Once Yang Qing and Chen Yuang were settled in their seats, Cao Ying dutifully appeared with a small red clay pot that had the image of a red parasol tree drawn on it. Cheng Yuan felt a faint warmth coming out from that tree. The warmth wasn't like the warmth of a flame but a life-nurturing kind of warmth like the one of a hen laying on an egg.
"You can enjoy our famous oolong tea as you make your order," Cao Ying warmly said. The tea introduction was mostly for Cheng Yuan's sake. Regulars like Yang Qing unless they state otherwise are usually served oolong tea. Most regulars here prefer it over the other kinds because one of the chefs of the restaurant specializes in nothing else other than brewing oolong tea.
Because of how dedicated he was to the path of tea brewing he ended up unlocking his own kind of path in tea brewing and from it, he started getting glimpses of a dao borne from that path.
The world is huge and composed of over a million components and with those components come different paths and from those paths come different dao. The ignorant think cultivators achieve breakthroughs through endless fights, competition, and trouncing their enemies beneath their feet but they could not be further from the truth.
Some or most choose to pursue their path through the sword, fist, saber, formation arrays, and soul this ends up creating the sword dao, fist dao, saber dao, array dao, and soul dao but even in those dao, there are further divisions like those who pursue slaughter, invincibility, protection, solitude it all depends on the person they are. Then they are those who chose dao which doesn't necessarily involve fighting or a weapon. They are usually generalized as the life skill dao by some. In this category are the likes of alchemy dao, medicine/ healing dao, painting dao, musical dao, nurturing dao for those who find meaning in teaching others, and cooking dao which features all kinds of chefs like the oolong tea brewer of the thousand flavor restaurant. The paths that one can pursue are as endless as the people pursuing them as dao in its simplest form is a way of life.
Those who have found their dao find their cultivation ahead smoother and there is never a right time or stage in cultivation to start pursuing it. Some started as kids while others discovered it in their old age, it only matters if you know your heart.
"Thanks, Cao Ying." Yang Qing said as he got up to pour himself and Cheng Yuan a cup of tea.
"No, No Judge Yang Qing let me." Cheng Yuan said with a flustered expression at seeing a judge pouring him a cup of tea. He knew that although Yang Qing was amiable and easygoing just his single finger was able to obliterate him and his sect. He still remembered how terrifying that illusion he saw of Yang Qing being a massive body of water reaching the sky and the moon-like eyes that petrified him for what seemed like forever. Just as he was about to stand he felt a soft breeze-like force sit him back down.
"Don't worry too much about it Cheng Yuan. Cultivation ranks aside, I'm still a person and you are my elder as by right I should be doing this besides you are my guest and it's customary for the host to pour the tea. Don't fuss too much." Yang Qing said with a carefree smile as he poured the tea for both of them and sat down.
Cheng Yuan couldn't do anything else but sit but he was still flustered and fidgety. All that apprehension dissolved away the moment the mist from the oolong tea wafted over to him. He felt its light fragrance penetrate his body before it drifted to his head making his mind accelerate. He felt his mind had been unclogged, all sorts of jumbled thoughts were getting aligned and arranged in their right order. That state only grew stronger with more of the misty oolong tea fragrance wafting over.
"What is this tea? Just the mist was able to do this, what about…" Cheng Yuan couldn't help but have a shocked expression as he greedily stared at the tea in his cup. His cultivation had halted for quite a while in the 5th stage of the core formation realm. He had not made a single improvement in several years. Most of the reason was the pressures of guiding the sect forward, especially his project of ensuring the growth of the young disciples. He spent most of his days nurturing them while also keeping a handle on the rest of the sect which didn't leave him any time to cultivate. But the sensation from the oolong tea had helped trigger some movement in his long stagnant realm, he couldn't help but get excited.
"It is only here at this restaurant that you can get to taste oolong tea crafted by a master half step into the palace realm. What's in this tea is better than any pill, potion, or elixir. This is a taste of the world seen by someone who has understood a part of one of the world's paths and is about to break through to the palace realm. Cherish it well Cheng Yuan not many get the opportunity," Yang Qing calmly said as he pulled the cup below his nose closing his eyes as he savored the smell. Even though he was stronger than the chef and had his own dao it never hurt to see the world through another person's eyes. It may give him more ideas on improving his own path.
There was one more thing that Yang Qing didn't tell Cheng Yuan. Only a few people were qualified to drink this tea, not all judges could do it. Only those at the superior core courts and a few upper core court judges and outer palace court judges can taste this tea. The judges at the lower courts and some at the upper court don't have this chance not unless they leach off the superior core court judges. The reason for this wasn't that the chef and the restaurant were conceited and disdained others from drinking it. One of the reasons was it took considerable time, effort, and precious ingredients to brew it so there wasn't enough to go around and the other which was the most important was that the chef would consult them on their insights and experience from the tea they drunk so he could improve himself. Only those who stood at the same level as him or higher could give him the input that could help him improve himself. It was a beneficial give-and-take relationship.
Cheng Yuan's heart was madly palpitating. A half step to the palace realm that was a realm he hasn't dreamed of reaching yet. A half-step is still someone at the peak of core formation but unlike typical core formation experts those at the half-step had started seeing an outline of their roads it's just that the building stones required for that road hadn't formed yet and required further effort and refining to be completely dug out. Those at this stage could hold their own against two at the peak of core formation realm provided he did not have a weaker core to them. Someone at the half step with a blue core would still get beat by someone at the peak who had a purple core and a gold core could force a draw or even a defeat depending on their skills.
Cao Ying was still at the side waiting with some envy in his eyes. He had been a worker here but even he had never tasted it, most of the other workers in the place had not either it's just one or two other chefs who were at the same level as the oolong chef and the manager of the restaurant who have drunk it. Cheng Yuan lifted his cup holding it carefully like some hot treasure as he gently took a sip. The taste wasn't explosive it was gentle and mellow like that of black tea with the light fragrance of green tea. It had a freshness and brightness to it that spread from his tongue down his throat and within seconds his whole body felt that way. His mind felt rejuvenated and his earlier sensation of being unclogged up was even more prominent this time. He felt answers to questions he had been struggling around with. They were clear and direct guiding him to questions he never thought to ask himself. He soon lost himself to the feeling of exploration and discovery.
Yang Qing at the other end had also taken his sip and was swirling it around his mouth as he pleasantly nodded before he swallowed it down.
"It seems like Jiang Fu is close to a breakthrough he is just at the cusp of it. A single push and he is through. I'm happy for him but seeing how this close he is, I guess he'll be going into seclusion soon. The meals will miss their spark without his tea to go along with them but I can't wait to taste his new brew once he is at the palace realm. Gulp." Yang Qing silently muttered to himself as an excited glint flashed through his eyes.
"Cao Ying sorry to keep you waiting. I'll be having mmmh well if I let Cheng Yuan choose for himself he may end up being too reserved and say the tea is enough for him. Bring us dim sum. For the dim sum let's have barbeque pork buffs and buns, meatball soup, beef and pork short spare ribs in black bean sauce, sesame balls, pineapple custard buns, fried taro dumplings, zhaliang, orange chicken, steamed lotus root with sticky rice and maybe we can finish with yellow radiance egg tarts." Yang Qing finished as he sneakily tried to wipe off his drool towards the end. Cao Ying as a cultivator had excellent memory so he didn't need to write anything down and just went to the kitchen to make the order.
Cheng Yuan was still in a trance-like state completely cut off from his surroundings as Yang Qing continued enjoying his tea at the side eagerly waiting for the food.