Limuqun feigned a sigh and said, “It’s just a pity that the Cloud Shell is incredibly precious. Aside from the human royal family and the elders of the Three Sects and Nine Schools, no one else would be fortunate enough to enjoy it.”
“Are you toying with me?” Zuo Qiu Li raised an eyebrow, gripping Limuqun’s hand and restoring her original strength.
For anyone who loves food, tampering with their relationship with it is a capital offense.
“I dare not,” Limuqun struggled and said, “Although the finished product is rare, I fully understand the method to make the Cloud Shell.”
“If the Grandmaster does not believe me, I can make a portion for you to try.”
This can’t be right.
Who would get beheaded and still hand over the knife to the other party?
Zuo Qiu Li narrowed her eyes, staring intently into his, trying to find a single flaw.
But all she saw was pure sincerity and devotion.
……
Enough, enough.
He’s only a Foundation Establishment Cultivator after all, how could he possibly defy heaven?
She tossed Limuqun to the ground, then casually formed a stone chair. Crossing her supple, smooth legs, she sat down and crossed one leg over the other.
“In that case, young sir, you may recite the recipe.”
“Yes, yes, yes,” Limuqun hurriedly recited the recipe he had prepared in advance: “Ten each of chicken and duck, the chickens must be just matured free-range chickens; one aged turtle, the older the better; five ginseng roots, each at least a hundred years old; one jin of dried abalone, must be palm-sized; ten jin each of refined grains. Then finely chop the chicken, duck, and fish into mince, simmer in a pot over a low flame, carefully skimming every bit of foam as it forms. When the broth is clear and bright, turn up the heat and stew with the ginseng and abalone for half an hour. Next, grind the grains finely, sift out impurities to take the essence, and finally add it into the broth just before finishing. Turn off the heat and let it steep. After it dries naturally, the Cloud Shell will be ready.”
“Grandmaster, did you catch all that?”
“I did write it down,” Zuo Qiu Li frowned slightly, her sharp memory as a Purple Mansion Cultivator naturally allowing her to remember at a glance. “But this list of ingredients and method… it’s unheard of and quite troublesome.”
“An ancient saying goes: ‘The food should be exquisite, and the meat finely cut.’ This delicacy demands grains to be ground as finely as possible and meat chopped with utmost care.”
“Hm, that does make some sense.”
Limuqun breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly activated his gift of persuasion, seizing the moment. “If there is no Cloud Shell today, Limuqun would die with regret!”
“Cicadas chirp.”
Zuo Qiu Li sealed Limuqun’s mouth with a wave of spiritual power. Hesitation flickered in her fox-like eyes.
Rationally, she knew she should kill him quickly, feast, then find a place to hide and cultivate in seclusion.
But emotionally—
She made up her mind, waving her delicate hand, and the Soul-locking Rope around Limuqun silently fell away.
“I’ll give you half a day. If you can’t produce this Cloud Shell, I have nine ways to make your life worse than death. Remember—nine ways!”
Limuqun could only stammer in response, nodding confidently and patting his chest.
Then he ran to the stone table filled with utensils, grabbed an empty iron pot, and waved it vigorously in front of Zuo Qiu Li.
Looking for ingredients? Zuo Qiu Li immediately understood, glancing at Limuqun as he selected pots and pans.
With a threatening tone, she said, “Young sir, stay put. Your meridians are sealed, and you have no spiritual power. The island is surrounded by piranhas—don’t waste your efforts.”
After speaking, as if still not convinced, she split off a Divine Sense onto Limuqun. Any abnormality, and she would detect it instantly.
Then, with a flicker of her figure, she vanished deeper into the cave.
No wonder she’s a fox—truly cunning and sly.
Limuqun spat in his heart. At the same time, he shouted, “System! Modify Zuo Qiu Li’s Interest1!”
‘Interest1 modification complete: tasting [delicacies] → tasting [Limuqun].’
Good, very good.
