The levels of the fragrance were incredibly rich.
First to be smelled was a comforting aroma of meat.
Going a level deeper, one could distinguish the mellow richness of the five grains and the abundance of the three livestock.
Tasting it further, one could even sense the fresh scents of sunlight, dew, and earth, along with a warm feeling of hope.
This was Yu He's heart-intent while cooking.
"May the world be free from hunger, may all beings be satiated, and may the souls find peace."
Song Zi'an watched with fascination, his fists clenched and his body trembling slightly.
This was... Master in his youth.
Turning the mundane into the miraculous, using ordinary materials to cook the Supreme Delicacy, comforting the hunger and souls of all beings.
It was unknown how much time had passed.
Perhaps it was only a moment, or perhaps it was as long as a century.
Yu He's movements came to an abrupt halt.
The spatula lifted, and the translucent meat slices traced an arc in the air before falling back into the pot.
"Clang!"
He leaned the spatula against the edge of the pot, producing a clear, ringing sound like the final note of a musical movement.
The heart-fire instantly contracted and vanished without a trace.
Only the meat slices in the pot, emitting a dreamlike luster, proved that everything that had just happened was not a hallucination.
Yu He took a deep breath and picked up a plain white porcelain plate that had been prepared nearby.
His wrist flicked slightly, and using the spatula, he evenly divided the meat slices in the pot into several portions, lightly flicking them onto the plate.
Each slice of meat was as thin as a cicada's wing and crystal clear, stacked into a small pagoda on the plate.
The meat juices were clear, dotting the slices like morning dew; the exotic fragrance condensed without dissipating, and the steam spiraled above the plate.
He raised the porcelain plate with both hands, holding it high, facing the vermilion in the sky.
Sweat poured down Yu He's face, yet he wore a smile of incomparable confidence.
"This dish is the Supreme Delicacy,"
Yu He declared loudly.
"It takes the essence of the three livestock and five fruits, merging the vows of satiety and peace of all spirits, refined by heart-fire to return to its true nature."
"This is the heart-intent that I, Yu He, in the name of the Heavenly Chef, offer to the heavens."
After he spoke, the vermilion in the sky remained silent for a moment before finally speaking.
"Heavenly Chef... Yu He."
"The dish is well-made."
The tone was flat, revealing little praise, but it also seemed devoid of anger.
"However, gods are not humans."
"What we require is not your mundane delicacies, not ethereal heart-intent, and certainly not that bit of satiated peace."
"A divine sacrifice takes the purest, most primitive flesh and blood energy and soul power."
"What you view as cruel is, to me, merely an equivalent exchange and the law of heaven and earth."
"Your sacrificial substitute meat may be a supreme delicacy to mortals, a gourmet meal to cultivators, or even an interesting snack to certain entities."
"But to expect heaven and earth to be moved by it is far too ridiculous."
"The rules cannot be changed."
"Why?!" Yu He suddenly looked up, anger in his eyes.
"If compared purely by flesh and blood energy, the sacrificial substitute meat is not much worse than a living person."
"You said before that if you were satisfied, the matter of the sacrifice could be reconsidered."
"Now you say the rules cannot be changed. What, did you lead me in a circle just to toy with me?!"
"Yu He, don't be impulsive!"
Yin Xuan was scared out of his wits; he struggled to stand up, but he was held firmly to the ground by the pressure of the Sky-Monitoring Vermilion Judgment.
He could only let out a whimpering sound: "Yu He... stop... I beg you, stop speaking..."
But Yu He had already thrown caution to the wind.
In his three years of palace life, he had seen too much absurdity.
Yin Xuan often drank with him, talking about the misery of the world and why the gods no longer looked upon sentient beings with pity.
Yin Xuan always said: "Yu He, there are still true gods in the world."
"The imperial family has many records; Gloomlight Province was once favored by a goddess."
"She could bring sweet rain and fertile soil, creating oases within parched and dead lands."
