Chapter 1096: Identifying Ingredients

"Who is that man? He is so incredibly powerful!"

"I remember someone saying just now that he is the descendant of the Immortal Chef?"

"Yes, Lu Yunyang, the descendant of the Immortal Chef!"

"I remember now! Just before the race, Lu Yunyang was standing with Ma Bin. At first, Ma Bin wasn't very friendly to him, but later on, as if he had realized Lu Yunyang's identity, Ma Bin became exceedingly polite to him!" A spectator suddenly recalled the events prior to the competition.

Sitting in the spectator stands, Ma Bin felt his eyelids twitch fiercely. What do you mean by 'at first I wasn't very friendly to him'? Stop spreading nonsense, my admiration for Fellow Daoist Lu Yang comes from the very bottom of my heart!

Ma Bin narrowed his eyes slightly, staring at the slender figure below, and muttered to himself, "So, he really is the descendant of the Immortal Chef..."

"Fellow Daoist Ma Bin, do you know his identity?" An eager gourmet crowded over and asked urgently.

Ma Bin flashed a deeply meaningful smile. "Whether he is or isn't, it cannot be spoken."

Ma Bin's response was ambiguous, making him look as though he held a profound secret, which paradoxically cemented everyone's belief in Lu Yang's identity.

By doing his utmost to help Lu Yang gain fame, Lu Yang would surely write an extra line or two about him in the newspaper.

"It seems that little girl was right; there really is a possibility that he's the descendant of the Immortal Chef."

"I feel the same way."

Seeing more and more people realize that the Second Master was an extraordinarily remarkable person, Yun Mengmeng felt a deep sense of pride.

With the Second Master working so hard in the competition below, she couldn't afford to idle about either!

She stood up, moved to another spot, and continued her campaign to promote the Second Master.

...

"This Lu Yunyang is supposedly on my side, yet how do I have absolutely no impression of someone with such exquisite knife techniques?" Jin Tan, the patriarch of the Taotie clan, noticed Lu Yang's actions and was thoroughly astonished.

Facing a Kui Ox that was similarly in the late stage of the Soul Transformation realm, Lu Yang had effortlessly carved a piece of meat from its body without the beast even realizing it, all without unleashing his full power.

"If he so desired, handling all the demonic beasts in this entire arena would merely be a matter of a single strike of his blade or sword."

Such a talent was someone their Taotie clan had to nurture with all their resources.

"Never mind that, as long as he belongs to my faction, it is fine." Jin Tan revealed a smile of a successful strategist. The spiritual chefs he had trained performed exceptionally well in the first trial, and they would soon display their grand skills in the second and third trials to help him secure the legendary ingredients.

"Old Daoist Ming Yuan, what if you went through immense hardships to obstruct me for three hundred years? This position of Alliance Leader will ultimately be mine!"

The trial of knife skills concluded swiftly. Those participating in the competition were all top-tier experts, and those eliminated were merely the spiritual chefs who could not defeat the demonic beasts.

Liu Xing continued to host the trial for the five-star spiritual chef group. Unlike the first trial, this round clearly saw more spiritual chefs turning their gazes toward Lu Yang, recognizing him as a popular contender for the championship.

"This trial tests your ability to discern ingredients."

Liu Xing laid out five display cabinets, all of which were covered by red cloths. The red cloths were woven from an unknown material capable of blocking any divine sense inspection.

"Inside these five display cabinets lie five different ingredients. You must discern the name of each ingredient. Only the first person to answer correctly will pass the trial."

"However, if you answer incorrectly, you will be disqualified from the competition immediately. Think carefully before you answer."

In other words, only five people would pass this trial!

Upon realizing this, a deathly silence fell over the arena. The spiritual chefs grew tense and apprehensive; their initial confidence in their own knowledge began to give way to doubt about whether they had truly mastered their craft.

Lu Yang alone let out a yawn, completely indifferent to winning or losing, already pondering how he should write his article when he returned.

What a hassle. If only he had brought Old Meng along, he could have focused entirely on enjoying himself and left Meng to fret over this problem instead.

