Liu Xing laughed dryly. Looking at Lu Yang and Zhu Tian, he felt he had inadvertently stumbled upon something he wasn’t supposed to know.

This is the Demon Emperor Zhu Tian, the ruler of billions of demons. Although I’m a Fusion cultivator, I am as insignificant as an ant before the Demon Emperor, easily crushed at any moment.

“If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave first.” Liu Xing smiled ingratiatingly and backed out of the room.

“Stop there,” Zhu Tian ordered calmly, activating his Law of the Jungle Incipient Dao Fruit and leaving an imprint on Liu Xing’s spirit platform. “You must not tell anyone you met me.”

Liu Xing’s eyes went vacant. He woodenly uttered, “Yes.” Only after he walked out of the inn did he regain his senses.

“There are dancers?” Yun Mengmeng peered over the door threshold with a piece of beef jerky in her mouth. Sure enough, she saw many female demon dancers in the corridor, each retaining some demon characteristics, none of which she recognized.

“There really are. Lots of people are outside the Second-in-Command’s door.”

Zhu Tian broke out into a cold sweat. He had long wanted to establish a connection with Lu Yang but had no idea what to gift him. Thus, he cultivated a group of female attendants. This time, he thought he finally had a chance to present the dancers he had trained for Lu Yang, but he hadn’t expected the latter to bring Yun Mengmeng along.

“I was worried you wouldn’t be accustomed to staying in Demon City, Brother Lu, so I took the liberty of finding a few quick-witted female attendants for you.”

“Thank you for your kindness, Monarch Zhu, but I’m used to an idle life. Please take them back.”

“Sure.” Seeing that Lu Yang didn’t dwell on the matter, Zhu Tian breathed a small sigh of relief.

“Actually, the reason I came to see you is to ask about something, Brother. It’s a doubt I’ve long had, but I’ve never found the right opportunity to voice it.”

“What is it?”

Zhu Tian sat up straight, prepared to consult Lu Yang earnestly. Seeing this, Lu Yang couldn’t help but feel uneasy, wondering what Zhu Tian could possibly want to ask.

“Brother Lu, I’m not sure if you have noticed, but there was no news of half-immortals in the cultivation world before I awoke. The two factions, Great Qian and Great Yu, were also hidden. But ever since I woke up, half-immortals have emerged one after another, and even several unexpected immortals have appeared!

“Do you think my emergence could have triggered the Battle of the Great Era?”

“Now that you mention it, that does seem to be the case.” Lu Yang hadn’t considered this before. But when Zhu Tian brought it up, he realized that Zhu Tian might be the source of it all. After Zhu Tian’s revival, Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi had appeared one after another, and Great Yu and Great Qian had also rushed to reveal themselves.

“So you agree, Brother Lu?” Zhu Tian had always felt he was no ordinary figure. After all, apart from Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi, I am the number one below immortals. Awakening in this era can’t be a coincidence; it must have some significance.

Upon receiving Lu Yang’s acknowledgement, Zhu Tian grew even more convinced of his view.

After seeing Zhu Tian off, Lu Yang’s fatigue largely dissipated.

“Sister Mengmeng, shall we go for a stroll?”

“Let’s go!”

Yun Mengmeng had been lying on the bed spread-eagled like the character “大.” Hearing Lu Yang’s invitation, she bounced up in an instant.

Considering his fame, Lu Yang could be recognized the moment he stepped out, so he put on a mask and altered his appearance.

“Come to think of it, this mask was given to me by the Dijiang Tribe.” The Dijiang Tribe’s mask is indeed very useful.

As soon as the two stepped out, a fragrant aroma assailed their nostrils. No map was needed. They could follow the scent straight to the main venue of the Spirit Chef Competition.

After crossing two streets, they saw the market filled with pushcarts, where spirit chefs showcased their skills, using this method to promote their culinary philosophies.

These spirit chefs came from all over the world. The lowest cultivation among them was only the Foundation Establishment Stage, while the highest reached the Divine Transfiguration Stage. No matter how high their statuses were elsewhere, they were merely street food vendors here.

