Chef God of the Wuxia and Fantasy World

Chapter Twenty Quasi-Saints

Several days later, Tang Sanzang and his disciples arrived at a dense forest. Tang Sanzang found the scenery to be nice, and since he was tired and hungry, he decided to stop and rest for the time being, and asked Sun Wukong to beg for some food for him.

After Sun Wukong left, Tang Sanzang sat down to rest in the forest, reciting scriptures as he went, and was quite content for a while. Just then, he suddenly heard a sobbing cry for help.

Tang Sanzang was astonished: "How could someone be calling for help in such a dense forest? Could it be that they have encountered wolves, insects, tigers, or leopards?" He was about to get up to take a look.

Sha Wujing stopped him, saying, "Master, this place is far from the mortal world. How could there be anyone here? I'm afraid it's a demon trying to lure you there again."

"This..." Tang Sanzang had suffered many such losses on his journey westward, and he hesitated for a moment.

Hesitating, he heard the woman's cries for help again, this time even more heartbreaking.

Tang Sanzang's heart softened, and he said, "Even if it is a demon, with Wujing and Bajie protecting your master, I think there will be no harm. But if a life is lost because I cannot go there, I cannot bear it." After saying this, he walked towards the direction of the cries for help.

Helpless, Sha Wujing could only call on Zhu Bajie to help protect their master as they went to 'rescue' people.

The three of them traversed the dense forest and soon found the source of the cries for help. There they saw a woman tied to a large tree, her upper half bound to the tree by vines, while her lower half was buried in the ground.

"Amitabha," Tang Sanzang chanted, then asked, "Female Bodhisattva, why are you bound here?"

When the woman saw him approaching and asking questions, tears immediately streamed down her face. Her peach-blossom cheeks were streaked with tears, revealing a beauty that could make fish sink and geese fall from the sky; her starry eyes were filled with sorrow, giving her a face that could shame the moon and flowers.

Tang Sanzang silently recited "Form is emptiness, emptiness is form" a few times in his heart, too cowardly to approach, but he could not remain silent, so he quickly asked, "Female Bodhisattva, what crime have you committed? Tell this humble monk, and I will save you."

The woman choked back tears, saying, “Master, my home is in the Land of Poor Women, more than two hundred li from here. My parents, who were very kind and loving, were always kind and compassionate. One Qingming Festival, they invited relatives and family members to pay respects at our ancestral graves. The whole group, in sedan chairs and on horseback, traveled to the desolate countryside. Upon arriving at the graves, we began the offerings and had just burned paper offerings when we heard the sound of gongs and drums. A group of bandits came running out, wielding knives and clubs, shouting and attacking. We were terrified. My parents and relatives, those with horses and sedan chairs, fled for their lives. I am still young…” Unable to run any further, I collapsed to the ground in fear and was abducted to the mountains by a group of bandits. The First King wanted me as his wife, the Second King wanted me as his concubine, and the third and fourth all loved my beauty. Seventy or eighty families quarreled together, and everyone was indignant, so they tied me up in the forest, and the bandits scattered and left. It has been five days and five nights now, and my life is about to end! I don't know what good deeds my ancestors accumulated in my past lives, that I have met you, Master, today. Please have great compassion and save my life; I will never forget your kindness even in the netherworld! After saying this, tears streamed down my face.

"..." Ling Chi, who was hiding in the shadows, saw this scene and his lips twitched. Just like the story that the rat spirit made up, it was too far-fetched.

Why is Lingchi here? It's not to come back and see the Rat Demon, but for Tang Sanzang.

Ling Chi had already plundered everything he could on his journey to the West, but there was only one thing left, something he had always overlooked: the flesh of Tang Sanzang, which all the demons and monsters wanted to eat.

Everyone says that eating Tang Sanzang's flesh can grant immortality. Although Ling Chi is more inclined to believe that this is a lie fabricated by Buddhism, what if it really is true? If Tang Sanzang's flesh really does have the effect of granting immortality, then he, as the God of Cookery, must get a piece to try.

