A Great Harvest

Lu Yang could say with complete confidence that his grasp of ancient lore could rival scholars who had spent their entire lives studying it. Moreover, unlike the jumbled, disparate knowledge of those elderly scholars, everything Lu Yang knew pertained directly to the ancient celestials—precisely the knowledge those scholars desperately yearned to possess. Previously, Lu Yang had known nothing about antiquity, so he simply believed whatever the Immortal Fairy told him, absorbing it without question. Someone like Eldest Senior Sister, however, who had already formed her own distinct understanding of the Ancient Era, found it far harder to accept the stories the Immortal Fairy told. Such was the benefit of ignorance. Setting aside the discrepancy between legend and truth, Lu Yang curiously asked about the various items preserved in the underwater chamber. "What kind of beast meat is this piece radiating such vibrant life?" The Immortal Fairy stroked her chin, racking her brains to recall what it had looked like when it was still alive. "It's Bifang meat... Wait, no, it's Hundun meat... No, that's not right either. What was it again?" "Fairy, you don't even remember what meat it is? Then how do you cook?" Lu Yang asked in utter astonishment. Though the Immortal Fairy was a figure from three hundred thousand years ago, from her own perspective, it was simply that she had been slain back then, fallen into slumber, awakened only to be taught a lesson by Eldest Senior Sister, and then spent three months residing in Lu Yang's spiritual space. In other words, as far as she was concerned, she had merely been away from her kitchen for three months. How could she have forgotten what kind of meat it was so thoroughly? "Why would I need to know what meat it is?" the Immortal Fairy asked in return, leaving Lu Yang completely lost for words. "Meeting is a matter of fate, and eating likewise depends on fate. Whichever piece of meat I pick simply means it was fated to be part of today's meal." Evidently, the Immortal Fairy had her own unique philosophy when it came to cooking. "Then what about this fruit?" Lu Yang pointed at a particularly conspicuous fruit roughly the size of an apple. It was pure white, circled by three faint halos of soft radiance that scattered light into the air. Because time was frozen, the rays that should have dissipated remained suspended midair. "Oh, that? That's the Eternal Immortal Fruit I grew." "Eternal Immortal Fruit? What does it do? Does it grant immortality and eternal youth?" Hearing the name, Lu Yang immediately assumed it possessed astounding value. Eternal life was the lifelong dream of countless people. When a person died, their flame was snuffed out; no matter how immense their magical power or boundless their authority in life, they would become nothing more than a handful of yellow dirt, their worldly possessions rendered utterly useless. An immortal fruit granting eternal life was a temptation that not even Tribulation Transcendence stage experts could resist. The Immortal Fairy nodded solemnly, as if confirming his thoughts. "It's pretty close to what you guessed. Whoever consumes this fruit will have a corpse that remains forever immortal." Lu Yang was speechless. *Does that have anything at all to do with what I guessed?!* "Senior, is this one an Azure Wood Immortal Fruit?" Yun Zhi pointed at another dark blue fruit. It strongly resembled the Azure Wood Immortal Fruit that Jin Qinqin, a newly recruited disciple of this term, had ingested during her childhood. A single Azure Wood Immortal Fruit had granted Jin Qinqin a constitution rivaling that of a top-tier dual spiritual root. "That's right. That was planted by Immortal Suiyue. I asked him for a few back then, and they tasted pretty good. This is the only one left after I ate the rest." "What is this stone, then? A whetstone?" Lu Yang noticed a remarkably regular spherical stone, at a loss as to why a rock would be stored in an underwater chamber meant for food. Even Eldest Senior Sister furrowed her brows. She could sense an extraordinary power within the stone, one comparable to the Void Refining stage or even the Body Integration stage. Yet she could not recognize what it was. "That's a star core—the core of a planet! I scooped it out of an enormous, uninhabited planet. You don't recognize it? Oh, right, there are no planets left in the universe now." "So this is a star core." Eldest Senior Sister had read of them in ancient texts, which described them as supreme materials for artifact refining capable of forging immortal treasures. Yet why would a star core be in a kitchen? "What is this star core used for?" "An ingredient, of