Swoosh…
A wave of mysterious energy surged from Immortal Chef Little Store.
Bu Fang stood still as motes of white light hovered above his head.
The voice of the system echoed in his mind.
"Teleportation will now begin."
As soon as the system said that, Bu Fang felt the motes of white light suddenly accelerate. They were so fast that each one of them could rip the void.
A mysterious wave of energy began to expand.
Bu Fang raised his head and looked at the motes of white light, his eyes becoming unfocused.
The motes of white light were the system's teleport formation.
Bu Fang was not strong enough to grasp this concept before, but now, as he studied the motes of white light, he felt the aura of a mysterious energy, which seemed to slap his face. It felt like the Great Path or the Principle…
It was incredibly mysterious and profound.
The moment Bu Fang sought to dig further, a formidable suction force burst out of the formation. Then, a column of white light suddenly rocketed into the sky.
Swoosh.
Boom!
A loud explosion rattled the vicinity.
The column of white light pierced through the sky, and eventually, through the entire Immortal Cooking Realm, seemingly like a lance.
The inhabitants of every layer of the Immortal Cooking Realm looked up at the sky in bewilderment. When they saw the column of light that pierced the sky, they could not help gasping in surprise.
…
Lord Dog, who was lying down, opened his eyes and glanced at the white light. He snorted, white fog fuming out of his nostrils.
Nethery sat in her Netherworld Ship, dangling her slender, fair legs. She was in deep thought as she looked at the light column, her black eyes reflecting its radiance.
Meanwhile, in the dark, Liu Mobai's body slowly emerged. He gazed up at the column of white light and exhaled.
...
Fourth Layer, Immortal Cooking Realm
City Lord Meng Qi sat cross-legged within the clouds. The rushing wind caused her immortal robe to flap, which accentuated the curves of her graceful body.
She looked at the white light, her long eyelashes fluttering. Then, she closed her eyes, as though she had begun to pray.
…
Fifth Layer, Immortal Cooking Realm.
In front of the wooden house, Ya Ya knelt atop a prayer mat. Her hands were clasped in front of her chest, and her head was hung low. She slowly opened her eyes and gazed at the light in the sky, hope filling her gaze.
Realm Lord Di Tai walked out of the wooden house. His shiny, golden hair fluttered.
When he spotted the column of white light, his pupils dilated.
"Ya Ya, draw a list of all unowned immortal flames. The day he returns with victory is the day we give him that gift," Realm Lord Di Tai instructed.
Ya Ya was perplexed, but she stood up anyway and walked into the wooden house.
"We are counting on you, Little Bu Bu. If you can bring back water from the Spring of Life, I will offer you a bowl of wine!" Realm Lord Di Tai mumbled.
A moment later, he took a deep breath and covered his face, immersing himself in his thoughts. "No. One bowl is a lot… Just half a bowl then."
…
After some time, the column of white light began to fade and eventually vanished.
Bu Fang was so bewildered. He was standing on solid ground.
That firm feeling made him exhale in relief.
When the brilliant glow around him vanished, the blurry scene in front of him soon became clearer, and he could finally see the area around him.
"System, where did you teleport me?" Bu Fang asked the system with a frown.
"The God Vanishing Mountain is a forbidden land in Earth Prison. The system cannot teleport you there directly, so you will need to run all the way there yourself. This place, however, is the area outside the God Vanishing Mountain, the Goddess City."
The serious voice of the system echoed in Bu Fang's mind. After that, silence followed, and he didn't hear anything more from it.
Bu Fang was a little confused.
Goddess City, which is outside the God Vanishing Mountain?
Err...
Where is it?
Bu Fang rubbed his forehead, as though he had a serious headache.
"If I had known this earlier, I would have asked Lord Dog for a map of Earth Prison. Earth Prison is quite vast. Where should I go?"
The system had informed him that he was currently in Goddess City, but…
Bu Fang raised his head and began looking around.
He was in a wasteland devoid of vegetation.
Is this the f*cking Goddess City?
Bu Fang's mouth twitched, a little speechless.
