Ali’s body jolted as her long tail pointed at the entrance of the cave. As she was about to enter it, she was blocked by some resistance.
“Stand there!”
Along with a loud scoff, up to a hundred figures swam over. They were all kinds of water demons, from lobsters to frogs.
They looked unfriendly.
Swiftly after, wild laughter was heard. A weird and powerful body rushed out from the cave.
His face had black scales with his eyes popping outward. He was half human and half fish. He glared at Ali and said, “Ali, you’re finally home! What’s your consideration? Marry me.”
Ali twisted her body and growled, “Black Fish Demon, you took over my cave when I’m not around?!”
“What does that even mean! We’re a couple, how’s this taking over your cave?” Black Fish Demon laughed. He was in a good mood. With a gesture, his bunch of demons walked over with a few boxes of pearls and money.
Black Fish Demon said arrogantly, “I made some money recently. I even prepared the betrothal gift. We’ll live here. What’s the fun of becoming an Immortal? Why don’t you be with me and name ourselves Kings while living freely.”
Ali was so angry that she stuttered coldly, “You’re insane! Get out!”
“Get out?” Black Fish Demon said coldly, “I’ve liked you for a long time. Since I’ve come, I came prepared. You have to marry me even if you don’t want to!”
“You’re shameless!”
Ali scoffed as her body jolted. A long water ripple slashed toward Black Fish Demon like a knife.
The water ripple looked simple but it contained the power of the river. The places it touched had blended into the water. It made it very powerful with unlimited cutting power.
The Black Fish Demon squinted. He twisted his wrist and a big silver knife appeared. He was powerful and the knife let out a buzzing sound. Following that, he slashed the water ripple and turned it into two easily. It then vanished.
Black Demon Fish’s eyes glinted as he laughed. “Good knife! It’s indeed a good Deluxe Spiritual Treasure.”
He was satisfied. With this treasure, he was undefeatable. This female crystal dragon could only become his!
“Deluxe Spiritual Treasure?” Ali halted. She was uneasy.
Her power was similar to the Black Fish Demon’s. However, it was not the same now. The treasure was too powerful.
“Not bad! Why don’t you give in and accept your fate already? Don’t worry, I’ll be a good husband. Ha-ha-ha!”
Black Fish Demon walked out and approached Ali. Meanwhile, he glared at Nanan and Li Nianfan. He said coldly, “You even brought home a wild man! I can forgive you but I need to eat him!”
“You want to eat me?” Li Nianfan smiled and shook his head. “Coincidentally, I’m thinking of a way to cook a fish dish. I’m ready to make a tomato fish slice.”
Ali was hurt by Nanan. Li Nianfan felt sorry. Now that a dish had come, it reminded Li Nianfan that it was time to make a nice dish to try.
Black Fish Demon said eerily, “Ha! How are you so stubborn before you die? I’ve also thought of a dish, a tomato human dish! You shall die!”
However, before his knife arrived, a very powerful rush of Qi rushed into him. The river water flew back and emptied the spot he was standing on.
A gigantic golden cudgel lashed down and landed on his head.
Black Fish Demon cried out in shock. He felt his body becoming as heavy as a mountain. He did not even have the chance to get his knife before this cudgel ended his life.
There was no resistance and no sound. He fell to the ground and turned into a gigantic black fish. He was dead.
“Done.” Nanan kept her Golden Cudgel and pouted. “Luckily I didn’t use too much force. If not, the flesh would’ve turned mushy. Brother, what about these small demons?”
“No need, drag the black fish in.”
“Oh.” The terrified small demons jolted after Nanan dragged the black fish into the cave. When they regained consciousness, they were shocked and escaped like crazy.
The abrupt death of their King was a terrible sight to them.
Inside the cave.
Ali was back in her human form. She was terrified. She led the way as she said sincerely, “Thank you, Lord Saint, for your help.”
If she was captured by the Black Fish Demon to become his wife, it would have been a nightmare. Even the thought of it was very scary and unacceptable.
Li Nianfan said, “It’s a small matter. I’m hungry now. The black fish isn’t a bad dish. You’re in luck.”
The cave was not luxurious but it was a nice place. It was spacious with a few glowing pearls as decoration.
It was made by emptying a big stone. There were some rooms and things, though the decoration was ordinary and not exceptionally grand.
Compared to the Eastern Sea Palace, this was poorly done.
No wonder many Immortals did not like to stay in this place. Each position would go on from a thousand to ten thousand years. They worked in poor conditions which was difficult for the Immortals.
Ali led Li Nianfan and Nanan to the living room. She poured them wine and said awkwardly, “Lord Saint, please…have a drink.”
“Okay, thank you.” Li Nianfan lifted the wine glass and took a sip. He asked curiously, “This black fish is a demon from the Liusha River?”
“Yes, Lord Saint.” Ali nodded. She said, “He’s arrogant around here. He’d flip the boats over from time to time and eat the passer-by. I’ve fought him a few times and none of us won the fight. So I can’t do anything about him.”
She said as she could not help looking at the black fish with a complicated look.
