Translator: E.3.3. Editor: Vermillion

  Ni Yan opened her breathtakingly beautiful eyes wide and slightly parted her moist red lips. Her face was filled with puzzlement.

  Bu Fang had just walked out and lifted up his head upon hearing the astonished exclamation. He blinked his eyes as he saw the familiar face of a beauty.

  "Oh it’s you. What a coincidence," Bu Fang uttered.

  Tang Yin was a bit hurt considering how his Master Ni completely blew him off once bumping into Owner Bu. Did she really need to treat him so differently?

  Behind Ni Yan stood the city lord of the Western Mystery City, Kong Yao, and a whole group of people. Kong Xuan, the top warrior of the city, was also amongst the crowd.

  But Kong Xuan’s face was rather glum at that moment since he had never seen such a look on Ni Yan’s face. He never expected the aloof Ni Yan to be so warm to another man. Were they that close?

  And so, Kong Xuan’s gaze currently landed on Bu Fang as he tried to discern just who he was!

  As Bu Fang chatted with Ni Yan some more, he suddenly felt a chilling sensation rush down his body. He lifted up his head in confusion and looked around only to see Kong Xuan sending him the death glare from a distance.

  Bu Fang twitched the corners of his mouth, feeling quite speechless. Why was this cross-eyed fellow glaring at him?

  The Third Corp of the Western Mystery Army also suffered a great loss this time, which put a sober frown on Kong Yao’s face.

  Zhu Yue recounted to him the series of unfortunate events they had encountered on their way. The stories only deepened the city lord’s distressed expression.

  The downfall of Mo Luo City was no good news, as it meant that a crisis would hit the Western Mystery City very soon.

  Besides, the number of spirit beasts roaming around the Western Mystery City has also increased. The spirit beast fever that happens once every three years was about to hit the Western Mystery City, which serves as another great obstacle the city must face.

  With the enemy troops on top of the potential spirit beast attack, the Western Mystery City was really caught between two fires.

  The so-called "spirit beast fever" happened once every three years, during which hoards of spirits beasts from the Hundred Thousand Mountains would ferociously attack humans. Every time it happened, the smaller towns and villages near the Western Mystery City would be trampled by the spirit beasts.

  It became a custom for the Western Mystery City to open its gates to the residents of these unfortunate communities.

  With the Western Mystery City resisting the spirit beast fever, residents of the nearby towns and villages can then return home safely once the attacks ended.

  However, the spirit beast fever was due to come at a really bad time this year round!

  Bu Fang returned to the tents of the Cooks’ Army Unit.

  Ni Yan actually trailed behind him and followed him back to the tents. Ever since she learned that Bu Fang was cultivating his cooking in the Cooks’ Army Unit, she became highly intrigued and insisted on stringing along.

  Ni Yan was a spectacular cook herself but was always eager for more gourmet delicacies. Getting to taste Owner Bu’s dishes was, of course, a rare opportunity.

  However, for the next few days, Bu Fang did not cook as much as before. Due to the fact that Ni Yan and Tang Yin now recognized his identity, he had officially returned to his usual stony demeanor. The number of dishes he made then became limited.

  Wei Dafu had already witnessed what Bu Fang was capable of and was now scared to bother him. In fact, he allowed Bu Fang to have first pick on all of the ingredients that contained spirit energy so he could cook to his heart’s content.

  With the right ingredients, Bu Fang planned on cooking up dishes deemed satisfactory by the system. Yet none of his most recent attempts succeeded. It felt like he was losing his edge.

  This gave Bu Fang a headache.

  As time passed, the atmosphere in the Western Mystery City became tenser. One could often hear beasts howling outside the city walls.

  As of now, people are no longer allowed to leave the Western Mystery City without permission. In order to protect the safety of the residents and prevent anyone from being assaulted outside the walls, the authorities have decided to lock down the city.

  Sizzle Sizzle Sizzle!!

  A rich aroma surged out of the tent in the form of hot mists, almost like a wriggling serpent.

  Bu Fang tilted the pot, pouring the content inside into his spoon and then onto the porcelain plate on the table.

  The spirit energy dish was colorful and luster. Just its appearance was enough to tease one’s appetite.

  Ni Yan plopped herself down, not concerned with her image at all. She peered down at Bu Fang’s dish, grabbed a pair of chopsticks, and stuffed a piece into her mouth.

  Ni Yan was thoroughly impressed with Bu Fang’s food. His ability to retain the spirit energy in ingredients has reached unimaginable heights. It was truly challenging to perfectly preserve the spirit energy of ingredients whilst cooking.

  Even Ni Yan yearned for this special technique.

  "Delicious!" Ni Yan stuck out her delicate tongue and licked her ruby red lips as she smiled.

  However, Bu Fang wore no cheerful look on his face and instead sat there with scrunched brows. Though this dish tasted just fine, it was no comparison to the Flower Iguana.

