Chapter 118: Delicious Food and Drink

At Chu Feng’s current level of martial prowess, his physical body had grown immensely powerful, and with it, his appetite had become peculiarly refined. Foods that did not suit his palate were instinctively repelled, without needing to taste them. Conversely, foods that matched his appetite would cause his hunger to surge, even without taking a bite.

At this moment, facing the massive vital organ of the Snow Mountain Demon Ape before him, Chu Feng's appetite was more voracious than ever. He took a fire striker from his storage pouch and lit a bundle of iron-burning wood left over from cooking the Golden War Python. Soon, a blazing fire roared to life.

With a swift swing of his spear, the sharp tip severed the Snow Mountain Demon Ape’s rigid vital organ at its base. The two testicles, each considerably larger than a watermelon, were also cut off. Chu Feng hefted the weight—it must have been around two thousand jin, nearly equivalent to the weight of a crocodile.

For the Snow Mountain Demon Ape to carry such a massive organ daily, its physique must be extraordinarily mighty, its strength unfathomable.

After slicing off the entire organ, Chu Feng set up a roasting rack, threaded the Thunderbreaking Wind Spear through the demon ape’s vital organ, and placed it over the fire to roast. While he had eaten many kinds of grilled meat, this was his first time tasting the demon ape’s vital organ.

While the meat roasted, Chu Feng turned his attention to the large, swollen air sac. “This air sac must be the most valuable organ of the Snow Mountain Demon Ape. How should I consume it?” He pondered, troubled. Obviously, it couldn’t simply be boiled or roasted like ordinary meat. How then?

At that moment, Chu Feng’s ears twitched. He heard a faint hissing sound. Listening more closely, he realized it was a leak from an air pipe connected to the large sac.

A leak was disastrous; the air inside such a massive sac would soon escape completely.

Suddenly, an idea struck him. “Instead of letting the internal energy leak away, why not absorb it into my own body? How foolish I’ve been!”

With that thought, Chu Feng quickly grasped the air pipe, biting open the tube as thick as a child’s arm, then placed it into his mouth.

Boom!

As he bit open the pipe, the swollen air sac released its internal energy with a sudden explosive sound. Fortunately, Chu Feng had prepared himself, controlling the rate of release; otherwise, trying to absorb the energy might have brought disaster.

For ordinary people, drinking cold water too quickly can cause choking. For martial artists drawing internal energy into their dantian, a reckless influx could shatter the energy center, leading to instant death.

Chu Feng held the air pipe steady, gradually channeling the internal energy into his mouth, then guiding it into his dantian.

The sensation of drawing energy into his body was utterly exquisite. It was his first time experiencing such a tangible flow of energy filtered through the mouth and throat, filling the dantian with a profound fullness.

As more and more energy poured in, the Snow Mountain Demon Ape’s internal energy settled within Chu Feng’s dantian, merging seamlessly with his own.

This convergence of two energies was immensely gratifying.

Closing his eyes in bliss, Chu Feng felt as if he were floating on clouds, immersed in a transcendent ecstasy.

To a martial artist, tasting fine meat was delightful, but inhaling pure, potent internal energy was even more exquisite.

Having good meat to eat was nothing compared to having good energy to absorb—Chu Feng understood this deeply.

This process of absorbing internal energy lasted a full hour, during which Chu Feng felt as if lost in a dream, entirely oblivious to time’s passage.

Hiss…

Taking a slow, deep final breath, Chu Feng finally opened his eyes.

This sensation of internal energy absorption felt like living intoxicated in a dream.

He sensed the energy in his dantian had become thick and rich, pulsating with vitality. Streams of energy circulated endlessly like great rivers and oceans, ebbing and flowing with a life of their own. It was an eternal cycle of energy generating more energy.

When a martial artist’s dantian achieves this sensation, the threshold to the seventh level of the Body Refinement Period—the Vitality Realm—is but a step away. They stand ready to cross into the realm of sustained vitality at any moment.

Chu Feng focused intently on this vibrant feeling of life-giving energy. Suddenly, a rich aroma of meat wafted into his nostrils—the massive vital organ on the fire rack was perfectly roasted.

“Heh, today’s luck is quite good. Deep breaths of pure energy, hearty chunks of meat to feast upon—truly a banquet for the senses! But where are Bai Naizhao and the others? Why haven’t they arrived yet? Could they have been slain by the Snow Mountain Demon Ape, or escaped but failed to find me?”

