In the Vast Wilderness, Cangmang Mountain Range
The wild beasts and wild variants dared not approach Shi Yi. His six radiant passages, blazing like erupting volcanoes and refining the essence of heaven and earth, instilled awe in their hearts. While archaic species-level beasts might not fear him, they had no reason to draw near.
The issue was this: though the meat Shi Yi roasted smelled divine, its allure came from the spices he used. In truth, it was merely the flesh of a wild beast—a spotted tiger. Such meat held little appeal for archaic species, attracting only lower-tier wild beasts and variants.
Those who craved it lacked the courage to approach, and those capable of taking it scorned it as beneath them.
Yet, the world is full of oddities. One ancient, dying archaic species, nearing the end of its lifespan, had a peculiar fondness for such fare. It had noticed Shi Yi and his roasting meat.
A thousand years ago, this creature had tasted human-cooked barbecue and never forgotten it. Now, at the twilight of its life, it stumbled upon someone grilling in the Cangmang Mountains.
So it's him—the boy who came to Stone Village three years ago. He's grown so much.
The creature, resembling a lion with a single horn atop its head, sighed as it gazed at Shi Yi. To avoid startling him—and to secure one last meal before death—this archaic species, a suanni, transformed into human form for the first time in its life.
As a proud archaic species, a dominant force in the Great Wilderness with noble blood, it had always disdained taking human shape. But with death looming, such pretensions no longer mattered.
In the blink of an eye, the hundred-meter-tall suanni shrank, its massive form condensing into a white-haired elder within a few breaths.
Minutes later, a voice rang out. "Hahaha, young friend! Meeting in the Great Wilderness is fate. I haven't eaten yet—on account of this fate, might you invite this old man to share your barbecue?"
The sudden voice made Shi Yi tilt his head, bewildered and unsure. He hadn't noticed the white-haired elder's approach. But in the next moment, his jet-black, luminous eyes—housing twin pupils that orbited each other—flashed briefly, piercing through the elder's disguise.
Good heavens, a suanni?!
Shi Yi sucked in a sharp breath, his heart sinking. He was just a humble Heavenly Passage Realm cultivator—a weakling by comparison. For a Venerable Realm archaic species, a suanni in human form, to ask him for barbecue… Will I die if I refuse?
That was the question.
After a few seconds of thought, Shi Yi decided to play it safe and give the elder face.
"No need for such words, old sir! Your presence demands respect. Take a seat—the meat needs a bit more time to reach the pinnacle of barbecue perfection."
As he spoke, Shi Yi couldn't help but inwardly grumble. Back in Martial King Manor, he'd lived a life of luxury, with meals served on command and a maid, A'man, at his beck and call for teasing. Yet since arriving in Stone Village, he'd been forced to become a master of grilling, stewing, and cooking—a chef in all but name. What sins did I commit to deserve this?
From noble scion to rustic villager. Grass [a certain plant]!
"Barbecue… pinnacle of perfection?" The white-haired elder's eyes gleamed, and drool—literal drool—pooled at his feet, forming a small puddle.
"Of course! Cultivation has its extremes, and so does barbecue. Anything in this world, when taken to its utmost, even the mundane, will birth its own dazzling brilliance," Shi Yi said with a sigh.
Heaven pity me. These past years, he'd endured countless hardships, fending for himself in the wilderness. If not for his daily chats with Liu Shen to lift his spirits, he might've shut himself off from the world. His obsession with seeing Liu Shen's true form, her real face, was all to add a splash of color to his monotonous life.
Though she'd exiled him, he'd finally glimpsed her visage. Worth it.
Half an hour later, Shi Yi lifted a roasted tiger foreleg from the grill. "Old sir, the meat's ready. Careful, it's hot—though I suppose you're not afraid of a little heat."
He handed the leg to the white-haired elder, the suanni in disguise. The moment he took it, the elder tore into it without a shred of decorum.
"Oh! Delicious! Truly delicious! To taste such exquisite food before my end—I can die without regrets!" The suanni's eyes glistened with tears, as if the flavor moved him to weep.
Shi Yi watched, puzzled. Did I accidentally butcher a pureblood beast's cub? Or does this tiger have some extraordinary bloodline? How could ordinary barbecue taste this good?
What Shi Yi didn't realize was that his "ordinary" barbecue was the result of three years of meticulous study by the double-pupiled prodigy. As he'd said, anything pushed to its extreme, even the mundane, could shine brilliantly—and his barbecue was no exception.
Why were double-pupiled individuals called reincarnated saints? Shi Yi still didn't fully grasp it. A saint's innate wisdom meant no secret could hide from their gaze, and their ability to learn and create was unparalleled.
Despite his carefree nature, aversion to hardship, and occasional laziness, Shi Yi had opened six passages in three years—a testament to his talent. To eat better and treat himself kindly, he'd poured effort into studying cooking, blending techniques from the cuisines of that blue planet from his past life into his methods.
A double-pupiled prodigy, splitting his focus between cultivation and cuisine, had unknowingly mastered the culinary arts. The dishes he crafted had reached the zenith of their ingredients' potential. To Shi Yi, his barbecue seemed ordinary because he ate it daily. But to the suanni, who hadn't tasted human food in a millennium, this was only his second encounter with such a meal.
Why hadn't he eaten it more often? Pride. As a noble archaic species, how could he stoop to eating "base" human food? If other archaic species caught wind of it, how could he show his face in their circles?
But now, on the brink of death, he'd let go of such concerns. Eat while you can, or you'll never get the chance again.
Another half-hour passed. The two five-meter-long tiger forelegs had vanished into the bellies of Shi Yi and the suanni. It was hard to imagine how one young man and one old man could hold so much.
"Old sir, you seem to know me," Shi Yi said lazily, lying back and patting his rounded belly.
"Who in the Great Wilderness doesn't know of Stone Village's willow tree? Countless archaic species and even pureblood beasts have fallen to its might. You, sent here three years ago, have long been in our sights," the suanni replied, not denying it. He knew Shi Yi had seen through his true form from the start.
"So you're saying, as long as I don't court death, no one in the Great Wilderness would dare touch me out of respect for Liu Shen?" Shi Yi asked, curious.
"In theory, yes. But not every archaic species or pureblood beast fears her," the suanni said, shaking his head.
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