Beside the bed, Little Mouse Ashi fainted suddenly.

It lay curled up on the pillow, its small gray fur-covered body could almost fit in a palm, looking truly adorable.

Chen Xu gently placed his hand above its body, stroking the air a few times, yet felt anxious.

Ashi fainted again, and this was not all.

Chen Xu noticed that as Ashi fainted, the evil energy absorbed by the Life-Reflected Fiend began slowly and irresistibly refilling its body.

In other words, whether Chen Xu used the Life-Reflected Fiend to suck out all the evil energy inside the little mouse in one go;

or left a thin trace, this evil energy would ultimately rise again from its belly and gradually take over its entire being.

The difference between the two was that when all the evil energy was sucked out in one go, the inside of the little mouse became hollow, and the refill of evil energy was swift.

Whereas, if a thin trace was left, the refill speed of the evil energy became very slow.

Thus, Chen Xu's previous strategy wasn't entirely wrong, but this method only treated the symptoms, not the root problem.

So, how exactly can the root problem be solved?

Is it according to the original hypothesis, using the Life-Reflected Fiend daily without interruption to extract the evil energy inside the little mouse, relying on water-milling effort, until over time, all the evil energy is absorbed?

This method is not impossible, but Chen Xu discovered another problem during the process—

The flow of evil energy is damaging to the body.

Simply extracting the evil energy without treating the body would eventually deplete all of the little mouse's life force.

That is why the little mouse cried hunger earlier: it was actually lacking energy to counteract weakness!

Chen Xu felt he understood something, even thinking he had touched the essence of a certain principle.

He recalled the "debate" scene he encountered on the way back from Pufeng Mountain.

The debate among a farmer, a shepherd boy, and a young Daoist concluded: Food is the essential for humans and immortals alike.

This concept was so simple, yet pointed directly at the root.

Even if immortals absorb wind and drink dew, do immortals not consume?

No, immortals simply do not eat worldly things.

To absorb wind and drink dew means to derive life from the essence of heaven and earth!

Immortals do eat; they clearly consume only the best of things in the world.

Of course, such speculation inevitably contains elements of fantasy.

After all, neither the farmer, the shepherd boy, nor the young Daoist, and not even Chen Xu, have ever seen a true immortal.

The farmer says the immortals must cook, which is actually no different from the rural tale that "the emperor uses a golden hoe to farm."

But Chen Xu is different from them.

The Food God Technique Scroll that Chen Xu practices, whether from its principles or its profound meaning, or from the fundamental direction of the Three Elements Foundation Establishment Technique, is actually a marvelous method that directly points to the Great Dao and can transform one from mortal to immortal!

Chen Xu believes: Immortals eat the essence of heaven and earth.

This is actually a scene that he himself may achieve after reaching a profound realm in his future cultivation.

The Food God Technique Scroll has a few verses that say: Essence of water and grain nurtures the five organs, where Essence Qi arises, and all evil cannot invade.

Chen Xu suddenly discovered that even though he had been practicing for some time, occasionally achieving minor progress, he was often deviating from the true intent of the Food God Technique Scroll.

Moreover, he was caught up in worldly affairs, striving for fame and fortune, often forgetting what his original intention for cultivation was.

Is it only to become a high-ranking official in the mortal world, wield worldly power, making decisions for the realm?

There are too many helpless situations in the world, many problems seem to indeed only be resolved by reaching the highest peak.

This is both an inevitability on the path forward and for freedom and joy, fulfilling my desires!

Yet cultivation cannot merely be for this reason.

What else is there?

—Still to see the essence of the Dao!

In past years, I wrote "Beyond nature, time is easily gained," yet still could not escape the allure of fame in the tumult of the mortal world, reddening my eyes.

Thinking of this, Chen Xu suddenly felt cold sweat on his back, an indescribable chill penetrating from head to foot.

As if an invisible evening bell struck beside his ear.

This is the tempering of the heart in the mortal world!

Within the world, there are many, many paths one can tread.

On this path of cultivation, any step could be misaligned.

It's not frightening to walk wrong, the fear is in being unable to introspect, ultimately straying further and further off course.

Looking at the little mouse before him now, Chen Xu suddenly realized that outside the window, the moonlight, once silent, had suddenly risen without notice.

Moonlight filtered through the window paper, casting a soft glow, suddenly calming Chen Xu's tumultuous heart.

He went over and opened the window, took out the Bright Heart Gourd from the Fire and Smoke Kitchen and placed it on the window sill to bask in the moonlight.

After absorbing moonlight for a whole night, the spirit wine in the Bright Heart Gourd would become even richer.

Unconsciously, the Innate Qi within Chen Xu began to circulate silently, and his cultivation once again changed.

[Cultivation: Meridian Passage Realm Late Stage 15%]

He understood and realized how to truly heal the little mouse.

"Essence of water and grain nurtures the five organs, where Essence Qi arises, and all evil cannot invade."

This actually means as long as he can use sufficient food to nourish the little mouse's body, allowing its Essence Qi to grow gradually and its physique to strengthen, naturally achieving the effect of keeping all evil at bay.

The presence of those evil energies will naturally no longer be a threat!

This is the Path of the Food God, and why cultivate according to the "food" as the Dao? The essence lies in this.

Standing in the room, Chen Xu paced lightly, sometimes gazing at the moon outside the window, sometimes checking his breath and cultivation, the recent disturbances finally transforming into flowing water, disappearing from his mind.

With understanding, gain, and joy.

Chen Xu examined the little mouse's condition again, discovering that although it was physically weak, and the evil energy constantly attacked, it was just as it had said before: it would not die.

Its body also harbors an extremely hidden mystical energy, always producing a trace of life force when it reaches the extreme of weakness.

Keeping it going, allowing it to continue challenging the evil energy, struggling to survive.

The little mouse's bloodline is special, Chen Xu knows this.

This special trait brings crisis to the little mouse, but also gives its future limitless possibilities.

Chen Xu no longer tried to absorb the evil energy to awaken the little mouse, he also discovered that this evil energy cannot be extracted indefinitely—

Or to be more precise, he cannot repeatedly extract too much evil energy for the little mouse in a short time.

Excessive multiple extractions would also damage the little mouse's body, and once the damage exceeds a certain level, the hidden energy within its body might indeed fail to sustain.

At this point, the balance of life force in the little mouse would be broken, which would truly be a death crisis.

In the latter half of the night, Chen Xu slept peacefully beside the little mouse.

No contemplation, no plotting, no worries of yesterday, no fear of tomorrow, just a pure sleep, all is right with the world.

The Bright Heart Gourd lay on the window sill absorbing the moonlight, having established a peculiar connection with Chen Xu, not worrying about being stolen.

Early the next morning, Chen Xu received a new message spreading throughout the city.

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