Gourmet of Another World

‘Temporary task: Please go to the capital of the Xiayi Divine Dynasty and open a branch there. Task reward: One Fruit of Law and two divine power liquid drops.’

The System’s serious voice sounded in Bu Fang’s head and gave him pause. ‘Go to the capital of the Xiayi Divine Dynasty? Isn’t this task a little too… difficult?’

A Divine Dynasty was made up of various great worlds, and many of them were first-class great worlds. The Netherworld was just a third-class great world, and it could not cause even a bubble in the Divine Dynasty.

And yet, the System asked Bu Fang to go to Xiayi Divine Dynasty? The task sounded simple, but in fact, it was very difficult. It was like asking a villager to open a company in a big city. The difficulty was unusually huge.

But the reward was lucrative. He would get a Fruit of Law and two divine power liquid drops when he completed the task! The benefit of the fruit needed no further explanation—it could allow Bu Fang to comprehend the Laws.

In any case, it was time for Bu Fang to leave the Netherworld. This world could no longer fulfill his needs. He needed a wider world and more turnover.

After announcing the task, the System fell silent, and Bu Fang was lost in thoughts. In the meantime, Mu Hongzi’s departure had brought life back to Yellow Spring City. The air began to ring with the din of the street vendors and customers, filled with the aroma of food.

Bu Fang closed the restaurant door and went into the Heaven and Earth Farmland. It was peaceful as usual, and with the improvement of his cultivation base, it had further expanded in size, now stretching as far as the eye could see.

With Niu Hansan, Bu Fang did not have to worry about cultivating the farmland. It was full of life and covered in lush green vegetation. All kinds of spirit beasts lived leisurely inside. In the River of Life, fish and prawns swam happily, Blood Lobsters waved their claws, and an octopus could be seen lying motionless at the bottom.

Shrimpy had turned into a stream of light and was swimming back and forth in the river. When it sensed Bu Fang’s arrival, it burst out of the water, turned into a golden beam of light, and appeared beside him in a flash, perching on his shoulder.

Bu Fang raised his hand and rubbed Shrimpy’s head. At this moment, his apprentices gathered around and glanced curiously at him. He spent some time coaching them before leaving them to take a stroll in the farmland.

Sometime later, he came in front of the Immortal Tree and took a seed from it. He had promised the Immortal Tree to do this. After that, he continued to walk for a while, then left the farmland.

Bu Fang’s Heaven and Earth Farmland was growing larger, and its spiritual energy was getting richer. With so many high-grade living beings and food ingredients gathered inside, it had become his personal garden. But that was far from enough. He still needed to fill it with higher-grade living beings and ingredients.

After coming out of the farmland, Bu Fang unleashed his divine sense, tore the void, and stepped into it. When he came out of the void, he was already in the Immortal Cooking Realm.

In the boundless fifth layer, Realm Lord Di Tai knelt on the ground with a blank face. There was a huge hole in the ground next to him, where the Immortal Tree had been growing.

The Immortal Tree was Immortal Cooking Realm’s backbone. However, it was gone now, and yet the realm was still as prosperous and lively, and the concentration of the spiritual energy in the air was increasing instead of decreasing. This was somewhat strange.

Of course, although the spiritual energy did not decrease, Immortal Cooking Realm without the Immortal Tree seemed to be lacking something.

Realm Lord Di Tai slowly raised his head as if he had sensed Bu Fang’s arrival. He was a handsome man, but he looked much older now.

“Bu Fang…” he moved his dried, cracked lips and made a sound.

Bu Fang nodded. He had learned from Mu Hongzi that the latter had taken away the Immortal Tree. That was a heavy blow to Realm Lord Di Tai, but if truth be told, it was actually a blessing in disguise.

After taking away the Immortal Tree, Mu Hongzi would certainly nourish it to upgrade its level. Since Realm Lord Di Tai’s cultivation base and the Immortal Tree’s were fused as one, as long as the tree became a God, he would become a God as well.

Despite that, Realm Lord Di Tai still felt sad. It was as if he had lost his support after the Immortal Tree was gone.

Bu Fang had no intention to console him. Realm Lord Di Tai needed to get over it himself. He came to the huge hole in the ground. It was very deep, and he could not see its bottom at a glance. Then, he produced the Immortal Tree’s seed and flicked his finger. The seed flew out in an instant and fell into the hole.

With a rumble, the hole suddenly began to quiver, then tree branches shot out of it. For a moment, the whole realm shook, while many people cheered as they watched excitedly at the sudden phenomenon. The Immortal Tree had returned!

Realm Lord Di Tai watched with a blank face, but then tears trickled down his cheeks. This Immortal Tree was not the one he was familiar with…

Soon, the Immortal Tree, which was taken from Bu Fang’s Heaven and Earth Farmland, grew and became as tall as the previous one, swaying in the sky with luxuriant foliage and bringing hopes back to Immortal Cooking Realm.

…

Bu Fang did not return to Earth Prison but went to Nether Prison, where Mu Hongzi’s palace was built.

There was a tall building that rose into the sky from the center city of Nether Prison, which was located at the heart of Di Ting’s homeland. Beside it, a warship as huge as a mountain was docked. Mu Hongzi was standing at the edge of the warship, holding a cup of wine and feeling the wind.

