Chapter 115: It's a Waste of Talent Not to Do Barbecue

"Three-flavored true fire?" Lu Yang scratched his head, utterly bewildered, wondering to himself if his eldest senior sister couldn't even distinguish between the words for "ignorant" and "flavor." The two characters merely looked similar, but their pronunciations were completely different.

Then again, it occurred to Lu Yang that her level of literacy was likely much higher than his own.

Forcing a calm smile, Lu Yang laughed, "Hahaha, Senior Sister, you really know how to joke. You taught me the Samadhi True Fire, the true fire of the mind, so how could I possibly have learned a three-flavored true fire?"

"It is impossible, quite impossible."

Yun Zhi offered no explanation. Instead, she summoned the puppet and gestured for it to fetch a piece of monster meat from the kitchen.

Employing some unknown technique, Yun Zhi caused the monster meat to suspend and rotate in mid-air, instructing, "Roast it with your true fire."

Lu Yang spat forth his true fire. The heat caused the monster meat to sizzle and drip with oil, and soon a rich aroma wafted through the air, making Lu Yang swallow his saliva in anticipation.

Though Lu Yang's true fire was not nearly as powerful as the version Yun Zhi manifested, its heat was still far more intense than ordinary flames, and within moments, the monster meat was thoroughly roasted.

"Taste it yourself," Yun Zhi said.

Using his finger as a sword, Lu Yang sliced off a small piece and popped it into his mouth. The flavor was so exquisite it could nearly knock his teeth out.

This piece of monster meat had been prepared without any seasonings whatsoever, yet it gave Lu Yang the distinct impression of having been salted for flavor, sugared for freshness, and spiced with chili for aroma.

It truly was a three-flavored true fire.

"Something must have gone wrong somewhere," Lu Yang analyzed solemnly. He had followed the method his eldest senior sister taught him step by step, and with a master of her caliber demonstrating in person, there was absolutely no way he could have blundered!

"Let me try again, I will surely succeed!"

Yun Zhi nodded. "It is good that you possess such determination. Tonight's dinner shall be left to you then, which will also serve to consolidate what you have learned today."

With that, Yun Zhi turned and returned to her cave dwelling to meditate, quietly awaiting Lu Yang's meal.

"No, wait a moment, that is not what I meant..." Lu Yang felt his eldest senior sister had somewhat misunderstood his resolve, but by now she had already walked far away, leaving only the puppet to keep him company.

Lu Yang sighed and gestured for the puppet to accompany him to the kitchen.

This was Lu Yang's first time entering the kitchen of Heavenly Gate Peak; in the past, the puppet had always done the cooking, and Lu Yang had never lifted a finger here.

With his mind and spirit exhausted from daily cultivation, where would he find the energy to cook?

As expected of the eldest senior sister's private kitchen, it was larger than a sports stadium from his past life. An endless array of ingredients was neatly displayed, and the carcasses of monster beasts several meters high could be seen everywhere. These beasts still looked majestic, leaving no doubt as to how powerful they must have been when alive.

It was a pity these monster beasts lacked foresight during their lifetimes, rampaging across the Central Continent only to run into his eldest senior sister, who killed them with a single blow. They probably had not even realized they were dead.

Lu Yang possessed some basic cooking skills, but that was strictly limited to ordinary ingredients; he did not recognize a single one of the ingredients laid out before him.

"What should I make? What does Senior Sister like to eat? It seems every time we dine, she takes a little bit of everything, without showing a particular preference for anything."

"The master likes barbecue best," an abrupt voice rang out, giving Lu Yang a fright.

Lu Yang turned his head and saw that it was actually the puppet speaking.

The puppet was crafted from wood and possessed a feminine figure, though its face had not been carved. It had been by Lu Yang's side since his very first day of cultivation, yet he had never known that the puppet was capable of speech!

"Why are you looking at me?" the puppet spoke again, confirming to Lu Yang that this was no hallucination.

"You can talk? How come I never heard you speak before?"

"Why should I speak to an idiot?"

"You..." Lu Yang was left speechless. If he weren't entirely unable to beat it in a fight, he would have torn this wretched puppet apart.

"You say Senior Sister likes barbecue? How come I've never seen her eat it?" Lu Yang looked at the puppet suspiciously.

He knew there was a branch of magic called puppetry, and that those skilled in it were known as puppet masters. Among the first-rate sects, there was even the Artisan Sect, which was comprised entirely of puppet masters.

