Downstairs, the middle-aged innkeeper was already up, flicking the beads of his abacus behind the counter.

Seeing Lai Li’an come down, the innkeeper’s face immediately filled with smiles. “Guest, did you sleep well last night?”

Lai Li’an nodded, fished a small piece of broken silver from his sleeve, and placed it on the counter.

“For the room, as well as the food and hot water from last night.”

The innkeeper hastily waved his hands. “Guest, this is too much, it doesn’t cost—”

“Keep the rest as a tip.”

After saying this, Lai Li’an walked to a table in the corner and sat down.

Beaming with joy, the innkeeper pocketed the broken silver, turned around, and shouted toward the kitchen, “Wife, make two bowls of noodles!”

A woman’s voice answered from the kitchen, accompanied by the clatter of pots and pans.

Su Wan’er came downstairs and sat down opposite Lai Li’an.

The two faced each other in silence.

Lai Li’an watched the increasing number of pedestrians outside the window, while Su Wan’er kept her head down, her finger subconsciously drawing circles on the tabletop.

“Noodles are here!”

The Innkeeper’s Wife walked out carrying a tray with two steaming bowls of plain noodles.

The noodles were fine and white, the broth clear, with a few chopped scallions and a bit of lard floating on top, emitting a mouth-watering aroma.

“Enjoy your meal, guests. Let me know if you want more.”

The Innkeeper’s Wife placed the noodles in front of the two of them and retreated with a chuckle.

Lai Li’an picked up his chopsticks and buried his head in his food.

Su Wan’er looked at the steaming bowl of plain noodles in front of her, falling into deep confusion.

The noodles were fine and white as silver threads, the broth was crystal clear, and a few chopped scallions floated on the drops of oil. The savory aroma drifted straight into her nose.

It smelled delicious indeed, but she couldn’t eat it.

Fasting began after reaching Foundation Establishment; this was basic common sense for cultivators. Although mortal grains posed no great harm, they were not exactly beneficial either. Eating too much would instead taint the Spiritual Power within the body with Impure Qi, hindering the progress of cultivation.

More importantly, indulging in mortal desires was a great taboo in cultivation.

The desire for food and the pleasure of the senses were all stumbling blocks on the path of cultivation. A true cultivator should maintain a pure mind and few desires, dining on the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and drinking the essence of the sun and moon.

The elders in her Sect rarely even drank water, let alone ate noodles.

But Senior…

Su Wan’er stole a glance across the table.

Lai Li’an had his head down, picking up a mouthful of noodles with his chopsticks and slurping them down with relish. He had absolutely no regard for his image, eating as if there was no one else around.

He even picked up the bowl to drink the broth, letting out a loud slurp.

A Golden Core Master, is that it?

A blasphemous thought popped into her head: could it be that Senior didn’t even know about Fasting?

But as soon as this thought emerged, she ruthlessly snuffed it out.

Impossible.

A Golden Core Master was an existence capable of summoning clouds and rain with a mere flip of the hand. How could they not even know such basic, entry-level common sense of immortal cultivation?

Then why did Senior still want to eat?

Su Wan’er bit her lip, her gaze falling on Lai Li’an. As she carefully observed him, she suddenly thought of something.

Perhaps Senior had spent a century undergoing tribulations in the mortal realm.

Such a long period of time was enough to polish a person’s disposition until it was completely clear and harmonious. Perhaps Senior had long passed the stage of deliberate Ascetic Cultivation and reached the realm of “following one’s desires without overstepping the boundaries.”

Eating when he wanted to eat, sleeping when he wanted to sleep.

It wasn’t indulging in the mundane, but rather, after seeing through the mundane, still being able to peacefully enjoy it.

This was true transcendence.

It was not looking down upon the mortal realm from on high, but being physically in the mortal realm while the heart remained outside of it.

Su Wan’er felt her heart give a sudden leap.

She had comprehended another layer of truth.

But…

Even though she understood the principle, she still didn’t want to eat the noodles.

Su Wan’er picked up her chopsticks, then put them down again.

She really couldn’t be as at ease as the Senior.

Having cultivated for over ten years, from Qi Condensation to Foundation Establishment, she had long grown accustomed to abstaining from mortal food. Now that she was expected to pick up a bowl and eat noodles, it just felt wrong somehow.

It felt like breaking a precept.

Lai Li’an finished his own bowl of noodles, looked up, and found that the bowl in front of Su Wan’er was still full. The noodles were almost clumping together.

He raised an eyebrow.

“Why aren’t you eating?”