He raised his head, looking at the sky. A fiery sun hung in the sky above Earth Prison, shining brilliantly.
Sunlight shone down on Bu Fang, giving him a warm welcome. It felt really comfortable.
"Er Ha lives in Earth Prison. If I can find him, then maybe I can find the God Vanishing Mountain. But…" Bu Fang mumbled. As his voice trailed off, he suddenly remembered that he did not know where Nether King Er Ha lived.
"If I take out a Spicy Strip, will Er Ha pick up the aroma?" Bu Fang mused.
Nursing that thought, he took out an improved version of the Spicy Strip. Its thick aroma instantly began to spread out.
…
Nether King Palace, Earth Prison
Whoosh.
The rigid, heavy stone doors opened slowly.
Terrifying gusts of Nether energy rushed out from the cave's entrance.
A shadow slowly walked out of the cave. His sleek, long, black hair fluttered behind him.
His face was that of one who had experienced the vicissitudes of life—someone who had to be treated with respect.
By the entrance of the cave, a white-haired child waited respectfully.
When Old Tie saw Nether King Er Ha walking out of the cave, his eyes brightened instantly. He held his robe and ran towards the man.
"Congratulations, Your Highness Nether King. You've broken another Pass. Of the Eighteen Demon Passes that the former Nether King left for you, you've broken ten. You have reached his standard!"
Old Tie was extremely excited that his Nether King finally had some future. His eyes turned red and wet, and they looked like tears would soon begin flowing like a torrential flood.
Nether King Er Ha took out a black rope and tied his hair with it. A lock of hair dropped in front of his forehead, covering his somber left eye.
"Why are you crying? Just ten passes. I've broken just ten passes out of eighteen passes. There are still eight more to go. No need to congratulate me!" Nether King Er Ha scoffed at Old Tie before putting on the brocade robe.
Then, his hand shook once, and a Spicy Strip appeared in it, which he promptly sucked.
"Tch, tch. This is my last Spicy Strip. When I'm done eating it, I wonder how long I would have to wait before I can have another..."
Nether King Er Ha moved his tongue as he sucked on the Spicy Strip, enjoying the spicy taste in his mouth whenever it rubbed his lips and tongue.
He eventually bit of a section of the Spicy Strip and chewed it before swallowing.
"Your Highness Nether King, don't worry. I'll learn how to cook Spicy Strips. I'm sure I can feed you until you're older and fatter!" Old Tie assured, patting his chest.
"Where is that stinky dragon, Ying Long?" Nether King Er Ha asked while chewing his Spicy Strip.
"Lord Ying Long left the Nether King Palace, taking along many Earth Prison Lords. It seemed he was on his way to the Yellow Spring River to talk to the Yellow Spring Great Sage," Old Tie reported carefully.
"I knew it. That Ying Long will go to Immortal Cooking Realm to search for him. I'm sure someone has messed around. That old geezer Yellow Spring Great Sage is so stingy. Just a blade of grass, and he has to kill people…" Nether King Er Ha pursed his lips, after which he stuck the Spicy Strip into his mouth again.
Old Tie said nothing.
They walked out of the Demon King Pass and returned to the main hall of the Nether King Palace.
Nether King Er Ha walked to the throne and sat down. He smacked his lips as he sucked on the last bit of the Spicy Strip.
The moment he bit into this last portion, he could hear his heart cracking.
"The Spicy Strip is gone… My life has no joy anymore." Nether King Er Ha clutched his chest as sadness filled his eyes.
Suddenly, Nether King Er Ha's nose wrinkled.
His body stiffened immediately.
Nether King Er Ha's sudden reaction startled Old Tie.
What had happened?
"That smell..."
Nether King Er Ha narrowed his eyes and craned his neck. His nostrils flared, and his cheeks suddenly turned rosy.
"That smell!"
Nether King Er Ha's nostrils continued to widen. His eyes flew open, and tens of thousands of sharp light rays burst out of it.
"That smell… It's definitely it!"
Nether King Er Ha swiftly shot to his feet and zoomed into the air.
"It's the smell of Spicy Strips! No. It's not the normal ones! I can feel the burning flame! If the previous Spicy Strip is some sort of toothpick, this Spicy Strip feels like… a tree trunk!"
