The immortal dishes made from the crocodile leg have very good effects on one’s body. It would be better for me to start tempering the first immortal bone of the Fourth Stage now and strive for a good start, Song Shuhang thought.

　　As he was thinking this, the ‘fat whale illusory core’ in his life dantian suddenly moved.

　　The core opened its mouth wide, and all the energy from the immortal dishes was sucked into it.

　　Song Shuhang was stunned.

　　This was not how it was supposed to be!

　　The energy the core absorbed was the energy he was supposed to use to refine his immortal bones!

　　Now that all the energy was absorbed by you, what am I supposed to use to temper my immortal bones?!

　　After the fat whale illusory core devoured all the energy, it retreated in Song Shuhang’s dantian. It was now motionless, but its volume had clearly increased.

　　The Sage Seal was suspended above the illusory core, letting out an aura of dignity. Shuhang discovered that most of the energy that the Sage Seal absorbed from the surrounding world would be swallowed by his fat whale illusory core when it entered his body.

　　Song Shuhang frowned slightly, and stopped operating the ❮Thirty-Three Divine Beasts’ Technique❯.

　　There really was a problem with this fat whale illusory core. The illusory core could absorb the energy that entered his body without his control!

　　It wasn’t a good feeling to be unable to control one’s illusory core.

　　Cultivators would advance on the path of cultivation slowly and steadily, and they wished to have total control on every bit of their true qi so as to avoid any untoward incidents.

　　However, the actions of Song Shuhang’s fat whale illusory core completely went against his will.

　　This time, it only absorbed the energy that Shuhang was going to use to temper his immortal bones, but if the fat whale illusory core were to suddenly act up while he was at a critical point when practicing, there was a possibility that serious problems might arise.

　　This was no laughing matter.

　　Seeing that Song Shuhang had suddenly stopped practicing, Immortal Fairy Bie Xue, who was standing guard over the two, frowned. “What happened?”

　　Song Shuhang also frowned and said, “There’s something wrong with my illusory core… Just now, all the energy I got from the immortal dishes was swallowed by it. I couldn’t control it at all.”

　　“How is this possible? I’ve never heard of a cultivator being unable to control their illusory core,” Immortal Fairy Bie Xue said with a frown.

　　“Maybe it’s because I’m different from ordinary cultivators. Immortal Fairy, you should also know that there was an accident when I reached this realm. My illusory core also underwent a mutation,” Song Shuhang responded.

　　Immortal Fairy Bie Xue naturally knew about Song Shuhang showing his divinity in front of the masses. At that time, that fool Eternity even confessed to her in front of all the practitioners in the universe.

　　“Even if it’s a mutated illusory core, it’s still an illusory core. An illusory core is the core of a cultivator’s true qi, and it shouldn’t be out of control,” Immortal Fairy Bie Xue said contemplatively.

　　A moment later, she suddenly thought of what could have possibly taken place. “You just said that your illusory core swallowed all the energy from the immortal dishes, right? After it swallowed the energy, did anything happen to it?”

　　“It became a bit bigger,” Song Shuhang said.

　　“Well then, that’s probably the reason,” Immortal Fairy Bie Xue said. “I suspect that you’re only halfway done with the process of successfully becoming a Fourth Stage cultivator.”

　　“Huh?” Song Shuhang was confused. He’d never heard of a cultivator being halfway done with reaching the next stage. What did that mean? Could it be that he was actually a fake Fourth Stage cultivator?

　　“Although it sounds strange, it might be possible if the way you broke through and your mutated illusory core are taken into account,” Immortal Fairy Bie Xue continued. “The final step for a Third Stage cultivator to ascend to the Fourth Stage would be to have their ‘innate true yuan’ flow back into their original dantian. The true yuan would condense inside the dantian and form a weak ‘true qi core’, also known as ‘illusory core’. Generally speaking, after the cultivator’s innate true yuan flows back into the original dantian, things would be over and the illusory core would be formed… but in your case, you showed your divinity in front of the masses and also condensed a Sage Seal. It’s likely that your illusory core has come to need a much larger amount of true yuan. As such, the true yuan that flowed back into your life dantian was far from enough to form a complete illusory core, causing it to be incomplete.”

　　Song Shuhang said, “So, it will continue to grow while swallowing the energy that enters my body?”

　　Immortal Fairy Bie Xue responded, “Yes, although it’s only a guess of mine, it makes sense given your current situation.”

　　Song Shuhang said, “Heavens, just how many immortal dishes do I need to eat for my illusory core to fully form?”

　　Immortal Fairy Bie Xue’s dishes were very expensive!

　　Moreover, he still owed Venerable White a ton of Eighth or Ninth Stage spiritual stones, so he didn’t have many spiritual stones he could use.

　　“Young man, don’t think in such a rigid way. Are immortal dishes the only way to get energy?” Immortal Fairy Bie Xue looked at Song Shuhang, and said, “Whether it be spiritual stones, natural treasures, or restoration pills, they’re all ways for a cultivator to gain energy. If you have the time, try to see if the energy you get via these methods is also swallowed by the illusory core in your body. I think that after your illusory core fully forms, you will no longer have to worry about being unable to control it.”

　　Song Shuhang’s eyes lit up. “Thank you, Senior Bie Xue. I’ll try it out right away.”

　　As Song Shuhang was trying to think of the best method to supplement the fat whale illusory core, he thought of the ❮Whale Swallowing Technique❯ and the spirit beast crystals.

