Chapter 479: The World's Best Hot Pot

“I... I survived.”

Midhasa, the Great Monarch, lay on the ground, his eyes bloodshot, gasping for air. Faced with the fear of death, everyone is equally weak and helpless. As a Great Monarch, possessing a lifespan far longer than mortals, he feared death even more than ordinary humans.

“I am not a slave to fear. I am Midhasa, the Great Orc Emperor, ruler of iron and resilience. I rose from being an escaped slave in an arena to reach this point...”

He wanted to forget the person his eyes had seen, but that figure was deeply etched in his mind.

Fear isn't something that simply vanishes if you wish it to.

“I...” A large pool of his blood spilled as he stumbled, leaving a gruesome trail on the ground. One hand clutched his wildly beating, crimson heart as he limped forward. He opened his mouth, trying to laugh, but no sound escaped; only a burning hatred flickered in his eyes.

“Do you feel it? You've succeeded. My fear and hatred were born for you.”

Void Era, Year 31.

News spread rapidly through the Demon Realm, sowing panic. The major churches braced for the impending storm.

Everyone knew that Bai Xiaosheng was targeting the Demon Realm.

He didn't choose the other two realms because it was difficult to spread faith in the Immortal Realm, and the mortal world was unified under the Great Zhou Dynasty, which had a singular belief system.

The easiest target was the myriad professional churches scattered throughout the Demon Realm. This multi-faith land was accustomed to people becoming believers. Furthermore, Bai Xiaosheng was a bizarre entity from the Eastern world, and its legends had not spread here, making it fertile ground for proselytization.

“He intends to bring fear, which will attract his fanatics who will sacrifice themselves, summon the consciousness of evil gods, and dedicate their beings.”

“Such a rapid resurgence? How many years has it been? Yet, sentient beings have already called him from the graveyard of old timelines back to this era. Indeed, the disaster created at the Peach Blossom Assembly, and the impression and fear he instilled in people, have granted him countless 'fear' fanatics.”

“And now, he didn't kill Midhasa, the Great Monarch, because this Great Monarch has already become one of his 'fear' fanatics...”

“Is he making such a grand display just to make us fear him!?”

“Not only that! He is also deliberately exposing his location to attract other awakened companions!”

“Where are the Gods? Where is the Underworld Emperor? They should begin tracking him and kill him!” a radical voice exclaimed.

“No, that might be part of his plan. Provoking the Underworld Emperor into a world-shaking attack is exactly what he wants. If only a deity can kill him, beings will tremble even more before him!”

“The best method is to seal him in the River Styx, as we do with other malevolent entities. However, these entities usually react extremely quickly, committing suicide at critical moments to deny us the chance to seal them... and Bai Xiaosheng is even more so!”

Countless powerful beings began to feel fear, constantly analyzing and perceiving Bai Xiaosheng's unparalleled wisdom. They even realized that they themselves were starting to be afraid, which meant they were beginning to become his fanatics, providing him with faith!

He was making all his adversaries fear him, inspiring dread through his wisdom!

People in the Demon Realm began to fear him, spreading tales of his deeds. They called him Thanatos, 'Wisdom of the Mountains,' depicting him as a white-robed king holding a blank book, veiled in faint light. Any human who had seen him would go mad from sensing his vast, cosmic wisdom.

In the Demon Realm, the city of Myasis was known as the City of Eternal Winter.

It served as humanity's frontline stronghold, resisting the distant Orc Empire. The orcs were nomadic hunting tribes who didn't cultivate food, and in such severe winter weather, they often starved. Although their strong physiques could withstand the cold, the cold also intensified their madness. Over the years, Orc cavalry had periodically attacked border towns to seize food.

“Is this... the Demonic Seed of the Dao Heart?”

Xu Zhi felt a bit speechless as he walked the streets. “This time, he doesn't intend to kill anyone. The time for mass killings has passed. For him, not killing, but instead casting a shadow of fear, is the best option.”

He wore a thick black winter coat and white gloves. He watched office workers on the street, dressed in smart suits, carrying black briefcases, rubbing their hands, and exhaling white mist as they waited for buses at the stop.

His original intention was to see how cold this land had become. He hadn't expected Bai Xiaosheng to have revived.

“As expected, the war between archenemies is irrepressible. The Censer Evil God's suppression was excessive, leading to an unexpectedly rapid early recovery. However, his grand display might attract other companions, but not the God of Beautiful Dreams, who no longer remembers him. Re-establishing that connection would take considerable time.”

Xu Zhi gazed into the distance, as if seeing through a large portion of the Demon Realm. He spotted a boy carrying a school bag, and in his shadow was none other than the God of Beautiful Dreams.

A while ago, while at the subway station after school, this boy accidentally rescued an amnesiac grotesque girl from a demon hunter who was dealing with bizarre entities. He instantly felt lust, named her Aethera Lauralyon, and made her hide in his shadow.

“What a talent... Though he hasn't recovered his divine power, you don't realize that you've saved the King of Grotesque Entities.”

Xu Zhi paused, startled. “However, after he obtained the God of Beautiful Dreams, some interesting grotesque entities gathered around him. The God of Beautiful Dreams, after becoming a deity, ultimately underwent a qualitative change. This passively caused his friends and classmates, along with their inner fantasies, to each manifest grotesque entities born from their personal inner thoughts—Heavy Crab, Bewildered Ox, and even he himself... has begun to split, forming his own grotesque personality?”

