Against the Gods

Chapter 2121 - Liu Xiao Look Askance At Vicissitudes

Gray, blue, green, and red. In the ice bowl, four different colors could be seen floating and mingling beneath a layer of thin white mist. They looked like natural iridescent clouds imbued with slivers of charm and fantasy.

High Priest Liu Xiao’s ancient eyes were fully widened at this point. They were also colored by a level of shock that should never occur to a High Priest who overlooked the entire world.

Appearance, aroma, and taste composed the full facade of the culinary arts, and out of all the attributes, appearance was the most important of them all.

Despite having studied the culinary arts for all his life, High Priest Liu Xiao could not imagine that the four Bitter Leaves—literally one of, if not the most common and mundane plants that existed in the Abyss—could possess such an appearance after they were tweaked by a certain man.

“Er...”

Putting on a puzzled expression, Yun Che repeated himself, “This is the Four-colored Rainbow Cloud Soup. Please give it a taste, senior Liu Xiao.”

High Priest Liu Xiao’s eyeballs finally twitched in response. He snatched the ice bowl from Yun Che’s hands like lightning, but as soon as the ice bowl entered his hand, his movement and even his aura immediately turned gentle. After giving the iridescent cloud in the bowl a long, hard look, he finally lifted it to his mouth and slowly took a gulp.

In an instant, icy coolness and bitterness bloomed from the tip of his tongue. It then spread into countless bitter streams that permeated his taste buds and radiated all the way into his soul sea. His spirit and even his five senses felt clearer as a result.

Each stream seemed different in its own way. Some were strong, and some were weak. Some were faint, and some were intense. Some were inconspicuous, and some were obvious. It felt like he was tasting an endless, ever-changing cloud that caused his soul to thrum again and again. He literally could not stop himself from chasing each and every wisp of change like a maniac.

This lasted until the soul waking bitterness turned into faint sweetness before he knew it, like a sky that grew clear after the cloud had faded away. It intoxicated his soul to say the least.

High Priest Liu Xiao did not know when he closed his eyes, but when he opened them once more, he found himself staring fixatedly at Yun Che.

They both had a pair of hands and legs, a mouth and a nose, and yet the high priest was looking at Yun Che like he was a monster who should not exist in this world. Before he came, he never even knew that bitterness could be this delicious... so delicious that his soul would drown in it.

Rainbow colored Hua Caili’s eyes. She knew how obsessed High Priest Liu Xiao was with the culinary arts, but his reaction still far surpassed her expectations.

Leaning forward curiously, she smiled and said, “You’re wearing an odd look on your face right now, Uncle Liu Xiao. Does Big Brother Yun’s Four-colored Rainbow Cloud Soup really taste that strange?”

High Priest Liu Xiao couldn’t seem to hear her question and just kept staring at Yun Che. His voice sounded a little garbled when he finally spoke, “You... you really made this with just four Bitter Leaves?”

He was standing about two steps away from Yun Che. He had watched him make the soup with four Bitter Leaves from start to finish. Who in the world could trick him from right under his nose, much less a mere Divine Master brat? And yet, he still asked the insane question. That was just how shocked and disbelieving he was. To his knowledge, this should be impossible.

Yun Che answered with a serious expression, “The Bitter Leaves are the key ingredients, but a suitable amount of coolness is also very important. The ice bowl is not just a utensil for carrying soup, but also a key supporting ingredient in the Four-colored Rainbow Cloud Soup. Bitterness wakes the soul. If the coldness were to fade, and the bitterness were to turn warm, then it would taste much, much worse.”

After he was finished, Yun Che hurriedly added as if realizing something, “Senior Liu Xiao has been studying the culinary arts for over a million years. I am sure that you are at a level that I cannot hope to reach. My thoughts about the soup must seem like child’s play to a master like you. If you would be so kind as to offer me your insights and teachings, I would be ever grateful.”