　　He still had on hand a lot of spirit beast crystals, which he hadn’t really gotten the chance to eat ever since he ascended to the Third Stage. Now, it seemed that he’d found an opportunity to finally consume all of them. If it worked, he’d just have to look for a way to get a batch of high-quality spirit beast crystals.

　　Song Shuhang took out all the uneaten spirit beast crystals he still had in his magical bracelet.

　　In the process, he also saw the high-quality puppet, who was still in the magical bracelet.

　　The high-quality puppet had made a deal with Palace Master Seven Lives Talisman, exchanging a buddhist-type Profound Sage Speech script for materials to be used for its repair. However, as Palace Master Seven Lives Talisman had only just broken through, and he was still closing up and trying to consolidate his realm. The deal would likely be completed after Palace Master Seven Lives Talisman had finished closing up.

　　As such, the high-quality puppet could only stay in the magical bracelet for the time being.

　　I hope for Senior Seven Lives Talisman to finish quickly so that you can get repaired earlier, Song Shuhang mused.

　　Truthfully, if the high-quality puppet didn’t immediately leave Song Shuhang after it was repaired, then it would become one of his strongest cards! If he had a puppet of the Eighth Stage, wouldn’t others fear him?

　　Although her special moves were probably only the ‘holding one’s head while crouching’ + ‘kneeling and begging for mercy’ techniques, they did provide great defense. When holding one’s head while crouching, the defense was strong enough to resist guided missiles. Then, in the kneeling posture, it could even block the hydrogen bomb for a few seconds.

　　In terms of defense, the high-quality puppet might not be any weaker than the fifth Sage in a thousand years, Sage Monarch Winter Melon!

　　❄️❄️❄️

　　Song Shuhang held the spirit beast crystals and operated the ❮Whale Swallowing Technique❯, starting to chew the crystals.

　　He was worried the Lotus Blossoming Tongue skill might activate automatically, but it seemed that the level of the spirit beast crystals wasn’t enough to see that happen.

　　After swallowing over ten spirit beast crystals in a single breath, Song Shuahang operated the ❮Whale Swallowing Technique❯ to absorb their energy.

　　Just as Immortal Fairy Bie Xue had guessed, after the ❮Whale Swallowing Technique❯ transformed the energy of the crystals, the fat whale illusory core in Shuhang’s dantian automatically swallowed the energy of the crystals.

　　The volume of the fat whale illusory core slowly began to increase.

　　Immortal Fairy Bie Xue asked, “Was there an effect?”

　　“Yes. It seems that you guessed correctly. I’m currently only a semi-Fourth Stage cultivator,” Song Shuhang said with a face filled with tears.

　　Immortal Fairy Bie Xue slightly smiled.

　　As for whether Song Shuhang’s mutated illusory core was a blessing or a curse, she couldn’t say for sure.

　　Mutations weren’t always good… there was a chance that it could be harmful.

　　❄️❄️❄️

　　About half an hour later, Su Clan’s Sixteen slowly opened her eyes.

　　Her aura had become even stronger. When she finished operating her cultivation technique, there was a weak golden flash around her shoulders.

　　This was her first immortal bone getting tempered. With the energy from the immortal dishes, Su Clan’s Sixteen was able to temper her first immortal bone in a single breath.

　　The most difficult part was the beginning. Now, Su Clan’s Sixteen only had to take her time to make the immortal bone become dark gold. After that, she could guide its power and make it enter her illusory core.

　　That single meal had saved her at least half a month of time.

　　This was one of the reasons as to why so many cultivators were so interested in Immortal Fairy Bie Xue’s Immortal Feast.

　　After Sixteen finished practicing, she immediately looked at Song Shuhang.

　　Then, she saw Song Shuhang sitting there and eating the spirit beast crystals.

　　Su Clan’s Sixteen asked curiously, “Shuhang, you’ve already finished absorbing the energy?”

　　From what she could sense, it seemed that Shuhang didn’t temper his immortal bone. Could it be that he failed?

　　“Yeah.” Song Shuhang nodded. “But I’ve found that there is something wrong with my body. Due to my illusory core being a mutation, it still hasn’t finished forming. Today, I discovered that I’m merely a semi-Fourth Stage cultivator.”

　　“Huh?” Su Clan’s Sixteen was puzzled.

　　Song Shuhang then reiterated Immortal Fairy Bie Xue’s guess to Su Clan’s Sixteen.

　　“Pfft~ Semi-finished Fourth Stage cultivator?” Su Clan’s Sixteen laughed. “Then, what are you going to do?”

　　“I’m going to feed my illusory core for now. When I run out of spirit beast crystals, I’m going to have to find a way to collect more,” Song Shuhang said.

　　“Spirit beast crystals? I have a lot of them,” Immortal Fairy Bie Xue said. “If you want, I can even give you a special offer.”

　　Since she was an immortal chef, she would kill a few spirit beasts every time she wanted to make an immortal dish. As such, she had a lot of spirit beast crystals.

　　“Okay, but I need 33 different types of spirit beast crystals,” Song Shuhang said.

　　“I have all kinds of spirit beast crystals here. As for the price, you can use spirit stones or the green onion sprouts of your onion monster as payment,” Immortal Fairy Bie Xue said,

　　Coincidentally, when Immortal Fairy Bie Xue said that, Lady Onion in Song Shuhang’s size-reducing purse had just woken up from her coma.

　　As soon as she woke up, she heard Immortal Fairy Bie Xue saying the phrase ‘use the green onion sprouts of your onion monster as payment’.

　　Lady Onion immediately felt her eyes go dark… her green onion life was truly miserable.