Free Web NovelChapter 1097: My Words Alone Are Evidence
Silence fell over the entire venue. Neither the competing spirit chefs, the spectators in the stands, nor the higher-ups of the Spirit Chef Alliance had ever heard of the origin of the Qilin Immortality Herb. freewebnøvel.com
Yet Lu Yang had spoken with such conviction that it didn’t seem false.
Could it be that this was truly how the Qilin Immortality Herb came about?
If Lu Yang’s words were true, it would be a major discovery for the spirit chef, pill concoction, and even the archaeology communities!
“Lu Yunyang, you pass,” Liu Xing announced. Regardless of the Qilin Immortality Herb’s true origin, Lu Yang had correctly identified the ingredient.
Lu Yang returned to his seat, now the center of attention.
Xie Qi paid particular attention to Lu Yang. He felt that Lu Yang would be his greatest opponent in this competition.
This is fine. Only a challenging contest can allow me to demonstrate my true skills!
“Second-in-Command, so that time when the Heaven Mandate Immortal and the others fought the Qilin Immortal, it was because that hidden mastermind was stirring up trouble behind the scenes?!” The Everlasting Immortal Fairy knew the origin of the Qilin Immortality Herb well, but she really wasn’t sure of the story behind it.
Lu Yang sighed. Weren’t you the instigator who made them fight, Immortal Fairy? You had given Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi an immortal fruit, saying it was a gift for the most beautiful demon.
Of course, this is something better left unsaid to the Immortal Fairy.
A subject’s duty is to help the emperor organize intelligence, filter information, and share the burden.
“It was Senior Heaven Mandate Immortal who told me. Originally, the four of them were as close as siblings. They fought because someone stirred up trouble. Even now, they regret battling the Qilin Immortal. The true enemy is someone else, but that enemy is too strong—someone they can’t defeat!”
“I suppose no one else except that damnable mastermind is capable of scheming against the Four Ancient Immortals!” Lu Yang clenched his fists, speaking with righteous indignation.
“We’ll take him down sooner or later!” The Everlasting Immortal Fairy also clenched her little fists.
With the First-in-Command and the Second-in-Command united against a common enemy, there was nothing they couldn’t accomplish!
Liu Xing lifted the third cloth. Beneath it lay a piece of meat from an unknown demon beast. The meat was sparkling and translucent, the fat layer resembling a crystal.
Lu Yang could sense that this demon beast must have been extremely formidable when it was alive.
“It’s the hind leg meat of a yayu[1],” An Tong said.
“Correct.”
An Tong was truly a spirit chef meticulously groomed by the Taotie Tribe; she could identify the demon beast’s origin at a single glance.
“Next, the fourth ingredient will be shown.”
Only two spots remained. The spirit chefs rubbed their hands together, eager to try. They couldn’t simply pass up the chance.
Liu Xing lifted the fourth cloth, revealing a fist-sized gray stone ball with a smooth surface. It didn’t look like it had been processed, as if it had formed naturally in this state. The stone also emitted continuous fluctuations of spirit qi.
The spirit chefs were utterly silent; no one could answer.
A smooth stone? You can’t even take a wild guess at what this thing is.
“A gray golden core?”
“Incorrect.”
“A magnetic stone?”
“Incorrect?”
“Realgar?”
“Incorrect.”
After three consecutive eliminations, the remaining spirit chefs were so frightened that they dared not make a sound.
“Does no one know?” Liu Xing looked around, observing each person’s expression.
Even Xie Qi and An Tong, the two most prominent rising stars among the spirit chefs, could not identify the stone ball.
“Isn’t that a stellar core?” Lu Yang couldn’t help but comment. It’s one thing for the Immortal Fairy to feed stellar cores to the four immortals, but the Spirit Chef Alliance also treats this as an ingredient? Are you all out of your minds?
Have you eaten too many stellar cores?
“Correct!” Liu Xing hadn’t expected Lu Yang to recognize even such a rare treasure as this. His tone inevitably grew excited.
“This is the core of a planet, something that only existed in ancient times. However, during that era, great powerhouses often battled, shattering stars, and occasionally, some stellar cores would be passed down.
