Chapter 276: Great Harvest

Lu Yang could confidently say that his understanding of ancient knowledge already rivaled that of old scholars who had dedicated their lives to research. Moreover, unlike the varied knowledge of those old scholars, the knowledge Lu Yang possessed was all related to ancient immortals – precisely what old scholars yearned for.

Previously, Lu Yang had no knowledge of ancient times, so whatever Immortal Fairy said, he listened to and easily accepted. However, for someone like Senior Sister, who had her own unique understanding of the ancient era, listening to Immortal Fairy's stories proved more difficult to accept. This was the advantage of ignorance.

Lu Yang no longer dwelled on the discrepancies between legend and truth. He curiously asked what items were stored in the underwater space.

"What is this piece of beast meat that emanates vibrant life?"

Immortal Fairy stroked her chin, trying hard to recall what the animal looked like in life. "It's a Bi Fang's meat... no, a Chaos's meat... no, what was it again?"

"Fairy, you can't remember what kind of meat this is? Then how do you cook?" Lu Yang asked, quite surprised. Although Immortal Fairy was from thirty thousand years ago, from her perspective, it was as if she had been killed thirty thousand years ago and fallen into a deep sleep, only to wake up, get lectured by Senior Sister, and then spend three months in her own mental space. In other words, for Immortal Fairy, had she truly forgotten all about the type of beast meat just because she hadn't been in the kitchen for three months?

"Why do I need to know what kind of meat it is?" Immortal Fairy retorted, leaving Lu Yang speechless.

"Meeting is destiny, and eating also depends on destiny," she explained. "Whichever piece of meat I choose, it means that piece is destined for today's meal." Clearly, Immortal Fairy had her own unique philosophy on cooking.

"What about this fruit?" Lu Yang asked, pointing to a very conspicuous fruit. It was about the size of an apple, pure white, with three faint halos encircling its body. The halos emitted a glow, spreading into the air; due to the stillness of time, the glow, which should have dissipated, lingered.

"Oh, this? This is the Immortal Fruit of Eternity that I cultivated."

"Immortal Fruit of Eternity? What's its effect? Does it grant immortality?" Lu Yang asked. Immediately, he sensed the incredible value of this immortal fruit. Longevity was the lifelong wish of countless people. When a person dies, it's like a lamp going out; no matter how immense one's magic power or how vast one's authority in life, after death, they are but a handful of dust, and all things accumulated in life become useless. A single immortal fruit could grant longevity—a temptation even Tribulation Transcenders couldn't resist.

Immortal Fairy nodded solemnly. "It's pretty close to what you guessed," she said. "Anyone who consumes this immortal fruit will have an imperishable corpse forever."

Lu Yang: "..."Did that have anything to do with what I guessed?

"Senior, is this the Azurewood Immortal Fruit?" Yun Zhi asked, pointing to another dark blue fruit. She thought it strongly resembled the Azurewood Immortal Fruit that Jin Qinqin, a newly recruited disciple, had consumed in her childhood. A single Azurewood Immortal Fruit had given Jin Qinqin a physique comparable to that of a top-tier dual spirit root user.

"Yes, this is the Azurewood Immortal Fruit cultivated by the Immortal of Years," Immortal Fairy confirmed. "I asked him for a few; they tasted good. Now only this one is left, as I've eaten the rest."

"What's this stone? Is it a whetstone?" Lu Yang asked, noticing a remarkably regular spherical stone. He couldn't understand why a stone would be stored in an underwater space meant for food. Even Senior Sister frowned. She could feel the strange power contained within this stone, a power comparable to that of Void Refinement or even Integration stage cultivators. But she couldn't identify what kind of stone it was.

"This is a star core, the heart of a planet," Immortal Fairy explained. "I dug it out from a giant uninhabited planet. You don't recognize it? Oh, right, there are no planets left in the universe now."

"So this is a star core," Senior Sister mused. She had seen it mentioned in ancient texts as an excellent material for artifact refining, capable of forging immortal treasures. But why would a star core be in a kitchen?

"What is this star core used for?"

"It's an ingredient."

