Only at the Mahayana Stage Does the Reversal System Appear - Chapter 491

Chapter 489: Golden Light Curse (Thanks to the book friend Immortal Reincarnation for the reward)

“This question is quite a coincidence! It’s timed perfectly, just as the Spiritual Chef Sect is about to hold a competition.” Jiang Li glanced at the test questions and felt quite lucky.

Commander Liu hadn’t known Jiang Li would also be participating in the Human Emperor Candidates competition. He had given some test questions, not randomly, but by asking Jiang Li to choose from them. Some of the test questions would be difficult to complete if he missed the deadline.

…

The Human Emperor Candidates from all over the world were summoned to Jiang Li’s consciousness space. Two new faces joined the Human Emperor Candidates: Luo Ying and Luo Zhu.

Jiang Li greeted them casually, without airs: “Hello everyone, we meet again.”

“Seeing me, you should realize what’s coming. Yes, another Human Emperor Candidates competition.”

“After the last fishing competition, I gave you an assignment: guess which two Human Emperor Candidates caught the most fish. I wonder if anyone has come to a conclusion yet?”

Jiang Li smiled as he glanced at the young men. They shook their heads in confusion. They pondered for a long time, but couldn’t come up with the answer.

Seeing this, Jiang Li shook his head slightly, feigning disappointment.

Luckily, he wasn’t recognized, so he could continue pretending to be a candidate for the Human Emperor.

“This test also doesn’t involve cultivation.”

“It’s said that food is the most important thing for people, and it’s indispensable for intelligent beings. Although cultivators no longer need to eat after reaching a certain level of cultivation, is the purpose of food simply to satisfy hunger?”

“Of course not.”

“Eating is a pleasure, a form of entertainment, and a method of cultivation. Eating delicious food can bring peace of mind, and eating food imbued with spiritual energy can improve cultivation.”

“It’s for this reason that the Spiritual Kitchen was born.”

“The Spiritual Kitchen Sect is currently holding a competition open to all cultivators. This time, the test for the Human Emperor candidate is to win the Spiritual Kitchen Sect competition.”

“Considering the sensitive nature of the Human Emperor candidate identity, participating as one would cause a disturbance. Therefore, everyone must conceal their identities during this test.”

“I’ll drop you off near the Spiritual Kitchen Sect, and you can proceed on your own.”

Jiang Li said, sending everyone off.

…

The Seven Killing Daoist happened to be traveling near the Spiritual Kitchen Sect, so Jiang Li didn’t need to move.

He told the young princesses of the Mermaid and Southern Dragon tribes about the Human Emperor candidate test, and both of them expressed regret.

“What a shame we didn’t become Human Emperor candidates! Otherwise, with our culinary skills, we’d easily have won first place.”

Qi Sha Daozi shuddered at this, unwilling to recall the meals his two companions had prepared while camping outdoors.

During his journey, Qi Sha Daozi had insisted on not spending the night outdoors, insisting on finding an inn—not just for a place to sleep, but for a place to eat.

…

“Are there any of us three who can cook?” Yu Yin looked at Bai Hongtu and Jiang Li, thinking she couldn’t, and she had never seen them cook before.

She had only cooked simple dishes like salt-roasted rabbit. While she could theoretically prepare complex meals, she had never actually put them into practice.

She wasn’t interested in food; she simply cared for it as long as it was edible. Since her fasting period, she hadn’t eaten a single meal unless Jiang Li or Bai Hongtu treated her to a meal.

Yu Yin had read books about spirit chefs. The novel told the story of a Mahayana cultivator who was a hidden spirit chef. His cooking skills were so superb that even without seasoning, simply controlling the heat, he could create enchanting dishes.

The Mahayana spirit chef and the foodie heroine met in the jungle, and the chef captured her heart with a barbecue.

At the end of the novel, the heroine died. Disheartened, the Mahayana spirit chef ascended to the Celestial Realm, only to discover that the foodie heroine was actually a trial-level immortal. She hadn’t actually died, but had returned to the Celestial Realm to wait for the Mahayana spirit chef’s ascension.

The two ultimately lived happily together in the Celestial Realm and had three children.

After reading the novel, Yu Yin rubbed his brow, feeling that he had wasted an entire day. What kind of nonsense was this?

“I know how to eat,” Bai Hongtu admitted. He had never cooked before.

Jiang Li wasn’t much better than these two.

Commander Liu had chosen the content of this test brilliantly, hitting their blind spots.

The three of them started at the same starting line, and Yu Yin felt she could possibly surpass Jiang Li.

Jiang Li, unconcerned, replied, “You’re right? If you can’t cook, you can’t participate in the Spirit Chef Competition?”

Jiang Li produced proof of his Grandmaster Alchemy skills: “See? I took first place at the Alchemy Conference, and Su Wei had to finish behind me.”

Yu Yin felt the competition was incredibly complex.

She had witnessed Jiang Li’s alchemy skills before. When the three of them were still candidates for the Human Emperor, the Old Emperor assigned them a mission to slay a demonic cultivator.

When the three of them were exhausted fighting the demonic cultivator, Jiang Li produced a Blood Explosion Pill. Taking it could unleash their potential, instantly increasing their strength by 50%.

As long as Jiang Li took the pill, victory was assured.

Unexpectedly, the demonic cultivator used his magical skills to steal the Blood Explosion Pill and consume it directly.

Just as the three of them were despairing, the demonic cultivator’s strength inexplicably plummeted, leaving only half its original strength. Seeing this, the three of them attacked together, slaying the demonic cultivator.

Afterward, Yu Yin inquired about the Blood Explosion Pill. Jiang Li explained that he had refined it himself, following the recipe step by step, but somehow, he had created a pill with the opposite effect.

It not only depleted potential but also caused a decline in strength.

From then on, whenever Yu Yin encountered Jiang Li refining pills, she avoided him.

When the three of them arrived at the Spiritual Chef Sect, they found it overcrowded. Many cultivators, wielding kitchen knives at their waists, milled about. The sheer number of Spiritual Chefs was enough to defy common sense.

These were the most renowned Spiritual Chef masters on the Jiuzhou Continent.

The common perception was that Spiritual Chefs were rare, and that encountering a true one was rare. This impression was actually correct, but it was only a small number relative to the total number of cultivators.

The Spiritual Chefs Sect’s conference now attracts spirit chefs from all over the place. With spirit chefs gathered together, there are naturally more people to watch.

“I heard that after some chefs finish cooking a dish, they open the lid and a golden light will burst out into the sky?” Yu Yin had heard some rumors. The Tianyuan Dynasty didn’t even have an imperial kitchen, so she had little contact with spirit chefs.

“Yes, this is the ‘Golden Light Mantra’ passed down orally among the spirit chefs. Before closing the lid, silently recite the ‘Golden Light Mantra’ towards the food, and it will make it glow.” Jiang Li had even eaten glowing candied haws.

“What’s the use of this?”

“It’s awe-inspiring.”

“Why do I remember that when I was a child, spirit chefs didn’t have this skill.” Bai Hongtu, as a member of the Yuandao Sect, attended many banquets as a child and had seen spirit chefs cooking, but this was never the case.

Jiang Li said lightly: “Because I wrote the ‘Golden Light Mantra’.”

“…”

As the three chatted, Jiang Li noticed that the candidates for the Human Emperor who had concealed their identities had all come here to complete their registration.

(End of this chapter)