[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-lord-of-the-immortal-food":3,"chapter-lord-of-the-immortal-food-lord-of-the-immortal-food-chapter-19":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Lord of the Immortal Food",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2313142,4524,"Chapter 19","lord-of-the-immortal-food-chapter-19",19,"\u003Cp>In a dark, deep-blue space, a knife and a sword faced off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Zaigu felt like a leopard encountering a venomous snake—he could tear it apart with one claw, yet couldn’t be sure he’d avoid its final bite before death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the poison was exceptionally potent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He kept probing, and in moments they had exchanged five or six strikes, yet their weapons never clashed—indeed, if they did, Pei Ye was already defeated. Wu Zaigu dared not launch a full assault precisely because he couldn’t pin down Pei Ye’s sword.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Wu Zaigu merely felt troubled, Pei Ye was walking on thin ice. Facing such an opponent wasn’t merely a matter of “full concentration”; his spirit was stretched to its limit, yet he still failed to react in time several times, relying solely on instinct to thrust his sword and force the enemy back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The opponent was still too fast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye knew his time was running out—due to stamina, due to spirit, due to being inferior in every way—he couldn’t hold out forever. One delayed reaction, and he’d lose his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compared to his opponent, he was even more desperate to break the deadlock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Zaigu attacked again, this time aiming from directly above.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But as he was about to leap, Pei Ye suddenly surged forward, his swordlight flashing like snowfall, precisely striking the awkward moment just as Wu Zaigu began to rise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet such a moment remained useless against one whose qi filled the body; Wu Zaigu calmly shifted his posture, but still had no way to counter this sword thrust, so he retreated again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this time, Pei Ye pressed his advantage. He became the attacker. The next sword came faster, then the third, then the fourth. His stamina drained rapidly, yet his assaults grew fiercer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye was learning—he felt he was about to master this sword technique.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye had always known that the sword art he used to repel Wu Zaigu was merely an empty shell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The [Snowy Night Flying Goose Sword Form] taught by Grandpa Yue—he had practiced it for two years, his sword skill steadily improving, yet he had never truly mastered even a single movement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ever since he felt “I haven’t mastered it,” every time he practiced, he sensed he was drawing closer to true mastery, yet always felt like chasing a mountain that kept running away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Until today, when he rose and struck at the last possible instant, forcing back that unstoppable knife, the sensation of death brushing his throat and then vanishing sent cold sweat cascading down him—yet simultaneously, his understanding of this sword art surged upward, as if a barrier had shattered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He struck without pause, chasing that fleeting spark of insight, chasing that single thread of survival.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he could master this sword, he could truly pierce his opponent’s throat!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was a gamble—to see whether he could grasp the sword technique just before him, or whether his opponent would find a way to counter him first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two moved within the cellar; as time passed, the tide turned against Pei Ye. He kept striking, yet that spark of insight remained out of reach, while his stamina and spirit drained steadily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Zaigu keenly noticed Pei Ye’s slowing strikes. Finally, after dodging another sword thrust, he stomped his foot, releasing a burst of qi, suddenly lunging forward and delivering a sudden, unexpected slash. Pei Ye couldn’t connect his next strike in time and hastily leapt backward to evade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye’s heart sank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When his opponent dared to strike without feeling sufficient threat, he had lost his means of restraining him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now he could only defend—he could no longer attack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye was trapped, but Wu Zaigu suddenly conceived a way to crush the venomous snake before him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Zaigu glanced at the flickering deep-blue flames, then gave Pei Ye a strange smile. He lifted the hem of his lower garments, raised his knife, and prepared to cut.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye felt a premonition of doom, but before he could fathom what the man intended, a strange, guttural roar shattered the standoff.