  With none of his recent dishes passing the system’s test, Bu Fang began to feel agitated……

  A few hundred miles outside the Western Mystery City was the intersection to the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

  The Hundred Thousand Mountains was known for its steep cliffs. Its conditions were so dangerous that even seventh grade Battle-Saints dare not thoughtlessly tread through it.

  The Western Mystery City has been tightly garrisoned in the past few days, with guards patrolling the walls at all times.

  Someone standing on the walls peered towards the direction of the Hundred Thousand Mountains. Yet what he saw was smoke rising up and covering the sky, almost like towering waves of the sea.

  The sight drained all the color from the solider on patrol, who immediately reported this finding to the city lord.

  Kong Yao stepped up to the city walls and gazed at the smoke storm from afar. His face trembled and paled.

  "The spirit beast fever from the Hundred Thousand Mountains…… is coming!"

  "Send down my orders, shut all city gates!"

  After merely half a day, everyone inside the Western Mystery City could begin to detect the ground underneath their feet violently shaking. Such quakes sent shivers down their spines.

  Bang Bang Bang!!

  Alongside the thunderous beastly roars were earth-shattering tremors.

  The city walls were packed with soldiers staring at the hoard of beasts down below. Their faces were as pale as ghosts. Not a trace of confidence or courage could be seen on their complexions.

  The swarm of beasts filled the space like waves in a boundless ocean. Though the hoards were made up mostly of less impressive third and fourth grade spirit beasts, there was still a handful of fifth to sixth grade spirit beasts in the mix.

  "The spirit beast fever originates in the Hundred Thousand Mountains. Every time it occurs, even the Clear Sky Pagoda within the Hundred Thousand Mountains must call for a lockdown and seal all towers. This means the almighty and powerful Clear Sky Pagoda also seeks to avoid confrontation with these beasts." Ni Yan explained as she stood on the city walls.

  Bu Fang and Tang Yin also eyed the flock of beasts down below. Bu Fang had never seen so many different spirit beasts all at once—it was an indescribable experience.

  Bu Fang knitted his brows and fell into a deep contemplation as he stared at the spirit beasts.

  Beside him, Tang Yin exhaled a long breath to release the depressed sensation he bottled up inside.

  In the face of this sea of spirit beasts, he felt so powerless and insignificant.

  Nobody knew exactly how these spirit beasts stormed out of the Hundred Thousand Mountains all at once. Yet the Hundred Thousand Mountains was a boundless plain of continuous large alps. That it was home to so many spirit beasts was not that surprising.

  After all, the Hundred Thousand Mountains was a buffer for the southern region. It was rumored that the Hundred Thousand Mountains was a vast expanse of exceptional beauty and charm. Yet few to none had ever visited the place, so most people had no idea if that was true.

  Roar!!

  That was the howl of a mammoth crocodile. Its body was covered with pointy shells. Clenching its sharp and ferocious teeth, it crawled on the floor at an incredible speed.

  A wolf with a body of snowy-white fur sprinted on the plains swift as the wind, kicking up a smoke as it bolted. There was also a fiery red, gigantic lion, an elephant covered with needles, a mountain tortoise, and so many more powerful, exotic spirit beasts.

  As they charged in, they weren’t surrounded by other galloping spirit beasts, Instead, each marked their own territories. These spirit beasts all stormed toward the Western Mystery City.

  Everyone on the city walls wore terrible expressions on their faces as their hearts thudded with fear.

  However, Bu Fang paced around on the wall, wearing a very different look from that of the other folks.

  He studied the numerous spirit beasts down below, a sparkle flickering in his eyes.

  He has been quite vexed given his failure to create a third dish deemed acceptable by the system. Unable to cook the dish and complete the task, he couldn’t receive his reward.

  He had arrived at the conclusion that the ingredients available in the Cooks’ Army Unit were of poor quality.

  With better ingredients, Bu Fang felt like he could easily cook a dish deemed satisfactory by the system.

  As for how to obtain finer ingredients, Bu Fang’s gaze landed on the sea of spirit beasts down below…… so many spirit beasts. What the others perceived as a disaster Bu Fang saw as an ingredient storehouse.

  Once this idea flashed across his heart, Bu Fang’s mind began to explode. Even the pace of his breathing quickened.

  Ni Yan and Tang Yin glimpsed at Bu Fang in perplexity as they both detected the fervor burning in Bu Fang’s eyes.

  They were dumbstruck as they glanced at the spirit beasts down below and then looked back at Bu Fang’s peculiar expression……

  "Master, do you think Owner Bu will rush down?"

  Tang Yin asked Ni Yan quietly.

  Ni Yan’s face also froze, "Don’t talk nonsense. As for Owner Bu’s gaze…… that’s just how he normally eyes ingredients."

  How he eyes ingredients……

  Tang Yin’s face scrunched up as he prayed to the gods inside his heart.

  Owner Bu…… let’s not be reckless. It is way too early to tell who will end up as the ingredient……