Suiren?
Bu Fang froze for a moment when the old man said the name. It was strange to him, but somehow familiar at the same time.
The old man roughly inserted a wooden stick into the Soul Demon leg and simply put it over the fire to cook, without adding any seasoning or ingredients.
Tongtian looked at the old man with respect, even admiration. His eyes sparkled with reverence. The old man in front of him was the existence who brought hope to mankind and ended the uncivilized period of the human race. He was the spiritual leader and supreme being of mankind.
Bu Fang fell into silence. He finally remembered who this old man was. The seemingly inconspicuous old man was a famous human emperor! He stopped talking and sat quietly in front of the fire.
It was Suiren who ended mankind’s life of eating raw food and allowed human beings to start eating cooked food. This was a milestone leap for mankind.
As he felt the heat being released from the fire, Bu Fang’s heart beat a little faster. ‘Could this be the Fire of Mankind controlled by Suiren? If so, then it’s very extraordinary! No wonder my divine fire showed subservience when facing this fire…’
Bu Fang’s face grew serious. Based on what the old man had said, he seemed to have been waiting for him. He wondered if this old man was the mysterious existence who sent down lightning punishment whenever he cooked and constantly suppressed his strength?
The Sect Leader sat quietly to the side. Suiren was a human emperor. He had great merits and virtues, and his status in people’s minds was extremely lofty. Perhaps he did not reach the height of a Chaotic Saint in terms of cultivation, but his strength was definitely stronger. This kind of existence was very rare in the world, so Tongtian showed great respect.
Looking at the leg Suiren was cooking, Bu Fang narrowed his eyes slightly. He naturally knew it was a Soul Demon leg. Before this, he had fought Soul Demons in the Chaotic Universe, and one of them, Soul Thirteen, had even become a Soul Overlord and almost destroyed the entire Universe.
If he and Lord Dog, who had transformed into a Time Heavengod, had not combined their efforts to kill Soul Thirteen, the Chaotic Universe would have been destroyed now.
However, Soul Demon meat… could not be used as a food ingredient. It was not edible. As an existence that was to become a God of Cooking standing at the top of the food chain in the fantasy world, Bu Fang could easily distinguish the quality of an ingredient. For a dish, the quality of the ingredients was crucial.
“Senior…” Bu Fang said hesitantly.
“Just say what you want to say, lad.” Suiren glanced at Bu Fang and smiled faintly. It was as if he saw right through what was on Bu Fang’s mind.
“I know this… Soul Demon. It’s an evil creature from another universe. Its meat has been infected by evil forces and is inedible,” Bu Fang said. He felt it necessary to tell Suiren about it. Otherwise, Suiren would be very embarrassed when he found that the meat he had cooked for a long time was inedible.
Tongtian’s pupils constricted. ‘An evil creature from another universe? Why does the human emperor have the leg of an evil creature?’
“You know this creature…” Suiren sighed. He glanced at Bu Fang, and his eyes became deeper and deeper. “You are right. This Soul Demon is indeed an evil creature, and its meat is hard to eat. But… There are no ingredients in the world that can’t be cooked into food, only chefs who can’t turn ingredients into food,” he said.
Suddenly, he turned over his palm, and a vast amount of divine power gushed out of him. The fire in front of them instantly changed from the original color of ordinary fire to crimson, emitting an even hotter heat. Under the scorching flame, the Soul Demon leg changed color in an instant.
Suiren sat on a stone with a faint smile on his face. Although he looked old, his aura was incomparably magnificent.
The Sect Leader and Bu Fang sucked in their breaths at the same time as they felt a terrifying pressure weigh down on them.
Bu Fang’s expression was somewhat dazed. Suiren’s words exploded in his ears, leaving him in confusion.
‘There are no ingredients in the world that can’t be cooked into food, only chefs who can’t turn ingredients into food… But, isn’t it always a law that ingredients determine the quality of the dish?’ Bu Fang did not understand.
‘Unless the ingredients that are hard to swallow are changed in their origin, they will still be hard to swallow, no matter what cooking method is used…’
Grease spit from the meat, dripped into the fire, and was instantly conquered, rising and twisting slowly in black streams like some evil creature.
Tongtian put his hands on his knees. He did not understand what they were saying, so he did not cut in. However, he thought Suiren had a point even though he was not a chef.
He was, of course, still on his guard. After all, the mysterious being who manipulated Earth’s spiritual energy and spied on everything could very well be the old man in front of him. Suiren had a very special status in mankind. Therefore, he was on guard while also maintaining the proper respect.
The Soul Demon meat was dark purple, and as it continued to be grilled, the color became more and more translucent, making it seem as if the meat had turned into a gorgeous gem.
Bu Fang sat cross-legged, not moving a muscle. Sensing the flowing of energy in the meat, he looked as if he had a sudden and striking realization. In his eyes, Suiren’s unhurried grilling seemed to be the strictest cooking, a simple and powerful technique.
His pupils sparkled as he kept learning the technique. Time seemed to have stopped at this moment, and the only sounds were the crackling of firewood, the sound of grease spitting out from the meat, and the heavy breathing.
“Senior, where did you get this Soul Demon meat?” Bu Fang asked, frowning.
