Chapter 34: Chapter 32: Someone is Causing Trouble

Mo Qi had brutally killed the Third Elder’s own grandson, Wang Hao, at the Gambling Arena.

Mo Qi had been taken in as a disciple by the chief Alchemy Master, Yu Liang.

Mo Qi had been specially approved by the Sect Leader to become a Core Disciple, rewarded with one hundred thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones, ten thousand contribution points, and the highest level of treatment.

Mo Qi had a strong relationship with Inspector Elder Yang Ming, who was rumored to be his backer.

An entire week had passed since the duel between Mo Qi and Wang Hao, but the storm of rumors surrounding Mo Qi hadn’t weakened. Instead, it had grown even more intense.

Pushed by an invisible hand, countless disciples grew increasingly dissatisfied with Mo Qi becoming a Core Disciple.

The notion that defeating Mo Qi would allow one to take his place as a Core Disciple spread far and wide, sounding more and more like the truth as it circulated.

Furthermore, not a single member of the Void Sect’s upper echelon stepped forward to debunk the rumors, leading many to believe they were true.

"Damn it, on what grounds does a piece of trash who can’t even condense True Essence get to be a Core Disciple?"

"That bastard Wang Hao was a useless fool too. He was loaded with treasures but still couldn’t beat a cook. Did all his years of cultivation go to the dogs?"

"Hmph, if I had an Elder for a grandfather and he gave me that many resources, I could crush Mo Qi with one hand."

"This is our chance! It doesn’t matter if the rumors are true or not. As long as we defeat Mo Qi, we’re guaranteed to make a name for ourselves in the Void Sect."

"This is a struggle among our younger generation. Master Yu and the Inspector Elder can’t interfere unless they’re willing to lose all face and force their way in. But if that happens, Mo Qi will never be able to hold his head high again."

"Let’s go, let’s go! We can’t let someone else get to a golden opportunity like this first."

...

Mo Qi had no idea that he had become the public enemy of the Void Sect’s younger generation of Elite Disciples. He was even more oblivious to the fact that countless disciples with Refining God Cultivation were currently scrambling to be the first to fight him.

He had only done two things over the past week.

First, he diligently studied Yu Liang’s alchemy notes, stayed by his side to ask about basic pharmacology, and also learned the alchemy process and some techniques.

Second, he used the one hundred thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones and ten thousand contribution points from Yun Xuzi’s compensation to trade for a few Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures in the Void Sect’s treasury. He combined them with an Earth Dragon Demon Beast Core and a Dragon Carp to prepare a Medicinal Cuisine dish for Liu Hui called "Two Dragons Playing with the Pearl."

Naturally, Yu Liang and Yang Ming weren’t going to miss out on tasting "Two Dragons Playing with the Pearl."

After all, Mo Qi and Liu Hui’s Cultivation was still shallow; the Medicinal Power of "Two Dragons Playing with the Pearl" was more than they could handle.

Therefore, aside from the specially prepared Earth Dragon Demon Beast Core that Mo Qi implanted into Liu Hui’s Dantian for him to slowly digest and absorb...

...the vast majority of the other ingredients in "Two Dragons Playing with the Pearl" ended up in the stomachs of Yu Liang, Yang Ming, and the Pig Emperor.

Even so, Liu Hui’s Cultivation skyrocketed directly from the Qi Refining Sixth Heaven to the Refining God Realm!

And thanks to the nourishment from the Earth Dragon Demon Beast Core, Liu Hui’s Cultivation was rapidly increasing with every passing moment.

Mo Qi himself also broke through the Nine Transformations into Spirit, Fifth Turn Nourishing the Divine Being. He had prematurely opened his Sea of Consciousness, reaching the Sixth Transition Essence Purification.

If anyone else were to find out that he—a rookie who couldn’t even condense True Essence and on the surface only had a Refining Essence Cultivation—had actually opened a Sea of Consciousness, something only attainable in the Refining God Realm, they would probably be scared to death.

This was the benefit of the Fifth Transformation Nourishing Divine Being.

Mo Qi wasn’t sure how much his combat prowess had increased, but he knew one thing: his ability to prepare Medicinal Cuisine had undergone a qualitative breakthrough.

