The wind whistled past as Liu Yang flew hurriedly through the sky, a large rattan basket strapped to his back. It brimmed with Rank-2 slimes, their gelatinous forms jostling with each movement.

Along the way, he encountered many familiar cultivators, but his urgency left him with no time for conversation. He responded to greetings with perfunctory nods and brief acknowledgments before continuing his flight.

"Hello, Daoist Liu!" A cultivator flying in the opposite direction greeted him with a warm smile.

"Yeah, yeah, hello," Liu Yang replied curtly, not breaking his pace.

Further along, a beautiful female cultivator leaped across treetops below him. Clearly still in the Foundation Establishment Realm and unable to fly, she called out in a sweet, coquettish tone, "Senior Liu, hello! What a coincidence meeting you here!"

Liu Yang glanced down briefly, offering a curt, "Hello."

Encouraged, the girl continued, "Senior Liu, didn't you once invite Qingqin to dinner? I'm sorry I had to turn you down before because I was busy. But now I'm free! How about we try the new restaurant in the Rose Garden Sect? I heard it's amazing!"

Liu Yang didn't even glance down. "Uh, sorry, I'm busy and not hungry. Maybe next time."

Qingqin halted on a treetop, watching as Liu Yang's figure vanished into the horizon. Her expression soured. Back then, she had always played hard to get. Though he wasn't exactly her type, being from the wealthy Liu family made him rather attractive. Rather than outright rejecting him, she had kept her distance, allowing his pursuit to continue while planning to get closer only when it suited her.

For now, her interest was purely in what she could gain from him, accepting his gifts occasionally when he pestered her. Sometimes, she subtly hinted at what she currently needed for her cultivation, which, not long later, Liu Yang would provide.

Previously, she had repeatedly turned down his invitations to dinner. But now, when she had finally decided to give him a chance—hoping for a free meal and perhaps a few gifts—he brushed her off without a second thought, leaving her simmering with anger.

"Tch!" she huffed, stomping her foot on the branch. "I gave you a chance, and you didn't take it. Hmph!" With a snort, she leaped away in irritation.

Not long after, another cultivator flew toward Liu Yang from the opposite direction, hovering in mid-air to intercept him. The man grinned, waving a wine gourd. "Brother Liu! Long time no see! How about we share a drink together?"

Liu Yang barely slowed down. "Hello. Sorry, I'm busy. Maybe next time." He flew past, leaving the man staring in bewilderment.

"Hmm? What's with him?" the cultivator muttered, scratching his head. "We're usually so close, but now he's ignoring me. Is he constipated or something, rushing home to relieve himself?"

As Liu Yang disappeared from view, the man's gaze fell on the rattan basket on Liu Yang's back. His eyes narrowed. "Wait a minute… I heard the Liu family's new restaurant uses a secret ingredient that makes their dishes incredibly potent for cultivators. And that basket seemed to be filled with Rank-2 slimes! Could it be that the slimes are the secret ingredient?"

A flash of inspiration struck him. If the Liu family could use slimes to create such coveted dishes, why couldn't he? With newfound determination, he set off to find Rank-2 slimes. Hours later, he found one in a nearby forest.

Retrieving his cooking tools, Spirit Herbs, Spirit Beast meat, and seasonings, he began to cook. Known for his culinary skills, the dishes he prepared were often praised by his fellow cultivators.

Using all the ingredients, he made sure not to forget the slime, carefully adding it to the dish. Before long, a delicious aroma wafted through the air, promising a tantalizing meal.

"Bleeegh!" The cultivator spat out the first bite, coughing violently. "Cough! So disgusting! Damn you, Liu Yang! You made me eat this slimy, vile mess! I'll make sure to pay you back for this humiliation!" He retched again, his face pale with revulsion.

The food tasted bizarre—strangely slimy, with an off-putting texture that was utterly revolting despite the pleasant aroma. After throwing up, he flung the rest of the dish far away, still cursing Liu Yang under his breath.

Meanwhile, far away, Liu Yang sneezed mid-flight. "Achoo! Damn, someone must be talking behind my back."

After hours of non-stop flying, Liu Yang finally arrived at Fengxian City. He slowed down and flew lower with a sigh of relief, the tension of the journey still weighing on him. He had been on high alert the entire time, constantly scanning for potential threats. To him, the rattan basket filled with slimes was a treasure beyond value. Others might dismiss it as worthless, but to Liu Yang, its importance was unparalleled.

Liu Yang headed straight for Orion's residence without delay. A sly grin crept onto his face as he thought, "Hehehe, with this much Rank-2 slime, I wonder how much MSG Mr. Orion will reward me."

Liu Yang landed in front of Orion's mansion, a faint sigh escaping his lips.

"I hope Mr. Orion is home," he thought as he stepped up to the door and knocked.

