Chapter 284: Expert’s Test
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The Seventh Princess wore a long light-blue chiffon dress. Her dress moved with the wind. Her refined features looked like a gorgeous sculpture under the sunlight. She looked up at the mountain.
‘Who would’ve thought that an ultimate expert lives on this mountain? The expert makes this the best mountain in all three realms!”
Taoist Xinghe stood behind her. He waited for a long time before carefully asking, “Seventh Princess, are we still going to hike up the mountain?”
The Seventh Princess took a deep breath. She asked, “Are you sure you didn’t exaggerate anything about the expert?”
That was her sixth time asking.
Taoist Xinghe smiled awkwardly. He said, “Seventh Princess, I’m sure of it!”
“Alright, let’s go!”
The lady slowly walked on the small mountain road.
She was not as calm as she looked. She grew increasingly nervous on the way up. Her heart was thumping hard.
She was utterly horrified when Taoist Xinghe told her what happened that day. Days had passed but she was still in shock. She would have come to visit as soon as possible but she feared it would disturb the expert.
She waited, losing her mind as she endured the wait.
While she walked, she recalled what Taoist Xinghe told her.
The honey of the Golden Bees, the milk of the Five-Color Sacred Cow, and the Spiritual Plants that contained Power. Those were the things the expert normally ate.
Especially his backyard that was filled with Spiritual Herb, the Leftover Powers in the air, and the magical growth serum.
The expert made an entire bucket of it.
Absolutely unheard of.
She would have believed Taoist Xinghe was possessed by demons or had dementia, but Taoist Xinghe triple-swore that he was not lying.
Truthfully, she was still unconvinced because it was too scary to be true. It was way beyond her understanding. Even during the eldritch eras, it was unimaginable. It was only possible in dreams.
She asked again, “The Old Dragon King’s alive and living in the expert’s backyard?”
Taoist Xinghe nodded with seriousness, “Seventh Princess, it’s true! This is the Dragons’ top-secret. I know about it because Urchin and I go way back.”
The Seventh Princess asked again, “The expert’s really going against Fate? He wants to recreate the eldritch eras?”
She tried her best to control herself but she still sounded excited.
She dreamt about recreating the eldritch eras every once in a while. Those were beautiful dreams that she did not want to wake up from. It was too bad that recreating it was too hard. It was almost impossible.
Taoist Xinghe nodded again. “It’s absolutely real!”
Phew—
The Seventh Princess sighed in relief. She forcefully controlled her beating, anxious heart. She said, “Since the expert chose to be in the Immortal Realm, we have to try our best to play along with it. From now on, you should just call me Miss.”
Taoist Xinghe immediately nodded. “Understood, Seventh Princess.”
The two of them stopped speaking. They slowly walked uphill. Soon, the antique four-part architecture appeared in sight.
The Seventh Princess clenched her fists and thought to herself, ‘This is the expert’s place? Can an ultimate expert like that truly exist in the world?’
That was Taoist Xinghe’s second visit. He also felt scared. He adjusted himself and slowly stepped forward. He knocked on the door.
Creak…
The door swung open.
Xiao Bai answered the door again.
They knew how powerful Xiao Bai was so they immediately felt their hearts clench. He asked respectfully, “May I know if Mr. Li’s home? Pardon our disturbance.”
Xiao Bai moved aside. “Come on in.”
The Seventh Princess was ready to walk in. She took a deep breath.
However, she turned green when she inhaled. She gagged and almost threw up. It caught her off guard.
She quickly covered her mouth with her hand.
Good.
If she had vomited, the expert would be displeased for sure. She would probably be goners.
It stank. The stench almost sucked out her soul.
She was the honorable Seventh Princess of the Heavenly Palace. She had never smelled such a unique stench before. It was disgraceful.
The Seventh Princess looked at Taoist Xinghe with a gaze as sharp as a blade. She asked quietly through her teeth, “You didn’t tell me that the expert’s yard is so smelly. Did the expert set up a poison gas shield?”
Taoist Xinghe looked confused, too. He held his breath and said in a troubled voice, “It did not smell like this previously.”
The two of them held their breaths and slowly walked in.
The Seventh Princess took notice when they walked past the Xuanyuan Sea Spell Cauldron. That was an Intermediate Heavenly Spiritual Treasure!
Then, she saw the Firefinch Demons that were busy laying eggs.
