Watching Sun Wukong practice his knife skills, Chen Nuo thought to himself, "It's time to teach him some real stuff. After all, the system's task isn't just to take on disciples. I have to teach him how to cook as well. Otherwise, how could I call him my disciple?"
"Wukong, do you want to learn how to cook?"
Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong, who was holding a knife, became excited and quickly knelt down to thank him.
"Disciple is wholly reliant on Master's teachings!"
Had a month passed, and he could finally learn to cook?!
"Come with me," Chen Nuo said softly, then walked into the back kitchen.
Sun Wukong followed him with a series of hops and jumps.
"Egg fried rice is fundamental in cooking and also the dish that most readily reveals a chef's level of skill. Today, I will teach you how to make egg fried rice!" Chen Nuo said indifferently.
His words were nonsense, mainly because he didn't have any other dishes to show off apart from egg fried rice.
Following him, Sun Wukong could only learn to make egg fried rice for now.
"Very good, very good, Master, teach me quickly!" Sun Wukong was overjoyed.
Was this his Master's magical egg fried rice technique coming right up?
"Watch carefully, learn carefully!"
Chen Nuo directly took out the Divine Marvel three-piece set from the System Space.
How exquisite!
Sun Wukong's gaze was immediately drawn to the Divine Marvel; it was ridiculously fancy, and compared to his simple kitchen knife, it was completely outclassed in every aspect.
Could this be the legendary Magical Treasure?
The monkey was awestruck in his heart,
This was his first time seeing Master's kitchenware. For a whole month, Master had used the excuse of lacking basic skills to keep him out of the back kitchen.
From now on, he would also find such treasures!
Before Sun Wukong could ponder any further, he was captivated by Chen Nuo's actions.
Chen Nuo began heating the oil in the wok, emitting a faint aroma. He reached for the basket holding the eggs, and the eggs flew one by one towards his right hand.
But without exception, each egg cracked precisely against the spine of the knife raised in his right hand.
At the moment of contact, the eggshell shattered and the egg whites flowed into a small basin set at the back.
With each knock, a flick of the wrist would send the eggshells casting into the trash can.
Six eggs in succession, the whole set of movements was as smooth as flowing water, utterly natural.
"Wow, that's amazing!"
Sun Wukong was dumbfounded; his foundational sword skills did not include this item at all. Now that he had learned some basics, he could naturally glimpse some subtleties.
This required extremely advanced skills, with no mana involved. The strength, angle, and timing all had to be perfect and indispensable.
It was not just a matter of sword skills alone.
And then looking at that upright figure, not even the kitchen smoke seemed vulgar but served to highlight Master's tall stature even more.
Respect and longing filled Sun Wukong's face. As expected of Master!
When the eggs were added to the wok, the hot oil sizzled.
A fragrance wafted out from the back kitchen, and Sun Wukong took a deep breath, which intoxicated him.
Afterward, Chen Nuo quickly stir-fried, and as soon as the eggs were slightly cooked, he poured the prepared rice into the wok.
His right hand wielded the spatula, tossing and flying the contents, while his left hand kept the wok shaking. Eggs and rice were thrown into the air and then precisely landed back in the wok.
It was like swinging on a swing, going up and down.
Could cooking be played like this?
Sun Wukong was speechless.
The creamy rice and the glistening egg yolk complemented each other beautifully; nothing in the world was more beautiful.
Under Chen Nuo's magical hands, the sticky rice grains were separated and perfectly merged with the egg yolk in a mutual embrace.
Every grain of rice was wrapped in egg liquid, creating a hue akin to gold, and thus the egg fried rice was elevated; the fragrance also underwent a transformation at this very moment.
"This is the taste!"
Sun Wukong leaped three feet into the air, unable to contain his excitement—that was the flavor of egg fried rice!