Moments later, Chunhua opened the door and invited him inside.

Orion received Liu Yang in the main hall. Liu Yang exchanged greetings and small talk before setting the large rattan basket on the floor and opening it to reveal its contents.

"Mr. Orion, I managed to capture a lot of slimes. Look!" he said with a mix of pride and excitement.

Orion stepped closer, peering into the basket filled with wriggling Rank-2 slimes. Its face tilted slightly as it observed each one carefully.

"This is truly impressive. You managed to catch a lot. It must have been difficult for you. Thank you very much," Orion said, picking up one of the slimes to examine it.

Now, with these Rank-2 slimes, I can start making improved ADAMS. Once completed, the ADAMS crafted using Rank-2 slime meridians will grant me a cultivation level equivalent to the Foundation Establishment Realm, Orion thought internally.

If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

Orion always strived to improve its strength, with the potential to create ADAMS using Rank-2 slime meridian. Though satisfied with this progress, it didn't stop there. Its AI had already begun planning to create ADAMS using Rank-3 slime.

"Indeed, it was hard," Liu Yang replied, scratching the back of his head. "But as long as it's for you, I'll always do my best, Mr. Orion."

In truth, it hadn't been as challenging as he made it sound. Of the 28 Rank-2 slimes in the basket, he had only managed to capture 7 himself. The other 21 were captured by Tigang, who had done the bulk of the work. Still, Liu Yang kept this detail to himself.

Chunhua entered quietly, serving tea to Liu Yang before retreating from the hall.

"I also managed to capture quite a few Dragonfly Spirit Beasts," Liu Yang said eagerly as he retrieved several carcasses of varying sizes from his storage ring, eager to show them off.

The spacious main hall easily accommodated the spread of dragonfly bodies on the floor.

"Very good," Orion said with a satisfied nod, crouching to inspect the dragonflies closely, which were in good condition and still fresh.

As Liu Yang narrated the story of his efforts to capture both the slimes and the dragonflies, Orion continued its examination. After a while, Liu Yang stored the dragonfly carcasses back into his storage ring and handed the ring over to Orion.

"You did a great job. As a token of my appreciation, please accept this," Orion said, handing Liu Yang a small ceramic bottle.

"It's nothing, really," Liu Yang said, feeling a bit embarrassed but unable to hide his excitement. He eagerly accepted the bottle, uncorked it to check its contents, and beamed with joy.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Orion!" Liu Yang cupped his hands and bowed deeply before storing the bottle in his personal storage ring.

Orion nodded in acknowledgment. The two spoke for a while longer, with Orion asking detailed questions about the slimes and dragonflies and requesting Liu Yang to gather more in the future.

Finally, Liu Yang excused himself. "Then, I'll take my leave now and won't disturb you further, Mr. Orion. As for the slimes and dragonflies, you don't need to worry. I'll capture more of them for you soon. Just wait and see—I won't disappoint you!"

Orion gave a brief nod as Liu Yang departed. Once Liu Yang was gone, Orion called for Wang Lingxin, who had been playing outside, and gave some instructions to Chunhua.

Afterward, Orion took Wang Lingxin and left the city, heading to the house on the outskirts, not far from the city. Orion also brought the rattan basket filled with slimes, eager to begin experiments with the slimes and dragonfly Spirit Beasts.

The slimes would be used to make ADAMS, while the dragonflies would be used to create new kinds of ornithopters, larger ones. The dragonflies caught by Liu Yang were quite large, making them perfect for this purpose. Orion's AI had already started working on the design and blueprint for the ornithopters.

After leaving, Liu Yang flew toward the Liu family residence, his face beaming with joy. "Hahaha, I struck it rich! With this much MSG, I can break through several minor realms. Fufufu!" he chuckled, caressing the storage ring where the precious ceramic bottle of MSG was stored.

It was truly a huge windfall for him to obtain such a large amount of MSG. Each month, Orion provided a significant quantity of MSG to the Liu family for their restaurant cooperation, free of charge. However, the Liu family also received a smaller, separate supply for personal use, for which they paid thousands of Spirit Stones.

Now, just by completing a simple chore of gathering slimes and dragonfly Spirit Beasts, Liu Yang had been rewarded with a ceramic bottle filled with MSG—a reward worth more than the Liu family's monthly supply. Liu Yang estimated the bottle to be worth no less than 15,000 Spirit Stones.

When searching for slimes, most of the work had been done by Tigang, who sold the slimes to Liu Yang for 3 Spirit Stones each, even though they had initially agreed on 2.5 Spirit Stones. A small argument had broken out between them before Liu Yang reluctantly agreed to Tigang's demand.

Recalling this, Liu Yang couldn't help but chuckle. If he had known how generous Orion's reward would be, he wouldn't have bothered haggling over mere Spirit Stones.

