Chef God of the Wuxia and Fantasy World

Chapter Twenty-One: Generous Rewards

A flash of lightning and a clap of thunder, and the enormous body of the Candle Dragon appeared in the void before the three of them.

"Hmm?" The Candle Dragon, upon seeing Ling Chi and Shuang'er, asked, "Who are they?"

Huang Rong said loudly, "They are my eldest brother and second sister. I have told Senior Shenlong about my eldest brother's cooking skills, but my second sister is like me, without spiritual roots. I hope Senior Shenlong will have mercy and help my second sister open her spiritual roots."

"..." The Candle Dragon transformed into a middle-aged man and appeared before the three of them. He first glanced at Ling Chi, who immediately revealed an extremely friendly smile: "Junior Ling Chi greets Senior Dragon."

"Hmm." The Candle Dragon nodded, and he was quite fond of that smile.

Turning his head to look at Shuang'er, Shuang'er quickly clasped her hands in greeting: "Junior Shuang'er greets Senior Shenlong."

"Hmm." The Candle Dragon nodded and said, "It's not difficult for me to awaken your spiritual root. Just make meat that satisfies me."

"Rest assured, senior," Ling Chi said. "I will do my utmost to let Senior Shenlong taste my ultimate culinary skills."

"Let's begin!" The Candle Dragon casually tossed out two strangely shaped demonic beasts. Both beasts were severely injured and on the verge of death, barely breathing.

"Shuang'er, Rong'er, please help."

"it is good!"

The three immediately gutted and skinned the two monsters. Shuang'er arranged the table, pots, pans, and various ingredients neatly. Ling Chi used earth magic to raise a stove from the ground, placed a large pot on it, added water, and started a fire.

During the process, the monster's bones were put into a pot, along with knotted scallions, ginger, and cooking wine. The pot was then boiled in cold water. Meanwhile, the two women cut the meat into various different shapes as Ling Chi had instructed.

There was just too much meat from the two demonic beasts. In addition, Ling Chi was not going to roast it all, but to make it into multiple flavors, which was very complicated to handle. The Candle Dragon watched for a while and then thought it was too troublesome and he couldn't do it at all.

Ling Chi turned his head and asked, "What kind of flavor does Senior Shenlong like?"

"As long as it's not rotten, I can eat it," said the Candle-Holding Dragon.

"Can you eat vegetarian food, senior?" Ling Chi pressed.

The dragon holding the candle frowned: "I only eat meat."

"Okay." Ling Chi nodded. No less than a hundred ways to cook pure meat had already appeared in his mind. Frying, stir-frying, cooking, braising, stewing, and simmering were all included, but there were also many side ingredients needed. Fortunately, all the side ingredients were available.

After more than a hundred years of planting and breeding, the farm has achieved mass production of many of the world's high-quality ingredients, providing him with a continuous supply of recipes.

Today, he will let the Candle Dragon enjoy a feast of dishes made entirely of red ingredients.

Most importantly, the meat of these two monsters is already at the red level. No matter what kind of dish he makes, as long as he can ensure that the quality of the meat does not decline and reaches the red level, he will have a whole bunch of self-created red recipes out of thin air.

This is a pure, quality-driven red recipe that doesn't require any wishful thinking. It looks simple, but Huang Rong knows very well that ensuring the quality of the monster meat doesn't decline during the cooking process is no less difficult than wishful thinking.

Last time, she and Shang Xiuxun were lucky enough to barely make red-quality barbecue. This time, Ling Chi has to make multiple meat dishes, so he definitely won't give her any room for error. Everything will depend on hard skills to win. The difficulty is hundreds of times higher than the barbecue she and Shang Xiuxun made last time. The pressure Ling Chi has to bear is unimaginable to her.

She knew she couldn't be of much help, so she could only do her best to help Shuang'er with the kitchen work and not distract Ling Chi.

Although Ling Chi appeared calm, he was aware of the pressure he was under. Unlike the recipes he had already created, all the dishes he was making today were entirely new creations. While he could learn from the cooking methods of other meats, the meat of demon beasts was completely different from that of ordinary livestock. Preserving the freshness of the demon beast meat as perfectly as possible was a huge challenge. If his cooking skills hadn't reached the red level and he didn't have a certain level of confidence, he wouldn't have dared to be so reckless.

