[{"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-85":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},2313208,4524,"Chapter 85","lord-of-the-immortal-food-chapter-85",85,"\u003Cp>When Pei Ye arrived on horseback beneath the city wall, a vast cloud of yellow dust was slowly advancing like a monstrous beast with bared fangs toward the ramparts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon the stage of dust, two figures clashed in close-quarters combat, blades dripping blood with every strike.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was hard to imagine this was a battle fought at the Heaven Tower realm—so plain and unadorned—but if one looked closely, one would immediately realize this was no contest an Xuan Gate cultivator could ever enter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye watched the fleeting, intermittent flashes of swordlight and suddenly understood the old man’s words: “Come to see the sword.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Earlier that day, while resting at the county magistrate’s office, Pei Ye had exhausted every word to describe to the old man the exhilaration, shock, and obsession that Ming Qitian’s swordstroke had stirred in him the previous night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since he first took up the sword, even when he first witnessed [Cloud Heaven Obscuring the Eyes and Feathers] flow from his own hands, he had never felt such a thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man had merely grunted in silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now he understood—the old man walked an entirely different path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye had never directly faced the Immortal Lord, but the previous night he had witnessed His duel with Ming Qitian from the Immortal Lord’s perspective.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ming Qitian’s responses still lingered vividly in his memory—hundreds of sword techniques, effortlessly drawn from her grasp; some were dazzling in themselves, others became dazzling only through her use of them—he doubted he would ever see so many sword techniques in his lifetime.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the time, he hadn’t paid much attention to “his own” movements; later, recalling it, he realized the Immortal Lord used no refined techniques—only the most primal methods: fists, palms, claws, thrusts, combined with frostfire, always striking precisely at Ming Qitian’s weakest points, responding to her swordplay with a silence deeper than any sound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or rather, to counter the Immortal Lord’s ordinary attacks, Ming Qitian had to deploy an immeasurably vast and boundless array of sword techniques.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, facing the same opponent, Yue Muzhou had adopted... exactly the same method as the Immortal Lord—spear against spear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye naturally did not know that this extraordinary sensitivity and instinct for lethal combat had been forged by Yue Muzhou through countless battles since he first stepped onto the martial path, the very foundation that had carried him past innumerable enemies and perilous situations to finally ascend the Crane List—the so-called “Naked Heart Facing the Blade.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And now, for the first time, Yue Muzhou had met an equal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye dismounted and ran toward the city tower, but as he raised his gaze, he saw a figure in white robes ascending the steps, already nearing the top.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though the white robes were no longer pristine, Pei Ye recognized the silhouette at once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ming Qitian? How could she still be walking up steps?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Pei Ye’s thoughts fixed on her, the black cat beside him suddenly spoke: “Let’s sever the pact.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye widened his eyes: “You’re really going to find her?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The black cat paused, then saw the white-robed figure atop the wall, glared at him in annoyance: “What does she have to do with this? I’m seeking an opportunity to join the battle—I’m afraid I’ll drag you into it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re joining the battle?” Pei Ye grabbed its neck and lifted it up, staring at the tiny creature no bigger than his palm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its emerald eyes stared back coldly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fine, even if you join the battle, you don’t need to sever the pact—this contract lets you draw in the cosmic qi, doesn’t it?” Pei Ye said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s only a trivial advantage in this battle,” the black cat said, its emerald eyes fixed on him calmly. “I’m serious, Pei Ye. You can stop here. Killing the True Dragon Immortal Lord has always been my goal, no matter the cost—but you care more about Bowang Province, about Fenghuai, about a girl you met on the road, don’t you? You should care about your own life—you don’t even have true qi.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Stay here and watch, or better yet, I suggest you mount your horse and leave the city,” the black cat extended a paw, “Come on—this is no longer your affair.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye stared at it in disbelief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What nonsense are you talking? My grandfather is still up there!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Then are you certain you don’t want to sever the pact? I might truly die this time.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No.” Pei Ye strode forward. “I’ll do what I can.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The truth is you might not be able to do anything at all.” The black cat settled gently onto the boy’s outstretched forearm—whether this laziness was its nature or an inevitable effect of its feline form, no one could say.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wait—hold on.” The black cat suddenly turned its head to look at him. “You... actually might be of some use.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Really? What should I do?” Pei Ye looked down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The black cat fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a long while, it turned back and said: “Do you think... we have a tacit understanding?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, such a question was strange between a Spirit Hunter and its pact-bearer—they were meant to be each other’s most trusted companions, entrusting their lives, naturally in perfect sync.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Pei Ye and the Black Chi were different: their pact was born of mutual aid in desperation, merely fellow travelers on a stretch of road, not kindred spirits sharing the same goal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More importantly, the Black Chi was too unusual—it was not like a normal Spirit Hunter, naive and young, naturally trusting and fond of its pact-bearer. It was a complete soul, with established likes and dislikes, a defined personality, and its own unwavering goal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I think...” Pei Ye hesitated, “we didn’t really have it before...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Correct,” the black cat said. “But now, let’s try trusting this tacit understanding once.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Alright.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then let it begin from now,” the black cat said, gazing deeply at him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye nodded. “But... you haven’t told me what I’m supposed to do yet.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tacit understanding,” the black cat replied, its voice as calm and low as ever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Ye hadn’t expected to hear such an ambiguous riddle from it again after so many days; watching its swaying tail and rump, he gritted his teeth and raised his hand to slap it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But after two attempts, he still dared not.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this time, the black cat was slightly more considerate—it explained without turning: “I truly can’t say it. If I do, it won’t work.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fine.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They climbed the tower. Ming Qitian stood atop it, her posture serene and solemn as she watched the distant battle, sword in hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Pei Ye could react, the black cat—which had just moments before declared “absolutely not”—leapt onto the hilt of Ming Qitian’s sword.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ming Qitian turned her head, nodded to Pei Ye in greeting, then looked down and lifted the cat gently: “What is it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The black cat glanced at the sword hilt beneath its paws: “Can it still hold?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Sword of Severed Heart, Luminous Glass, trembled slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It can hold on a little longer—but barely,” Ming Qitian sighed. “I’m thinking how to make the most of this final sword strike. Do you have any ideas?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I can assist you,” the black cat said, then turned to look at Pei Ye. “Step back. Don’t listen.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“?” Pei Ye, baffled, moved farther away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First, it wouldn’t say what his role was; now, it wouldn’t let him hear the plan... Suddenly, the black cat’s words about “tacit understanding” surged into his mind. He frowned, his gaze turning solemn toward the battle beyond the wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From here, the scene was perfectly clear.\u003C\u002Fp>",1280,"2026-06-20T13:17:09.438Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","4db4e116c9a29d196fc2e397c658dffed1bd527c421b20d9171aa4353ff37a74","lord-of-the-immortal-food-chapter-86","lord-of-the-immortal-food-chapter-84",771,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Flord-of-the-immortal-food-cover.jpg"]