found everyone watching her.

Her cheeks turned red.

She looked down, a little embarrassed—

Her eating must’ve looked so silly, like a starving ghost reincarnated.

But she swore, it was the most delicious thing she’d ever tasted.

Who knew food could have so many layers?

The tender tofu was laced with creaminess, subtle spice, a dash of numbing heat, savory minced meat, and some kind of magical umami that exploded on the tongue…

Aahhh~

She covered her face with both hands, big eyes squinting in bliss.

“How was it? Tasty?” Zhao Ying asked eagerly.

“So good!!”

Li Qingran nodded furiously and gave a big thumbs-up.

“You should take some home later,” Chen Huaian said, seeing how much she liked it.

He instantly whipped out his phone and started placing takeout orders from nearby specialty restaurants.

“I can… really bring it back?”

Li Qingran’s eyes sparkled with interest—

but she was also curious how he planned to get it across realms.

“Should be doable,” Chen Huaian said—though not 100% sure.

Last time he tried bringing the crystal with the bushy beard spirit across, it got blocked.

So he opened up the Digital Girlfriend Game to check with customer service.

But before he could ask—

A game alert popped up:

【Your Digital Girlfriend loves modern food. You may pack modern meals as offerings for your Digital Girlfriend.】

Chen Huaian: “…”

Bringing spirit crystals = environmental pollution.

Bringing snacks = normal feeding.

What kind of double standard dog system is this!?

…

…