Free Web NovelChapter 1096: Identifying Ingredients
“Who’s that? He’s so strong!”
“I recall someone called him the Successor of the Immortal Chef just now?”
“Yes! Successor of the Immortal Chef, Lu Yunyang!”
A spectator suddenly recalled what had happened before the competition and exclaimed, “I remember now! Lu Yunyang was standing with Ma Bin earlier. At the start, Ma Bin wasn’t very friendly, but after seemingly learning of Lu Yunyang’s identity, he became quite polite!”
Listening from the stands, Ma Bin’s eyelids twitched. What do you mean, I wasn’t very friendly at the start? Don’t talk nonsense. I have nothing but sincere admiration for Fellow Daoist Lu Yang!
Ma Bin narrowed his eyes slightly as he gazed at the slender figure below and murmured to himself, “So he really is the Successor of the Immortal Chef...?”
A gourmand eagerly leaned in to ask, “Fellow Daoist Ma, do you know his identity?”
Ma Bin revealed a knowing smile. “I can’t say.”
His ambiguous words made it sound like he held a secret, causing the crowd to be even more convinced of Lu Yang’s identity.
With how dedicated I am to helping Lu Yang gain fame, surely he will write a few more lines about me in the newspaper.
“It seems that little lass was right. He really might be the Successor of the Immortal Chef.”
“I feel the same way.”
Seeing more and more people recognize that her Second-in-Command was a remarkable person, Yun Mengmeng felt a swell of pride.
The Second-in-Command is working so hard competing down here. I can’t just sit idle!
She stood up, moved to another spot, and continued promoting her Second-in-Command.
~~~
“Lu Yunyang is supposed to be on my side. But why do I have no memory of such exquisite knife skills?” Jin Tan, the Taotie Tribe Chieftain, was greatly surprised upon witnessing Lu Yang’s performance.
The Kui ox was also at the Advanced Divine Transfiguration Stage, yet Lu Yang didn’t have to use his full strength to effortlessly remove a piece of meat without the demon beast noticing.
“If he were willing, all the demon beasts in this arena would be nothing more than a matter of a single strike from his blade.”
This is the kind of talent our Taotie Tribe should be nurturing with all our resources.
“Never mind. As long as he’s on my side.” A triumphant smile crept onto Jin Tan’s face. The spirit chefs I’ve nurtured stood out in the first round, and soon, in the second and third rounds, they will showcase their skills and help me obtain the legendary ingredients.
“Old Daoist Mingyuan, so what if you’ve painstakingly obstructed me for three hundred years? In the end, the position of alliance leader will still be mine!”
It didn’t take long for the knife skills round to end. All the participants were top-notch experts. Those eliminated were the spirit chefs who couldn’t defeat their demon beasts.
Liu Xing continued to preside over the five-star category’s test. Unlike the first round, noticeably more spirit chefs now turned their attention to Lu Yang, recognizing him as another hot favorite to win the championship.
“This round tests your ability to identify ingredients.”
Liu Xing set up five display cases, each covered with red cloth woven from some unknown material that blocked spiritual consciousness from probing.
“Inside these five display cases are five different ingredients. You need to identify the name of each ingredient. Only the first to answer correctly will pass.
“However, if you answer incorrectly, you will be disqualified. Be sure to think carefully before answering.”
In other words, only five people would pass this round.
Upon realizing this, silence fell over the entire arena. The spirit chefs grew tense and uneasy. Those who were confident in their knowledge now began to doubt whether their abilities were truly up to par.
Only Lu Yang yawned, unconcerned about whether he would win or lose. He was thinking about how to write his article when he returned.
So troublesome. If only I had brought Old Meng along, then I could focus on having fun and let him fret over this problem.
Before setting out, Lu Yang had gone to find Meng Jingzhou, but the latter was fully immersed in repeatedly studying the subtle profundities within Immortals' Quotes. Seeing how diligently he was studying, Lu Yang didn’t disturb him further.
