'Jump in my arms, like a cat' Pef demanded as he returned inside the Violet Realm.

'Master...' the Taotie complained a second before obeying and shifting his size into a cat-sized badger, then jumped into Pef arms and just lay there, awkwardly.

'Now, purr! Look happy too!' Pef demanded as he began petting the small Taotie in his arms.

"Purr, purr..." the Taotie began to purr as Shang Wei turned to see the Divine Cook pet her own Master like a cat, and the mighty Taotie look content and at peace in his arms.

"Errr. I didn't think the Taotie was such a cute pet..." she murmured as she approached, looking a bit fascinated at the sight.

"He's actually a murderous beast that Devours entire universes for a snack. Aren't you, little monster?" Pef asked in a deceptively nice tone, while scratching the Taotie on his head.

'Actually, this feels surprisingly pleasant!' the Taotie noted, sounding a bit confused but happy.

Shang Wei nodded, not that surprised at the news. "I doubt even a Silver Immortal can damage him, and in the Lower Heavens they only have them as a top cultivator. He must have caused a lot of damage until he was caught and caged here."

Pef smiled a little. "Quite so. This bad boy made a mess. So, how are your lessons?"

"I began to learn healing, some melee combat, also evasion and concealment..." Shang Wei began to say in a gushing but enthusiastic voice.

Pef just sighed and smacked the Taotie over his head. "You are a not a beast, young lady. Unless you plan to marry a bear and join the Bear Tribe?"

The new girl faltered for a second, then nodded slowly. "I didn't plan so far ahead, Divine Cook. Only wanted to become strong enough to avenge my parents." she admitted in a lower tone.

"I'll feed the entire Temple to the Taotie when they return, forget about them. What do you intend with your life? What about the next Chaos Cycle? Or a million Chaos Cycles from now..." Pef asked as he produced a pair of armchairs, a table and another bottle of Divine Wine.

A bit hesitant, the new girl frowned then sat down, thinking a bit more deeply. "I will continue cultivating, for certain. The world is divided between weak and strong, and I have been weak my entire life."

Pef measured the black-haired girl in front and poured her some wine. "There is a divide, that's true. But is not about strength at all. The seen and the unseen, perhaps. Or those with a purpose or without. We walk the Dao when we cultivate. In our steps, we leave behind Dao Fruits for others to grow as well."

The Taotie nodded as well, glancing up towards his Master with curious eyes. "Master is only the third in strength, in the restaurant. There are others, much wiser and smarter as well. But, when it comes to the Dao they all listen to him, without exception. Can you guess why?" the monster asked in an admiring voice.

"The Dragon Burgers?" Shang Wei guessed, in an uncertain tone.

"The burgers are my Dao Fruit. If I was to make pills, the pills would be the fruits of my Alchemy Dao." Pef said in a softer voice.

"Is your Dao of Cooking so powerful?" she asked curious.

"Difficult to say. Sometimes I think I have finished it, with nothing more to learn. But then, I find out I have barely begun. Same with winemaking, or Sword Dao. I reached the end of Dao, but the Dao did not end. Perhaps only the Silent Monk knows, but he won't say." Pef muttered after he took another sip of wine.

Shang Wei raised her eyes to observe the Divine Cook, noting his young looks and thin body, almost like a pampered young master not a wealthy cook. "The Temple School said I finished Fire Dao, but I could taste unknown transformations when I ate your Dragon Burger. Something they never taught me, and perhaps they never known."

"Exactly like that. Look here, for example." Pef said as a cold blue flame appeared in his palm.

Shang Wei measured it curious, finding the flame was burning cold, and had a higher realm than herself. A second later, the flame jumped off and shifted into a human form, still made of cold fire.

"I am Icefire, nice to meet you, Lady Wei." the flame spoke in a measured but alien voice.

"Oh! An Immortal Flame?" she asked in amazement. Only the top-tier Alchemists had such flames.

"I just reached Silver Realm, thanks to my gracious host. Now I am cultivating the Dao once more, by cooking Dragon Burgers. Dragon meat is actually quite difficult to cook, you know..." the Icefire began to explain, when Pef clenched his hand and the Icefire flowed back into his dantian.

"This is the Dao Fruit of the Fire Dao. Unless you condense an Immortal Flame, you cannot claim to have understood Fire. It is much the same with every single Dao. And even then, it still never ends." Pef said in a sad tone, then gulped his wine and stood up.

Shang Wei bowed towards the mighty powerhouse. She had no more doubts now. "I have much to learn, Divine Cook."

"As do we all, young Wei." Pef said with a nod towards the girl. "As for you, lazy badger...stop maiming my waiter! Teach her the Eight Elements Method. If she is to repay her Ancestor, she needs a proper Dao foundation, not assassin skills." Pef said with a warning tone, then cuffed the beast one last time before stepping away.

The Taotie rubbed his head, then nodded slowly. While acting a bit harsh, Master had actually protected the secret of the Violet Realm, masking his Tier 9 aura with his own, while holding him in his arms. It appeared the girl was to be sent away at some point, most likely to discover the real truth about her Ancestor.