He grabbed the nearby cleaver and pots.
Plan: proceed smoothly.
In almost the blink of an eye, the space before him shimmered, and Zuo Qiu Li’s figure reappeared.
With a wave of her jade hand, chicken, duck, fish, and other ingredients spilled from her storage ring.
Traversing the Great Void indeed belongs only to Purple Mansion Cultivators.
Limuqun thought to himself.
Traversing the Great Void is a power only accessible to those at Purple Mansion level and above.
Purple Mansion Cultivators can cross the Sea of the Great Void with their powerful fleshly bodies, traveling tens of thousands of miles in the mortal world in an instant.
Simply put, it’s somewhat akin to hazard-free interdimensional travel.
“Here, there’s a small town nearby, so it’s convenient to find these things,” Zuo Qiu Li said, flicking the bloodstains from her palm with slight displeasure.
“But finding old fish is difficult. Luckily, there’s a thousand-year Carp Spirit at the bottom of the lake, a Foundation Establishment cultivator. It refused to submit to death, so I had to kill its entire family.”
Truly… brutal.
But Limuqun bore no heavy heart. Living near this demon fox, whether human or beast, one way or another, misfortune is inevitable. Dying early might as well be liberation.
No time to mourn the Carp Spirit. Next to arrive on the scene was the Culinary Master—Limuqun!
He grabbed the cleaver at his side and began chopping. With a flash of the blade, the chicken, duck, and fish fell precisely and evenly, as smooth as flowing clouds and water.
Zuo Qiu Li, observing and taking notes, gradually shifted from doubt to certainty.
This guy really has cooked before; he’s not lying.
But only Limuqun knew that even with his decent cooking skills, he could never truly produce the “Cloud Shell,” which only an industrial society could manufacture.
What he had to do now was just bluff Zuo Qiu Li into genuinely believing he had made something extraordinary.
Then, while she wasn’t paying attention, slip in a drop of his own blood.
Of course, Limuqun didn’t have the confidence to discreetly drip a drop of blood under the watchful eyes of a Purple Mansion Cultivator.
So he had prepared in advance—the real trick lay in the bowl holding the food!
The instant Zuo Qiu Li vanished, he cut his palm and dripped a drop of blood into the bowl.
Now that all of her attention was fixed on him, this distraction gave him the perfect opportunity for the switch.
Wu Yong outwitted the Birthday Tribute escorting Yang Zhi and his gold and silver. Ancestors’ wisdom, just learn from it!
After a round of what he considered a complicated mess, a steaming bowl of broth was placed in front of Zuo Qiu Li.
“Grandmaster, the Cloud Shell is ready!”
“This is your Cloud Shell? It looks rather ordinary.”
“This was just freshly made. It needs to dry and crystallize into powder to become a complete Cloud Shell.”
“But even so, the broth tastes quite good. You should try it.”
Zuo Qiu Li took the spoon hesitantly, scooped some broth, and sniffed it near her upturned nose.
Hmm… not as delicious as imagined.
Is this guy bluffing me?
She turned to examine Limuqun, who looked at her expectantly.
Could he have poisoned me?
But as a Qingqiu Fox Clan Descendant, she was naturally immune to all toxins. If he had any ill intent, it would surely fail.
After some thought, seeing no threat from Limuqun, Zuo Qiu Li took the spoon and tasted the broth.
System, I’m entrusting my life to you now. Don’t mess this up!
Watching the broth with his blood drop being lifted to those fiery red lips, Limuqun forced down his excitement and anxiety, closing his eyes to pray.
When he opened them slowly, the first thing that met his gaze was that supple, red tongue licking the bottom of the bowl—seductive, skillful, like a snake cleaning every drop of broth.
That’s right, System! This time, it’s perfect!
But as his eyes moved up, he froze.
On that stunningly beautiful, world-shaking face were tears.
Large drops of tears slid down her cheeks, making soft plopping sounds.
Right, right?
It should be right, shouldn’t it?
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