Douluo Continent: Gourmet Prisoner

The chill in the depths of the cave was bone-chilling, and the blackened carcass of a pufferfish in the corner looked somewhat ferocious in the dim light.

Hyotei's emerald green eyes were fixed on Shi Yu, her pincers clenched so tightly they cracked, and even the chill emanating from her body trembled slightly with excitement. Her voice was filled with unprecedented urgency: "I mean what I say! I'll do anything as long as I can taste the flavor of a pufferfish whale!"

Shi Yu rubbed his arm, which was sore from being grabbed, and raised an eyebrow, saying, "You only need to do one thing: don't get close, and at the same time, don't let any soul beasts outside get close."

"No problem!" Hyotei agreed without hesitation, his huge scorpion body obediently shrinking to the side, but his sharp eyes stared at the group without blinking, afraid of missing any detail.

Huddled in a corner, the reclusive Tianmeng Bingcan uttered a faint, eerie sentence: "Bingbing, you're so spineless..."

Hyotei shot him a sharp glare: "Shut up! Do you even know what top-tier cuisine is?"

The Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm immediately shrank back and dared not utter another sound.

Without delay, the group followed Hyotei's directions and headed towards an icy lake deep in the far north.

That was the habitat of pufferfish whales. A thin layer of ice covered the lake, and beneath the ice, one could vaguely see a large group of silvery-gray shadows swimming around—these were the adult pufferfish whales with their bodies compressed.

Shi Yu took out three specially made soul power nets from his soul tool and gave them to Huo Yutong and Zhu Lu: "Remember, when you get close, you must wrap your whole body with soul power and make your aura fainter than the lake water under the ice. The pufferfish whale's senses are extremely sharp. Once it senses danger, its venom sac will rupture in the blink of an eye."

Zhu Lu nodded, took the lead in holding her breath and focusing her mind, her soul power covering her body like a thin veil, and silently glided to the lakeside. Huo Yutong followed closely behind, her golden eyes quietly activating, the pale golden light sweeping across the ice, clearly revealing the swimming trajectory of the pufferfish whale underwater.

"Now!" Shi Yu shouted.

Huo Yutong and Zhu Lu acted simultaneously, immediately following the acupoint anesthesia technique taught by Shi Yu, gathering a wisp of pure soul power at their fingertips and quickly pressing it on the acupoints on the head of the pufferfish whale.

"We caught him!" Huo Yutong exclaimed in surprise.

But as soon as she finished speaking, the pufferfish whale in her hand suddenly turned black all over, and its originally silvery skin quickly turned purple—it had been poisoned.

Zhu Lu's situation wasn't much better; she was a beat too slow, and the little guy turned purple as well.

"How could this happen?" Huo Yutong frowned deeply as she looked at the pufferfish carcass in her hand.

Shi Yu stepped forward and explained, "The acupoint was slightly off, stimulating the outer veins of the venom sac. It's alright, there are quite a few pufferfish whales, let's try again."

Hyotei, watching from afar, was itching to rush over, but managed to restrain themselves and paced anxiously in circles.

Over the next half hour, Huo Yutong and Zhu Lu tried several more times, but each time either their aura wasn't properly contained or the pressure points weren't applied correctly. In total, they ruined five pufferfish whales, all of which ended up poisoned and turning black.

Zhu Lu's forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat, and she had also consumed a lot of her soul power. She couldn't help but sigh, "This little guy is too difficult to deal with."

Huo Yutong did not give up. She squatted by the lake, the light in her golden eyes growing stronger, carefully observing the pufferfish swimming under the ice. She muttered to herself, "Their acupoints are more difficult to acupuncture than I imagined, and they shift as they swim..."

Shi Yu leaned against the ice rock, not uttering a sound to disturb her. He knew this was a hurdle Huo Yutong had to overcome.

After a long while, Huo Yutong suddenly stood up, her eyes becoming incredibly determined: "Brother Shiyu, I'll try again."

This time, she concealed all her aura, as if she had become one with the icy plain.

Golden Eyes locked onto a slightly larger pufferfish whale. Her movements were extremely slow, and the soul power at her fingertips was as thin as a wisp of silk.

The instant the soul power net enveloped the pufferfish whale, her fingers moved with lightning speed, precisely striking the almost invisible acupoint on the whale's abdomen.

