Even more remarkable was that despite the wide variety of ingredients in the pot, they did not clash at all. Instead, they blended together to create a uniquely savory delicacy.
"Truly an absolute delicacy of the mortal world!" Dongfang Su could not help praising.
Guyue was utterly stunned.
His Majesty had not shown such an expression in many years. He hurriedly picked up a pair of chopsticks and tasted a bite.
"Tsk tsk, it really is delicious."
That left only Bai Suyin who had not yet used her chopsticks.
It wasn't that Bai Suyin didn't want to eat; she actually longed to try it. But looking at the roiling red oil in the pot, the jumble of ingredients cooked together, and everyone else dipping their chopsticks right into the communal pot, Bai Suyin felt an instinctive aversion.
She had suffered from mysophobia since childhood; the thought of sharing a single pot of food with others was simply unacceptable to her.
"Susu, aren't you going to eat? This is really good." Chu Yanyu's face was flushed with fragrant sweat, her lips stained a bright red.
Bai Suyin smiled awkwardly. "I won't have any. You guys go ahead."
"Well, alright then." Chu Yanyu continued to feast with gusto.
Seeing everyone eating with such relish, Ye Qingyun was delighted as well, enjoying this hot pot session far more than any before.
Pity that Damao and the Rabbit, the two scamps, had crouched nearby waiting for ages without getting a single bite.
Before long, the massive pot of food had been completely devoured.
Zhao Wangchun didn't seem satisfied yet; he picked up the pot and wanted to gulp down some of the hot pot broth. Ye Qingyun quickly stopped him.
*This fellow is really wild, even wanting to drink hot pot broth. He's not afraid of choking to death from the saltiness.*
Failing to get his hot pot broth, Zhao Wangchun reluctantly put the pot back down.
"Everyone, were you satisfied with the meal?" Ye Qingyun asked with a smiling expression.
"Satisfied, very satisfied!"
"Delicious!"
"This is truly the happiest meal this Emperor has ever had!"
...
Everyone offered endless praise, still feeling that they hadn't had enough.
Just then, Li Chengyuan's expression suddenly shifted.
"My cultivation..."
Boom!
Li Chengyuan felt as though a raging fire were burning in his belly. The next instant, his cultivation realm directly broke through.
Chapter 13: The Effects of Hot Pot
"I... I think I've broken through!" Li Chengyuan said in a daze.
Everyone turned to look at him. Li Chengyuan circulated his internal energy, and his aura was indeed vastly stronger than before.
"I've broken through to Mid Source Gathering!" Li Chengyuan was overjoyed.
His original cultivation was at Early Source Gathering. To step into Mid Source Gathering should have taken him at least another half a year or so. But now, after eating a single meal of hot pot, Li Chengyuan had made this inexplicable breakthrough.
It felt completely effortless, just like water flowing naturally into a channel.
"Wait a minute, I think I'm about to break through too!" As Zhao Wangchun spoke, the aura around his entire body surged abruptly.
He leaped straight from the Great Perfection of Spirit Opening to Early Source Gathering!
"Ah! I've broken through too!" Xu Jing'er cried out in surprise. Her cultivation directly climbed from Late Spirit Opening to the Great Perfection of Spirit Opening.
The three martial siblings had broken through one after another, and each of them had advanced by a minor realm. This could no longer be dismissed as mere coincidence.
At this moment, Chu Yanyu's expression changed as well.
"I'm going to break through too!"
Before her voice had even faded, Chu Yanyu's aura multiplied. She stepped directly from Late Spirit Opening into the Great Perfection of Spirit Opening.
Standing nearby, Bai Suyin watched with eyes wide and jaw slack.
When Chu Yanyu returned last time and advanced from Mid Spirit Opening to Late Spirit Opening, it had already shocked Bai Suyin. How much time had passed since then?
Chu Yanyu had actually broken through yet again, stepping straight into the Great Perfection of Spirit Opening and catching up to her in one fell swoop.
"Your Majesty! I feel like I'm about to break through too!" Guyue suddenly cried out in alarm.
"What? You're going to break through as well?" Dongfang Su looked at Guyue in disbelief.
Sure enough! Guyue broke through.
As his aura doubled, Guyue smoothly crossed from Early Core Condensation into Mid Core Condensation.
The breakthroughs of the others were somewhat acceptable, seeing as their cultivation bases weren't high to begin with. But Guyue was different. He was a powerhouse of the Imperial Palace, a personal bodyguard of Martial Emperor Dongfang Su, possessing the cultivation of the Core Condensation Realm.
