Hundred Flavors Master Chef Competition

Su Wanqing turned to look at Gu Changyuan beside her and bowed respectfully. "Senior, we have arrived."

Gu Changyuan gave a slight nod. With a blur of motion, he brought Su Wanqing to the open square in front of the Su family's main assembly hall.

The Su family guards and Su Ming followed closely behind, landing one after another.

Meanwhile, the colossal immortal skiff that had blotted out the sky vanished in an instant with a mere thought from Gu Changyuan.

Su Yunhao's gaze immediately fell upon Su Wanqing at the front. With just a single glance, his pupils shrank drastically, and a look of sheer astonishment washed over his face once more.

This shock was several times more intense than what he had felt upon seeing the massive immortal skiff just moments ago.

He almost stumbled two steps forward, his voice trembling uncontrollably with overwhelming excitement as he asked, "Wanqing, you... you've broken through to the Nascent Soul realm?!"

For decades, Su Yunhao had carried a deep sense of guilt toward Su Wanqing.

Back then, his beloved wife had died to protect their daughter, and the daughter, having been forced to end her own mother's life, was planted with a heart demon.

To prevent a similar tragedy from happening again, he had always delegated slightly risky external missions—such as collecting tribute from subordinate vassal families—to his other children, strictly forbidding Su Wanqing from getting involved.

If it hadn't been for his daughter's repeated pleas to prove herself this time, he would never have agreed. Even then, he had secretly dispatched Elder Su Ming, a late-stage Body Integration cultivator, to protect her closely.

He had thought this would just be an ordinary tempering exercise, and returning safely would be enough.

But he never expected that not only would his daughter return so quickly, but she would also break through the bottleneck that had troubled her for years, successfully forming her Nascent Soul in one fell swoop.

This sudden, overwhelming surprise caused the usually composed Su Family Head to nearly lose his bearing.

Hearing this, the Su family elders immediately released their divine senses to investigate. Once they confirmed that Su Wanqing was indeed at the early Nascent Soul stage—and that her foundation was solid, her spiritual energy pure, without the slightest hint of instability—wild joy erupted on their faces.

The Fourth Miss's heart demon had always been a sore spot for the Su family's upper echelons. Now that it had actually been resolved, allowing her to break through in the process, it was an absolutely monumental occasion for the Su family.

Meeting the pleasantly surprised gazes of her father and the elders, a relaxed smile appeared on Su Wanqing's face as she nodded vigorously.

"Yes! Thanks to Senior's help, not only have I cured the hidden affliction of my heart demon from all those years ago, but I have also successfully broken through to the Nascent Soul realm."

Saying this, she quickly walked to Gu Changyuan's side, turned slightly, and introduced him to Su Yunhao and the others:

"Father, Elders, this is the Senior who helped me. At the time, I was handling matters at the Meng family when Senior happened to appear and ask for the direction to the Tianren Holy Land. Upon learning that our Su family was heading there, he agreed to travel with us."

After introducing the basic situation, Su Wanqing hesitated for a moment. She glanced at the calm-looking Gu Changyuan beside her and decided to add,

"Senior Gu... has deep ties with the Tianren Holy Land. Ancestor Su Shuangyu should be considered a junior to Senior."

She deliberately added this line to further highlight Gu Changyuan's status and strength.

After all, Gu Changyuan's power was far too mysterious and unfathomable; she couldn't describe it using any specific cultivation realm.

And Ancestor Su Shuangyu was a Supreme Elder of the Tianren Holy Land who hailed from the Su family. Mentioning this connection implied that Gu Changyuan's seniority and strength far exceeded that of their ancestor, ensuring the Su family would treat him with even greater reverence.

But in truth, even if she hadn't mentioned this, the mere fact that Gu Changyuan could effortlessly resolve a heart demon brand—something even the mighty experts of the Holy Land were helpless against—was enough to earn the utmost respect of the entire Su family, leaving them not daring to show the slightest neglect.

That wasn't just a display of strength; it also meant that he likely possessed certain lost, supreme secret arts targeting the soul level.

Hearing this, stormy waves surged in Su Yunhao's heart. The look in his eyes toward Gu Changyuan gained a bit of closeness alongside the awe.

He hastily straightened his robes, stepped forward twice, and bowed deeply to Gu Changyuan, his tone incomparably sincere:

"Thank you, Senior, for stepping in to help my daughter! This junior, Su, will never forget your great kindness. If Senior has any orders in the future, I will walk through fire and water without hesitation!"

Behind him, all the Su family elders, including the recently landed Su Ming, bowed together in unison, their voices filled with gratitude and awe:

"We thank Senior for your great grace."

Even the Chen Family Head, Chen Qianzhen, who was originally there as a guest, now respectfully cupped his hands with a solemn expression to show his esteem.

