nChapter 301: The Way He Eyes Ingredients

nTranslator: E.3.3. Editor: Vermillion

nNi Yan opened her breathtakingly beautiful eyes wide and slightly parted her moist red lips. Her face was filled with puzzlement.

nBu Fang had just walked out and lifted up his head upon hearing the astonished exclamation. He blinked his eyes as he saw the familiar face of a beauty.

n

"Oh it's you. What a coincidence,

" Bu Fang uttered.

nTang Yin was a bit hurt considering how his Master Ni completely blew him off once bumping into Owner Bu. Did she really need to treat him so differently?

nBehind Ni Yan stood the city lord of the Western Mystery City, Kong Yao, and a whole group of people. Kong Xuan, the top warrior of the city, was also amongst the crowd.

nBut Kong Xuan's face was rather glum at that moment since he had never seen such a look on Ni Yan's face. He never expected the aloof Ni Yan to be so warm to another man. Were they that close?

nAnd so, Kong Xuan's gaze currently landed on Bu Fang as he tried to discern just who he was!

nAs Bu Fang chatted with Ni Yan some more, he suddenly felt a chilling sensation rush down his body. He lifted up his head in confusion and looked around only to see Kong Xuan sending him the death glare from a distance.

nBu Fang twitched the corners of his mouth, feeling quite speechless. Why was this cross-eyed fellow glaring at him?

nThe Third Corp of the Western Mystery Army also suffered a great loss this time, which put a sober frown on Kong Yao's face.

nZhu Yue recounted to him the series of unfortunate events they had encountered on their way. The stories only deepened the city lord's distressed expression.

nThe downfall of Mo Luo City was no good news, as it meant that a crisis would hit the Western Mystery City very soon.

nBesides, the number of spirit beasts roaming around the Western Mystery City has also increased. The spirit beast fever that happens once every three years was about to hit the Western Mystery City, which serves as another great obstacle the city must face.

nWith the enemy troops on top of the potential spirit beast attack, the Western Mystery City was really caught between two fires.

nThe so-called

"spirit beast fever

" happened once every three years, during which hoards of spirits beasts from the Hundred Thousand Mountains would ferociously attack humans. Every time it happened, the smaller towns and villages near the Western Mystery City would be trampled by the spirit beasts.

nIt became a custom for the Western Mystery City to open its gates to the residents of these unfortunate communities.

nWith the Western Mystery City resisting the spirit beast fever, residents of the nearby towns and villages can then return home safely once the attacks ended.

nHowever, the spirit beast fever was due to come at a really bad time this year round!

nBu Fang returned to the tents of the Cooks' Army Unit.

nNi Yan actually trailed behind him and followed him back to the tents. Ever since she learned that Bu Fang was cultivating his cooking in the Cooks' Army Unit, she became highly intrigued and insisted on stringing along.

nNi Yan was a spectacular cook herself but was always eager for more gourmet delicacies. Getting to taste Owner Bu's dishes was, of course, a rare opportunity.

nHowever, for the next few days, Bu Fang did not cook as much as before. Due to the fact that Ni Yan and Tang Yin now recognized his identity, he had officially returned to his usual stony demeanor. The number of dishes he made then became limited.

nWei Dafu had already witnessed what Bu Fang was capable of and was now scared to bother him. In fact, he allowed Bu Fang to have first pick on all of the ingredients that contained spirit energy so he could cook to his heart's content.

nWith the right ingredients, Bu Fang planned on cooking up dishes deemed satisfactory by the system. Yet none of his most recent attempts succeeded. It felt like he was losing his edge.

nThis gave Bu Fang a headache.

nAs time passed, the atmosphere in the Western Mystery City became tenser. One could often hear beasts howling outside the city walls.

nAs of now, people are no longer allowed to leave the Western Mystery City without permission. In order to protect the safety of the residents and prevent anyone from being assaulted outside the walls, the authorities have decided to lock down the city.

nSizzle Sizzle Sizzle!!

nA rich aroma surged out of the tent in the form of hot mists, almost like a wriggling serpent.

nBu Fang tilted the pot, pouring the content inside into his spoon and then onto the porcelain plate on the table.

nThe spirit energy dish was colorful and luster. Just its appearance was enough to tease one's appetite.

nNi Yan plopped herself down, not concerned with her image at all. She peered down at Bu Fang's dish, grabbed a pair of chopsticks, and stuffed a piece into her mouth.

nNi Yan was thoroughly impressed with Bu Fang's food. His ability to retain the spirit energy in ingredients has reached unimaginable heights. It was truly challenging to perfectly preserve the spirit energy of ingredients whilst cooking.

nEven Ni Yan yearned for this special technique.

n

"Delicious!