Because he had opened his Sea of Consciousness, he could now project his Spiritual Power.

This gave him more delicate control over his ingredients, making the preparation process much smoother.

The success rate for making Medicinal Cuisine also went from ninety percent to nearly one hundred percent.

As for the Sixth Transition Essence Purification, according to the description in the *Creation Golden Body Technique*, Mo Qi needed to expel all the Muddy Essence Energy accumulated in his Acquired body and replace it entirely with Innate Essence Energy, laying the foundation for constructing the purest Spirit Body in the future.

So where did Innate Essence Energy come from?

For others, Innate Essence Energy only existed within the mother’s womb. No one but the fetus itself could obtain it.

But Mo Qi was different. The *Chaos Scripture* allowed him to extract the slivers of Innate Essence Energy contained within the Spiritual Object ingredients of the Medicinal Cuisine he cooked, making it available for his absorption.

Therefore, to cultivate the Sixth Transition Essence Purification, Mo Qi needed to consume a large amount of Medicinal Cuisine, and the higher the grade of the ingredients, the better.

The one hundred thousand stalks of Low-Level Spirit Medicine Yu Liang gave him were far from enough, as most of them were First-Level Spirit Medicine, and the Innate Essence Energy they contained was almost negligible.

To complete the purification process as quickly as possible without being overwhelmed by the Medicinal Power, the best choice was Second- or Third-Level Spirit Medicine.

So, how could he obtain enough Spirit Medicine? Mo Qi already had a plan for that.

"Liu Hui, come out! Time to get to work!"

Because he had been promoted to a Core Disciple, Mo Qi’s privileges had increased dramatically, which made it much more convenient for him to do many things.

For example, he had converted his residence into a restaurant and placed it on a solitary mountain peak.

Hearing Mo Qi’s call, Liu Hui awoke from his Cultivation.

"What are your orders, my lord?"

Mo Qi had already grown accustomed to how Liu Hui addressed him and no longer bothered to correct it.

He handed the sign in his hands to Liu Hui and said, "Hang this outside. The restaurant opens today!"

That’s right. Mo Qi’s plan was to open a restaurant within the Void Sect, trading Medicinal Cuisine for High-Level Spirit Medicine or contribution points.

Liu Hui shouldered the sign, walked outside, and hung it directly above the main entrance.

"This..."

When he pulled off the red cloth and saw the four words on the sign—"Uncle Niu’s Kitchen God"—he froze.

This was the first time since pledging fealty to Mo Qi that Liu Hui had doubted his actions.

’What the hell is "Uncle Niu’s Kitchen God"?! Could there be a dumber name than this?’

Mo Qi’s idea was actually quite simple. On one hand, he wanted to build Uncle Niu’s reputation. On the other hand, no matter who came—regardless of their identity or status—as soon as they saw the sign, they would silently read "Uncle Niu" and then add the two words "Kitchen God."

Whatever they thought after reading it, they would inevitably associate Uncle Niu with the title of Kitchen God.

In the long run, when Mo Qi became famous throughout the world, the "Uncle Niu’s Kitchen God" signboard would also become known and recognized by everyone, thus fulfilling his promise to Uncle Niu.

’Should I go out and do some promoting?’ Liu Hui thought, rubbing his chin.

He had absolute confidence in Mo Qi’s culinary skills, but the mountain Mo Qi had chosen was simply too remote. There wasn’t a soul for dozens of miles around; it was on the very edge of the Void Sect’s territory.

Just then, a dozen or so figures descended boisterously from the sky, landing beside Liu Hui.

’Customers already?’

"This is the right place, isn’t it?"

"Definitely. I checked the records from my master. Mo Qi lives here. Damn, being a Core Disciple is nice; you get your own mountain peak."

"There’s someone right there. Let’s just ask him."

A young man in white beckoned with his finger and looked at Liu Hui. "Hey, you. Come over here. Does Mo Qi live here?"

The flippant gesture and rude attitude made Liu Hui frown slightly, but remembering that the customer is always right, he suppressed his anger and said in a low voice, "Yes, my lord does indeed live here."