There is no turning back now.

Ling Chi set the marinated meat aside, handed the skewered meat to Huang Rong, and Shuang'er did the dirtiest and most tiring work, such as starting the fire, burning charcoal, and crushing garlic. She knew her cooking skills were too poor and there wasn't much she could do, but even if she could only offer Ling Chi the slightest help, she would do her best.

Seeing the three working together so well and in perfect harmony, a glint flashed in the eyes of the Candle Dragon, which then disappeared.

With flashing blades and soaring flames, Ling Chi finally began cooking as all preparations were completed.

Soon, the first dish was served: "Cumin-flavored Monster Meat, please enjoy."

The Candle Dragon sat before a stone table made with earth magic, its mouth watering at the cumin-scented monster meat that had been served. Just as it was about to dig in, Huang Rong stopped it, saying, "Senior, it's too unclean to eat with your hands. Use chopsticks!"

"..." The dragon holding the candle took the chopsticks and asked, "How do I use them?"

You don't even know how to use chopsticks?

Huang Rong dared not question it to her face, so she personally demonstrated how to use chopsticks: "That's how it is. Once you're skilled at using them, you can eat all the delicacies in the world with just a pair of chopsticks."

"That's convenient." The Candle Dragon nodded, moved its fingers a few times, and mastered the art of using chopsticks, picking up a few slices of cumin-flavored monster meat and putting them into its mouth.

“Hmm, um…” The Candle Dragon narrowed its eyes: Delicious.

Huang Rong was very pleased to see the Candle Dragon wolfing down the plate of cumin-flavored monster meat.

A good start is half the battle. Now that the first dish is a success, the rest will be much easier.

"Demon-infused Crispy Pork, please enjoy!"

Like Ling Chi and the others, the Candle-Holding Dragon had no sense of hunger or satiety, so he could eat as much as he wanted. Ling Chi planned to prepare one hundred meat dishes, each weighing no less than ten pounds, which would definitely satisfy the Candle-Holding Dragon's cravings.

As long as the quality of the red color is guaranteed.

"Hmm, um..." The Candle Dragon squinted its eyes again: This kind of meat is delicious too.

One dish after another, Ling Chi spent an entire day preparing a total of one hundred meat dishes for the Candle Dragon. Each dish received high praise from the Candle Dragon, and Ling Chi preserved the freshness of the ingredients to the greatest extent possible. As a result, he obtained one hundred self-created ordinary red recipes, which included all cooking methods, greatly enriching Ling Chi's red recipe library.

Unfortunately, the Candle Dragon only likes to eat meat, rendering many recipes that combine other ingredients useless. Otherwise, there would have been more than just a hundred red recipes that day.

Ling Chi brought the last large pot of bone broth to the table, watched as the Candle Dragon picked up the big iron pot and gulped down the broth, and asked with a beaming smile, "Senior Dragon, are you satisfied with your meal?"

"Not bad." The Candle Dragon slammed the iron pot onto the table and said, "Your cooking skills are indeed excellent. I am very satisfied with the meal."

"Then, senior, could you help Shuang'er awaken her spiritual root?" Ling Chi asked.

"It's just activating a spiritual root, a trivial matter."

The Candle-Holding Dragon unleashed its aura at Shuang'er, causing her delicate body to tremble. Immediately, the five spiritual roots of water, fire, thunder, wind, and earth were activated within her. Then, the Candle-Holding Dragon directly implanted the cultivation method of the Five Elements Orthodox Method into Shuang'er's sea of ​​consciousness, which could be considered a satisfactory tip for this time.

Sensing that Shuang'er was absorbing the five kinds of spiritual energy that were floating in the world, Ling Chi clasped his hands in thanks and said, "Thank you for your generous gift, Senior Divine Dragon."

"This is what you deserve." The Candle Dragon glanced at Ling Chi and said, "You are quite good. Your fire spirit root is outstanding. Although your other spirit roots are average, you have all the spirit roots. Your future achievements are limitless."