In this vast, desolate snowy plain, anything could happen. Chu Feng shook off the worry and extinguished the iron-burning wood’s flames before beginning to enjoy the roasted giant vital organ.

Holding his spear, Chu Feng lifted the colossal two-thousand-jin roast and bit into it.

The massive organ was glowing red from the fire. Chu Feng’s teeth sank into the meat, which was incredibly tender and soft. As he chewed, waves of savory fragrance spread throughout his mouth.

The Snow Mountain Demon Ape’s vital organ was truly unique; roasted, its aroma pierced the nose. Once tasted, one couldn’t stop, savoring bite after bite with endless aftertaste.

“Delicious! Absolutely delicious! The demon ape’s vital organ—what a treasure! One bite of this meat will be unforgettable for life!”

Chu Feng ate with great delight, nearly dancing with joy. As he ate, he took out a pouch of Snow Scorpion Fire Wine.

In this vast, snow-covered wasteland of biting cold and desolation, Chu Feng found joy amidst hardship—drinking fine wine, eating exquisite meat, forgetting entirely where he was.

He devoured the fragrant meat in generous mouthfuls and drank the fiery wine heartily.

Unconsciously, he finished more than half the pouch of fire wine, and had devoured over half of the ten-foot-long roast vital organ along with the two heavy “melons.”

That half alone weighed over a thousand jin.

At Chu Feng’s current physical state, he could easily go over ten days without food, water, or sleep, sustaining himself solely on internal energy. Yet once he feasted, his body could digest a thousand jin of meat and sleep for ten to fifteen days.

Of course, most martial artists at this stage would not indulge in such excess or prolonged slumber, as their cultivation time was too precious to waste.

Chu Feng had consumed over a thousand jin of prime meat in one sitting. While he could still eat more, there was no need to force it—saving some for later would be wiser.

He carefully stored the remaining thousand-plus jin of roast meat in his storage pouch. Sated and content, Chu Feng walked over to the enormous corpse of the Snow Mountain Demon Ape.

Its five viscera and six entrails had already been shattered by Chu Feng’s palm force. This mountainous corpse was only useful to martial artists below the fifth level of the Body Refinement Period, who could consume parts over several meals to enhance external power. For Chu Feng, who now focused on internal energy cultivation, it was merely cumbersome.

The two most valuable treasures from the demon ape were its dantian—the swollen air sac—and its massive vital organ, both capable of strengthening a martial artist’s qi, blood, and spirit with great restorative power.

Having obtained these two treasures, the rest—the skin, flesh, and bones—held little value.

After waiting so long without any sign of Bai Naizhao and the others, Chu Feng grew impatient. Rather than wait idly, he decided to explore, hoping to chance upon them.

He set off in the direction he remembered was correct.

The snowy plains stretched endlessly, wind and snow swirling ceaselessly.

Chu Feng pressed on for over two hundred li. Throughout the journey, he encountered nothing but the howling wind and snow—not a trace of Bai Naizhao’s party, nor any other snow beasts.

After traveling so far without finding them, Chu Feng knew they were completely lost from each other. There was no point in turning back, especially since he could not return to the precise spot even if he wished.

Along the way, Chu Feng sensed changes within his body. The energy in his dantian surged and rolled like tidal waves, rising and falling. This energy pulsation was not uncomfortable; on the contrary, it was deeply pleasant, a sensation that lifted him as if to the heavens.

Besides the marvelous energy in his dantian, his entire body felt warm—from head to toe, every inch of flesh and blood glowed with heat. His mind was alert and full of vigor.

“The wondrous energy in my dantian is evidently due to absorbing the internal energy from the Snow Mountain Demon Ape’s air sac. And this heat coursing through my body—this fiery blood—must be the result of consuming its vital organ,” Chu Feng mused.

Any change in his physical body compelled him to ponder deeply.

Suddenly, Chu Feng’s eyes brightened. Ahead, several dozen zhang away, stood a large snowman.

What startled Chu Feng was that this snowman’s outline was unlike the playful ones children build—it was a real snow figure, sitting completely in the posture of meditation.

“This is clearly the seated posture of cultivation! Who would meditate here in this bitterly cold snowfield? The figure is covered in accumulated snow—could it be a frozen corpse?”

Chu Feng had initially thought it might be one of Bai Naizhao’s party, but judging by the silhouette, it was clearly not.

Intrigued, he quickened his pace to investigate.

Still several zhang away, Chu Feng could already feel a chilling aura emanating from the snowman, the cold rush assaulting his face.