Old Dragon, Dragin, and Nanan climbed along the mountain range to arrive at the entrance of the four-part architecture.
“Knock on the door yourselves. I’m going back to my nest to live out my lackadaisical life.” With that, his body transformed into golden light and dissipated.
“We can play with Brother Li again! I’m so happy!” Nanan bounced up to the door and knocked on it.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
“Brother Li, we’re back!”
“Coming.” The sound of Li Nianfan’s voice came from inside and the door opened with a creak. He burst out laughing at the sight of the two little girls. “Fancy seeing the two of you here. How’s the outside world?”
He could imagine the two little girls having a blast outside with their high level of spiritual cultivation and powerful people protecting them from behind the scenes. Their existence was akin to a little devils bringing chaos to wherever they go.
“It was really fun travelling around and slaying demons!” Dragin proceeded to offer the string of monsters and demons behind her to him. “Look, Brother Li! I’ve brought you all the most delicious demons!”
“That’s a lot!” Li Nianfan said, looking at the rows of demons, some of them he had never even seen before. Nonetheless, he was sure they would all be delicious and took a gulp at the thought of eating them.
It was natural for a human to have the impulse to give strange and unusual living things a try, especially the gigantic types. Li Nianfan began to drool looking at the food presented before him.
Though their lives there were nice, their diet was a bit bland. He was touched by Dragin and Nanan’s thoughtfulness for bringing him so many ingredients.
‘Such good kids,’ thought Li Nianfan, smiling at the two little girls dotingly.
“Come in, come in. Take care not to damage the ingredients.” Then he called out to his friends. “Blackie, Xiao Bai, Little Daji, Fire Phoenix, Manyun and Shi Tuqin! Come and help us carry these to the fridge over there!”
It was a good thing the four-part architecture had recently been expanded, if not, all the ingredients would have not fit.
Li Nianfan noticed the Chaos Black-Feather Finch. “Wow, not only are there seafood but there’s even a giant crow! Look at its feathers! It must be one of those pure breds!”
Nanan took out the Repose Herb and said with a smile, “Brother Li, check this out.”
“Is this… mint?” His attention had been captured. He took the Repose Herb from her hand and brought it to his nose for a sniff.
A mint-like fragrance infiltrated his nose and he immediately felt his mind cleared!
“It is mint! It’s time for you all to expand the backyard again.” Li Nianfan was extremely happy that his backyard would have more and more collections.
Both Dragin and Nanan’s gaze rested at Blacke at the same time causing their little faces scrunched up with pity. “Blackie, you’ve really become bald! You poor thing.”
“So what if I’m bald? Check out my short leather pants!” Blackie said with a nonchalant air.
It took a while for the group to organize everything.
“It’s not every day we receive such bountiful ingredients. Tell me what you want to eat and I’ll prepare a feast for you all.”
Everybody started to drool at the thought of a feast prepared by the expert.
“Sashimi! I want sashimi!”
“Brother Li, I want to eat stewed black chicken with mushrooms. It’s been a while since I’ve eaten your cooking.”
“I want kebabs.”
“I want abalone with sauce.”
Everybody was excitedly discussing what could be made out of the ingredients. Their mouths never stopped drooling.
“Ok, ok. Can do.” Li Nianfan was in a good mood. He turned to Food God and said, ” Your cooking has improved but you had never cooked for a feast before. Why don’t you use this opportunity to level up?”
Food God rolled up his sleeves, preparing for the battle of his life, and said, “Don’t worry, Lord Saint. I’ll do my best!”
There was no doubt the kitchen would not be short of manpower with Li Nianfan, Xiao Bai and Food God on site. They could even cater to a Manchu Han Imperial Feast.
“Boil some water, remove the hair, set up the table and prepare for a feast.”
Dragin and the rest of the group helped out however they could. Their excitement was palpable in the atmosphere. Even the chicken was infected by them and laid out many eggs consecutively.
“This Australian Lobster is huge! Remove its shell and I’ll make it into lobster sashimi!”
“Xiao Bai, make sure all the feathers are removed from the black chicken and remember to cut out the tail.”
“Nanan, add some wood and start the fire.”
“For a fish this big, it’s better to steam it for the best taste.”
Fire Phoenix stroked the back of Dragin’s head. “Thank you for being so thoughtful, for bringing so much food back.”
Dragin smiled until her eyes disappeared.
The sound of cooking floated in the air along with the fragrant smell of the food.
“Everybody sit down. The food will be served shortly!”
Sashimi platter, chicken kebab, steamed fish, braised soft-shelled turtle and many more covered the dining table. They looked so good as to be glowing, lighting up the space around them. It was better than heaven!