It was indeed a yard full of Treasures. The Immortal Qi here surpassed the Above Immortal Realm. Even the air had Insights Charm.
However, the stench…
It was too out of the blue. It caught them off guard.
Li Nianfan looked slightly awkward when he saw the visitors. He softly coughed and said, “Taoist Xinghe, welcome.”
Taoist Xinghe wanted to breathe but he quickly stopped himself. He said, “Mr. Li, this is my Miss, Ziye.”
Li Nianfan was embarrassed. “So, you must be Goddess Ziye. I didn’t expect you two to come today. Very sorry about that.”
He made some snacks because he wanted to. It was Stinky Tofu.
Maybe it was because the ingredients were excellent, the taste of the tofu was excellent, too. It was nice to make it at home, but it was rude and impolite for others to be near the stench.
Ziye tried her best to say, “Greetings to Mr. Li.”
She said four words and felt the surrounding stench sneak into her mouth. It filled up her mouth and made her dizzy. She almost fainted.
She tried her best to look calm but she was in agony. She almost lost it.
Life was too hard.
The Seventh Princess and Taoist Xinghe looked at the pot.
They saw it.
The pot was sizzling with oil. About seven pieces of squared, dark objects floated on the oil’s surface. Li Nianfan flipped them over with his chopsticks.
That…
‘Fried feces?’
Ziye and Taoist Xinghe simultaneously thought. Their limbs were cold as they felt a shiver go down their spines.
Ziye quickly looked away. She had never seen such filth. She had goosebumps all over.
Perhaps it was a way to test her mental capabilities?
It was scary, horrifying!
Suddenly, they heard Nanan ask, “Brother, this batch isn’t ready yet?”
She excitedly looked into the pot with sparkly eyes. There was a black stain on the corner of her mouth.
“Almost done.”
Li Nianfan smiled. Then, he said, “Don’t you see that we have guests? We should let the guests try it first.”
‘Eat it?!’
Ziye and Taoist Xinghe felt their hearts race. Their hairs stood on end, they were extremely horrified.
Then, they looked at Daji and the others. They all had black stains on their mouths. It seemed like they were forced to eat a lot of it.
What a bunch of hardcore people!
“M—Mr. Li.”
Taoist Xinghe almost lost it. He forced a smile and said in a trembling voice, “You don’t have to actually, I… I’m good.”
Li Nianfan saw their facial expressions and instantly burst out laughing. “Don’t worry, you two. The Stinky Tofu smells awful but it tastes delicious. The smell is a bit embarrassing but you’re in for a treat today.”
Not long ago, Daji and the others wanted to throw the pot out, too. However, they were once again enslaved by deliciousness after a bite.
He suddenly realized he had a nasty sense of humor. He liked seeing people struggle just to be conquered in the end.
Especially Goddess Ziye. She was beautiful and looked like she had status. She looked cold and regal. He wondered if she would like it.
He thought it would be a good reaction since girls were foodies.
He smirked.
‘Stinky Tofu for the rich Goddess is an exciting concept. I’m truly brilliant.’
“All done.” Li Nianfan picked up a needle stick next to the pot. He pierced a piece of Stinky Tofu and placed it on a small plate. He passed it over to Ziye and said, “Goddess Ziye, please. You’ll like it for sure.”
‘Like it?!’
Ziye almost trembled as she took the plate and held her breath. She was pale.
Then, she saw the needle.
That was the Ultimate Spiritual Treasure—Cloud Needles.
‘This is an Ultimate Spiritual Treasure and you used it for this?’
However, Spiritual Treasures had a mind of their own. The Cloud Needles did not resist at all. It was as if they admitted defeat and succumbed to the almighty expert.
She pursed her lips and picked up the Cloud Needles. She struggled hard internally.
“Miss… Miss.” Taoist Xinghe bit his tongue and was ready to sacrifice himself. “How about I taste it for you first?”
“No need.”
Ziye had a trembling voice. She saw how Li Nianfan smirked. It was obvious, the expert was trying to prank them.
All experts had odd fetishes. They had lived endlessly so they usually did whatever they pleased.
Weird hobbies were tests in disguises!
He must have predicted their visit. Therefore, he set the test.
Ziye thought about how the expert wanted to recreate the eldritch eras. She went for it.
She finally had the chance to meet an expert like that, she could not miss out on it.
Sacrifices should be made. Time to eat!