1238 Even Though the Wine and Meat Go Through My Body…

'Senior Brother Fa Wu… please don't be like that.'

The onlookers were struck dumb when they heard the older monk shout that he wanted ten more skewers of octopus tentacles after taking the first bite.

'Didn't you say you will go to fight your opponent after eating? Didn't you say you will fight for the honor of the West Little Buddhism Realm? Why are you surrendering to a skewer of octopus tentacles?'

Junior Brother Fa Shang also stared blankly at his senior brother, and he thought, 'Sure enough… these octopus tentacles are delicious!'

"Ten skewers?" Bu Fang looked up at Fa Wu with surprise and arched an eyebrow. "Oh, a monk?"

"Dear benefactor, your octopus tentacles are very tasty," said Senior Brother Fa Wu, putting his hands together before his chest and bowed.

"Thank you. Have more if you like it. My teppanyaki can be taken out," said Bu Fang.

Senior Brother Fa Wu's eyes lit up instantly. "Oh, I can order takeout? That's a great idea! I can enjoy the food without delaying the competition… Perfect!" Fa Wu grinned.

The other little monks around him also grinned like fools and kept nodding.

The onlookers were already speechless.

'Your team match is about to start. Even if this owner cooked the octopus tentacles, you also can't eat them… Most importantly… Can monks f*cking eat meat?! Don't tell me that octopus tentacles are not meat!' 

"Hey, monk! Isn't your West Little Buddhism Realm the most disciplined, and you are forbidden from drinking wine and eating meat? Are you not afraid of breaking the precepts?" Someone in the crowd couldn't help asking when he saw the group of drooling monks. 

Fa Shang, the little monk who showed up first, put his hands together before his chest, turned to the onlooker, and said, "Buddha once said that octopus tentacles are… not meat."

The man who asked the question almost coughed blood. 'When did Buddha say that? Stop lying or you will be struck by lightning!'

Bu Fang kept a calm face. Since they were his customers, he would cook for them.

With a thought, ten skewers of octopus tentacles fell into his hand.

Sizzle…

As oil was drizzled onto the Black Turtle Iron Plate, hot steam rose into the air.

He slapped the ten skewers onto the iron plate. In a flash, hot white steam rushed out of them, spreading toward the group of monks standing in front of the stall. The meaty aroma that came with it was extremely enticing. The monks from the West Little Buddhism Realm couldn't help taking deep breaths, immersing themselves in the rich fragrance.

What happened next amazed everyone. The chef was cooking ten skewers of octopus tentacles at the same time. He drizzled oil onto the iron plate, which immediately produced a plume of flame that seemed to slither over the plate like a dragon… It was an extremely cool performance.

For a moment, they forgot to remind the monks about the competition.

...

As the contestant of the day's first team match, the West Little Buddhism Realm team attracted the attention of countless people.

The judge for the match was a Commander. The hierarchy of Earth Prison was strict, and its experts were divided into Prison Generals, Commanders, and Prison Overlords. The Nether King sat atop them all.

Prison Generals' cultivation bases were slightly weaker, but on average, they had all reached the level of Nine-star True Immortal or half-step Saint. Commanders were mostly One-revolution or Two-revolution Little Saints, and Prison Overlords were even stronger.

People had already crowded around the arena.

The square was huge, so although Bu Fang's stall was constantly emitting aroma, it was impossible to attract everyone's eyes. Most of the people were watching the team match in the arena.

Buzz…

A wave of array fluctuation spread and projected onto the arena. Meanwhile, light screens emerged in a corner not far away from the center of the square, which were projected by the array. This was a top-grade projection array Earth Prison had specially prepared for the tournament.

As the fluctuation continued to spread, figures began to emerge across different light screens, and the view of the arena was perfectly projected as well.

Many people in the square exclaimed as they looked curiously at their images on the light screens, some even waved their hands excitedly.

...

Meanwhile, in the Immortal Cooking Realm…

Many immortal chefs had gathered in the square outside the Immortal Kitchen Pavilion. There were also stalls selling all kinds of food mixed between the people.

The aroma of food and the smoke and heat from the cooking enveloped the whole square.

