The Dark Reverie.

Taotie City.

Numerous clouds were layered upon each other to form a stairway that descended down from Taotie City. It was the renowned Cloud Stairs!

Because Taotie City was floating beneath the sky and above the ground, it was called a city in the sky.

Of course, its most well-known title was probably the Capital of Delicacies.

The Taotie Clan was a very ancient clan that loved good food, and they were skilled in preparing such delicacies. Most of the renowned spirit chefs in the world were descendants of the Taotie Clan.

Presently, Taotie City was flourishing as it always had, and it could even be said to be more prosperous than before. Its streets that were well-illuminated by lanterns were covered in row upon row of stalls which sold all sorts of delicacies, and the wide streets itself surged with streams of densely packed people. Most of them had come to enjoy themselves in the city.

The food here really reigned supreme over the world, and even the air here was suffused with all sorts of tempting fragrances.

However, the topic which everyone within Taotie City took delight in discussing in the last few years wasn’t related to good food at all.

That topic revolved around a legendary figure. According to legend, he’d resided in Taotie City for some time all those years ago, and he’d left behind a top-rate delicacy that won universal praise — Unsettled Mind. It was a dish that shocked the entire city and was praised highly.

That legendary figure was the Supreme Sovereign of the world, Chen Xi.

It was also that legend which made the world visit Taotie City upon hearing it, and it caused Taotie City’s reputation to become even more dazzling.

...

The veil of night was calm as water while a clear breeze whistled by, and the icy cold moon in the sky emanated pure and bright radiance.

The streets of Taotie City were brightly illuminated by lanterns and multicolored decorations. It was completely dazzling and resplendent while the sounds of laughter, shouting, shows, and cooking were mixed with the fragrance of all sorts of delicacies as they enshrouded every inch of this city in the sky.

A green clothed man was standing behind the stove of a small shop set-up at the side of the street. He was cooking a wok full of Stewed Dragontail Pawns. The oil in the wok was bubbling as he cooked numerous Dragontail Prawns which were 30cm long. The prawns were bright red and burning hot, and an extremely alluring and tempting fragrance slowly curled up from within the work when some young herbs were added to it.

There was only a single wooden table within the shop, and a young woman in a green dress was seated there lazily. She held her chin up with her fair and smooth arm, and she grinned as she gazed at the man who was still cooking. Her beautiful brows were jet black like ink, her lips red and glistening, her features were pretty and exquisite, and her picturesque face was covered in happiness.

Not long passed before the stew was done, and it was placed before her.

The young woman didn’t hold back at all, and she happily started eating with great relish.

The green clothed man couldn’t help but grin when he saw that, and then he walked over to the stove again and started cooking again. This time he was cooking Pentagon Aroma Chicken.

“Oh, Chen Xi, if it’s a place I like the most, then it’s definitely Taotie City because there’s too many varieties to eat here. However, after eating all of it, only your cooking suits my taste the best.” The young man’s cheeks had bulged up from having too much in her mouth, and she spoke in an indistinct tone while her beautiful face blushed slightly.

“Haha, A’Xiu, you actually learned how to praise people.” The green clothed man chuckled. He was naturally Chen Xi.

There were less than 3 days left before their wedding would be held. However, A’Xiu was someone who couldn’t sit still, and she’d dragged him to Taotie City.

A’Xiu had dragged Chen Xi throughout the city to eat all the delicacies in it. However, she was still unsatisfied in the end, so she started making noise about wanting Chen Xi to cook for her.

Chen Xi naturally found her impossible to refuse, so he bought this shop and started cooking for A’Xiu.

A very, very long time ago, when he’d met A’Xiu for the very first time, they’d travelled through Taotie City and ate all the delicacies throughout its bustling streets.

At that time, A’Xiu was like a celestial maiden, and she lived a carefree life.

At that time, Chen Xi had just started rising to prominence in the Dark Reverie, and he wasn’t even a Heavenly Immortal.

When he recalled those events from the past, it was truly like a unique and beautiful mark in his life.

“Actually, it would definitely be very interesting to hold our wedding here. Everyone could eat anything they wanted. How satisfying would that be.” A’Xiu crunched up once of the dragontail prawns while she spoke, and then she licked up the oil and juice that stained her lips. She was truly enjoying it.

“We can hold our wedding here if you like.” Chen Xi spoke casually.

A’Xiu shook her head repeatedly. “That won’t do! That won’t do at all! After thinking about it, I realized that this is a great place for us to hide away, and we can’t allow others to notice it.”

Chen Xi instantly started smiling. He knew that A’Xiu had only said that because she wanted to leave behind some memories which only belonged to the two of them.

