I'm a male god in Liyue

The meal I cooked today was totally worth it.

This was his first Platinum Chest.

Choose to open.

An exquisite and antique hourglass appeared before his eyes.

The Hourglass of Time

Quality: Platinum.

Type: Rule Item.

Characteristics: time delay, time retracement.

Effect: Inverting the hourglass can cause a surrounding area to either freeze time or reverse time.

Hidden effect: The holder will remain forever young.

Like the [Thread of Fate], this is another new type of item that Xia Zhi has never obtained before.

Rule props.

Compared to the rule fragments of the [Path of the Underworld Chef], the power of the time rules displayed by this [Hourglass of Time] is clearly much stronger.

The hidden effect "Eternal Youth" is also very interesting. Does this mean that the holder will not be affected by the wear and tear of time?

Xia Zhi continued eating while silently pondering.

After the meal, everyone leaned back in their chairs with satisfied expressions.

Only then did Gan Yu's face show some worry.

My stomach is so full. Did I eat too much?

Eating like this only once in a while shouldn't make me gain weight, right?

As the host, Xia Zhi still had to say a few words at this time.

"I've been busy with business these past few days and haven't had time to prepare the ingredients properly. I just bought some things to make do. I apologize for any shortcomings in my hospitality, Grandma Ping."

"Not at all, Mr. Xia, you're too kind. My wife enjoyed the meal very much."

"I had invited Miss Xiangling and Miss Yanfei to lunch today, but they are unavailable and will probably be able to come over in the evening."

"Those two kids are usually quite busy."

"It's a good thing to be able to do what you like."

"That's true."

"Are Grandma Ping and Yao Yao going to watch Xiangling's cooking competition this afternoon?"

"That's right! Yao Yao, go cheer for your senior!"

"Yaoyao, please bring my share too."

"it is good!"

"If Grandma Ping and Yao Yao are free tonight, let's come over for dinner together. It'll be more lively with more people."

"This……"

"I plan to cook some new dishes tonight."

"Then I'll have to bother you, Mr. Xia."

"What's this about disturbing you?"

Xia Zhi smiled and said softly.

"I didn't open the shop to make money. I just wanted to find something to do in Liyue. It would be great if I could make a few friends during my stay."

"Mr. Xia has a free and easy personality."

"I'm just looking for some leisure time."

"Mr. Xia's personality is somewhat similar to that of one of my friends."

"Oh?"

"That's Zhongli Keqing from the Rebirth Hall next door. Mr. Xia probably already knows him, right?"

“Mr. Zhongli, I know him…”

Zhu Zi couldn't help but chuckle and interject, "Mr. Zhongli comes to our shop for juice every day, but he always forgets to bring money, so he asks me to put it on Wangshengtang's tab."

Grandma Ping said with a smile, "That's just his personality. He likes to wander around Liyue on weekdays, and sometimes he'll come to my place for a cup of tea."

“I have spoken with Mr. Zhongli several times, and he is indeed a learned and calm person.”

"He's also a very easy person to get along with."

"Hmm... Since Mr. Zhongli is a good friend of Grandma Ping, why doesn't Grandma Ping invite him to come over for dinner tonight?"

"Naturally."

"Then I'll have to trouble Grandma Ping."

Grandma Ping smiled and agreed, saying that Mr. Xia's cooking skills were so good that it would be a wonderful thing to invite friends over to taste his food.

Chapter 116 It really is an unorthodox incense.

After chatting for a while, Grandma Ping took her leave with Yao Yao.

Xia Zhi got up and saw them to the door. As he watched them walk toward the Hall of Rebirth next door, he couldn't help but have some guesses in his mind.

Granny Ping, as the True Lord of Gechenlang City, was one of the Three-Eyed Five Manifestations Immortals who followed the Rock King Emperor in his conquests.