Lu Yang’s relaxed demeanor was a sign of his overflowing confidence in everyone’s eyes.
Liu Xing lifted the first red cloth. Inside the display case lay a single tree leaf. Golden runes flickered on its surface—primitive, plain, and natural.
“This looks familiar,” Lu Yang mumbled. He couldn’t help but feel that he had seen it somewhere before, and quite often, at that.
Master Golden Knife shot a beam of spirit qi into the air, indicating he was ready to answer.
“It’s a leaf from the Chinese toon tree!”
“Incorrect.”
The first spirit chef was quickly eliminated, and it was Master Golden Knife, who had performed excellently in the knife skills round.
The spirit chefs had been eager to answer, but upon seeing this, they seemed to be doused with a bucket of cold water, no longer daring to answer rashly.
However, right after Master Golden Knife was eliminated, another beam of spirit qi shot toward the sky.
It was "Immortal Tongue" Xie Qi.
“A leaf from a Wudao Enlightenment Tree, specifically, one that is five thousand years old.”
“Correct.”
The spirit chefs cast envious looks at Xie Qi. As expected of Xie Qi, not only did he recognize it as a Wudao Enlightenment Tree leaf, but he also identified its age.
“It’s just that our family happens to have planted a five-thousand-year-old Wudao Enlightenment Tree,” Xie Qi said humbly, though it was unclear whether it was genuine modesty or subtle boasting.
“So it is from a Wudao Enlightenment Tree,” Lu Yang remarked in realization. No wonder it looked so familiar. Big Senior Sister often uses Wudao Enlightenment Tree leaves to brew tea, though the leaves she uses come from that ten-thousand-year-old Wudao Enlightenment Tree King.
This was his first time seeing leaves from a much younger tree, so he hadn’t identified it immediately.
“Next is the second ingredient.”
Liu Xing lifted the second red cloth, revealing a palm-sized, emerald-green vine that looked so tender it seemed as if water could drip from it. The heat emitted by the vine distorted the surrounding space, making it a terrifying sight. Behind the vine, a faint silhouette appeared, resembling both a tiger and a dragon. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
The spirit chefs frowned, none of them immediately answering. They had never seen a spirit plant like this before.
Lu Yang flicked out a beam of spirit qi and smiled. “This is the Qilin Immortality Herb, though it’s not the mother plant. It was separated from the mother plant in ancient times.”
This I know well. The herb garden of the Dao-Seeking Sect contained a Qilin Immortality Herb that had originated in the ancient era.
On the day of the Qilin Immortal’s wedding, the Everlasting Immortal Fairy had unintentionally stirred up trouble. Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi competed in culinary arts, with the Heaven Mandate Immortal and the other two immortals tasting their dishes. Unaware of the truth, the three immortals mistakenly blamed the Qilin Immortal and gave him a beating afterward. The few drops of blood the Qilin Immortal shed in that battle gave rise to the Qilin Immortality Herb in later generations.
“The Qilin Immortality Herb?” The spirit chefs exchanged bewildered glances. Many of them had never even heard of this immortal herb.
Although "Immortal Tongue" Xie Qi, "Undefeated" An Tong, "Granny Poison," and the others had heard of the immortal herb, their knowledge of it was limited to its name. They had no idea of its origins.
Lu Yang paced around with his hands clasped behind his back and slowly spoke, revealing an ancient secret.
“In ancient times, a hidden mastermind sowed discord, inciting conflict between the Dragon and Phoenix ancestors. During the Four Ancient Immortals’ discourse of the Dao, the Qilin Immortal held his own against three without losing ground. In that battle, the Great Dao collapsed, and stars were extinguished. A few drops of immortal blood, imbued with the Qilin Immortal’s creation power, spilled forth, tearing through the void and piercing the firmament. Several spirit plants were fortunate enough to be nourished by this immortal blood, transforming into the Qilin Immortality Herb!”
