Chapter 1114: Meng Jingzhou’s Day of Suffering
After advising Xinding to cultivate diligently and instructing the Heavenly Dome Holy Lord to do his utmost as a teacher, Lu Yang departed suavely like a drifting cloud, as if he had never appeared at all.
Xinding and the Heavenly Dome Holy Lord were left staring at each other in bewilderment.
The power of an immortal is truly unfathomable.
Lu Yang was about to leave Xitian City when he suddenly sensed a familiar presence within the city. A knowing smile curled at the corner of his mouth.
~~~
“Patron, what is the meaning of this? You ordered our finest paste hotpot, but took only one bite?” The shop owner narrowed his eyes and blocked the departing customer with a menacing expression.
The customer looked displeased. “Your food is awful, yet you’re blaming me for not eating it?”
“How is it awful? You’re clearly just looking for an excuse to ruin our reputation!” The shop owner was incensed.
“What, is someone dissatisfied with my cooking?” A burly man emerged from the back kitchen. Thick hair covered his arms just as densely as on his head, and he still had paste smeared on his fingers.
The shop owner proudly introduced him. “Our chef has participated in the Spirit Chef Competition. Need I say more about his skill?”
Their argument soon drew a crowd of onlooking diners. In truth, they also felt that the paste hotpot was mediocre, but given the chef’s reputation, if they said it wasn’t good, they would be the ones with poor taste.
The customer gnashed his teeth in anger. If not for his concern over saving face, he would have dropped his disguise long ago.
“What, if it’s not good, are we not allowed to say so?” A powerful, resonant voice echoed through the restaurant.
A tall, slender figure stepped into the restaurant, backlit by the sun. He also took a bite of the paste hotpot.
It’s indeed terrible, even worse than the one I tried last time.
“It’s Lu Yang!” the diners exclaimed in surprise.
The shop owner refused to give up, snorting coldly. “So what if it’s Lu Yang? From what I know, the Dao-Seeking Sect doesn’t even have the qualification to participate in the Spirit Chef Competition. What right does he have to criticize our hotpot?!”
What the shop owner failed to notice was that the moment the chef saw Lu Yang, he began trembling like a sieve, not daring to look him in the eye.
“No qualification?” Lu Yang “accidentally” brushed aside the cloth wrapped around his arm, revealing an armband embroidered with five golden stars.
“That’s a five-star spirit chef’s armband!” a diner exclaimed in shock.
“No, I’ve seen five-star spirit chef armbands before. The stars aren’t that color!”
“Ignorant fool! That’s the golden star armband, awarded only to those who stand at the pinnacle of five-star spirit chefs!” an older diner rebuked.
“What?!”
Lu Yang stepped closer to the shop owner. Although he didn’t release any aura, Lu Yang looked like a primordial beast in the shop owner’s eyes, bringing an overwhelming sense of pressure.
“Do I have the qualification now?”
The shop owner nodded woodenly.
Lu Yang then turned to the trembling chef. “You said you participated in the Spirit Chef Competition? Which category were you in? Why didn’t I see you?”
“I... I was a spectator.” The chef had watched the entire competition from start to finish and knew Lu Yang’s identity—Successor of the Immortal Chef and champion of the five-star spirit chef category. He dared not hide anything from Lu Yang.
Lu Yang nodded. I knew there was something off. The Spirit Chef Alliance has no members from the Buddhist Kingdom.
He waved his hand and called out to the customer. “Old Meng, let’s go.”
The two vanished from everyone’s sight.
On their way back to the sect, walking through the vast desert, Meng Jingzhou stared at Lu Yang as if seeing a ghost. “When did you become a five-star spirit chef and a champion at that?”
We’ve known each other for so many years. What else can this grandson Lu Yang do aside from grilling lamb skewers?
“I simply showcased a little of my skill at the Spirit Chef Competition and accidentally won.” Lu Yang wrote it off indifferently.
Meng Jingzhou felt that the waters of the Spirit Chef Alliance truly ran deep.
