Wait a minute, where is my master?

Jin Xu saw that Yu Yaoer seemed to recognize the person before them and gently asked, "Little Yu, do you know him?"

"Yes, yes, my lord. Let me tell you, he is the first recognized Food God in the Nine Provinces Immortal World, and he is the one I must challenge on my culinary path! If I had found him in these past years, I, the Shui Clan's number one chef, would have already become the top chef in the Nine Provinces Realm."

Yu Yaoer was visibly excited and enthusiastically grabbed the Taoist's arm, shaking it back and forth, looking distinctly unsettled.

Little White, who was beside the stone table, perked up at the mention of food and leaned in closer.

Jin Xu turned his head to look at the Little Fish Demon on his arm, showing a hint of skepticism and feeling somewhat unclear if she was serious.

After all, it was hard to say that Yu Yaoer's cooking could be discussed in terms of a path.

"My lord, don't be fooled by his unimpressive appearance. Whenever the Four Great Immortal Sects have any important festivals, it's considered an honor to have him cook a feast.

Had the coronation ceremony of Yunzhao's Great Xia Dynasty not been rushed, they definitely would have tried to invite him to cook as well. It's said that once a cultivator from the Tribulation Crossing Realm offered him ten thousand High Grade Spirit Stones to cook a meal; he refused even though the ingredients were prepared, all because he wasn't in a good mood that day and couldn't perform his culinary skills to the fullest.

However, he hasn't shown himself in the cultivation world for nearly twenty years. When my culinary skills matured, I wanted to challenge him, but unfortunately, I never found him. It's unexpected that Little White actually managed to lure him out today!"

As Yu Yaoer spoke, she wanted to rush over and issue a challenge, but Jin Xu, whose cheek twitched, grabbed her back.

If what the Little Fish Demon said was all true, then perhaps she shouldn't be so impulsive with her culinary skills.

The Taoist listened carefully and studied the burly chef opposite him, noticing that the chef was looking around.

At this moment, Jin Xu also recalled something. He remembered reading a miscellaneous book in a watchman's library that introduced the leading figures in various fields of the Nine Provinces Realm, including one named Jiang Xiulan, the top chef in the Nine Provinces.

The book recounted that this chef's experiences were incredibly bizarre. He was once a constable before he started working as a chef in an inn in a small town, allegedly having an uncle who was a county magistrate.

However, these details weren't important. What mattered was, one day, a passing guest tasted his cooking and liking the flavor, decided to reward him. This guest was actually a cultivator weary of the mortal world, and instead of money, he offered Jiang Xiulan a chance to test for a Spirit Root.

After conducting the test, the cultivator discovered that the chef possessed a Fire Spirit Root, so he casually taught him some basic cultivation skills to extend his life, hoping to taste his cooking again on his next visit.

As a result, this single act of teaching brought forth a Food God in the Nine Provinces Realm.

Jiang Xiulan, whose cultivation talent was not very high and who was already advanced in age when he began his cultivation, veered off the conventional path and fused cultivation with cooking, ultimately developing various types of spiritual medicinal meals that were not only delicious but also aided in cultivation.

The book even mentioned that due to this chef's emergence, the appreciation for fine food within the Nine Provinces Realm significantly improved.

"So Little White actually fished out a Food God."

The Taoist was still pondering when suddenly he heard Jiang Xiulan from across say, "Hey, I wasn't quite awake just now, but this place looks familiar. Don't you have someone called Tianxing Taoist here?"

The burly man, still holding his wok and kitchen knife, shouted out to Jin Xu.

"Hmm?"

Upon hearing this, the Taoist looked intrigued, his excitement barely contained; this was the first person to mention that Xuanxu Temple looked familiar. Little White had truly managed to snag someone who knew his master!

"Tianxing is indeed my master. Elder, have you met him?"

Jin Xu spoke with a polite and restrained tone.

"Not only have we met, but we've also shared a meal. Where is your master now?"

Jiang Xiulan, upon hearing the Taoist mention he was a disciple of Tianxing Taoist, seemed to fully relax in an instant, re-sheathing his kitchen knife and setting the wok back into his storage magic treasure.

"My master... has disappeared."

Jin Xu sounded despondent.

The chef, now dropping his guard, walked over to them and even looked up at the Big Willow Tree, muttering coarsely, "How is this tree maintained? Its branches are all fallen."

Then, as if suddenly realizing, he exclaimed in surprise, "Your master disappeared? What joke is this, a figure like him, how could he possibly disappear?"

Hearing the other's words, the Taoist relayed the process through which he discovered Tianxing Taoist's disappearance and also explained how Jiang Xiulan had come to be here.

In the end, he earnestly requested the chef to provide some clues about his master.

After listening to Jin Xu's recount, Jiang Xiulan suddenly realized.

"That explains why I felt like I was here suddenly after falling asleep. Turns out it's because this little one used the ink jade rod to fish me here—it's not strange at all."

Clearly, the chef recognized the pitch-black fishing rod and was well aware of its effects.

He then continued somewhat reluctantly, "I didn't have much interaction with your master; we were simply involved in a plain business transaction. However, I do know a friend who once had dinner with him. If you don't mind the distance, come with me to Qingmu County in Qing State, and I'll introduce him to you."

