Chapter 2122: The Kitchen God Beyond the World

The old man grinned, then jumped up again, saying, “You little girl, it’s only been a few years since we last met, how have you learned to lie already!”

“I’ve dedicated myself to the culinary arts for over a million years. Hmm? Do you even know what a million years is, little girl? Those so-called culinary masters in your Divine Kingdom aren’t even worthy of being my apprentices!”

“There are very few people in this world who have lived longer than this old man, and it’s impossible for anyone to surpass me in culinary skill. No one can even touch my heels!”

As he stomped around, his beard practically stood on end… His reaction was as if a raw nerve had been touched.

Yun Che looked thoughtful.

“But…” Hua Cai Li showed no sign of being chastened. She said innocently and frankly, “I respect and like Uncle Six Laughter so much, how could I lie to him? Big Brother Yun’s cooking is simply more delicious than Uncle Six Laughter’s.”

After speaking, before the old man could react with another outburst, she agilely glided to Yun Che’s side, standing so close that their bodies almost touched. “Right, Big Brother Yun?”

The old man’s gaze shifted to Yun Che, as if only just noticing his presence. But with just one look, his previously bristling hair smoothed back down, and then he burst into boisterous laughter, gesticulating wildly:

“You mean this boy? Hahahaha! This young whippersnapper’s aura is barely more than the dust under my fingernails, and you dare say he can surpass me in culinary arts?”

“Little girl, your cultivation has improved a lot, but why has your brain suddenly stopped working? If he can make something more delicious than my ‘Six Laughter Flying Immortal Crisp,’ I’ll write my name ‘Six Laughter’ backward!”

“Uncle Six Laughter is cheating again!” Hua Cai Li said, her eyes curving into a smile. “’Six Laughter’ written backward is still ‘Six Laughter.’ Since Uncle Six Laughter is so unconvinced, do you dare to make another bet with me?”

“Another bet?” The old man’s eyes widened slightly.

“This time, we’re betting on Uncle Six Laughter’s strongest suit: culinary skill,” Hua Cai Li said with a smile. “We’ll bet on whether Big Brother Yun can make something even more delicious than the Six Laughter Flying Immortal Crisp. Of course, if Uncle Six Laughter doesn’t dare, that’s fine. How could a junior as small as I am possibly make things difficult for Uncle Six Laughter?”

“Heheheh…” The old man bared his yellow teeth in a strange laugh. “Trying to provoke me with those words… Bet! We must bet!”

“If this boy can surpass me in cooking, I’ll call you Uncle… Bah! I’ll even call you Grandma!”

Hua Cai Li quickly waved her hand obediently. “Oh, no, Uncle Six Laughter is my most respected senior, we mustn’t mess with that. If… by any chance… Uncle Six Laughter really loses, then just grant me one small request, hehe.”

“I’ll lose??”

He let out a strange cry, but didn’t laugh again. Instead, his gaze swept up and down, re-evaluating Yun Che.

How could he not know that Hua Cai Li’s sudden move was not without purpose?

But to say this young whippersnapper could surpass him in culinary skill…

He would rather believe this boy could crush him, a Divine Official, with a single finger in cultivation.

“Boy!” The old man didn’t ask Yun Che’s name or origin. He squinted his old eyes and said, “When I was your age, I hadn’t even figured out how to play with mud yet. If we truly compete in cooking, that would be me bullying you. So…”

He pointed behind him. “This old man may not have much else, but I have all sorts of rare and exotic ingredients from around the world! If you can use what’s here to make any dish that impresses me, then this little girl wins! Look at her smiling face, she’s probably up to some mischief!”

The old man’s words were casual and crude, yet they fully revealed his affection and indulgence towards Hua Cai Li. He knew in his heart that Hua Cai Li was looking for an excuse to ask him for a favor, so he directly gave her this opportunity.

After all, whether it impressed him was his decision.

Yun Che bowed respectfully but said nothing. He glanced around, then suddenly stretched out a hand, and over a dozen gentle wind currents flew out, heading straight for the haphazardly piled ingredients.

In mere moments, thirty-seven ingredients of various colors and shapes were laid out before Yun Che.

