"Little Junior Brother, are you done yet?"
"Uh, uh… not quite!"
The two had split the demonic beast's corpse in half to process: one half for Lang Tian, the other for Yue Ling.
Naturally, Yue Ling was far faster. After all, she had been doing this for over a decade. Her hands were steady, her movements decisive, each cut as precise as a jade-carver's blade.
While Lang Tian was still struggling with less than a fifth of his assigned portion, Yue Ling had nearly finished hers.
Dissecting a demonic beast was no simple task. First, the blood had to be drained before it could taint the flesh. Then the hide was carefully stripped, tendons and muscles meticulously separated from bone. Next came extracting the organs, preserving their spiritual essence for alchemy. Even the bones required thorough cleaning and careful sorting.
Having completed her share, Yue Ling strolled over to check on her junior brother's progress.
"Oh, not bad at all~" she chuckled softly. "For your first time, this is quite impressive."
"Hehe…" Lang Tian gave an awkward smile, revealing his white teeth. "But I'm still way slower than you, Senior Sister…"
"Don't worry," Yue Ling said warmly, her smile radiant. "Practice for a while, and you'll be as good as me."
With that, she didn't hesitate, kneeling beside him to assist while gently guiding his hands. She corrected his grip on the dagger, pointed out which tendons to sever, and showed him where to press to separate muscle from bone most efficiently.
Time passed in quiet, harmonious coordination.
At last, the last strip of flesh was wrapped, the last pile of bones sorted neatly.
"Phew!" Lang Tian let out a long breath, wiping the sweat from his brow with his sleeve. "That was fast!"
He gazed at the results before him—a demonic beast as large as a small house, now reduced to neatly categorized materials, stacked tidily on the stone ground. All in less than a shichen (around 2 hours).
It felt… unreal.
"All done!" Yue Ling stretched, her blood-streaked hair swaying with the motion. "That's it for today!"
But before they left, one final task remained.
"Come here, Lang Tian. Let's wash our hands."
"Yes!"
Lang Tian hurried to her side.
Yue Ling retrieved a flask of clean water from her storage pouch, pouring it over their hands. The cool water washed away the black blood and grime. No matter how thoroughly they wiped with clean cloths, a faint, stubborn reddish film clung to their fingers and wrists.
Still… it was good enough.
Lang Tian looked down at his hands. Though no fresh blood dripped, traces of dark crimson lingered in the crevices of his nails and knuckles.
As for Yue Ling, her entire body was nearly dyed red with blood, the pungent stench of it clinging to her from head to toe.
"There's a small lake near my place, fed by a beautiful waterfall," Yue Ling said, wiping a streak of blood from her cheek. "We can stop there to bathe before eating."
"Huh? There's a lake too?" Lang Tian asked, surprised.
"Yup! Very clean and refreshing!" Yue Ling smiled, her eyes sparkling despite the blood still staining her face.
Then, she pulled another storage pouch from her robe.
The storage pouch, also known as a Qiankun Pouch, was a spatial treasure capable of holding items, spirit stones, elixirs, and magical artifacts. High-quality pouches could even contain living beings or spirit beasts.
Within the pouch was an isolated space, a hundred times larger than its exterior suggested. Typically crafted by inscribing spatial arrays onto beast hide, combined with rare materials like celestial silk, spatial crystals, or void essence.
No cultivator ventured out without one.
With a gentle surge of spiritual energy, Yue Ling activated the pouch's array. In an instant, all the materials from the demonic beast—flesh, hide, bones, and organs—were sucked inside, vanishing in a faint glow of spiritual light.
Even the blood was meticulously collected, carefully poured into thick glass vials, not a single drop wasted.
And then…
"Are you hungry?" Yue Ling asked, her voice soft as a breeze, but her eyes glinted with a mischievous spark.
Gulp.
Lang Tian swallowed hard.
Indeed, he was starving. So hungry that his stomach let out a pitiful growl at her teasing question.
But… he knew full well what was coming.
He was about to eat his first meal, made from demonic beast flesh.
"Is it… hard to stomach?" he stammered, the mere smell already making his stomach churn slightly.
"Hmm… the taste and texture are quite different from regular meat," Yue Ling said, tapping her chin thoughtfully, as if recalling. "But how will you know unless you try? Still, the taste isn't the important part—it's about absorbing and controlling the demonic aura within it. That's not something I can explain in words. I'll guide you directly."
"Yes, Senior Sister."
Lang Tian took a deep breath, his resolve firm.
Bitter or spicy… he would eat it still.
For this was the path he had chosen. And beside him was his Senior Sister, always leading the way.