In the three major sects, a cultivator at the Core Condensation Realm was already qualified to hold the position of an elder. To advance from Early Core Condensation to Mid Core Condensation generally required at least ten years of painstaking effort. Yet Guyue had accomplished it in the span of a few breaths.
It was simply miraculous.
These successive breakthroughs made everyone realize that this was definitely no coincidence. They turned their gazes toward Ye Qingyun, and the hot pot they had just eaten immediately came to mind.
"Could it be that the hot pot we just ate caused our breakthroughs?" Li Chengyuan couldn't help remarking.
"Most likely!" Guyue nodded repeatedly.
At the same time, Xu Changfeng and Dongfang Su both sensed subtle changes within themselves. Although their cultivation realms hadn't broken through, a surge of profound comprehension welled up in their hearts.
An epiphany!
Both of them had encountered that extremely rare state of epiphany at this very moment.
A single moment of epiphany clears the spiritual platform; the boundless Great Dao lies right before their eyes!
Xu Changfeng wore a look of utter shock, while Dongfang Su turned pale with amazement. The two exchanged glances, each clearly sensing the other's current state. For a moment, their composure wavered.
This was nothing short of a divine miracle! Just by eating a meal of hot pot, the two of them had attained an epiphany. It was simply too incredible.
"I never imagined that at my current level of cultivation, I could still experience an epiphany. This meal of hot pot was truly well worth it," Dongfang Su sighed with deep emotion.
"I've attained an epiphany as well. So many past confusions regarding cultivation have suddenly cleared up. It truly makes one's mind and spirit soar," said Xu Changfeng.
Everyone was stunned. These two supreme masters had actually attained epiphanies too? Wasn't this just too terrifying?
Listening from the sidelines, Ye Qingyun was utterly bewildered. With all this talk of breakthroughs and epiphanies, it left him completely dazed.
*Isn't it just eating a hot pot? Is it really necessary to make such a big fuss?* Ye Qingyun wondered skeptically.
The hot pot only contained ordinary ingredients; how could it possibly have such a massive effect? Besides feeling comfortably full, he hadn't experienced any other reaction whatsoever.
*Could it be that because I have no cultivation, eating hot pot does me no good at all?* Ye Qingyun mused to himself.
At this moment, Xu Changfeng and Dongfang Su both stood up and bowed deeply toward Ye Qingyun.
"Many thanks to the senior for this bestowal!"
Since these two supreme masters had both bowed, the others naturally could not just stand by and watch. Except for Bai Suyin, everyone else bowed deeply to Ye Qingyun in unison.
"Many thanks to the senior for this bestowal!"
Ye Qingyun felt rather awkward. "Please don't do this. I really didn't do anything, and I'm certainly no senior expert."
Seeing this, everyone felt deeply moved in their hearts.
*An expert is truly an expert—so modest and indifferent to fame and fortune. Clearly, it was entirely his doing that we gained such benefits, yet he brushes it off as if it were nothing.*
*This is the true demeanor of a supreme master, something we could never hope to match.*
*Perhaps in the eyes of this high expert, allowing us to break through and achieve enlightenment was merely a casual convenience, entirely unworthy of mention.*
...
The more Ye Qingyun denied it, the more convinced they were that he was doing so on purpose, and the greater their admiration grew.
"Senior, might I ask if the ingredients boiled in that hot pot just now were various heavenly treasures?" Xu Changfeng asked tentatively.
Ye Qingyun shook his head. "What heavenly treasures? They're just common things from my courtyard, nothing special at all."
Hearing this, everyone felt an even greater jolt in their hearts. Things casually found all over this high expert's courtyard, tossed together at random into a pot, could yield such miraculous effects. If used for alchemy, wouldn't one's cultivation take off instantly?
Right at this moment, there was one person filled with deep regret. That person was Bai Suyin.
Because of her mysophobia and psychological barrier, she hadn't touched the hot pot. But now, watching everyone else break down barriers and achieve epiphanies while she remained entirely unchanged, Bai Suyin regretted her choice bitterly.
*If I had known there would be such immense benefits, why was I acting so prudish?*
*Look at them now. Everyone ate happily and reaped a bountiful harvest, while I gained absolutely nothing, and my cultivation has even been surpassed by my best friend.*
Bai Suyin looked at Ye Qingyun with a pitiful expression. "Senior, I'd like to eat some too..."
Everyone looked at her with sympathetic gazes.
Chu Yanyu curled her lip. "When you were told to eat earlier, you refused. Now you want some?"
With a bitter expression, Bai Suyin could only nod.
"Let's wait for next time. Next time I make hot pot, come over and I'll treat you," Ye Qingyun said.
Bai Suyin looked somewhat disappointed. "But I..."
