Does the food taste off?

That night, Chen Jue slept with extraordinary sweetness, as if a creature in hibernation or a fetus returned to the womb. His breathing was long and steady, free from dreams or disturbances; this was the innate state maintained after forming the True Golden Elixir.

Following a true transformation of body and bone, even sleep had become a form of cultivation. During sleep, his consciousness returned to a state of primordial chaos, purging the雜 thoughts accumulated throughout the day. For ordinary people, no matter how anxious, flustered, or joyful one might be the night before, a deep sleep usually makes one feel like a new person the next morning. If one stays up late and fails to let the brain rest, the next day is often met with a fog, the mind unable to function clearly. This is because the brain clears metabolic waste during deep sleep, much like how Chen Jue purged impurities through his pores during his bodily transformation—it is a continuous detoxification process.

However, entering deep sleep is difficult. With the pressures of life and work, ordinary people are plagued by scattered thoughts, and many suffer from insomnia or excessive dreaming. When Chen Jue was a "drifter" in Hangzhou, he would often wake up in the middle of the night or need to relieve himself, making it impossible to return to such sweet slumber. But since embarking on the path of cultivation, he found his sleep increasingly comfortable. Although not as regular as his school days, he could enter this deep sleep state whenever he wished, waking up without any grogginess, his spirit vibrant for the entire day.

...

After getting up and washing, he checked the time and was surprised to see it was past 10:00 AM; perhaps his body needed a long rest after just "forming the Elixir." While brushing his teeth, Chen Jue discovered that the thirty-two teeth he had shed were already sprouting sharp tips from his gums, nearly the same size as the eight that had emerged earlier.

"They grew in overnight?"
"That's a bit fast!"

Chen Jue was startled by the changes in his mouth. He had expected to only need to brush his tongue that morning, not realizing his teeth would emerge so quickly. It is worth noting here that when cleaning the mouth, it is best to use soft bristles to brush the tongue, as food residue often lingers on both its upper and lower surfaces, more easily overlooked than the gaps between teeth. One should not use a brush that is too hard, as it can damage the tongue coating and taste buds, leading to a loss of taste.

However, Chen Jue found that after forming the Elixir, he seemed to have no need to brush his teeth at all! Upon waking, there was no foul odor in his mouth; instead, a refreshing scent lingered. One must know that after a night's sleep, most people wake with a strange taste in their mouths. For those who smoke frequently or suffer from internal heat, their breath can be nauseating. As a child, Chen Jue often watched his family brush their teeth, struggling with gagging or bleeding gums, which made him very attentive to oral hygiene. But after the "Union of Dragon and Tiger" last night and the formation of the Golden Elixir, his body had returned to an innate state. His body odor no longer contained any unpleasantness, but rather a peaceful, exotic fragrance like that of a newborn infant.

In ancient times, there were legends of high monks and Taoist masters emitting strange fragrances from their rooms upon enlightenment. The changes in Chen Jue now confirmed this legend: "Without filth or stain, naturally emitting a rare fragrance." If the phrase from Laozi's *Tao Te Ching*, "Can you focus your breath and reach softness like a newborn infant?", described Chen Jue's complexion, then the following line, "Can you cleanse your inner vision and remain without flaw?", described his physical state. Having formed the Golden Elixir, his body had been purged of accumulated toxins, keeping it flawless. Even his breath smelled as if he had eaten peppermint gum, making anyone nearby feel at ease.

...

However, this prolonged period of hibernation consumed a significant amount of the body's stored nutrients and energy. The calcium tablets and compressed biscuits he had eaten the night before were already mostly digested. Feeling hollow in his stomach, Chen Jue practiced the Wudang Night-Walking Technique while walking into town. It was too late for breakfast, so he ordered a table full of dishes to combine breakfast and lunch.

But as the restaurant owner served the local specialty dishes, Chen Jue felt that the food did not taste as delicious as before; in fact, his body felt a subtle sense of rejection.

"Boss! Did you change the chef?"
"I've been eating here for days with no issues, why does the food taste wrong today?" Chen Jue asked, puzzled.

"No! It's the same master chef! Is the taste wrong?" The owner of the local restaurant was also confused. Since Chen Jue was the only customer at the table, he couldn't compare it, so he apologized, grabbed a pair of chopsticks, and tasted a bit of the food himself.

"It tastes just the same!"
"Young man, did you eat ginger or garlic that changed your palate?" the owner wondered.

In truth, this was because after forming the Elixir, Chen Jue's body was flawless and currently undergoing continuous detoxification, requiring the practice of "Bigu" (abstaining from grains) to support the Elixir. In ancient times, high-level practitioners would periodically consume only air and water upon reaching the state of Elixir formation, clearing toxins for a period before returning to a normal diet. Because food contains impurities and microscopic toxins, the body cannot purge them through metabolism alone; one must use the Bigu method to cleanse completely.

For example, it is recorded in the *History of the Ming Dynasty* that Zhang Sanfeng could eat a peck of food in one sitting, yet could go months without eating, surviving only on swallowed breath and dew. This is the result of cultivating one's art to the level of an "Immortal." If one attempts Bigu without sufficient cultivation, the stomach may atrophy or even perforate, and the intestines may adhere to one another due to a lack of food. To perform Bigu, one must use secret breathing techniques to stimulate the stomach and intestines, keeping them moving to prevent adhesion or perforation. Thus arose the legend of "Grandmaster Sanfeng not consuming the smoke and fire of the human world in his later years."

However, although the documents in Chen Jue's possession covered the classics of Taoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and medicine—and even included internal alchemy techniques—they did not contain such Bigu training methods.

"It hasn't changed? Maybe it was just my imagination... sorry about that!" Chen Jue felt strange. He took a few more bites, and it did indeed seem to taste the same as before, so he felt reassured and continued to eat.

After finishing the meal and feeling his satiety return, Chen Jue stood up to pay. Moved by Chen Jue's earlier question, the owner felt embarrassed, thinking perhaps his chef had stayed up too late playing cards and was off his game, so he didn't charge him for the full meal. Because Chen Jue had been eating there every day, he was considered a regular. Considering the restaurant's reputation and not wanting to lose a big eater who always ordered a full table, the owner gave him a forty percent discount as a gesture of goodwill.

...

After settling the bill, Chen Jue strolled back to the Wozhai. On the way, that Wudang Night-Walking Technique actually perfected itself! After several days of practicing through mountains and forests, this third light-body technique had finally been mastered by Chen Jue. A surge of unfamiliar neural energy rushed through his entire body. He felt his eyes becoming increasingly keen, shimmering with a bright luster under the midday sun.

He looked up directly at the sun for a few moments and felt no stinging pain! He turned his gaze toward the nearby Wozhai: the yellow earthen walls, the gray rooftops, and a few old men sitting in a doorway chatting while smoking dry tobacco. He could see small birds flying on the mountain behind and field mice emerging from the grass to hide their winter grain.

"Not only is my nearsightedness completely cured, but can my vision be trained to this extent?" Chen Jue was delighted. Who wouldn't want to see more clearly and further, capturing even the most subtle changes in the environment?

He glanced at the note following the perfected Night-Walking Technique, and a state called [Indistinguishable Day and Night] appeared before his eyes.

[Indistinguishable Day and Night]: Traveling day and night, vision is clear.
State Effect: This state significantly enhances the player's visual ability, allowing them to exert the same night-vision effect as during the day when performing light-body techniques at night.

The first chapter is here! Sorry for the wait! I've been having some post-publication symptoms, sleeping late and not being in the right state to write in the morning. I plan to adjust my schedule~