Chapter 49

A large shadow descended, its overwhelming momentum pressing down, and the reflection of the mountain grew larger in his pupils.

"Roar!"

Xiaoxing roared, swinging his arms, firmly planting his horse stance, and the power from his four bones, amplified by the nine force soul wheels, made his single arm shake with the strength of ten thousand pounds!

"Is this kid crazy? He actually wants to take on the small mountain that Liluo is throwing!" The four head chefs widened their eyes, thinking that the consequences for Xiaoxing would be dire, with broken limbs at the very least, and in the worst case, his ghost body might be crushed like rotten tofu.

"Bang!"

A wave of air surged, and the small mountain landed on Xiaoxing's arms. The terrifying weight instantly pressed down on him, spreading through his arms to his entire body. His robe rustled in the wind, and his body made a frightening sound, like soybeans popping in a wok.

Xiaoxing glared, his palms leaving shallow imprints on the bottom of the small mountain. His arms suddenly sank, and he steadily caught the small mountain!

For a moment, the four head chefs, including Gaolao, were stunned, their knives falling from their hands and clattering onto the cutting board, trembling.

"What kind of strength is this?" Lidazui was shocked, a question forming in his mind. The slender Xiaoxing had strength that could rival even the powerful butcher and the super-strong Liluo.

"Trying to eat my tofu, huh? Here, take it back!" Xiaoxing, who never backed down, even from a cute girl, decided that if she wanted to crush his tofu, she had to pay the price.

Before he could think, Xiaoxing swung his arms and threw the small mountain with all his might. The small mountain, like a giant cannonball, hurtled toward the small and delicate Liluo!

"Brat, you have some nerve!" Liluo scolded, her fine eyebrows standing on end, her small fangs grinding, and her angry face was quite adorable.

Though she appeared harmless and lovable, her super strength made others fear her. She kicked off the ground and flew up, charging at the small mountain, her fists raised, ready to shatter it.

"Enough." Gaolao's figure flashed, and his tall, slender form immediately appeared on the small mountain. He lightly stepped on it, and the mountain, which was flying toward Liluo, suddenly shook, its trajectory changed, and it crashed to the ground.

Liluo, losing her target, flipped in mid-air and landed nimbly on the small mountain, raising her fist to strike Gaolao.

"Hmph! Still acting crazy! You almost destroyed the ingredients for the banquet!" Gaolao glared, his long, thin hand raised, a deep vortex flashing, blocking Liluo's punch.

Instantly, Liluo's brute strength was neutralized by the deep vortex in Gaolao's palm.

"Ah?" Liluo exclaimed, coming to her senses, realizing what she was doing, and with a flip, she jumped off the small mountain, sticking out her tongue at Gaolao and making a face.

"Ah." Gaolao shook his head and sighed, not intending to pursue Liluo.

Liluo was the youngest among the ten head chefs, mischievous but talented in cooking, and at a young age, she had secured the sixth position as head chef in the City God's Mansion, which was quite impressive.

"Ghost Technique!"

Xiaoxing's pupils contracted, his gaze intense as he looked at Gaolao. The vortex that appeared in Gaolao's palm to block Liluo's punch was clearly a ghost technique.

Otherwise, the ten-thousand-pound force would have shattered Gaolao's ghost body.

"You should go prepare the meal; the banquet is about to start." Gaolao instructed Liluo, then turned to Xiaoxing.

Xiaoxing's heart sank, sensing something was wrong.

"Xiaoxing!" Gaolao said with a stern face, "You almost destroyed the ingredients for the 'Mountain Delicacies and Sea Flavors.' You should be expelled from the main kitchen!"

"What!" Xiaoxing's eyes widened in disbelief.

"But," Gaolao's tone changed, "considering it was self-defense, you are punished to work in the ingredient area!"

"Work in the ingredient area?" Xiaoxing looked at Gaolao in confusion, wondering why he wasn't expelled directly.

"Go!" Gaolao waved his sleeve, turned back to the cooking station, and picked up his knife to prepare the meat.

Xiaoxing's lips curled, and he left the special cooking room.

As soon as Xiaoxing stepped out of the red door, it slammed shut.

"What's going on with Gaolao and Lidazui? It feels like there's something fishy. They can't have developed a crush on me, right?" Xiaoxing thought as he walked, shuddering at the idea of Lidazui and Gaolao's peculiar tastes.

If Lidazui and Gaolao knew what Xiaoxing was thinking, they would first call him narcissistic, then fly into a rage, furious that he could even think of such a thing.

The red door closed, and a moment of darkness followed, then a faint glow emanated from the small mountain. It turned out this was not an ordinary mountain but an ice mountain from the northern region, transported by three ghost carts.

Liluo walked to the front of the small mountain, raised her fist, and struck it. Strangely, Gaolao did not stop her this time, only giving her a brief glance.

"Crack!"

"Crack, crack, crack, crack, crack..."

The gray, dusty shell of the small mountain cracked, fine fissures spreading from the fist imprint, and silver-blue light began to seep through, beautiful and magnificent, exuding a regal aura.

In the next moment, pieces of earth fell away, and the silver-blue light radiated, revealing an ice mountain that illuminated the dark special cooking room, breathtakingly beautiful.

Cold air spread across the floor, enveloping the entire room, and the temperature dropped by several degrees!