Nether King Er Ha burst into crazed laughter.
Old Tie was dumbfounded.
His Highness Nether King… Did he just lose his mind?
"Old Tie! Come with me. We need to go out. If I'm not wrong, the Spicy Strip has arrived in Earth Prison! Ah, no… Bu Fang young man came to Earth Prison!"
Nether King Er Ha whipped back the bangs on his forehead, his eyes shining brightly.
Old Tie waved his hands frantically. "Go out? No… Lord Ying Long will be back at any moment… I—"
However, before he could finish, Nether King Er Ha had grabbed him and sped off, leaving behind a loud sonic boom.
"I'm not going to take you to another continent. Our destination is right here in Earth Prison! I'm the Lord of Netherworld, but I don't have my own life? My own freedom?! If that old Ying Long refuses, I'll fight him until that stinky dragon agrees!"
Nether King Er Ha's voice filled the air, along with Old Tie's screams.
...
"Looks like it didn't work."
Bu Fang sighed and put away the Spicy Strip. He turned around and began to walk forward.
Actually, that decision was just on the spur of the moment. He did not really expect to summon Er Ha with a Spicy Strip.
Er Ha was the Lord of Netherworld. He wasn't Lord Dog, so his nose might not be that good.
After putting away the Spicy Strip, Bu Fang scanned the vast, borderless wasteland he was in.
The Goddess City mentioned by the system was nowhere in sight. According to it, if he wanted to reach the God Vanishing Mountain, he first had to find the Goddess City.
Naturally, standing here was not how he would find it.
Thus, Bu Fang decided to walk away.
"A city couldn't just evaporate into thin air, could it?" Bu Fang thought.
However, when he took a step forward, a look of confusion appeared on his face.
He crouched and began to scan the ground below.
He saw the muddy ground change suddenly.
Hands made of mud extended out of the ground and grabbed Bu Fang's ankles, pulling him downward.
"What are those?" Bu Fang was startled.
The Vermillion Robe on his body began emitting a scarlet glow. Flaming gales erupted behind him, trying to pull him up.
However, it couldn't do much.
Bu Fang frowned. With a thought, a formation appeared in midair and began to rotate. Whitey and Shrimpy emerged from within it.
"Pull me out," Bu Fang said to Whitey.
Whitey's eyes twinkled. Its leaf-like hand rubbed its round head before it flew down to the ground, grabbing Bu Fang's hands.
Eh?
Suddenly…
Both Bu Fang and Whitey were bewildered.
More mud hands had suddenly appeared below Whitey. They began pulling down a baffled Whitey even faster than the other hands pulled Bu Fang.
As Whitey was holding Bu Fang's hands, it also pulled Bu Fang down with great force.
Bu Fang suddenly felt that Whitey was trapping him.
Shrimpy rolled its huge eyes around. It turned into a ray of gold light and appeared on Bu Fang's shoulder.
Flap. Flap.
The ground shook once before turning calm.
At that point, Bu Fang, Whitey, and Shrimpy had disappeared.
The many mud hands filled Bu Fang's vision.
A stunned Whitey was sinking fast, and its hefty body was pulling Bu Fang down together with it.
Suddenly, Bu Fang found the space in front of him empty,
Flap. Flap.
The sound of a rushing wind filled his ears.
Boom!
With a loud thud, Whitey crashed to the ground like a meteor. It soon got up and scratched its round head.
Bu Fang, on the other hand, landed gracefully.
He raised his head to look around, and his eyes shrank.
Something very large had appeared in his sight.
The city walls were tall and massive, and within it were buildings next to other buildings!
There was a vast city in front of Bu Fang…
"Is that... Goddess City?!"
Bu Fang lips curved up.
Suddenly, a loud noise rang out.
The closed city gate was now being noisily opened. A moment later, a loud dragon roar rang out from within the city.
The ear-piercing sound filled the air.
Many figures flew out of the majestic city gate.
At the same time, the sky darkened as a sea of arrows crossed the sky, raining down on Bu Fang.