But what he did not know was where the limits of puppetry lay. Could they truly possess such high intelligence?

Should he expect nothing less from his eldest senior sister's puppet?

"The master does not have the habit of disclosing her personal preferences to outsiders," the puppet replied, maintaining its disdainful tone toward Lu Yang.

"Do you see the Kui cow on your right? Hack off one of its thighs. The master prefers that cut."

"I'll trust you this once," Lu Yang reasoned, seeing no motive for the puppet to trick him.

He drew his Green Peak Sword and struck at the Kui cow's thigh. The surface of the cow's body gleamed, deflecting the blow and sending Lu Yang flying backward. He crashed straight into a pile of flour, covering himself entirely in white.

"Cough, cough... what grade was this cow when it was alive?" Lu Yang could guarantee that this cow's cultivation level in life was absurdly high, so much so that even in death, it could not be harmed in the slightest.

The puppet did not answer, but with a single punch, it shattered the Kui cow's protective golden light. "Try again."

"Cleave!" Lu Yang executed the Cleave Formula, managing to slice open a superficial wound.

The power of the Cleave Formula was inferior to the Pierce Formula, but its advantage lay in its wide coverage and the ability to use it repeatedly.

"Cleave!"

"Cleave!"

Lu Yang executed the Cleave Formula three times in one breath, completely exhausting his spiritual energy, whereupon the puppet opportunely fed him a Great Restoration Pill.

"Cleave!"

"Cleave!"

"Cleave!"

Another Great Restoration Pill.

And so, through a repeating cycle of cleave-cleave-cleave-pill and cleave-cleave-cleave-pill, he finally managed to carve off an amount suitable for a single meal.

Having just prepared the ingredients, Lu Yang was panting heavily with exhaustion, sprawling spread-eagled on the ground as the puppet continued to feed him Great Restoration Pills.

Lu Yang felt this scene was strangely familiar.

Unpleasant as it was to admit, the Great Restoration Pills were indeed effective. After consuming them, Lu Yang regained his vigor and resumed his cooking.

"Use sword qi to shred the tendons," the puppet on the side instructed.

The tip of the Green Peak Sword pierced into the Kui cow meat, releasing sword qi, but Lu Yang felt as though the sword qi had vanished into the vast ocean, failing to stir even the slightest ripple.

"Keep it up, keep it up. You are the best," the puppet cheered Lu Yang on, though its tone was so flat that Lu Yang could not feel the slightest bit of encouragement.

Lu Yang snapped angrily, "Can you put some emotion into it!"

The puppet readily complied: "Lu Yang, although your cultivation is terribly low, and you manage to learn everything wrong, and you can't even beat me, you have already worked very hard. Keep it up!"

Veins popped on Lu Yang's forehead as he continuously increased the output of his sword qi. Finally, the sword qi successfully penetrated the Kui cow meat, severing the tendons bit by bit.

After completing the entire process, Lu Yang was so utterly exhausted that he was in no mood to argue with the puppet.

When it came time to roast the meat, Lu Yang downed Great Restoration Pills in gulps while roasting it with his three-flavored true fire. Soon, the fragrance of the meat drifted out of the kitchen.

"How fragrant, what is this smell?" Old Man Ba walked into the kitchen, tracing the scent to its source, and saw Lu Yang at the barbecue.

"Old Man Ba, what brings you here?" Lu Yang asked in surprise.

Old Man Ba smiled warmly and produced a jar of tea leaves. "The Enlightenment Tea was just harvested, so I intended to bring some to Yun Zhi. But then I caught this scent and came to see what was roasting. Turns out it's Kui cow. With your young lad's cultivation, that must have taken quite a bit of effort, eh?"

Lu Yang rubbed the back of his neck and laughed sheepishly.

"By the way, you were asking about Old Nine earlier. Do you happen to know where Old Nine is now?"

Lu Yang figured that their master was about to emerge from seclusion anyway, so there was no harm in telling Old Man Ba. Thus, he revealed that their master was undergoing secluded cultivation in the pine forest.

Hearing this, Old Man Ba's eyes lit up. Truly, wicked people would always be tormented by those more wicked than them; that damnable Old Nine had actually been locked up by Yun Zhi.

He set down the Enlightenment Tea and turned to leave. "I have matters to attend to, I must go first."

Hurry up and tell the junior brothers about this, so we can all crowd around and watch the ninth brother together!

(End of this chapter)