"Speaking of which, I wonder if you could help me improve my other spiritual roots, senior?" Ling Chi asked cautiously.

"..." The Candle Dragon looked at him and said calmly, "I only have five kinds of original spiritual roots. I can only improve four of your spiritual roots at most. As for the others, I am powerless to help you."

"Four kinds are fine enough. Thank you, senior." Ling Chi clasped his hands in a fist and bowed.

"Hmm." The Candle Dragon injected another burst of energy into his body. Ling Chi's body trembled, and he immediately felt that his four spiritual roots of water, thunder, wind, and earth had been enhanced by more than ten times. Even his fire spiritual root had been slightly enhanced. It seemed that the Candle Dragon had also helped him enhance his fire spiritual root.

"Thank you so much, senior!" Ling Chi said excitedly, expressing his gratitude repeatedly.

"No need," the Candle-Holding Dragon said calmly. "From now on, come here once a month to cook for me."

"Don't worry, senior. As long as nothing unexpected happens, I will come every month from now on," Ling Chi said.

"Hmm." The Candle Dragon nodded, then took another reverse scale and tossed it to him, saying, "If you encounter danger, you can channel your spiritual energy into it, and I will come to your rescue."

Ling Chi hugged the 'shield', his heart filled with joy: "Thank you very much, senior."

Hehehe, from now on, with the Candle-Bearing Dragon protecting me, let's see who dares to mess with me.

"Hmm." The Candle Dragon waved its hand: "You've been here all day, tainted with deathly aura. Go back now!"

"Yes, senior." All three felt a foul aura on their bodies, which made them very uncomfortable. They hadn't expected it to be death energy. It seemed that Mount Buzhou was truly not a place for the living. From now on, they would come here once a month, which would be a life-or-death struggle.

After cleaning up the pots and pans, the three of them flew away on their swords.

The Candle Dragon gazed in the direction where the three had disappeared, muttering to itself, "Fate is ambiguous, even I cannot see through it. These little fellows are quite interesting."

……

Having received the gift from the Candle-Bearing Dragon, the three returned to the Qionghua Sect and, together with Shang Xiuxun, intensified their cultivation of the Five Elements Orthodox Method.

The Five Elements Orthodox Method is the signature skill of the Candle Dragon, and its application is extremely exquisite, several times more sophisticated than Wang Chongyang's rudimentary spells. All four of them possess the top-tier Five Elements Spiritual Roots, and with the Five Elements Orthodox Method, their spells have advanced by leaps and bounds, and their combat power has greatly increased.

After learning from the Five Elements Orthodox Method, Wang Chongyang and others also experienced varying degrees of improvement and understanding.

On the other hand, during this period, Zong Lian redesigned new flying swords for Shuang'er, Huang Rong, and Shang Xiuxun—the Five Spirit Swords.

Chapter Twenty-Two: Abandoning Ascension

The Five Elements Sword is forged from the bones of a demonic dragon, supplemented with ice crystals, fire-refined essence, earth-obsidian, storm stones, and thunder stones, and engraved with the Five Elements Array. It is not only incredibly tough, but can also enhance the power of its master's Five Elements spells by 50%.

50% may not seem like much, but it's a 50% increase in the power of all five elemental spells, which is quite astonishing.

The three Five Elemental Swords were all of the same quality as the Wind, Fire, and Thunder Swords, and possessed high-level sword spirits, which delighted the three women.

In the years that followed, Ling Chi's life entered a more regular phase. During the day, he taught disciples and practiced magic in the Sword Casting Valley. At night, he would go into his space to hone his cooking skills and practice magic. Every month, he would go to Buzhou Mountain to cook a meat meal for the Candle-Holding Dragon. Each time the Candle-Holding Dragon was satisfied with the meal, it would give him a very substantial reward, such as special minerals from Buzhou Mountain, some trinkets that the Candle-Holding Dragon had collected over the past tens of thousands of years, or impart some cultivation insights, which greatly benefited him.

Occasionally, Ling Chi would leave the Qionghua Sect or go to Shouyang to check on Liu Mengli's progress in cooking and give her pointers on new recipes. He also indicated that he would take her to the Qionghua Sect to cultivate after she turned eighteen.