Jiang Xiulan, hearing that Jin Xu's master had disappeared only six months after he began his cultivation, felt a pang of empathy. The cultivator who had taught him the ways of the immortals had also left after teaching for just six months, and by the time he had made substantial progress in merging culinary skills with cultivation and went to thank him, the man had already died in an expedition into a Secret Realm.

Therefore, this event had always been a sore point for him. Now meeting someone with a similar experience, an old acquaintance's disciple, he was willing to lend a helping hand, despite being swamped with his own affairs at the moment.

The Taoist gladly agreed, but upon hearing it was Qing State, he cautiously asked, "Elder, the friend who dined with my master, he isn't an aged scholar, is he?"

Jin Xu, fearing another encounter with the Old Dean from Qingmu Academy, even though he now knew he could handle a Tribulation Crossing Realm, remained wary of such venerated figures from a sect.

Jiang Xiulan waved her hand, denying it.

"It was a young man, who once had a meal I cooked with your master. This item was the payment your master gave me for that meal." After saying this, he patted the refrigerator behind him, which was emitting bursts of cold air.

With that said, the young Taoist felt relieved as long as it wasn't that Confucian scholar.

He followed the direction of the other's hand and looked towards the back of the Chef God, only to see he was carrying a refrigerator four feet long and two feet wide, opaque and only showing bursts of cold air, but it was unknown what was inside.

Jin Xu was curious about what was inside when Little White asked on his behalf.

"Chef God, are the contents of this box ingredients?"

Jiang Xiulan had just referred to Little White as an ingredient, which she didn't take to heart. Knowing this man was the top chef of the Nine Provinces Realm, all she could think about now was how to get him to cook a meal.

"It's not ingredients. This box contains my daughter," said the brawny Chef God casually, as if he was discussing having tomatoes and eggs for lunch the next day.

"Ah? Senior, why have you chilled your daughter?"

As Jin Xu and his companion fell silent, Little White shockingly spoke up, then got her mouth covered by Yu Yaoer.

"Ahem, Senior, please excuse her, she's sometimes like this."

"No worries, the brains of the Snow Wolf Clan were famously odd in the Nine Provinces Realm, no one would take it to heart," Jiang Xiulan stated nonchalantly, appearing as if it was natural for the Snow Wolf Clan to converse like Little White.

...Is there really this kind of common understanding in the Cultivation World?

Jin Xu was pondering this when the other explained further.

"It's not that I want to keep her in this ice coffin; her body is sick, and I have to use the ice coffin to suppress the toxins inside, so she can only stay in here," he explained.

At these words, Jin Xu could see a hint of sadness and reluctance on Chef Jiang's face.

"Hmm...Qianbei, womenguan Zhuhuijing Shenshu..."

Little White, having her mouth freed from Yu Yaoer's grip, continued earnestly.

"...why not let him take a look at your daughter!"

"Hmm? Was the first part of what this Wolf Demon said a dialect of the Snow Wolf Clan?" Jiang Xiulan's face, covered with robust flesh, showed a puzzled expression.

"Little girl, what did you say?"

"I said our temple master knows the Body Purification Skill, which is very powerful. Why not have him take a look at your daughter!"

Chef Jiang's puzzled look deepened. Wasn't the Body Purification Skill a minor cleaning spell? Besides, this little Taoist claimed he had been cultivating for less than a year; how powerful could he be?

Seeing his disbelief, Little White stressed, "Senior, our temple master used this skill to save a hundred thousand people in Shangjing City!"

What Little White said wasn't entirely incorrect. Although the main reason they saved the people in Shangjing was due to the unusual fragrance of the Age Chicken, the merit of the Body Purification Skill was indispensable. It's just that the relation between the two wasn't that significant, but that wasn't a problem in Little White's mind.

Having heard Little White's words, Jiang Xiulan surprisingly turned his gaze back to Jin Xu.

The young Taoist was in a dark Taoist robe, and since he didn't wear a mask because he didn't go out, Jiang at first didn't associate him with the "national uncle" Taoist from Shangjing Valley covered by the broadcasting formation.

Moreover, he hadn't watched the whole process of the broadcasting formation and hadn't seen the faces of the two women on screen.

But now, reminded by this Snow Wolf, Jiang Xiulan realized this man indeed resembled the little Taoist from the broadcasting formation.

"Were you the one saving people in Shangjing Valley the other day?" Chef Jiang asked, astonished.

"Yes, it was me."

Jin Xu humbly nodded.

"But haven't you been practicing cultivation for less than a year?"

Jiang Xiulan's face was filled with astonishment.

"Indeed, I have cultivated for less than a year."

Jin Xu modestly affirmed again.

"You've been practicing for less than a year and you could treat the Four Elders of the Demon Sect like grandchildren with your Thunder Skill, and then rescue a hundred thousand people of Great Xia in Shangjing City?"

Chef Jiang was a bit disheveled, he remembered that he hadn't eaten any mushrooms that could cause hallucinations before sleeping last night.

Upon hearing the other speak, Jin Xu didn't respond.

He continued to nod modestly.

"This senior is really kind, always complimenting me like this."