Chapter 44

As the night fell, the two crescent moons towering above called out to each other and radiated ice-cold moonlight like a mysterious veil across the world .

Imperial city, great hall of the Xiao manor .

"Father, is elder sister… alright?" Xiao Xiaolong was filled with anxiety and his face was full of dread . He was afraid that his father would say the words he feared the most .

Xiao Yanyu's beautiful face was extremely pale and her lively eyes had become spiritless . Underneath her pasty skin, there was a black vein roaming about as her life force continued to deplete .

The burly Xiao Meng was gloomily standing next to Xiao Yanyu . As he slowly withdrew the true energy used to examine her, his dashing eyebrows were knitted together and were almost touching . A trace of killing intent, deeply hidden in his eyes, was starting to stir .

"Who did this?! How did Yanyu become like this?" Xiao Meng coldly asked, suppressing his anger as he spoke .

"We… went to Fang Fang's Little Store and met… met elder brother . " Xiao Xiaolong was slightly trembling and had some difficulty breathing due to Xiao Meng's intimidation . A seventh grade Battle-Saint's fury was not something that an ordinary person could endure .

Xiao Meng turned his head and attentively looked toward him . "Who did you say you met? Xiao Yue?"

"Yes . . . "

"So, he's the one who injured Yanyu?" Xiao Meng gritted his teeth and coldly asked . His fists were tightly clenched together as he suppressed his boundless fury .

Xiao Xiaolong was startled and he quickly denied it . Subsequently, he conveyed everything that happened within the store to Xiao Meng .

"You're saying that Yanyu was injured by the store's puppet?" There was no expression on Xiao Meng's face, but Xiao Xiaolong was even more frightened now . He knew that the type of anger that was not shown was the most terrifying .

"The owner said… he can save elder sister three days from now," Xiao Xiaolong said .

"And you actually believed him? You're letting someone of unknown background dictate your elder sister's life?" Xiao Meng coldly smiled as he glanced at Xiao Xiaolong, causing him to feel as if he was plunged into icy waters .

"Go back first . I've already invited the imperial physicians over . Hopefully, they'll be able to save your elder sister . " Xiao Meng tiredly beckoned the dejected Xiao Xiaolong to leave .

After Xiaolong left, Xiao Meng ordered the servants to bring Xiao Yanyu back to her room and he disappeared from the spot after taking a step .

"I'd like to see what kind of person would dare to injure my daughter," Xiao Meng's gloomy voice resounded .

. . .

Under the night sky, Fang Fang's Little Store seemed a little tranquil . The alleyway was deep and quiet, and light was seeping out from the gaps between the tightly shut door boards .

The big black dog was lazily lying at the entrance with its eyes closed, maintaining its immutable sleeping position as if sleep was the dog's greatest hobby .

"Hmm?" The eyes of the big black dog that were shut tight suddenly quivered, then slightly opened and puzzledly looked toward an empty space .

It saw a figure striding in the air and approaching Fang Fang's Little Store with a solemn expression . The aura coming from the figure was stifling and terrifying .

Xiao Meng was standing proudly in the air with his hands behind his back as he looked down upon the store . His eyes suddenly focused onto the body of the big black dog lying at the entrance .

"A big black dog?" Xiao Meng slightly muttered . His expression gradually changed from being unconcerned to a grave look as he intently stared at the dog .

It was an unfathomable dog! Xiao Meng was bewildered . He was unable to see through the dog . Even though the other party was only lazily lying there, Xiao Meng felt that if he tried to destroy the store, the dog would definitely give him a devastating retaliation .

"A mysterious store and a mysterious dog… It really isn’t simple . " Xiao Meng was unnerved . He was suddenly slightly convinced by what Xiao Xiaolong had said . Perhaps the owner would really be able to save his daughter three days later .

"If you can't save my daughter in three days, then, even if I have to risk my old life, I will make sure this store is buried with my daughter," Xiao Meng coldly snorted to himself . Then his figure instantly flew across the sky and disappeared .

The big black dog indifferently glanced at the direction where Xiao Meng disappeared . It opened its mouth and yawned . Then it snorted and continued with its sleep .

Bu Fang, who was within the store, did not realize what just happened outside the store at all . At the moment, he was fully focused on learning the Elixir Cuisine, the cooking method of the Sage Herb Phoenix Chicken Soup .