"In the presence of the senior, how dare you act so pestering and unreasonable?" Xu Jing'er said with some displeasure.
"Just now, the senior invited all of us to eat, yet you refused to show any appreciation. Now you still want to trouble the senior? Do you think you have that qualification?" Li Chengyuan shot a sideways glance at Bai Suyin as well. A disciple of the Nine Spirits Sect really had no sense of propriety.
Bai Suyin wore a grievance-stricken look. What she actually wanted was to ask the high expert to treat the old hidden injuries within her body. Beyond that, she didn't dare harbor extravagant hopes of breaking through her cultivation.
Seeing Bai Suyin like this, Chu Yanyu couldn't bear it and spoke up on her behalf. "Young Master Ye, Susu actually has a favor to ask of you."
Ye Qingyun looked curiously at Bai Suyin. "Just say whatever is on your mind. I'll help if I can."
Chapter 14: Cupping Therapy
"Susu suffered an injury in her childhood that has never truly healed. It flares up every year, causing her excruciating agony."
"I beg Young Master Ye to show mercy and help Susu," Chu Yanyu pleaded.
Bai Suyin also bowed deeply toward Ye Qingyun. "Please save me, Young Master Ye."
Ye Qingyun rubbed his chin. Treat an illness? That damned system had actually taught him how to do that. However, Ye Qingyun had never tried it himself, so he had no idea if it would be reliable. But now that someone had come asking for help, refusing would seem a bit heartless.
"Alright, I can give it a try. But I can't guarantee a cure, mind you," Ye Qingyun said.
Hearing this, Chu Yanyu and Bai Suyin were overjoyed. "Many thanks, Young Master Ye!"
From their perspective, as long as this high expert was willing to act, there shouldn't be any problem at all. The others also grew interested upon hearing that the expert was going to treat an illness, eager to witness how a supreme master went about saving lives.
"Tell me in detail, what kind of hidden injury is it?" Ye Qingyun asked.
"When I was six years old, I accidentally strayed deep into the mountains and was bitten by some unknown creature. The cold Qi penetrated my bone marrow and damaged my internal organs," Bai Suyin recalled her past.
"Although I sought treatment from many people at the time, it was never fully cured. Every year during the transition between autumn and winter, the cold Qi flares up from within my body and lasts for two days."
"Later, when I entered the Nine Spirits Sect, my master also examined me and said that venomous insects still lingered within my body, though even he had no way to drive them out."
Hearing this, Xu Changfeng nearby couldn't help looking surprised. "Even Gongsun Yue has no way?"
Bai Suyin nodded. "My master was also helpless."
Xu Changfeng fell into deep thought. No wonder this Bai Suyin had insisted on following Chu Yanyu to pay respects to Ye Qingyun. Even Gongsun Yue was powerless; within the borders of the Tianwu Dynasty, only the mysterious expert before them stood a chance of curing Bai Suyin.
"Cold Qi trapped in the body?" Ye Qingyun pondered. *Ah, I've got it! Isn't it just cold Qi? Wouldn't cupping therapy do the trick?*
As it happened, he had the tools for cupping right on hand. He immediately went into the room and retrieved a wooden box.
"Uh, it's not very convenient out here. Why don't you come inside with me?" Ye Qingyun said to Bai Suyin.
Bai Suyin startled slightly. "Can't we do it outside?"
Ye Qingyun scratched his head. "Well, we could, but my method of treatment requires you to take off your upper garments and bare your back, so..."
Hearing this, Bai Suyin's face turned beet red instantly, and everyone else's expressions grew rather strange.
*How does this method of treatment sound so weird? Is it even proper?*
Fearing they might misunderstand, Ye Qingyun quickly adopted a solemn and serious tone. "This method is called cupping. I suppose none of you have ever seen it before. It requires the patient to remove their upper garments, baring the entire back so that the fire cups can be applied."
"If the upper garments aren't removed, the procedure cannot be performed."
This was telling Bai Suyin: if you want to be cured, cooperate obediently. If you feel too embarrassed, then forget it.
Chu Yanyu gently tugged at Bai Suyin's sleeve. "Give it a try. Perhaps this high expert really can cure you."
Bai Suyin bit her lower lip. "Young Master Ye, let's go inside."
Hearing those words, they sounded rather strange as well. Ye Qingyun almost let his imagination wander, but he quickly reined in his focus and walked toward the room carrying the wooden box. Bai Suyin followed closely behind him.
"Young Master Ye, can I come in and watch?" Chu Yanyu suddenly remembered: *I'm a woman too. There shouldn't be any problem with me going in to take a look, right?*
"Sure." Ye Qingyun's voice floated out from inside.