"There are even legends mentioning that she held a handful of never-drying living soil in her hands; wherever she went, vitality would take root and sprout."
The imperial family still maintained offerings to the various gods of the Central Province.
So do not give up; no matter how difficult the world is, there is always hope.
But now, the god before him wanted ten thousand living people as sacrifices, only to exchange for the promise of the Golden Buddha descending into the world.
He even committed cruel acts in the name of rules.
He truly could not accept it.
"If you are a true god, you should protect sentient beings and benefit all things."
"How can you be so stuck in the past, stubbornly clinging to such bloody and cruel old rules?!"
"If sacrifice is only for flesh and blood, then how are you different from a demon?!"
"I do not believe it."
"In this world, there must be a way to communicate with heaven and earth and appease calamities without sacrificing the innocent."
His voice grew louder and louder, stubborn and unyielding.
"Stubborn and ignorant."
The voice of the Sky-Monitoring Vermilion Judgment suddenly turned sharp, and the wrath of a true god descended.
"How can the rules of a god allow mortals like you to question and provoke them?!"
"Yin Xuan!"
"Your... Your servant is here!" Yin Xuan prostrated himself on the ground, trembling.
"You and your subjects deceived me first and then allowed a madman to insult a god!"
"This crime deserves death!"
"No, please appease your anger, my lord!"
"All the blame lies with me alone!" Yin Xuan raised his head, tears and snot streaming down his face, yet he tried his best to straighten his back.
"Yu He is young and impetuous, unaware of the immensity of heaven and earth; it is all because I failed to strictly discipline my subordinate and made a mistake in decision-making!"
"I am willing to bear all the guilt alone! I only ask my lord... to spare the innocent subjects and people of my Gloomlight Province."
He spoke with sincere emotion.
As an emperor, to be able to stand up at a time like this and take all responsibility upon himself to try to protect a cook and his subjects—regardless of anything else, this sense of responsibility was real.
"Your Majesty..." Yu He looked at the back standing in front of him; the fire of anger in his eyes was replaced by complex emotions, his mouth opening, but no sound came out.
"Heh."
The Sky-Monitoring Vermilion Judgment let out a cold laugh.
"Bear it? With what will you bear it?"
"What this seat wants are rules and reverence, for you to understand—the divine will cannot be violated!"
"Since you like to make your own decisions and like this black, filthy meat..."
The voice of the Sky-Monitoring Vermilion Judgment became incredibly chilling.
"Then this seat shall fulfill your wishes."
"From this day forward, you, your subjects, and everyone present..."
"Shall be accompanied by this meat forever!"
Before the words finished, the dense vermilion light in the sky, like a pouring sea of blood, swept down.
A crimson wave full of malice instantly submerged the entire Altar of Heaven.
It submerged Yin Xuan, submerged the civil and military officials, and also submerged the palace maid ghosts and eunuchs.
"Ah—!"
"No—!"
"Hungry... so hungry..."
Countless desperate and painful moans erupted within the red light, only to be quickly drowned out.
Chen Zhou and the others stood at the edge of the dream, watching as everyone's bodies began to wither within the red light.
Their bodies were like they had been drained of moisture, quickly shriveling up, with their skin clinging tightly to their bones.
But their bellies grew unnaturally bloated, the skin on their abdomens stretched until it was transparent, and one could faintly see the squirming intestines beneath.
Their necks became thinner and thinner, so thin it seemed they would snap at the slightest touch, their Adam's apples protruding high, making swallowing extremely difficult.
The red light gradually dissipated.
Left behind were only groups of strangely shaped people.
They stood in place blankly, and a moment later, they instinctively lowered their heads and began to fight over and gnaw at the scattered pieces of meat on the ground.
But their necks were too thin; they could not swallow the food at all.
Everyone could only be tortured by hunger.
Yu He stared intently at this scene, his hands gripping his black pot tightly.
Rate on N.U.
