I’m Actually a Cultivation Bigshot

Ao Cheng hurriedly brought Li Nianfan to the palace and said, “Mr. Li, please, have a seat.”

The material of the furniture in the palace was extraordinary. They were all made from special ocean wood or carved from rocks. They were glistening and sparkly.

Li Nianfan truly understood the saying, ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do’.

There were not a lot of things in the ocean but they had a lot of sparkly items and a lot of seafood.

Everyone sat down. Li Nianfan casually picked up a crystal glass at a table and examined it.

The crystal glass was small, dainty, and smooth to the touch. There was some translucent alcohol in it. There were ripples in the alcohol as it emitted a nice aroma.

Li Nianfan sniffed it gently, then drank it in one go.

He smacked his lips. He realized the alcohol was not strong and it had hints of sweetness. It was considered decent alcohol.

Ao Cheng said, “Mr. Li, my wine’s far off from yours, I hope you don’t mind.”

“You’re too courteous, Brother Ao Cheng. This wine’s a rare and beautiful brew,” said Li Nianfan. They both knew Ao Cheng was not wrong, but he could not say it as it was. It would also be inappropriate for him to take out his wine.

Clap!

Ao Cheng clapped gently.

A lot of clam demons and Sirens immediately rushed in. They gathered at an empty spot of the palace and started to perform hard.

The Sirens were as skinny as water snakes. They looked nimble as they were swaying and dancing in the water, their bodies as light as the rippling water.

The instruments were minimalistic. A few clam demons were blowing on snail shells by the side. It was quite enjoyable.

Li Nianfan watched the performance and felt sentimental. Previously, he had watched the performance by the female ghosts. It was interesting that he was now watching a performance by the Sirens.

Female ghosts were humans in the past, so their performance was humane. However, the Sirens were different. Li Nianfan thought it was exotic.

The performances of the oceanic kind were splendid. The clam demons danced, the dolphins and the sharks performed tricks as an interlude, which was followed by an interactive performance from a whale.

Li Nianfan cheered internally. It was worth the trip.

Li Nianfan asked curiously, “Brother Ao Cheng, is the Carp family so powerful across the ocean?”

“Um…”

Ao Cheng was stumped for a moment. He quickly formed his sentence and said, “Mr. Li… It’s mainly because of our ancestors. As the popular saying goes, ‘The carp has leaped through the dragon’s gate’. Our ancestors were real Dragons.”

“I see.” Li Nianfan could understand that. It was like a cultivator who had an Immortal ancestor. Cultivators without an Immortal ancestor were not on the same level as a cultivator with an Immortal ancestor.

Carp Demons were related to Dragons. No wonder they were living lavishly.

Li Nianfan raised his glass and said, “Let me pre-celebrate your future as a Dragon then, Brother Ao Cheng.”

In Ao Cheng’s ears, that sentence hit differently. He was emotional hearing that. ‘The expert’s willing to change our status. He’s about to define us as Dragons!’

He was already a Dragon. However, he needed the expert to feel that way, too.

The expert was willing to see him as a Dragon. He felt an odd sense of accomplishment. It was as if he was a child receiving approval from his parents. Anyone could tell a child that he was brilliant, but he would not think much about it. If a parent told the child that he was brilliant, then he was truly brilliant.

‘My recent behavior must’ve pleased the expert.’

Ao Cheng felt touched, he even wanted to cry. He said in a serious tone, “Don’t worry, Mr. Li. I’ll work hard to become a Dragon soon!”

Suddenly, a clam demon walked in. “King, the crabs are ready.”

Ao Cheng hurriedly said, “Quickly serve it. Serve Mr. Li first.”

Soon, a bunch of Sirens dressed in pastel chiffon clothes and had their hair up walked in. They had scales of different colors on their bodies. Apparently, they were different Siren species.

They had small plates in their hands with red crabs on them. The crabs died with their pincers pointing upward.

Li Nianfan said, “I forgot to tell you. When steaming crabs, you need to tie the crab up for firmer meat. It would taste better.”

Ao Cheng instantly frowned. He hurriedly said, “Mr. Li, I’m so sorry about that. The servants didn’t know that. I’ll have them redo it.”

“No need for such trouble, it’s just a small technique. Be mindful next time.” Li Nianfan simply shrugged it off. Then, he focused on the crab.

