NOVEL NEXT Chapter 162: Tidying Up the Northern Domain's Empress
For a moment, Chen Daoxuan and Leng Yanran were both amused, and the master and disciples were harmonious inside the small pavilion.
"Alright, alright, it was originally meant for you to eat."
Chen Daoxuan stood up, put his hands behind his back, and leisurely walked out of the pavilion toward the ten mature spiritual rice plants he had planted.
Dressed in a black fur coat, he appeared even more imposing against the snowy backdrop. This sight left Leng Yanran momentarily entranced.
"Senior Sister, why are you dawdling? Go collect the spiritual rice with Master!"
"Coming!"
Only when her junior sister called out did Leng Yanran snap out of it. She quickly followed behind Master.
Upon reaching the spiritual rice, Chen Daoxuan nodded slightly. They were perfectly ripe. Subsequently, Leng Yanran and Li Yourong began to harvest the spiritual rice, setting aside twenty percent as seeds.
With a wave of Chen Daoxuan's hand, the soil on the ground churned and soon a piece of fertile farmland appeared. He then scattered the twenty percent seeds within it.
Returning to the pavilion, Chen Daoxuan lightly brushed off the snow on his fur coat.
Li Yourong followed suit, eager to eat the spiritual rice. Upon entering the pavilion, Master thoughtfully helped her brush the snow off her shoulders and head.
"Hehe, thank you, Master. Master is the best!"
Li Yourong made a cute salute to Master.
Leng Yanran, who had been brushing the snow off her shoulders, walked towards the pavilion. However, upon witnessing Master personally brushing off the snow from her junior sister, her movements involuntarily faltered.
Quickly returning to the pavilion, she gazed expectantly at Master. Sensing her gaze, Chen Daoxuan smiled faintly. Naturally, he was impartial and attended to both, gently clearing the accumulated snow from their gently adjusting Yanran's hair a few times, he stopped.
"Thank you, Master."
Feeling Master's hand sweep away the snow from her hair, Leng Yanran's eyes inadvertently glimmered with a hint of rippling emotions. However, Master's actions quickly ended, and she bowed to Master in courtesy. Everyone then took their seats.
"Chirp!"
When everyone went to the spirit field, the young Vermilion Bird was left in the pavilion. After this period of adaptation, it had become quite adept at flying.
Seeing its owner return, it gleefully circled around Leng Yanran. However, Li Yourong's earlier words had clearly frightened it. Whenever it sensed Yourong's gaze, it would fearfully hide behind its owner.
As everyone took their seats, they quickly realized a rather serious issue.
"Yanran, can you cook?"
Chen Daoxuan looked at the pile of spiritual rice, stroking his chin as he asked.
"Well… Yanran has been focused on cultivation since childhood and hasn't dealt with this kind of thing. But Yanran is willing to learn, and will definitely be able to make dishes that Master likes!"
Upon hearing Master's question, Yanran was initially taken aback. However, her eyes quickly brightened, indicating that she was willing to learn. After all, the thought of making dishes that Master enjoyed brought her immense joy!
"Yourong, how about you… Well, this question is foolish. Tsk, tsk, in that case, I'll build a kitchen in our Heavenly Dao Pavilion. Yanran, you can give it a try."
Initially, Chen Daoxuan was planning to ask Li Yourong if she knew how to cook. However, he shook his head in resignation before he could finish his question.
With those words, a thought crossed his mind, and he directly conjured a fully-equipped kitchen on a nearby open space. To ensure the stored food wouldn't spoil over time, he even set up an array within one of the rooms, containing the principles of time. He even casually spent several dozen system points to exchange for various fruits and vegetables, placing them within the array.
"Alright! Yanran will go cook for Master!"
Leng Yanran gazed at the grand kitchen before her. It was more like a palace than a kitchen, complete with a dining area, separate compartments for food storage, and various other facilities.
"Senior Sister, Yourong will help too!"
Upon hearing about cooking, Li Yourong became enthusiastic. If she could be as dedicated to cultivation, her current seclusion wouldn't have stopped at the Eighth Heaven of the Unity Realm.
Leaving behind some spiritual rice, the two took most of it and headed towards the dining hall.
"Little one, dig in."
Inside the small pavilion, Chen Daoxuan, in a very comfortable manner, grabbed a handful of spiritual rice, blew away the husks, and playfully entertained the young Vermilion Bird. When he tossed it, the little bird would quickly catch it.
As the spiritual rice entered its beak, the little bird's eyes lit up, and it happily chirped while eating.
…
Two hours later.
Inside the small pavilion, Leng Yanran and Li Yourong each held two plates of unidentifiable substances as they approached Master. Chen Daoxuan gazed at the carbonized spiritual rice in the bowl and the "dishes," falling into silence.
"Master… we both did our best…"
Leng Yanran's face turned dark, and she bowed her head, speaking softly in embarrassment.
"Yes, Master, it's too difficult. This result is already the best we could achieve."
Li Yourong wiped off the soot on her face and echoed softly.
"…Enough, forget it. Your Master's consideration was misguided. In a few days, we'll find the most famous chef and save the trouble. Yanran, don't be overly concerned. Your task is cultivation, not cooking. Don't put too much thought into cooking in the future."
Chen Daoxuan fell into silence for a while, looking at the black, unidentifiable substances that could no longer be recognized as food. He sighed and spoke.
However, this wasn't an unsolvable issue. It wouldn't be difficult to find a skilled chef when they had the time.
"Oh…"
Both of them felt disheartened upon hearing Master's words, especially Li Yourong, who currently couldn't even enjoy the thought of spiritual rice.
"Snrk—Senior Sister, you look like a big tabby cat!"
Suddenly, the two exchanged glances, and Li Yourong burst into laughter, pointing at her senior sister's face.
"Snrk, Yourong, you don't look much better!"
Leng Yanran was also unable to hold back her laughter when she saw the smudges of soot on her junior sister's face.
"Cough cough, clean up. Big sooty faces aren't dignified at all."
Seeing this, Chen Daoxuan raised his hand slightly to stop their mutual teasing. Having two exquisite disciples with faces so grimy and dirty wasn't appropriate.
In a short time, the two used their spiritual energy to clean up.
"Oh, by the way, Yanran, you must have already heard about the Northern Domain Empress."
Suddenly, Chen Daoxuan remembered something and looked towards Yanran.
"Reporting to Master, this disciple has indeed heard about it. However, now that Master mentions it, I plan to go down the mountain for a trip and take care of that jumping clown, the Northern Domain Empress."
Upon hearing Master's words, Leng Yanran's expression turned slightly solemn, her gaze icy.
In the Northern Domain where Master's Heavenly Dao Pavilion existed, someone dared to declare herself an empress, simply ignorant of the consequences!
"Yes! Yourong will go too! Yourong will beat that little clown of that empress to a pulp and vent her anger for Senior Sister! Even if there's a Northern Domain Empress, it should be Senior Sister, not her!"
Li Yourong also waved her fist, speaking in a fierce and resolute manner.
Chen Daoxuan: "???"