Su Wan’er lowered her head, her voice soft and gentle, “Senior, this junior… has already achieved Fasting.”

Lai Li’an was taken aback for a moment.

Fasting?

Oh, right. There seemed to be such a concept among cultivators; once they reached a certain realm, they no longer needed to eat.

Then didn’t his eager eating just now make him look very unprofessional?

No.

Lai Li’an reconsidered.

He was a Golden Core Master. Whatever a Golden Core Master did was right.

What was wrong with eating noodles? Did eating noodles make him less of a lofty expert?

There were plenty of aloof, otherworldly experts out there. He would just be a different kind.

A down-to-earth expert was still an expert.

Besides, he really had enjoyed his meal just now.

Thinking of this, Lai Li’an’s expression remained completely impassive, his tone as casual as if he were remarking on the nice weather.

“I know.”

Su Wan’er looked up at him, somewhat puzzled.

He knew?

He knew and still told her to eat?

Lai Li’an saw the confusion in her eyes and secretly pondered how to bluff his way through this.

He picked up his teacup, took a slow sip, his mind racing.

Got it.

“Whether one practices Fasting or not is just a mere formality.” Lai Li’an put down his teacup, his tone nonchalant. “Do you think simply not eating equates to Ascetic Cultivation?”

Su Wan’er froze.

“Cultivating immortality is about cultivating the heart, not the mouth.” Lai Li’an leaned back against his chair, looking at her with a mild gaze. “You have practiced Fasting for over ten years, and your Cultivation Base has reached Foundation Establishment, but is your heart truly more pure and tranquil than a mortal’s?”

Su Wan’er opened her mouth but was left speechless.

“A bowl of noodles in the mortal realm has the aroma of wheat, the savory richness of the broth, and the worldly essence of an everyday meal.” Lai Li’an said, pointing at the bowl of noodles in front of her that had already begun to clump together. “These are not obstacles to cultivation, but rather its nourishment.”

“If you do not partake in the smoke and fire of the mortal realm, how can you know what it tastes like?”

“If one does not know worldly sustenance, how can one speak of transcending it?”

After delivering this string of words, Lai Li’an gave himself a mental thumbs-up.

His speech was so convincing that he almost believed it himself.

Su Wan’er stared blankly at Lai Li’an, something shimmering faintly in her eyes.

The Senior was right.

She had always believed that cultivating immortality was a constant process of subtraction, subtracting the desire for food, subtracting the desire for sleep, subtracting the seven emotions and six sensory pleasures, until nothing was left but a pure, immaculate Dao Heart.

But the Senior had shown her it wasn’t like that.

Cultivation was not subtraction; it was transcendence.

It wasn’t about forbidding oneself to eat, but rather eating without becoming addicted.

It wasn’t about forbidding oneself to sleep, but rather sleeping without becoming attached.

The Senior had eaten his noodles with such poise and ease, without a hint of hesitation, because he genuinely did not care.

She refrained from eating the noodles not because she had transcended, but precisely because she did care.

She cared about the rule that “immortal cultivators shouldn’t eat noodles,” so she didn’t dare to eat.

She was the one who was truly bound by the rules.

The Senior, on the other hand, had long since broken free from these constraints.

“This junior… has been enlightened,” Su Wan’er’s voice trembled slightly.

She picked up the chopsticks, lifted a mouthful of noodles, brought them to her lips, and hesitated for a moment. Then, she closed her eyes and put the noodles into her mouth as if she had finally made up her mind.

The noodles had already clumped together a bit, so the texture wasn’t great, but the savoriness of the broth and the aroma of the wheat were still there.

Su Wan’er chewed slowly, her eyes suddenly stinging with tears.

She hadn’t eaten noodles in over a decade. With her head lowered, she finished the bowl of noodles bite by bite, drinking even the broth completely clean.

She set down the bowl and looked up, her eyes a bit red, but a faint smile played at the corners of her mouth.

“Senior, the noodles were delicious.”

Lai Li’an looked at her, suddenly feeling a bit guilty.

His little speech just now… was actually just to get her to eat the noodles so she wouldn’t waste food.

As for all that talk about “cultivation nourishment” and “transcending the smoke and fire of the mortal realm,” he had just made it all up on the spot.

But seeing Su Wan’er looking so deeply moved, it seemed his fabrication had been quite successful.

Lai Li’an averted his gaze and gave a faint “Mm.”

“Let’s go, it’s time to hit the road.”

Su Wan’er stood up and bowed respectfully.

“Yes, Senior.”