Human flesh? What human flesh! This is the flesh of Jin Chanzi. Besides, he only wanted two or three pounds. Tang Sanzang is plump and fair-skinned, losing a few pounds of flesh is no big deal.

However, Tang Sanzang was being watched by Buddhist monks all the way, so to obtain Tang Sanzang's flesh, one had to be strategic. The best way was to strike when Tang Sanzang was kidnapped by a demon, so that the blame for Tang Sanzang's flesh being cut off could be placed on the demon.

It wasn't that he chose to make the rat spirit take the blame; it was just that she was unlucky and happened to be in the wrong place at the right time. Ling Chi could only apologize. At worst, he could recruit her to revive her at the farm after the Buddhist monks killed her.

Anyway, recruiting farmers and herdsmen doesn't require living people; dead people are just as good.

After putting on a series of performances, the rat demon finally got a chance to get close to Tang Sanzang. Just as she was about to kidnap him, Sun Wukong flew back.

Well, all is lost; the rat demon's plan to abduct Tang Sanzang has failed.

But it didn't matter. A few days later, when Tang Sanzang and his disciples were staying at a temple, the rat demon finally succeeded in kidnapping Tang Sanzang.

Sensing Tang Sanzang's undrained yang energy, the rat demon was overjoyed. After returning to the Bottomless Cave, she instructed her maids to prepare the bridal chamber. Although she was a demon, she was also one who valued rituals. To obtain Tang Sanzang's yang energy, she naturally had to get married first. After the wedding, she could then absorb it to her heart's content.

Unfortunately, the wedding room had barely been decorated when Sun Wukong attacked. The rat spirit immediately drew its sword to fight, while Ling Chi seized the opportunity, transforming an ordinary soybean into a monster, and wielding a kitchen knife, slashed at Tang Sanzang's thigh.

"what--"

With a scream, Sun Wukong's eyes turned red, and he roared, "Master!"

With great effort, he raised his mighty cudgel and killed the rat demon with a single blow. He then rushed over and saw that Tang Sanzang's thigh was bleeding, a piece of flesh of which had been cut off by a demon.

"Die, you monster!" With a single blow from Sun Wukong's staff, the monster's brains splattered out, and it died on the spot.

"Master!" Sun Wukong rushed to Tang Sanzang's side and asked anxiously, "Master, are you alright, Master?"

Tang Sanzang cried out in pain, tears streaming down his face, "Wukong, it hurts so much!"

Sun Wukong's eyes turned bloodshot: "Damn monster!" He immediately used a pain-relieving method to alleviate Tang Sanzang's pain, and then carried him away from the Bottomless Cave. Before leaving, he set off a fire, burning the entire Bottomless Cave to ashes, and the monster who had cut off Tang Sanzang's flesh was also burned to ashes.

……

The news that Tang Sanzang's thigh flesh had been cut off shocked the entire Buddhist community in the shortest possible time. When Buddha Tathagata heard about this, he was furious and summoned Guanyin Bodhisattva, reprimanding her: "What kind of work have you done?! Do you still want to work here? If you don't want to work here, get out of here!"

Guanyin Bodhisattva, who had been sprayed with spittle, felt wronged and angry. She was not angry that Buddha had sprayed her, but that the Dharma protector Jialan, who was secretly watching over Tang Sanzang, had neglected his duties and allowed Tang Sanzang to have his flesh cut off by a demon. Fortunately, Sun Wukong arrived in time, otherwise Tang Sanzang would not have been cut off, but eaten.

After that, Guanyin Bodhisattva increased the number of people protecting Tang Sanzang, and until the journey to the West ended, there were no more troubles.

……

Chef's Space.

Ling Chi looked at the piece of Tang Sanzang's thigh meat, a hint of satisfaction in his eyes.

It's glittering with gold; it's a top-quality golden ingredient!

If done well, it can be made into four or five diamond-colored dishes. Originally, he was worried that the Tang Monk's flesh was a product of Buddhism's propaganda to lure demons into a trap, but he didn't expect that the Tang Monk's flesh would actually be effective, and that the flesh also contained compassionate Buddhist nature and considerable merit, which was quite interesting.