Before setting out, Lu Yang had sought out Meng Jingzhou, but Meng Jingzhou was repeatedly contemplating the profound subtleties within the Immortal's sayings. Seeing Old Meng studying so diligently, Lu Yang chose not to disturb him.

Lu Yang's relaxed posture, however, was perceived by the crowd as absolute confidence.

Liu Xing lifted the first red cloth, revealing a single leaf resting quietly inside the display cabinet. Golden runes flickered across the leaf, pristine and ancient, forming a natural array.

"This looks familiar," Lu Yang murmured softly under his breath, feeling as though he had seen it somewhere before, and quite frequently at that.

Master Golden Blade shot a beam of spiritual energy into the sky, signaling his readiness to answer the question.

"It is a leaf from the Great Chun tree!"

"Incorrect answer."

The first spiritual chef was eliminated in no time, and it happened to be Master Golden Blade, who had performed quite well in the knife skills trial.

Witnessing this, the spiritual chefs who had been eager to try felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over them, no longer daring to rush their answers.

Yet, right on the heels of Master Golden Blade's elimination, another beam of spiritual energy pierced the sky.

It was Xie Qi, known as the 'Immortal Tongue'.

"A leaf from the Tree of Enlightenment, and moreover, plucked from a Tree of Enlightenment that is five thousand years old."

"Correct answer."

The spiritual chefs cast envious glances. As expected of Xie Qi, he not only recognized it as a Tree of Enlightenment leaf but could even discern its five-thousand-year age.

"It is merely because my clan happens to cultivate a five-thousand-year-old Tree of Enlightenment," Xie Qi said modestly, though whether he was truly being humble or just showing off remained up in the air.

"So it really is the Tree of Enlightenment," Lu Yang realized suddenly. No wonder it looked so familiar; the Eldest Senior Sister frequently used Enlightenment leaves to brew tea, though the leaves she used always came from that King of Enlightenment Trees which had lived for a hundred thousand years.

It was his first time seeing an Enlightenment leaf of such a young age, which was why he hadn't recognized it immediately.

"Next is the second ingredient."

Liu Xing lifted the second red cloth, revealing a palm-sized, dripping green vine. The heat radiating from the vine distorted the very space around it, presenting a terrifying sight.

Vague phantoms shifted behind the vine, resembling both tigers and dragons.

The spiritual chefs furrowed their brows deeply, refraining from answering immediately, as none of them had ever seen this kind of spiritual plant.

Lu Yang flicked out a beam of spiritual energy and smiled. "This is the Qilin Stalk of Immortality. However, it is not the main root, but rather a shoot separated from the primordial mother plant of the ancient era."

He was incredibly familiar with this one; the medicine garden of the Seeking Dao Sect housed a Qilin Stalk of Immortality that had originated in the ancient era.

On the day of the Qilin Immortal's grand wedding, the Undying Fairy had inadvertently caused a disruption. Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi engaged in a culinary duel, presenting their dishes to the three Immortals, including the Heaven-Echoing Immortal. Afterward, oblivious to the truth, the three Immortals believed the source of the disaster lay with the Qilin Immortal and gave him a severe beating. The few drops of immortal blood spilled by the Qilin Immortal during that battle gave rise to the Qilin Stalks of Immortality in later generations.

"The Qilin Stalk of Immortality?" The numerous spiritual chefs exchanged bewildered glances, many of them having never even heard of this immortal herb.

Xie Qi of the 'Immortal Tongue', An Tong of the 'Undefeated', Old Wu the Poison-Mother, and others might have heard of immortal herbs, but their knowledge was limited only to the names, completely ignorant of the herbs' origins.

Lu Yang clasped his hands behind his back and paced around, slowly speaking to unveil a secret of the ancient past.

"In the ancient era, a hidden mastermind pulled the strings from the shadows, causing the ancestors of the Dragons and Phoenixes to clash. As the four ancient Immortals debated the Dao, the Qilin Immortal fought against three opponents at once without falling into a disadvantage. In that battle, the Great Dao shattered and stars were obliterated. A few drops of immortal blood containing the Qilin Immortal's creative power spilled forth, slicing through the void and piercing the firmament. Several spiritual plants were fortunate enough to be nourished by that immortal blood, transforming into the Qilin Stalks of Immortality!"