Translator: CatatoPatch Editor: Vermillion
Bu Fang entered the kitchen, cooking as the steam rose toward the heavens.
This time, he did not cook any other dish, only making the Crazy Hot Chili Strips; he made a lot of it. After all, he was going to enter the Heaven Secret Territory and he did not know when he would return. He decided to make more Chili Strips so that Nethery could sell them for him.
This way, even though the restaurant wouldn’t be able to do a lot of business, it would at least bring in some crystals.
As long as the restaurant was doing business, then it meant that Bu Fang would be cultivating all the time.
Within an extremely huge porcelain pot, there were scarlet red Chili Strips, the red oil was slowly flowing around them and a spicy aroma filled the air. As it rolled around in waves, the entire shop seemed to be covered in the fragrance of the Chili Strips.
A single Chili Strip’s aroma could not be called dense, but when such a large amount of it was gathered together, the smell was no minor thing.
He let out a deep breath.
Bu Fang retreated a step, wiping off the water stains on his hands with a dry cloth, and he looked at his wok in satisfaction. The corner of his mouth curved upwards; with so many Chili Strips, it should be enough to hold out for many days, right?
Hence, Bu Fang brought the pot filled to the brim with Chili Strips out of the kitchen.
Nethery and Lord Dog had already been prepared and they sat at the dining table, waiting for Bu Fang to bring out the food.
When they saw Bu Fang walking out of the kitchen, the human and the dog both widened their eyes. Lord Dog’s face was confused. What was this plaything? Where was the Sweet ‘n’ Sour Ribs that they had agreed on?
Nethery, on the other hand, froze slightly. In the next moment, she blinked her eyes and became a little excited. She had eaten the Chili Strips before and the taste of those things was surprisingly good. She was obsessed with them.
Who would have thought that Bu Fang would be so understanding and prepare so many Chili Strips for her?
With a thud, Bu Fang placed the porcelain pot onto the table.
He pulled a chair to sit down, looking at Nethery and Lord Dog expressionlessly.
“Bu Fang, kiddo, where is Lord Dog’s Sweet ‘n’ Sour Ribs? You actually plan on feeding Lord Dog this nonsense today? I’m telling you… Lord Dog eats meat! Not vegetables!” Lord Dog’s nostrils flared. With no Sweet ‘n’ Sour Ribs, he was very angry.
Nethery pouted her lips and narrowed her eyes. Her heart was very happy as she reached out her white and slender fingers. Grabbing some Chili Strips, she shoved them into her mouth.
Eating extremely happily, sounds of munching could be heard coming from her mouth.
“Today there’s no Sweet ‘n’ Sour Ribs… These are the only things available,” Bu Fang said.
What’s with “Lord Dog doesn’t eat vegetables”? Bu Fang did not believe this lazy dog’s nonsense. At first, when there was no Sweet ‘n’ Sour Ribs, didn’t this lazy dog like to eat Egg-Fried Rice?
Lord Dog was furious. It felt that Bu Fang had changed, that he wasn’t like this in the past. He bared his fangs at Bu Fang for a while, but since Bu Fang did not even care about it, Lord Dog helplessly gave up. The fats on its body started to shake. It decided to return back to the Path-Understanding Tree.
However, before even getting down from the dining table, Bu Fang had grabbed its head, waving a Chili Strip in front of its face.
“There’s no use swinging it in front of me, Lord Dog will definitely not eat vegetables!” Lord Dog said.
Munch!
However, just as Lord Dog said that, Bu Fang narrowed his eyes. He directly shoved the Chili Strip into Lord Dog’s mouth.
Lord Dog’s eyes widened and the fats on its body started to tremble. They were like waves which rolled around on its body.
However, after shaking for a while, Lord Dog’s eyes slightly lit up. It started munching away.
“The taste is surprisingly not too bad,” Lord Dog said seriously. “Lass, give this Lord Dog one more strip.”