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye turned his head—and saw a scene he would never forget.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lao Xiangzi had somehow crawled to the altar table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bronze cup containing the “Immortal Water” had rolled onto the floor. In the deep-blue glow, a monster twisted, shifted, and grew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was Lao Xiangzi—his torso stretched impossibly long, nearly touching the ceiling, his body sprouting deep-blue scales as if his yellowed skin were being devoured by shadows. His clothes were torn apart by black, hardened bone spines; blood streamed onto the floor, his limbs transformed into powerful, clawed limbs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He raised a face contorted in agony, his pupils slowly turning gold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indeed over ten feet tall, indeed armored, indeed fearsome.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye finally understood where the elusive “demon” had come from.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Uncle Lin had been killed by his beloved daughter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Pei… young sir, don’t fear… I’m becoming an immortal… I’ll… help… you…” he croaked, then let out a terrifying roar and lunged at Wu Zaigu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Zaigu had anticipated it. The moment he saw the transformation, he instantly reversed his blade. Now facing Lao Xiangzi, the knife he had never landed on Pei Ye finally revealed its true power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lao Xiangzi’s forearm, like a wooden pole, was cleanly severed. The blade’s momentum didn’t falter—it carved into his chest, then hurled him over a zhang away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye stared at the severed forearm on the ground—its flesh remained human red, but the bones were dyed deep blue. He suspected that if the bone structure had fully transformed, the slash might not have been so devastating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Lao Xiangzi’s chest hadn’t been split in two—its internal bones remained deep blue. Pei Ye saw that most of his human skin remained intact, but his throat was now entirely covered in scales.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…He even knew to protect his vital points first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though his mind raced with shock, Pei Ye didn’t waste the opening—he instantly thrust a sword from the side toward Wu Zaigu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Zaigu had just slashed back Lao Xiangzi and hadn’t pursued; he turned toward the altar. A sudden rush of wind from the side startled him—he hadn’t expected Pei Ye to attack now, and barely twisted aside to evade, snarling: “You seek death!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Lao Xiangzi lunged again immediately. Though he’d lost an arm, he seemed even more ferocious. Wu Zaigu couldn’t dodge in time and blocked with his knife, his arm numbed by the impact. Meanwhile, Pei Ye pressed relentlessly, each sword thrust faster than the last, exhausting his stamina to the limit, denying Wu Zaigu even a breath of respite.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Zaigu was caught between two foes, barely holding his ground. He made an immediate choice—he’d rather endure ten claws from the Frost Demon than one sword from Pei Ye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He rolled away from Pei Ye’s sword, then raised his already wounded left arm to take the full force of Lao Xiangzi’s razor-sharp claws.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the claws tore into his flesh, Wu Zaigu’s right blade brimmed with qi. With a deep roar, he slashed through the air, carving a half-arc capable of severing jade and metal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The monstrous, grotesque black body shattered before that blade, crashing into the wall and collapsing, its entire right shoulder to left waist nearly severed and caved in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lao Xiangzi lay on the ground, no longer roaring. His right pupil was now entirely gold; his left remained human, bulging from pain, wild with madness. But soon, scales spread over it, burying the twitching human flesh, turning that eye gold as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His expression became cold and serene. He lifted his severed arm, studying it—the flesh at the stump was slowly regrowing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye finally realized: the terrifying roar had not come from the monster, but from Lao Xiangzi. Now, the Lao Xiangzi who had wanted to help him, who had screamed in agony, had been entirely consumed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It tried to rise, but its paralyzed upper body offered no support.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘This monster… isn’t as strong as I imagined—or was Lao Xiangzi just weak to begin with?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Zaigu ignored it, slowly turning to face Pei Ye. He shook his long knife, his voice cold: “Now, it’s time to end our fight.”\u003C\u002Fp>",1371,"2026-06-20T13:17:09.438Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","f604a5be3fbbb4ca4845c7acee722d62e18e1089218a1845f6e213388d65acac","lord-of-the-immortal-food-chapter-20","lord-of-the-immortal-food-chapter-18",771,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Flord-of-the-immortal-food-cover.jpg"]