Bu Fang came up to the warship and told Mu Hongzi that he was going to Xiayi Divine Dynasty.

Mu Hongzi wasn’t surprised at all. He seemed to know in advance that Bu Fang would certainly go there. He took out a jade pendant from his pocket and handed it to Bu Fang. That was his token, which was also one of his ways to protect his successor.

“When you are in Xiayi Divine Dynasty, show this token and everyone will show you some respect because of me,” he said.

Bu Fang put away the jade pendant with a strange look on his face. He wasn’t too sure if that would work. But Mu Hongzi smiled enigmatically at him, so he just closed his mouth and said nothing.

After learning more about Xiayi Divine Dynasty and asking for a star chart from Mu Hongzi, Bu Fang left and returned to Earth Prison. When he arrived at the restaurant, the sky had begun to brighten, so he opened the door and got ready for business.

It might be the last day of him opening the restaurant in Earth Prison. After today, he would set off for Xiayi Divine Dynasty. Of course, Yellow Spring Little Restaurant would not cease its operation. He would choose one of his apprentices to take care of it.

Since all his apprentices started to communicate with each other regularly, their cooking skills had reached an excellent level, which was enough to be the chef in this little restaurant. That was also one of the reasons Bu Fang was able to leave without worry.

On this day, the business of Yellow Spring Little Restaurant was still as busy as usual. The queue outside the door stretched as far as the city gate.

Mu Hongzi stood watching in the distance, wearing a gentle smile on his beautiful face. Di Ting was held in his arms and was narrowing his eyes comfortably.

“A booming restaurant. How I miss the smell of that… I wonder if you can continue to have such a thriving restaurant in the Xiayi Divine Dynasty? The chefs there are not easy to deal with.”

…

It was getting late, and the restaurant was closed for the day. Bu Fang shut the doors and called everyone: Nether King Er Ha, Tian Cang, Yellow Spring Great Sage, Lord Dog, Nethery, and the others.

They all sat down in chairs and looked at Bu Fang in confusion. Nethery’s eyes were deep. She could feel that Bu Fang seemed to have something important to tell them. Everyone straightened their clothes and sat properly, no longer smiling.

When Bu Fang told them that he was going to Xiayi Divine Dynasty, they were all taken aback. Lord Dog was the only one who didn’t look surprised. With his understanding of Bu Fang, he knew that this boy would not dwell in the Netherworld for long. In fact, when Mu Hongzi appeared, he knew that Bu Fang would leave this place one day.

“Lord Dog still wants to eat Sweet ‘n’ Sour Ribs. Bu Fang boy, wherever you go, Lord Dog will follow… Xiayi Divine Dynasty? Well, Lord Dog could also cause a storm there,” Lord Dog said, then yawned, his fat jiggling.

“Wherever Bu Fang goes, I’ll follow,” Nethery said, nodding her head, while Foxy in her arms also nodded with her claws clenched.

The corners of Bu Fang’s mouth curved upward slightly. It felt good to be trusted by someone. Then, he turned his eyes to Er Ha and Tian Cang.

Tian Cang shook his head, took a deep breath, and said, “Er Ha will go with you. I’m old, and I don’t want to trouble my old bones. I’ve died once already…”

Er Ha furrowed his brows.

Tian Cang patted him on the head. “Go out and see the world with Owner Bu. Make yourself at least a God before coming back… Let me be proud of you.”

Er Ha stared blankly at Tian Cang. He wanted to say something, but the words caught in his throat. Eventually, he said nothing.

Yellow Spring Great Sage didn’t want to leave. After living in the Netherworld for tens of thousands of years, he had developed a deep attachment to this place.

“Alright. You may get ready now. We will set off at the first light of dawn…” Bu Fang said.

The crowd was silent. Then, one by one, they turned and left. Er Ha and Tian Cang left together with their arms on each other’s shoulders. Lord Dog took the time to lay under the Path-Understanding Tree and sleep for a while. Nethery went upstairs and began to pack her luggage.

She came back down and waited in the restaurant before dawn, sitting on the deck of the Netherworld Ship with Foxy in her arms, swinging her fair legs. Flowery sat quietly beside her.

In the kitchen, Bu Fang was telling Xiao Xiaolong about things he should pay attention to and teaching him how to cook some dishes.

Finally, the time had come. Bu Fang walked out of the kitchen, followed by Whitey. The restaurant door opened with a creak. Outside, the morning star was blinking in the sky.

Mu Hongzi walked on air and stepped into the restaurant, landing in front of the crowd. “Are you all ready?” he asked with a gentle smile.

Bu Fang and the others nodded.

When he saw that, Mu Hongzi flipped his hand. A warship flew out from under his sleeve and grew as large as a house.

“I’ve set the coordinates of the nearest transport array in this warship. Once you arrive there, you will be able to perform void teleportation…” Mu Hongzi said. Suddenly, he turned his eyes to Nethery. Squinting, he told Bu Fang, “Don’t say I never warned you. When you are at Xiayi Divine Dynasty, this little girl will be very… popular.”