Chapter 51

Chen Nuo, poor and lowly, cannot be swayed; mighty and powerful, cannot be bent—just a mere spiritual treasure trying to buy him Chen Nuo? Dream on!

He had just obtained a huge pile of treasures from Tongtian—how could he care about this trifle?

Ridiculous! Unless you give him that Hunyuan Golden Dou, it's nowhere near enough.

Yunxiao stared wide-eyed in shock and asked: "Wasn't it said only eating a meal costs a thousand taels of silver?"

Chen Nuo snapped back to his senses, helplessly looking at this simple girl and said: "This is the same—wine and dishes are of the same grade. Don't believe me? Ask Xiao Kui."

With ill intent, Chen Nuo also called out the humiliating name the Ox Demon King had when he was in the Jie Sect.

But the Ox Demon King didn't care at all—just calling Chen the shopkeeper such a big shot, even if you called him a dog, he'd agree.

He quickly chuckled: "Yeah, Chen the shopkeeper's wine—it's truly superb!"

On the first day of brewing wine, he nearly drank himself into anemia—if Chen the shopkeeper hadn't warned him, and he'd added another two or three drops of essence blood, there'd be no Ox Demon King left in this Honghuang.

Sun Wukong was even fiercer—relying on his abundant monkey hair, he not only thoroughly trounced him and the Peng Demon King in quantity, but also took several jars when leaving.

Seeing Sun Wukong's seemingly slimmer, carefree back, he couldn't help touching the cow hair on his own head, feeling a chill down his spine.

The Ox Demon King talked for a good while before finishing the Peach Blossom Brew, while Yunxiao was left dazed and confused by his persuasion—really, is it that miraculous?

She furrowed her delicate brows slightly, resolutely turned, and walked outside.

"Elder Martial Sister, where are you going?" the Ox Demon King gaped, bewildered—could it be that my blowing wasn't strong enough?

"Take the money." Yunxiao said lightly, then vanished at the shop door.

Chen Nuo shrugged, made no move to stop her—Tongtian had just finished speaking harshly, and now anyone daring to trouble Yunxiao is purely seeking death.

He was just waiting for Yunxiao to bring customers to spend—after all, the Three Ladies don't separate.

In the Mortal Realm, Hao Xian Lai's kitchen swirled with cooking fumes yet also filled with enticing aroma—a spicy scent that makes one's appetite flare.

A young man focused intensely on stir-frying the vegetables in the pot, though his brows bore a hint of arrogance.

But this is also understandable.

After all, at such a young age to become the top chef in Ba Shu, the head chef of Hao Xian Lai—talent and effort are both indispensable.

He has the capital for arrogance.

The kitchen where he cooks is large, yet empty—because he doesn't want anyone stealing his techniques while he cooks.

"Young man, what dish are you making?"

Suddenly, a somewhat aged yet kind voice echoed in the room.

Someone!

The youth's heart leapt in shock—is this someone come to steal his cooking skills?

Thinking this, the youth's expression instantly turned fierce, he grabbed the kitchen knife and looked around, shouting: "Who? Get out here, old man—hear me?"

But he searched east and west, found no one, and saw the vegetables in the pot about to burn.

At this moment, a wisp of green smoke suddenly rose from the stove, then transformed into a middle-aged man in red robes—none other than the Stove God.

Grabbing the spatula, the Stove God skillfully scooped the vegetables from the pot and served them out.

Turning around, facing the youth, the Stove God chuckled: "Young man, you must be on guard..."

Before he could finish, a rolling pin flew straight from the smoke and hit him squarely on the head—bang!

"Guard your grandpa, you dare to steal my skills? Finally caught you!"

Having manifested his immortal form as a solid entity, the Stove God was caught off guard and struck squarely, his head feeling a bit dizzy.

He's merely entered divine office, forcibly raised his cultivation—has cultivation but no real combat power.

Vaguely, he saw the youth about to give him a flying kick, frightened, the Stove God again transformed into a youth and dodged to the side, hastily waving his hands: "Young man, you've got the wrong target—I'm a god!"