Even he had to admit that Soul Demons were a very annoying kind of creature. They multiplied and grew too fast. He could feel the leg in Suiren’s hand was an unusual one. The energy that emanated from it scared him a little. He did not doubt that it belonged to a Soul Overlord, and it was not an ordinary Soul Overlord.
“I tore it off from a beast after killing it,” Suiren said nonchalantly. He turned the wooden stick so that every part of the leg was shrouded in flames.
Looking at the flame, Bu Fang felt his heart tremble. His divine fire was the great nemesis of Soul Demons, but that was for Numbered Soul Demons. In the face of Soul Overlords, it was not powerful enough. So, if he wanted to burn a Soul Overlord, it would be extremely difficult.
However, this flame in front of him was able to grill the Soul Demon leg so easily. ‘It is indeed the primordial fire of mankind… Its power is so pure that it can burn everything in the world!’
“Stop talking now and try my barbecue,” Suiren said with a smile. “I’ve been here for tens of thousands of years, grilling meat when I have nothing to do. Therefore, my grilling skills are arguably the best in the universe…”
As he said that, he removed the steaming leg from the fire.
Bu Fang straightened his back while Tongtian’s expression became serious.
Scales covered the whole leg. Suiren raised his hand, closed his fingers around the barbecue as if he was not afraid of the scorching heat, and then gave it a strong squeeze. A crackling sound could be heard as the solid, almost indestructible scales cracked and shattered.
Then, with his head bowed, he carefully tore off the scales still attached to the meat with his fingers. Soon, all the scales were removed, and the tender, creamy meat beneath them was revealed.
Suiren did not add any seasoning. He just put the leg directly over the flame and cooked it in the most primitive way. Even so, the meat still emitted a unique fragrance. “Hehe… The temperature is just right,” he said, smiling.
He was the one who invented cooked food, and the first food he cooked was a simple ingredient that he grilled with fire. He had cooked the Soul Demon leg with exactly the same method. A delicious aroma of meat filled the entire cave, and Suiren’s mouth began to water. “It smells so good! Whenever I smell food, I can’t help drooling,” he said.
He took out a bone knife and cut the grilled Soul Overlord meat into three pieces. Then, he pointed out his finger. At the gesture, the three pieces of meat floated up, one going to Bu Fang and one to Tongtian. He grabbed the last one and shoved it into his mouth. The meat stuffed his mouth, and the grease kept dripping from the corners of his mouth.
Looking at the milky barbecue, Tongtian grabbed it without hesitation and stuffed it into his mouth. Not everyone had a chance to eat the barbecue prepared by Suiren! As he began to chew, his eyes widened, and his jaw dropped slightly. He was suddenly excited. ‘So this is the taste of a Saint-level ingredient? It’s so delicious!’
Bu Fang also took a bite of the barbecue, but he was stunned after only one bite. He had eaten Soul Demon meat before. It tasted awful, even after he cooked it with his best skills.
Soul Demon meat naturally had a peculiar flavor that could depress the taste buds and make people feel disgusted. Bu Fang could not imagine that it could be so delicious.
In fact, many things had natural tastes and characteristics that prevented them from becoming food ingredients, such as poisonous plants and weeds. Soul Demon meat was almost like weeds.
Bu Fang could not believe that the delicious food, which emitted a tantalizing aroma and melted like butter in his mouth, was the hard-to-swallow Soul Demon meat. The fragrance of the barbecue enveloped his soul like an indescribable sensation.
“It’s good, isn’t it?” Suiren took a bite of the barbecue and looked at Bu Fang as he chewed. “I’ve been eating this Soul Demon meat for tens of thousands of years… Eating the same thing every day, I’ve long since lost the taste of it.” After saying that, he took another bite.
Bu Fang nodded. It was hard to imagine eating the same dish over and over for tens of thousands of years.
Suiren chuckled. With a shake of his hand, he took out another piece of Soul Demon meat. “Lad, I’ve waited a long time for you to get here… Let me see if you can cook the kind of food I’m looking forward to. Although I am the inventor of cooked food, it is you who really brings out the charm of food.”
He handed the meat to Bu Fang. The ‘you’ in his words was full of meaning. The piece of meat was full of terrible and powerful energy. Obviously, it was the power of a Soul Overlord.
Tongtian’s eyes lit up. ‘Does this mean that I’ll have a barbecue to eat again?’
Bu Fang had finished his barbecue and was savoring its taste. What Suiren said just now left him in a trance until now. His goal was to become the God of Cooking, and the God of Cooking was naturally able to cook anything. Even if it was a stone, he would have to cook it into a delicious dish.
So, he took the Soul Overlord meat Suiren handed to him. The moment he took it, his languid aura became very aggressive, and his eyes became sharp, which frightened Tongtian.
Suiren smiled and pointed at the burning flame. “Although your fire is good, it lacks a soul. If you can satisfy me with your dish, I’ll give you this fire. What do you think?”
Bu Fang glanced at Suiren, took a deep breath, and said, “In that case… Senior’s fire will definitely be mine!”
As he said that, the complete God of Cooking Sets—the Dragon Bone Kitchen Knife, the Black Turtle Constellation Wok, the White Tiger Heaven Stove, the Qilin Transmigration Ladle, and the Vermilion Robe—flew out. With a determined look in his eyes, Bu Fang grabbed the kitchen knife and violently chopped the Soul Overlord meat in half!
