[{"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-21":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},2313144,4524,"Chapter 21","lord-of-the-immortal-food-chapter-21",21,"\u003Cp>Pei Ye drew his long pole, and Wu Zaigu collapsed to the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He formed that hand seal again, falling back from the quinshou into the real world; immediate fatigue from deep within his spirit surged up, his head throbbing in sharp pulses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With great effort, he pulled out the black talisman, dripped blood onto it, and swallowed it—within an instant, his abdomen felt shredded, and searing pain slammed him to the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A violent pulling sensation arose from his belly, as if a hand gripped his stomach, dragging along his liver, lungs, kidneys, spleen, and a whole mass of organs, trying to yank them out through his throat. Pei Ye violently retched, spitting the black talisman onto the ground, pressing his hands against his chest and abdomen, letting out a hoarse “huh.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two-hour limit of the Xiao Jiao Heart applied only to those with four meridians or more; flesh unguarded by true qi was like fatty meat beside a wolf’s jaws.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Taking it by force meant immediate death; refusing it meant slow death; when Pei Ye swallowed it, he had already prepared himself mentally.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He forced himself up, tore away the black cloth covering the fire, and the ghostly light once again filled the cellar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye picked up the sword lying on the ground, turned around, and saw Wu Zaigu still alive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye staggered toward him, uneven steps dragging; Wu Zaigu stared with bulging, bloodshot eyes, mouth silently open, limbs twitching faintly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye stared at that face, constantly spitting blood foam, then suddenly raised his leg and stomped down hard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No words, no technique—silently, explosively, with all his strength, he stomped again and again upon that face, like striking a dull, ancient drum in a silent cellar—until it was a pulpy mess, unrecognizable as a face, then he paused, panting, pressed his foot upon it, and raised his sword to saw off the head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only when he had caught his breath did he turn to face the rustling behind him—the creature against the wall had risen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its body-repair process again revealed that instinctive, almost intelligent quality—wounds still jagged and torn, yet its limbs already moved. At the severed arm, bone and sinew reconnected first, while flesh showed no growth; it maximized its speed of recovery for combat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But when truly regarded as a terrifying opponent, it displayed instinctive cunning—though still unsteady on its feet, it had already begun crawling and half-walking toward him to attack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye stared fixedly at the creature, part lizard, part tuolong, and understood fully how this had come to be—yet remained silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Dragon’s Tongue…” Pei Ye looked down at the sharp pole in his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he raised his head, expressionless, toward the creature: “Is this the delicacy you cooked from men, Great One True Dragon Immortal Lord?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The creature lunged, leaping across the narrow space; Pei Ye twisted aside and struck with his sword.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sharp bronze pole pierced the monstrous body; the creature stiffened violently, like a snowman melting under intense heat—its hard scales, sharp bone spines, all softened, turning into a deep blue viscous paste that surged rapidly up the pole, sucked into the “Dragon’s Tongue,” stored within the gourd-shaped container at its tip.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The cellar fell utterly silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But another transformation occurred.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye had no time to react—his hand gripping the pole was already crawling with deep blue light; the veins of his entire forearm seemed replaced by this energy, glowing a deep blue, as if crisscrossed with blue cracks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A coldness and surge of power arose within his forearm—as if through this connection, he directly felt the “Dragon’s Tongue’s” hunger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For it, perhaps after swallowing this first, unpalatable offering, the ritual had officially begun; it impatiently sought its second delicacy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it could not be fed, perhaps it would suffer the same “backlash” as the black-robed man had last night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye let out a light scoff—what did a dead man care about backlash?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He raised his hand to discard the pole, but as soon as his forearm lifted, it suddenly moved against his will—the pole, like a gluttonous serpent, bit fiercely into his abdomen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye could not imagine what scene his belly now held.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First, his old wounds, ruptured by true qi, flared; then, the Xiao Jiao Heart’s web-like parasitism spread; now, a bronze pole no thicker than two fingers pierced him, greedily draining him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye clenched his teeth, curled his lips slightly—since he was going to die anyway, he might as well endure more torment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But soon he realized something was wrong: though the pain was sharp and real, and his belly continuously felt a sense of “loss,” this “loss” made him feel increasingly lighter, as if a shadow weighing down his life was slowly receding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He suddenly understood—the Xiao Jiao Heart, the Dragon’s Tongue was consuming the Xiao Jiao Heart!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This artifact sent by the prefectural office also transformed into a deep blue viscous paste, far denser and faintly tinged purple; this paste climbed the intricate engravings along the bronze pole, quickly filling the gourd at its top.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A sense of satisfaction came through.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye felt a bad premonition rise—he sensed the “Dragon’s Tongue” generating another vague impulse: it was ready for the final step of the ritual.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before he could think further, twelve deep blue tentacles burst forth, binding his body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Clang!” The bronze pole fell to the ground, its light extinguished; the gourd at its top detached, becoming like a spider or octopus with twelve long legs, and, under Pei Ye’s revulsion, slithered into the blood-wound on his abdomen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instantly, a scorching heat, like steaming, erupted within his belly—he did not know what was coming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye bent down, picked up the unrecognizable head, gritted his teeth, and staggered forward, pushing open the door into another cellar room; the six men who had left earlier lay unconscious on the floor, the deep blue glow on their foreheads slowly fading.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye passed through this cellar and emerged aboveground; the rain still fell, wind brushing his skin with raindrops; Pei Ye breathed deeply of the cool, damp air—but the heat in his belly showed no sign of fading.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye stood still, oriented himself, then stumbled toward the distance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His chest and abdomen burned as if on fire; the pain from all his wounds had vanished, as if the hundred cold iron needles had been melted by this heat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet his physical exhaustion and throbbing headache remained unchanged; in the dark rainy night, Pei Ye, carrying the deep blue fire and limping, looked like a ghostly shadow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He walked out of the woods, crossed the fields, and at last drew near—the silhouette of buildings emerged faintly in the night ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye arrived before this familiar gate; the beast-head door knocker still rested quietly in place; last night’s scene seemed to replay—but this time, Pei Ye knew no one would answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With his remaining strength, he climbed over the courtyard wall; the yard was empty; inside the open hall stood two coffins.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye lowered his head, shuffled forward toward them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wind howled, rain lashed, white banners fluttered; wind swept through the hall, the eternal lamp flickered wildly, its mournful sound like a dirge of heaven and earth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A ghostly figure stood before the two dead, slowly raising the head in hand, and slammed it hard against the coffin lid.\u003C\u002Fp>",1233,"2026-06-20T13:17:09.438Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","8145cf4a4779dfb86e020a0238321ffb7dc29b44fd83b2fefe212d115b27d605","lord-of-the-immortal-food-chapter-22","lord-of-the-immortal-food-chapter-20",771,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Flord-of-the-immortal-food-cover.jpg"]