Chef God of the Wuxia and Fantasy World

But Zhunti's actions are really annoying, and it's no wonder that Zhunti is so disliked in many fantasy novels.

Moreover, Nuwa is his sworn sister, and Zhunti did this rashly without asking for his opinion, so he must be taught a lesson.

Thinking of this, Ling Chi put down the spirit pearl and let her play with it by herself. Then he took out a rolling pin, broke through space and time, and smashed it down on Zhunti, who had just returned to the West.

Zhunti had just returned to the West and was in the most relaxed state of mind. He never expected to be ambushed at home. After the rolling pin hit him on the head dozens of times, Zhunti was covered in bumps and screams of pain.

However, Zhunti dared not get angry, because he recognized whose weapon had hit his head—it was clearly the rolling pin of the Chef God. Zhunti knew he was in the wrong, and since the Chef God wanted to teach him a lesson, he could only endure it. After all, even after becoming a saint, he was still no match for Ling Chi! He was going to get beaten up anyway, so he dared not resist.

"If there's a next time, I won't let you off easily." With that, the rolling pin flew back into Ling Chi's hand.

Zhunti was in so much pain that he was in tears. He touched his head and found that the swelling wouldn't go down, which startled him.

At this moment, Jieyin sensed the commotion and rushed over. Seeing his junior brother with a head full of bumps, he was immediately startled: "Junior brother, what happened to you?"

Zhunti wiped away his tears and said with a bitter smile, "Don't mention it. I did something wrong and was punished by the God of Cookery, which is why I look like this."

"Master Chef!?" Jieyin sensed something and immediately understood the cause and effect of the matter. He couldn't help but feel a wave of fear: "Junior brother, you acted too rashly. If it weren't for the senior's magnanimity, I'm afraid our West would have faced annihilation again."

"No, no one in the world is better to you and me than the God of Cookery. Even if he's angry, he won't punish us too severely. It's just that..." Zhunti touched his head full of bumps. Although he couldn't reduce the swelling, he felt that the hairstyle was quite good-looking after using his magic to relieve the pain: "Senior brother, why don't you get a hairstyle like mine? It can serve as a symbol of my Western identity."

"..."

……

It is said that Nuwa happened to be meeting the Three Sovereigns of Heaven, Earth, and Man in the Fire Cloud Cave today. This was just a polite way of saying it; in reality, she wanted to see her brother Fuxi. Although their identities were different now, the sibling bond they had shared since the creation of the world had continued. When she had nothing to do, Nuwa would come here to visit and keep in touch.

Because they hadn't seen each other for many years, she had a pleasant chat with her brother and didn't attach her spiritual consciousness to the statue in Nuwa Palace. It wasn't until she left Huoyun Cave that she remembered it was her birthday.

"Oh dear! I almost forgot it's my birthday today. I wonder if Brother Ling prepared a birthday cake for me? Hehe." Nuwa was fantasizing about Ling Chi preparing a birthday party for her when she casually reattached her spiritual consciousness to the statue in Nuwa Palace. But as soon as she attached it, she caught a glimpse of the poem that King Zhou had written on the pink wall.

Upon seeing this, even the revered Nuwa was filled with shame and anger. She looked towards Chaoge and cursed, "How outrageous! Now that the Investiture of the Gods is approaching, Yin Shou, this wicked and foolish ruler, does not want to cultivate himself and establish virtue to protect the world. Instead, he is not afraid of Heaven and recites poems to insult me. How despicable!"

While Nuwa was in a fit of anger, a minister came to Nuwa's palace carrying incense in one hand and water in the other.

It was that great Shang Asia Bigan.

It turned out that Bigan was a loyal and righteous man. After returning to the Chaoge Palace with the others, he finally felt that King Zhou's actions were very inappropriate. So he thought to himself, "As a subject of the Great Shang Dynasty, for the sake of the Great Shang's fate, even if I am punished by King Zhou, I can't care." So he wanted to go to Nuwa's Palace to wash away the poem written by King Zhou.

Bi Gan burned incense and knelt down, saying, "Holy Mother Nuwa above, your subject is Bi Gan, the second son of the Great Shang Dynasty. Your Majesty has been disrespectful to you today, and I beg you not to take offense!" After bowing, he washed away the poem inscribed by King Zhou on the palace wall with water.

Nuwa sighed inwardly and looked towards the direction of the Chaoge Palace. She saw purple mist and red light soaring into the sky. This was the national fortune of the Shang Dynasty, which had been accumulated by more than 30 generations of kings over 700 years and the rule of the people. As long as this national fortune remained, King Zhou's kingdom would be secure.

