The inside of the coach was crowded. However, while flying in the sky, it did not jump as much as those vehicles on the road, so the passengers did not feel uncomfortable.
The atmosphere inside the coach was a little awkward. Xiao Ai was holding her professional video camera and carrying a backpack. She looked nervous. From time to time, she would glance at Bu Fang from the corners of her eyes, and when she did that, her heart pounded in her chest.
‘I can’t believe I got the chance to look at Senior from such a close distance… This is so exciting!’
Xiao Ai’s young girl heart was beginning to stir. However, when she glanced at Nethery, who sat at Bu Fang’s side, and saw the latter’s black eyes that seemed to swirl like two black holes, she felt cold all over.
Then, when she turned to the noble and almost lofty Empyrean Fairy, who was slouching back in her seat and stretching her long legs, she felt a sense of inferiority.
‘Alright… I might be thinking too much.’
Bu Fang’s face remained calm, even though the atmosphere was a little awkward due to the tight space in the coach. He did not get used to it at first, but he just closed his eyes and began to meditate about cooking. As he cooked one dish after another in his mind, he forgot about the uncomfortable atmosphere.
The unicorn galloped hard, pulling the coach across the sky at great speed, while the blond men surrounded the vehicle like a group of transcended beings.
Xiao Ai pulled open the coach window, poked her head out of it to catch her breath. She felt a little excited. ‘This coach is taking us to the Western Church…’
After Earth’s spiritual energy returned, the Western Church had been a global superpower. It was served by countless superhumans, and it was said that its Chosen Ones could receive God’s power and acquire mighty strength.
Before this, Hua had only a few Earth Immortals, so it was no match for the Western Church. Xiao Ai was full of curiosity about this superpower.
After flying for some time, they finally arrived at their destination. Under them was a magnificent city. There was a grand castle in the center of the city. Temples with crosses as sharp and pointy as blades on their roofs filled the castle, gleaming goldenly and emanating a holy aura.
Accompanied by music and falling petals, the coach landed. Then, its door was pushed open. The man’s face was unsightly as he watched the four people emerge through the door.
“Mister Bu, we’ve arrived at the Holy City. Ahead of us is the Western Church,” he said respectfully. The Immortal Emperor’s might that Bu Fang had shown still filled him with fear.
Xiao Ai kept taking pictures everywhere with her camera. She was awed by the glorious temples around them. The man did not stop her, and he had no objection to her uploading the photos to the Internet. ‘It is time for the people to witness the Western Church’s true power,’ he thought.
As they came before the towering castle walls, they heard a loud crash, then the huge metal doors began to slowly swing open.
“Welcome, Mister Bu,” said the man respectfully.
Bu Fang nodded, clasped his hands behind him, and walked through the gaping hole. He wanted to see what the Western Church was up to. The old man said they had prepared a banquet with the choicest cuisines. If the food could not satisfy him, he would be very unhappy.
As soon as they stepped into the castle, they felt sharp, hostile energy in the air. A constant clatter of metal on metal could be heard as well, as teams of soldiers clad in silver armor and full helms patrolled in orderly formations.
Nethery, Xiao Ai, and the Empyrean Fairy followed behind Bu Fang. Xiao Ai was filming, and when she saw those soldiers, she felt a chill rise from her soles to her back.
All of a sudden, Bu Fang stopped and raised his brows. He felt that the White Tiger Belt and the Vermilion Robe were shaking—it was a signal that they had sensed the other two God of Cooking Sets. The old man was not lying. The Western Church had truly acquired them.
‘Well, this will save me a lot of trouble,’ Bu Fang thought to himself. ‘Judging by the way things are done in the Western Church, they certainly had captured the Golden Dragon and the Black Turtle as well… It seems I can collect all the God of Cooking Sets on this trip.’
Bu Fang took a deep breath and continued walking. Just then, a group of people approached from down the street. The leader was an old man in a red robe carrying a thick book. He was Hagens, who Bu Fang had seen previously.
The Cardinal walked up to Bu Fang with a warm smile. He was followed by men in white robes with serious faces. Bu Fang sensed a strange aura in these people.
“We met at last, Mister Bu.” Hagens laughed, spreading his arms as if to embrace Bu Fang. Naturally, his hug was rejected. He did not mind, though, and kept on talking.
Bu Fang replied to him mildly. While doing so, he sent out his divine sense to cover the entire castle—he was sensing the aura of the other two God of Cooking Sets. To his surprise, however, he could not sense them. He knew they were nearby, but he just could not sense them.
‘Have they used some strange method to conceal the God of Cooking Sets’ aura?’ He glanced at Hagens, who was laughing like an honest man. The Cardinal’s expression did not change, even though he had clearly sensed Bu Fang’s fearsome divine sense.
“The banquet is ready. Please follow me,” Hagens said.
Soon, they were led into a resplendent temple. The dome ceiling was covered with paintings, which told the legends and myths about the Western Church. It was a huge temple. As Bu Fang glanced around, he found its interior larger than a square.
A round table was placed in the center of the temple, surrounded by cushioned chairs with high backs. World-class chefs in neat chef’s robes were coming and going, preparing steaming cuisines. It seemed that the Western Church did prepare some delicious food.
“Please have a seat,” Hagens told Bu Fang.
Everyone found a chair and sat down.