"Hehehe, that stupid bull," Liu Yang muttered smugly. "I only paid him 63 Spirit Stones, and he was so happy and smug about it. If he knew I made 15,000 Spirit Stones out of this, he'd turn green with envy! Hahaha!"

Feeling pleased with his gains, Liu Yang began considering another partnership with Tigang.

After flying for a while, Liu Yang finally arrived at the Liu family residence. Just as he landed in front of his house and was about to enter, someone suddenly appeared behind him.

Sensing the presence, Liu Yang immediately erased his joyful expression, replacing it with a calm demeanor as he turned to face Liu Mingzhen.

"Uncle Yang, you're back!" Liu Mingzhen greeted him.

"Mmm," Liu Yang replied curtly, giving a short nod.

"Why don't you head to the main hall and report immediately?" Liu Mingzhen asked.

"I just returned and feel rather tired. I planned to rest a bit before reporting to you," Liu Yang responded.

Liu Mingzhen, despite being Liu Yang's nephew, held a higher position as the head of the Liu family branch in Fengxian City. Liu Yang, an elder in the family, still had to show respect to him.

"Oh... By the way, how did it go? Did you manage to capture any Rank-2 slimes?" Liu Mingzhen inquired.

"Yeah, I was lucky and caught a few," Liu Yang replied.

"So, what did Mr. Orion reward you with?" Liu Mingzhen's tone turned curious.

"What do you mean by that?" Liu Yang asked, feigning ignorance.

"Didn't you just return from Mr. Orion's residence?" Liu Mingzhen pressed.

"Who said I was at Mr. Orion's residence?" Liu Yang retorted.

"Liu Jin already reported everything to me. There's no need to hide it. Come on, hand over the ceramic bottle," Liu Mingzhen said, extending his hand.

Liu Jin, who was stationed at Orion's residence, had already reported everything including the ceramic bottle to Liu Mingzhen through a Communication Talisman.

"Tch," Liu Yang clicked his tongue in annoyance. Damn that Liu Jin. I'll teach him a lesson later, he thought grudgingly. Reluctantly, he retrieved the ceramic bottle from his storage ring.

"You were carrying out a mission on behalf of the Liu family, so naturally, the rewards you obtained should be shared with the family," Liu Mingzhen declared, inwardly thinking, This old fox wanted to keep the MSG for himself. Hmph.

Knowing Liu Yang's nature all too well, Liu Mingzhen had intercepted him promptly. If delayed, Liu Yang might have used up all the MSG himself.

"Hmph! But I did all the hard work. The reward should be mine," Liu Yang protested.

"Uncle Yang, calm down. Let's go inside first and discuss this calmly," Liu Mingzhen suggested with a placating smile.

The two entered Liu Yang's house and began negotiating. After some back-and-forth, Liu Yang grudgingly agreed to hand over 70% of the MSG to the family in exchange for additional benefits, including cultivation resources and techniques.

"Hahaha, you've contributed a lot to the family, Uncle Yang. Don't worry, I'll have the items delivered to you immediately," Liu Mingzhen said with a grin.

"Fine. If you're done, leave already. I want to enter seclusion for a while," Liu Yang grumbled, clearly displeased.

"Of course. I won't disturb you any further. By the way, did you really catch all those slimes in Yuezhi Forest? Are there a lot of Rank-2 slimes there?" Liu Mingzhen asked casually.

"What? Are you planning to search for them yourself?" Liu Yang raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing, just curious," Liu Mingzhen replied with a chuckle.

Liu Yang smirked, one corner of his mouth curling upward. "Yeah, there are plenty of Rank-2 slimes in Yuezhi Forest, especially in the deepest areas. As long as you search for a while, you'll find them."

He guessed that Liu Mingzhen wanted to hunt slimes himself and claim rewards from Orion. Smiling slyly, Liu Yang thought, Go ahead and search if you want. It won't be that easy. I'll let you experience the hardship firsthand. Who told you to take my MSG? Hmph!

After Liu Mingzhen left, Liu Yang wasted no time ordering his servants to prepare a lavish feast with high-quality ingredients, each containing beneficial effects to aid and boost cultivation. Once the food was delivered to his secret cultivation chamber, he generously sprinkled MSG on every dish. The variety and quantity were staggering, and Liu Yang eagerly began to eat. The MSG not only enhanced the flavors but also amplified the beneficial effects of the dishes. He devoured everything cleanly, letting out a satisfied burp.

After ordering his servants to clean up, Liu Yang then sat cross-legged and began cultivating, absorbing the surrounding Qi and the potent effects of the feast.

Meanwhile, Liu Mingzhen's figure could be seen leaving the Liu family residence, flying into the distance as if in a hurry, until he disappeared from view.