For over seven hundred years since the founding of the Great Shang Dynasty, there have always been many loyal and righteous individuals. This spirit of loyalty and righteousness is a righteous and noble force that naturally contributes to the nation's destiny. Even the revered goddess Nuwa was unwilling to directly interfere with the destiny of the human emperors and thus jeopardize her own merits.

After thinking for a moment, Nuwa waved her hand, and a seven-colored ray of light flew toward Bigan. Bigan was busy and unaware of the changes happening to him.

Nuwa returned to her palace and instructed her attendant Caiyun to summon the three demons from Xuanyuan Tomb. The three demons were a nine-tailed fox spirit, a nine-headed pheasant spirit, and a jade pipa spirit. Originally nameless demons in the mountains, they unintentionally came to the tomb of the human emperor Xuanyuan 1,500 years ago. They were able to absorb the human emperor's energy day and night to refine their own demonic energy. 500 years ago, they transformed into three women, each with a beauty that could make fish sink and geese fall from the sky, and a face that could shame flowers and hide the moon. All of them were at the early stage of Earth Immortal cultivation.

The three demons, accompanied by the Cloud-Colored Boy, arrived at Nuwa's Palace. Feeling uneasy, they knelt down and bowed, saying, "Long live the Empress!"

Nuwa said, “Listen to my secret decree, you three demons: The aura of the Shang dynasty is dim, and it is destined to lose the world; the phoenix sings on Mount Qi, and a sage ruler has been born in the Western Zhou. The will of Heaven is set, and destiny is inevitable. You three demons may conceal your demonic forms, take refuge in the palace, and bewitch the king’s heart; wait for King Wu to attack Zhou, and assist him in his success. You must not harm the living beings. After the deed is done, you will also attain enlightenment.”

Nuwa spoke, and the three demons obeyed without question. They kowtowed in gratitude and headed towards the Shang Dynasty.

This journey marked the beginning of the Investiture of the Gods.

Chapter 41 Nuwa's Jealousy Affects the Spirit Pearl

After instructing the three demons of Xuanyuan Tomb, Nuwa went to the God of Cookery Realm. Upon seeing Ling Chi, she angrily sat down next to him without saying a word, only staring at him with a pitiful look.

"..."

Ling Chi chuckled lightly: "You've already taken action, so why are you still complaining to me?"

"I'm just angry." Nuwa snorted. "I am a saint, and King Zhou, a mere mortal, dared to humiliate me. It's infuriating!"

"Why bother arguing so much with someone who's about to die?" Ling Chi laughed. "Don't be angry, I'll make you a fruit cake."

Upon hearing about the fruit cake, Nuwa's eyes lit up, but she still turned her head away, saying, "Hmph! That King Zhou truly deserves to die."

Ling Chi smiled helplessly, patted Ling Zhuzi who was sitting on his lap eating a meat bun, and gestured for her to go and comfort Nuwa.

Lingzhuzi was very clever. He immediately jumped off Lingchi's lap, climbed onto Nuwa's lap, and said, "Your Majesty, don't be angry. If you hate King Zhou, I will go and kill him to help Your Majesty vent your anger."

"Don't talk nonsense. How can you kill people so casually? You're not allowed to say such things again, understand?" Although Nuwa was pleased to hear this, she still criticized Lingzhuzi a few times.

Lingzhuzi pouted and said, "Oh, I see."

"Do you look like you know anything?" Nuwa patted Lingzhu's bottom and said, "I think you need to be taught a lesson. Now the great calamity of the Investiture of the Gods is about to begin, and the Western Zhou will replace the Shang Dynasty. If you really want to avenge me, go and reincarnate to help the Western Zhou destroy the Shang Dynasty. At that time, you will not only avenge me, but also achieve enlightenment."

"I'm not going!" Lingzhuzi immediately jumped off Nuwa's lap, intending to run away.

"You have to go, whether you like it or not!" Nuwa wasn't about to let her escape. She immediately grabbed her and with a flick of her wrist, she transformed back into a spirit pearl. Nuwa held the spirit pearl in her hand and said, "I will find you a good family. Someone will guide you then, so don't worry."

Lingzhu struggled incessantly, trying to escape, but how could she escape Nuwa's grasp? Nuwa sealed her six senses, along with her memories, and then cast her into the mortal world.

"..." Ling Chi was stunned for a moment, then said, "Why did you suddenly want Ling Zhuzi to reincarnate?"

“Lingzhu spends all her time in the Culinary God Realm, eating and drinking for free, without any ambition. If this continues, she’ll become a useless piece of trash sooner or later,” Nuwa said. “This Investiture of the Gods is a good opportunity for her to improve; once missed, it will be hard to come by again. Anyway, with you and me protecting her, she’ll be fine. Let her give it a try!”