If these words had come out of another person’s mouth, High Priest Liu Xiao would simply snort through his nose. But facing Yun Che’s “sincere” gaze, it was all he could do not to turn red. “Who taught you this Four-colored Rainbow Cloud Soup?”

Yun Che replied with an expression that was overflowing with truthfulness and sincerity, “My master is the one who built the foundation of my culinary arts, so half of my culinary attainments go to him. The rest, I developed myself. In this case, I’m the one who invented the Four-colored Rainbow Cloud Soup.”

As if he did not notice the changes in High Priest Liu Xiao’s gaze, Yun Che continued, “Before this junior returned to the Dreamweaver Kingdom of God, I spent many years wandering this murky world alone. The amount of bitterness and suffering I have endured is indescribable.”

“However, just because life is bitter does not mean one cannot make joy out of it. Although there exist countless sorrows and pains, bitterness and hardships, helplessness and falsehoods in this world, I also discovered that delicious food is the one thing that never betrayed me.”

As anticipated, High Priest Liu Xiao’s pupils dilated dramatically when he said this. An indescribable, uncontrollable passion was swelling inside his chest—it was the wild beating of a heart that had finally found its soul mate after a million years of searching.

“This is why this junior never stopped studying the culinary arts throughout my travels. It was both to comfort myself and others during times of hardship.”

By now, the hidden light in High Priest Liu Xiao’s eyes had undergone a slight change. After taking another sip of Four-colored Rainbow Cloud Soup, he said slowly, “Bitter Leaves cover all lands infected by abyssal dust. It is the easiest object to obtain in this world, just as it is so bitter that one could feel it in their marrow. However, nothing is unending, and sweetness lies at the end of bitterness. This faint wisp of sweetness hidden amidst all the bitterness is like reaching the light at the end of the tunnel, or successfully trading countless years of hardship for the final laugh.”

“Wah!”

Hua Caili let out a slightly exaggerated cry of surprise, “That’s almost exactly what Big Brother Yun said word for word when he described the Four-colored Rainbow Cloud Soup to me back then! As expected of Uncle Liu Xiao!”

High Priest Liu Xiao gave her a look. “I can tell you’re not paying me a compliment, you know? You’re obviously using me as a foil to uplift your Big Brother Yun!”

Hua Caili blinked at him innocently. “I wouldn’t! Big Brother Yun has cooked fifty-six types of soup for me, and the Four-colored Rainbow Cloud Soup is the simplest and most ordinary of them all. If I really wanted to uplift him, I would have chosen better delicacies such as the ‘Cloud-stained Plum Fragrance Soup’, ‘Star River Fall Dew’, ‘He Heart Dream Cloud Lamp’, ‘Deep Sea Pearl Tear’... and of course, the dish Big Brother Yun specifically invented for me, the prettiest, tastiest, and most nice-sounding of them all, the ‘Cloud Pleases Glazed Glass One Heart Porridge’!” [1]

High Priest Liu Xiao had just barely picked up the broken pieces of his cool composure before Hua Caili shattered it once more. Eyes widening, he stammered, “Fif... fif... fifty-six? And each... each one of them is better than the Four-colored Rainbow Cloud Soup?”

The fact that the name “Cloud Pleases Glazed Glass One Heart Porridge” could be seen as inappropriate never even crossed the guy’s mind.

“But of course!”

Hua Caili spoke ahead of Yun Che, “As amazing as the Four-colored Rainbow Cloud Soup is, it’s ultimately created from four Bitter Leaves only. There is no way it can sit anywhere but at the bottom of Big Brother Yun’s list of soups[2].”

Every word she spoke was sparkling with purity and matter-of-fact naivety. Her rainbow glass eyes were literally blinking as if she could not understand why High Priest Liu Xiao would ask such a strange question.