course!" Lu Yang was appalled. "You can eat this thing?!" The Immortal Fairy waved her hand dismissively, finding Lu Yang utterly uncultured. "What kind of question is that? If it couldn't be eaten, why would I put it here?" "Ordinary people naturally can't eat it. Take a newly formed Core Formation brat like you—one bite would shatter every tooth in your mouth." "Celestials, however, are different! Celestials possess celestial bodies, the hardest bodies in the world. As the hardest substance in the body, how could our teeth fail to chew through a measly star core?" "Don't you know the principle that the more energy an ingredient contains, the more delicious it tastes? In my eyes, a star core is a top-tier delicacy!" "Besides, isn't one of the main purposes of eating to replenish energy?" "Furthermore, haven't you heard of the pill recipe 'Gold and Stone Powder'? Minerals and stones can be used as medicine, so of course they can be eaten as food!" Lu Yang felt there was some sense in what she said. To a celestial, gnawing on a star core was probably as effortless as munching on a biscuit, yet it still felt bizarre. Could it be that he had always misunderstood the Four Ancient Celestials, and the four of them had spent their days chewing on rocks with boundless enthusiasm? Why did that sound so destitute? "What about this flower? Is it an ingredient too?" Lu Yang pointed at a flower frozen in time, breathing out five-colored sunset glow. "No, that's a garnish for plating. But you can eat it if you want. It doesn't taste bad—quite crisp and refreshing." The Immortal Fairy understood well that fine cooking required harmony in color, aroma, and taste. This flower with its five-colored glow was the embodiment of 'color.' The three of them toured the kitchen, broadening the horizons of both Lu Yang and Yun Zhi along the way. Lu Yang thought the kitchen suited the Immortal Fairy's style perfectly. Yun Zhi, on the other hand, wondered whether having the Immortal Fairy live inside Lu Yang's spiritual space all the time might lead him astray. It was a worrying thought. Seeing the fairy gaze back reluctantly as they prepared to depart, Yun Zhi asked, "Fairy, are you unwilling to part with your kitchen?" "Not really. It's just rare to see something familiar, so I'm feeling a bit nostalgic," the Immortal Fairy chuckled sheepishly with a grin. Yun Zhi nodded. "It matters not. This was Senior's property to begin with. Once we return, I will speak with Emperor Xia and reclaim Senior's kitchen." Upon hearing this, the Immortal Fairy's eyes sparkled. "Really?" "Really." The three made another round of the Immortal Ruins, and finding nothing else of note, they exited. The Immortal Fairy dutifully returned to Lu Yang's spiritual space. The old general had been standing guard at the entrance the entire time. Seeing them emerge, he asked, "Did you gain anything from your trip into the ruins?" "A great harvest. I shall report the state of the ruins to His Imperial Majesty Emperor Xia." Yun Zhi's voice was as serene as ever, bearing none of the excitement one might expect from someone who had reaped a rich reward. "It is good that you found it fruitful." The old general saw them off. On the return journey, Lu Yang thought about the ruins and asked, "Eldest Senior Sister, how exactly were the Immortal Ruins formed?" After a moment of thought, Yun Zhi replied, "I believe they were created by the mastermind. Let us first assume the Xinhuo Dynasty truly existed and worshiped the Immortal Celestial. That would explain the origin of the nineteen floating stones in the ruins." "As for Senior's kitchen, I suspect that when the Ancient Nameless One refined the stars, Senior's cave abode was shattered into several pieces, one of which was this kitchen." "The mastermind refined the sacrificial grounds of the Xinhuo Dynasty into the main body of the Immortal Ruins, and embedded Senior's kitchen within the statue of the Immortal Celestial. In doing so, the founding cult master would not only learn of the Immortal Celestial's existence and establish the Immortal Cult, but also, with the mastermind's covert aid, obtain immortal treasures from Senior's kitchen, ensuring that the cult would not be snuffed out in its infancy." "I see." Halfway into their journey, Lu Yang realized that Eldest Senior Sister had no intention of returning to the Dao Seeking Sect. Instead, she was continuing to lead him toward Dayan Commandery. "Eldest Senior Sister, is there any need for us to return to Dayan Commandery?" Eldest Senior Sister said calmly, "Master is currently detained in the prison of Dayan Commandery. By both duty and sentiment, we ought to pay him a visit."