The three of them once again headed to the Food God Situ Meng’s workshop, a place Luan Ling had been looking forward to visiting. After all, everyone knew the Food God’s reputation; even mortal children with little knowledge of the gods could recognize his value.

Recently, the Food God had been especially busy with the upcoming Peach Banquet. The dishes for the feast were a challenge in themselves, but what troubled him more were the one-on-one sessions with mortals afterward. Simply throwing ideas together would never work; even the most elaborate concepts could fail if not grounded in taste. As the Food God, he needed a deep understanding of everyone’s preferences. This was why he had chosen Situ Meng, a former mortal, as his disciple. Situ Meng had the advantages of diligence, culinary skill, and the innate talent for cultivation—a perfect candidate.

“Food God! Junior Brother!”

Luan Ling greeted Situ Meng, who was busy handling ingredients. “We have some good news to share with you.”

The three of them had intended to step closer, but after glancing at the Food God’s actions, they stopped in their tracks.

The Food God had been concentrating deeply, and in the next moment, all the scallions, ginger, and garlic rose into the air. Under his dazzling knife skills, they transformed in midair and fell neatly into the pot. In an instant, Luan Ling could see the rising “essence of the pot” in tangible form!

It didn’t stop there. As Situ Meng handed over the ingredients, the Food God’s large round spatula swept the meat into the pot. Flames flared, golden light shimmered around him, and as the seasonings were added, Luan Ling felt completely immersed in the sacred aroma of the food.

It was divine energy—the Food God had infused it!

Of all the gods Luan Ling had seen, only the Food God combined the most elaborate techniques with the simplest work. While he could create celestial-level dishes, he preferred researching how to make everyday meals exquisite for mortals.

When testing food with heavenly students, he favored students from the Celestial Academy and Ziwei College. Their tastes were unrefined by the heavens and closest to mortals. Any willing participant would receive a full home-cooked feast from the Food God.

“It smells incredible.”

Luan Ling held her bowl, tears welling up. “To taste a dish made by the Food God—even if I were to die afterward—I’d have no regrets.”

The Food God quietly smiled at the praise, and Situ Meng silently resolved to become as skilled as his master, to create dishes that could make anyone truly happy—honoring the sacrifice of the ingredients.

“By the way, Senior Sister, Senior Brother, did you come here for some important matter today?”

Situ Meng didn’t forget to ask. Even Zhu Yin had come, so surely Luan Ling and Situ Zhuo weren’t just visiting for fun.

Luan Ling quickly swallowed and told him about their performance at the Peach Banquet.

Situ Meng was slightly surprised. The Food God, having seen his disciple’s performance at the concert, laughed: “It seems your music will appear at the Peach Banquet even before your dishes. Rock music accompanied by a nourishing soup—quite a novel way to enjoy a meal.”

“That might be a bit too novel…”

Luan Ling suddenly had another idea. “What if, during our performance, we add tiny bubbles to the nourishing soup—something that stimulates the taste buds, like rock music stimulates the nerves? Food God, do you think such an innovative approach is possible?”

“That sounds more like a dark culinary experiment,” Situ Zhuo commented. “Adding bubbles to a nourishing soup—are you trying to make the gods vomit for atmosphere?”

Luan Ling pouted. “I just thought that combining auditory and neural stimulation from the music with a sensory surprise in the food would be fascinating.”

The Food God’s eyes lit up. “Stimulating.”

He turned to Luan Ling. “Don’t use soup. Use alcohol.”

Situ Meng realized instantly. “Then add ingredients like green plums, mint, and lemon for a sweet-and-sour freshness—it would be extremely refreshing.”

Luan Ling was stunned. This didn’t sound like food from their usual system at all.

Watching the Food God discuss mixology and aesthetics with his disciple, Situ Zhuo turned to Luan Ling: “Looks like he won’t have time to join us in the mortal world to find Li Xiao.”

Better to focus on cooking. When Luan Ling’s group bid farewell to the Food God and his disciple, their hands weren’t empty—they carried a variety of snacks the two had prepared for the road. They had arrived empty-handed but left fully loaded.

“So touching.”

Luan Ling munched on preserved fruit and wiped away imaginary tears. “In this cold Heavenly Realm, to have a god like the Food God still so human… it’s truly moving.”