Ling Chi shook his head and said, "Even if she becomes a righteous god in the Heavenly Court, how can she compare to the carefree and happy life she has now? I think you just can't stand her always staying in the God of Cookery world to have fun."

"I didn't." Nuwa rolled her eyes, thinking to herself: I can't even be with you every day, but Lingzhuzi can. Humph! I can't stand it as long as she's doing better than me. Now, no one can be with you anymore, you're mine.

Then I thought: I need to find a sage to look after the Spirit Pearl, so that Brother Ling doesn't have to take action himself, which would be a loss. Hmm... Zhen Yuanzi doesn't concern himself with worldly affairs, the two Western Sages are too far away, Laozi of the Three Pure Ones is quiet and inactive and doesn't like to get involved; Tongtian's Jie Sect is connected to the fate of the Shang Dynasty, so it's not suitable either; Yuanshi Guanhui will follow the will of Heaven and holds the Investiture of the Gods, so he will definitely help Zhou destroy Shang, so he's the one.

……

Two flowers bloom, each representing a different branch.

After offering incense, King Zhou was captivated by the beauty of Nuwa. He was consumed by thoughts of her day and night, neglecting to eat or sleep. He found the six palaces and three courtyards utterly insignificant, like dust and dirt, unbearable to behold. He was constantly troubled by this matter and remained depressed. His ministers knew the reason for his distress but did not know how to comfort him. They could only hope that Grand Tutor Wen Zhong, who was away on a distant expedition, would return soon.

As the saying goes, when a country is about to perish, it will inevitably produce treacherous officials! Sure enough, the Great Shang Dynasty produced two such officials: Fei Zhong and You Hun, both Imperial Censors.

When Grand Tutor Wen Zhong was in court, the two lived in constant fear, lest they incur his jealousy. Now that Wen Zhong was gone, they swayed the emperor's wisdom with their flattery and slander, and King Zhou obeyed them without question. Their lives became much more comfortable, though they secretly wished that Wen Zhong would never return.

The two men knew what King Zhou was thinking, but even if they had a hundred times more courage, they wouldn't dare to make a move against the saint Nuwa.

The two pondered day and night how to fulfill King Zhou's wish. After some time of thought, they finally had a flash of inspiration and came up with an idea.

On this day, Fei Zhong stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty is the supreme ruler, possessing the wealth of the four seas, and your virtue matches that of Yao and Shun. As the saying goes, 'Under the whole heaven, all land belongs to the king; on the shores of the earth, all people are subjects of the king.' Your Majesty can issue an edict to the four vassal states, ordering each garrison to select one hundred beautiful women to fill the royal court. Why worry that the most beautiful women in the world will not be chosen by the king?"

Upon hearing this, King Zhou was overjoyed and said, "What you have said is exactly what I wanted."

He was about to issue the decree, but his ministers earnestly advised against it, saying that such an action would be wasteful of resources and harm the people, bringing no benefit whatsoever. Faced with the opposition of his ministers, King Zhou was not yet completely incompetent, and had no choice but to suppress his thoughts.

Several more years passed, and King Zhou grew increasingly bored. As is common among ordinary people, the more unattainable something is, the more they desire it. King Zhou was no exception; he neglected state affairs, leaving them to Fei Zhong and You Hun, two sycophants with no real ability. They only created chaos and demoralized the people of Chaoge.

This day marked the day when all the feudal lords came to Chaoge to pay homage. Led by four powerful lords, eight hundred feudal lords from across the land arrived at the Chaoge Palace. Knowing that Fei Zhong and You Hun were favored ministers of King Zhou, each lord prepared a generous gift for them. Only Su Hu, the lord of Ji Province, was an upright and unyielding man who ignored them. This incurred the jealousy of Fei Zhong and You Hun, who secretly vowed to make Su Hu suffer.

The next day, Fei Zhong and You Hun advised King Zhou, "We have heard that Marquis Su Hu of Ji Province has a daughter named Daji, who is as beautiful as the goddess Nuwa. Why doesn't Your Majesty summon her to the palace to fulfill your wish? Besides, Your Majesty is only summoning one woman this time, which is not a waste of resources and manpower. None of the ministers can object to it."

When King Zhou heard that Su Daji had the beauty of Nuwa, his eyes lit up, and he immediately summoned Su Hu, the Marquis of Jizhou, to explain the matter.

