CHAPTER 425: 423. MASTER, AM I VERY WEAK?

If it were any other two-star Vortex Divine Artisan, he wouldn’t be so respectful to them, especially not at this time.

But H Lan is different. Behind him stands a three-star Vortex Divine Artisan, with immense power. The Iron Mountain Pavilion simply cannot force H Lan to do anything.

"Master H Lan, it seems you’ll still have to go find Yan Zheng." Yan Zheng, being the manager of the Hundred Sects Alliance, also has considerable power behind him, and H Lan should give him some face.

Of course, he only thinks he should.

Not necessarily.

After mumbling to himself, Tie Muhe waved everyone away. Jin Rong is currently the best breakthrough point; he must know some critical information.

But Jin Rong remains silent, definitely out of fear of retaliation.

He could guess this easily because even the double Mountain Suppression Realm of the Iron Mountain Pavilion allowed the other to leave openly, so the Qi Bing Academy is practically like an ant in comparison. Yet, this ant-like existence is the lifelong effort of Jin Rong.

"Wait, first offer a bribe. As long as he reveals everything he knows, I will promise him a mid-grade Profound Level Vein Technique." A mid-grade Profound Level Vein Technique is something that a Divine Profound Realm would dream of.

"Sect Leader... isn’t that a bit too much? Can’t we just intimidate him directly..."

"Either way is difficult, intimidation certainly won’t work. Especially someone like him, who has lived for hundreds of years, with so many concerns. Alright, go handle it, but I want results soon."

"Yes!"

Elder Kong nodded, silently leaving.

Tie Muhe put the letter away and returned to the sect alone, focusing on cleaning and renovating the territory.

At this time, the Iron Mountain Sect needs him to stand in the most visible place.

To give everyone faith!

...

And then there’s Wen Ping.

After taking the items into the kitchen, Zi Ran followed suit.

"Sect Leader Wen, is there anything I can do?"

Bam!

Wen Ping immediately raised his hand, sending a wave of Vein Qi to slam the door shut hard.

"No need, just don’t disturb me."

Zi Ran stood in front of the door, her expression frozen, but she didn’t get angry, even though it was the first time in a century someone had slammed the door in her face.

Knock knock!

Knock knock!

As she was about to turn and leave, she suddenly heard the sound of a knife falling onto the chopping board from the kitchen.

"What is this?"

Especially after hearing the continuous, unbroken sound of chopping, she grew more curious.

Is this kind of knife work needed for Spiritual Cuisine?

Spiritual Cuisine generally consists of soups and porridge for bodily absorption. Occasionally, there are dish-like existences, but isn’t continuous chopping unnecessary?

"Looks like I’ve been ignorant; Sect Leader Wen’s technique seems to be a secret art..." With a couple of sighs, Zi Ran suddenly whispered into the air.

"Within thirty feet, no one is allowed to approach. If any stranger comes, kill them immediately, regardless of their faction." In essence, even if they’re at the Mountain Suppression Realm and intrude, kill!

Of course, she was only saying this.

She believed there was no one daring enough to venture into Sea Dragon Mountain without permission.

After her words, a sound replied from the air.

Ethereal and elusive.

If one were to look up, they would see a small green bird atop the pavilion, with lively eyes, as if it were a lark.

At this moment, inside the kitchen, Wen Ping deftly wielded two knives, chopping meat stuffing.

Beast meat, mixed with Celestial Materials, was instantly crushed to bits by the shadow-like knives.

More than this, Wen Ping marveled at the speed of chopping the meat stuffing.

The Divine Profound Realm and the Profound Realm are entirely different concepts.

When he was in the Immortal Sect, a Profound Realm needed one or two hours to finish the meat stuffing; now, fifteen minutes is enough.

However, away from the system’s kitchen, the final cooking process is the biggest problem. The system kitchen can automatically adjust temperature and correct his mistakes, but here, there’s no such aid—he has to stay by the pot all the time.

After mixing in some Moonlight Leaves with the meat stuffing, Wen Ping took out the Jianmu leaves stored in the Jade Box from his Storage Ring. He initially planned to use them for detoxifying himself in case he encountered any strange plants, weather, or other dangers on the road. Nature’s terrifying aspect is its unpredictability, which can be most deadly.

Heaven and Earth Lake is an unknown land to Wen Ping.

For Zi Ran, Wen Ping mixed ten pieces of Jianmu leaves in a dumpling. Jianmu leaves can fuse with any Celestial Materials, so there’s no worry about too much breaking the entire Spiritual Cuisine. For himself, Wen Ping only casually added one or two pieces, merely to enhance flavor without any other purpose.

And so, time slowly passed by.

The next morning, as Wen Ping was still cooking dumplings, Zi Ran woke up to prepare to teach Bainian Xiang.

This was the daily compulsory lesson.

Although she couldn’t make Vortex Maps, there was no problem guiding people.

"You must remember, the traits of each Celestial Material are different, and the sequence of adding them is crucial, which you already know. Today, I’ll teach you the method of stirring... Every Vortex Map emerges from stirring, determining its ultimate success or failure. Thus, the stirring method is extremely important..."

"Like this..."

Saying that, Zi Ran began demonstrating the stirring method with trembling hands.

Of course, it was just an outline.

But as Zi Ran was earnestly teaching, Bainian Xiang appeared somewhat distracted.

Bam!

Not until a wooden stick touched his forehead did Bainian Xiang come to his senses.

"Master, I am listening."

"Listening to what... You don’t even know where your mind went. Speak up, what are you thinking, do you think these hands of mine can’t teach you anything?"

"Master, you misunderstood," Bainian Xiang hurriedly explained, "I was thinking about yesterday’s events... Master, do you think I’m a weak Profound Realm?"

"In the Bainian family, for hundreds of years, you have the highest talent, entering the Profound Realm before the age of 18. In the past century at Heaven and Earth Lake, only a dozen have had such talent. You tell me, are you weak or strong?" If she wasn’t a Three-Spin Vortex Divine Artisan, the Bainian family wouldn’t have entrusted such a treasure to her.

Yet here she is, questioning herself.

"But I couldn’t even beat Luo Mi."

"Luo Mi?" Zi Ran’s mind immediately conjured up Luo Mi’s image, "He’s only at the Body Refining Seventh Layer."

"Master, you don’t know... He can make the sword fly and attack independently. I fought him with the strength of the 13th Layer, yet I couldn’t fight back."

"The sword flies on its own?"

"Indeed, they also have strange Vein Techniques. When they call out, I can’t move, feeling as if bound."

"It seems, the Vein Techniques used by Sect Leader Wen’s faction are quite unique. Wu Yang, being a disciple brought by a sect leader, must be the sect’s seed talent. It’s normal you can’t defeat him. After all, no one can claim they’re invincible in the vast world." Zi Ran sighed, feeling helpless about her disciple’s self-doubt.

It was then that Bainian Xiang suddenly said, "Master, but they said that those things can be learned by anyone in the sect for a few hundred Gold Coins..."