Chapter 190: As Expected of My Granddaughter

Chapter 190: Chapter 190: As Expected of My Granddaughter

"There’s no harm in telling you. I don’t plan on continuing my cultivation in Purple Cloud Valley, so I won’t be selling any Third Grade Spiritual Cuisine. If you two take the Third Grade Spiritual Cuisine back with you, please help me keep it a secret."

In the back garden, Liu Chen spoke calmly after finishing a Poria Cake. He wasn’t worried about Junior Sister Linglong, but he figured Junior Sister Suyao would present the Spiritual Cuisine as a celebratory gift to the Emperor of the Great Xia.

If the gift box were opened in public, his identity as a Third Grade Spirit Chef would be impossible to conceal.

At that point, it wouldn’t just be the Great Xia Dynasty. The neighboring Black Feather Dynasty and even Tianya City would likely take action. Liu Chen would inevitably draw more attention, making his dream of becoming a Loose Cultivator and finding a peaceful place to cultivate difficult to realize.

"Of course."

Ye Linglong nodded. Her parents had already discussed this with her. In fact, it was why they were planning to leave the Ye Family and move directly to the Purple Cloud Valley Marketplace. As long as Purple Cloud Valley stood, they would be safe and wouldn’t have to worry about the Ye Family forcing them to interact with their Senior Brother.

"I’ll have my grandfather keep it a secret."

Ji Suyao nodded. Her parents had no need for Spiritual Cuisine, and she wasn’t keen on making a public appearance at her grandfather’s ceremony anyway. This gave her the perfect excuse to deliver the gift in private.

"Then that’s settled. You two can split the rest of the Poria Cakes."

Liu Chen nodded, his gaze falling on the dozen or so Poria Cakes on the table. He had already eaten over ten and was getting a bit sick of the taste. Since he had to make more tomorrow, there was no point in saving them.

Ye Linglong and Ji Suyao exchanged a look, quickly divided the Poria Cakes, and then left the mansion.

Two days passed leisurely, and in the blink of an eye, it was the eve of the ceremony on October fourteenth.

Aside from practicing his Cultivation Technique, Liu Chen had spent the past two days training his Transformation Technique. It had now reached the Perfection Realm. Combined with his Eye-blocking Technique, his disguise was practically flawless. Once this Transformation Technique evolved into his own unique skill, hiding his identity for future actions would become even easier.

His life these past two days had been quite routine. The only unexpected event was Ji Feng trading three Third Grade Storage Rings for ten portions of Spiritual Cuisine.

In the familiar back garden, the familiar Poria Cakes were ready. However, the batch was slightly larger than before, as Liu Chen had promised Junior Sister Suyao he would make extra to be delivered to the Imperial Palace tonight.

Tomorrow was the ceremony itself. The Emperor would offer sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, and only after that would the festivities officially begin.

"You’re not planning to take advantage of me going to the Imperial Palace to stay here with Senior Brother, are you?"

Before stepping into the carriage with the Poria Cakes, Ji Suyao winked at Ye Linglong, who was planning to stay in the mansion a little longer. She wasn’t stupid; she knew that when Ye Linglong had dragged her to the Ye Family, it wasn’t just to keep the Royal Family from bothering their Senior Brother. It was also to prevent her, Suyao, from living in the same mansion as him.

It was a hassle for her to return to the Imperial Palace, but it was easy for Ye Linglong to go back to the Ye Mansion.

"What kind of nonsense goes through your head all day?"

Ye Linglong pouted. ’At any other time, I might have entertained the idea of spending more time with Senior Brother, but not this time. I really don’t get what goes through that girl’s head every day.’

"Pretty much the same things you think about."

Ji Suyao shrugged and stepped directly into the carriage. As it slowly pulled away, Ye Linglong sighed in resignation. ’For some reason, she’s suddenly gotten sharper,’ she thought. ’That might not be a good thing, especially right now.’

Ye Linglong went back into the courtyard. After staying for a short while to discuss tomorrow’s meals with Liu Chen, she returned to the Ye Mansion.

