The new realm that Tianyi and Daoyi traveled to was known as the Shi Realm. It was a former low-rank realm. Overall, it had a similar spiritual qi density to other low-rank realms, but the concentration was different. Most of the spiritual qi gathered underground. Plants would absorb the spiritual qi in the ground and grow, while animals ate these plants. The animals would mutate because of the excess spiritual qi, turning them into monsters. Unless a human wanted to risk their life, they could only process the plants and monsters for consumption.
Because of this, immortal chefs reigned supreme in the Shi Realm.
An immortal chef did not necessarily need to make delicious food. All they needed to do was to process materials into an edible substance for easy qi absorption. However, all the top immortal chefs were skilled cooks, able to make the material taste delicious regardless of its source.
In the Shi Realm, immortal chefs were king. Without them, it was practically impossible to cultivate solely by absorbing the spiritual qi from the atmosphere. Directly consuming mutated monster meat also had its dangers. Normally, alchemists would reign supreme in such a realm, but the Shi Realm didn’t have an alchemical inheritance, only an immortal’s cooking inheritance.
However, the situation was slowly changing because of the enriched spiritual qi density. Although most of the spiritual qi still resided underground, it was not impossible to achieve success solely by absorbing the spiritual qi in the air.
This change directly lessened the necessity of the immortal chefs. As a result, the eon-long dominance of the immortal chefs weakened. Undercurrents between the immortal chefs and the new generation of cultivators appeared. It was still just a sign, but war might engulf the entire Shi Realm soon.
Still, that day had not come, and a rare festivity filled the entire Shi Realm.
Since ancient times, the top immortal chefs of the Shi Realm would congregate every century and compete against each other. During this once in a century event, rare ingredients thought long lost would appear, and techniques beyond mortal comprehension would be displayed.
There was just one change. Normally, only famed immortal chefs would be able to attend and taste the once in a lifetime delicacy. However, due to the rising experts who did not rely on immortal chefs, they also secured a spot as members of the audience.
“Just a bunch of muscled-brained barbarians,” a silver-haired cultivator said. Despite his near-white hair, he only had a few wrinkles on him. Despite his aged appearance, many young maidens would still fall in love at first sight. Unlike the other immortal chefs arriving at the mountaintop above clouds standing atop artifacts, the silver-haired man was walking on the air.
Among the immortal chefs, he was one of the few rare nascent soul grandmasters. His name was Mei Shiwu.
Once he arrived, all the immortal chefs came forward to greet him.
“So it’s chef Mei. I was wondering who could enter the Nascent Soul Realm so fast. If it’s you, I’m not surprised,” a portly man named Chef Zhou said.
Mei Shiwu smiled and laughed. “I believe you will step to this level sooner or later. I was just a step faster.”
He and Chef Zhou were from the same generation and known as the Twin Star Chefs. Before, they were at the same level, but now Mei Shiwu had reached a higher level first. Even if his skills remained the same, the increased strength brought by his higher realm directly left Chef Zhou in the dust.
After a while, the crowd of chefs parted ways as an aged man in his twilight years walked forward. Although Mei Shiwu was a nascent grandmaster now, he still showed immense respect to this chef. “Good, good, good! I was worried about those uncultured swine making trouble, but with Chef Mei here, it seems that all worries are for naught.”
“My current accomplishments are because of Senior Kuai’s guidance. Without you, I would not have reached such heights. So please, don’t bow to me,” Mei Shiwu said as he rushed forward and prevented the aged cultivator from bowing.
While the immortal chefs became more enthusiastic, the air exploded, drawing their attention. A procession of a hundred cultivators flew towards them. The two people in the front walked on air, just like Mei Shiwu. Of the two grandmasters, one was old, while the other appeared young. None of these hundred people were immortal chefs.
Chef Kuai’s eyes locked onto the aged grandmaster. “Zou Chang, what is the meaning of this? We only allowed ten non-immortal chefs to take part.”
Zou Chang brushed his linen robes. He gave a careless smile. “It’s only a few more people. You’re all esteemed immortal chefs, don’t be so stingy.”
“Stingy?” Chef Kuai almost laughed. “You didn’t even provide an ounce of ingredients and you still think we’re stingy. Fine, as long as you can provide decent enough ingredients, I’ll allow all of you to attend.”
“Since it’s Chef Kuai’s wishes, then I will oblige.” Zou Chang clapped his hands and twenty chests flew forward. Upon opening, all of them revealed the meat of master-level monsters.
However, Chef Kuai only showed anger. “A bunch of rubbish. Do you think you can buy a seat with such common materials? In your dreams.”
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“Don’t be so quick to judge,” Zou Chang said. “We are only laymen. As long as you search through them, I’m sure you can find something valuable.”
Chef Kaui laughed, but it wasn’t a happy laugh, but one filled with anger. The other immortal chefs also stared unkindly at the hundred cultivators. “Zou Chang, do you think you’re amazing now that you’ve become a grandmaster? Who was it that begged me twenty years ago to prepare that dish for you? Without it, you’d already be bones and dust now. Now that you’re a grandmaster, you think you can do as you like?”
