Chapter 1826: 1826

“You’re finally back!” said a familiar voice.

Bu Fang nodded. The man in front of him was none other than Suiren, the supreme human emperor who was guarding the Ancestral Planet with his life.

A fire was burning in the cave. Bu Fang sat down beside it. Now that Soul God was suppressed, the three human emperors seemed much relaxed. At least, they did not look so tensed up as the first time he saw them.

“Stop looking. I’m the only one left in the cave now. After Soul God was suppressed, the other two old men had left a clone behind and went to travel the mortal world. When they return, they might come back with a few children,” Suiren said and laughed.

Sitting beside the fire, he studied Bu Fang curiously. He was not surprised by his return. In fact, he had found Bu Fang extraordinary when they met. He knew that someone like him would have a limitless future. And what he saw now proved that he was right. He could no longer see through Bu Fang’s cultivation base.

Whitey and Wushuang came up to them from the distance.

“Come, sit down and accompany this old man.” Suiren narrowed his eyes and smiled. With the pressure brought by the Soul Demons gone, he was a little bored, and because they no longer attacked Earth’s cosmic barrier, he had no barbecue to eat.

Wushuang was a little uncomfortable with Suiren’s enthusiasm. However, he also understood that this was an old senior who was much stronger than him. Judging by his aura, he was at least a Chaotic Saint.

Bu Fang nodded. He sat beside the fire with Suiren and began chatting with the old man. They were really chatting. He talked about what he had seen and seen in the world during his five hundred years as a mortal, what he had learned from opening the restaurant after coming back to life, and the interesting things he had encountered when he traveled across the starry sky.

It was the first time Wushuang learned that Bu Fang could be so talkative. Whitey, on the other hand, fixed its mechanical eyes at the fire, dazed.

As Suiren listened, he would sometimes laugh or nod in agreement. He had lived much longer, and his thoughts and feelings for many things were much deeper than Bu Fang.

Wushuang did not interrupt the conversation between the old man and the young man.

Time passed. The sky grew dark, then bright again. Bu Fang sat cross-legged in the cave and stopped talking at last. The atmosphere was very quiet, and the only sound was the crackling of the fire.

A long time later, Suiren breathed a long sigh. “It must be hard for you to stick with it… It is very tiring to persist in walking the same path,” he said.

His sigh was filled with mixed feelings. As the human emperor, he should be high and mighty, yet he was willing to guard the Ancestral Planet with his life and almost died when the Soul Demons attacked Earth. It all comes from the persistence in his heart.

Now, he could only listen to Bu Fang as a listener. He did not have the ability to help him anymore.

After their conversation ended, Bu Fang took out ingredients from his storage space. They were not all ordinary—some had the powerful aura of a Saint of the Great Path, while others had weak auras like mortal ingredients.

Nowadays, Bu Fang no longer pursued the finest ingredients. He would look for the right ingredients and use them for cooking, no matter what their levels were. Besides, the combination of different ingredients would produce new dishes. This was the charm of cooking.

What he took out was the bird thigh of a Saint of the Great Path. It was huge. He skewed it with a wooden stake and placed it over the flame, slowly roasting it.

“Oh, I can finally taste your cooking again! It’s been hundreds of years since I last had a piece of meat… At last, I can eat something juicy again!” Suiren rubbed his hands and looked eager to try the leg.

Wushuang was somewhat speechless. He did not expect this old senior to be so… straightforward.

Bu Fang was expressionless—he was serious when he began cooking. His cooking style was completely different from the past. He no longer used those fancy techniques. Instead, he focused on fusing emotions into the dishes.

As the flame was roasting the bird thigh inch by inch, its color began to gradually change. Grease trickled down from it in rivulets and dripped into the flame, causing the fire to burn stronger and brighter.

Bu Fang slowly turned the stake at a steady pace, not too fast nor too slow. Soon, a rich aroma wafted out of the thigh. It was a meaty aroma that seemed to penetrate deep into one’s heart, intoxicating and emotion-provoking.

“It smells so delicious!”

Suiren roared, his face flushing. Wushuang stared at him in shock.

“Hehe, pardon me for being so excited. It’s been too long since I last smelled something so delicious,” Suiren said, smiling. He rubbed his hands and stroked his beard, drooling.

The corners of Bu Fang’s mouth lifted slightly. While the meat was being cooked over the fire, he took out a few porcelain bowls and handed them to Suiren, Wushuang, and Whitey.

The bird thigh grew more and more golden, and the rich aroma swirled around it like silk. With a shake of his hand, Bu Fang produced a dagger made of star essences. He pressed his thumb against its back, slowly brought it down, and cut a piece of roast meat. As grease dripped, he threw it into Suiren’s bowl.

Although the meat was still hot, the human emperor hurriedly grabbed it and shoved it into his mouth. The moment he began to chew, he was stunned.