After hearing what King Zhou said, Su Hu looked troubled and knelt down, saying, "It is an honor for my daughter that Your Majesty has taken a liking to her. However, my daughter has been betrothed to Boyi Kao, the eldest son of the Marquis of Xibo, since childhood. As the saying goes, a woman should not marry twice. I beg Your Majesty to rescind your decree."

King Zhou frowned upon hearing this. At this time, he was still considered a wise ruler, and he would never do something as blatant as forcibly abducting women. Moreover, the other party was one of the two great vassal states, with Ji Chang, the Marquis of the West, being one of the four great vassal states under heaven, commanding two hundred lesser vassal states, making him the most powerful among the eight hundred vassal states in the land.

How could Fei Zhong and You Hun allow their carefully crafted conspiracy to fail? Fei Zhong immediately stepped forward and said sternly, "Your Majesty is the chosen one of Heaven, the supreme ruler. It is an honor for you to have taken a liking to Su Daji. As for the Marquis of Xibo, His Majesty can simply issue an imperial decree. Your excuses are truly insidious."

Su Hu was already extremely frustrated, and upon hearing this, he became even more furious. He thought to himself that it was all the work of the two of them. He immediately stood up, pointed at Fei Zhong and You Hun, and cursed them, saying, "You monsters have brought disaster to the country and the people. You flattered His Majesty and led him into injustice. You deserve to be executed."

Having long been a regional lord, Su Hu naturally possessed some authority, which frightened Fei Zhong and You Hun into quickly kneeling before King Zhou and begging for his protection!

King Zhou was already extremely displeased, and he said sternly, "It's one thing if you don't agree, but to reprimand me in the palace is unbecoming."

Su Hu was an upright official, and he immediately spoke out: "Your Majesty should emulate Yao and Shun and set an example for your ministers. Now, you have been deceived by treacherous people and have done such a heinous thing. I am afraid that the more than 700-year foundation of the Shang Dynasty will be ruined because of Your Majesty."

Everyone has a temper, let alone King Zhou. King Zhou was furious. He slammed his fist on the table and stood up, saying, "If the king wants his subject to die, the subject has no choice but to die. How can I choose your daughter as my concubine?" After a pause, he said, "Guards, immediately escort Su Hu out of the city and order him to send Daji to Chaoge within three months. Otherwise, we will send troops to Jizhou and wipe out Su Hu's entire clan!"

After leaving the city, Su Hu thought to himself, "Now that Grand Tutor Wen Zhong is on a distant expedition, the two powers are manipulating the country, and King Zhou is foolish and corrupt. If I were to offer Daji to him now, and the king were to become a foolish and immoral ruler, I fear that future generations would say that I used my daughter's beauty to bewitch the king, leaving me with a bad name for all time!" Some of his generals heard about this and advised Su Hu to establish himself as king.

Enraged, Su Hu didn't think twice. He figured he might as well go all the way and leave Chaoge, rather than be manipulated by treacherous people. So he took out his writing implements and inscribed a poem on the Meridian Gate of Chaoge: "The ruler has corrupted the relationship between ministers and subject. He has violated the Five Constant Virtues. Su Hu of Jizhou will never again serve the Shang!"

Then, together with his generals, he rode back to Jizhou.

Meanwhile, King Zhou, in his fury, rebuked Su Hu. Now, having regained his composure, he realized his actions were inappropriate, yet he couldn't bear to part with Daji's beauty, and remained hesitant. At this moment, a gatekeeper reported that Su Hu had written a seditious poem. Upon hearing this, King Zhou roared, "Such a treacherous rat! I will personally lead an expedition and surely destroy his kingdom!"

Fei Zhong and You Hun thought to themselves that their current power was entirely due to King Zhou. If King Zhou went on a distant expedition while they stayed behind to guard Chaoge, the other ministers would probably devour them. At that moment, You Hun stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven, with countless fierce generals under your command. Why must you personally lead the expedition? Just send a great general. I doubt that Su Hu, that clown, can cause any trouble."

Fei Zhong's eyes lit up. He said, "That Su Hu is related to Ji Chang, the Marquis of Xibo, by marriage. Why doesn't Your Majesty send Ji Chang on a distant expedition? Firstly, to quell the rebellion, and secondly, to let Ji Chang demonstrate his loyalty!"

King Zhou was overjoyed upon hearing this and issued a special decree granting the Marquis of the West the authority to wage war. Thus began the great chaos that had plagued the Shang Dynasty for over seven hundred years.