High Priest Liu Xiao opened his mouth, though nothing but a strange, almost guttural sound came out of his throat. After staring fixatedly at Yun Che for several breaths straight, he finally said, “You’ve already heard this, boy. My abode is terribly lacking in countless areas, but food ingredients? What you’ve seen, I have them. What you haven’t seen, I have them too! I hereby allow you to use any food ingredient in my possession to create a dish you are most proud of and that best displays your culinary skills!”

“If you can win me over, forget admitting defeat to Caili, I will even... even...”

His words were oozing with agitation and urgency that not even Hua Caili had ever heard before. The reason he was stammering was that he was desperate to witness the true extent of Yun Che’s culinary skill, and yet he had just realized that he hadn’t even considered what kind of reward he should pay Yun Che for his efforts.

Yun Che immediately replied, “You flatter me, senior Liu Xiao! This junior would not dream that I could ‘win you over’ with my culinary skills.”

He scanned his surroundings before confessing, “Your divine abode looks humble, but the food ingredients it contains probably surpass that of the six Kingdoms of God combined. You are already doing me an unimaginable favor by allowing me to use them as I please. This junior promises that I will do my best to not disappoint you.”

After throwing a bunch of respectful words at High Priest Liu Xiao, Yun Che turned away and rid his eyes of all distractions and unnecessary thoughts instantly. It was such a look that the old man stopped whatever he was going to say.

Once more, High Priest Liu Xiao examined Yun Che. The young man was only two-sexagenary-years old and a Divine Master, but not only was he able to rid his mind of all distractions and concentrate on the task in front of him, he could do it despite standing in the abode and presence of a High Priest.

High Priest Liu Xiao had seen countless generations of Divine Sons and Daughters in his life. Every one of them was a pinnacle, nigh untouchable existence among their peers. However, none of them could ever do what Yun Che had done. This boy...

A moment of silence later, Yun Che’s gaze abruptly solidified, and his hand shot forward. Dozens of mini cyclones spiraled out of his fingertips and carried sixty-six types of food ingredients of all shapes and colors to him. So swift was his movement that Hua Caili could barely tell what was going on, and she couldn’t put a name to over eighty percent of the food ingredients.

A fire ignited and engulfed all of the food ingredients. Then, Yun Che’s hands began dancing in the air. Wherever his fingers went, wind blades leaped into action. However, each wind blade seemed to possess a different attribute. Some were gentle, and some were delicate. Some were vigorous, and some were intense. They broke, cut, purified, and merged various food ingredients in different ways all at the same time.

Even more amazing than the wind blades was the fire. From the outside, it looked just like a ball of fire. And yet, it seemed to contain dozens of differing flames. The flames were obviously connected, yet their temperatures and intensities were dramatically different. It was as if there were imperceptible, inviolable barriers within the fireball that firmly kept them from interfering with each other’s domain.

In fact, High Priest Liu Xiao already sensed this oddity when Yun Che was creating the Moon Reflects Cloud Flaky Biscuit. Now, it was presenting itself to his five senses at several times the clarity. Wind and fire mingled as fire scorched the wind, and wind whipped up the flames. The sixty-six food ingredients were completely engulfed to the point where even their aroma could barely leak into the surroundings. One could only hear the sounds of overlapping sounds of wind blades and scorching flames.

Hua Caili watched it all with bright, starry eyes. The flames reflected the deep longing, admiration, and expectations in her eyes.

Right now, anyone with even a bit of experience would notice that Hua Caili was staring at Yun Che with extraordinary affection. However, High Priest Liu Xiao did not sense a thing. His eyes were completely fixed on Yun Che, and his aura was withdrawn entirely. Forget breathing loudly, his eyeballs hadn’t even moved a millimeter. However, not even a High Priest like him could sense the absolute purifying power of the Sky Poison Pearl that was hidden amidst the storm of fire and wind blades.

There was a soft bang, and both fire and wind ceased abruptly, leaving behind only puffs of white mist. As the white mist slowly fell to the ground, an icy bowl that was formed god-knows-when appeared. When High Priest Liu Xiao looked, he saw what looked like a bowl of poetic morning glow. Its light was simple and plain, but it was also extraordinarily vibrant and red.

