While the Saintess was having her meal, Lin Mu and Little Shrubby were doing the same.
Except in their case, it wasn't as elegant nor picturesque.
Lin Mu and Little Shrubby didn't seem that different right now and were eating like beasts. Lin Mu bit away large chunks of meat and only needed to chew a few times before swallowing it.
The same could be said for Little Shrubby who had shrunken back so that he could enjoy the food for longer. After all, if he was in his large size, he wouldn't be able to savor the food as much and would finish it quickly.
The master and beast ate like maniacs, even chewing on bone that crumbled under their teeth.
Lin Mu's speed of eating was even faster than Little Shrubby, making it difficult to tell who was the true beast here.
By the time Lin Mu had finished ten servings, Little Shrubby was only on his fourth and the disparity only seemed to increase as time went by.
The Saintess who witnessed all this became speechless.
A stiff expression was hidden underneath her veil and no one could tell what thoughts were going through her mind right now.
After watching Lin Mu and Little Shrubby eat like savages for a minute, she lowered her eyes and simply focused on the food she had been given.
'No wonder he can endure the innate ability of the Great Slumber Bear... with an appetite like that he'll even put the beasts of the Serpent Moon Sect to shame...' The Saintess thought to herself.
She also noticed the stable energy fluctuations around Lin Mu, showing that he was actually absorbing all of the Qi and vital essence from the food. Usually, there should be a fraction that would be lost, but there was none here.
The same could be said for Little Shrubby, and he didn't have any loss either. Though one could also attribute it to the food, as it was cooked in a matter that 'softened' the energies within while also keeping them locked in.
It was the perfect balance of tenderness and firmness.
The amount of food that Lin Mu and Little Shrubby had made was enough to cover the entire garden of the courtyard. But now it was being emptied at a rapid rate. Only the empty vessels were left behind that looked spotless.
Lin Mu and Little Shrubby were simply too efficient and didn't waste anything. After all, even a few leftover drops of soup could compare to an immortal Qi restoration pill on some level.
About two hours passed by before Lin Mu and Little Shrubby had finished their meal.
By now, the sky was pitch black and a gentle breeze was blowing.
~THUD~
Lin Mu put down the large barrel that had been filled with soup just a few minutes ago.
"Ah~ that was good." Lin Mu said as he relished in the feeling of satiety.
It wasn't that he couldn't eat more, but he still had a feeling of satisfaction that he hadn't for a long time. Perhaps it was because he had eaten food made by Little Shrubby that he felt like this.
Or it might also be due to the fact that they had shared and eaten it together that made him feel better.
Still, it was a feeling that he had missed for a long time and was quite dear to him.
Little Shrubby was in a similar state, but he was actually full. The beast sprawled on the grass with his bulging belly facing the sky. There was no domineering aura on him right now and if anyone watched him right now, they would think that it was just an over-sized fat cat lazing around.
Of course, the same over-sized fat cat could crush their bones and reduce them to cinders all before they said 'fat'.
Lin Mu cleaned up the courtyard and put away all the vessels before returning to his room to assimilate his gains. The Saintess had long since disappeared too, but the table and chairs made out of clouds were still there for some reason.
~thud~
Lin Mu sat on the bed and chanted the calming heart sutra for a bit.
Once he felt like he was in the optimum state, he started to cultivate and guided the immortal Qi coming from his stomach. Of course, his stomach was already working on it from the start and had quickly contained all the energy within it.
All Lin Mu was doing now was to guide it into his meridians before letting it be deposited in his Dantian.
A similar process was done for the Vital Essence, except in this case it was channeled into his treasured organs. His flesh was already saturated by vital essence, and the only way he could add more of it was to let it be stored in the treasure organs.
Of course, this was just the active store that he would use during battles, as he had the biggest storage in his stomach itself. It contained a massive amount of energy and it was unknown even to Lin Mu as to how much energy there was in it.
Though it didn't matter to Lin Mu right now, as the stomach would release the energy when there was its need.
Lin Mu continued to cultivate silently while the twin snakes also slept nearby on their cushion.
They had not moved much since the past few days and were still getting stronger. They didn't even need to absorb the immortal Qi from the surrounding as the crest that the Saintess had made for them was more than enough.
Still, both of them were just in the False Immortal realm for now and the Immortal Tribulation was yet to come.
At that time, the more immortal Qi they had, the better it would be for them.
Lin Mu also looked forward to that day and hoped that it would come soon. But till that time, he would continue to focus on his growth as well as learning more from the Saintess and Xukong.
