Translator: CatatoPatch Editor: Vermillion

  After the expert from the Oceanic Species was defeated, the members from their side rode the waves and left, leaving behind the cheering experts from the Grand Barren Sect’s experts.

  Excitement adorned the faces of all experts of the Grand Barren Sect, who stood at the deck of the metallic warship. Executive Feng had succeeded; he had successfully defeated that expert of the Oceanic Species and obtained the treasures within the big crystal mine.

  Once they returned to the Grand Barren Sect, they would all be rewarded with some resources which would help them improve their cultivation.

  They were all confident in Executive Feng. He was a Divine Physique Echelon expert who had an extremely powerful cultivation, so how could any accidents occur to him in this land of smelting trials. He even defeated the Divine Realm expert from the Oceanic Species, so who else could possibly hinder him from obtaining the treasures?

  They were all waiting, standing on the deck of the warship, gazing intently at the entrance of the mine, awaiting Executive Feng’s glorious return from within the mine.

  At that moment, their excitement had soared to the point that they began to roar crazily.

  However, a short while later, the expressions of the Grand Barren Sect’s experts atop the warship became grave. They had waited for a long time, but Executive Feng had not come out of the mine yet.

  "Did he meet some unexpected accident?" Someone took a guess.

  However, he was quickly dismissed by another person.

  "Executive Feng is a Divine Physique Echelon expert. How is it possible for him to meet with some accident? In this land of smelting trials, Divine Physique Echelon experts can sweep through everything."

  Nevertheless, the more this person tried to dismiss the previous guess, the less confident he had in his rebuttal.

  They still continued to wait, and a long time later, some of them could no longer bear to wait. Executive Feng still hadn’t come out after so long. Did he really meet with an accident?

  Even that expert from the Oceanic Species left after getting severely injured, so what else could have hindered Executive Feng?

  They began to deliberate on the matter among themselves, and afterwards, the experts of the Grand Barren Sect all rushed out from the warship and charged toward the mine. They all employed extreme caution; after all, the mine was filled with countless dangers, so they didn’t dare to relax and lower their guards. After they entered the mine, they crept forward cautiously while keeping their guard up for any dangers they might encounter.

  After they had traveled forward for a while, they sped up, and soon, they reached the crevice.

  They entered the crevice and eventually reached the cave, and immediately afterward, they finally found Executive Feng inside. When they saw him, their excitement turned to perplexion, then their faces quickly became filled with fright.

  "Executive…… Executive Feng is dead?"……

  As the kitchen door slowly opened, a rich and intoxicating fragrance wafted out of it. The fragrance seemed like a flood which had been contained behind a sluice gate for a long time, and right after the gate was opened, it instantly comes crashing out.

  The instant that fragrance rushed out, it flooded the Serpentine Sovereign’s imperial palace, and everyone there was astonished and intoxicated by it. They couldn’t help looking at the kitchen.

  A thin man slowly strode out of the kitchen carrying a giant porcelain bowl.

  Yu Fu was following closely behind him, and her big eyes were filled with admiration.

  "Owner Bu’s culinary skill is far superior to mine, and I still need to study countless things."

  Wu Mu, the Serpentine Sovereign, and the others looked at Bu Fang and the steaming porcelain bowl in his hands. That intoxicating fragrance had been wafting from the porcelain bowl all along.

  "Owner Bu, is this the delicacy you’ve made? It’s truly fragrant……"

  Wu Mu exclaimed in admiration. He had once tasted Bu Fang’s handmade dishes back at Fang Fang’s little store, so his praise was sincere.

  Although the Serpentine Sovereign wasn’t willing to accept such an outcome, the sweet fragrance was vivid to everyone, leaving her no choice but to acknowledge it, despite her reservations.

  As for the Grand Serpentine City’s imperial chefs, they were all extremely dumbfounded. The fragrance had already surpassed their knowledge of the culinary arts. They never thought that someone would be capable of cooking a dish with such an overwhelmingly sweet fragrance.