“Hey, are you laughing at me for being too selfish?” A’Xiu frowned.

“How could I dare?” Chen Xi hurriedly denied it.

A’Xiu pursed her lips and said, “I don’t care. You can have any other place, but the other sisters can’t encroach on this place.”

Chen Xi nodded repeatedly. “Right, that’s exactly what I was thinking.”

A’Xiu’s clear eyes glowed brightly, and she spoke happily. “Good. Then it’s decided.”

Chen Xi cooked a few more dishes before he started enjoying it with A’Xiu. It was truly indescribably comfortable and satisfying to enjoy such food while amidst the bustling and clamorous streets that were filled with the aura of everyday life.

“Owner, is there any more place here?” When they were almost done eating, an old man in a dark robe had appeared before the store. He had a carefree bearing but was extremely imposing, and there were numerous attendants by his side. His status was clearly extraordinary.

This store was set up by the side of the street, and there was only a single wooden table here besides the stove. So, it could barely seat two people.

At this moment, that table was being used by Chen Xi and A’Xiu, so there was naturally no place and was the reason why the old man had asked such a question.

When he saw the old man’s carefree attitude, Chen Xi stood up and spoke apologetically. “I’m sorry but my store isn’t open today.”

The old man was clearly quite disappointed.

One of the attendants couldn’t restrain himself upon hearing this, and he berated in a low voice. “I heard that the stores in Taotie City are operated until dawn. It’s only halfway through the night now yet you’re refusing us. Could it be that you’re looking down upon us?”

Chen Xi frowned, and the old man waved his hand and said, “Forget it, we’ll just head to another store. I heard that legendary figure left behind a delicacy called Unsettled Mind when I descended here, but I haven’t seen a single person capable of cooking that dish throughout the city. It’s truly quite disheartening.”

As he spoke, he shook his head and intended to leave.

But this made the attendant feel even more disgruntled, and he suddenly pointed a finger at Chen Xi while a ferocious glow arose in his eyes.

However, he didn’t even have a chance to flare up when the dark robed old man frowned and stopped him before berating in a deep voice. “I’ll personally punish you if you dare to be rude again!”

His voice carried a strand of extraordinary oppressive force.

That attendant’s body stiffened while his expression changed from fear. He hurriedly bowed and didn’t dare speak further.

The old man’s expression eased up slightly when he saw that, and then he cupped his hands to Chen Xi and laughed bitterly. “Fellow Daoist, please do forgive me for my lack of ability in educating my subordinates.”

Chen Xi waved his hand and said, “It’s fine.”

The old man nodded before he turned around. However, he hadn’t walked far when he heard a voice resound from behind him. “If you don’t mind, you can sit down and try my cooking.”

The old man was stunned. He suddenly realized that the owner of this small shop was slightly unusual. He couldn’t help but turn around and gaze at Chen Xi with an interested expression. “Fellow Daoist, why have you changed your mind?”

Chen Xi smiled and said, “There are some leftovers here. It would really be a pity to throw them away, so I wonder if Fellow Daoist minds having them?”

The old man was stunned. He seemed to have never imagined that Chen Xi would actually ask him to eat the remaining food, and he couldn’t help but frown and fall into deep thought.

On the other hand, the attendants by his side were furious. What’s the meaning of this? Is he trying to humiliate us? He deserves death!

However, the old man suddenly roared with laughter before they could even flare up, and he said, “Interesting, no one has ever given me such an invite since I started cultivating until now. I really didn’t come to Taotie City in vain.”

As he spoke, he walked over slowly and sat down at a side of the wooden table, picked up a pair of chopsticks, and smiled, “Then I’ll be helping myself.”

Chen Xi smiled as he took A’Xiu’s hand, and he said, “Enjoy it to your heart’s content. I still have important matters to attend to, so I won’t be able to accompany you.”

The old man used his chopsticks to stuff food in his mouth as he waved his hand. “Fellow Daoist, please go head. Please go ahead.”

All his attendants were stunned by this scene, and they were simply at a loss for what to do. What’s going on? Why would our Lord suffer such humiliation yet seem to not realize it at all?

The man and woman were long gone when they looked towards them again, and only their ‘Lord’ was eating heartily. Moreover, his face was covered in delight while there wasn’t anything wrong with it at all.

This caused them to feel even more puzzled. Could it be that those cold leftovers are really that good?

Later on, they even saw that ‘Lord’ of theirs frequently praise the food, fall silent, and sigh with emotion. He’d actually completely lost his past dignified appearance, and he seemed like a true food lover who was wholeheartedly enjoying the delicacies before him.