His first thought was, ‘What a nice fat crab!

‘Look at that big strong claw. Look at that wide back. Look at those thick and pointy hairs. In my past realm, this would be considered a hairy crab of the best quality!’

He picked it up. It was bigger than his palm.

However, it was not tied up as Li Nianfan said. Because of that, the shell of the crab was slightly raised and the texture of the meat was affected. For a perfectionist like Li Nianfan, it was slightly imperfect.

It was not a big deal.

Li Nianfan took out the seasoning that he carried with him. It was not a complicated blend, just vinegar and some ginger. He smiled at everyone and said, “The crab’s better with vinegar.”

Ao Cheng replied, “I… I see.”

Everyone looked at their crabs and did not know where to start. They could only watch Li Nianfan at the side and follow what he was doing.

Thankfully, they were a smart bunch. They were fast learners.

Crack, crack!

They all started to crack their crab shells.

Everyone soon realized that underneath the hard crab shell was snow-white meat. They were shocked at how much tender meat was hidden underneath the strong shell. Moreover, it was steamed without any seasoning but it had a nice aroma. They did not expect that at all.

Ao Cheng copied Li Nianfan. He dipped the crab meat in vinegar and ate it slowly.

First, his taste palette was instigated by the sour vinegar. Then, the tender crab meat was bouncing in his mouth. The wonderful flavor of the crab meat exploded and overpowered everything else. There was not a lot of crab meat but the strong aroma was there. It almost took over his senses.

Soft yet bouncy. Fresh yet delicate. The aroma was long-lasting and it was delicious!

‘How could ‘yum’ even begin to describe it?’

“Delicious!”

Ao Cheng widened his eyes and looked at the crab leg in his hand. He was in disbelief.

“Who would’ve thought that such a delicacy was right here this whole time?!” He took a deep breath. He suddenly felt like his years of living were a waste. He was such a failure.

Li Nianfan smiled and said, “That’s not it. If you crack open the shell, the crab butter of the male crabs and the crab roe of the female crabs are the best.”

“How can it be so delicious?!” Ao Yun was also astounded. He felt his worldview turn upside down.

He suddenly felt miserable. He started to tear up.

‘Why? Why let me taste such delicacies before I die?’

It was happiness and torture at the same time. He had missed out on multiple delicacies before his death. He realized now that it was not just one missed opportunity. That was the worst pain in his life.

He had only one thought in his mind, ‘Eat. I have to eat as much as I can to repay myself before I die!’

Daji peeled open a crab leg and fed it to Li Nianfan. She said softly, “I peeled this for you.”

Li Nianfan opened his mouth and ate it. He said, pleased, “Yum, delicious. That’s so nice of you, Daji.”

Daji smiled and said, “Hehe, thanks. Let me peel a crab claw for you.”

“Brother, check this out.” Dragin cast a spell. Water ripples were formed out of thin air. Then, the crab shell was easily separated from the crab meat. Li Nianfan looked at the white crab meat and felt envious.

‘Legendary skill. That’s a legendary skill for eating crabs!’

He was in awe. A lot of people wished they could eat mouthfuls of crab meat in one go.

However, Dragin was not going to share. She opened her little mouth and instantly devoured the crab meat. Her small cheeks were puffed up. She looked at Li Nianfan, waiting to be complimented.

Li Nianfan looked at his crab. He instantly felt like it was not as delicious anymore.

However, he still said, “Crab meat’s delicious because of the deshelling process. If you don’t remove the shell bit by bit with your hands, the crab meat won’t taste as good.”

Then, he continued to focus on deshelling his crab.

Ao Cheng and the others who were about to deshell their crabs with their powers instantly stopped in silence. They followed Li Nianfan. They calmly deshelled their crabs bit by bit with their hands.

Deshelling was a boring process. However, everyone soon realized they were more focused when they were deshelling. They even grew calmer gradually.

There were only two simple thoughts in their minds. One of them was to deshell it, the other was to eat it.

They subconsciously became arrogant as their powers grew because they could achieve things easily. It caused them to lose focus. They also lacked discipline in their minds because they could do a lot of things with ease.

However, they suddenly reclaimed themselves. They felt as if they had safely returned to the shore.

‘This isn’t just deshelling, this is clearly training our mentality!’