“His Holiness the Pope is unwell, so this humble one will serve Your Excellency instead…” Hagens smiled, his eyes narrowing. The old man’s smile was contagious.
Bu Fang glanced indifferently at the Cardinal. He did not say anything but began tasting the food. “Hmm… This dish is good.”
“It is cooked with the meat of an Egyptian crocodile god,” Hagens said. “Try this. This is the breast of an ice bear, a Siberian god.”
As he introduced the dishes to Bu Fang, Xiao Ai’s face turned pale. ‘All the dishes are cooked with gods’ meat… The Western Church is so savage! Are they hunting down gods everywhere?’
She looked at the kindly old man, who introduced the dishes as if they were chicken, duck, and fish, then turned to Bu Fang and saw him nodding and eating with relish.
The banquet began in a very peaceful atmosphere. After a few dishes, Hagens picked up a bottle of fine red wine, poured some into two glasses, handed one to Bu Fang, and clinked his glass with the latter’s.
“Mister Bu, we have actually invited a few other guests to the banquet.” Hagens chuckled. Then, he turned to look at the door.
A clattering sound could be heard as armored soldiers marched out from the back of the temple and stood at either side of the table. After that, the door was opened. The candlelight in the temple swayed and flickered as a gust of wind blew through the opening.
The ground began to shake. Soon, a figure walked into the temple. It was a strange being. Naked from the waist up and carrying an axe dripping with blood, it had the body of a man but the head of a gray dog. Its eyes were shot with blood, and an aura of death was swirling around it.
As soon as the being stepped through the door, the entire temple began to shake. The thick book in Hagens’ hand glowed at the same time, but the old man still smiled kindly.
Bu Fang was still tasting the dishes without turning a hair, but Xiao Ai’s expression changed drastically.
“The Egyptian God of Death… Anubis?!” Xiao Ai was, after all, a member of the State Supernatural Agency, and after following Chief Luo for some time, she knew many powerful Gods and Immortals.
Loud noises still came through the door, but Bu Fang remained calm. Next, a huge werewolf walked slowly into the temple. His hair was blood red, and he was surrounded by a terrible aura. His arrival caused the temperature in the temple to drop by a few degrees.
Hagens’ book glowed even brighter now. These Gods were the other guests he mentioned, but they were not all. He chuckled.
The next moment, a group of Cardinals in red robes walked out from the back of the temple. Their aura joined and suppressed the terrifying aura in the air. Each of them had a book in hand as well, and they all glanced meaningfully at Bu Fang.
Outside the temple, a powerful aura approached, and then countless black bats suddenly gathered in the sky and turned into an evil-looking man. He was clad in a black suit, and his hair was neatly combed. As soon as this man appeared, the books in the Cardinals’ hands began to tremble.
A few moments later, a noble blond man clad in a long robe arrived, holding a scepter covered in flashing electric arcs.
As more and more Gods appeared, Xiao Ai became more and more uneasy. ‘Sure enough… This banquet is a trap set up for Senior! These Gods are here to do Senior harm!’
The might of these Gods made her tremble with fear. She could sense that some of them were stronger than the Gods of India, and a few of them were even as strong as Immortal Emperors!
“S-Senior…” Xiao Ai’s lips were trembling. She turned to look at Bu Fang, but she saw that he was still eating calmly. Nethery, on the other hand, looked at the food with disgust—she obviously did not like them. The Empyrean Fairy was eating with relish, though, and she seemed to have accepted the fact that she was now a maid.
Looking at Bu Fang, Hagens smiled. “Mister Bu, these honorable guests have been waiting for your arrival.”
‘Honorable? What makes them honorable?’ Xiao Ai grumbled in her head. ‘Each of these beings is not on good terms with the Western Church… How did this old man find them honorable?’
A terrible aura kept spreading as more and more Gods arrived. Bu Fang even saw a familiar face among them, the Indian God who he had beaten and fled in panic, Brahma. These Gods soon crowded around him and trapped him in the middle.
Xiao Ai’s heart pounded. ‘Perhaps only the Western Church could assemble all the Gods on Earth in one place!’ she thought to herself.
“So… Are you done with your act?” Bu Fang put the fork in his hand down and looked up at Hagens.
The old man’s smile faded away. He looked indifferently at Bu Fang as if he was a supreme God. “Mister Bu, the purpose of the banquet is for us to appraise the two Holy Artifacts. Could Mister Bu show them to us? Do not worry, Mister Bu, I swear by God that the Western Church will take good care of the Holy Artifacts,” he said.
After that, he rose to his feet, took a step back, and lightly clapped his hands. “Deploy the array.”
As soon as his voice rang out, the books held by the red-robed Cardinals flew into the air. Then, the Gods narrowed their eyes and unleashed their divine sense, which joined into a giant net and fell toward Bu Fang.
Suddenly, a six-pointed star emerged under Bu Fang’s feet. A bright column of light thrust out of it and enveloped him.
“Mister Bu, we all can’t wait to witness the Holy Artifacts… Please do not disappoint us,” said Hagens.
The threat in his words was obvious. He was confident that Bu Fang would do as he said. After all, the array was given by God after the Pope had prayed to Him, and it was so powerful that even an Immortal Emperor would be suppressed. Bu Fang would have to do as he said or die under God’s holy light.
The Western Church had finally revealed its sinister face.
