Culinary Cultivator (Part One)

Xu Ya’s eyes lit up for a moment, then quickly dimmed again.

She called Master Xu “Master” out of courtesy, but that title was more than she deserved. In truth, Xu Ya had only been nominally under Master Xu’s tutelage all these years, drifting along without any real guidance.

It wasn’t really her fault. Though Master Xu had said she could stay in the Immortal Marsh, he had never publicly acknowledged her as his disciple. Even if he had, they’d never gone through a formal apprenticeship ceremony. Xu Ya had been living in the Immortal Marsh in a vague, unofficial capacity, disliked by everyone.

Xu Ya was caught in a mental tug-of-war. After hesitating for half a second, she agreed.

Now that her memories had returned, she couldn’t help but worry that her all-powerful fried chicken might be mistaken for some kind of monstrous anomaly and get her captured and roasted alive.

Going to study under the Culinary Cultivators wouldn’t just help her keep a low profile—it would also make it easier to feed the male lead.

Xu Ya said, “Thank you, Master Xu. I’m willing!”

Master Xu gave a smile that was hard to read. He pressed his fingers into Xu Ya’s shoulder with a bit of force. She winced in pain, and he nodded. “A teachable child.”

Xu Ya was not pleased. She was sensitive enough to notice something strange about Master Xu. Ever since regaining her memories, she’d realized that he had been touching her more and more—whether intentionally or not. Back when she’d been muddling through life in the Immortal Marsh, she hadn’t noticed. But now that she had a goal, it was hard not to overthink it.

Xu Ya grumbled to herself: Villains are always full of problems.

This time, Master Xu kept his word. Within three days, someone came to escort her down the mountain, saying she was to meet with the elders of the Culinary Cultivators.

Culinary Cultivators advanced their cultivation through cooking with all things under heaven. It was the sect most closely tied to the mortal world.

The Culinary Cultivator sect within Yunmeng Immortal Marsh was no different.

Xu Ya was actually quite familiar with the senior brothers and sisters of the sect. Every time there was a sect-wide competition, she ran around like a top doing chores. As the sole provider of meals during the event, the Culinary Cultivators were always the busiest—and so was she.

After the excitement of that day wore off, Xu Ya began to feel a creeping sense of dread. On the way down the mountain with Master Xu, she even had the urge to run away.

The head elder of the Culinary Cultivators was dressed in plain white robes, watering flowers at the gate. Unlike Master Xu’s neatly arranged sleeves, his were tied behind his back with a strip of cloth. His face was greasy yet imposing, exuding a down-to-earth aura.

“Oh, what a rare guest.” The elder didn’t even glance at Master Xu. He set down the watering can, clasped his hands behind his back, and asked, “What brings you here?”

Master Xu gave a polite bow. “I’ve come with a request. This young lady is someone I took in years ago. Recently, I discovered she has a talent for culinary cultivation. I wonder if Master Wang might be willing to offer her some guidance. I would be deeply grateful.”

Master Wang lowered his gaze and swept his stern eyes over Xu Ya. “Her? I don’t think so.”

Xu Ya didn’t look like a cultivator at all. Her aura and physique were no different from an ordinary person’s. Even her palms were covered in calluses.

Being rejected to her face—under normal circumstances, the old Xu Ya would’ve just taken it in stride. But now that her core had changed, it stung.

Master Xu laughed heartily. “Little Ya is not what she once was. Here, show Master Wang.”

Xu Ya braced herself and reached into her storage pouch. “Yes, sir…”

Her spirit pouch was imbued with spiritual energy, preserving whatever was placed inside. She pulled out a simple food box, opened the lid, and revealed a golden Crispy Fried Chicken, perfectly cooked and still steaming.

Master Wang had seen it all in his years of culinary cultivation. One look, and he could tell how the dish was made. But this kind of fried chicken required enough oil to submerge the bird and high heat to crisp it—wasteful and inefficient. At best, it was a snack. As a cultivation aid, it was far too extravagant.

Even the most junior Culinary Cultivators wouldn’t bother with such ingredients.

Master Wang wasn’t yet seventy but had been a sect master for decades. He felt like Xu Ya was playing a joke on him—and that Master Xu was in on it. His expression darkened. “Are you making fun of me, Master Xu?”

Master Xu smiled and casually tore off a piece of the chicken. As soon as the crispy skin cracked open, a mouthwatering aroma burst forth. Master Wang’s eyelids twitched. He was intrigued—he hadn’t expected it to smell so good.

“Not at all. Please, try it.”

Master Wang had no intention of giving Xu Ya any face, but he couldn’t ignore a fellow sect master’s gesture. Reluctantly, he took the piece of Fried Chicken from Master Xu.

The moment it entered his mouth, he felt a strange sensation in his dantian. His eyes flashed. In silence, he reached into the food box Xu Ya was holding and tore off another small piece to taste.

It truly exceeded his expectations.

Master Wang looked like he wanted more. He finally said, “Since she has such talent, we can’t let it go to waste. She may stay and train here for now.”

Master Xu immediately added, “Indeed. The sect competition is coming up soon. The Culinary Cultivators will be busy, and adding a promising new helper is a blessing.”

Xu Ya: “…”

How had she never realized Master Xu was such a hypocrite?? Every sect competition, she’d run herself ragged. Even if she didn’t contribute spiritually, she’d worked her butt off. And he’d acted like he never saw a thing!

Thus, Xu Ya’s entry into the sect was settled. But still, no formal apprenticeship ceremony was held. After all that effort, she was still just a temp.

…It felt like the system had set her up for some kind of redemption arc.