“Such delicacies are truly rarely seen throughout my lifetime. I’ll probably be unable to be fortunate enough to enjoy such delicacies in the future.” In the end, the old man sighed lengthily and stared blankly at the leftovers which still hadn’t been finished, and he had a complicated expression on his face.

“My Lord, this....” One of the attendants stepped forward and spoke hesitantly yet didn’t know what to say.

The old man waved his hand and said, “Don’t say anything. Take all the remaining food with us. Store and preserve them well.”

All the attendants were instantly shocked, and their minds were quite dazed. He intends to take the rest after eating these leftovers?

But out of respect for the old man, they’d still obeyed their orders and acted as they were told. They started to carefully pack up the food that remained on the wooden table.

The old man couldn’t help but frown when he saw them store it in just a very simple manner, and he withdrew a treasure and said, “Use my Divine Violetspirit Bowl instead.”

All of their eyeballs almost popped out from their sockets. Because the Divine Violetspirit Bowl was one of the precious treasures which their lord was proud off the most, and he usually wasn’t even willing to allow others to lay eyes upon it. Yet now... he’d actually intended to utilize it to store some leftovers....

The old man couldn’t help but sigh when he saw them seem stunned, “All of you are idiots! If I didn’t notice something, I would have almost been dragged down by all of you and missed a supreme fortuitous encounter!”

A supreme fortuitous encounter?These leftovers are related to a supreme fortuitous encounter?

All of them suddenly wondered if they were really too stupid because they were still unable to figure it out until now!

“All of you....” The old man shook his head and seemed to be flagging with interest. He turned around and left swiftly.

The attendants hurriedly followed after him while still feeling extremely puzzled.

Three days later when they arrived at Dao Emperor Academy, they finally understood everything, and they were utterly dumbstruck at that time.

...

Back to when Chen Xi left with A’Xiu. A’Xiu couldn’t help but chuckle and speak in a melodious tone. “You’re really so bad. Why did you make him eat leftovers?”

Chen Xi shrugged and said, “He was willing to do so. I didn’t force him.”

Actually, he didn’t tell A’Xiu that the old man was called Shentu Huateng, and he was Shentu Yanran’s uncle. Even if it were out of consideration for Shentu Yanran, he wouldn’t really hold a grudge against Shentu Huateng.

However, if Chen Xi didn’t give out a form of punishment for that attendant’s rudeness, then Shentu Huateng would definitely feel anxious and fearful upon recognizing him in the future. That would be really displeasing to him.

So, he was indirectly making a display of his attitude towards the entire incident when he did that. That was Chen Xi’s punishment, and then he wouldn’t make a fuss about it after that.

These were one of the things that great figures couldn’t avoid. Every single word or action of theirs would be ceaselessly examined by others, and even if he were to put on an amiable display, he had to make the other person understand what was going on. Otherwise, he would definitely be misunderstood.

Chen Xi believed that Shentu Huateng definitely understood.

Not to mention that the leftovers on that table were cooked by Chen Xi himself, so even if they were leftovers, they weren’t something that just anyone in the world could enjoy!

Of course, Chen Xi didn’t think in that way, but he knew that Shentu Huateng would definitely do so. It sounded absurd but was actually very normal.

Just like the emperors of the mortal world. Even if they were to bestow their undergarments to their subjects, that subject would absolutely not think it was an insult and would regard it as a supreme honor. It was the undergarments of the ‘dragon’ of the empire. How many subjects of the emperor could possess such a treasure? What did it represent? It represented that the emperor had taken that subject to be one of his own, and if others dared to look for trouble with him, then he merely had to utilize the undergarments to horrify that person!

Behind all of this absurdity and ludicrousness was actually a form of respect and reverence to absolute strength.

“Should we go home?” Chen Xi glanced at the brightly illuminated streets of Taotie City, and then he tiled his head down and smiled as he gazed at A’Xiu.

“Yes.” A’Xiu nodded. She actually felt slightly embarrassed when she thought about the wedding which was arriving in 3 days of time, and it felt indescribably sweet to her.

There were four great joys in a person’s life. Meeting an old friend in a distant place, being ranked the 1st, accomplishing a great wish after years of effort, and the wedding night.

The wedding night was the most indescribably wonderful amongst them. At the very least, even a woman like A’Xiu couldn’t avoid such desires.

Not to mention that when her status was disregarded, wasn’t this day exactly what a woman looked forward to upon encountering that other person who would complete her?

That was how A’Xiu felt. The thing she took pride in the most was that while she wasn’t the 1st to give birth to a child for him, she was the first amongst Chen Xi’s lovers to have a wedding with him!