‘The expert’s truly the expert. His state of mind makes us sweat. No wonder he can do anything. He’s talented and can blend in as an ordinary man.’

‘If it were us, we would’ve been arrogant and endlessly snobby. How can we be ordinary people?’

‘A lesson learned from the expert’s enough to benefit us for a lifetime!’

Everyone cheered internally.

The oceanic performance continued.

Li Nianfan was surprised that a bunch of seafood was on the stage.

The Australian Lobster, King Crab, Squid, Salmon, and more. There were a lot of performers, but they did not dance. They joyfully swam around instead. They seemed to be displaying themselves.

“Mr. Li, this is the Seafood Get Together Show. It’s a performance we personally prepared for you.”

Ao Cheng smiled and continued, “They’re the elites of seafood. Their meat is top-notch. Mr. Li, if you have your eyes on any of them, you can just tell me. You can bring it home to make a nice meal. That’d be nice, right? If you want, you can bring it all back with you.”

“Thanks for everything, Brother Ao Cheng.”

“Oh yeah, the hairy crab’s such a delicacy. We can’t let it go to waste!” Ao Cheng suddenly recalled something. He ordered his minions, “Minions, hurry up and get the Hairy Crab Demon King. Tell him to pick a few fat and juicy hairy crabs as soon as he can. Also, list the hairy crab as a delicacy of the Carp Palace. Raise them well from now on.”

Then, everyone changed the topic. They started to comment on the seafood performers. They were discussing which part of their bodies would taste better.

Cough!

Suddenly, Ao Yun coughed again. He could not stop coughing, and he ended up coughing up a lot of blood.

He forced himself to say, “Excuse me. My bad, my bad.”

Li Nianfan noticed that Ao Yun’s blood was slightly dark. The damage to his organs must be extreme. He could not help but say, “Brother Ao Cheng, I’m afraid your brother’s injury isn’t looking good.”

Ao Cheng sighed and shook his head. “Mr. Li, to be honest, my brother’s been poisoned. I’m afraid this might be his last moments.”

‘It can’t be helped?

‘Ao Cheng and his brother are going to let it be?’

Li Nianfan stared at Ao Yun for a while. He did not see any signs of poisoning. He asked in a weird tone, “Do you mind if I check your pulse?”

Ao Cheng immediately said, “No, we don’t mind at all. Feel free to do so, Mr. Li!”

He was naturally excited. He looked at him with devotion.

Soon, Li Nianfan put his hand away and frowned. As expected, he could not detect anything except for a weak pulse.

Li Nianfan asked curiously, “What poison was it?”

Ao Cheng replied, “Poison from a demonic bug that likes to suck on blood, flesh, and powers. Once it’s in the body, it’ll be like a bone parasite. It’ll never be full until it completely devours a person from the inside.”

“A bug like that exists?” Li Nianfan was shocked. That was beyond his medical expertise. He could not help him.

‘It’s normal. After all, even Immortals can’t do anything about it.’

Li Nianfan asked, “Is there no way to force the bug out?”

“Impossible. The bug sucks on flesh and blood. The blood and the powers between the heart and the abdomen are the tastiest. So, it’ll always stay there. If we remove it by force or attack it, Ao Yun will be injured.”

Ao Cheng paused, then said, “As the parasite feeds, the host will gradually become weaker. The immune system will no longer be as strong as before. His wounds won’t heal and it’ll only become worse until he reaches a painful death.”

It was like a virus in the past realm, feeding on the host until the host died weakly.

Ao Yun had a huge injury, but he would recover in no time if only he was not poisoned. However, the poison prevented him from healing and the bug was feeding on his blood and powers. A situation like that was truly hopeless.

Ao Cheng noticed that Li Nianfan was silent. He felt miserable.

He never doubted the abilities of the expert. He knew that the expert was not willing to help.

‘It isn’t unusual. It’s not something to complain about or blame him.’

All hope disappeared from Ao Yun’s eyes. He smiled and said in a carefree tone, “Haha, I’ve been ready for my death ever since I was poisoned. I can still live for a while. To be able to eat such a delicacy like the hairy crab before my death makes it all worth it. So what if I die? I’m content.”

‘Parasite bug…likes to devour blood and powers.’

Li Nianfan suddenly had an idea. He groaned for a moment and suddenly said, “Actually… There is a way, but I don’t know if it’ll work or not.”