Xu Ya didn’t have much luggage. One trip was enough to move everything from her little hut on the mountain.

News of her joining the sect had already spread among the Culinary Cultivators. The senior brothers and sisters who vaguely remembered her face couldn’t even recall her name. No one wanted to share a room with a stranger who had a reputation for being useless. It was like living with her would cut their cultivation in half—utterly beneath them.

So Xu Ya was assigned to a small, remote hut on the outskirts.

She sighed and opened her heavy bundle in the cramped single room.

After a long silence, the system finally spoke up: 【Why didn’t you use your spirit pouch to carry all this stuff?】

Xu Ya exploded. “Why didn’t you say so earlier?!”

The system replied innocently: 【I thought you had your own plan~ Hmm, monitoring shows that the novel’s plot has deviated by 15% due to the host joining the Culinary Cultivators. Please continue tracking the male lead’s rise to become the number one in the Immortal Realm.】

Xu Ya covered her ears, but still heard it. “Got it, got it. I’ll deliver the Fried Chicken tonight.”

Before heading down the mountain, she’d overheard some NPC cultivators who idolized Shi Yuzhen saying he’d returned from Xingyun Peak to his own residence.

Xu Ya had always found it odd how these cultivators had never even seen Shi Yuzhen in person, yet each had their own elaborate interpretation of him. They gushed over their imaginary version of the male lead like love-struck fools. It wasn’t until her memories returned that she realized—oh, they really are NPCs.

As night fell, Xu Ya quietly snuck out of her hut.

Shi Yuzhen’s residence was mentioned in the half-torn manual she’d obtained.

In Yunmeng Immortal Marsh, power ruled. At the summit stood a ranking board cleansed by spiritual energy. Injecting one’s own spiritual power would generate a personal ranking. The higher one ranked, the more respect they commanded.

Shi Yuzhen, a genius blessed by the heavens, was naturally always at the top.

So his residence had been placed in the most important and spiritually rich area of the Marsh.

Xu Ya had no spiritual power whatsoever. She only knew the general direction, but quickly got lost.

The thick fog was disorienting, and the surroundings looked like something out of a fairy tale.

Xu Ya crept around in circles, but no matter what she tried, she couldn’t find the path.

Ever since Master Xu brought Xu Ya back that day, Shi Yuzhen’s master had come to see him atop the peak.

After confirming several times that the Demonic Qi in his body had completely dissipated, Shi Yuzhen noticed that his master seemed oddly reluctant. He didn’t think too much of it and simply returned to his residence.

He recalled that day when Master Xu had placed a hand on the young girl’s shoulder. She had turned her head slightly, her gaze lingering on him with a reluctant tenderness.

Shi Yuzhen had seen that kind of look countless times before. He had always told himself it meant nothing.

But no matter how he tried, he couldn’t calm his mind. That’s right—he had heard the reason she gave for repeatedly climbing the mountain to bring food. That excuse might fool outsiders who didn’t know the truth, but not him.

That day, even while trapped in a heart demon, Shi Yuzhen had genuinely threatened her.

And yet she said it was all out of gratitude. Shi Yuzhen found that laughable.

Then there was the food she brought. A chicken, its head swiftly severed at the neck, tender and smooth in texture, with crispy skin and savory flavor. One bite left him wanting more. Shi Yuzhen rarely found himself so addicted to anything.

Since beginning his cultivation, he believed he had long since cast off the base desires of the mortal world. But at that thought, the hand he had resting beside his entwined legs suddenly clenched into a fist.

This place was quiet, a perfect spot for cultivation. Yet no matter what he did, he couldn’t settle into it.

A bell rang inside the cave.

Someone had entered the boundary.

Shi Yuzhen focused his mind, gathering his senses to perceive the intruder.

A vague figure appeared within his spiritual awareness. It was an ordinary person, completely devoid of spiritual energy.

Without realizing it, Shi Yuzhen found himself watching her with growing interest.

In his spiritual sense, the tiny figure was hunched over, arms stretched forward in a graceless attempt to feel her way ahead.

But Shi Yuzhen could see clearly—she was just spinning in circles in the same spot.

Xu Ya had no idea how many times she’d touched that same round, smooth stone.

“Aaaaahhh—System, what am I supposed to do?!” Xu Ya’s face was blank, but inside she was screaming.

System: 【Try a little harder, Host.】

“This is the twenty-seventh time I’ve touched this rock. I’m sure of it. I’m absolutely, positively sure!”

System: 【Try a little harder, Host.】

Are you a broken record?! Xu Ya thought angrily.

Exhausted, Xu Ya gave up caring where she was. She plopped down cross-legged, leaning against the stone she’d nearly worn bald from all her groping.

Her face lit up with joy.

System: 【Try a little harder, Host.】

“Stop, stop, stop!, please stop chanting!” Xu Ya jumped up, clutching her head, then rubbed her eyes and massaged her temples.

Who would’ve thought—after rubbing her eyes, the swirling mist around her began to fade, revealing a clarity as if her vision had never been clouded at all.

In front of her stretched a long staircase, leading to a higher level of the structure.

It turned out Xu Ya had simply never stood in the right spot. Once her gaze locked onto it, the staircase seemed almost sentient, slowly settling at her feet.

Her faint sixth sense told her—she had to go up.

— Translator’s Notes —

– NPC: Abbreviation for ‘Non-Player Character,’ a gaming term used here to refer to background characters who follow predictable patterns.

– heart demon: A cultivation term referring to inner demons or psychological obstacles that hinder a cultivator’s progress, often related to emotional turmoil or past trauma.