「Meanwhile, in the Imperial Palace」

Ji Suyao went straight to a pavilion where Ji Wentao, the Emperor of the Great Xia, was staring blankly into space.

"Grandfather, I brought you something wonderful."

Ji Suyao ran over and placed the case on the table, her eyes full of anticipation.

"What is it?"

Ji Wentao forced a smile. Tomorrow, he would be another year older. If he couldn’t achieve another breakthrough, his journey in the Qi Refining Realm would essentially be over. To make matters worse, according to intelligence gathered by the Great Xia Royal Family, a Sect in the distant Frost Winter Dynasty had just been conquered.

It wouldn’t be long, he presumed, before the Great Xia Dynasty also fell into chaos.

The only silver lining was that his granddaughter was about to become a formal disciple, allowing her to escape the coming turmoil. Even if the Great Xia Dynasty were to fall, the Ji Family bloodline would endure.

His only regret was that there was a ninety-percent chance it would all be to the benefit of that bastard Mo Xuan’s disciple.

"It’s your favorite Poria Cake."

Ji Suyao opened the case, and a dense wave of Spiritual Power instantly filled the air. With sharp eyes and swift hands, Ji Wentao immediately sealed off the surrounding fluctuations.

"This is Third Grade Spiritual Cuisine?"

Staring at the Poria Cake in the case, Ji Wentao asked with uncertainty. He had seen First Grade Spiritual Cuisine, and he had even had Second Grade Spiritual Cuisine from Fire Dragon Valley. But the Spiritual Power emanating from this Poria Cake was more than ten times stronger than that of the Second Grade dishes. Just taking a whiff, he could feel the Spiritual Power within him stir and become active.

"Third Grade Poria Cake. Senior Brother only just figured out how to make it. You have to keep it a secret, Grandfather."

Ji Suyao said with a beaming smile. Ji Wentao looked at her, his expression thoughtful. ’So that’s it.’ He finally understood why the so-called Second Grade Spirit Chef hadn’t sold any Spiritual Cuisine since arriving in the Great Xia Imperial City. In Purple Cloud Valley and Fire Dragon Valley, he had sold his wares, but those were Second Grade Spiritual Cuisine at most.

There was high demand for Second Grade Spiritual Cuisine, but across the Great Xia, those who needed it for breakthroughs were mostly mid-tier Cultivators. Third Grade Spiritual Cuisine, however, could influence the upper echelons. After all, someone in the Qi Refining Realm could, in theory, already become the ruler of a nation.

As for the higher Foundation Establishment Realm, cultivators of that level wouldn’t show themselves unless something major occurred. Since this person was already a Third Grade Spirit Chef, he had no need to sell Spiritual Cuisine at all.

"That’s my granddaughter."

Snapping back to the present, Ji Wentao popped a Poria Cake into his mouth. He would set aside those thoughts for now. If this allowed him to break through, he might even have a chance of advancing to the Foundation Establishment Realm in the future. That was the way of cultivation: once you overcame a long-standing bottleneck, you would rarely get stuck again before reaching the peak of that new realm.

"Senior Brother made it."

Ji Suyao wasn’t trying to take credit; it would have been pointless anyway. She sensed that her grandfather held a strange hostility toward her Senior Brother, which was precisely why she had specifically asked him to prepare the Poria Cake. ’It would be great if this could clear up that hostility,’ she hoped.

"I know that, of course. But... are you sure your Senior Brother doesn’t have any other intentions toward you?"

Ji Wentao couldn’t help but ask. While he couldn’t bear the thought of his granddaughter being snatched away by Mo Xuan’s disciple, there was likely no changing things now. That being the case, he might as well ask. In fact, it would be even better if the two of them became cultivation partners before Liu Chen returned to the Mo Family.

A Third Grade Spirit Chef was a prize anywhere you went. Unless Spirit Chefs suddenly became a dime a dozen—which was impossible. Thanks to the deliberate recruitment efforts of the other three dynasties, inheritors of specialized Skills like this were nearly extinct within the Four Great Dynasties, Great Xia included.

Even in the dynasties that sought to dominate, Cultivators with such inherited Skills were few and far between.

"What on earth are you thinking?"