Noticing that Meng Jingzhou was still in disguise, Lu Yang was baffled. With a single finger, he broke his disguise, revealing Meng Jingzhou’s gleaming bald head, with six jieba ordination scars on top.
Lu Yang immediately burst out laughing. “Hahahahaha, why are you bald? Have you truly become a Buddha Scion?”
He reached out to touch Meng Jingzhou’s head, but the latter impatiently slapped his hand away. “Get lost, get lost, get lost. It’s because I accepted a mission. Someone’s daughter had gone missing in the Buddhist Kingdom. I followed the clues here, and I had no choice but to shave my head to infiltrate the temple.”
“Then did you find the missing person?”
“Yes, I did find her. But she hadn’t gone missing at all—she had eloped with a demon. I followed their trail all the way to Xitian City and finally tracked them down. I told them that as long as they came back with me and got married properly in Great Xia, everything would be fine. But they refused to listen and harped on about how their love was free.
“I couldn’t be bothered to explain, so I grabbed the girl and took her away. That demon boy had some cultivation. With bloodshot eyes, he insisted on sparring with me. He thought he could beat me with that little bit of cultivation? I sent that boy flying with one slap.
“I sent the daughter back to her father, and since it was on the way, I stopped by Xitian Temple to try the paste hotpot. And that’s where I ran into you.”
Lu Yang flicked his finger, activating the Longevity Art to help Meng Jingzhou regrow his hair. Soon, Meng Jingzhou had a full head of lush hair again.
Meng Jingzhou stroked his hair happily. “Your cultivation has improved, eh? You can now use the Longevity Art without even touching me.”
“It’s passable. I’ve recently gained some insights on cultivation and made a bit of progress. Though not much, it’s definitely better than yours.”
“Oh?” Fierce battle intent flashed in Meng Jingzhou’s eyes. “Becoming a chef has made you cocky, huh?”
Lu Yang maintained his smiling demeanor. “I can fight with just one hand.”
“Do I need you to do that? Use your full strength!”
Meng Jingzhou consumed an Emotion-Forgetting Pill to suppress his flames of desire. Letting out a shout, he manifested his Supreme Pure Yang Dharma Manifestation. The dharma manifestation was a hundred zhang tall. It bore a halberd and shield, majestic and awe-inspiring.
Having Lu Yang as his opponent filled him with excitement. This is my best state yet. I can perform beyond my usual limits!
Then Meng Jingzhou saw Lu Yang activate the Heaven-Earth Dharma Manifestation, transforming into a titan that was ten thousand zhang tall.
Suddenly, Meng Jingzhou recalled something Lu Yang had bragged about.
“Old Lu, you f*cker! You’ve become an immortal in the Buddhist Kingdom! You shameless bastard!”
Lu Yang’s thunder-like, muffled voice came from above Meng Jingzhou. “If you can’t win, just say so. Don’t make excuses.”
A foot stomped down, crushing Meng Jingzhou back to his original form.
Meng Jingzhou crawled out of the sand pit, covered in dust, and cursed at Lu Yang, “Lu Yang, you f*cking...”
A peerlessly beautiful woman in sky-blue robes flew out of Lu Yang’s body, stopping Meng Jingzhou. “Don’t use foul language.”
The Mistress is still watching from the mental space. Even if you want to curse Lu Yang, you shouldn’t do it in front of her. It’ll dirty the Mistress’s ears.
With that, Qing He returned to the mental space, leaving a dumbstruck Meng Jingzhou behind.
“The person in your mental space changed?”
Lu Yang sighed. “There’s one more person.”
Meng Jingzhou’s eyes widened. Is this kid Lu Yang’s mental space this popular? Not only has he gained a new tenant, but this new resident is actually such a peerless beauty?
The two left the Buddhist Kingdom and returned to the Dao-Seeking Sect. As soon as they entered, they saw Yun Mengmeng, Ao Ling, Jiang Lianyi, and Jin Caiwei welcoming Lu Yang back.
Meng Jingzhou. “...”