A god?

Hearing this, the youth finally doubted and stopped his left hook that he was just about to throw.

After sizing him up, the youth coldly snorted: "Where's there a god as weak as you?"

The Stove God's expression showed some shame and anger: "I am the Stove God—fundamentally not the kind of god you're talking about!"

Even if you can fight, so what? You still have to eat the food from his kitchen every day!

Stove God!

The youth's heart leapt in shock—this is the ancestral master of their culinary arts, one of the universally worshipped gods!

"Young man Zhou Kang, greetings, Ancestor Master! Just now things happened suddenly—I didn't react in time, bumped into you, Ancestor Master—please punish me!"

The youth threw his kitchen knife aside, overjoyed, and kowtowed.

"Hmm, this is about right!"

The Stove God watched the youth's conduct, nodded in satisfaction, and set aside his displeasure.

"This god just came down from the Lower Realm to inspect the culinary state of the Mortal Realm—saw your dish is quite novel—what's it called?"

Turns out the Stove God was drawn by his peerless culinary skill!

The youth's heart leapt with joy, his tone also gaining a few notes of pride: "Replying to Ancestor Master, this is my signature dish—Mapo Tofu!"

"Mapo Tofu? Quite a novel name." The Stove God nodded and praised.

Looking at the dish's vibrant color and freshness, smelling the spicy aroma, he couldn't help but feel his appetite stir.

"Young man, let this old god have a taste."

The youth frowned—this dish is supposed to be served, but just as he wanted to refuse, he thought: since I've seen the Ancestor God, what's the big deal?

Cheerfully picking up a pair of chopsticks: "Ancestor Master, please."

The Stove God didn't immediately take them, but stepped forward, carefully examining the Mapo Tofu.

The red of the chili, the white of the tofu, the green of the garlic—producing a fresh contrast; lightly sniffing, no Cultivation Clan Decree of greasy smoke, the aroma richer.

The Stove God, without hesitation, picked up a piece of tofu and put it in his mouth—his eyes instantly brightened.

The first sensation upon entry was scalding, yet so delicious he couldn't bear to spit it out.

The residual heat of the spiciness had not yet dissipated, a wave of pungency followed, causing fine sweat to bead on his forehead, making him involuntarily exclaim in refreshment.

Delicious!

The Kitchen God ate bite after bite, utterly unwilling to stop, until he finally lifted the entire plate, head down, working diligently.

Seeing even the Kitchen God so immersed in his own cuisine, Zhou Kang felt a surge of pride, indeed he was the top genius among chefs, even the Ancestral Master could not resist the temptation of his food!

After finishing the Mapo Tofu, the Kitchen God still maintained the dignity of his status as the Ancestral Master of Culinary Arts, and did not lick the plate clean.

He closed his eyes, savoring the aftertaste slowly.

After a few more breaths, he spoke: "I always feel this dish is still missing an unusual flavor."

Zhou Kang's eyes flashed with a trace of surprise: "I wonder which esteemed one the Ancestral Master refers to..."

The Kitchen God did not speak immediately, but instead clasped his hands behind his back, speaking with full grandeur: "The spiciness of the chili is the first flavor, the aroma from stir-frying is the second, the pairing with garlic is the third, the heat from leaving the pot is the fourth, old man, I am not mistaken, am I?"

Zhou Kang exclaimed: "All correct!"

The Kitchen God, confident and composed, revealed a smile: "And this final fifth flavor lies within the dish's name itself—numb!"

"However, due to my appearance, you have not completed the final step, correct?"

"Ancestral Master's profound insight, actually piercing through the junior's signature dish's key point in a single sentence!" Zhou Kang could not help but exclaim in admiration, truly worthy of being the Kitchen God!

"Haha, merely a trifle!" The Kitchen God stroked his beard and laughed heartily, then turned his gaze toward Zhou Kang, eyes full of appreciation, and temptingly said: "Young man, would you not like to come and do a great thing with this old man, in this modest tavern of the Mortal Realm, where your talents would be underutilized!"