Gourmet of Another World

Bu Fang’s question was quite astonishing. He wanted to know the cause of the spiritual energy revival.

Yu Ge did not expect that question. Leaning back in his chair, he glanced at Bu Fang. He thought he saw a grim look on that expressionless face, which sent a shudder through him.

‘Could this strange young man have discovered something?’ he thought to himself.

“The revival of spiritual energy…” Yu Ge cleared his throat before continuing, “It means the spiritual energy has recovered. The spiritual energy that comes from nowhere has caused mutation to the living beings on Earth…” he said with a dry smile. It was a general explanation that explained nothing.

Bu Fang stared indifferently at him, making his scalp go numb. Shrimpy’s eyes were rolling, and its shell glinted coldly like sharp blades, sending a chill down his back. Foxy was baring her teeth, but since she had a cute appearance, the way she showed her teeth made her look even more adorable.

“Don’t beat around the bush… Earth’s spiritual energy revival is not a natural event; it is man-made. Anyone with eyes can tell this, so you don’t have to hide it from me,” Bu Fang said.

His words sent a shock of cold through Yu Ge. ‘Dammit it! How did he find out? How could this guy possibly know this? The revival of spiritual energy is the work of immortals, and no ordinary man has any clues about it. How did he know this secret?’

“There is nothing special about the revival of spiritual energy… It is not as complicated as you thought. In fact, this is a celebration for all the living beings on Earth,” Yu Ge said with a smile. He tried to calm himself down.

Suddenly, his pupils constricted as he found that he was lifted from the chair. The young man was still sitting on the chair and staring at him with a pair of emotionless eyes. However, a furry ring had wound around his neck. It was the fox’s tail, which had forcibly lifted him from the chair.

Lying on the table, one of Foxy’s nine tails had grown long and large and coiled around Yu Ge’s neck. The adorable, harmless nine-tailed fox had transformed into a peerless savage monster in just a flash.

“Now tell me the truth… you have only three seconds,” Bu Fang said.

Now that he managed to find a Qi cultivator, Bu Fang had to get some useful information out of the guy. He could clearly sense that the spiritual energy in this cultivator was the same as that in the rainwater.

Yu Ge struggled, patted Foxy’s tail, then fell and slumped onto the chair, breathing rapidly. A wave of sadness welled up from deep within him.

Back at Penglai, he was a genius Qi cultivator, but when he came to the mortal world, he was being tortured by this young man. He could not help but feel sad for his ill fate.

“I’ll tell you… Supposedly, with your strength, you should have known the secret,” Yu Ge cleared his throat, glancing at the expressionless Bu Fang. “The revival of spiritual energy is actually a wild celebration organized by Earth’s cultivators… Or, to be more specific, it is co-organized by the Qi cultivators of Hua and the Chosen Ones of the West!”

Yu Ge’s expression grew odder when he saw that Bu Fang was still unmoved. ‘His strength is considered not weak, so he should have known about this secret. This is a global event. Mortals might not have any clues about it, but how could a cultivator like him be so clueless?’ he thought to himself.

‘Could he be a rogue cultivator? An elderly senior who had cultivated in seclusion somewhere for who knows how many years? Hmm… This is very likely. The fact that he owns the nine-tailed fox and keeps a golden mantis shrimp as a pet… He must be an elderly senior who has just come out of seclusion. Heck, he might even be an elderly senior from the ancient times…’

At the thought of that, Yu Ge’s expression became solemn.

“A wild celebration?” Bu Fang twitched the corner of his mouth. Making no further comment, he signaled Yu Ge to continue.

Yu Ge cleared his throat again, then said, “The celebration is not organized without purpose. It is a rehearsal for the true revival of spiritual energy!” His eyes narrowed slightly, and he seemed to turn a little fervent.

“The true revival of spiritual energy?” Bu Fang frowned.