This time, the pufferfish whale was not poisoned.

The silver-gray body stopped moving, and Huo Yutong put it into the net bag.

"Success!" Huo Yutong's eyes shone brightly as she carefully held the pufferfish whale, as if it were a rare treasure.

Zhu Lu breathed a sigh of relief, a satisfied smile spreading across her face. Shi Yu also walked over slowly and patted her on the shoulder: "Not bad, much better than my first time."

Hyotei saw this scene from afar and was so excited that he almost jumped up. If he hadn't remembered Tokiyu's instructions, he probably would have rushed over long ago.

The group returned to the cave with the ten pufferfish whales they had captured. Shi Yu took out a specially made jade box and handed Huo Yutong a thin, silver knife, as thin as a cicada's wing: "This knife is forged from cold iron. It is sharp enough and flexible enough. Little Yutong, the rest of the cooking is up to you."

Huo Yutong took a deep breath and channeled her soul power into her eyes, causing the golden light in her eyes to suddenly shine brightly.

The network of veins inside the pufferfish whale was instantly revealed to her—purple venom sacs intertwined like a net, with the purple venom sac suspended between the organs like a bomb that could explode at any moment, and even the finest blood vessel connections were clearly visible.

She selected a pufferfish whale and placed it on the plate. The silver knife grazed the skin, leaving only a barely visible thin mark. But just as the tip of the knife was about to touch the outer layer of the venom sac, her hand trembled slightly. She didn't control her strength well, and the venom sac ruptured instantly. Purple venom seeped out, and the entire pufferfish whale turned purple at a visible speed.

"It failed." Huo Yutong's face paled slightly, and she tightened her grip on the knife.

Hyotei's heart clenched, but he didn't dare to urge them on.

Shi Yu stepped forward and pointed to the pufferfish carcass: "The connection points of the venom sac are very fragile. You cut an extra millimeter with your knife just now. Remember, after successfully cutting off all the connection points, be very careful when removing the venom sac, as it is very fragile."

Huo Yutong nodded and picked up another pufferfish whale.

This time, she moved more cautiously, her breathing became light and slow, and the silver knife seemed to come alive in her hand, slowly moving along the edge of the poison sac.

Just as the venom sac was about to be completely removed, her fingertip accidentally touched an extremely thin capillary, and the venom sac ruptured.

Hyotei's pincers clenched so tightly they cracked, and the desire in their eyes almost overflowed, but they held it back with all their might.

Huo Yutong was not discouraged. She closed her eyes, replaying the scenes of her two previous failures in her mind, and silently repeating Shi Yu's words over and over again. When she opened her eyes again, her gaze was filled with only calmness and focus.

The third pufferfish whale was placed in a jade plate.

The silver knife fell, slicing through the skin and separating the internal organs; every movement was as precise as a textbook.

Golden Eyes locked onto the purple poison sac, Soul Power coiled around the tip of the blade like fine threads, carefully severing the connected blood vessels.

This time, her hands were incredibly steady; even though the cold air in the cave made her fingertips numb, they didn't tremble at all.

The moment the intact, undamaged venom sac was removed, the entire cave fell silent.

Immediately afterwards, the pufferfish whale began to emit a golden glow, and a clear, fresh aroma spread out—the pure taste of the pufferfish whale meat itself, so pure it was intoxicating.

"It's done!" Huo Yutong breathed a long sigh of relief, beads of sweat sliding down her forehead, and a bright smile appeared on her face.

Hyotei could no longer hold back and charged forward. Its huge scorpion body nearly overturned the jade plate, and its pair of emerald green eyes were fixed on the snow-white fish meat in the plate, its mouth watering.

Shi Yu smiled and shook his head, taking the knife from Huo Yutong's hand and helping her process the remaining pufferfish whales. Before long, the ten cleaned pufferfish whales were sliced.

Hyotei eagerly grabbed a few slices of sashimi and stuffed them into her mouth. The next second, her entire scorpion froze, and her emerald green eyes instantly welled up with tears.

The fish has an exquisite texture, as delicate as snowflakes, and combines the rich, fatty texture of tuna with that of whale meat. The fat has a natural sweetness that doesn't dissipate quickly; instead, the aroma becomes richer with each chew, and the texture is incredibly substantial. As it slides down your throat and into your stomach, even your soul energy becomes warm and soothed.