In fact, calling them “street food vendors” wasn’t entirely accurate. After all, no ordinary vendor would engage in live combat with demon beasts, following the principle of “kill first, eat first” to maintain the freshness of ingredients.

A Divine Transfiguration three-eyed cow demon scraped the ground with its hooves. Letting out a moo, it charged at the vendor.

Unfazed, the vendor clenched his fists, his muscles bulging so much that they burst his clothes. To everyone’s surprise, he overpowered the three-eyed cow demon in a contest of strength.

With a jolt of his arm, he hurled the cow demon into the air. Then, he produced a gleaming boning knife from behind his waist. Different from ordinary boning knives, its handle was gold.

The vendor leaped, reaching the same height as the cow demon.

“Boning Knife Technique!”

Swish, swish, swish.

The vendor’s knife technique was exquisite and so rapid that only afterimages remained. In the blink of an eye, the cow demon was stripped down to its skeleton, with snowflake-like slices of beef neatly arranged on a plate.

The surrounding gourmands erupted in cheers.

“Excellent knife work!”

“Beautiful!”

“To have refined such an ordinary boning knife technique to perfection, could he be the legendary Master Golden Knife?”

“A golden boning knife—it must be him!”

Lu Yang also saw a spirit chef punching a turtle shell until it shattered into pieces, another conjuring numerous sword qi to chop vegetables and mince meat, and yet another controlling a hundred large pots simultaneously, demonstrating astonishingly strong spiritual consciousness.

He felt that spirit chefs became a respectable profession not simply because cooking could increase one’s cultivation.

Demon beasts were different from demons. The former were merely beasts with cultivation, and the demons didn’t regard them as their own kind. Demon beasts were even part of the demons’ diet. Otherwise, the Spirit Chef Alliance wouldn’t have dared to hold its competition in Demon City.

As they walked around, a young boy staggered up to Lu Yang, cupping his fists. “Seniors, I am Song Tianjing, the seventh-generation heir of Essence-Nourishing Tower. Could you lend me some spirit stones?”

“Essence-Nourishing Tower?” Lu Yang repeated. He had never heard of the place. Yun Mengmeng also shook her head.

“Why come to us to borrow spirit stones?” Lu Yang noted that the young boy was only at the Foundation Establishment Stage and was no threat to him.

I’m in disguise; no one can tell I’m Lu Yang. Why has he approached me specifically?

“Immortal Fairy, he’s at the Foundation Establishment Stage, right?” Just to be safe, Lu Yang verified it with the Everlasting Immortal Fairy.

“Yes.”

“That’s good then.”

“With your extraordinary bearings, seniors, you must hail from a great faction.”

“Interesting. Come with me.”

Lu Yang led the boy to a shop and ordered three bowls of soup.

“Tell me your background in detail. Why do you need spirit stones, and what do you plan to do?”

“My name is Song Tianjing. Essence-Nourishing Tower is a restaurant founded by my ancestor. It was passed down through six generations, but by my father’s time, it had gradually declined.

“Although my father wished to become a spirit chef, his talent was limited. He could never pass the exam. Growing despondent, he spent his days gambling.

“Later, the gambling den set their sights on Essence-Nourishing Tower due to its reputation and devised a scheme to swindle my father. Blinded by greed, my father gambled more and more, eventually mortgaging Essence-Nourishing Tower.

“When those people came to collect Essence-Nourishing Tower, my father finally realized he had been tricked and was filled with regret.

“In a fit of rage, he passed away. On his deathbed, he grasped my hand and asked me to buy back the Essence-Nourishing Tower.

“To redeem Essence-Nourishing Tower, I first need to become a spirit chef. That’s why I came to Demon City. But my home is too far away, and I spent all my travel budget just to arrive here, so I wanted to borrow some spirit stones from you two seniors to rent a stall.

“With my cooking skills, I’ll be able to repay you quickly!”

Seeing that Lu Yang still seemed hesitant, Song Tianjing gritted his teeth and whipped out a tattered ancient book from his robes. “My ancestor happened to obtain this remnant of an ancient text and set up the Essence-Nourishing Tower. If you don’t trust me, I’ll pawn this remnant ancient book to you!”

Lu Yang took the ancient book and looked at it. Comprehensive Culinary Compendium?