Gourmet of Another World

Shrimpy was Heavengod Space. It was unexpected and yet logical. Lord Dog had once said that he had not returned yet, but his temple had appeared. The most reasonable explanation was that he was back, but he did not know it because he was still in a muddled state.

And Shrimpy fit that description perfectly. The little fellow had spent its days spitting bubbles and always looked muddle-headed, but this time… It saved Bu Fang.

In the beginning, when Shrimpy appeared, Bu Fang just used it as a seasoning. The dishes always tasted better when he put it in them, and the little fellow also enjoyed it. Later, as his cooking skill improved, Shrimpy rarely used this ability again.

The dish in front of him was wrapped up by strands of golden energy, which recovered it from its near-broken state. Slowly, he stepped forward and raised his hand. Divine energy swirled and materialized into a ladle in his palm, which looked ordinary without any energy.

Bu Fang began to toss the wok. The boiling sauce churned like rushing river water, giving off steam as he cooked. As a rich smell kept spreading, the ingredients glowed, and the dish gradually emitted a mystical aura.

His mental force grew more and more transparent, and his spirit sea was rumbling. With the God of Cooking’s eyes, he was able to gaze past all the delusion, and he was now fully immersed in cooking. The long-lost feeling made Bu Fang want to throw his head back and roar.

Shrimpy had transformed into a stream of golden light and was swimming in the world of ingredients. It was as though it had completely merged with this strange world.

In space, the five Artifact Spirits looked at Bu Fang with smiles. They were glad that he finally got through it and that he was not wiped out in self-denial like other Hosts. Perhaps, they thought, he would have a chance to break through to an unprecedented realm!

The Artifact Spirits were looking forward to that. They were on the same boat with Bu Fang now, and if they wished to go to the higher realm, they had to wait for him to make a breakthrough. This was the only way they could break free of the universe’s restrictions.

The journey of becoming a God of Cooking was full of challenges. Of the one hundred Hosts, some were eliminated in the beginning, some gave up halfway, and some killed themselves in frustration and fell into transmigration.

It was like opening a road through the thorny forest. At first, there might be a path to follow, which was trodden by the predecessors, but the further one went, one would find that it became narrower and narrower until there was no way to go. In such a situation, it was very easy to get lost in the boundless wilderness.

At the cost of their lives, the one hundred Hosts had opened a path that would lead their successor to the Way of the God of Cooking. The Artifact Spirits had pinned their hopes on one hundred Hosts, and they had experienced disappointment one hundred times. And now, Bu Fang was the most promising Host…

They were highly motivated. When they thought Bu Fang had failed, he surprised them and gave them hope once again.

A humming sound could be heard as Shrimpy squeezed out of the dish, flew across the air in a beam of golden light, and perched on Bu Fang’s shoulder, quietly spitting bubbles. Although it was now Heavengod Space, it still liked to spit bubbles.

Meanwhile, Sloth’s pupils narrowed. He did not anticipate that such a turn of events would occur, which caught him a bit off guard. “Go to hell!” He made up his mind in a split second. At his thought, colors flashed in the sky and the stars crumbled. The next moment, he thrust his palm, which went straight at Bu Fang with a horrible rumble.

Bu Fang ignored that. He did not even look up and just focused on cooking. The dish was about to be ready, and it was giving off a delicious aroma. With Shrimpy’s help, the cooking of the dish was finally coming to an end.

Sloth’s palm came with shocking power and the surging power of sin. He wanted to kill Bu Fang with one blow!

Suddenly, Bu Fang turned off the heat. The world fell silent. Wisps of steam rose from the ladle as the golden broth in it bubbled and gleamed. He tilted the ladle slightly and poured the broth over the dish.

Rumble!

A dazzling beam of light shot out of the dish, tore through the sky, and collided with the palm. Sloth’s body went limp, and his palm also lost its ferocity amid the fragrance like melted chocolate. His face flickered.

“He… managed to cook the dish, after all?!” Sloth glanced over his shoulder at the portal created by the hourglasses. There, the remaining half of the Soul God’s body was about to come out, but the strong restrictive force of the cosmic barrier slowed him down.

Bu Fang did not wear the Vermilion Robe but was clad in a simple white robe, which made him look like an otherworldly lotus flower, pure and holy. In front of him, there was a porcelain plate with a dish that radiated a golden light.

As his mental force fell on it, he could sense its surging aura. When he closed his eyes, he saw mountains, a vast expanse of sea, fields… It was as if there was a miniature world inside. However, he could also see that the ingredients were pulled together by strands of golden light. And because of that, the dish was not perfect.

He sighed and pointed a finger at the dish, which slowly floated up.

‘Congratulations, Host. You have completed a pseudo-God of Cooking dish: The Country Painting,’ the System’s serious voice rang out in Bu Fang’s mind.

‘A pseudo-God of Cooking dish… Is it because of Shrimpy? If it wasn’t for it, I probably wouldn’t have been able to complete this dish at all,’ he thought to himself, his face as expressionless as before.

As the System’s voice faded away, Bu Fang’s aura began to gradually transform.