Thinking back, Black Fish Demon was merely a dish in the eyes of the expert…
She knew that the expert liked wild meat. As expected, Black Fish Demon sacrificed himself to treat him. He was good at this!
“Alright, the black fish is still fresh, let’s hurry and sort it out.”
Li Nianfan smiled. He had eaten many demons so he was not as emotional. The thought of eating the tomato fish made him drool. This would be a nice dish!
The recipe for the tomato fish was simple. Tomato and fish were the two main ingredients. He would then sprinkle some condiments and white wine to thicken the broth to boil the fish in.
The two main keys in this dish were the cutting skills and the mixing of the broth.
Of course, these were not difficult for Li Nianfan. They were easy to him.
Since he brought the condiments with him, he only had to put them on the fire to cook the condiments with tomatoes. The broth then started to boil.
As for his cutting skill…no introduction was needed.
Seeing that Li Nianfan was taking out his pots and pans, Ali was so shocked and helpless.
She did not expect the expert to be so friendly. He brought along this fancy set of cookery with him. How much did he love eating!
She then looked at herself. There was not even a kitchen in her cave…
Li Nianfan moved rapidly and professionally, sorting things out orderly. Looking at him, he worked in one movement. It was aesthetically pleasing and one did not want to break it.
Ali wanted to help but she did not know how to help. She could only look at him from the side.
Especially when Li Nianfan was cutting the fish with the knife, she felt a warm breeze on her face as she could not help being drawn into it. Her world blurred out and all she could think of was Li Nianfan slicing the fish.
She seemed to have seen the…law!
She was speechless and did not understand it. Anyhow, it was very impressive.
The knife glinted as the fish was perfectly sliced. The flesh was equally sliced with transparent and crystal bits. The scales were peeled off as well. The patterns were shown, it was a work of art!
One knife cut after another, the fish slices formed a line and were even glowing…
Ali was perplexed. At this moment, she had a sudden realization. The Black Fish Demon was so lucky! It was turned into a dish by the expert! What kind of honor was that? Look, it was even glowing…
It did not take long before the fish was completely sliced. They were then added to the tomato broth. The timing was perfect.
Everything was done. Now, they only had to wait for the fish to be cooked.
Since they were waiting, Li Nianfan smiled and asked, “Immortal Ali, what do you usually eat?”
Ali thought for a while and said, “Usually, the ordinary men would worship me by putting food into the river. Sometimes, I also eat the fish and prawns from the river.”
“You eat them raw?”
“Yeah.” Ali’s face flushed red. She was embarrassed. Normally, she did not find it strange to eat things raw. However, looking at Li Nianfan’s mocking eyes, she felt somewhat guilty.
Li Nianfan smiled, “Ha-ha-ha, do give it a try. Good food’s an important part of life.”
“Okay.”
Ali nodded. She was looking at the boiling tomato fish. She was seduced by the fragrance coming out from it.
Gulp, gulp.
In the pot, the bubbles were boiling while the fish started to jump around inside. Of course, both Nanan and Ali’s hearts were jumping along with it.
Among the red broth, pieces of snowy white fish meat stood out. The sight of it was very tempting.
On top of that was the fragrance of tomato and fish meat in the air.
Gulp!
Ali could not help licking her lips. She gulped.
She had completely calmed down. She was squatting by the pot, blankly looking at the food inside it. Her small nose sniffed.
“It’s about time. Have a try.”
Li Nianfan’s words sounded like music to Nanan and Ali. They picked up the chopsticks quickly and took out the fish from the pot.
The fish was thinly sliced but the flesh was very bouncy. They did not break apart too easily. As the fish went into their mouths, the sourness of the tomato exploded. The sourness was not invasive, it was just right. As it touched the tips of their tongues, it awakened their taste buds. Following that, the fragrance of the fish and its smoothness exploded.
“Argh! So yummy!”
Ali’s eyes turned into stars! She was crying in her heart!
“So the fish who fancied me tastes so good!
“Yum!”
Following that, she moaned.
Upon swallowing the first slice of fish, the energy in her started to circulate. It felt as if she had eaten something very nourishing. Her body heated up and her face flushed red.
“This dish contains…spiritual roots!?”
She found it hard to believe. She took a deep breath and carefully scooped out a small bowl of fish broth. She parted her small mouth and took a sip.
The sour broth went around in her mouth. It then flowed down her throat and arrived in her stomach.
The delicate texture heated up her stomach. The broth touched each corner of her body. The energy she felt was like a drop of water entering a pot of hot oil, splashing everywhere.
The energy rushed to her head. She parted her mouth and moaned.
Burp…
She burped.
With this one burp, her bottleneck was broken through as if it was a piece of paper.
With that, she went from Late-Immortal Realm to Real Immortal Realm!
All of these happened from one mouthful of soup! One burp! Who would believe her?
Nanan and Li Nianfan, who were also enjoying the food, looked at her. They were perplexed.
Ali was delighted! Her face flushed red. Even her neck and ears were red. She lowered her head and felt very embarrassed.