"Elixir Cuisine: Elixirs with medicinal value are blended together with ingredients, which are rich in spirit energy, that also fulfill the requirements of being used in medicines . Special cooking techniques are used to process the elixir and ingredients to produce a medicinal cuisine that possesses color, smell, taste and healing capabilities," the system explained .

"Sage Herb Phoenix Chicken Soup: It is a soup cooked using the fifth grade spirit herb Heavenly Sage Herb from the Wildlands, the fifth grade spirit beast Blood Phoenix Chicken and numerous spirit herbs based on a strict proportion . This soup possesses life force recovery as well as blood and energy replenishment capabilities . The medicinal value is extremely high but there is a strict requirement regarding the proportion allocation of the spirit herbs . "

Bu Fang finished reading the cooking method of the Sage Herb Phoenix Chicken Soup . He was not familiar with medicinal cuisines as he did not possess much knowledge about them . Even though he understood the rationale behind the strict proportion, putting it into practice was not so simple .

"I should just immediately start practicing . " Bu Fang frowned and decided to attempt the cooking method of the medicinal cuisine .

"The system will prepare three servings of ingredients for the host . The host will only have three tries to complete the dish . " The system's solemn voice rang out once more, startling Bu Fang . With only three servings of ingredients, he could only fail twice .

He earnestly studied the recipe of the Elixir Cuisine once more . As he took a deep breath, his eyes were brimming with confidence .

Without Bu Fang knowing, a gigantic cupboard had appeared within the kitchen . It was placed separately on one side and the three servings of ingredients mentioned by the system were inside .

As Bu Fang opened the door of the cupboard, a dense amount of spirit energy immediately gushed out, causing all of the pores on his body to slightly open .

"Gugu . . . "

At the bottom layer of the cupboard, three chicken cages were installed . Each of the cages had a beautiful chicken that had feathers as red as blood .

Bu Fang expressionlessly thought, "So, the chickens are alive… I thought the system had already processed them . "

"The system has already sealed off the cultivation level of the Blood Phoenix Chicken . The host only needs to follow the normal procedure of handling a chicken . Reminder: the body of the chicken must be completely preserved . The comb of the Blood Phoenix Chicken must not be damaged . "

Bu Fang skillfully grabbed one of the Blood Phoenix Chicken from the chicken cages while it desperately flapped its wings and loudly clucked .

A Blood Phoenix Chicken with its cultivation level sealed was no different from a free-range chicken on Earth . Of course, the appearance was an exception .

The Blood Phoenix Chicken was extremely good-looking . It had a streamlined body and its comb was both large and red, as if it was filled with blood . Its feathers were vermillion red and remarkably eye-catching, while its beak was dark red . From afar, it looked like a burning flame .

The fifth grade spirit beast Blood Phoenix Chicken was actually not that strong when it came to fighting . At the very least, it was quite weak compared to other fifth grade spirit beasts . However, its movement speed was very fast, which was why it was rated fifth grade . Of course, within Fang Fang's Little Store the Blood Phoenix Chicken was no different from any ordinary chicken . It could not even struggle while a third grade Battle-Maniac with no combat ability like Bu Fang easily slaughtered it .

Bu Fang skillfully processed the Blood Phoenix Chicken and had almost perfectly handled it . Then he proceeded to take out all sorts of valuable herbs from the cupboard .

These spirit herbs were full of spirit energy and the amount leaking out had completely enveloped the kitchen, making it seem like a paradise . The spirit energy seeping out of the Heavenly Sage Herb was especially dense and was almost forming clouds .

Following the instructions in the recipe, Bu Fang first created a hole on the Sage Herb and poured the aromatic juice into a bowl . The bowl was half filled when he was done . Then, he used an exquisite knife technique to slice the Sage Herb .

Bu Fang stuffed spirit herbs into the stomach of the Blood Phoenix Chicken while following the proportions in the recipe . Then he took out a clay pot and placed the entire Blood Phoenix Chicken into it . He filled the clay pot with water from a spirit spring and started to simmer it .

After half an hour, he opened the lid and poured in the Sage Herb juice and let it continue to simmer .

This time, he let the pot continue to simmer for another two hours . The fragrance of the chicken meat was accompanied by the aromatic smell of the Sage Herb as it slowly seeped out from the clay pot . It was like mist as it floated within the kitchen without dissipating .

"Did I succeed?" Bu Fang was slightly surprised .

However, in the next moment, the system's solemn voice rang out in his mind .

"The host's first attempt has failed . "