Ling Chi thought of Yi Lin, a devout Buddhist, and felt that giving her these dishes was most appropriate. She wondered if Yi Lin would instantly attain Buddhahood after eating them.

Eating Tang Sanzang's flesh grants instant Buddhahood... Doesn't that seem a bit ironic?

After Ling Chi had the Chef God Space analyze and simulate Tang Monk's flesh, he used the simulated Tang Monk's flesh to make continuous attempts, which lasted for five years.

Over five years, Ling Chi tried tens of thousands of methods and created thousands of diamond-colored recipes. Finally, he selected the five that worked best and used real Tang Monk flesh to make them.

In addition to significantly increasing basic stats, these five dishes also have five outstanding benefits: Buddha-nature, merit, immunity to all evil, purification of impurities, and freedom of body and mind.

Looking at the five dishes that shimmered with diamond-like light, Ling Chi took a deep breath and felt relaxed from the inside out. It was as if everything in the world was so beautiful and no negative energy could affect him anymore.

Just smelling it has this effect; what if you ate it?

Soon after, Ling Chi brought the five dishes to Yi Lin's cottage in the Sky Garden.

Three tigers were lying in front of the hut. The one in the lead was Hu Ci, the mount that Yi Lin had taken in years ago. The other two were two tiger cubs that had grown up. These two tigers were two sizes bigger than Hu Ci, but they were guarding Hu Ci on the left and right, which showed Hu Ci's status.

When the three tigers saw Ling Chi arrive, they immediately bowed and made way for him to push open the door and go inside.

"Junior Sister Yilin, what are you looking at?" As soon as I walked in, I saw Yilin engrossed in a Buddhist scripture, but Diaochan was nowhere to be seen beside her: "Where is Diaochan?"

Upon seeing Ling Chi, Yi Lin smiled and said, "Sister Diao Chan is currently in seclusion, breaking through her cultivation barrier. She'll be out in about ten days." She paused, then asked, "What brings you here, Senior Brother?"

"I specially prepared a few dishes for you, please try them." Ling Chi took out five dishes and placed them on the dining table.

Looking at the five dishes that shimmered with a dazzling diamond-like light, Yilin was stunned for a moment: "Meat?"

“You are merely a student and practitioner of Buddhism, not a member of the Buddhist community, so of course you can eat meat,” Ling Chi said. “Besides, you had already left the monastic life back then and were my wife, so of course you can eat meat.”

"..." Yi Lin sighed softly, "If Senior Brother wants me to eat, I will eat."

Ling Chi smiled and said, "That's right. This is a good thing. I want to see if you can become a Buddha on the spot after eating it?"

Yilin smiled and said, "All living beings can attain Buddhahood; Buddhahood resides in the heart, not in force..."

"That's enough." Ling Chi interrupted her. "I want you to be a powerful Buddha, is that alright?"

Yilin smiled helplessly and said, "If Senior Brother says it's okay, then it's okay."

"Don't just talk the talk, come on, have a taste." Ling Chi handed her a pair of chopsticks.

"Thank you, Senior Brother." Yilin took the chopsticks, looked at the five dishes, and picked up the one closest to her.

"Um……"

Although the bonus for conquering times was gone after being recruited, the feeling of being conquered still existed. Yilin experienced the feeling of being conquered three times in a row, but failed to do so in the last two.

This was to be expected, because after eating the third dish, Ling Chi sensed a change in Yi Lin's aura. It wasn't that her combat power had become much stronger, but rather that something indescribable had broken through the shackles of the Great Luo Golden Immortal and reached the level of Quasi-Saint.

Mysterious and mystical, the door to all wonders.

Yilin wore a holy and compassionate smile. She had reached a state of purity of body and mind, and was also protected by merit. She was like the warm sun in winter, the stream in summer, the breeze in autumn, and the green grass in spring.

Ling Chi nestled in her arms, feeling the warmth of the winter sun, the summer river, the autumn breeze, and the spring grass, and comfortably dozed off.

With a look of tenderness and a smile in her eyes, Yi Lin gently stroked Ling Chi's hair and hummed a tune.

Hawthorns and pears, cherries and pears, wash them all... (Don't hit my head!)