Zou Cang finally lost his smile. His aura erupted. However, the immortal chefs were not intimidated, and two more nascent soul grandmasters appeared beside Mei Shiwu. This only elicited Zou Chang’s disdain. “You have one more grandmaster than us, but do you think that will change anything? Our combat power is as different as heaven and earth.”
“Hmpf, combat power isn’t everything. If you want to try it, then we will oblige,” Mei Shiwu said, also releasing his aura.
The tension rose, and both parties stared at each other with their swords drawn and bows taut. Just as it seemed a battle would erupt, both sides discovered that none of them could move. They couldn’t even circulate the qi in their bodies.
At this time, a massive pressure descended and weighed down on both parties. Despite the pressure, all the cultivators discovered that they had regained some semblance of movement. With this limited freedom, they turned toward the sky where the source of the pressure originated from.
They saw an immense palace far grander than any structure they had seen in their entire lives or the Shi Realm. Engraved above the gate of the palace were the words, Nine Heavens. As the palace flew nearer, everyone couldn’t help but feel the increasing density of spiritual qi in the air.
The thought that the palace was the reason for the changes in the Shi Realm popped into their mind.
Still, none of them dared to covet the palace-shaped artifact. Its flight path was too purposeful, meaning that it was controlled by someone. Just as they thought the palace would crash into the mountaintop, it stopped midair. Then, the gates opened.
Two women walked out. None of the chefs or cultivators had seen any woman more beautiful than the two. Sure, they may have seen those with equal or near beauty, but none of them could compete in terms of temperament. It was like comparing a phoenix to a chicken painted to appear like a phoenix.
“Our master is very interested in this cooking competition. It seems that the entry fee is just some ingredients? How about this?”
Before the chefs or cultivators could register that these two heavenly maidens were just servants, a giant avian corpse appeared. Discounting the size, the avian resembled a mandarin duck, but with two heads, one dark and one light. Its name was the Fire-Water Duality Duck. Not only that, but it was a grandmaster-level monster. Many people have attempted to slay it only to return to failure.
Judging by the intact corpse, it must have been killed with no way to defend itself.
“Since Honored Guests have granted us with such a prized ingredient, entry is but a small matter. With such good material, it’s enough for a hundred seats,” Chef Kuai said. Although he wasn’t the strongest, he was the most respected.
Chef Kuai hesitated. “Would Honored Guests like to wait in the palace or in our guest house while waiting for the competition to start? Because of the new ingredient, we will need a month to devise new recipes.”
To the chefs’ surprise, a male voice said, “We’ll take the accommodations. I’ve already gotten bored with living in the palace. It’s nice to see a change of scenery.”
A handsome man and beautiful woman walked out. The two appeared like an immortal couple spoken of in poems. Following behind them were two more beautiful maids. The aboriginals thought the maids were beautiful, but they paled in comparison to the couple’s looks and features.
With a wave of the man’s hand, the palace disappeared, shocking everyone. “So, where are the accommodations?”
Chef Kuai broke out of his stupor and personally led the six unknown guests onto the mountaintop. Originally, servants should deal with such matters, but to show his respect, Chef Kuai personally guided them. Even if the six weren’t immortal chefs, they were definitely not simple. As for the Fire-Water Duality Duck, the immortal chefs escorted it into the storage. Servants would normally take care of such minor matters too, but none of the chefs wanted to hand over this opportunity.
The way they looked at the Fire-Water Duality Duck was not like an ingredient at all, but like the world’s most valuable treasure or most alluring woman. For such an amazing ingredient, they would be willing to kill their spouses.
Mei Shiwu glanced at Zou Chang and the young nascent soul grandmaster. “Your offerings are not enough. Change it, or leave most of your people outside.”
Zou Chang frowned. He glanced at his companion and sent a transmission. “Yaoting, what should we do?”
The nascent soul grandmaster didn’t just look young, but was young, too. At least, in comparison to the other people here. At the young age of a hundred, he became a grandmaster, becoming a representative of the non-immortal chefs.
Yaoting didn’t immediately answer. Instead, he recalled the mysterious couple. Different from the four maids, he couldn’t sense any cultivation base from them. However, he did not think the two were mortals. Simply that the two had far more power than him, so he couldn’t detect their strength.
“Give appropriate ingredients. In such cases, it’s better to err on the side of caution,” Yaoting replied. They had originally planned to have all hundred members feast and increase the speed of their cultivation. The plan hadn’t changed, they just needed to pay a higher price now. Still, the results would be worth it.
Zou Chang nodded and clapped his hands. This time, only five chests were brought out, but the materials inside all ranked at the grandmaster level.
Mei Shiwu’s eyes widened. He secretly discussed it with the other grandmaster-level immortal chefs. In the end, they agreed. The price barely reached the minimum requirements. Furthermore, they didn’t want to annoy the mysterious expert, and Zou Chang and Yaoting offering these five chests was also a display of force. Since they could hunt plants and monsters at the grandmaster level, it showed that their strength was far higher than imagined.
“Follow him,” Mei Shiwu said, pointing at a servant. Unlike the mysterious couple, Zou Chang, Yaoting, and their group only received the bare minimum of accommodations. While the mysterious couple received daily meals, they could only absorb the spiritual qi in the air to sustain themselves.
A month passed in this tense peace, and the cooking competition began.