Nethery, with three Chili Strips stuffed in her mouth, nodded. Two of her fingers entered the porcelain pot and pulled out a few strips.
A dog and a human ate it happily.
“Okay… That’s about enough.” After eating for a while, Bu Fang stopped Nethery and Lord Dog. Opening his mouth, he said, “Nethery, tomorrow, I, the boss, am going to the secret territory. As a waitress of the restaurant, you have the duty to watch over the shop and make sure this restaurant maintains its business.”
Nethery’s mouth was stuffed with four Chili Strips. Tilting her head, she listened to Bu Fang’s words curiously.
“These remaining Chili Strips are for tomorrow’s sale. You have to remember to start up the business tomorrow and sell only the Chili Strips. Don’t sell anything else, do you understand?” Bu Fang instructed.
Nethery ate until her entire mouth was oily. With a roll of her tongue, she made all the fragrant oil enter her mouth. Her eyes flashed as she nodded her head incomparably solemnly.
Lord Dog continued eating with a satisfied expression on its face, not caring about Bu Fang.
Bu Fang was satisfied. Looking at Nethery’s solemn expression, he felt that everything had settled down. He was able to leave for the Heaven Secret Territory with a peaceful heart.
Woosh…
With a wave of his hand, he stored that porcelain pot that was filled with Chili Strips. Bu Fang nodded his head toward Nethery and Lord Dog before turning around. He started to walk toward his room.
Nethery stuffed three Chili Strips into her mouth and Lord Dog did the same. The both of them stared at the place where Bu Fang left.
…
On the morning of the next day, the sunlight shone warmly on Bu Fang’s body, causing his entire body to feel slightly warm.
He opened his eyes. It was another beautiful day. After he finished washing up, Bu Fang walked down the stairs. Then, after practicing his carving technique and knife techniques in the kitchen, he started to prepare the dishes.
Flames surged and the aroma started to spread out. Steam rolled out everywhere. In a short while, the fragrance in the kitchen assaulted the noses, spreading everywhere.
He held a portion of Dragon Blood Rice and Sweet ‘n’ Sour Ribs while walking out of the kitchen. After placing the two dishes in front of Nethery and Lord Dog, Bu Fang began to instruct them on today’s business.
After eating their fill, Bu Fang placed the porcelain pot in front of Nethery.
“Come, the restaurant will be under your care these few days. Take care of the business well,” Bu Fang said.
Nethery nodded her head as she held the porcelain pot with a solemn face.
He had to admit that, when Nethery became serious, she was actually really pretty.
Whitey walked out of the kitchen with its plump body. It walked behind Bu Fang and its eyes were shining. Without a question, Whitey was Bu Fang’s guardian on this trip to the secret territory.
After all, Nethery had to take care of the restaurant and that lazy Lord Dog was too lazy to move.
There was only Whitey and Shrimpy who would follow him. Of course, if he were to hold the Eight Treasures Chicken, it wouldn’t reject him. However, Bu Fang felt that there was no point in bringing Eighty into the Heaven Secret Territory.
With a creak, the bronze gate opened.
The piercing sunlight shone in, causing Bu Fang to raise his hands to cover his eyes. He once again looked at the quiet Nethery standing in the distance before walking toward the Pill Tower in satisfaction.
Today’s gathering point was the Pill Tower in Heavenly Mist City.
This was the first time Bu Fang had stepped into the Pill Tower. He lived in Heavenly Mist City for so long, but this was the first time he had the chance to enter the Pill Tower.
The Pill Tower was the iconic building of the Pill Cities. There were many alchemists residing within it. Every single one of them cultivated obediently in the Pill Tower and they constantly honed their alchemy skills. The Pill Tower was the holy ground in every alchemist’s heart; it was their sacred and inviolable land.
When Bu Fang walked in front of the Pill Tower, the head judge, who had been guarding the bottom of the Pill Tower, brought him inside. With a rumble, the heavy bronze gates of the Pill Tower slowly opened before closing again.