A group of people crowded around the center of the square. There was a huge light screen, which was formed by beams of light coming from a profound array built with several talisman stones.

The array was very precious because it could project the images in Earth Prison to the light screen, allowing the people in the Immortal Cooking Realm to watch the competition in real time.

From all the preparations, one could tell that Nether Prison attached great importance to the Netherworld's Tournament of the Great Path. After all, it had the ambition to combine all the surrounding worlds into one Great Netherworld.

"Look! There are images on the light screen!"

"So this is Earth Prison? It looks so vast…"

"So many people! Are they all the contestants from other worlds?" 

It was the first time that these immortal chefs had been exposed to something so novel, and they were all very curious. They brought their own chairs and sat in front of the light screen, watching excitedly at the images.

Of course, as the paradise of chefs, how could there be no food when they were watching the light screen? As a result, the business of the nearby stalls was extremely good.

The immortal chefs all held delicious food, looking at the light screen and immersing in a happy atmosphere.

City Lord Meng Qi, City Lord Zou, City Lord Gongshu Baiguang, and the others sat in the chairs placed in front of the light screen. With their noble status, they naturally enjoyed the best view.

As their breathing quickened, the image in the light screen changed.

The first team match finally kicked off.

...

Clad in dark-red armor, Commander Mo Yuan's face was cold. His hair was grayish-white, but his body was shrouded in a murderous aura.

"The rules of team matches are different from that of the individual matches. Each team will have five contestants, and the team that wins three matches will qualify for the next round," he announced, his husky voice echoing through the whole square.

"Now, I invite both sides of the first team match to step into the arena. The match will be fought between the West Little Buddhism Realm and the East Island Realm." 

The audience burst into cheers and roars. 

Among the little worlds around the Netherworld, the East Island Realm was a nice world with its own Great Saints. However, they were very unlucky. They had drawn the West Little Buddhism Realm as their opponent for the first match.

Although the Buddhism Realm was a world of monks, these monks were not to be trifled with. The realm's overall strength was not much weaker than Nether Prison.

For the East Island Realm, it was just plain bad luck. Their leader was still blaming his bad luck even now.

As the leader, he was the first one to fight. His cultivation base was very good. In fact, he was a One-revolution Little Saint, which made him one of the top contestants in this tournament. However, he didn't feel relaxed at all.

"Where are the West Little Buddhism Realm's contestants..." Commander Mo Yuan suddenly frowned. It was a defiant gesture to him that after so long, the contestants had not yet taken the stage.

His aura gradually spread, striking fear into the hearts of the experts watching the competition around the arena.

The Prison Overlords watching the competition from a far distance also furrowed their eyebrows.

They wondered if the West Little Buddhism Realm had decided to withdraw from the first match? But then they thought it was impossible because the decision would not fit in with the realm's belief. Although the East Island Realm was strong, those monks had no reason to be afraid of their contestants.

The audience was talking noisily as well. Clearly, many people didn't understand why the West Little Buddhism Realm was late. Were those monks really withdrawing from the match? 

Meanwhile, in front of the Little West Pagoda in the West Little Buddhism Realm…

Many acolytes were staring at a light screen with confused and unwilling looks. On the screen, Commander Mo Yuan was calling the contestant of the West Little Buddhism Realm. However, no one answered him.

The East Island Realm experts were already laughing excitedly. They wondered if they were dreaming. Were they really so lucky to have an opportunity to defeat a small world who was strong enough to be one of the top three teams in this tournament? If it were true, it would be their biggest achievement!

Buzz…

In the West Little Buddhism Realm, Buddhas with huge bodies that radiated golden light were staring at the light screen with deep looks in their eyes. The air rang with chanting voices, and dragons and phoenixes could be seen wheeling around them. They were the supreme experts of the realm.

One of the Buddhas seemed to be upset. He pinched his fingers, plucked a flower, and flicked it with his fingers. The flower quivered, letting out a noise that sounded like thunder.

...

