Accidentally Reincarnated in Cultivation World-Chapter 295: Devastating Food

"Come on, eat this!" the Immortal Chef declared, emerald-green flames flickering around her hands as she presented the dishes.

Everyone in the room was dazed.

Earlier, when she cooked, it didn’t feel like cooking, it felt like witnessing an ancient art form. Every motion, every slice, every stir seemed to bend the Laws itself. Even the air quivered, as if tasting the scent before they did.

She walked forward, her steps graceful.

"For the twins," she said, placing a joined bowl before Sisu and Liji, "this is the Twin Yin-Yin Soul Soup. It will not end until both of you finish it simultaneously."

The bowl was filled with an inky-black soup... yet somehow shone like luminous star-water.

Yu Xuan swore he saw her pour Underworld Spring Water into it, something that is very hard to aquire.

The Immortal Chef stopped briefly in front of Shangguan Yan and placed a tiny porcelain bowl before him.

"For you, Dream-Petal Rice."

Shangguan Yan raised a brow.

"What’s that supposed to do?"

"It lets you taste a forgotten dream," she said simply.

"Now then, for you three," she continued, turning to the trio sitting a bit apart from everyone else, "I have made the Non-Existence Broth. You three were trying very hard to suppress your presence and blend into the background. This dish will greatly assist you."

The broth was invisible, literally nonexistent yet a unique fragrance drifted from the empty bowls.

The trio’s faces stiffened.

They didn’t speak, but their anxiety was obvious.

The others exchanged glances.

’...Are these three hidden bosses?’ Yu Xuan wondered. Their reactions were too suspicious.

Next, she approached Number One’s group.

"And for you four," she said with a soft chuckle, "seeing your camaraderie, I prepared Brotherly Beans."

Number One, Two, Three, and Four all teared up immediately.

No one knew why.

The beans looked... horrifying.

But something in their aroma and name tugged at the heart.

Tuoba Jun swallowed nervously as the Immortal Chef stopped before him.

"And for you, the little artist," she said, her tone filled with amusement, "I have created Art-The-Meal. A dish where art itself becomes nourishment."

She placed a jade plate in front of him.

Tuoba Jun’s antennae trembled uncontrollably as he stared at the shimmering canvas-like dish. A literal treasure rested in front of him.

Lingxi straightened her back as the Immortal Chef approached.

"And for you, girl of defense, I have crafted a soup brewed with the essence of the Black Tortoise Shell."

Lingxi’s entire body screamed to lunge at the bowl, but she took calm breaths, trying desperately to maintain her grace before such a senior.

Finally, the Immortal Chef stopped before Yu Xuan.

"And for you, young man," she said, "I have prepared Roasted Heaven-Dumplings."

Yu Xuan stared at them.

They were... dumplings.

Perfectly roasted, golden, fragrant but dumplings.

He had expected something new, a dish unknown to humankind maybe?, something so divine it required ancient beasts as seasoning.

Instead dumplings.

His expression remained polite, but internally he was slightly unimpressed. Because his mother sometimes made dumpling too, and they were quite the best.

’Seriously Dumplings? Let’s compare it then.’

Still... the aroma was sublime, layers of flavor intertwining like threads creating a unique atmosphere. His curiosity stirred.

Without question... this would be worth tasting.

The Immortal Chef stepped back, green flames dancing around her.

"Now," she announced, voice reverberating like a divine decree.

"Eat."

***

The first to dive into their dishes were the twins and the three disciples who had been desperately trying to conceal their presence earlier.

Yu Xuan blinked, bewildered.

Liji the calm elder twin, was eating like a barbarian, matching Sisu bite for bite.

Both grabbed the conjoined bowl with both hands and began devouring the soup directly.

He blinked again.

Then a third time.

Because their eyes rolled back like they were ascending to heaven and the soup kept refilling itself, flowing endlessly as if from an unseen spring.

They drank at uneven speeds at first.

Their synchronization was clumsy, irregular.

But as some time passed, their rhythm aligned.

Smoother, smoother and then perfectly synchronized, both bowls emptied at the exact same instant.

Their eyes sparkled with literal stars for a brief second, shimmering like galaxies.

Then.

Thud! Thud!

Both twins collapsed face-first onto the table.

Yu Xuan stared.

Their bodies twitched slightly, like they were undergoing some kind of profound transformation in their sleep.

The trio who drank the Non-Existence Broth weren’t any better.

Their figures slowly faded.

Their presence shrank.

Their existence blurred until they became indistinguishable from the background.

Yu Xuan’s couldn’t see them.

His eyes couldn’t see them.

But their life signatures were faintly detectable.

They had also passed out.

The rest of the group wasn’t faring much differently.

Shangguan Yan took a bite.

His expression softening for a heartbeat, as if he’d remembered something distant and precious.

