Chapter 23: Jade Maiden Feast

The sudden appearance of a third secret technique disrupted the plan Li Yu had already begun to form.

Just as he was about to ponder it, this basic-model alchemy furnace from the Tiangong Sect gave him no chance; once the pre-set intelligent program was completed, accompanied by a hissing roar of steam, the furnace lid opened automatically.

"Master!"

"Are you still alive?"

Li Yu hadn't even had time to examine himself before he saw Su Xing's delicate, pretty face leaning in close.

She saw her master, whose clothes had long since vanished, curled up inside the furnace's inner chamber, completely bare.

If she were the maid from before she had been partially repaired, who possessed little intelligence, she would have only stood stupidly in place at such a moment, waiting for Li Yu to give an order.

But the current Su Xing playfully asked him if he was still alive.

Discovering he was still alive, that little head retracted again, and just as Li Yu was wondering what she was going to do,

the alchemy furnace suddenly shook violently; it was clearly being lifted by someone.

In an instant, Li Yu guessed what his maid, whose intelligence fluctuated, was trying to do.

She wanted to flip the furnace and pour him out from inside!

"Stop, put it down."

"Go, go find me a set of clothes."

Li Yu revealed a face full of absurdity and helplessness, shouting his command.

……

Before long, Li Yu, having put on clothes again, walked out of the storage room once more, accompanied by Su Xing, who kept eyeing and scanning him.

The latter seemed to have returned to normal, and a girl's mechanical voice began to spill from her mouth:

"Detected that the master's body has undergone an essential change... parasite has been eliminated... now belongs to a transcendent organism."

"New information being recorded... master is now a Sequence 8 cultivator of the Spirit Venerable Path, 【Alchemy Apprentice】..."

"Starting alchemy module to provide assistance to the master... startup failed."

Li Yu ignored Su Xing, who had failed to offer a treasure behind him.

At this moment, as he walked out, he was adapting to his powerful, transformed body.

Involuntarily, he began to compare it with the state of the Forbidden God's Child he had previously experienced.

"If comparing physical strength alone, the latter should still be stronger."

"Drug resistance, poison resistance, hmm, I reckon the mature Forbidden God's Child is also stronger."

"As for the ability to kill? Without a doubt, the Forbidden God's Child is still stronger."

Despite these three mutterings, there was not a shred of discouragement or disappointment on Li Yu's face.

On the contrary, there was only intense joy.

From this day forward, he would no longer have to worry about being possessed.

Nor would he have to worry about falling into depravity and turning into a man-eating demon.

Alchemy Apprentice sequence!

It sounded like it wasn't a transcendent who excelled in killing and fighting.

But even so, it was a proper, genuine Sequence 8, at least more powerful than the neighbors around him who hadn't yet officially advanced, such as Cui Yuan, Chen Canglu, and Sikong Nian.

Because he thought of his neighbors and diners, Li Yu looked again at his gloomy courtyard, which was completely in the style of a private kitchen.

In his heart, he pondered very seriously:

"Should I still make this spirit food private kitchen?"

"If I were a normal 【Alchemy Apprentice】, naturally I wouldn't be able to do it; I doubt they would dare to eat the immortal pills I boiled."

"But I happen not to be one now, and that medicinal cuisine technique looks clearly more attractive than the transcendent culinary arts of the 'food people.' According to the tropes of those evil cultivator diners, my current skills would allow me to be a chef at the Garuda Grand Restaurant opened by the old demon Zhu Can in the East District; at the very least, I'd be on the ceiling of the third floor, and I might even be able to touch the floor of the fourth."

"If I continue to do it, I'll have to stay here..."

"Su Xing!"

"Calculate for me, if I want to leave Wanfu City, how much money do I need to save?"

"Okay Master, Su Xing is calculating based on existing information... calculation successful."

"Master is now a Sequence 8 transcendent; if you want to leave Wanfu City permanently, you must first pay three exit fees, totaling 15,000 taels, to be paid to the Heavenly Machine Workshop, the South District, and the City Lord respectively."

"Besides that, Master also needs to pay a redemption fee; this fee is calculated based on the number of years Master has been in the city, requiring 10,000 taels."

"In addition, if Master does not want to venture through the three forbidden dangerous lands—the Ten Thousand Horror Frozen Plain, the Ancient Black Forest, and the Terror River Valley—to leave, but chooses a safe path instead, you still need to pay a fee, also 10,000 taels."

"Warning! Warning!"

"According to Su Xing's residual memory, once one enters Wanfu City, very few people can leave safely, even if they have paid enough fees. Please choose carefully, Master."

……

Silence!