When he took a step forward and shifted his gaze slightly, the morning glow abruptly spread into a sky of flowing gold like the final radiance of the setting sun. This caught him off guard. When his gaze turned again, the flowing gold vanished, and the scenery in the bowl transformed into the ice of the beginning of spring. The translucent, sparkling soup seemed to shimmer with faint spring ice. He turned his gaze a third time, and the ice melted into a full bowl of emerald green. It was the kind of purity and vitality only the Pure Land could afford to cultivate.

“Beautiful. It’s so beautiful!”

Hua Caili let out an involuntary cry of surprise and wonder. “You can see a completely different view from a different angle!”

Holding the ice bowl with his hand, Yun Che said smilingly, “Master once said this to me. Taste is important when it comes to food, but appearance should not be neglected either. That's why I enhanced its appearance a little. I used the original colors of the food ingredients as the base, and ice mist as a supplement to create a six-layered appearance for the soup. Depending on the distance, you can see six different scenes in total. They are morning glow, dusk, early spring, late summer, quiet night, and thin clouds, respectively.”

Hua Caili pursed her lips together and declared with unbridled pride and admiration, “You are the only one in the world who would create such a wonderful appearance for food, Big Brother Yun.”

Yun Che returned a smile and tried to say something. However, the burden on his hand abruptly disappeared. It was because High Priest Liu Xiao had snatched the ice bowl from his hand.

“What is the name of this soup?” He asked, though his eyes were completely stuck to the ice bowl. The question was short, but his nose twitched at least five to six times during that time.

Yun Che replied gently, “This soup is called... Liu Xiao Look Askance At Vicissitudes.”

High Priest Liu Xiao lifted his ancient, millions-of-years-old eyes and stared at the junior who was only “two-sexagonal-years” old. “Sixty-six food ingredients, six layers, six scenes... In other words, this isn’t your signature dish. This is just a dish you whipped up on the spot. Am I right?”

“Correct.”

Yun Che nodded and said honestly, “A long time ago, I heard from Caili that senior Liu Xiao often quoted, ‘Laugh at others, laugh at yourself, laugh at the past and present; laugh at the heavens, laugh at the earth, laugh at the Buddha.’”

“This junior is inexperienced, but I can still sense a kind of transcendent detachment and freedom from this quote. I can feel that the entire world looks up to you, just as you look askance upon all of them.”

“Today, I finally have the honor of meeting you in person. Despite being a mighty High Priest, you neither feel intimidating nor arrogant. You could stand in the middle of the mortal coil, and no one would even recognize you. All living things in the world obey the status quo, the rules, and the etiquette, but you see it all as the plays of the vicissitudes of life. Such a mindset is something this junior can never hope to reach. Naturally, my respect and admiration for you have grown by leaps and bounds.”

“This is how I was inspired to create the ‘Liu Xiao Looks Askance At Vicissitudes’. It is my show of respect to you. I hope you can give it a taste, senior Liu Xiao.”

Although Hua Caili already knew that Yun Che was a silver-tongued “bastard”, she still couldn’t help but smile when she listened to him until the end.

Even High Priest Liu Xiao’s dirty, dusty beard shook once as he clicked his tongue in praise, “What a boy, what a Liu Xiao Looks Askance At Vicissitudes, what an exquisite payment of flattery.”

After he said this, he raised his head and lifted his hand. His movement was big, but he really only took a small sip of the Liu Xiao Looks Askance At Vicissitudes. Not a single drop of the contents poured out of the bowl either.

Then, he froze in place.

1. TL note: I’m pretty sure most of these names have to do with his lovers, like “He Heart” is really Shuhe Heart. Even the porridge he supposedly made for Caili is really more related to Xia Qingyue. He is totally going to use this as the heartbreaker bomb down the line. ☜

2. TL note: You foolish girl, YOU are the Four-colored Rainbow Cloud Soup. ☜