Night fell, and the cultivators began to crave a wonderful, relaxing meal.
Just a street away from Martial Arts Square sat an unassuming little shop. Without any coordination, people followed their noses and unanimously gravitated toward this place—the Try Again Barbecue Shop.
True to the shop's name, customers who ate here once inevitably wanted to try it again, eager to satisfy their bottomless stomachs.
Many patrons flocked here specifically for the signature Barbarian tender mutton. The Barbarian barbecue recipe had been passed down for hundreds of thousands of years, enduring from ancient times to the present day and remaining as fresh as ever.
The barbecue spice mix had to be prepared fresh daily. Generations of Barbarians had amassed profound expertise in roasting beef and mutton and blending seasonings. The subtle differences between the dozen or so skewer stalls in the Dao Seeking Sect came down to this secret seasoning.
Master Liu, who concurrently served as a Vice Cult Master of the Immortal Cult, held a different philosophy. He believed that the finest ingredients required only the simplest cooking methods; when grilling skewers, what mattered most was control over the fire and heart.
Master Liu treated every round of skewers as a battle, pouring his heart and soul into it without the slightest slack. Even when orders piled up like a mountain, he remained calm and unhurried, meticulously controlling the heat and completely immersing himself in his own world.
Eating was like fighting a war; this had been an immutable truth since antiquity. For a barbecue shop to run smoothly, it naturally required seamless coordination from the support staff.
Serving as temporary workers, the support crew of Try Again Barbecue Shop had never touched anything of the sort before. Yet they seemed born for the trade. Attending to customers with uncanny tacit understanding—one kept accounts, another cleared tables, a third washed dishes—they operated with flawless synergy, like brothers of the same blood.
However, no shop in this world was perfect. No matter how smoothly the team operated, there was still someone distracted, his mind drifting elsewhere.
"Little Lu, what's wrong with you? Can't you focus on your work!" Master Gao, who also concurrently served as a Vice Cult Master of the Immortal Cult, barked at Little Lu for slacking off.
Lu Yang: "..."
*Was becoming the Immortal Cult's Cult Founder a bit too hasty? This Immortal Cult looks like it has zero future. I might as well just be an honest disciple of the Dao Seeking Sect.*
"You want to quit the cult?" The Immortal Fairy glared at Lu Yang with a hostile expression. To talk about apostasy right in front of the object of his faith—he had quite the nerve.
"Do you need something, Fairy? If not, please go back to sleep."
"Of course I do! Go tell Little Gao that his way of grilling skewers is wrong. It's too tender! The fire needs to be higher; it has to have that charred aroma to really pack a punch."
"Hurry up and tell him. That's an immortal decree!" the Immortal Fairy urged.
Back in the ancient era, anything she casually uttered was treated with utmost gravity as an immortal revelation, analyzed from every possible angle.
Now, she received no such treatment. When she spoke, Lu Yang acted as if he hadn't heard a word.
Man Gu slipped over to Lu Yang, looking worried. "Brother Lu, we can't keep going like this."
Lu Yang was thrilled, thinking, *Has someone finally realized the problem?*
"We didn't prepare that many skewers! If this keeps up, we'll sell out soon!"
"..." Lu Yang began to reflect on himself. Having expectations of Man Gu—was Man Gu out of his mind, or was he himself out of his mind?
"What? We don't have many skewers left?" The face of an Immortal Cult senior member fell upon hearing this. This was no trivial matter.
This high-ranking member was named Jiang Yitian, and he was in charge of collecting payments.
"Then hurry up and go outside to buy more!"
Man Gu shook his head. "All the skewers are marinated in advance. Not only is there no guarantee of quality for meat bought on the fly, but there also wouldn't be enough time to marinate it."
As a member of the Ancient Barbarian race, Man Gu could not allow the Barbarian brand of barbecue to be ruined.
"Now that's what I call principles!" the Immortal Fairy praised. Back in the ancient era, she had tasted Barbarian barbecue; the flavor was truly peerless, though they paid zero attention to nutritional balance.
When cooking, the Immortal Fairy always prioritized nutritional balance. She had once offered constructive suggestions for improvement to the Barbarians, but they refused to listen, staunchly clinging to their principles.
When the competition on Martial Arts Square reached the tail end of the Nascent Soul group, every single skewer had been sold clean.
Everyone gathered to tally up the day's harvest.
"Damn it! Didn't we come here to cause trouble for the Dao Seeking Sect? What are you all doing? Playing house here?" Vice Cult Master Liu seized the moral high ground right away. He realized that he had been so engrossed in grilling that he had neglected their mission, but he could never admit his mistake in public.
As expected of a demonic cult vice master, he was a natural at wicked deeds, having mastered the art of blaming others first.
Vice Cult Master Gao also scolded the group. "Where are your principles? Putting so little effort into your mission—can you face the Immortal Celestial?"
Everyone thought to themselves: *Weren't you two the ones grilling with the most enthusiasm just now?*
Jiang Yitian, the Consecrator who had been handling the accounts, pondered for a moment and said earnestly, "Is it too late for us to switch careers and run a barbecue shop full-time?"
Another high-ranking member raised his eyebrows. "What do you mean? Opening a barbecue shop—do you intend to abandon your faith in the Immortal Celestial?!"
"But opening a barbecue shop in the Dao Seeking Sect is seriously profitable."
The senior member scoffed, "How profitable could it be?"
"It equals an entire month of stipends."
The senior member bowed his head in thought. "Enshrining the statue of the Immortal Celestial while running a barbecue shop doesn't seem to conflict with our cult's doctrine."
Vice Cult Master Liu rebuked the senior member for wavering. "Utter nonsense! As loyal believers of the Immortal Celestial, how could we harbor such—"
"It equals an entire month of stipends for all of us combined."
"Having such ideas is truly a blessing for the Immortal Cult!"
Vice Cult Master Liu reversed his stance on the spot and immediately began drafting plans for the future. "We can open a chain of shops across the entire continent! Not only will it solve employment for our cultists, but it will also generate revenue. When the time comes, we'll be one of the top taxpayers of the Great Xia Dynasty!"
Vice Cult Master Gao was furious. "Have you even considered whether prices anywhere else will be as absurd as in the Dao Seeking Sect? Can holiday spending levels compare to ordinary days? You only see the immediate gains without considering the long term at all! Most importantly, once we open a chain, who can guarantee every cultist can grill as well as we do?!"
"Get ready to move out—head to Martial Arts Square!"
Lu Yang sighed inwardly. His original plan had been to let the customers tie them down, giving these people a chance. Unfortunately, the skewers had sold out too quickly to last until the end of the event.
"To maximize the efficacy of the Yellow Millet Pillow, we need specific positioning. Little Lu, you three will lead us to Martial Arts Square to scout the locations. Once the time comes, activate the immortal treasure immediately. When that happens, you three will be our greatest heroes!"
Lu Yang thumped his chest with a solemn expression, looking ready to lay down his life. "We don't seek credit! Sacrificing ourselves for the Immortal Cult is our inescapable duty!"
"Good! I truly didn't misjudge you!" Vice Cult Master Liu was full of praise for Lu Yang. As expected of someone who had caught the Cult Master's special attention, he truly had merit.
The Immortal Cult's Cult Founder led his subordinates to Martial Arts Square, where they dispersed to take up positions.
Vice Cult Master Liu watched the battles underway on Martial Arts Square and nodded slightly. As expected of disciples from the Five Great Immortal Sects; though their cultivation was not high, their combat methods were remarkable and without flaws to pick at.
Turning to the great Cult Founder, he said, "Little Lu, watch these battles closely. They will be very beneficial to you."
Chapter 173