Sloth, unhappy that his attack was fended off, knew he could not allow Bu Fang to grow any further. So he finally moved out and left his position before the seven hourglasses. With a rumbling sound, his enormous body traveled across a great distance and appeared in front of Bu Fang in a flash.

At the same time, he shrank and transformed into a little fatty. Fixing his eyes on Bu Fang, he shook his hand and produced a black halberd, which belonged to the Soul God and was extremely powerful. Without hesitation, he thrust it toward Bu Fang. He wanted to kill this chef on the spot and completely cut off his growth path!

In the distance, the hourglasses were rotating. Tongtian’s eyes lit up when he saw that no one was guarding them. ‘This is our chance!’ he thought to himself. However, the six Great Soul Overlords were stopping him. Even with the help of Bu Fang’s five Artifact Spirits, he struggled to fight them.

‘But… This is our only chance!’ He turned his gaze to the Soul God. ‘I can’t let this being, who is as terrible as my teacher, come into our universe!’

“Fight!” Tongtian threw his hands up into the air. Countless stars exploded as the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Array appeared once again and crushed through the void.

Bu Fang quietly looked at the dish, his face covered with pity and regret. The System said it was a pseudo-God of Cooking dish, which meant it was a failure. The word ‘pseudo’ told him everything. But he was not too disappointed. At least, he had found a path in the endless confusion and darkness, and he could continue to move on…

Suddenly, a black halberd approached him!

The void was shattered as a monstrous, murderous aura filled the air. The little fatty, or Sloth, swooped down on Bu Fang. He would destroy the dish and the chef together! As the only Great Soul Overlord who was as strong as a perfect Chaotic Saint, he finally struck out in person!

Just when the halberd was about to smash Bu Fang’s head, Whitey, who had been standing behind him, moved. It stretched out a hand, spread its huge palm, and caught the weapon. Then, two purple beams shot out of its eyes.

Sloth flicked his head, dodging the deadly energy beams. He turned his hand, and the halberd began to spin rapidly. The next moment, a great force exploded out and knocked Whitey’s hand away.

Sighing, Bu Fang raised his hand and pinched the rolling steam rising from the dish before him with two fingers. It immediately turned into a roaring dragon. After that, he tapped the halberd with a flick of his finger.

Dong!

A sound like the ringing of the Bell of the Great Path echoed out. Sloth’s pupils shrank. To his horror, he found that the halberd softened as it was being impacted by the fragrance!

Meanwhile, the dragon slithered across the starry sky and kept closing in on him. It frightened him so much that he hastily loosened his grip. Engulfed by the fragrance, the halberd quickly dissolved and vanished.

‘What happened?! What kind of means is this?!’ Sloth screamed in his mind.

In the distance, Bu Fang slowly looked up and stared at Sloth with an expressionless face. His cultivation base, which was at the level of a Saint of the Great Path, began to gradually increase. Yes, it grew at a slow pace, but the rate was steady.

At the same time, Chaotic Energy emerged and swirled around him, from one stream to two, then three, four… Eventually, he was surrounded by a cloud of Chaotic Energy, and his aura had also stepped into the Chaotic Saint realm.

With a pseudo-God of Cooking dish, Bu Fang had finally made a breakthrough. Of all the Hosts, he might not be the only one who had come to this height, but he was certainly the most unique one. This could be seen from the excited look in the eyes of the five Artifact Spirits.

Tongtian was so excited that he burst out laughing. To him, there was no better news than Bu Fang making a breakthrough. “Our counterattack begins now!” he roared and flicked his sleeve. At the gesture, the sword array sped toward the Great Soul Overlords.

In just the blink of an eye, half of Envy’s body was cut off and turned into a huge cloud of sinful energy. The other Great Soul Overlords freaked out.

Sloth’s pupils narrowed, and his face grew serious as he stared at Bu Fang, who was giving him pressure. ‘Is he already strong enough to fight a perfected expert? How’s that possible? He has just become a Chaotic Saint! Are all chefs so… freakishly talented?!

‘And that dish… It feels like the ultimate artifact of the Primitive Universe! Dammit!’

Whitey’s purple eyes flashed. The next moment, its belly turned into a black hole. A powerful suction force erupted out of it, and all the true forms of the Soul Demons drifting in the starry sky wailed as they were pulled into the spinning vortex.

Sloth was shocked as he watched. Suddenly, a roar rang out, shaking the whole universe. The Soul God’s terrifying aura seemed to be on the verge of descending. The Great Soul Overlord’s face beamed. However, his expression quickly changed again.

In front of the seven hourglasses, Tongtian pulled out a yellow flag and waved it. The next moment, three monstrous auras descended.

The first aura belonged to a Daoist. His eyes shone like the stars, and he was holding a great axe. The second almighty expert was a Buddha. He had a kind face, and over his head was a large bell overflowing with energy. The last one was a graceful lady with a snake-like tail instead of legs. She was exuding a supreme aura, and in her hand, she held a colorful divine rock.

The appearance of these three almighty experts caused Sloth’s expression to change dramatically.

‘Are the supreme experts of the Primitive Universe… going to suppress the Soul God?!’