By this point, the most critical part of the egg fried rice was complete, but Chen Nuo didn't relax. As his left hand kept tossing, his right hand, now holding the ladle that had been transformed by Ink Yang, gently flicked his wrist, sprinkling seasoning into the wok with each motion.
In an instant, the flavors and aromas of all the ingredients burst forth.
The egg fried rice, a grand success!
The iron pot and kitchen knife gained five hundred Merit Points, while the spatula increased by a thousand Innate Qi.
These days of cooking had amassed a significant amount of Merit Points and Innate Qi for Divine Marvel, which, given time, would surely transform into formidable Magical Treasures.
Regrettably, the Hongmeng Purple Qi and Chaos Qi had yet to emerge, as they were, after all, rarities.
"Did you see it clearly?" Chen Nuo turned to look at Sun Wukong.
Sun Wukong scratched his head, his face showing a hint of hesitation as he spoke, "Saw it clearly, just..."
"What is it?"
"It just seems too difficult." Sun Wukong said with an awkward smile.
His current level of skill was still not enough to grasp these maneuvers.
"Practice makes perfect, keep practicing and all will come naturally!"
"Disciple will respectfully follow Master's teachings!" Sun Wukong nodded repeatedly. Since his Awakening of the Delusion-breaking Golden Eyes, even when not activated, his vision had improved tremendously.
Having watched once, he had memorized all the movements, although he wasn't sure what the result would be if he actually attempted them.
"From now on, come to the back kitchen to practice cooking," Chen Nuo said as he scooped the egg fried rice onto two plates.
Sun Wukong's eyes sparkled with eagerness as he replied, "Yes, Master!"
While the monkey methodically learned cooking, the entire Buddhism sector was up in arms, not just the three great Bodhisattvas, but everyone from Buddha, Bodhisattvas, and Arhats to Bhikkhuni Kātyāyanī.
Buddhism had nearly mobilized all its might to seek Sun Wukong's whereabouts, almost turning the Primordial World upside down.
Whenever they encountered a cultivator's cave abode, Buddhism would brazenly dominate, shamelessly conducting a search. The higher-ups in Buddhism were somewhat restrained, searching for appearances' sake.
However, some among the lower ranks were more contemptible—if the other party seemed vulnerable, they wouldn't hesitate to forcibly take some items, causing distress to the cultivators.
Had they not had so many concerns, they might have even searched the cave abodes of ancient powers.
Meanwhile, in the Palace of the Polestar, Haotian glanced at the memorial in his hand, feeling very pleased.
"The Journey to the West hasn't even started yet, and Buddhism has already lost the monkey, how laughable!"
The Immortals inside the great hall took pleasure in this schadenfreude. Regardless of their alignment or the disputes between the two courts, they were all disciples of the Mysterious Gate!
This spread of Buddhism to the east had no benefits for them whatsoever.
"Unacceptable!" Haotian suddenly had an idea, slapped the table, and feigned an anguished expression, saying, "This Earthly Immortals Realm's territory falls under the jurisdiction of the Heavenly Court; this kind of random searching is bound to disrupt the order in all continents!"
"With such actions, where is My Majestic Presence? Where is the Majestic Presence of the Heavenly Court!"
"I have decided to establish the Earth Boundary Guardian Office to maintain the stability of the Earth Realm; what do you all think?"
"The Emperor is wise!" Everyone exclaimed in unison.
Earth Boundary Guardian Office?
Guarding was merely a facade—the real intent was to meddle and create chaos!
"Which of the Immortal Clans wishes to take on this great responsibility?"
Upon this declaration, it stirred up a thousand waves.
"Your humble servant is willing!"
"I am willing to go!"
For a moment, the eager Immortals stepped forward to volunteer.
Since the Divine Enthronement, no decision made by Jade Emperor Haotian had been supported as strongly as this one—the conflicts between the Chan School, Jie School, and the Jade Emperor were merely internal disagreements of the Mysterious Gate.
Facing the grand adversary that was Buddhism, they still had a clear view of the situation.