"Truly beautiful!" Meiling cupped her face, entranced, her eyes and face illuminated by the silver-blue light, adding to her beauty.

"Do you think the Arctic ice mountain is easy to obtain?" Wenshitian said coldly, "It was transported by three ghost carts and escorted by ten ghost servants, with seven or eight of them falling!"

Ghost servants?!

Meiling's eyes widened, her face showing shock.

To become a ghost servant, one must have at least the fifth level of ghost official, a realm so high that only mansions of the City God or higher could possess them!

"The Arctic ice mountain only appears at state banquets. This time, a ghost general is visiting, and the master is receiving him with the highest protocol of the City God's Mansion. The banquet must be flawless!" Gaolao said solemnly, his hooked nose and stern face showing his seriousness as he prepared for the meal with utmost dedication.

Arctic ice mountain...

Lidazui looked at the central Arctic ice mountain, his eyes filled with nostalgia. When he first came to the underworld, he was just an ordinary ghost, a mere butcher. Later, he met Old Lady Yu Li, and his fate changed, becoming a prestigious head chef.

At a state banquet once, Old Lady Yu Li had presented a dish called "Arctic Aurora," using the Arctic ice mountain as the main ingredient!

Of course, Lidazui was just a novice knife assistant at the time, holding a butcher's knife and watching Old Lady Yu Li prepare the Arctic ice mountain, a memory that stayed with him forever.

Now, seeing Xiaoxing, Lidazui thought of his younger self, which was why he changed his attitude toward Xiaoxing.

If not for the layer of earth and stone covering the Arctic ice mountain, Xiaoxing's palm would have turned it into an ice sculpture in an instant, possibly freezing his soul.

Xiaoxing was unaware of all this.

Xiaoxing passed through the cooking area and arrived at the ingredient area, where a strong, bloody smell hit him.

In front of the ingredient area stood a notice board, hung with wooden plaques. Each plaque was as flat as paper, with blurred wood grain and tiny characters written in ink.

"Unicorn Demon Bear's gallbladder, paws."

"Black Blood Heart Leopard's heart, loin, penis, leg muscles."

"Underworld Buffalo's tongue, stomach, penis, sirloin..."

...

The wooden plaques listed the requirements for various ingredients, some of which involved facing terrifying beasts and taking materials from them while they were still alive, a cruel and dangerous task.

"These are all meats, but the risk is too high." Xiaoxing frowned, instantly understanding Gaolao's intention, his eyes flashing with anger.

"I should thank him. The ingredient area has plenty of oil to skim and meat to eat, which will help me quickly improve my cultivation."

With that, Xiaoxing grabbed a large handful of wooden plaques from the notice board and strode into the ingredient area.

"Brat, are you looking for death!" A sudden shout stopped Xiaoxing.

Xiaoxing turned around and saw an old man with white hair, at the seventh level of ghost soldier, his soul life nearing its end.

"Old man, why do you say that?" Xiaoxing asked politely.

"Are you asking me why? Do you think I'm senile?" The old man was very irritable, trying to snatch the wooden plaques from Xiaoxing, but Xiaoxing easily dodged.

"Is this your confidence?" The old man raised his white eyebrows, glaring at Xiaoxing, thinking that his confidence in taking so many ingredient plaques came from his agility.

"No." Xiaoxing shook his head, understanding the old man's meaning. "Old man, please rest assured. If I take the ingredient plaques, I have the confidence to handle them."

"Ah, then go. Another one who won't listen to advice." The old man stopped trying to persuade him, sighed, and walked away, his figure looking desolate.

Xiaoxing was about to leave when his pupils suddenly contracted, noticing the old man's empty sleeve, his left arm clearly missing!

For a ghost to lose a limb or have their body shattered, they need to drink the Yellow Spring to recover, but the Yellow Spring is extremely precious, and each ghost only has one chance to drink it, when they first enter the ghost world to form their ghost body.

"It seems the ingredient area is brutal. Compared to the cooking area, it's like heaven and hell!" Xiaoxing sighed, continuing forward, knowing the dangers ahead but having a reason to move forward regardless!

Upon entering the ingredient area, the feeling was completely different from what he had seen outside, truly brutal and dangerous.

The iron cages were taller than ordinary ghosts, dark inside, with only the terrifying aura and green, glowing ghost eyes visible. The sound of iron chains clanging echoed.

"Clang, clang"

Like a blacksmith's hammer, the metallic sound was eerie and oppressive, each clank like a blow to the heart.

Xiaoxing walked calmly between the iron cages, his eyes scanning for the ingredients listed on the plaques.

The blood mist was so thick that it was hard to see what kind of beasts were inside the cages. He could only read the wooden plaques hanging outside, written in special ink.

"Lizard Dragon's heart?" Xiaoxing pulled out a plaque at random, muttering to himself, "Does the Lizard Dragon refer to a Western dragon?"

Xiaoxing's lips twitched. A Western dragon was not a gentle ingredient. Asking for its heart would surely enrage it!

"Oh no, I suddenly understand why the old man tried to stop me." Xiaoxing was both amused and exasperated. The plaques he had chosen were the leftovers that other ghost servants had rejected, with extremely high risks of injury or worse.

As he turned the page, an ad began.

As he turned the page, the ad ended.