……

Now, there was Ji Chang, the Marquis of Xibo, a renowned sage of the Shang Dynasty, well-versed in the Eight Trigrams of Fuxi. He commanded two hundred vassal states, and his rule was prosperous and abundant, with a multitude of talented individuals. Now, King Zhou had personally appointed him as the Grand Marshal to attack Jizhou. Ji Chang secretly groaned in despair. But the king's command was difficult to disobey, and Ji Chang had no choice but to comply. He then allied with Chong Houhu, the Marquis of Nanbo, who belonged to Jizhou, and together they mobilized a million-strong army. Together, they amassed a million troops and marched mightily towards Jizhou.

Ji Province was only one province; how could it withstand the combined attack of two powerful warlords? Soon, the Ji Province army was surrounded at the city walls, and even Su Hu's only son, Su Quanzhong, was captured by Chong Heihu, the younger brother of the Marquis of Nanbo, Chong Houhu.

At this time, Su Daji was not yet possessed by the thousand-year-old nine-tailed fox. She was beautiful and kind-hearted. Upon hearing about her father and brother's situation, she immediately bowed to Su Hu and said, "Father, I have unfortunately been chosen by King Zhou, which has led to war between the two countries and my brother's capture. I am very worried about the people who are displaced. I cannot bear it. I beg you to escort me to the capital so that we can quell the conflict in Ji Province and rescue my brother."

With tears streaming down his face, Su Hu said, "As a great man, standing between heaven and earth, I cannot persuade the king to stay away from petty people, nor can I protect my children so that they can live without worry. My heart is truly filled with bitterness!"

Daji also cried out, "Father, you need not worry too much. After I enter the palace, I will definitely advise King Zhou to befriend virtuous ministers and stay away from wicked people, so as to restore a bright and prosperous world to our Shang Dynasty!"

Now that Jizhou was besieged, Su Hu had few options. He thought that if King Zhou could really change because of Daji, it would be a good thing. So he tearfully agreed.

The next day, Su Hu opened the city gates and surrendered. Ji Chang and Su Hu were related by marriage and had a close relationship. Seeing Su Hu and Daji, he naturally wouldn't make things difficult for the two or the people of Jizhou. He just sighed, ordered Su Quanzhong to be released, and commanded Su Hu to escort Daji to the capital as soon as possible!

On their way to Chaoge, Su Hu, Daji, and their entourage encountered a thousand-year-old nine-tailed fox waiting in Enzhou.

A gust of demonic wind swept by, and the nine-tailed fox was already attached to Daji's body. Just as it was about to absorb Daji's soul, Daji's soul suddenly disappeared without a trace.

The nine-tailed fox was terrified, but then she heard a voice say, "You must go and bewitch King Zhou, but do not harm anyone, lest you bring disaster upon yourself and bring about your own destruction."

The nine-tailed fox was terrified and hurriedly asked, "May I ask which senior you are?"

No one responded. The nine-tailed fox waited for a long time without a reply, and began to ponder: I am acting in the name of Goddess Nuwa. How could this person be stronger than Goddess Nuwa? Hmph! I have a sage behind me, and I will not listen to the instigation of a coward like you.

The nine-tailed fox made up her mind.

……

After Daji (the nine-tailed fox) arrived in the capital, King Zhou saw that she was indeed charming and beautiful, like a begonia in the sun or a pear blossom in the rain, with a delicate and charming allure. Compared with Nuwa's dignified and beautiful appearance, she had a different kind of charm. He was overjoyed and immediately made Daji a concubine, pardoned Su Hu's crime, and promoted her three ranks.

After becoming a concubine, Daji, acting on the will of Nuwa, corrupted the Shang Dynasty's order and ruined its fortunes. She deposed the empress, gouged out her eyes and cut off her hands, and forced the deaths of her two sons (who were later saved by Guangchengzi and Chijingzi of the Chan Sect). She created the branding cannon and the pit of scorpions, killing upright ministers such as Shang Rong and Mei Bo. She also built the Deer Terrace and the wine pool and meat forest for her own pleasure. King Zhou was completely infatuated with Daji and obeyed her every word, completely unaware that his actions were dragging himself and the Shang Dynasty step by step into the abyss of destruction.

Now, Yun Zhongzi, a disciple of the Chan Sect from Zhongnan Mountain, had lived among the human race for a long time and had been worshipped daily by the people of the Shang Dynasty near Zhongnan Mountain for ten thousand years. He was a kind-hearted person and could not bear to see Daji ruin the court and cause suffering to the people. He thought to himself that although it was the will of Heaven, he should do his best and leave the rest to fate in order to have peace of mind.

So he had a wooden sword made in the shape of the Giant Sword, a magical artifact he possessed, and presented it to King Zhou to slay demons. However, King Zhou later burned the sword. When Yun Zhongzi heard the news, he could only sigh and then went into seclusion, no longer concerning himself with worldly affairs.

Chapter 42 Nezha