"Yu He, how dare you! Kneel before us!"
Yin Xuan was both anxious and furious, his voice cracking under the strain.
He struggled to stand up and pull Yu He back, but the pressure of the Sky-Monitoring Vermilion Judgment was as heavy as a mountain, making it impossible for him to move.
Yin Xuan could only watch helplessly as his childhood friend stood tall, facing the vermilion sky that represented the will of a true god.
The civil and military officials nearby also grew restless, their gazes toward Yu He filled with complexity.
They all knew this young man.
Or rather, they had all heard of him.
Three years ago, the Emperor had brought his childhood friend down from Zhenlong Mountain and conferred upon him the title of Duke of the Divine Cauldron, granting him special permission to enter and leave the imperial palace freely, and even allowing him to attend court with that strange black pot on his back.
The tripod was a sacred vessel of the state, the pinnacle of the culinary arts; this alone showed how much the Emperor valued him.
It was said that this youth possessed an inconceivable talent for the Way of Food, capable of turning the mundane into the miraculous and creating astonishing delicacies from the most ordinary ingredients.
The Emperor favored and trusted him immensely, even allowing him to participate in certain secret matters.
But who could have imagined that he would dare to face a true god in such a manner at a time like this?
Was he not afraid of death?
"Oh?"
The Sky-Monitoring Vermilion Judgment seemed to have its interest piqued by this sudden appearance of a bold mortal.
"Your idea?"
"Yes!"
Yu He straightened his back, his voice clear and resonant. Like any ordinary young man, he possessed a confidence that others might see as a lack of respect for heaven and earth.
"Sacrificing living people and taking the souls and flesh of sentient beings is nothing more than for the life essence, vow power, and lingering thoughts contained within, which the gods absorb or use for certain rituals."
"However, I believe this method is crude, inefficient, and harmful to heavenly harmony."
"Harmful to heavenly harmony?" The voice of the Sky-Monitoring Vermilion Judgment betrayed no emotion. "A mere mortal dares to speak to me of heavenly harmony?"
"A mortal's life is still a life."
Yu He did not back down in the slightest; he even took a step forward, pointing at the piles of black meat on the Altar of Heaven.
"I used the three livestock and five fruits as a base, supplemented them with a hundred spices, and infused the human desires for satiety, peace, and endless life to carefully cook these pieces of sacrificial substitute meat."
"The three livestock—pig, ox, and sheep—symbolize the three powers of heaven, earth, and man, taking the form of their flesh and blood essence."
"The five fruits—peach, plum, apricot, chestnut, and date—correspond to the five elements, taking the meaning of their life-force and spiritual rhythm."
"Then, using my own destiny as a catalyst, I harmonized the flavors to make the form and intent converge and the vow power pure."
As he spoke, a light of confidence flickered in his eyes.
"The final product may not provide blood and soul power as intense as the souls of living humans, but its quality is purer, and its nature is more balanced and peaceful."
"I believe it is sufficient to replace human sacrifice."
"It is even a better choice!"
His words rang out with powerful conviction.
Song Zi'an stared intently at that young figure, his lips trembling as he murmured.
'Master... so this is what Master looked like in his youth...'
So high-spirited, so confident and flamboyant, so... daring in thought and action.
He even dared to question the rules set by a true god!
But Song Zi'an could do nothing now; this was only a dream, not reality.
They had not even integrated into the dream and could not change anything; they could only watch their master confront the true god alone.
The Nine-Age Crane also flapped its wings excitedly, letting out a low cry, its eyes filled with nostalgia and pride.
This was its old master!
Even when facing a high and mighty god, he never felt inferior, believing only in the ladle in his hand and the principles in his heart.
Chen Zhou raised an eyebrow slightly; so this was the Heavenly Chef?
The Heavenly Chef from five hundred years ago.
Yu meant an open-air granary, and He was the foundation of the five grains; it was truly a fitting name.
"Heh."
The Sky-Monitoring Vermilion Judgment let out an ambiguous chuckle.
"A special destiny?"
"No wonder."
He did not seem angry; instead, it was as if he had seen an interesting toy.
"You say your sacrificial substitute meat is better than human sacrifice?"
"Yes!" Yu He replied decisively.
"Very well," the voice of the Sky-Monitoring Vermilion Judgment drifted down. "Then I shall give you a chance."
"Are these black lumps of meat here your work?"
"Yes!"
"Now, show me exactly why it is better, right before my eyes."
The Sky-Monitoring Vermilion Judgment's tone was flat.
"If it truly satisfies me, the matter of the sacrifice may be reconsidered."
"If it cannot..."
The following words went unsaid, but the chill within them made everyone who heard it shiver.
Yin Xuan's face turned pale, and he wanted to stop him, but he could not make a sound.
Yu He's eyes lit up instead.
"Good!"
He unslung the massive black pot from his back with a clang, setting it down on the floor of the Altar of Heaven.
The pot looked incredibly heavy, making a dull thud as it landed and kicking up a small cloud of dust.
"Please... wait and see!"
With that, he no longer looked at the sky, nor did he pay any mind to the gazes around him—be they worried, terrified, or mocking his overconfidence.
In his world, it was as if only the pot before him and the black lumps of meat he considered his work remained.
He crouched down and picked up a piece of black meat.
The meat was as black as coal, devoid of luster, and felt cold and hard to the touch, like a stubborn stone.
But in Yu He's hands, it seemed to come alive.
His fingers brushed over the surface of the meat gently and steadily, as if feeling its internal texture and veins.
He whispered to himself, as if conversing with the ingredient.
"The essence of the three livestock and five fruits is sealed within here; it has only lost its form and appeared silent."
"Now, I shall reopen your spiritual apertures and reshape your true form for you."
As soon as he finished speaking, a cluster of pure flame suddenly rose from his palm.
The heart-fire blazed brilliantly, its heat piercing.
He held the black meat in his palm, and the heart-fire slowly enveloped it.
Under the scorching of the heart-fire, the surface of the black meat actually began to soften and lose its dark color, revealing the pinkish-white texture inside.
A faint scent of fruit mixed with the aroma of meat, the warm smell of food quietly diffusing.
It was like the smell of a bowl of hot porridge when hungry or the sight of a wisp of hearth smoke in the dead of winter, striking the softest part of the soul.
The civil and military officials, palace maids, and eunuchs present all instinctively twitched their noses, their throats bobbing as they swallowed.
Even the vermilion sky above seemed to fluctuate slightly.
Yu He remained completely oblivious to this.
His entire mind was immersed in the ingredient in his hand and that cluster of heart-fire.
Seeing that the heat was just right, he flicked his wrist and tossed the pre-marinated meat into the black pot.
Sizzle—
A light sound rang out as the meat made contact with the bottom of the pot.
He began to add his own seasonings.
Then, he pressed one hand against the bottom of the pot, and the heart-fire from his palm spread along the body of the pot, instantly enveloping the entire large vessel.
As the flames rose, Yu He picked up a massive ladle with his other hand.
Lifting, dropping, tossing.
The movements seemed simple, but they carried a naturally formed rhythm.
Every time he tossed the food, the ladle collided with the bottom of the pot, producing a crisp clanging sound like a naturally occurring musical instrument.
Following his stir-frying, the pinkish-white meat, under the refinement of the heart-fire, gradually became translucent.
It was like the finest suet jade or condensed amber, with subtle glimmers of light flowing within it.
A more intense and exotic fragrance suddenly erupted.
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