‘This roast meat… It’s different from all the roast meat I’ve eaten! What is that thing flowing in my mouth? It is… emotion… An emotion that can’t be described with words…’

Suiren’s eyes were misty. As he chewed the roast meat, he thought of many things in the past. Back then, he was still a youth who walked across the Ancestral Planet. The whole world was dark, and he, with the forwardness of youth, had brought the first ray of light in the darkness of the night on the planet!

With the passage of time, the youth had grown into a gray-haired old man now. Suiren swallowed the meat and sighed. Unbeknown to him, he had lived for such a long time.

He sniffled, stuffed another piece of roast meat Bu Fang had placed in his bowl into his mouth, and wiped his greasy beard with a hand. He was filled with happiness.

“My barbecue skill is no longer as good as yours… Under the starry sky, you won’t find a person whose barbecue tastes better than yours… I guarantee that!”

Suiren wiped the wetness at the corners of his eyes with the back of his hand. Bu Fang’s cooking skills were growing too quickly. He was already a superb chef in the past, but Suiren could still beat him with barbecue. But now… Suiren thought he’d better just focus on eating.

Wushuang was eating the roast meat as well. He felt the passage of time and recalled the hundreds of years he had spent with Bu Fang. That filled him with mixed emotions.

Whitey grabbed a piece of roast meat, opened its mechanical mouth, and placed it inside. Its mechanical eyes lit up in an instant, and a pinkish hue seemed to creep across its white metal face. It clapped its huge hands to praise the deliciousness of the meat.

Bu Fang smiled and continued to cut the bird thigh. One piece of roast meat after another was cut and placed in the bowls. As the meat continued to cook over the fire, its aroma grew stronger, and its texture grew more tender.

Suiren was satisfied. The three of them had a hearty meal. The happiness of enjoying great food was one of the purest emotions of human beings.

After they had finished the meat, Bu Fang took out a jar of fine wine and filled a cup for Suiren. Nothing beats a cup of wine after eating barbecue. Suiren thought this was one of the happiest moments in his life.

When they had had their fill, Bu Fang brought up the important topic. “Before Soul God was sealed, he seemed to be looking for something in the Ancestral Planet. Do the human emperors know what that thing is?”

Suiren took a sip of wine and stroked his beard. “Soul God can only return to this world after collecting all his body parts… What do you think he is missing?” he asked.

“One of his arms was in the Chaotic Universe, and his lower body was sealed under Void City. His head, upper body, and another arm were in the Primitive Universe and the Soul Demon Universe… What is he missing?” Bu Fang did not know the answer.

“He’s missing a heart.” Suiren took another sip of wine, then lay down on his side. The firelight flashed on his face.

“A heart? Soul God is missing a heart?” That gave Bu Fang pause. “Why does he need a heart when he is walking the Ruthless Path?” he said, frowning.

“The heart is the source of power. Whether it is the Ruthless Path or the Emotional Path, they cannot exist without the heart… Therefore, it is impossible for Soul God to spare Earth.” Suiren sighed.

Only with the heart could one be ruthless. A person without a heart had no emotions, and he would never be able to reach the pinnacle. In fact, ruthlessness was also a kind of emotion.

Suiren’s words sent Bu Fang into deep thought. Obviously, he did not expect this. In that case, where was Soul God’s heart hidden on Earth? He did not know. Perhaps he should go out and find it?

“Don’t waste your time. You won’t find it… It can only be found by Soul God himself after he wakes up.” Suiren seemed to see through everything.

Bu Fang nodded and stopped thinking about this. Wushuang and Whitey were eating roast meat to the side. They were not strong enough to interfere in these problems.

For the next few days, Bu Fang stayed in the cave and cooked various delicacies. Suiren was so happy and satisfied that he did not want to let Bu Fang leave. However, he knew that Bu Fang would certainly leave. It was impossible for him to stay here forever.

Finally, after one month, Bu Fang took his leave with Whitey and Wushuang. Suiren stood at the entrance to the cave with his hands clasped behind his back as he watched them leave. He sighed. He was going to spend his days without meat again.

…

Time flew. Another few hundred years had passed. The atmosphere between heaven and earth was beginning to change.

The Soul Demon Universe, which seemed to be sealed, was beginning to stir. Soul Demons were sighted in the world once again.

The seven Great Soul Overlords who were sacrificed by Soul God were all replaced, and their minions had appeared in the Primitive Universe, the Chaotic Universe, and outside Void City. Many lesser universes were wiped out by them.

Everything of the Soul Demons was given by Soul God. So even though he had sacrificed the seven Great Soul Overlords, they still held him as their supreme leader. Their ultimate goal was to resurrect Soul God, who was the soul of all the Soul Demons!

…

All that was left of the dish suspended in the starry sky outside Pangu Pass was a small piece that anyone could finish in one gulp. The monstrous power of the Great Sins swirled around it like a great monster, and a terrifying aura was making the whole universe shake.

Triggered by the aura, the arrays around the dish were emanating mighty power. A round black bead had formed beside the dish, and streams of black smoke could be seen swirling inside. Suddenly, the bead transformed into an eye.

The crimson eye stared coldly at the outside world, at Hangu Pass.

“Where is that damn chef?!”