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"Can I also hold you in my arms?" Shang Wei asked while holding her arms out for a hug, eyeing glinting with a desire to pet the cutie.

The Taotie growled and returned to his wild state. "Sure, you just have to defeat me once. But until then, we have work to do."

Shang Wei pouted a bit childishly. "So, what Eight Elements Method?" she asked a few seconds later.

The Taotie just pressed his paw on her head, and began transferring the method Pef had invented back in the Low Heavens. While it wasn't a high-level method, it was still much better than the trash they taught in the Temple.

Perhaps one day, Pef will also finish the Ten Element Method he was working on. From what Yue said, it would allow a clear path into Copper Realm, and maybe even higher. The Taotie doubted that, or else Pef wouldn't search so desperately for access to the Upper Heavens.

Cultivation was hard, and only got harder with each new Star or Realm.

It was different when walking behind someone and enjoying his Dao Fruits, but much more difficult to walk first and clear the path. Even his monstrous Master was reaching the limit now, just like the Taotie himself had.

------

An entire year passed in the Middle Heavens, until the herald returned to the restaurant.

'The herald is here again. It seems we can begin the pill trials now.' the glove noted with a wry voice.

'Expect many failures, and you will never be disappointed.' Pef answered with a careless shrug, then stepped in front of the herald.

"Yes?" Pef asked calmly.

"Lord Tang desires to meet you, as soon as you can, Divine Cook." the man said with a bow.

Pef just nodded and stepped through a Violet portal, right in front of the Cloud Governor. Using the Taotie's portals had become instinctive by now, and even easier after his 6th Star had formed. The glove was certain they couldn't be hurt by anyone in the Copper Realm anymore, not even a 9th Star like the Governor.

His Formation Dao had also increased with a percent, after analyzing the various arrays he found in the Cloud City or the Temple Artifacts. Breaching the Cloud Palace was almost too easy now.

"Divine Cook." the Governor said with a polite nod.

"Governor." Pef answered with the same manner and tone.

"My agent could only find 840 Silver Pills, but he got 2 Copper Pills instead, which should be worth about the same." the Governor said ask he took out Pef's ring and returned it with the pills inside.

Pef scratched his cheek, somehow doubting the statement.

'We owe him about 500 million crystals. He is saving face and also placing you in his debt.' the glove translated after computing for a minute.

"Then, I guess I can be a bit grateful and allow your Cloud Guard to enjoy the restaurant menu at nominal price. My cooking has gotten a bit better as well." Pef answered with a gracious nod. The Guards would eventually become regular clients anyways, but this way they would be encouraged to come sooner, and spend their crystals for burgers and wine.

"Would you consider take-away meals, for my family and guests?" the Governor asked in a shrewd voice.

Pef shook his head. The goose had to stay. "Perhaps I could come over and cook, once in a while. Especially if you provide some rare ingredients..." he proposed instead.

The Governor stared at him for a minute. "At least once, for certain. I cannot say how my guests would respond, especially the Nobles."

Pef shrugged with a careless smile. "I am a decent cook. Plus, it may bring extra clients to the restaurant, if your guests enjoy the meals."

"You will require payment for private meals, I suspect." the Governor observed with a frown.

"Same as new customers in my restaurant, as a base. For fortunate events, like new Stars or Realms, we will see. Nobles are supposed to be rich, right?" Pef asked with a knowing grin.

"Rich and very, very high-nosed. Especially those from the Capital." The Governor warned him in a serious tone.

"I will only cook. But, I get to keep what they don't eat. I have a pet who is always hungry." he bartered with a knowing smile.

"Do you need anything else?" the Governor asked as they sat down to drink Divine Wine.

"I don't need anything personally. But, if you find things like Forging or Alchemy methods, or even cultivation tablets or such, I have people who need those. Golden Realm or higher, of course." Pef said after thinking for a minute.

The Governor glanced to the side, and a cloaked person vanished at once, possibly going to search the things right away. It was good to have minions. "Anyways, what's with all these Devils littering my city with their corpses? At least a hundred gangs have been eliminated entirely, and many more are taking heavy loses from these Devils. My Cloud Guard is getting worried." the man asked after another glass of precious wine.

Pef sighed inward. "My wife has a strange taste for justice and such. She gained a Devil army from the Low Heavens or something, and tries to eliminate crime. It's almost endearing."

The Governor chuckled and shook his head. "I get the same from a relative or another every Chaos Cycle. Grandfather, I will clean this city! They all give up pretty soon after. It's pointless. If the Heavens didn't want crime, they wouldn't give people criminal instincts."

"Still, it makes sense to eliminate crime among your staff, at least. I wouldn't like it if my burgers get stolen, for example." Pef muttered in between wine sips.

The Governor frowned, then nodded cautiously. "Ang Tang, look into the Guard for me. Clean up the guilty, before they ruin my name." he ordered to his other side, and another veiled man vanished to obey his orders.

Pef smiled and sipped more wine. Dealing with smart people was quite fun. You didn't have to spell it out.