Whether it was the fees calculated by Su Xing or the subsequent warning, both left Li Yu in deep silence.

And it once again confirmed his previous cursing of Wanfu City, the so-called place of outstanding people and simple folk customs.

In reality, it was a shit realm. Cursing in a low voice, Li Yu couldn't help but look up at the sky in all four directions again.

There were already somewhat familiar ten-story-high palace towers, giant bronze trees, towering ancient temples, neon signs, steam airships... No matter how many times he had looked at them before, they had made Li Yu feel greatly shocked, his heart constantly marveling at the wonders.

At the same time, he was also puzzled: how could such a place where humans and strange beings lived together, and evil cultivators ran rampant, build so many wonders?

Now, he vaguely understood a little.

"Heh, it turns out it's a place where once you come, you can't leave; you have to have every drop of blood squeezed out of the city's residents."

"I am indeed a transcendent at Sequence 8, but in the eyes of those high-sequence powerhouses, I'm afraid my value for squeezing is higher, and there won't be any respect."

"It seems that in the short term, I can't run."

Li Yu spat out a sentence with a sense of resignation.

However, there was also something strange on his face; he didn't show the dejection of someone who had been hit hard.

On the contrary, there was a kind of intense curiosity and eagerness to try.

It was as if Li Yu had suddenly become interested in the entire "Wanfu City" and had a strong desire to explore it.

=9+Book_Bar

Although he currently, let alone the whole city, hadn't even figured out the 【Heavenly Machine Workshop】, one of the eight major workshops under the South District, and was still holed up in the old street.

"Bang"

"Bang bang"

Just as Li Yu had made up his mind and began to ponder in his heart how to continue his private kitchen business, as well as how to enhance his strength and find the next sequence of the Spirit Venerable Path,

suddenly, his courtyard gate was knocked.

Before he could go over to open the door, a familiar, charming voice drilled directly into his ears from outside the door.

"Little Brother Jiao, open the door, it's me, Cui Yuan."

"After eating the spirit food you made last night, I was very satisfied, my whole body was restless, and I couldn't sleep at night, so I simply went into the kitchen myself and tried to make a dish of spirit food."

"Now I've come to find you to taste it, it would be best if you could give me some pointers."

When Li Yu heard these few sentences,

his whole body couldn't help but stiffen.

That voice indeed sounded like Cui Yuan, but the "malice" contained within it was a hundred, a thousand times more intense than the original Cui Yuan.

What made Li Yu even less willing to open the door was the inexplicable sense of familiarity and disgust the voice brought.

It seemed that seeing he didn't make a sound and didn't open the door,

outside the door, another voice came in, thin and dense, sliding stickily into Li Yu's ears:

"Good brother, open the door, sister knows you are at home."

"This dish of spirit food of mine is not only extremely delicious, but it also has clever methods and ways in it."

"It is named 【Jade Maiden Feast】, looking at the green onion jade fingers, looking at the slender willow waist, and this snow on the chest, these exquisite feet... it is both a serving vessel and where the spirit food lies, it is simply beautiful beyond compare."

"Sister guarantees, this dish of mine, you will definitely want to eat it again after eating it."

When these words rang out,

the feeling of Cui Yuan was already gone.

Replacing it was an elegant yet disgusting, horrific and perverted aura, which also allowed Li Yu to almost guess the identity of the person who had come.

Someone from the Jinshen Sect!

To be precise, it was the evil cultivator in that sect responsible for recovering the 【Forbidden God's Child】.

He immediately remembered the warning from Zhu Mei and others last night; among them, Cui Yuan had also chimed in to remind him.

But he didn't expect that she would be the first to suffer.

Li Yu looked at the daylight, which was still broad daylight, and couldn't help but give birth to a guess, while cursing in his heart:

"Coming so fast?"

"Could it be that when I was dragging the Forbidden Egg to the alchemy furnace earlier, those few cries it made attracted it?"

"Failing to find me the first time, I don't know why it bumped into Cui Yuan first, killed her, and then tracked me down."

"But since this fellow has come to the door and didn't do it directly, and even pretended to be Cui Yuan to send some spirit food, is this role-playing with me?"

"I suppose there is some special hobby?"

"Just right, I need this little bit of time."

After cursing these few sentences, a look of intense heartache appeared on Li Yu's face, and then he spoke.

"So it's Sister Cui!"

"Wait a moment, I haven't put on my pants yet, I'll be there right away."

Before the words had even fallen, Li Yu had already used his only remaining chance to analyze all things without hesitation.

At the eye membrane!

The third truth bubble shattered abruptly.

PS: Seeking monthly tickets.

(End of chapter)