“That’s right… The revival of spiritual energy now is just an illusion. It is caused by the rainfalls that originated from the spiritual energy the high-level cultivators had compressed in the atmospheric layer. It is fake. The true revival of spiritual energy comes from inside the Earth. Its magnitude will be much larger than this, and the result it will cause will be more intense!

“You know why? Because the immortal seniors of cultivators had discovered that… Earth’s spiritual energy is, in fact, extracted and sealed in four different places on Earth. Now, the cultivators had found the locations. As long as we venture deep into those secret realms, open up the arrays or barriers that seal the spiritual energy, Earth’s spiritual energy will be truly revived!”

Yu Ge talked feverishly, and the more he said, the more excited he became. On the other hand, Bu Fang’s pupils constricted. The first thing he thought of after hearing that was the sleeping places of the Artifact Spirits. The four places where spiritual energy was sealed described by Yu Ge were too similar to the sleeping places of the four Artifact Spirits.

“Where are the four places?” Bu Fang asked, frowning.

“Ugh…” Yu Ge, talking with fervor a moment ago, froze in an instant, and his face flushed a little. “The four locations… I don’t know where they are. I really don’t know. I’m just a little Qi cultivator, how can I know such a secret?” he said embarrassingly.

“Qi cultivators are also divided into levels… When we cultivate to the advanced realm, we can even become Immortals. You know about Immortals, don’t you? Those Immortals in myths…don’t you think they’re fake. They are real!

“For example, the Patriarch of the Immortal Island of Penglai where I come from is a real Immortal. As an omnipotent existence, he can even fly in the sky and travel through earth… In fact, he can kill you with a pinch of his fingers should you meet each other,” Yu Ge added.

Bu Fang gave him a sideways glance. “Immortals…” he murmured under his breath.

“Immortals… All I ever wanted is to become one. But it is too difficult to become an Immortal, especially in the era when Earth’s spiritual energy has depleted. If it were in ancient times, becoming Immortals is relatively easy…

“Immortals is a general term. Actually, they can be divided into Earth Immortals, Human Immortals, Heaven Immortals… And above that are Divine Gold Immortals, Immortal Kings…”

A look of longing passed over Yu Ge’s face. His words, however, gave Bu Fang pause.

‘There are actually so many levels among Immortals? But why can’t I sense anything on Earth? The so-called Immortals shouldn’t be so quiet. Also… Who are those who suppressed my divine sense?’

“Immortals don’t stay on Earth,” said Yu Ge as if he could read the question from Bu Fang’s face. “Earth’s spiritual energy has been exhausted and no longer suitable for Immortals to cultivate. They are now living in Earth’s secret realms. According to my Patriarch, those secret realms should be other planets in the universe.

“There are only a few Immortals staying on Earth now.” After saying that, Yu Ge fell silent. His face was a little dark, as he realized that he had said too much. He did not know why—perhaps he was convinced by Bu Fang’s aura.

Bu Fang pondered for a while. Suddenly, he rose to his feet. He decided not to think so much for now. As for those Divine Gold Immortals and Immortal Kings, he was too lazy to pay them any mind. All he wanted now was to find the sleeping Artifact Spirits.

Suddenly, Yu Ge felt his shoulder sink, then he found that Bu Fang’s hand had rested on it. “Senior… What do you want?” The corner of his mouth twitched. He wondered if Bu Fang was going to kill him since he had told him everything.

“You really don’t know where those four places are?” Bu Fang looked at Yu Ge. The next moment, his divine sense poured forth, and a mighty pressure fell abruptly.

Yu Ge’s face darkened. Sure enough, this black-hearted senior was going to kill him! “No, no, no… I have a little clue!” he said hastily. The killing intent that almost took a physical form sent a shock of cold through his soul. He did not dare to hide anything.

“Tell me,” Bu Fang’s voice was cold.

“Ahem, ahem… Do you know the ‘World God of Cookery Tournament’ that’s been going viral lately?”

“God of Cookery Tournament?” Bu Fang paused. He did not understand what this had to do with a chef competition.