“Senior, the ‘Six Laughter Flying Immortal Crisp’ you just made should have used these thirty-seven ingredients. I wonder if my judgment is mistaken?”

The gray-robed old man… Divine Official Six Laughter, one of the esteemed Four Divine Officials of the Pure Land, did not answer immediately. His old eyes widened bit by bit, as if he had seen a ghost in broad daylight.

Hua Cai Li’s lips also parted slightly, and her beautiful eyes trembled with deep astonishment… Judging by Divine Official Six Laughter’s extremely exaggerated reaction, Yun Che’s judgment was clearly correct. Not a single one of the thirty-seven ingredients was wrong!?

She only knew that anything Yun Che cooked tasted like it came from the heavens, surpassing even Divine Official Six Laughter. She had never imagined he was incredibly skilled to such an unbelievable degree.

Divine Official Six Laughter suddenly turned his head and roared, “Yuan Ying, get in here!”

Divine Attendant Yuan Ying, who had just cleaned the dust off himself, flashed in with a “whoosh.” “Master, you called me…”

“Did you tell this boy the recipe for the Six Laughter Flying Immortal Crisp?!”

“Huh?” Yuan Ying looked innocent. “You’re wronging me, Master. Even if Yuan Ying had immense courage, I wouldn’t dare leak your recipe. Oh, wait, didn’t you just make this Six Laughter Flying Immortal Crisp, and even gave it its name just now? Where would I get a recipe?”

“…Get out.”

“Right away!”

Yuan Ying flashed out again with a “whoosh.”

Divine Official Six Laughter’s gaze returned to Yun Che, occasionally sweeping over the thirty-seven ingredients, muttering, “He’s got some tricks up his sleeve, no wonder this little girl dared to be so smug.”

Yun Che quickly said humbly, “Senior, you flatter me. I’m merely exceptionally sensitive to scents and happened to recognize them by chance. Then I shall try my hand at making the Senior’s Six Laughter Flying Immortal Crisp using the same ingredients.”

As he finished speaking, he stepped back, and wind currents swirled. The thirty-seven ingredients passed through his hands one by one, being pulverized, refined, and purified…

When Cang Shu He first taught Yun Che culinary arts, she had marveled at his unparalleled advantage in this field, unmatched by anyone.

This was no exaggeration, but an undeniable fact.

For the world’s ultimate power of refinement and purification resided within the Sky Poison Pearl in his hand. Thus, any ingredient could be perfectly processed with ease by him.

And another crucial factor in culinary arts… control over flames. With the Heretic God Profound Veins, he was also unmatched in the world. Others could cultivate for ten lifetimes and never achieve his level.

At the level of the Sky Poison Pearl, its refining and purifying aura was imperceptible even to powerful Divine Officials. In Divine Official Six Laughter’s view, the ingredients were being stripped, cut, and dispersed by strands of profound energy released by Yun Che, retaining only their essence and removing all impurities.

The entire process was astonishingly precise and delicate, and incredibly fast.

Divine Official Six Laughter watched, holding his breath for a long time.

A dazzling red light shone as flames ignited in Yun Che’s palm. As he turned his hand and moved his fingers, the flames dispersed into dozens of fire snakes of various sizes and different temperatures, gracefully dancing over the different ingredients, appearing and disappearing, igniting and extinguishing at will.

Finally, all the flames gathered in Yun Che’s palm and extinguished after a few breaths.

Yun Che’s hand slowly opened then, revealing two crisp pastries lying quietly in his palm, identical in color but distinct in shape.

A faint, refreshing aroma also diffused at that moment. The scent tickled Divine Official Six Laughter’s nose, making his throat unconsciously gulp.

“It’s done.”

Yun Che raised his hand and offered one of them to Hua Cai Li. “Cai Li, you try it first.”

Compared to Divine Official Six Laughter’s messy lump, the pastry Yun Che offered Hua Cai Li was exceptionally exquisite. Shaped like a maiden holding the moon, with the moon half-hidden among clouds, its imagery evoked contemplation and wonder.

“Wow! It’s so beautiful.” Hua Cai Li held it in her hands, her beautiful eyes gleaming with an unusual light, handling it with extreme care. “It’s too beautiful to eat.”

