Volume 1 Chapter 23 The Progenitor Craves Home-Cooked Food
He reclined on his lounge chair, gazing up at the sky with a hint of sorrow held at a forty-five-degree angle, and murmured, "Eating these every day is truly tiresome. Honestly, I find myself craving some home-cooked meals now."
"For instance... a plate of Mapo Tofu, followed by some stir-fried tomatoes with eggs—that is what I call a meal."
As the words fell, the air in the entire courtyard seemed to freeze in that instant.
Fu Bo’s hand, which had been holding a broom, stopped mid-air.
Ji Ruxue and Ye Qingxian widened their beautiful eyes even further, their faces filled with shock and bewilderment.
Home-cooked meals?
What exactly is a "home-cooked meal"?
For the Progenitor, where is "home"? Is it this courtyard? Or is it that primordial realm from before the dawn of existence?
And this "Mapo Tofu"... what kind of earth-shattering divine object is this?
"Mapo"—it sounds like the honorific of an ancient deity. Could it be made from the flesh and blood of such a god?
"Tofu"—soft and tender in texture, pristine and white in color. Could it refer to the most fundamental "Marrow of the Dao" from when chaos first parted?
And then, "Stir-fried tomatoes with eggs"!
"Tomatoes," their color as crimson as blood, their shape as round as an elixir—they must be a forbidden divine fruit that grows only at the end of the universe!
As for the "eggs"... what could possibly be called an "egg" by the Progenitor, other than the legendary egg of the Undying Divine Phoenix, capable of rebirth through flames?
A massive storm surged through the minds of the three.
They understood!
The Young Master had grown weary of ordinary laws and energy, and had begun to reminisce about the most fundamental, most primitive "Flavor of the Great Dao"!
The "home-cooked meals" he spoke of were not ordinary dishes at all, but an ultimate test of their Dao hearts and comprehension!
If they could grasp the true meaning and prepare "home-cooked meals" that satisfied the Young Master, what kind of heaven-defying fortune would that be?
Fu Bo was the first to react. A surge of unprecedented excitement erupted from his thin, withered frame.
He tossed aside his broom and bowed deeply to Gu Changsheng, his voice trembling with agitation: "This old servant... understands! The Young Master has returned to simplicity, seeking the true flavor of the Great Dao. This is the fortune of our Gu family! I shall go and prepare at once; I will certainly not let the Young Master down!"
Having said this, Fu Bo’s gaze became incredibly sharp, like two celestial swords capable of tearing through space and time.
He turned and strode with purpose toward a corner of the courtyard that had never been stepped upon.
There, in a desolate clearing, stood a solitary stone door covered in dust and cobwebs.
Engraved upon the stone door were countless ghastly scenes of gods and demons being disemboweled and cooked in pots. A desolate, blood-stained, and yet strangely "appetizing" aura washed over them.
This was the forbidden of the forbidden within the Gu family—the [Kitchen of Creation].
It was said that this was once the private kitchen of a certain gourmet ancestor of the Gu family. However, because that ancestor’s recipes were too shocking—often using Realm Lords as ingredients or serving God Kings at dinner—it was deemed harmful to the heavens and ultimately sealed away.
For countless epochs, no one had dared to open this door.
But today, to satisfy the Progenitor's desire for "home-cooked meals," Fu Bo decided to make a one-time exception!
He walked to the stone door, formed his fingers into a blade, and gently sliced his wrist.
A drop of golden blood, containing his boundless cultivation, dripped onto the stone door.
"Hum—"
The entire stone door trembled violently. The reliefs of gods and demons on the door seemed to come alive, letting out silent wails.
Accompanied by a harsh, grating sound, the stone door that had been sealed for countless epochs slowly opened a crack.
An indescribable, terrifying aura leaked out from the gap.
Within that aura were the resentments of Primordial Chaos Demons, the mournful cries of ancient dragons and phoenixes, the lingering souls of immortal God Kings... but above all, it was a "scent" of the ultimate, fermented over countless epochs after mixing billions of top-tier ingredients!
Just from catching a whiff, Ye Qingxian and Ji Ruxue felt as if their spirits were about to burst, and the cultivation within their bodies began to surge uncontrollably!
They stared at the door in terror, only one thought in their minds.
What kind of world lay behind that door?
Just then, a figure so tall it defied description slowly rose from the darkness behind the door.
He seemed to have thousands of arms, each holding a piece of culinary equipment shimmering with the light of the Great Dao—a kitchen knife that could sever causality, a wok that could refine reincarnation, a strainer that could divide yin and yang...
He was the Gu family’s God of Cooking, sealed within the kitchen.
When his gaze passed through the crack in the door and landed on Fu Bo, an ancient and fanatical divine sense echoed in Fu Bo’s mind.
"Who... has awakened me?"
Fu Bo endured the pressure and replied respectfully: "Lord Chef, it is I. The Progenitor... has awakened."
"He wishes to eat home-cooked meals."
"The Progenitor... wishes to eat home-cooked meals?!"
The God of Cooking’s divine sense, silent for countless epochs, erupted with fluctuations comparable to a cosmic big bang the moment he heard those words.
His thousands of eyes lit up in unison, bursting with a fanatical brilliance brighter than any star!
"Hahahaha! Good! Good! Good!"
"I have waited through endless years, and the Progenitor has finally... finally remembered the 'Flavor of the Great Dao' again! He has finally returned to taste the essence of this universe!"
The God of Cooking trembled with excitement. As he waved his thousands of arms, the laws of the entire kitchen space resonated wildly.
"Fu Bo, step back, and bring those two young girls inside to observe and learn!"
"Today, I shall let the Progenitor taste the most ultimate, 'home-cooked' flavor in this world!"
Upon hearing this, Fu Bo felt a chill of awe and immediately understood the Chef's intention.
This was a heaven-sent opportunity!
To witness the God of Cooking preparing a meal for the Progenitor—even if they could only comprehend a single move or half-style—would be a life-changing fortune for Ye Qingxian and Ji Ruxue.
He immediately led the still-dazed girls into the stone door.
The scene before them left Ye Qingxian and Ji Ruxue completely stunned.
This was no mere kitchen.
It was a vast universe existing outside of the myriad realms!
Beneath their feet were floor tiles flowing with chaotic energy. Above them was a dome burning with the fire of the Dao.
In the distance, stars bound by chains of laws were being roasted by an unknown flame, emitting a sizzling sound and wafting an alluring fragrance.
Even more, there was a long river forged from divine gold, but flowing within it was not water, but the most highly purified marrow of dragons and blood of phoenixes!
And the thousand-armed God of Cooking stood at the center of this universe.
"The Progenitor has requested: Mapo Tofu, stir-fried tomatoes with eggs!"
"These are dishes of the Great Dao that return to simplicity; the ingredients must also be taken from the origin!"
The Chef’s voice resonated like the decree of heaven throughout this universe.
He stretched out one hand, fingers splayed, and tore through the space, reaching deep into the infinitely distant Sea of Chaos.
"Roar—!"
A roar filled with fury and terror echoed from the other side of space.
Ye Qingxian and Ji Ruxue’s divine senses followed the path of that arm, and their faces turned pale with fright.
They saw that in a forbidden zone of the Sea of Chaos, a Chaos Demon with a body comparable to a vast world was sleeping. This demon was the "Dao-Devouring Demon" that had been suppressed here by the Gu family in the previous epoch for attempting to disrupt the balance of the universe.
At this moment, the God of Cooking’s giant hand had precisely grasped its spine!