Chapter 1801: 1801

Rumble!

Space was crumbling. Tongtian’s pupils narrowed, and the Great Soul Overlords also squinted and turned their gazes over.

Bu Fang’s figure was obscured by a mist, which had knocked Whitey away. It was now scratching its bald head with a big hand in the distance, looking somewhat confused.

‘What’s going on?’ Tongtian frowned. Bu Fang was now in a situation he did not expect. ‘Is he done cooking?’ he thought to himself. ‘If that’s the case, our chance of destroying the portal might be here!’

The Great Soul Overlords who formed the Heavenly Demon Array exchanged glances. They did not know what was happening. Meanwhile, Sloth glanced at Bu Fang and twitched his lips in disdain. ‘Whatever the chef is trying to do, he will die. The most important thing now is for His Excellency Soul God to descend!’

“Ignore that and kill all of them!” Sloth said. “Don’t make a mistake.”

The giant Heavenly Demon nodded. The next moment, he walked toward Bu Fang with the great axe in hand.

Tongtian’s heart skipped a beat. He would not allow the giant to kill Bu Fang. Without hesitation, he sent out his sword, which tore through the sky and locked the demon in a battle.

Foxy was also attacking with all her might, constantly shooting one meatball after another.

…

Bu Fang felt that his consciousness was sinking into a bottomless ocean, falling deeper and deeper. Bubbles burst from his mouth occasionally to rise to the surface. He had no idea what was happening to him. Great pressure kept squeezing him from all around, trying to crush his flesh and soul.

Even then, all kinds of images flashed in front of his eyes. Some of them were scenes when he had just begun to learn cooking on Earth, and some were his proud moments in the Light Wind Empire. They kept being projected in front of him like an old movie of the eighties.

It was his journey of learning how to cook. These experiences were what had brought his cooking skills to the current height. No one was born a chef, and neither was Bu Fang, though his talent in cooking was already amazing when he was on Earth.

He opened his mouth to say something, but the seawater took the opportunity and rushed into his throat. His pupils narrowed—he was in pain. Was he not cooking the dish that combined the best ingredients of various universes in front of Hangu Pass? Why was he here? Where was this place?

Bu Fang was confused, and he felt cold. He swallowed. Slowly, his eyelids grew heavier, and his body kept sinking deeper and deeper…

…

Bu Fang opened his eyes. A faint smell wafted into his nose. It was the fragrance of food. That gave him pause. When he turned his head, he found himself standing in front of a restaurant.

‘Where am I…’ He frowned. Looking up, he saw the restaurant’s signboard over the door: Heaven and Earth Restaurant. Each of the characters was filled with a shocking will and glowing like the sun, so bright that Bu Fang could not look straight at it.

“Hey… Owner Mu’s restaurant is open today!”

“This is so rare! Owner Mu’s dishes are delicious!”

“Not only that, but he’s also very beautiful! Ha!”

People walked past Bu Fang. Some of them were clad in rich robes, while some were in rags or sackcloths. There were men and women, and they all came here for the restaurant. A long line of people stretched from the restaurant door to the other end of the street.

The business of the restaurant was booming, just like when Bu Fang opened his restaurant. Most of these people did not have a cultivation base, and those who did were negligible. He could easily wipe them out with just a gaze.

Suddenly, a few people walked straight at him and went through him—he could not touch them. ‘Oh? This is not a real world?’ Bu Fang was slightly taken aback. Putting his hands behind his back, he stepped into the restaurant.

It was very lively inside. The air was filled with the noises of cutlery knocking against bowls and plates, the sizzling of cooking, and the shouting of customers.

“Owner Mu! I’ll have fried beef, medium, please!”

“Do you have that sweet nectar today, Owner Mu? I’ll have one jar!”

“Right! Only a fool will not order Owner Mu’s sweet nectar in Heaven and Earth Restaurant! Ha!”

The customers shouted and joked with each other merrily as Bu Fang watched, frowning. The next moment, a familiar voice rang out of the kitchen. “You nasty people… Scram!” The tone suggested that the person was joking rather than scolding. Then, the curtain that separated the kitchen from the dining area was lifted, and a familiar figure came into Bu Fang’s sight.

‘Ugh? Mu Hongzi?’ Bu Fang froze. Yes, the familiar figure was none other than Mu Hongzi, the previous host of the System from the Chaotic Universe.

Holding the Dragon Bone Kitchen Knife, Mu Hongzi leaned against the door frame and scolded the diners with an amorous smile. Many people, men and women, were smitten by that smile. Such a look would never appear on Bu Fang’s face.

Mu Hongzi continued to talk with his customers as if he never saw Bu Fang. After watching for a while, Bu Fang began to walk in the restaurant. Its layout was almost identical to that of his restaurant. Perhaps what set them apart were the chef, the diners, and the atmosphere. Bu Fang was a cold chef who would not talk and joke with his customers.

‘Is this the projection of Mu Hongzi when he was walking the path of becoming the God of Cooking? And it seems like the beginning of his journey…’

Frowning, Bu Fang made his way to the kitchen. As this was only a projection, he could not lift the curtain with his hand. Through the cloth, he saw Whitey standing near the entrance, its purple eyes flashing. For a moment, Bu Fang thought the puppet saw him.

He moved on to enter the kitchen. Remembering that it was a restricted area, he wondered if he could bypass the restriction in his current state. Still, he walked into the kitchen. Nothing happened.

Inside, Mu Hongzi was busy cooking in front of the stove. He was alone. Food ingredients jumped under his kitchen knife, while oil sizzled in the wok and filled the air with a delicious aroma. From behind, he looked somewhat skinny and lonely…

‘Perhaps every chef is destined to be lonely,’ Bu Fang thought to himself. He retreated from the kitchen and came back to the joyous atmosphere of the restaurant.