Yun Che smiled slightly. “Delicious food should excel in color, aroma, and taste, because its form and appearance greatly influence one’s state of mind when enjoying a meal. That’s why I made it a bit fancy.”

“Although the ingredients are the same, this was improvised, so I imagine the method and combination are very different from Senior’s. Naturally, I wouldn’t dare to call it ‘Six Laughter Flying Immortal Crisp,’ so let’s call it… Moon-Reflecting Cloud Crisp.”

As Yun Che finished speaking, Hua Cai Li had already taken a small bite.

Immediately, she lifted her head, her eyes shining like stars. “Delicious! It’s truly delicious! Not only does it look good, smell good, and have a beautiful name, but its taste is also… many times better than Uncle Six Laughter’s Flying Immortal Crisp!”

Divine Official Six Laughter’s noticeably bulging eyes seemed to finally retract at that moment.

As someone who had been immersed in the culinary arts for over a million years, he understood far more clearly than Hua Cai Li how astonishing Yun Che’s recent series of actions had been.

Without waiting for Yun Che to speak, he snatched the other pastry from Yun Che’s palm, holding it between his fingers… The exotic aroma filled his nostrils, causing his movements to pause slightly before he popped it into his mouth.

He bit into it… In just an instant, his old eyes bulged out again.

Over a dozen different exotic aromas exploded in his mouth, instantly stimulating his taste buds. He distinctly felt his soul tingle with pleasure.

As the world’s foremost culinary god, a title he valued far more than Divine Official, he could precisely distinguish which ingredient each hint of flavor came from. And the “tuning” of these flavors had all reached a level of perfection, intertwining to create an ultimate delicacy that intoxicated the soul and sent pleasant shivers through the body.

It was a sensation of “flying like an immortal” that his own “Six Laughter Flying Immortal Crisp” had never truly achieved.

He was startled, utterly astonished. He stared at Yun Che, his voice trembling as he spoke, “This… this was really made by you on the spur of the moment?”

To create his perfect “Six Laughter Flying Immortal Crisp,” he had poured in a thousand years of effort and tens of thousands of attempts!

Yun Che, however, seemed to have misunderstood him, and quickly said, “My life has mostly been adrift in the world, making it difficult to access such… and so many rare treasures. So I could only attempt it with difficulty; I must have made Senior laugh.”

Made… him laugh?

Divine Official Six Laughter indeed wanted to laugh.

This boy, on his first try, and with such a quick, casual effort, had created a pastry that crushed his thousand years of painstaking work, even his million years of culinary mastery… What was there to laugh about?

Before Divine Official Six Laughter could speak, Hua Cai Li said sweetly, “Big Brother Yun, make Uncle Six Laughter a Four-Colored Cloud Soup; it will surely give him a big surprise.”

“Alright.”

Yun Che smiled, extended a hand, and four dark-colored leaves flew into his grasp.

Divine Official Six Laughter looked closely… They were four bitter leaves, commonly found everywhere in the Abyss!

Outside the Pure Land and the Divine Kingdom, lush trees and vibrant flowers simply could not grow. Any surviving vegetation had to be able to resist the Abyss Dust to some extent, and naturally possessed extremely strong vitality. Most of these plants tasted incredibly bitter and were almost impossible to eat, fit only for seasoning.

“Just… these four bitter leaves?” Divine Official Six Laughter, now like an old student newly introduced to cooking, asked with a tentative tone.

“That’s enough.”

Yun Che moved his hands back and forth over the four bitter leaves, refining and purifying them invisibly and silently. After dozens of profound energy currents circulated, the four bitter leaves were reduced to just four clusters of juice, each differing in color and size.

Yun Che gathered cold energy in his palm, forming a small ice bowl. With another gesture, half a bowl of clear water appeared within it. The juice clusters from the four different bitter leaves then successively dropped into the ice bowl, naturally dispersing and blending, forming a bowl of four-colored, glazed ice soup.

He presented the ice bowl to Divine Official Six Laughter. “The Four-Colored Cloud Soup is complete. Please, Senior Six Laughter, taste it.”