“Wow, look how thin the sashimi is! It’s nearly transparent and melts in the mouth. Delicious!”
“Everything smells so good. Try the braised soft-shelled turtle. The texture is nice!”
“Hey, don’t steal my kebab! Leave some for me!”
The scene at the foot of the Fallen Immortal Mountain could not provide a more stark contrast for there was only a lonely figure sitting cross-legged there, enduring the cold biting wind.
Jiang Lu stared at the mountain range with determination and sincerity in his eyes. He had been contemplating for a long time and with it, his respect towards the expert grew by leaps and bounds.
He could not imagine just how powerful the expert was for Old Dragon to willingly and respectfully regard him as an expert.
He had only ever seen his grandfather showing respect for the legendary Nine Elites and by his guess, the expert’s existence was more powerful than the Nine Elites.
“Grandfather says one must be sincere and unwavering when cultivating Dao. Since I’ve been instructed not to go up the mountain, I would stay by the foot because I’m confident an opportunity would come my way!”
His eyes were filled with determination and he walked over to a tree and cut it down with his sword. He planned to build a wooden cabin with the logs and live at the foot of the mountain.
Bang!
He felt a strong kickback causing his hand to go numb. He looked at the tree in front of him and could not believe it when he saw it was still intact with only an extremely faint marking on the bark.
‘How is this possible?’ Jiang Liu thought, his confidence shaken to the core.
He might be injured but he was sure he had still had enough spiritual cultivation left to cut down a tree.
He knitted his brow together, gritted his teeth, and swung out one blow after another.
Bang! Bang! Bang and that was how the Fallen Immortal Mountain came to gain a young man striking repeatedly on a tree.
Night was slowly descending over at the four-part architecture.
By then, the feast was already on its last leg with everyone smiling satisfiedly, half lying down to digest the food in their stomach.
Both Dragin and Nanan were lying down fully and rubbing their round tummies with their hands. “I’m so full, so full! It’s been quite a while since I feel so satisfied.”
Ever since leaving the four-part architecture, all they had ever eaten were some Spiritual Fruit for they had no appetite for anything else. Their stomachs growled with anticipation every time they thought about Li Nianfan’s cooking. At last, they had satisfied their cravings!
“It’s times like this we should drink some wine to help with digestion,” said Li Nianfan with a smile. “I’ll let you try my newest wine creation. It can even help you sleep better and has beautifying properties.”
Dragin’s eyes began to shine immediately. “Are you sure I can have some wine, Brother Li?” She asked with anticipation.
“A little won’t hurt anyone. So don’t drink too much,” replied Li Nianfan, the smile still on his face. “Xiao Bai, bring out the wine and prepare the Luminous Glass!”
“As you wish, my beloved master.” With that, he left to get the wine and glasses.
After a while, he came out with a small wine bottle and placed the Luminous Glass in front of the group.
The sky had darkened considerably by then, and as the name implied, the wine glasses started to glow with a holy light. It was truly a sight too beautiful to behold.
Glug. Glug. Glug.
The dazzling purple-red color of the wine was poured into the Luminous Glass, one complementing the other. One could look at it forever and not get bored.
At the same time, a sweetness with a tinge of sourness began to fill the air, tempting the group. They could almost taste it.
The Luminous Glass was not large and yet looked like it contained the whole galaxy with the wine inside.
Under the moonlight, Li Nianfan raised his glass and gave a toast. “Beautiful wine and glass, it doesn’t get better than this! Cheers, everyone!”
“Cheers!”
Dragin drained her glass quickly, finishing it in one go causing her little face to turn red instantly as the wine coursed through her entire body. The mana inside of her started to roil around and suddenly without her being conscious of it, she had leveled up from the late Daluo Golden Immortal to a Quasi Saint, breaking through her bottle neck!
As for Nanan, her Heaven Devouring Skill gave her the ability to devour anything in the universe, and so was able to digest the Spiritual Qi quickly. Her training of late put her nearly on par with Dragin and with the devouring of the wine coursing through her veins, had become a Quasi Saint too!
Food God took his time in savoring the taste of the wine and finding enlightenment in it. The time spent living in the four-part architecture had benefited him greatly — each day brought new profound realizations for him. The mana in him began to roil too and he leveled up from a Quasi Saint to the middle stage of being a Quasi Saint!
The wine acted as fire to both Qin Manyun and Shi Tuqin’s experiences, lighting them up like gunpowder. Thus, they had leveled to the peak of a Quasi Saint.
Both Daji and Fire Phoenix faces were flushed red as well and they felt their mana and Dao Heart had been cleansed by hot tidal waves, causing their bottle neck to bubble over!