A group of people arrived in the secret room. The hidden room was extremely huge and the air contained a dense aroma.
There were a lot of people in the room, and when Grandmaster Xuan Ming saw Bu Fang appear, he nodded his head towards the latter.
Mu Bai smiled at Bu Fang gently as he greeted the chef. As for Jiang Ling, her face was cold. She had not gotten over her defeat as she looked at Bu Fang with a strange expression on her face.
“Very good. Since everyone is here, this old man shall activate the magic array to go to the Heaven Secret Territory,” Grandmaster Xuan Ming solemnly said. “The Heaven Secret Territory is very big and there are countless living beings there. Among them are many talented alchemists from the Pill Palace and they are training in seclusion. There are also talented disciples from the Hidden Dragon Continent training there. Because there are countless opportunities inside, I hope that everyone can find one that fits them. When you get there, there will be someone to guide you, just like how there will be people to guide you out of the secret territory,” he instructed seriously.
Bu Fang and the rest all nodded their heads.
In the next instant, the energy in Grandmaster Xuan Ming’s body surged and smoke rolled within the hidden room. As if a hurricane was spreading out from Grandmaster Xuan Ming’s body, his alchemist robe started to flutter non-stop.
A hum resounded.
The entire hidden room lit up. In the middle of the hidden room, a complicated and mysterious magic array began to shine with light and that magic array was extremely complicated. There were countless small circles drawn inside a large circle and there were densely packed pictures in them.
An ordinary person’s eyes would spin if they saw this magic array.
This secret territory was much bigger compared to the secret territory in the Nangong Family estate. The magic array was extremely mysterious as well.
Bu Fang and the rest walked into the middle of that magic array as streams of light emerged from the array and covered their bodies.
Mu Bai and the rest felt a wave of terrifying fluctuations before they realized that everything in front of them had changed in an instant.
Their minds were dazzled. It was almost as though they traveled through some kind of mysterious place.
…
When the light within the hidden room scattered and Grandmaster Xuan Ming’s robes also settled down. The magic array became peaceful once again.
The head judge respectfully passed over an elixir to Grandmaster Xuan Ming. After he received it, he downed it and his slightly pale face regained its color.
“Grandmaster Xuan Ming, is it okay to open the secret territory earlier like this? Is there no need to report this to the Palace Master?” The head judge asked.
“There will be no problems. The secret territory cannot be considered dangerous at all. After all, there are many talented alchemists of our Pill Palace inside. There are also countless alchemists from the Star Pill Tower training inside. There will be no dangers at all. The only dangers are where the opportunities are located at. When they come out from the secret territory, the Star Pill Tower will come to receive them. However, this old man has a headache. The champion of the competition is not an alchemist. What will the Star Pill Tower do?” Grandmaster Xuan Ming said.
The head judge also froze. He began to sweat as well. Well, who cares? That was something for the Star Pill Tower to worry about.
…
In Heavenly Mist City, among the tall metal buildings, Han Li stood in front of a window, looking in the direction of the Pill Tower. As he looked at the condensed energy on top of the Pill Tower scattering, his lips curled upwards. He revealed a smile on his face.
“They finally moved out…”
“Commander Han Li, this little one has checked. That Bu Fang brought neither the Netherworld woman nor Lord Dog with him… Only the puppet from his restaurant followed him into the Heaven Secret Territory,” a guard moved to Han Li’s side and said.
Han Li nodded his head and the smile on his face became more exaggerated. It was actually that puppet. It was the puppet who ripped off his clothes and caused him to lose face. It seemed as though he would be able to settle both his new and old grudges at the same time.
“Let’s go, bring your weapons and follow this commander out. This time, without Lord Dog, what is Bu Fang going to block me with? The Shura Tower is mine! Also, remember to rip that puppet’s steel skin into pieces! Make that puppet taste how it feels to be ripped apart!”