Lu Yang was greatly startled: "This thing can be eaten?!"

Immortal Fairy waved her hand, finding Lu Yang quite ignorant. "What a question," she scoffed. "If it couldn't be eaten, would I put it here? Of course, ordinary people can't eat it. For example, a young fellow like you, who just formed a Golden Core, one bite would break all your teeth. But immortals are different. Immortals possess an immortal body, the hardest body in the world. As the hardest substance in the body, how could their teeth not even be able to gnaw on a small star core? Don't you know the principle that the higher the energy contained in an ingredient, the more delicious it tastes? Star cores are top-tier ingredients in my eyes! Besides, isn't one purpose of eating to replenish energy? Furthermore, haven't you heard of the elixir recipe 'Gold and Stone Powder'? If stones can be used as medicine, of course they can be eaten as food."

Lu Yang felt that Immortal Fairy's words made some sense; immortals probably found gnawing on star cores as easy as eating biscuits. Still, it felt strange. Could it be that he had always misunderstood the Four Ancient Immortals, imagining them spending every day gnawing on stones and enjoying it immensely? Why did it feel so impoverished?

"What about this flower? Is it also an ingredient?" Lu Yang asked, pointing to a flower that pulsed with multicolored light and was frozen in time.

"No, this is a decoration for plating," Immortal Fairy replied. "But if you want to eat it, that's fine; it tastes good and is quite refreshing." Immortal Fairy knew well that cooking required attention to color, aroma, and taste. This multicolored glowing flower was the embodiment of "color."

The three of them toured the kitchen, and the entire experience was very eye-opening for both Lu Yang and Yun Zhi. Lu Yang thought the kitchen perfectly matched Immortal Fairy's style. Yun Zhi, on the other hand, wondered if Immortal Fairy, residing in Lu Yang's mental space, might lead him astray. She felt worried.

Seeing the fairy reluctantly leave the kitchen, Yun Zhi asked, "Fairy, are you reluctant to leave the kitchen?"

"Not really," Immortal Fairy chuckled sheepishly. "It's just rare to see familiar things, and I feel quite nostalgic."

Yun Zhi nodded. "It's fine. This was originally your possession, Senior. After we leave, I will speak with Emperor Xia to reclaim your kitchen."

Immortal Fairy's eyes lit up upon hearing this: "Really?"

"Really."

The three of them toured the Immortal Ruins once more. Finding no new discoveries, they left. Immortal Fairy voluntarily entered Lu Yang's mental space.

The old general had been guarding the entrance to the ruins. Seeing the two emerge, he asked, "Did your visit to the ruins yield any discoveries?"

"Yes, significant discoveries. I will inform Emperor Xia about the situation in the ruins," Yun Zhi replied, her voice as calm as ever, completely unlike someone who had made significant discoveries.

"As long as there were discoveries," the old general said, seeing them off.

On the way back, Lu Yang thought about the ruins and asked, "Senior Sister, how exactly were the Immortal Ruins formed?"

Yun Zhi thought for a moment and said, "I believe they were created by the mastermind behind the scenes. Let's first assume that the Pyre Dynasty truly existed and worshipped the Immortal Fairy. This would explain the nineteen floating stones in the ruins. As for your kitchen, Senior, I suspect that when the ancient Nameless One refined the stars, your immortal abode was shattered into several pieces, and the kitchen was one of them. The mastermind refined the Pyre Dynasty's sacrificial grounds into the main body of the Immortal Ruins and incorporated your kitchen into the Immortal Fairy statue. This way, the first Sect Master not only learned of the Immortal Fairy's existence and would establish the Immortal Sect, but also, with the mastermind's covert assistance, obtained immortal treasures from your kitchen, ensuring the Immortal Sect wouldn't perish prematurely."

"I see."

Halfway there, Lu Yang realized that Senior Sister had no intention of returning to the Ask-the-Dao Sect. Instead, she was leading him further towards Great Goose County.

"Senior Sister, is it still necessary for us to return to Great Goose County?"

Senior Sister calmly replied, "Our esteemed master is imprisoned in Great Goose County's jail. Both emotionally and logically, we should pay him a visit."