……

Yilin's transformation caused a sensation in the farm. After all, Yilin had broken through the system's constraints. When Lingchi was still a Great Luo Golden Immortal, she broke through to the Quasi-Saint realm. This made everyone reasonably suspect that the system's constraints were not absolute, and that as long as the right opportunity was found, the system's constraints could also be broken.

Understanding something is one thing, but doing it is another.

There was no life-or-death struggle on the farms and ranches, and life was too comfortable. As a result, the people on the farms and ranches had no sense of urgency or desire to fight, which directly eroded their will and made them willingly do the work of farming, raising chickens, chopping wood, and feeding horses.

Even Wang Chongyang, who was unconvinced by Yilin back then, lost his competitive spirit when he learned that Yilin had become a Quasi-Saint, because he was busy improving his weapon crafting skills and would have to help Lingchi craft several innate spiritual treasures in the future!

After a few months of buzz surrounding Yilin at the farm, the hype gradually died down. No matter how powerful Yilin became, she had no use for it in this space. Only Diaochan, who had recently broken through to the Seven-Tailed Realm, was truly happy. At the Seven-Tailed Realm, Diaochan was already at the Taiyi Golden Immortal level. She was worried about what would happen if Yilin's Buddhist nature couldn't suppress her alluring nature once she grew to the Eight-Tailed Realm. Unexpectedly, after she emerged from seclusion, Yilin broke through to the Quasi-Saint level.

That's great! Even if she breaks through to the Eight-Tails realm, she can continue cultivating in peace. Once she breaks through to the Nine-Tails realm, she will be able to control her alluring nature.

Over the years, thanks to Yilin's constant support, she had come to regard Yilin as her own sister. The more her sister achieved, the happier she was, because it was also beneficial to her.

Having spent a long time by Yilin's side, Diaochan has also learned a lot about Buddhist principles. A fox spirit who studies Buddhism, I wonder what Diaochan will become after she becomes a nine-tailed fox.

Ling Chi remains hopeful about this.

Having made the most of Tang Sanzang's flesh and scavenged everything he could along the journey to the West, Ling Chi can finally free up his hands to focus on leveling up.

Chapter Twenty-One: The Six Sages Gather at Wuzhuang Temple

"Ding! Conquered the stomach of the high-level diamond-colored diner, Zhen Yuanzi. Conquest count +10. High-level diamond-colored recipe dropped – Earth Shield."

"Earth Shield: Advanced Diamond-colored recipe. By stepping on the earth, one can control the power of the earth to protect oneself. If the earth does not break, one will not be injured. The effect cannot be stacked."

"Ding, you have conquered high-level diners 2 times, diners of the same level 88 times, and low-level diners 523 times. The upgrade conditions have been met, and host Ling Chi's cooking skills have been promoted to diamond-level advanced."

"Ding! Congratulations to host Ling Chi for upgrading her cooking skills to Diamond-level Advanced. You are rewarded with a unique divine equipment set—the God of Cookery Set."

"Master Chef Set: Wearing this set allows you to unleash 200% of your culinary skills, limited to three dishes per day."

……

Longevity Hill, Wuzhuang Temple.

As Zhen Yuanzi ate the thirtieth diamond-colored dish, he finally triggered the conquest effect and replenished the last of his experience points, helping Ling Chi successfully advance to the advanced diamond-colored culinary skill level.

Upon seeing the recipe for Earth Shield revealed by Zhen Yuanzi, Ling Chi knew that as long as he kept his feet firmly on the ground, he would be safe from any danger. But what surprised him most was that the upgrade reward this time was no longer a recipe, but the Chef God Set.

"Ding! The reward recipe is only for upgrading to the Common Diamond-level Cooking skill. Upgrading to the Advanced Diamond-level Cooking skill and the ultimate Top-level Diamond-level Cooking skill will reward you with items related to the God of Cooking. Please keep up the good work, host Ling Chi. The next upgrade will reward you with the ultimate artifact of the God of Cooking."

The ultimate artifact!?

Ling Chi's eyes lit up with excitement: "What is it?"

"Ding, you'll know after the upgrade."

I knew it.