“Let me tell you… This tournament is actually organized by cultivators. The powers behind it include the Qi cultivators of Hua, the Chosen Ones of the West, and the believers of gods from some small countries.

“Think about it. Why would there be so many powers of the cultivator world involved in a cooking competition? Because the first spiritual energy sealing point is related to chefs…” Yu Ge said.

‘Related to chefs?’ Bu Fang narrowed his eyes, and the corners of his mouth curled upward slightly. It appeared that his guess was correct. Those spiritual energy sealing points were indeed the sleeping places of the Artifact Spirits!

“The top three chefs of the God of Cookery Tournament will be chosen by those cultivators and will be brought to the spiritual energy sealing points. They will then know where those places are…” Yu Ge said. He curled up his lips and felt so proud of his quick wit.

“Very good. Sign me up for the competition,” Bu Fang said. ‘A cooking competition?’ he thought, twitching the corner of his mouth. ‘My cooking skills can easily crush all the chefs on Earth…’

Yu Ge felt a headache at once. ‘He’s not a senior but a spoiled child waiting to be served by others… If you want to participate in the competition, go and sign up yourself! I’m a Qi cultivator, not a chef…’

However, when he glanced over his shoulder, he saw Foxy’s nine tails sway from side to side, and the golden mantis shrimp was staring at him with gleaming eyes.

“Senior… The competition has already begun, but if you wish to sign up…there is another way. You can go to the State Supernatural Agency…”

Bu Fang narrowed his eyes. “The State Supernatural Agency…”

…

In a secret base located in the suburb of Jiangdong…

Chief Luo sank back into his chair, a little tired. His mind was in a mess right now.

‘The nine-tailed fox is taken away by that young man… Judging by his strength, he should be a Qi cultivator, and not an ordinary one at that since he could freeze bullets… Could he be an Earth Qi cultivator?’

Qi cultivators were divided into four levels: Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow. An Earth Qi cultivator was equivalent to an S-class superhuman. As for Heaven Qi cultivators, they were comparable to real Immortals.

‘Since when did Qi cultivators of that level begin to show up on Earth? Is this a good thing or a bad thing?’

Chief Luo was very tired. In front of him were many monitors, each of which was flashing with text, as well as some photos and other information.

Wearing glasses, Xiao Ai walked over from outside with bloodshot eyes. “Chief… I’ve found that fellow’s information!” she said. When she mentioned that fellow, she was gritting her teeth. She could not believe that the guy had knocked her unconscious!

Chief Luo straightened up and looked at the monitor. The next moment, photos, text, and other information appeared before him. The man in the photos was Bu Fang, and the text was his background.

“An apprentice chef?!” he cried out, wondering if the information was accurate. How could that almighty expert comparable to a Heaven Qi cultivator be an apprentice chef?

“Xiao Ai… Are you sure the information is correct?” Chief Luo asked as he went through the information.

Xiao Ai, standing behind him, did not answer. That puzzled him. Suddenly, a slender, fair palm rested on his shoulder. Looking at it, his pupils constricted in an instant. He turned around, only to see Bu Fang’s expressionless face. As for Xiao Ai, she was held by a young man in a Hanfu¹, and she seemed to be completely frozen.

“You… What do you want?! This is the State Supernatural Agency! You better behave yourself!” Chief Luo said hurriedly.

Bu Fang glanced at his information on the monitor. It was correct, but unfortunately, that was all in the past.

“Don’t be afraid. I’m here for only one thing…” Bu Fang pulled over a leather chair, sat down, and looked at the chief. “Do you know the World God of Cookery Tournament?” He paused for a while, then went on, “I want to join the competition… You should be able to get me in, right?”

Chief Luo froze. ‘What does he mean?’ He glanced at the job title on the monitor, then turned to look at Bu Fang, who asked him to get him into the tournament…

‘This mighty Qi cultivator… is really a f*cking chef?!’