Chu Yanyu immediately went in as well.
"Dad, I'm going to take a look too." Xu Jing'er was brimming with curiosity.
"Go ahead, but don't disturb the senior," Xu Changfeng cautioned.
"I know." Xu Jing'er scampered into the house as well.
As for the rest of the grown men, they naturally had no choice but to wait outside.
Ye Qingyun brought over a folding chair and unfolded it. It was just large enough for one person to lie down on.
"Take off your upper garments, then lie face down on this chair," Ye Qingyun said with a straight face.
Bai Suyin bit her lower lip, feeling somewhat awkward. After all, she was a woman, and undressing before a grown man like Ye Qingyun was truly agonizing.
"Do I have to take all of it off?" Bai Suyin asked shyly.
"Mhm, not a single piece left." Ye Qingyun nodded, while quietly muttering to himself inside: *This isn't me trying to take advantage of you. Cupping really requires taking off your clothes.*
"Then please turn around, Young Master Ye." Bai Suyin's voice trembled slightly.
Ye Qingyun let out an "oh" and immediately turned around. *Well, well. Can't see a thing now.*
Seeing Ye Qingyun turn away, Bai Suyin slowly removed her outer garments—first one piece, then another. Soon enough, her fair skin was revealed.
Chu Yanyu and Xu Jing'er stared with wide-open eyes. Especially Xu Jing'er, who stared at Bai Suyin before looking down at herself. *How is she so big?*
Although Chu Yanyu was Bai Suyin's best friend, she had never seen Bai Suyin like this before. Seeing it now, a twinge of jealousy arose in her heart.
Stared at by two women, Bai Suyin blushed fiercely and hurriedly lay face down on the chair. "Young Master Ye, I'm ready."
"Alright."
Ye Qingyun turned back around. At a glance, his eyeballs almost popped out of his head.
*This! Is! Simply! Too! Big!*
Ye Qingyun's mind drifted for a moment, but fortunately, having seen plenty of the world in his past life, he quickly regained his composure after a brief daze. He opened the wooden box and took out several bamboo tubes.
Lighting a candle, Ye Qingyun scorched the inside of a bamboo tube with the flame. "Miss Bai, we're about to begin."
Without another word, Ye Qingyun directly clapped the bamboo tube onto Bai Suyin's back. Bai Suyin let out a soft gasp as a burning sensation spread across her back. Though it didn't hurt much, this novel experience still made her somewhat nervous.
Soon, all eight bamboo tubes were affixed to Bai Suyin's back. Standing to the side, Chu Yanyu and Xu Jing'er watched in utter bewilderment. What kind of medical treatment was this? It was simply unheard of.
"Alright, after half an hour, we can take the tubes off," Ye Qingyun said, wiping the sweat from his forehead. Not from exhaustion, but from sheer self-restraint. Lying right in front of him was such a fair, stunning beauty, and he had to perform cupping on her with a completely untroubled mind—that was truly a test of endurance.
"Is it really that simple?" Chu Yanyu asked in a daze.
"It's just that simple."
Half an hour later, Ye Qingyun removed the bamboo tubes. Eight dark circular imprints appeared on Bai Suyin's back, looking somewhat menacing and terrifying. Xu Jing'er and Chu Yanyu both furrowed their brows, finding it a bit unsightly.
Ye Qingyun inspected the bamboo tubes. "There really are venomous insects!"
"What?" The three of them startled, turning their gazes over simultaneously.
Using a bamboo spatula, Ye Qingyun scraped the inside of the tubes, and sure enough, a number of silvery-white insect carcasses fell out.
Chapter 15: Pulling Strings
All eight bamboo tubes yielded the carcasses of tiny white insects. These bugs were minuscule, appearing even smaller than ants. Ye Qingyun reached out and touched them, finding them icy cold, much like tiny flakes of ice.
"These must have come out of your body," Ye Qingyun told Bai Suyin.
Bai Suyin was filled with terror. There were actually so many bugs inside her body? No wonder her hidden injuries had never been able to heal.
"Does this mean Susu's injury is cured now?" Chu Yanyu asked with concern.
Ye Qingyun shook his head. "Probably not completely healed yet. Come back for another cupping session in half a month, and it should be about done."
This was Ye Qingyun's own deduction: if another round of cupping brought out no more venomous insects, it would prove she was completely cured. If more bugs still emerged, treatment would need to continue.
"Many thanks, Young Master Ye. I feel my entire body is relaxed and comfortable in a way I've never experienced before!" Bai Suyin had dressed herself, her face brimming with excitement.