The taste was a hundred or a thousand times more amazing than she had imagined.

"Delicious...so delicious..." Hyotei's voice choked with sobs, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably, freezing into ice crystals on the ground.

She had eaten countless ingredients in her life, but she had never tasted such exquisite flavor.

Just as Hyotei was reveling in the deliciousness of the fish, her expression suddenly changed. She abruptly looked up at the cave entrance, her scorpion tail taut, and a resolute glint flashed in her eyes.

"The time for the tribulation is getting closer." Her voice was low, tinged with a hint of helplessness.

"Bingbing, didn't you say you'd agree to any condition as long as you could eat pufferfish and whale?" Tianmeng Ice Silkworm floated to her side, her voice tinged with caution.

"Yes, that's right." Hyotei composed himself and looked at Shiyu and the others. "If there's anything you need my help with, please let me know as soon as possible. I don't have much time left."

"Then Bingbing, become Xiaoyutong's Wisdom Soul Ring just like me." Tianmeng Bingcan's voice carried a hint of anticipation.

"You've probably seen Xiaoyutong's talent; becoming a god isn't difficult at all. And after becoming a Wisdom Soul Ring, I can come out freely and taste food. Bingbing, you can definitely do that too."

It paused, then added, "Yu Tong's culinary talent has also been shown. With Chef Yu Tong by our side, what delicious food won't we be able to eat in the future?"

Upon hearing Tianmeng's words, Bingdi's gaze fell upon Huo Yutong, her eyes becoming extremely solemn: "Although Tianmeng is useless, it has a good eye. You, little girl, are not only meticulous but also possess an indomitable spirit; you are a promising talent."

"So Bingbing, you agreed?" Tianmeng Bingcan jumped up excitedly.

Hyotei did not answer, but her soul power surged wildly, and her emerald carapace shimmered with dazzling light, causing the temperature in the cave to drop even further.

Her body was rapidly shrinking, gradually transforming from a giant scorpion into a girl wearing an ice-blue dress, with skin as white as snow, clear and cold eyes, and an aura of purity and elegance. This was the human form of the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion.

"I know that with my current strength, I can't survive this tribulation." The Ice Emperor's voice was calm and resolute. "But I don't want to die like this, and I don't want my soul power to dissipate in vain."

She looked at Huo Yutong with a pleading look in her eyes: "Little human girl, I owe you a favor. Tianmeng's Wisdom Soul Ring, combined with my Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion Soul Ring, will definitely make you stronger. I am willing to sacrifice myself to become the Soul Ring of your second Martial Soul."

Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's eyes widened in shock: "Bingbing! You actually agreed!"

Ice Emperor gently shook her head, looking at the energy body of the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm, her eyes filled with a rare gentleness: "Stupid silkworm, I didn't get to eat you in this life, but I did get to eat a pufferfish whale, so it's worth it. Besides, it's not a bad thing to be able to follow a host with such good cooking skills."

Huo Yutong stared at her blankly, her eyes reddening: "Senior Hyotei, I..."

"Don't call me senior." Hyotei smiled, a hint of nonchalance in his smile. "From now on, you'll be my host. You must become an excellent chef so I can taste even more delicious food."

Before she finished speaking, her body transformed into a streak of emerald light and shot towards Huo Yutong.

Caught off guard, Huo Yutong felt a massive surge of soul power enter her body, icy and pure, instantly coursing through her limbs and bones, causing her meridians to swell slightly.

The voice of the Ice Emperor echoed in his mind: "I will become the first spirit ring of your second spirit, and will produce a 100,000-year-old torso bone... Use it well, don't let me down..."

Upon hearing this, another inappropriate phrase came to Shi Yu's mind.

The Spirit Eye is inherently invincible; why should it need to borrow the bones of others?

He looked at the emerald green mark that was gradually brightening between Huo Yutong's eyebrows, sighed softly, and remained silent.

Guided by the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm, the emerald light slowly merged into Huo Yutong's body, and the Ice Emperor began to sacrifice herself, transforming into the Wisdom Soul Ring of her second martial soul.

Huo Yutong stood there blankly, feeling the icy yet powerful soul force within her body.