“When our alliance first obtained this stellar core, we didn’t know what it was either. Through our research, we discovered that the immortal chef had once used a stellar core as a dish to entertain friends. Following this clue, we found that scraping shavings from the stellar core’s surface, grinding them into powder, and adding them to ingredients can elevate the freshness of those ingredients by an entire level!”
Reconstructing the culinary art of the immortal chef—this is a momentous event worthy of being recorded in the annals of the Spirit Chef Alliance!
Lu Yang’s eye twitched. You probably reconstructed it wrong. I think the Immortal Fairy fed the four immortals entire stellar cores.
“Next, the final ingredient will be shown.”
The last red cloth was lifted, revealing half a golden apple. Even its flesh was golden. The apple looked as if it had just been cut, with no signs of spoilage. The aroma of fruits and vegetables wafted through the venue, lingering in everyone’s hearts.
“F*ck, the Everlasting Immortal Fruit?” Lu Yang nearly cursed aloud. The Spirit Chef Alliance is really impressive to have found even this! Even the Immortal Fairy thought this no longer existed in the outside world.
The Everlasting Immortal Fruit was an immortal fruit cultivated by the Everlasting Immortal Fairy. Consuming it could keep a corpse from decaying.
“Evergreen Spirit Fruit!” Granny Poison yelled. She didn’t actually know what it was, but she had been sent here by Jin Tan, and this was the answer he had given her.
“What Evergreen Spirit Fruit...” Lu Yang felt that the ignorant ones should keep quiet. However, Liu Xing’s response caught him off guard.
Liu Xing waved his hand and announced the result. “Correct! The second round is now over. The four of you will advance to the third round...”
“Wait a moment! This is not an Evergreen Spirit Fruit at all!” Lu Yang stepped forward and spoke solemnly, clearly displeased. Although the Immortal Fairy’s creations are often strange, they shouldn’t be mistaken for something else.
“Lu Yunyang, what nonsense are you spouting?!” Granny Poison grew anxious. This concerned whether she could advance to the next round.
“Legend has it that in ancient times, the Evergreen Supreme Lord planted a Longevity Spirit Herb on an eighty-grade spirit vein on Yingzhou Island. The spirit herb bore golden fruits called Evergreen Spirit Fruits. These fruits are fragrant, and even after they are picked, they remain fresh and evergreen[2] indefinitely!”
Liu Xing nodded inwardly. This was the intelligence the Spirit Chef Alliance possessed. They had held this half of a golden fruit for ten thousand years, yet it still looked freshly picked, perfectly matching the characteristics of the Evergreen Spirit Fruit.
“Evergreen Supreme Lord?” Lu Yang had heard the Everlasting Immortal Fairy mention him. This person had even boasted about competing with her for the position of the Dao Fruit, only to be knocked down by two punches.
“If you say this isn’t an Evergreen Spirit Fruit, then what is it?!”
“This is the Everlasting Immortal Fruit cultivated by the Progenitor of Spirit Chefs. When fed to demon beasts, it keeps their corpses from decaying, preserving them in a freshly slain state and ensuring their flavor remains eternally fresh. How dare you compare a mere spirit fruit to such an immortal item?!”
“Ridiculous! You claim this is the Everlasting Immortal Fruit; what evidence do you have?”
Lu Yang tore off his mask, revealing his true appearance, eliciting gasps from the crowd.
“It’s Lu Yang?"
“He’s actually a spirit chef?”
Lu Yang looked at Liu Xing and Daoist Priest Mingyuan standing on the higher platform. He said seriously, "I infiltrated the Everlasting Creed and discovered the location of its headquarters. That was how the imperial court and our Dao-Seeking Sect were able to join forces to annihilate it.
“While going undercover in the Everlasting Creed’s headquarters, I saw the Everlasting Immortal Fruit. From the creed leader’s subsequent confession, I learned of its origin.
“Later, I awakened Senior Ao Ling in the East Sea’s Dragon Pearl and verified the Everlasting Immortal Fruit’s origin with her.
“My words alone are evidence!
“If you don’t believe me, feel free to invite Senior Ao Ling here to determine the truth!”
1. There isn’t really a consensus as to what the Yayu looks like, but some say it has a dragon’s head and a tiger or cat’s body, while others say it has a human face and the body of a snake. ☜
2. The translation might not have reflected it well, but “evergreen” is “长青” and “longevity” is 长生. As you can see, both have the character “长,” which can mean long or enduring. ☜
