Interstellar Farming: I Make Potions and Climb to the Top

The Silver Silk Charcoal quickly burned red. A thin, golden copper plate was laid over the grill, and Nine-tailed tossed the Bluefin Silverfish—scaled, gutted, and with fins and tails removed—onto the hot plate.

"Master, I only need to grill these for half a minute. Then I’ll peel off the skin for you and make some salt-and-pepper fish skin." Nine-tailed had a knack for cooking and was willing to put in the effort. Coupled with his familiarity with Ning Xuan’s preferences, he was the reason she had been eating so well lately.

"Okay. Do you need me to control the fire?" Ning Xuan could already smell the aroma, and her mouth watered involuntarily.

They had spent the last two days mining underground, subsisting on convenient, ready-to-eat crackers. It had been several days since they’d had a proper hot meal.

"No need. Oh, right, Master, if we want fish soup, we’ll need a pot and a simple stove," Nine-tailed said as he deftly peeled the fish skin.

Yun Han pulled a white cooking pot, about half a meter in diameter, from his spatial bracelet. He then took a pile of Lan Green Ore and stacked it into a simple stove, placing the pot on top.

Everything was ready. All they needed was the fish for the pot.

The aroma of the grilled fish grew richer. The golden-red glow of the fire heated the thin copper plate, causing the Bluefin Silverfish on top to curl. The fat under the skin melted into an amber-colored syrup, slowly trickling along the lines of the fish bones.

Nine-tailed took a white porcelain bottle from his pack. With a light tap of his fingertip, some golden powder rustled down onto the surface of the silverfish. An even richer fragrance wafted out. Di Youlin sniffed the air and sighed, "Smells amazing."

"This fish doesn’t just smell good; it seems to contain pure energy. I’m going to help catch more. We’ll need a lot to have our fill." Lan Xin also ran off to help catch fish.

With everyone pitching in, they enjoyed an extremely satisfying feast of grilled fish. The meat was sweet and delicious, filled with pure energy. After the grilled fish, they also had savory fish soup. The soup had been simmering for a long time, turning it a milky white color, and it was delicious.

After the meal, gazing at the beautiful scenery and smelling the sweet fragrance of the flowers, the accumulated fatigue from their days in the Red Sand Sea melted away.

The valley was calm and peaceful, with no disturbances and no sign of any dangerous creatures. Ning Xuan and the others found a flat area in the valley and set up their tents as a place to rest.

Meanwhile, Ning Xuan, accompanied by Di Youlin and Yun Han, went to the place where Di Youlin had discovered the spiral nebula. Besides the three of them, the Little Fox also came along.

"This is it, Master. Look, isn’t that stuff the same as the spiral nebula announced by the officials?" Di Youlin said, pointing to the purple cloud floating in mid-air.

Ning Xuan looked up, her pupils saturated with the swirling purple light that filled the sky. The nebula suspended in mid-air was slowly rotating. Its outermost layer of gas had a translucent, glass-like texture, and one could faintly glimpse the distorted starlight behind it. At the nebula’s center, layered spiral patterns emerged, resembling a ribbon of purple light. The region near the core, however, had condensed into a dense, amethyst-like substance. With each rotation, it shed fine stardust that trailed behind like the brilliant tail of a comet.

"It really is the spiral nebula from the official announcement." Ning Xuan stared in awe at the massive, unusual cloud.

Although the officials had released pictures and said this substance could improve one’s genes and bloodline, they hadn’t explained how to use it. She had originally thought the spiral nebula was like a cloud, formed from a substance similar to water vapor. She assumed one could simply absorb it automatically by sitting and cultivating in its presence.

She never imagined it would actually be in a solid state.

Without refining it with fire, it was impossible to absorb.

Ning Xuan gauged the height of the spiral nebula and released her Ghost-faced Red Vine. She had the Red Vine cling to the highest rock face, which just managed to lift her to a position three or four meters below the nebula.

Ning Xuan summoned her Flame Energy. Di Youlin flapped his wings and stood guard nearby. He watched the flame behind Ning Xuan grow stronger and larger, bit by bit, until the wisp of fire shot up to a height of three meters. The flame transformed into a narrow line of fire that shot straight into the spiral nebula.

Under the flame’s searing heat, clusters of blue light specks rained down. Ning Xuan sat cross-legged and activated her Cultivation Technique. The blue specks of light began to revolve around her body.

Gradually, Di Youlin could no longer see Ning Xuan’s figure. A sea of blue light had completely enveloped her.

Just as Di Youlin was growing worried, he saw the flame behind Ning Xuan suddenly flare up, faintly taking the shape of a massive, fiery red bird.

A glass-like luster appeared deep within the heart of the once-crimson flame. The slender pillar of fire split into nine streams of intense flame that shot toward the heavens.

The spiral nebula was almost completely pierced by the intense flames. Wherever the flames passed, the entire sky turned blue.

Myriad blue specks of light scattered down to the earth, merging with the surrounding air.

The nine streams of flame vanished quickly. Di Youlin looked around. He was right beside Ning Xuan, where the blue light was densest. Some of the blue specks merged into his body as well. He could vaguely feel that as the blue light fused with him, impurities were slowly being purged from his bloodline.

With each bit of impurity removed, he could feel his body becoming a little lighter.

Di Youlin squinted in enjoyment. ’Following Master really was the right choice. Getting benefits without having to cultivate painstakingly... this feeling is amazing.’

He glanced down at Yun Han and the Little Fox sitting on the rock face below. They seemed to be cultivating as well.

To better absorb the spiral nebula, Di Youlin slowed his breathing, mobilized his Bloodline Energy, and actively began to cultivate.

Ning Xuan’s eyes were closed, and she had entered a transcendent state. Her consciousness seemed to have separated from her physical form, watching as her body was surrounded and enveloped by the blue specks of light. These specks moved in and out of her bones, muscles, meridians, and acupoints, cleansing them and carrying away some kind of black substance. Her bones became lighter and whiter, and her blood grew more crystalline and clear.

This cultivation session lasted for about two hours. Her Flame Energy was heavily consumed, and after about an hour, she could no longer sustain the process of refining the nebula.

These two hours of cultivation further increased the new energy within Ning Xuan’s blood. This time, it seemed the blue energy could truly contend with her Flame Energy.

Ning Xuan returned to the valley floor to rest and found Chen Nan, Lin Mo, Lan Xin, Nine-tailed, and the others all cultivating. Not wanting to disturb them, Ning Xuan went back to the tent to rest with Di Youlin, Yun Han, and the Little Fox.

Although they still didn’t know what was going on with the barrier on the outskirts, this valley Oasis was undoubtedly a Cultivation Holy Land.