  However, one of them quickly came back to his senses. He shook his head and said, "This is not right! It’s impossible…… How can a dish made using that cursed fish turn out to be this fragrant? Moreover, that fish is poisonous and must not be eaten."

  After the chefs, who had already been intoxicated by the fragrance, heard his words, they nodded their head in agreement.

  Bu Fang, who was still carrying the porcelain bowl, looked at that chef, but he was too lazy to reply.

  There was a table right outside the kitchen, and Bu Fang placed the porcelain bowl on top of it. Everyone quickly came over and surrounded the table.

  "I had said that I would let you taste it after I cook it, so do you want a bowl of it?" Bu Fang looked at Wu Mu and the Serpentine Sovereign and asked.

  The two of them were taken aback, and they began to hesitate. They were hesitating because they had heard Bu Fang say that that fish contained a poison strong enough to kill even a Supreme-Being expert. Such frightening words caused them to fear the fish. They were just Supreme-Being experts, after all, so how could they carelessly eat a dish that could kill them?

  As Bu Fang looked at the two of them which were still hesitating and didn’t reply, he slightly curled up the corners of his mouth.

  A pair of chopstick unknowingly appeared within his hands. He passed it to Yu Fu so that she could have a taste of it while he directly took a piece of the Thorny Pufferfish’s meat with his hand.

  The meat of the Thorny Pufferfish was tender and white, and along with it was a red soup which emitted a rich spirit essence.

  After a piece of soft meat was taken out of the Thorny Pufferfish by Bu Fang, some faint juice seeped out of it and dripped on the bowl, emitting a very strong fragrance.

  Bu Fang squinted his eyes and took a deep breath of the fragrance, and he seemed to become slightly intoxicated by it.

  He placed the piece of soft meat from the Thorny Pufferfish’s meat into his mouth.

  A fragrance slightly similar to that of crab meat and egg wafted out of his mouth. The fragrance was a mixture of countless aromas. It seemed to ferment within Bu Fang’s mouth, releasing an aromatic essence that caressed his taste buds. Stimulating his taste buds, the fragrance caused all the pores on his body to open up involuntarily. As soon as the soft meat from the Thorny Pufferfish’s made contact with the insides of his mouth, it left Bu Fang with a unique experience.

  He had perfectly grasped the Thorny Pufferfish’s cooking and heating procedures, so the meat didn’t end up tough at all; instead, it was extremely soft and tender, and so the meat’s freshness was perfectly preserved.

  As the fresh taste slid along Bu Fang’s throat and into his stomach, it seemed to glow within his belly, sending streams of light through his skin, causing his body to glow.

  Of course, all of that was just an illusion, however, and he was the only who saw it.

  Bu Fang was slightly astonished, seeing as the fresh taste of the Thorny Pufferfish’s meat greatly surpassed his expectations. He subconsciously lowered his head and gazed at Shrimpy, who lay atop his shoulder, rolling its compound eyes around.

  Was it all because of Shrimpy?

  It turned out that this little thing could improve the freshness of a dish. To Bu Fang, such creature was a truly rare treasure.

  Yu Fu also scooped a bowl of the soup for herself. She took a piece of the Thorny Pufferfish’s meat and placed it in her mouth, and instantly, that mouthful thoroughly conquered her; after all, she had never eaten such a delicious dish before. This dish tasted better than any dish on the menu of Fang Fang’s Little Store. It left a deeply profound impression on her.

  It turns out that dishes could actually be this delicious.

  She assumed that the dishes served at Fang Fang’s Little Store had already reached the pinnacle of gourmet delicacies, so she hadn’t expected to come across a dish even more delicious than those.

  She lifted the small bowl to her rosy lips, basking in the hot steam that arose from the bowl, and it caused her sight to become slightly blurred. When she took a light sip out of the soup, her eyes immediately widened. What a delicious soup!

  After she finished drinking the soup, Yu Fu felt as though her body had begun to heat up, leaving her completely captivated by the soup. It had thoroughly intoxicated her.

  With an expression of content on his face, Bu Fang ate piece after piece of the Thorny Pufferfish’s meat.

