"Sacrificial Priest Tiansheng... it seems he’s improved again?"
After savoring the enchanting aroma of meat wafting through the air for a moment, a muffled voice, like that of a middle-aged man speaking from underwater, spoke up. It turned out to be the Purple-striped Turtle, speaking human words. Having refined its Transverse Bone, it was clearly only half a step away from the Half-Demon Realm, where it could take on a semi-human form.
"My Realm has long since surpassed the requirement. If it weren’t for the limitations of Sacrificial Priest Tiansheng’s Cultivation, I’m afraid..."
The Mountain Spirit, who looked to have cultivated for ages, spoke with the voice of a child. It was a surprising contrast that made one marvel at how exceptionally blessed such creatures were in the Non-human World’s path of Cultivation.
"If it doesn’t taste good..."
"...you’ll be punished all the same!"
The Wheel of Hell Ghost, sitting on its burning wheel, spoke with the cold yet coy voice of a young girl.
When it looked at Zhao Tiansheng, its gaze seemed to carry a trace of inexplicable anger.
However, Zhao Tiansheng, inside his small eatery, seemed to turn a deaf ear to the discussions outside. He watched as the oil in the wok gradually heated up, wisps of blue-green smoke beginning to rise as the meatballs turned a golden-brown.
He quickly sped up the movement of the slotted spoon in his hand, scooping up a large ladleful of meatballs at once.
One by one, the perfectly round, plump meatballs landed on a plate. Soon, small bowls filled with them were delivered outside the eatery.
"Start with these!"
"The congee will be ready in a moment..."
Seeing that the beings of the Non-human World were starving, Zhao Tiansheng didn’t bother with any formalities about who came first.
After quickly delivering the meatballs, he immediately turned back to prepare the large pot of meat broth congee. He took the remaining minced chicken, duck, and fish from earlier, mixed it with some simple scallion and ginger water, and formed differently flavored meatballs that went right into the congee.
This made the flavors of the three meats even more pronounced in the congee, permeating it through and through.
After a sprinkle of white pepper and a garnish of celery mixed with green onions floated on top, the dish that had been started first but finished after the meatballs was finally served to the beings of the Non-human World.
"Don’t be in such a hurry!"
"There’s also some shrimp sauce. You can add it if you want more flavor, but leave it out if you don’t."
With only a hint of light salt and almost no other seasoning, all that remained was the primordial, savory essence of the chicken, duck, and fish. For the lonely souls and wandering ghosts of the Non-human World who had lost their physical bodies, this was the ultimate flavor.
It could be said that when Zhao Tiansheng’s pot of meat broth congee was served, the expression of the Wheel of Hell Ghost within its flames softened considerably.
Soon, all the beings of the Non-human World present received their food in an orderly fashion. The three most distinguished among them each received two portions—both meatballs and congee.
This also reflected how their Cultivation set them apart from the other denizens of the Non-human World...
CRUNCH, CRUNCH... SLURP, SLURP...
For a moment, Zhao Tiansheng’s ears were filled with nothing but the completely engrossed sounds of the beings from the Non-human World eating. After tidying up his kitchen, he walked out.
Looking at the three Venerable beings who had yet to start their meal, he asked the question that had been weighing on his mind for some time.
"By the way, you three, what exactly happened around Jinning Town?"
Upon hearing this, the flames on the Wheel of Hell Ghost’s burning wheel suddenly flared up, shooting into the sky as a pillar of fire.
It seemed Zhao Tiansheng’s words had made its anger impossible to restrain.
The scorching temperature turned into a heatwave, hot enough to distort the air. A gust of wind exceeding two hundred degrees blasted toward Zhao Tiansheng, looking as if it would sear the skin right off him.
But then, a verdant green light flashed. Within the pocket dimension that separated Jinning Town from the space of the Non-human World, another figure appeared: an old Daoist with a long-stemmed pipe slung over his back.
"Why are you so fiery?"
"It’s not as if you would have suffered no losses even if Tiansheng had been there. Blindly blaming others to vent your anger will only hinder your future Cultivation."
Startled back to his senses by the presence of a Tier Four being, Zhao Tiansheng immediately cupped his hands in greeting upon seeing the old Daoist.
"Grandmaster Wei, you’ve come as well?"
Elder Wei nodded with a smile.
Then he turned to the Wheel of Hell Ghost, a hint of sternness and disappointment in his eyes.
"If you can’t control your emotions, your path through Tier Four is far from over. Don’t wait until the old turtle has reached Tier Five while you haven’t even reached the Tier Four Peak."
Having been scolded, the Wheel of Hell Ghost fell silent, merely staring at its portion of meatballs and congee on the ground. Meanwhile, the Mountain Spirit and the old turtle seemed to feel it was none of their concern, paying no mind to what was happening.
After all, in the Non-human World, such displaced anger was as common as breathing.
Shaking his head with a flicker of disappointment in his eyes, knowing the creatures hadn’t truly listened, Elder Wei finally turned to speak to Zhao Tiansheng.
"You can’t really blame them. They only have a partial understanding of the matter themselves."
"A whole group of beings from the Non-human World downstream, in the Mount Heng area, suddenly migrated here. It’s like they were provoked—they’re frantically fighting for territory!"
At this, a worried look appeared on Elder Wei’s face. He pulled the long-stemmed pipe from his back and lit the bowl with a swipe of his finger.
"Later, I, this old Daoist, received a message."
"The Yunmeng Dragon Monarch has issued a decree..."
"On the thirtieth of the second month this year, a Cyan Flood Dragon will travel the River, enter Yunmeng, and Transform into a Dragon!"