Chapter 133

This last dish, for Holy Mother Jin Ling, was still somewhat disappointing; she had originally thought it could surpass a thousand dishes, and even if it fell short a little, it should at least be stunning.

Unexpectedly, it was merely a bit odd in appearance.

"Is this the last dish you spoke of?" Haotian asked Yaochi in a low voice, his tone filled with doubt and concern.

If this is truly the final dish, then the Heavenly Court has lost face spectacularly this time.

Yaochi shook her head, also lowering her voice: "I don't know."

Now she is flustered too, especially after seeing Maitreya Buddha's reaction to this soup—it's clearly undrinkable!

She is even somewhat annoyed in her heart—that monkey actually dared to deceive her!

The immortals wore various expressions, but fortunately, a large group of immortal attendants arrived, each carrying all kinds of ingredients.

Meat slices, vegetables, fresh shrimp, meatballs, crabs, and so on—too many to count.

Portions of ingredients were neatly arranged on the tables of the immortals.

Could this not be soup?!

Everyone's hearts filled with doubt.

At this moment, an immortal attendant approached Yaochi respectfully, handed her a slip of paper.

After opening it and seeing the words, Yaochi finally smiled faintly, her heart filled with confidence once more, and then said: "Everyone, this is the final dish—hot pot. Please enjoy!"

Hot pot?

The immortals gazed at the simmering pot before them, heated by charcoal fire, nodded, and found it quite vivid.

Following the instructions on the slip, Yaochi picked up her chopsticks, stood up, and began the live demonstration by picking up a meat slice.

"This is how you eat hot pot."

After speaking, Yaochi dropped the meat slice into the boiling white pot.

"You only need to place the ingredients in the pot, wait until they are cooked, then fish them out."

After a few breaths, Yaochi spoke while lifting the fully cooked meat slice, dipping it in ginger juice, and said: "Next, just eat it."

The immortals' vision was superb; at a glance they saw clearly the meat slice Yaochi lifted with her chopsticks, the glistening sauce instantly capturing their hearts and minds.

The meat slice entered the mouth—hot, savory and fragrant—almost making Yaochi jump up; it was simply too delicious.

If not for Yaochi's status as the Queen Mother, she would have surely shouted out by now.

No longer paying attention to those immortals, Yaochi sat down directly and began eating slice after slice.

The immortals stared wide-eyed at each other—what charm does this hot pot possess to make the Queen Mother lose her composure so?

For a moment, all the immortals began to imitate her with proper form.

"Mmm, delicious, so delicious."

"As a poor Daoist, I have never eaten anything this delicious."

The entire Heavenly Court instantly erupted in liveliness; all prior doubts vanished completely.

Tianpeng, as a pioneer, chewed while furrowing his brow to savor carefully.

After swallowing, he immediately relaxed and said to Yang Jian and Nezha: "Exquisitely fresh—aren't you eating?"

After speaking, he dumped a large amount of meat slices halfway into the white pot.

"Add more—this way it's satisfying to eat."

Yang Jian and Nezha also nodded in agreement.

For people like them who eat meat in big gulps and drink alcohol in big gulps, eating slice by slice still feels too petty-bourgeois.

Once the meat slices were fully cooked, the three directly scooped out large handfuls, dipped them in ginger juice, and ate with oil dripping from their mouths.

"This flavor, truly divine!" Nezha mumbled unclearly, yet his mouth never stopped moving for a moment.

Yang Jian said nothing, but his speed in picking up meat showed no slowness, vaguely even accelerating.

"Holy shit, you guys leave me some!" Tianpeng panicked—just moments ago he had lowered his head, so how did the meat in the pot shrink by nearly half?

The three scrambled in a frenzy.

Zhenyuanzi, however, still seething, thought in his view the Queen Mother's performance was truly too exaggerated,

Even if the earlier dish was exceptionally delicious, it shouldn't have made her lose composure so.

He is not one to be easily fooled; Zhenyuanzi does not make enemies of people, but that does not mean he can be casually bullied.

With a blank expression, Zhenyuanzi glanced around at the ingredients on the table, his face growing even slightly colder—everything was raw!

Could this be asking him to personally roll up his sleeves and cook?

The chef of the Imperial Kitchen really has gall!

Zhenyuanzi wanted to just slap his face—after all, having lived to this day, face is most important—but he, Zhenyuanzi, conducts himself with emphasis on propriety.

He actually wants to see, what gives them the nerve to be so reckless!

If it's just bluster, then don't blame him, Zhenyuanzi, for turning hostile and denying acquaintances.

As the ancestor of Earth Immortals, he possesses this strength, and even more so this confidence.

Reluctantly picking up his chopsticks, he casually glanced, then pinched a few stems of crow-die.

In his view, this vegetable, no matter how eaten, always tastes the same; this so-called hot pot, no matter how miraculous, couldn't stir up any waves.

Seeing the red pot was obviously spicy, and since Zhenyuanzi usually eats vegetarian, he chose the white pot.

After a while, seeing it was nearly done, Zhenyuanzi lifted the crow-die, dipped it in ginger juice, and tried a bite.

After chewing a few times in his mouth, savoring carefully, the anger in his heart instantly subsided.

The rich sauce flavor completely masked the blandness of the vegetable, yet retained its original freshness—too delicious.

Zhenyuanzi instantly understood why the Queen Mother was so eager—even the vegetables are like this, so the meat must be even better!

Thinking this, Zhenyuanzi precisely and elegantly pinched several kinds of ingredients and placed them into the cooking pot.

Maitreya Buddha's side is the most extravagant—he has ten tables of ingredients, far more luxurious than Tianpeng's.

Every pot, whether spicy or not, had ingredients poured into it—correct, they were poured in!

One pot of greens, one pot of meat, one pot of meatballs...

Each pot is different.

Maitreya Buddha furrowed his brow, his face full of seriousness, his entire body radiating an invisible aura.

It caused the immortal, immersed in cultivation after eating a nine-thousand-year peach, to shiver violently, nearly forced out of his meditative state.

Timing it perfectly, he suddenly opened his eyes; Maitreya Buddha's round, plump arms extended, splitting into several, bearing a resemblance to the Buddhist Sect's Thousand-Armed Guanyin.

Thousand-Armed Buddha, Maitreya!

All the arms elongated, each picking up the chopsticks laid out on the table; instantly, afterimages flickered continuously.

Swish-swish-swish!

Each arm's target was crystal clear: the fully cooked ingredients in every pot!

He wanted to seize the ingredients at the exact moment they were done, but it was no easy task, especially since Maitreya Buddha now had to judge the doneness of ten pots of dishes.

It was made even harder.

Yet, Maitreya Buddha lived up to his title as a Prepared Saint, his years of experience as Ling Mountain's great food lover allowing him to seize the moment with remarkable precision.

One by one, the ingredients were placed into ten sauce bowls; the battle could be considered concluded.

The arms behind Maitreya Buddha all vanished, and he pressed his palms together.

"A Mi Tuo Fo."

Gazing at the plates of meat and fully cooked seafood before him, steaming hot and fragrant, saliva involuntarily trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Slurp.

Maitreya Buddha let out a long sigh, his face filled with sorrow.

Alas, this is creating killing karma!

The Almsgiving Monk shall surely liberate you all, letting you reach Ji Le early!

Maitreya Buddha's heart felt heavy, just like his belly.

After casually chanting a few Buddhist sutras, Maitreya Buddha grinned, grabbed his chopsticks in one hand, and began to eat!