Legend has it that the war between the demon gods was extremely fierce, with many demon gods vying for the throne. Some perished, some were sealed beneath the sea in Guyun Pavilion, and some fled overseas. In the end, Morax seized the throne and became one of the seven rulers of the mortal world, establishing Liyue on this land.

In other words, in the thousands of years following the Demon God War, there should only be one god left in Liyue, and that is Morax.

But now another deity has suddenly appeared—Mr. Zhongli, who happens to be a friend of Grandma Ping…

Xia Zhi had subtly inquired with Hu Tao and learned that Mr. Zhongli had only joined the Hall of Rebirth in the last two years.

The Rock Lord's incident happened only a few days ago, which means that when Mr. Zhongli joined the Hall of Rebirth, the Rock Lord was still secretly watching Liyue. It's impossible that He didn't know that such a deity had infiltrated His territory.

However, Lord Yan's attitude was one of tacit approval, which means that there must be some kind of relationship between Lord Yan and Mr. Zhongli.

Perhaps the two gods knew each other. The Geo Archon was planning to undergo his tribulation but was not confident. He was worried that if something happened to him, Liyue would be in chaos, so he sought out Mr. Zhongli as a backup plan to stabilize the situation.

Or perhaps, the Geo Archon didn't actually perish during his tribulation; he merely used the opportunity to transform Liyue from a place ruled by gods to one ruled by humans, and transformed himself into Mr. Zhongli, thus beginning his life of leisurely wandering in the mortal world...

Both conjectures are possible, but Xia Zhi leans more towards the latter.

As for the reason, Morax died during his tribulation on the very day of the Ascension Ceremony. The timing was too coincidental. The unusual phenomena that should have occurred when a god died did not appear. The power of the Geo element he controlled was disordered. Not only did the mountains collapse and the earth crack, but even a small earthquake was not triggered in the entire Liyue. It was truly unbelievable.

Xia Zhi didn't believe that the strange phenomenon was secretly suppressed by Mr. Zhongli. If Mr. Zhongli could really do such a thing, then he should have been the Prince of Yan long ago.

So, is Mr. Zhongli actually Morax?

Xia Zhi turned around thoughtfully, closed the door, and returned to the shop.

The girls diligently collected and washed the dishes, and also soaked some dried goods in preparation for use that evening.

"Boss, do you need to buy groceries again?"

"Yes, we need to go buy some, since there are more people coming over for dinner in the evening than at noon, so we need to cook more dishes."

"Then let's go buy them in a bit! What ingredients do we need?"

"Just like in the morning, you can buy whatever you want, as long as the vegetables are fresh and of good quality."

"Ok!"

Zhu Zi and Gan Yu wiped their hands and hurriedly went out together. It was already past noon, and although the vegetables at the market weren't as fresh as they were in the morning, going a little earlier would increase their chances of buying fresher produce.

Xia Zhi sat at the table and looked at Qi Qi, noticing that her eyes had become more lively than before.

It must be the effect of that corpse bead that's taking hold.

Shen He was tidying up in the kitchen, while only Xia Zhi and Qi Qi were in the front hall.

The incense burner on the table was emitting wisps of smoke. Qi Qi leaned slightly forward, gently sniffing the fragrance, as if she couldn't get enough of it.

Xia Zhi thought for a moment and then said, "Miss Qiqi, I have recently developed two new types of incense. Could you please help me evaluate them?"

Qiqi turned her head and nodded: "Okay."

Xia Zhi took out a portion of the "Perfect Body-Recovering Incense," cut off a very small piece, opened the incense burner, and put it inside.

The aroma wafting from the stove remained unchanged, yet it seemed as if something different had been added to it.

"How are you feeling, Miss Qiqi?"

"It smells better now, and tastes even better."

"Besides the delicious taste, do you have any other feelings about it?"

"It seems like my strength is increasing."

"oh, I understand now."

Xia Zhi took out another piece of "Perfect Joy Incense", cut off a very small piece, opened the incense burner, and put it in.