Liu Mengli was overjoyed. She had lived in Shouyang for more than ten years, spending about 360 out of 365 days a year confined to her secluded chambers. She had long felt stifled. If she could leave Shouyang and go to the Qionghua Sect to cultivate immortality, and become a sword immortal in the future, ruling the world with her sword, wouldn't that be wonderful!

Alternatively, you could visit the Yan Emperor Shennong Cave, chat with Chu Bihen and Chu Hanjing, bring them some delicious food, and perhaps fight the Fire Demon to get some Fire Spirit Crystals.

Several years ago, Chu Bihen begged Ling Chi to help her find the Blazing Flame Stone so that she could ascend to immortality and end her unchanging life of the past thousand years.

Ling Chi granted her wish, defeated the Lava Beast King, and obtained the Blazing Flame Stone.

However, the Lava Beast King was truly powerful, twice as strong as the Fire Demon that Ling Chi had killed before. Fortunately, he had also broken through to the red level and had maxed out his attributes. With the sword techniques and spells he had learned over the years of cultivation, as well as the talismans made by Shuang'er, he finally killed the Lava Beast King after a fierce battle.

This victory was hard-won, which surprised Ling Chi that Yun Tianhe, Han Lingsha, Liu Mengli, and Murong Ziying were able to kill the Lava Beast King together in the game. He had already reached the highest level of ordinary red-tier characters, and even killing the Lava Beast King was so difficult for him. Although Yun Tianhe and the others worked together as a group, did this prove that their combined strength was about the same as his?

After a series of adventures and improvements in strength, the four of them still couldn't defeat Xuanxiao. So how strong is Xuanxiao?

The four of them together could defeat Xuanxiao and Suyao, who together possessed one-tenth of the power of Xuanxiao. Suyao had only recently advanced to the red level and was not weak, yet she was easily defeated and subdued by Xuanxiao.

Even if Xuanxiao's strength increased greatly after being frozen for nineteen years, he shouldn't be this powerful, right?

Could it be related to demonic possession?

Because he became a demon, his strength increased dramatically?

And the assistance of the Xihe Sword?

Otherwise, there's no way to explain Xuanxiao's illogical power.

Moreover, Ling Chi discovered a problem: whether it was the Qionghua Sect or other Kunlun sects, they could greatly improve their cultivation and strength in the early stages of cultivation, but in the middle and later stages, it all became a slow and steady process. Although they could still improve, the improvement would not be too fast.

Could this be a flaw in the cultivation techniques of immortality sects?

Ling Chi also inquired with the Candle-Holding Dragon, whose reply was: "The cultivation method has problems, but talent is the key to success or failure. Just like most cultivators live mediocre lives, while some exceptionally talented individuals ascend to immortality, this is the difference in talent."

After hearing the explanation from the Candle Dragon, Ling Chi recalled that Xuan Xiao's talent was indeed terrifyingly high. She remembered that in the side story of Phoenix Chang Li, Mu Feng, the Phoenix Tree Flower Fairy who had cultivated for five hundred years, said that Xuan Xiao and Su Yu often went to Zui Hua Yin to see the phoenix flowers. At that time, Xuan Xiao had only cultivated for two or three years, but his cultivation level was already no less than that of her, a terrestrial immortal who had cultivated for five hundred years.

He reached the level of a terrestrial immortal in just two or three years. Although he was frozen for nineteen years due to a qi deviation, he continued to cultivate diligently during those nineteen years. He even created the Ice Condensation Technique to neutralize the yang fire in his body, allowing him to maintain his rationality while frozen.

Although he was unable to suppress Yang Yan even with the help of the Three Cold Weapons and eventually fell into demonic possession, Xuan Xiao's power was indeed deeply ingrained in people's minds. It is likely that even the Sword Saint of Shu Mountain in the first Legend of Sword and Fairy game was no match for him.

According to Ling Chi's own estimation, Xuan Xiao's peak state may have reached the top level of the red realm. However, even Xuan Xiao, who was at the top level of the red realm, was easily suppressed by the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden. Just how powerful was the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden?

Above the Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady is the Heavenly Emperor Fuxi.