Chapter 1583: The Painstaking Void Emperor!

Chapter 1583: The Carefully Crafted Emperor of the Void!

"Welcome to the Sun-Brilliant Divine Realm."

"From this day forward, you may serve as Director of the Imperial Culinary Office within the Sun-Brilliant Divine Realm."

"I shall not demand that you prepare exquisite dishes solely for me or any other official. You may choose whom to serve, as you see fit."

"Yet, I hope that you will not hesitate to share your mastery with others. Train a skilled and professional culinary corps for the soldiers and people of the Sun-Brilliant Divine Realm."

"Let these delicious, potent dishes become accessible to every soldier and citizen—enriching not only their palates, but their strength and spirit."

"How do you find this?"

Zhou Shiyu asked.

"Your Majesty, I am deeply honored!"

The Master of Taste responded, his voice trembling with reverence.

To encounter a sovereign who understands his own path and respects himself—this truly feels like a threefold blessing to him.

That is why every being who joins the Prairielight Divine Realm holds the Emperor of the People in the highest reverence.

A deity of such nature would surely be welcomed here too!

Then, after a moment's thought, he added:

"If the Emperor desires to taste the delicacies prepared by his servant, I would still be honored to create them—especially if the Emperor finds them worthy of savoring, for that would be a true honor to me."

"Moreover, if there are any grand banquets within the Prairielight Divine Realm requiring exquisite dishes, as a subject of this realm, I would be more than willing to serve and contribute."

"Very well."

Zhou Shixi smiled and nodded.

Then, strangely, he glanced at Wan Xie, the Demon Sovereign.

Is that what you call being difficult to please?

Refusing the very requirements of the Infinite Will Realm's strength?

I think this guy is quite easygoing.

I haven't even said a word, and already this God of Appetite feels as if he's about to offer himself completely.

Isn't he a splendid fellow?

When the Supreme Evil Master saw Zhou Shiyu's gaze, the very gods around him nearly fainted.

He felt both furious and utterly bewildered.

He wasn't like this when facing him before!

You're treating me differently—I won't accept that!

I was the first one here!

The Supreme Evil Master harbored a bitter resentment, but had no way to voice it.

After all, this creature also possessed a passionate side.

Only that it never revealed it to himself.

"Stand up."

Zhou Shixi didn't pay attention to the strange reaction of Wan Xie Mo Zhu, gently addressing the Shijue Sacred Master.

The Shijue Sacred Master rose, a smile playing on his face.

Wan Xie Mo Zhu stared longer and longer, until he simply closed his eyes and stopped looking.

Zhou Shixi and the Shijue Sacred Master paid no heed to him. Zhou Shixi continued:

"As the Head Chef of the Prajaya Divine Realm, you hold a status equivalent to a second-tier official throughout the entire Prajaya Divine Realm—ranking only below the Emperor, the Prime Minister, and the Commanders of the Armies."

"As for your salary, I can grant you a stipend comparable to that of a near-ultimate Willful Realm master."

"Additionally—"

"This is a small token of my grace for you."

"I greatly enjoy the delicious dishes you prepare. I hope to have the pleasure of tasting your cooking again in the future."

Zhou Shizhi smiled.

"Your Majesty speaks too highly of it."

The Master of Culinary Virtue hurried to say, "If Your Majesty desires, with but a single command, I shall prepare it immediately—without hesitation or complaint."

"Your Majesty bears the lives of millions of commoners upon your shoulders."

"To cook for Your Majesty, I willingly offer myself, and I find only honor in it. I never consider this a disturbance to myself."

Zhou Shizhi made a soft, disbelieving sound.

How many times has he mentioned honor now?

I knew this man was easygoing all along.

“Very well.”

“This is your gift.”

“Look at it.”

“I am certain you will cherish it.”

“This gift—there are hardly any left in my royal vault.”

Zhou Shiyu spoke, and then tossed a world ring to the Lord of Appetite.

The Lord of Appetite caught it, carefully probing his will into its depths. His expression first froze in astonishment, then erupted into boundless shock and ecstatic delight.

“This… this…”

“Thank you, Majesty!”

“This reward will be eternally remembered by me!”

The Sacred Master of Taste nearly choked on a gasp of reverence.

The Master of a Hundred Evils, watching from the side, felt a flicker of curiosity.

What kind of reward could stir such an intense reaction in a being so rarely moved by emotion?

"Since you enjoy it, then it was not in vain that I thought of this."

Zhou Shixi smiled warmly.

Then, after a brief chat, he sent the Sacred Master of Taste on his way to continue cooking.

As Zhou Shixi watched the figure fade into the distance, a deep sense of reflection stirred within him.

This one was simple at heart, utterly devoted to the art of food.