Situ Zhuo nodded. “Food really does make a difference to mortals, and apparently even gods.”

Zhu Yin remained silent, chewing on a lemon.

“Senior Sister, who gave you that lemon?!”

Luan Ling suddenly noticed that Zhu Yin had eaten almost half of it. “Was this from the Food God too?”

Zhu Yin floated the lemon aside, took out her flute, and played a few notes.

Luan Ling immediately shivered at the sour taste.

“Senior Sister, you’re amazing! You don’t just manipulate imagination with music—you can even influence taste! You’ve secretly grown stronger behind our backs!” Luan Ling exclaimed.

Zhu Yin shook her head modestly. “This is nothing. If I truly grew stronger, Du Gu would have taken me down to the mortal world too.”

Luan Ling pondered, then said, “Maybe this mission suits Senior Brother more. Your indiscriminate power is obvious, and Du Gu’s luck is so unstable—besides Senior Brother, who else could contain him?”

“Just kidding, Senior Brother can’t contain him either,” Luan Ling thought.

Seeing Li Xiao lying weakly at the Danlin Resting Hall, Luan Ling felt deep sympathy. The whole Qilin Hall had come to visit, and Situ Meng brought special nourishing food. After sharing the news about the Peach Banquet performance, she asked:

“Du Gu took you to do what? How did you get hurt like this, Senior Brother?”

Li Xiao looked exasperated. “Recently, after the demon tribe incident, Du Gu wanted to check the hidden routes between the mortal world and Heaven. When closing one, we unexpectedly ran into a god chasing residual demon energy. Their clash of powers hit me directly.”

“Ah!” Luan Ling exclaimed. “So even gods get hurt when other gods fight—poor Senior Brother!”

Situ Zhuo interjected: “With so many demons appearing recently, nothing should happen at the Peach Banquet, right?”

Li Xiao smiled. “Junior Brother, rare that you care about Heavenly Realm security.”

“He’s not worried about the Peach Banquet. He’s just waiting for chaos so he can show off his skills,” Luan Ling whispered.

Situ Zhuo shrugged. “I wouldn’t do that. Some people make rumors just to kick me out.”

Luan Ling punched him lightly. “Still holding grudges, huh?”

“Can’t I? I’m your lifesaver. Without me, some people would have almost lost their lives to demons,” Situ Zhuo protested, hands clasped.

Li Xiao waved them off. “Enough bickering. The demon invasion was just an accident. We’ve also taken countermeasures. Trust the gods.”

Luan Ling muttered: “Senior Brother, your ‘godly persona’ is really something.”

Li Xiao smiled subtly: “If we talk about iconic gods, who can match your brother, Junior Sister?”

Well, Luan Qingchen might be extreme, but Li Xiao seemed normal in comparison.

After half a month of tension, nothing happened. The Peach Banquet proceeded smoothly. Luan Ling and her Qilin Hall companions successfully brought their music to the grand stage. Though many gods didn’t understand it, Li Xiao controlled the weather, Zhu Yin managed musical emotions, Situ Zhuo maintained water and fire, Luan Ling spread spiritual resonance, and the special drinks made by Situ Meng and the Food God completed the effect. The result: a uniquely remarkable performance for the Heavenly Empress.

After the banquet, the Heavenly Empress was busier than ever. Luan Ling thought she would be left alone, but a few days later, the Empress summoned her. Luan Ling feared scolding, though knowing Luan Yu’s information had somewhat changed her opinion of the Empress—but only slightly. Their issues were too complex for a quick change of heart.

“On that day at the border, you saw and heard about the demon tribe. What are your thoughts?”

Luan Ling considered and replied seriously: “The demons’ reconnaissance has perhaps never ceased. The Mad Demon has not emerged in decades, but there have been constant covert provocations…”

The Empress looked at her: “So what conclusion have you drawn?”

Luan Ling hesitated, then said: “I suspect the Mad Demon, like the Heavenly Emperor, is in seclusion or otherwise constrained. Otherwise, with his past strength, he would either have attacked Heaven outright or returned to the Demon Realm to enjoy himself—not continuously testing the Heavenly Realm’s boundaries like this.”

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