This is incredible.

A grotesque entity born from one's inner mind?

“Inner demons?” Xu Zhi found it intriguing. “I never imagined that slaughtering the memories of a grotesque deity would lead to such characteristics... Now, a group of students there are experiencing some very interesting stories.”

After all, the God of Beautiful Dreams is, ultimately, the God of Beautiful Dreams...

Its nature is simply too powerful!

It's important to remember that the God of Beautiful Dreams was once the only entity capable of trapping an ancient saint, chosen by Bai Xiaosheng amidst countless grotesques.

“What will happen to that boy? The protagonist of the next era? It's certainly an interesting era.”

In the distance stood an old black church, surrounded by a dense cluster of buildings.

Motorcycles were parked on the streets. Alchemy had re-developed, now resembling the European Industrial Revolution era, with cars, motorcycles, and mechanical runic cannons. However, there were also various professional churches, offering different magical potion combinations. For instance, the Church of Spellswords and the Church of Mechanical Marksmen. Cultivators were generally believers who entered churches to receive tasks, pay gold coins, and learn skills.

Xu Zhi continued forward, passing through the hallway.

The room was a bit old, number 305, with a brass mailbox engraved with the number by the door.

Click!

He pushed the door open.

The room was heated by steam pipes, a communal facility provided by the believer churches. As long as people believed in the church, its powerful members would protect them through this terrifying era of ice and snow.

“Life is much better now.”

The members of the Valkyrie Palace were in the room, surrounded by large and small bags of vegetables from the market. They constantly whispered to each other, “I remember the last time we were here, the towns and communities were full of terrifying grotesques, various evil gods, ghost buses, midnight gatherings... and the God of Idiocy and Blindness, shadowy footsteps... all sorts of bizarre things.”

Dressed in summer clothes in such freezing weather, with their fair skin exposed, they would certainly attract attention on the streets.

“Oh? Tactical Instructor? You're back! It's cold now, and we just bought some things from the market next door to start a hotpot.” Pan Xuexian exclaimed excitedly, not caring about formalities, just calling him “Instructor” first. She pointed to a large pot in front of them. “We were just waiting for you.”

“Oh?”

Xu Zhi caught an unprecedented aroma, even more delicious and sweet than anything from the Gourmet Realm. He couldn't help but ask, “What are you cooking?”

“The most delicious hotpot in heaven and earth! A feast of delicacies from mountains and seas, all in one pot! Even saints haven't tasted this. This is an exclusive benefit of our Valkyrie Palace! We eat it all the time!” Pan Xuexian enthusiastically declared. “See for yourself.”

Xu Zhi couldn't help but sit down. In the bubbling hot water of the large pot, he saw skinned white rabbits, small hens, larks, young foxes, aged mountain ginseng, carp...

Indeed, it was a medley of delicacies from heaven and earth, all in one pot.

Xu Zhi's mind went blank. What kind of cooking was this?

Pan Xuexian, thinking he found it unsanitary, quickly reassured him, “Don't worry, they were all skinned in the kitchen and thoroughly washed before going into the pot. They've been stewing for a long time, and the flavor has developed. Haven't you smelled how fragrant it is?”

As soon as she finished speaking, the small hen in the pot seemed to find its position uncomfortable and secretly flipped over.

“Don't move, a several-hundred-year-old hen is the most nourishing, and yours is the most important here.” Pan Xuexian glared at Lin Hongfeng beside her, picked up her chopsticks, and adjusted the hen's position in the pot. Dense steam released a rich aroma as she continued to mutter, “We're good sisters, and we keep good things among ourselves. Of course, we share excellent things. Anyway, we just finished exercising, did ten thousand push-ups, and now it's a good time to relax in the hot spring.”

Xu Zhi was utterly astonished. He looked at Sheila beside him and asked, “Do you often eat like this?”

Sheila seemed a bit embarrassed and secretly swallowed. “After all, they are all spiritual treasures of heaven and earth. Stewing them for broth to make hotpot soup base, then adding various vegetables... it tastes quite good.”

Mu Yuling quickly chimed in with a grin, “Sister System is a slab... Over there, she's also contributing to us. She usually contributes the most. Look, she's hot over there, doing teppanyaki... Since she normally heats up when she computes, we sisters just use her to grill some food!”

Xu Zhi turned his head to look. Indeed, a square hard drive was heating up, frying a poached egg, radiating a rich spiritual aura, which was quite appetizing.

Bai Xiaoshu spoke up, “Only Sister Luo Caiwei and Sister Sheila are useless, as they don't have physical bodies. We also tried washing them thoroughly and putting them in the pot, but neither grotesque entities nor humans yield any flavor when cooked.”

As these individuals spoke, they weren't idle. Seeing that the hotpot broth was almost ready, fragrant and rich like a pot of heavenly elixirs, they began adding various vegetables, as well as sliced meat and meat rolls...

Xu Zhi was completely speechless. He had long known these people were playful, capable of both playing cards and chatting, particularly good at passing boring time. He hadn't expected them to be so exaggerated as to develop this kind of eating method.

Xu Zhi sat down and picked up his chopsticks, deep in thought.