" Ni Yan stuck out her delicate tongue and licked her ruby red lips as she smiled.

nHowever, Bu Fang wore no cheerful look on his face and instead sat there with scrunched brows. Though this dish tasted just fine, it was no comparison to the Flower Iguana.

nWith none of his recent dishes passing the system's test, Bu Fang began to feel agitated.

n...

nA few hundred miles outside the Western Mystery City was the intersection to the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

nThe Hundred Thousand Mountains was known for its steep cliffs. Its conditions were so dangerous that even seventh grade Battle-Saints dare not thoughtlessly tread through it.

nThe Western Mystery City has been tightly garrisoned in the past few days, with guards patrolling the walls at all times.

nSomeone standing on the walls peered towards the direction of the Hundred Thousand Mountains. Yet what he saw was smoke rising up and covering the sky, almost like towering waves of the sea.

nThe sight drained all the color from the solider on patrol, who immediately reported this finding to the city lord.

nKong Yao stepped up to the city walls and gazed at the smoke storm from afar. His face trembled and paled.

n

"The spirit beast fever from the Hundred Thousand Mountains… is coming!

"

n

"Send down my orders, shut all city gates!

"

nAfter merely half a day, everyone inside the Western Mystery City could begin to detect the ground underneath their feet violently shaking. Such quakes sent shivers down their spines.

nBang Bang Bang!!

nAlongside the thunderous beastly roars were earth-shattering tremors.

nThe city walls were packed with soldiers staring at the hoard of beasts down below. Their faces were as pale as ghosts. Not a trace of confidence or courage could be seen on their complexions.

nThe swarm of beasts filled the space like waves in a boundless ocean. Though the hoards were made up mostly of less impressive third and fourth grade spirit beasts, there was still a handful of fifth to sixth grade spirit beasts in the mix.

n

"The spirit beast fever originates in the Hundred Thousand Mountains. Every time it occurs, even the Clear Sky Pagoda within the Hundred Thousand Mountains must call for a lockdown and seal all towers. This means the almighty and powerful Clear Sky Pagoda also seeks to avoid confrontation with these beasts.

" Ni Yan explained as she stood on the city walls.

nBu Fang and Tang Yin also eyed the flock of beasts down below. Bu Fang had never seen so many different spirit beasts all at once—it was an indescribable experience.

nBu Fang knitted his brows and fell into a deep contemplation as he stared at the spirit beasts.

nBeside him, Tang Yin exhaled a long breath to release the depressed sensation he bottled up inside.

nIn the face of this sea of spirit beasts, he felt so powerless and insignificant.

nNobody knew exactly how these spirit beasts stormed out of the Hundred Thousand Mountains all at once. Yet the Hundred Thousand Mountains was a boundless plain of continuous large alps. That it was home to so many spirit beasts was not that surprising.

nAfter all, the Hundred Thousand Mountains was a buffer for the southern region. It was rumored that the Hundred Thousand Mountains was a vast expanse of exceptional beauty and charm. Yet few to none had ever visited the place, so most people had no idea if that was true.

nRoar!!

nThat was the howl of a mammoth crocodile. Its body was covered with pointy shells. Clenching its sharp and ferocious teeth, it crawled on the floor at an incredible speed.

nA wolf with a body of snowy-white fur sprinted on the plains swift as the wind, kicking up a smoke as it bolted. There was also a fiery red, gigantic lion, an elephant covered with needles, a mountain tortoise, and so many more powerful, exotic spirit beasts.

nAs they charged in, they weren't surrounded by other galloping spirit beasts, Instead, each marked their own territories. These spirit beasts all stormed toward the Western Mystery City.

nEveryone on the city walls wore terrible expressions on their faces as their hearts thudded with fear.

nHowever, Bu Fang paced around on the wall, wearing a very different look from that of the other folks.

nHe studied the numerous spirit beasts down below, a sparkle flickering in his eyes.

nHe has been quite vexed given his failure to create a third dish deemed acceptable by the system. Unable to cook the dish and complete the task, he couldn't receive his reward.

nHe had arrived at the conclusion that the ingredients available in the Cooks' Army Unit were of poor quality.

nWith better ingredients, Bu Fang felt like he could easily cook a dish deemed satisfactory by the system.

nAs for how to obtain finer ingredients, Bu Fang's gaze landed on the sea of spirit beasts down below… so many spirit beasts. What the others perceived as a disaster Bu Fang saw as an ingredient storehouse.

nOnce this idea flashed across his heart, Bu Fang's mind began to explode. Even the pace of his breathing quickened.

nNi Yan and Tang Yin glimpsed at Bu Fang in perplexity as they both detected the fervor burning in Bu Fang's eyes.

nThey were dumbstruck as they glanced at the spirit beasts down below and then looked back at Bu Fang's peculiar expression…

n

"Master, do you think Owner Bu will rush down?

"

nTang Yin asked Ni Yan quietly.

nNi Yan's face also froze,

"Don't talk nonsense. As for Owner Bu's gaze… that's just how he normally eyes ingredients.

"

nHow he eyes ingredients…

nTang Yin's face scrunched up as he prayed to the gods inside his heart.

nOwner Bu… let's not be reckless. It is way too early to tell who will end up as the ingredient…

n