In front of Fang Fang Little Stall, Senior Brother Fa Wu took the ten skewers of steaming and fragrant octopus tentacles handed to him by Bu Fang. Grinning from ear to ear, he gave the tentacles a deep sniff. The delicious aroma immediately went into his nostrils, filling his heart with joy.

Suddenly, a thunderous noise rang out in his mind. His expression changed, and so did the other monks, who were staring enviously at the octopus tentacles he was holding.

After paying Bu Fang the Immortal Crystals, Senior Brother Fa Wu grabbed his robes with one hand and ran in the direction of the arena, his other hand holding the ten skewers of octopus tentacles. 

"Amitabha! I'm going to be late for the match… I have sinned!"

...

"If the contestant of the West Little Buddhism Realm doesn't step into the arena now, I'll consider the team has chosen to withdraw from the match," Commander Mo Yuan said coldly.

He swept the audience with his eyes and waited for a little while, but nobody came into the arena.

The East Island Realm experts were so happy that they were grinning from ear to ear. They never thought that they would win the first team match in this way. After the tournament, they could tell others with straight backs that they, the East Island Realm, had once defeated the West Little Buddhism Realm.

Suddenly, there was a commotion in the crowd, and then a delicious aroma wafted into the arena.

Boom!

A plume of air thrust into the sky while golden light filled the air. The next moment, a monk, clad in bright red robes and radiated dazzling golden light, floated up from among the crowd. He had a benign face, which made him look like a Buddha.

If one didn't see the skewer of teppanyaki octopus tentacles in his hand, which was dripping with golden juice, perhaps they would be fooled by Fa Wu's mighty appearance. He looked rather funny with the octopus tentacles in his hand now.

"Amitabha! Sorry to have kept you waiting…" Fa Wu said kindly.

The East Island Realm expert widened his eyes and opened his mouth, at a loss for words.

Commander Mo Yuan glanced coldly at Fa Wu. His eyes narrowed when he saw the octopus tentacles in the monk's hand.

'Is… Is that food? This monk is eating… meat?! And he even brought the meat into the arena?!'

"How arrogant!" The East Island Realm expert flew into a rage. The monk was not only late but also brought skewers of octopus tentacles into the arena… Was he looking down on the East Island Realm?!

"The West Little Buddhism Realm has gone too far in bullying others!" shouted the other East Island Realm experts.

Many people among the audience were rendered speechless.

However, Fa Wu's expression remained unchanged. He still wore the benign face and was floating in midair.

Even then, he pulled out a tentacle, put it in his mouth, and began to chew. His jaws moved as oil and juice seeped out from the corners of his mouth.

Many people smacked their lips as they watched him eat. The food he was eating looked…delicious.

"You stinking bald donkey! Let's fight now!" The East Island Realm expert growled. The next moment, his aura soared as he leaped like a dragon toward Fang Wu, who was sitting cross-legged in midair and eating teppanyaki octopus tentacles. As he drew closer, he threw out his fist, causing dust to fly up the air.

A fierce battle was about to unfold.

However, Fa Wu didn't seem to be panicked. After pulling the last piece of tentacle into his mouth with his tongue, he glanced at the East Island Realm expert, who was rushing toward him, and smiled. "Even though the wine and meat go through my body, the Buddha stays evermore in my mind… Dear benefactor, please calm down." 

After saying that, Fa Wu flicked his fingers. Immediately, a layer of golden light covered the thin wooden skewer, and then the thin stick shot out, roaring like a divine dragon and radiating blinding golden light.

Rumble!

The East Island Realm expert's fist collided with the wooden stick, and for a moment, they froze in midair.

Even then, the sound of chewing was clearly heard by all. Everyone's eyes went wide.

With a slash, another wooden stick shot out.

The East Island Realm expert roared, but the next instant, he was pierced by the stick and pinned to the arena.

The golden light faded away, and the wooden stick quivered.

Slash! Slash!

One wooden stick after another shot down and stuck into the ground around the expert, trapping him in place.

Fa Wu put his hands together before his chest, nodded slightly, and licked the corners of his mouth.

He slowly descended into the arena, then turned and walked out of it.

"Amitabha! The flavor is perfect, but it's a little bit too spicy for me."