There are three levels to being a Quasi Saint — first, mid and late. The same goes for a Chaos Daluo Golden Immortal with even more differentiation! Even a tiny difference in level would mean a great big difference in power the more one ascended up the ranks.
Both Daji and Fire Phoenix belonged to the late stage of a Chaos Daluo Golden Immortal and they had been stuck at that stage for a long time, for it was hard to enter into the Heavenly Realm. They could feel themselves breaking through the bottleneck soon. There was still hope after all!
Everyone started to feel a little tipsy from the wine. They swirled the glass in their hands and looked towards the wine bottle. Suddenly, they became shocked when they realized the Luminous Glass they were holding in their hands was none other than an Ultimate Chaos Treasure! In combination with the wine, they were able to unleash their full potential after drinking from it!
“The expert is too awesome. All the wines he had made came with powerful functions.”
“The expert gave us the wine so we could unleash our potential and break through our bottlenecks. He’s too good to us.”
“So that’s what he meant when he said the wine would help with digestion.”
“This is good wine! Very good wine!”
Nanan licked her lips, wanting more. “Brother Li, can I please have some more?”
“No, I’ve already said don’t drink too much.” Here Li Nianfan paused for a while before breaking out in a smile. “What the heck, a little more should be fine. But only for today.”
“You’re the best, Brother Li!” Both Dragin and Nanan clapped their hands in glee and hugged each of his legs, nuzzling their heads against it.
The moon was high up in the sky and the stars were twinkling.
The combination of the wine, the Luminous Glass, and the gorgeous night sky made one feel it was good to be alive and celebrate with more wine.
In the end, Dragin and Nanan had so much until their faces were completely beet red and they could not keep their eyes open, all the while muttering something under their breath.
Shi Tuqin and Qin Manyun felt as if the ground was moving underneath their feet and had their hands over their head. A perfect picture of a pair of drunk beautiful girls.
It took some effort for the Food God to get up. He respectfully put his hand together and said to Li Nianfan, “Lord Saint, it is late. I’ll take my leave here.”
“Ok, be safe and remember to drive safely on the Merit Cloud,” Li Nianfan reminded.
“Don’t worry, Lord Saint.” With that, he thumped his chest and walked out of the four-part architecture. The hat on his head was at a risk of falling off at his wobbly walk.
Li Nianfan turned his attention to the two lycans before him and could not help but shake his head. “You little drunkards should have stopped at the first tipsy feeling. Oh well, the two of you will definitely sleep soundly tonight.”
With that, he carried both Dragin and Nanan into their room and went back to do the same with Shi Tuqin and Qin Manyun with Daji and Fire Phoenix being the last.
At the foot of the mountain, with his sleeves still rolled up, Jiang Liu was still hacking at the tree. After a day of trying, a little crack had finally appeared on the ark.
It was at this time he heard someone humming and when he raised his eyes towards the direction of the sound, saw a drunk fatty walking down from the mountain.
He was taken aback. ‘Someone from the mountain?’
Food God saw him too and assessed him with his eyes before breaking out in a grin. “Hey kiddo, the way you chop wood looks like Wu Gang. Shall I introduce you to a job on the moon?
Jiang Liu immediately knelt on the ground and with a voice full of sincerity, said, “My name is Jiang Liu and I’m here because I have heard of the expert living on top of the mountain so had decided to wait for him here. I wish to be his follower. Can you please give me some guidance?”
“To be his follower?”
Food God shook his head in amusement. “What an unrealistic thought. Do you know how difficult it is to be accepted by an expert? Unless…”
“Unless…?” Jiang Liu asked with his eyes shining.
“You have Lady Luck on your side!” Food God replied confidently. “I’m nothing but a lowly chef but do you know what the expert gave us to drink just now?”
Jiang Liu shook his head.
“Wine made from Chaos Spiritual Fruit, drank from an Ultimate Chaos Treasure glass! One glass was enough to overturn the whole Chaos!” Being still drunk, Food God proceeded to open up his mouth widely and said, “Come, I’ll let you smell in on my breath. Ahh——”
Jiang Liu was weirded out by his behavior and instinctively took a step back. He chalked it down to Food God being drunk and spewing nonsense.
Food Good smiled nonchalantly at Jiang Liu and the Merit Cloud appeared beneath his feet, bringing him back to the Heavenly Temple.
Half way through the sky, he suddenly turned back, and shouted, “I’m only giving this advice to you because you look like Wu Gang but don’t ever kneel down in front of the expert, should you ever meet him! He doesn’t like people doing that! Remember this as if your life depended on it!”