Then after eating the Dream-Petal Rice in a daze.

Thump

He collapsed backward, peacefully asleep.

Yu Xuan turned toward the left.

The Immortal Chef was seated quietly, observing.

It wasn’t that he sensed her, he simply felt her gaze.

"Hm? Why aren’t you eating?" the Immortal Chef asked.

Yu Xuan raised a hand cautiously.

"Uh Senior, this might be rude, but you didn’t put... some kind of powder in the food, right? Everyone’s reactions are abnormal."

The Immortal Chef tilted her head.

"I added many seasonings," she replied calmly.

"But your reaction is the most abnormal. Why haven’t you started eating yet?"

Yu Xuan opened his mouth to respond but paused as Tuoba Jun suddenly turned into a drawing.

A literal painting.

He even fell asleep as an artwork.

’Should I really eat this?’

Yu Xuan questioned inwardly, a bead of sweat running down his forehead.

Then Number One, Two, Three, and Four suddenly sprouted beans from their hands, each bean representing about twenty-five percent.

Then the beans merged.

A single golden bean floated in the air, glowing with destiny.

"Oh, how rare," the Immortal Chef murmured.

"Their destinies are intertwining."

She waved her hand, and a pot with rich, heavenly soil appeared.

The golden bean immediately burrowed into it.

Last was Lingxi.

Her horn turned pitch-black as she stared blankly forward.

Then she too collapsed.

Now only Yu Xuan remained conscious.

"Come on, eat," the Immortal Chef urged.

"My stomach is a little unwell... I think I’ll just pack thi—"

Before he finished, a dumpling flew directly into his mouth, phasing through his lips with terrifying precision.

Yu Xuan froze.

The taste, the taste was quite normal...?

Yu Xuan slowly chewed the dumpling, wearing a suspicious expression, then glanced at the Immortal Chef who stared back at him, utterly bewildered.

"...The taste is good," Yu Xuan said casually.

"Huh???"

Black lines formed on the Immortal Chef’s forehead.

She lunged forward, snatched another dumpling from his plate, and stuffed it into her own mouth.

’The taste is good. The heat is exactly right. The flavor balance is flawless. The energy matches his cultivation level so he doesn’t die. Everything is perfect. THEN WHY—?!’

Her thoughts spiraled in panic.

Her pride took critical damage.

Someone had called her cooking "good."

Not "divine."

Not "life-changing."

Not "I’m ascending right now."

Just good.

Yu Xuan, meanwhile, relaxed.

’Ah so this doesn’t work on me. Maybe Mom really is a Food God or something.’

He wasn’t entirely wrong.

His mother, Huan Lianhua, rarely cooked but whenever she did, the taste was heavenly.

It was entirely possible he had developed a natural resistance to god-tier food.

’I need to improve my own cooking,’ Yu Xuan thought with determination.

Just then, a dangerous voice cut through the air.

"Little guy... why are you still fine?"

Yu Xuan turned.

For the first time, he clearly saw the Immortal Chef’s face.

A middle-aged woman with jade-green eyes, eyes too bright and youthful for her age.

And the look on her face was like a predator evaluating her next meal.

"What do you mean, Senior?" Yu Xuan asked as he calmly took another dumpling.

"It must be a special physique," she muttered, eyes gleaming with disturbing interest.

"And I feel your body is... quite excellent."

Yu Xuan choked.

’Great body...?’

A chilling sensation crawled down his spine.

"Why don’t you give me a part of your body? I’m certain it’s an exquisite ingredient," the Immortal Chef said earnestly.

"Senior, please stop joking. My fragile heart can’t take this," Yu Xuan replied expressionlessly.

The Immortal Chef snorted.

"What fragile heart? Your heartbeat didn’t even change when you ate my dumplings and even when I threatened you! If other Humans at Core Formation ate this, their cultivation would skyrocket and they’d enter forced hibernation just to survive the improvement."

Yu Xuan grimaced.

"Senior, it’s not comforting to hear that eating dinner might send me into hibernation instead of peaceful increase in cultivation realm."

"Hibernation would increase your cultivation," she reasoned.

"It would also ruin my schedule," Yu Xuan countered.

The Immortal Chef leaned forward, eyes sparkling with enthusiasm.

"Then how about this," her tone turned dangerously casual.

"If you give me one hand and one leg, I will personally supply you with cultivation resources until you reach Immortality. How does that sound?"

Yu Xuan’s face went blank.

Inside, he he had a thought:

IS THIS WHAT THEY CALL A CHEF’S "SPECIAL DEAL"?!

Yu Xuan was now speechless because, the situation took a dark turn quite suddenly.

Yu Xuan coughed twice.

"Uh... did I hear right, did you just ask me for a hand and a leg?" he spoke.

The Immortal Chef nodded.