"Oh? ’My lord’? He hasn’t mastered the skills of a Core Disciple, but he’s certainly perfected the airs," the white-robed youth sneered, his disdainful expression filled with jealousy.

"Hey, look!" someone exclaimed, having spotted the restaurant’s sign.

"Huh? Uncle Niu’s Kitchen God? What kind of nonsense is that!"

"You have to understand, he comes from a cook’s background, after all. His perspective and ambitions are only so-so. A name like this is perfectly reasonable for him, hahaha."

"What a waste of such a fine mountain peak."

"Aren’t you here to eat and spend money?" Liu Hui asked with a frown.

"What?" The white-robed youth looked utterly astonished, then burst out laughing. "Eat and spend money? Don’t tell me this is a restaurant."

"Hahaha, I’m dying of laughter! A Core Disciple, of all people, is occupying a mountain peak just to open a restaurant."

"Hmph. A low-class person will always be low-class. Even dressed in fine robes, he can’t become one of the elite."

Liu Hui could see it clearly now. This group wasn’t customers at all; they were obviously here to cause trouble.

"Go get your master. Tell him we’re here to claim his position as Core Disciple," the white-robed youth said, full of vigor.

Originally, he had felt a little uncertain because Mo Qi had defeated Wang Hao. But now, having seen the restaurant with his own eyes, he believed he had figured out Mo Qi’s "ambitions" and was suddenly filled with confidence.

He even secretly congratulated himself for arriving early. Otherwise, such a great opportunity to become famous would have been snatched up by someone else.

"Get lost!" Liu Hui waved his hand in annoyance, his face darkening.

If it weren’t the first day of business and he wanted to maintain some good luck, he would have already made his move.

"What did you say?" The white-robed youth’s face was a mask of disbelief. A mere servant dared to tell them to get lost?

"You dare say that again?"

"Damn it! I’ve seen people looking for money, women, and fun, but I’ve never seen anyone looking for a cursing! Now all of you, get the hell out!" Ever since obtaining the Dragon Race’s Divine Techniques, Liu Hui’s personality had become extremely arrogant under the influence of Dragon Energy. He submitted to no one except Mo Qi and the Pig Emperor—not even his master, Yang Ming.

"Kid, do you know who we are? You should know that disaster comes from a loose tongue!"

The smiles vanished from the faces of the white-robed youth and his companions. Their expressions were so dark they looked like they could drip water.

Just then, Mo Qi walked out.

"What’s all the commotion about?"

Liu Hui quickly said, "My lord, someone’s here to cause trouble."

"Cause trouble?" Mo Qi glanced at the white-robed youth and his group, then looked back at Liu Hui. "Then what are you waiting for? Throw them off the mountain!"

That casual, matter-of-fact tone made the white-robed youth’s group feel deeply insulted.

’We’re all Elite Disciples with Refining God Cultivation, you know! We’re not rookies like Wang Hao who had just broken through. All of us are at the Refining God Third Heaven or higher, and the leader in white is even at the Refining God Fifth Heaven!’

’Telling him to just throw us off the mountain... is it really okay to look down on us like this?’

"So you’re Mo Qi? The piece of trash who started as a Kitchen Hand?" the white-robed youth couldn’t help but provoke.

Mo Qi had heard such words so many times that they no longer affected him.

Liu Hui, however, narrowed his eyes, his killing intent flaring. No one was allowed to insult his lord!

"A cook is just a cook. Even if he becomes a Core Disciple, a dog can’t change its habit of eating shit. Uncle Niu’s Kitchen God? What kind of bullshit Uncle Niu? You think you can become a god just by knowing how to cook a few dishes? What a joke!"

Mo Qi, who had been turning to leave, stopped in his tracks. He could tolerate people looking down on him, cursing him, and insulting him, but he would absolutely not allow anyone to disrespect Uncle Niu.

"Smash their teeth, then cripple their limbs and throw them off the mountain!" Mo Qi tossed out the command and entered the restaurant.

Liu Hui grinned, revealing a menacing smile.

With Mo Qi’s permission, he could now act without restraint.