With his presence, the Sun-Blazing Divine Nation might one day birth several beings who would shock the heavens and the realms—perhaps even a Supreme Will Entity of the Culinary Path.

After all, given the exceptional soil for cultivation in the Sun-Blazing Divine Nation, such prodigies were not merely possible—they were truly conceivable.

"Brother, what exactly did you give him? It made Jue so happy!"

Wan Xie Mo Zhu couldn't help but feel curious and asked directly.

"It's nothing much,"

Zhou Shiyu smiled. "Just a set of four-tier supreme god-level kitchenware."

"Not exactly a traditional combat-type supreme artifact, but the quantity is indeed rare—there are only about a hundred sets in my possession."

Upon hearing this, Wan Xie Mo Zhu's expression instantly turned stunned.

Supreme god-level kitchenware?!

He had lived for so many years—never had he heard of such a thing, let alone seen it.

After all, throughout history, few four-tier supreme gods have pursued culinary paths, let alone four-tier supreme god-level kitchen artifacts.

It could truly be considered a rarity among rarities.

But this utterly obscure artifact—did even your own elder brother possess it?

That's why the Master of Appetite was so excited.

I remember that the Master of Appetite's kitchen tools were merely tools of the Supreme God tier.

Even those tools—He had to pay a great price to obtain them from the Creator Supreme God among the Four Highest Deities.

Such tools, and yet the Master of Appetite considered them his most cherished treasure.

Let alone kitchen tools at the level of Four-Tier Supreme Deities.

Were those tools?

No—they were ancestral relics!

And upon hearing the second half of that statement, His lips twitched involuntarily.

Your own elder brother truly… was never out of his self-aggrandizing mode.

Although they were truly formidable.

After a brief conversation with Wan Xie Mo Zhu, Zhou Shiyu agreed to let Wan Xie Mo Zhu come to his place and regularly partake in the meals of the Supreme Master. With that, Wan Xie Mo Zhu departed.

And Zhou Shiyu no longer wasted time—he immediately activated the ultimate void traversal and arrived at the ultimate void battlefield.

At that moment, there were no divine warriors or soldiers left.

Even the offshoot of the Supreme Will had departed, leaving only a shattered remnant of the Sacred Domain city.

"From today on,"

"This ultimate void battlefield shall be my domain."

"Plus the imminent total conquest of the Supreme Continent."

"I now possess two reserve territories under my command."

"Neither Tian Chen God King nor Chao Chun Law Master enjoys such privileges."

Zhou Shiyu felt a subtle pride in the core itself.

Then, without further thought, He plunged into the Sacred Realm, rushing toward the location indicated by the delusional legend of the Sacred Seal fragments.

He felt profoundly at ease.

Indeed, neither the Offshoot of Supreme Will nor His elite legion of Supreme Warriors had detected the whereabouts of the other fragment. Only He, possessing the remaining two fragments, had discovered it.

This revelation filled Zhou Shiyu with astonishment—and deepened his curiosity about the mysterious origins of this delusional legend of the Sacred Seal.

Soon enough,

He arrived at the exact location indicated.

"Is this it?"

Zhou Shiyu stared at a towering, shattered throne of deep purple before him.

This profound indigo throne was immense, clearly not meant for ordinary beings to sit upon.

"It must be the throne of the Void Emperor."

Zhou Shiyu thought.

He gazed upon the throne and felt, within it, something seemingly reaching out to call him.

Zhou Shiyu narrowed his eyes slightly.

"What is it? Where is it?"

He murmured in confusion, then began searching around the throne.

After searching for a long time without success, Zhou Shiyu decided, after a moment of contemplation, to simply sit upon the throne itself and ponder.

"The sensation is indeed here," he mused.

"But why can't I see what's inside?"

At the same time.

Within the throne.

A swirling, flame-like consciousness of deep violet hue lay quietly concealed here.

Its gaze pierced through the throne, fixed upon the Celestial Emperor Sovereign seated upon its crown. The twin eyes of deep violet now resembled abysses of violet darkness—so profound and unfathomable that they stirred dread in any who dared to look upon them.

"Indeed."

"The fragments of the Illusory Prophecy Seal truly reside upon him."

"I always suspected that when the Celestial Emperor Sovereign entered the Ultimate Void Battlefield, my will had been agitated incessantly—like a treasure that stirred my very essence."

"Ah, so it is because the fragments of the Illusory Prophecy Seal have now entered my domain."

"Hmm…"

"There is no supreme will behind the Celestial Emperor Sovereign—meaning, he himself has concealed the presence of the fragments. It seems he, too, has come to realize just how formidable the Illusory Prophecy Seal truly is."

"Not to be outdone, a being blessed by the great cosmic fortune."

"I only possess a single fragment in my hands."

"This little one, however, carries two."

"Indeed, the heavens have favored me!"