Though not a member of the Su family, he had long heard of Su Wanqing's condition and knew full well how thorny her heart demon was.

Now seeing that this mysterious senior could casually resolve it, his estimation of the man was elevated to an unimaginable height.

Gu Changyuan calmly accepted the bow before speaking indifferently:

"There is no need for formalities. It was merely a small effort."

Su Yunhao straightened up, unable to hide his excitement, and quickly stepped aside to lead the way:

"Senior must be tired from the journey, please step inside the hall and take the seat of honor! The Su family has prepared fine tea and spiritual fruits. I humbly ask Senior to grace us with your presence and allow the Su family to fulfill our duties as hosts!"

"Family Head Chen, please come inside as well." Su Yunhao didn't forget to invite Chen Qianzhen.

Chen Qianzhen hurriedly cupped his hands, feeling grateful inside:

"Family Head Su is too polite. I will gladly intrude."

To have the opportunity to get up close to such a mysterious expert was naturally something he eagerly desired.

The group clustered around Gu Changyuan and stepped into the Fengyun Hall.

Inside, clever maids had already rearranged the hall, and the main seat of honor was naturally yielded to Gu Changyuan.

Su Yunhao sat in the secondary seat, Su Wanqing stood attentively beside her father, while the rest of the elders and Chen Qianzhen sat on both sides.

Su Yunhao personally poured tea for Gu Changyuan. After offering his sincere thanks once again, he asked cautiously:

"I heard from my daughter that Senior is heading to the Tianren Holy Land on this trip?"

Gu Changyuan took the teacup and gave a slight nod:

"That is correct. I happened to hear that the Su family is also going there to participate in the Heavenly Fate Ceremony, and I wondered if we could travel together."

"Of course! Being able to travel with Senior is the Su family's greatest honor!" Su Yunhao replied hastily.

"Please rest peacefully in the Su family for these next few days. I will give orders to have your daily needs well taken care of. Once the Su family disciples return from the Holy Land, we will immediately arrange our departure."

Gu Changyuan had no objections to this arrangement and nodded. "Acceptable."

Seeing that Gu Changyuan agreed to stay, a heavy stone was lifted from Su Yunhao's heart, and the joy on his face grew even thicker.

He turned to look at Chen Qianzhen, who was sitting quietly to the side, and asked with a smile:

"Brother Chen, you made a special trip to the Su family today, I assume you have important matters?"

Chen Qianzhen's heart stirred, immediately grasping Su Yunhao's intention.

In Fengling City, the Chen family and the Su family had always been on good terms, sharing the closest relationship.

Su Yunhao had clearly seen through his desire to get acquainted with Gu Changyuan and deliberately gave him this opportunity to bridge the gap.

He quickly stood up, cupped his hands, and bowed to Gu Changyuan, his tone respectful yet laced with a bit of anticipation:

"Senior, Brother Su, this junior did indeed come today with a request. Tomorrow is the final round of the 'Hundred Flavors Spiritual Chef Tournament' hosted by my Chen family. I wonder if Senior would be interested in attending to savor the culinary delights of the cultivation world?"

"Hundred Flavors Spiritual Chef Tournament?" Gu Changyuan lifted his eyelids, a trace of imperceptible curiosity in his tone.

"Exactly," Chen Qianzhen hurriedly explained.

"This convention is a competition of culinary arts. The participating cultivators must use various spirit meats, spirit vegetables, and rare ingredients to cook spirit dishes imbued with spiritual energy. Ultimately, the judges will score the dishes based on their taste, the purity of their spiritual energy, and the uniqueness of their flavors to determine the champion of the 'Hundred Flavors Spirit Chefs'."

At this point, fearing that Gu Changyuan might find a cooking competition among cultivators too bizarre, he hastily added:

"Senior might not know this, but the ancestor of my Chen family was originally a top chef in the mortal realm. Later, through a stroke of serendipity, he embarked on the path of cultivation, but he never abandoned his culinary heritage. Our ancestor believed that cultivation requires not only absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth but also nourishing the foundation of the physical body. And gourmet food rich in spiritual energy is the best way to nourish the flesh. Therefore, he established this 'Hundred Flavors Spirit Chef Convention' back then. Firstly, it was to pass down his culinary skills, and secondly, to provide a platform for exchanging insights on cooking spirit cuisine. After hundreds of years of continuation and refinement, it has grown to its current scale."

His tone shifted, growing even more earnest:

"This junior is so bold as to invite Senior to serve as a judge for this convention. I wonder if Senior would do us the honor?"

Listening to Chen Qianzhen's explanation, a gleam of genuine light finally flickered deep within Gu Changyuan's placid eyes.

To actually encounter a cultivation family in the immortal realm that built its foundation on culinary arts and even developed it into a grand, inherited event... this was simply... exactly to his taste!