Suddenly, everything around him burst like bubbles. The scene changed, and then he was in the restaurant again. But this time it was not Heaven and Earth Restaurant. The chef walking out of the kitchen was… the old man he met in Void City.

Unlike the stooped old man Bu Fang knew, this one was young, full of energy, and looked like someone optimistic about the future. And when he smiled, he showed everyone his white teeth.

“Enjoy the food and drink, folks! Just don’t forget to pay before you leave!” The young man smiled. Holding the Dragon Bone Kitchen Knife, he turned and stepped back into the kitchen. All the diners laughed.

The scene changed again, and Bu Fang found himself in another restaurant. He watched in silence, then he was presented with another restaurant, and another, and another…

Every chef had a different way of communicating with his customers. Bu Fang also discovered that these restaurants were all the first restaurants of the Hosts. That was when the Hosts were most motivated.

‘What is the meaning of showing me this?’ Bu Fang furrowed his brows. ‘Is it to remind me of something?’ He took a deep breath and felt as if something was pressing against his chest.

The last restaurant appeared. Bu Fang numbly lifted his foot and stepped inside…

“Smelly boss… I’ll have a bowl of Red Braised Meat and a Lees Fish!”

Bu Fang shuddered as he heard a familiar voice.

“Alright,” said a voice in an indifferent tone.

Bu Fang saw a lean silhouette in the kitchen. He breathed faster.

A cute Ouyang Xiaoyi blinked and skipped away from the window.

“Owner Bu’s dishes are the best!” said a fat guy. His lips glistened with grease as he ate, his eyes narrowed. This was Fatty Jin of the Light Wind Empire, who Bu Fang had not met for a very long time.

Ji Chengxue, sitting on a chair, took a sip of wine from the cup he was holding. “Alas… With his excellent cooking skills, he will certainly have a bright future if he joins the imperial kitchen. What a pity,” he said and sighed.

Bu Fang stared as these familiar but long-lost acquaintances appeared before him. The old emperor’s bent back, Lian Fu’s flattering smile when he looked at Lord Dog and pinched his thumb and index finger together… These scenes struck his chest hard like a hammer.

Suddenly, Whitey, standing in a dark corner of the kitchen, fixed its purple eyes at Bu Fang. The lean figure, who had just talked to Ouyang Xiaoyi, also turned to look in his direction. That got Bu Fang a little nervous, and he quickly ran out of the restaurant in panic.

Rumble!

The scene broke into pieces and fell apart. Bu Fang felt like he was suffocating. He struggled violently, while bubbles spurted out of his mouth and nose, rising to the surface. His eyes grew wider and wider.

‘What is the meaning of showing me all the previous Hosts?! Is it to remind me of something? What is it? What is it that you want to remind me of?! What have I missed? Tell me! TELL ME!”

Bu Fang demanded soundlessly. The next moment, an extremely strong pressure erupted. He rushed out of the water and came to the surface, panting for breath.

The five Artifact Spirits stared at him from above. Then, their eyes seemed to be moving away from him. Higher up in the sky, the God of Cooking’s Menu emitted a golden light as usual, but the light was burning him…

…

In the Heaven and Earth Farmland, Niu Hansan was enjoying the gentle breeze with a grass stalk dangling from the corner of his mouth. All of a sudden, his pupils narrowed.

“What happened?!”

He sucked in a cold breath and fell from the chair. As he looked up and glanced around, he saw black streamers close in from all directions as if to devour the farmland.

“Dammit! What’s going on?!” Niu Hansan was breathless. The farmland was the product of Bu Fang’s will. Now that it was being devoured, that could only mean… Bu Fang’s will was being gradually devoured!

“Who or what is devouring Owner Bu’s will?!” He was anxious, but there was nothing he could do. He could only pray that Bu Fang would overcome the challenge.

…

A rumbling sound rang out in the quiet Void City. Duchess Yunlan, sitting cross-legged in midair outside the city, trembled and turned to look at the tightly shut palace. A look of disbelief came over her face.

Cursey, holding a Death Spicy Strip between her lips and leaning against the wall, stared thoughtfully at the Queen of Curses’ palace.

…

In the Temple of Heavengod Time, Lord Dog lay on the ground and looked at the gloomy sky. Er Ha, surrounded by girls, also turned his gaze up at the sky, his face darkening. They had a bad feeling that something was about to happen.

…

Bu Fang was being suppressed, hardly able to move. He found that the Vermilion Robe he was wearing was beginning to disintegrate, drifting away like ashes. The Dragon Bone Kitchen Knife was melting, and the Black Turtle Constellation Wok was cracking…

He was shaken to his core. Was it because… he had failed? He had failed to cook that dish, so the God of Cooking’s will was taking everything away from him?!

Bu Fang looked up at the sky. ‘What is the God of Cooking’s will…’ He kept asking himself in his mind. The journey of watching a hundred Hosts had provided him with some clues.

In every restaurant he went to, Whitey was staring at him. Why did it do that? Bu Fang had always thought that Whitey was a lifeless puppet, but he found that he was wrong. The eyes of Whitey in all the one hundred Hosts’ kitchens had the same deep look that filled him with an oppressive feeling.

Bu Fang guessed that the System was the God of Cooking’s will, and the manifestation of that will was… Whitey! Or rather, Whitey was the God of Cooking?!

Bu Fang was breathing heavily. He felt that his body was going to melt and his will was getting blurred. Was he going to be… obliterated?