"Though I narrowly escaped death, I unexpectedly obtained a fragment of the mythical Holy Seal—worth the risk, even if I nearly perished."

The Great Void Emperor's ambition burned with a fierce, infernal flame.

If only to become an eternal, unshakable being—

Even if it meant dying ten times over, he would still endure.

As long as he lives, he will absolutely become a master of the Eternal Immortality Realm!

But when He saw the Celestial Emperor Sovereign constantly circling the throne, finally sitting right on top of His head, still failing to locate His position, He grew increasingly anxious.

"This fool!"

"How could he not realize I'm beneath His throne, beneath his very seat?!"

"As soon as He dares to extend his will-force inward and probe the hidden mechanisms within the throne, I will seize the opportunity to infiltrate His will, take over His form, and resurrect myself."

"Then, with His identity as my vessel, I could feign myself as the heir of the Supreme Will, drain all its resources, and finally eliminate the Supreme Will itself—avenging my death today."

"Damn it!"

"How could He not sense that something valuable might lie beneath the throne?"

The Void Emperor gritted his teeth.

This was only a step away from success, and the opposing force pulling at the edge of possibility—such a torment to endure.

Wait!

Could He have already discovered me within this throne, deliberately misleading me from without?

A sudden thought flashed through the Void Emperor’s mind, causing him a jolt of surprise.

Yet, upon gazing upward at the shape above his head, he deemed it unlikely.

If the other had truly detected him, how could they so casually sit upon his very crown?

He could not believe that a supreme deity would dare treat such a transcendent being—whose will had transcended all bounds—so lightly.

And this throne, he remembered, was forged from materials of the ultimate void, materials capable of housing a will beyond comprehension.

How could a mere supreme deity penetrate the essence of such a throne?

Wait.

The Void Emperor found himself growing more patient.

He could not believe that a supreme deity would show no interest in the enduring legacy of an eternal, unshakable being.

That was a lineage so profound that even He himself could not help but be stirred to the core!

And just then—

Zhou Shiyu stood up, murmuring to himself:

"Fine."

"It's gone, it's gone."

"A seal of unknown origin—what's there to fuss over?"

"No need to waste my energy on it."

"Better to spend this time refining my cultivation than lingering here."

Zhou Shiyu shook his head and prepared to leave.

At that moment, the void emperor hidden within the throne stared, utterly stunned.

He suddenly realized a question.

Could it be that the Celestial Sovereign, the very embodiment of life, had no knowledge whatsoever that this fabricated legend—the Seal of Eternity—represented a lineage of unshakable, immortal existence?

Could it be that he cared nothing for such a thing?

At this thought,

He froze in panic.

No! He must not let this one go!

Once this being departed, not only would he fail to obtain the fragment of the fabricated Seal upon his own body, but more importantly, he would lose the divine form itself—through which he could be reborn.

In this desolate, boundless expanse,

missing the Celestial Sovereign might mean never again encountering another living soul.

Yet he dared not step forth and seize the Celestial Sovereign by force.

For once, if He were to step beyond the protection of the Throne, the Supreme Will would instantly sense the fragmented essence of His will, and swiftly descend upon him.

By then, He wouldn’t just be unable to seize the Sovereign of Life and the World—his own life might be truly extinguished.

The mere thought of the Supreme Will sent shivers through the Void Emperor’s heart.

Indeed, this Supreme Will was no less than a peer of the Crimson Sovereign, a true apex among the forces of the Ultimate Void Cosmos. That was why the Supreme and Crimson Cosmologies had bickered for so long—no other Cosmos dared to take advantage of their conflict.

Though their numbers of powerful beings were mediocre, their leadership strength as Cosmic Sovereigns was truly formidable.

Facing the Supreme Will, He hadn’t even lasted an hour before being overwhelmed.

This proved an absolute chasm in strength between them.

Yet I was forced to face Him directly—there was no choice.

With that thought in mind,

He glared with resentment at the Sovereign of Life and the World retreating into the distance.

It was all this one creature,

this very one who turned His originally splendid situation into what it is now.

He hesitated, then produced a fragment of an seal.

A fragment of the mythical Seal of Illusion.

Suppressing the urge to put it back, he cast the seal onto the throne.

And just as Zhou Shiyu was about to leave, he indeed heard that odd sound—then turned around to see the seal lying there.

Zhou Shiyu raised an eyebrow.

He tried to summon it with his willpower, to bring it before him.

But it failed.

This thing was forged from will-transcendent-grade material. In an unclaimed state, it could only be held by a will-transcendent cultivator—no one else, not even at a distance, could grasp it.

Zhou Shizhu saw this and broke into a smile, then shook his head and said:

He retracted his hand, murmuring with a touch of admiration:

"Your Majesty, the Emperor of the Void, you truly went to great lengths to entice me forward."