  After watching the duo eat for a while and taking note of their infatuation-filled faces, Wu Mu and the Serpentine Sovereign began to desire a taste for themselves.

  Seeing as Bu Fang had been eating it contentedly for a while, this Thorny Pufferfish’s meat ought to be safe for consumption. If it contained poison, Bu Fang would have died already.

  Wu Mu scooped a bowl of the soup and took a piece of the Thorny Pufferfish’s meat.

  After he drank that bowl, Wu Mu’s eyes began to glow, and he felt as though all the pores on his body had almost burst open. It could only be described with a single word: ’pleasurable’.

  "Owner Bu’s dishes…… truly are delicacies of the highest quality." Wu Mu sincerely praised them.

  After the Serpentine Sovereign ate a mouthful of it, she lost her restraints and kept eating. She had never eaten such a delicious dish before. There was no room for comparison between her imperial chefs’ dishes and Bu Fang’s.

  Bu Fang drank the last mouthful of soup in front of the spectators and their gazes filled with longing. He put down the bowl, then stroked his belly, feeling content, and exhaled a hot breath.

  After he drank the last mouthful of the soup, the system’s solemn voice resounded in his mind.

  "Congratulation to the host for completing the temporary mission: obtaining the precious ingredient within the big crystal mine and using it to cook a dish. Mission reward: twenty percent increase in your true energy cultivation."

  When he heard the system’s words, Bu Fang couldn’t help but squint his eyes.

  Although the system hadn’t granted Bu Fang his reward, he still felt excited. He surmised that after the system granted him his reward, his cultivation would probably advance, and he would break through into the eighth grade War-God realm. When that happened, his battle prowess would experience a considerable improvement, and he would become more capable of easily and perfectly processing ingredients.

  Bu Fang wasn’t anxious that he hadn’t received the reward yet; he knew that the mission’s reward would only be granted to him when he returned to the store. After the surge of excitement, he calmed down.

  After they had eaten the dish, the Serpentine Sovereign’s gaze toward Bu Fang changed. She could still feel some heat emanating from her stomach, and it seemed like the heat source releasing spiritual energy into her, which faintly increased her cultivation.

  It turned out that Yu Fu was studying culinary arts with such a chef. The prospects were limitless.

  Owner Bu’s methods were even more impressive and mystical than an alchemists’, and thus they couldn’t be disregarded.

  Wu Mu was about to say something when some experts from the White Cloud Villa hurried over and whispered something into his ear. Whatever it was, caused Wu Mu’s expression to become grave. He quickly bid farewell to Bu Fang and left in a hurry.

  Wu Mu was anxious and impatient because his daughter, Wu Yunbai, had been kidnapped by the experts from the Grand Barren Sect, so he hurried off to rescue her.

  He brought the White Cloud Villa’s Supreme-Beings along with him and directly charged toward the Grand Barren Sect’s warship.

  The Serpentine Sovereign had completely changed her opinion of Bu Fang after eating one of his dishes, and she now agreed that Yu Fu’s prospects would be bright if she studied culinary arts from Bu Fang.

  However, as the Serpentine Sovereign, she also had her own difficulties.

  She brought Bu Fang and Yu Fu into the imperial palace, and after she drove away everyone in there, the three of them began to discuss privately.

  Half a day later, their discussion ended, and the imperial palace’s doors were slowly opened.

  The Serpentine Sovereign sincerely expressed her thanks to Bu Fang and watched him carry the black dog and leave.

  Yu Fu remained beside the Serpentine Sovereign. She gazed at the departing Bu Fang with reluctance, but a trace of firmness glowed within her eyes.

  She would vigorously practice her culinary arts, even if it would have to be within the Serpentine Sovereign’s imperial palace, and she would surely amaze Bu Fang with her achievements the next time she saw him.

  Strong gales whistled, and a hurricane rose beside Bu Fang.

  He slightly stroked Shrimpy, who lay on his shoulder, and grabbed Blacky, who was sound asleep, then stepped into the hurricane.

  The array above him had been formed by countless mots of white light, and it shook the moment he stepped into it.

  When the hurricane disappeared, Bu Fang had vanished.