The two cards Xiangling threw floated down and landed on the stone table that had appeared after activating [Ritual of the Stove God].
[Food – Almond Tofu]
[Food – Spicy Steamed Buns]
As soon as the cards touched the stone table, they instantly transformed into the dishes depicted on them—Almond Tofu and Spicy Steamed Buns.
Now they were placed on the stone table used to summon [Demon God of the Stove – Marchosius]!
With the two dishes presented on the table, the Duel Stage immediately transformed into the Guili Plains of ancient Liyue.
Glaze Lilies swayed gently in the wind.
The skies over the Guili Plains grew gloomy. A vortex appeared above, and within the vortex a rift suddenly tore open… from within emerged an orange-yellow ear, looking strikingly similar to Guoba's.
Xiangling stared at the sight, then looked back at Guoba. Holding both Guoba and the [Demon God of the Stove – Marchosius] card, she carefully compared them.
"Guoba, why do you… look so much like this Demon God of the Stove? Don't tell me you're a descendant of a demon god?!"
The Demon God of the Stove looked almost identical to Guoba—both were creatures resembling raccoons or yellow tanukis.
Hearing Xiangling's words, Guoba answered innocently: "!@@!"
Xiangling continued with the [Ritual of the Stove God].
Although the ritual only required two types of food to summon him, [Demon God of the Stove – Marchosius]'s strength was determined by both the quality and the quantity of the food offered as tribute.
If only [Food – Almond Tofu] and [Food – Spicy Steamed Buns], two ordinary foods, were offered, the Demon God would appear very weak. Naturally, the more food offered, the stronger he would become!
Now, aside from [Food – Almond Tofu] and [Food – Spicy Steamed Buns], Xiangling also had three Continuous Spell Cards on the field: [Food – Liyue Rice], [Food – Special Ham], and [Food – Horsetail].
Since [Food – Jueyun Chili] was a one-time Spell Card, it had already gone to the Graveyard after use and could not be used as tribute.
Despite that, there was one more, a far more important dish!
That was none other than [Jueyun Guoba], a Gold Legend quality dish little Xiangling had made using four ingredients.
The crispy Guoba, topped with steaming slices of ham, crunched fragrantly with every bite, releasing a spicy and savory aroma that rushed straight to the senses. The flavor was so intoxicating that not even the smallest crumbs at the fingertips could be spared.
Then Xiangling prepared to place [Food – Liyue Rice], [Food – Special Ham], [Food – Horsetail], and [Jueyun Guoba] onto the stone table required for summoning [Demon God of the Stove – Marchosius].
Each time Xiangling placed a dish on the table, more of the Demon God's body emerged from the rift in the skies over the Guili Plains.
Until at last… when Xiangling placed the final dish, [Jueyun Guoba], onto the table, the Demon God of the Stove – Marchosius fully emerged and descended onto the Guili Plains.
"Wha—?!"
"This… this [Demon God of the Stove – Marchosius]… why does it look exactly like Xiangling's Guoba?!"
As Xiangling's opponent, Hu Tao had the clearest view of the demon god's form. And since she often saw Guoba too, she could immediately spot every similarity between them.
"They look exactly the same!"
The Demon God of the Stove's entire body was orange-yellow, with a big ring of white fur on his belly, raising both hands upwards. His colors matched Guoba's without a single difference. The only disparity was size—the demon god's body was enormous, radiating a world-shaking aura!
It was as though Guoba had cast some grand transformation, making himself huge.
Guoba, looking at [Demon God of the Stove – Marchosius], bounced up and down in excitement, humming a strange tune.
With his appearance, Marchosius immediately grabbed all the offerings Xiangling had placed on the stone table, tossing them one after another into his mouth. Each dish he devoured made him stronger.
"What the heck!?"
"What's going on with this [Demon God of the Stove – Marchosius]… why does it look so much like Guoba?!"
"I… I don't know either!"
"Could it be… that Guoba is the Demon God of the Stove himself?!"
"No way… Guoba's like a little potato, how could he be the Stove God?"
"Maybe… they're the same kind of creature?!"
"They say some demon gods can transform into different forms. The [Goddess of Dust – Guizhong] took the form of a young girl, after all."
"So maybe the Demon God of the Stove chose to take Guoba's form?!"
"Yeah… that's possible!"
"And come to think of it, Guoba does look a lot like the stone statues of the Stove God!"
"Though back then, you couldn't tell the color of the statue. That's why people didn't see the resemblance. But now, the demon god Xiangling summoned looks exactly the same color as Guoba!"
Time had long buried Liyue's ancient history, and many no longer knew the truth: Guoba was the Demon God of the Stove – Marchosius, who had lost his power for the sake of saving the people of Liyue.
Even Guoba himself had forgotten the past.
Now, for him, just staying by Xiangling's side and enjoying delicious food every day was happiness enough.
"What's going on here?!"
"Shopkeeper, do you know? You're the one who opened the pack with the Stove God card…"
All eyes turned to Luya. Seeing the crowd's confusion, he began recounting a long-forgotten tale.
"Marchosius was born from sparks struck by colliding stones. He presided over the hearth and the people's livelihood. A thousand years ago, when the ancients expanded their cities, they built a settlement in the Guili Plains, naming it Guili Assembly."
Listening to Luya recount this ancient Liyue legend, the customers all focused intently, wanting to understand the connection between the Stove God and Guoba, and why they looked exactly alike.
On the Duel Stage, the Demon God of the Stove kept eating, while Guoba gazed up at him, staring at the huge figure so like himself, drooling with envy.
Even Xiangling and Hu Tao, still locked in their duel, couldn't help their curiosity and listened closely.
Luya explained:
"After people built their settlement, resources for survival were scarce. The Stove God cherished the people's livelihood, splitting into countless avatars that entered every household to help with cooking, bringing families together. However, after centuries, disaster and disease swept across the land, and the people suffered terribly.
"To save the humans he loved, the Stove God ceased manifesting avatars, instead pouring all his power into the earth itself, calming the calamities of Liyue. Exhausting his strength, his wisdom diminished, and his once-massive form shrank to less than the height of a person… becoming today's Guoba. The Stove God departed, and Guoba was born."
Hearing this history, Xiangling was stunned, tears glimmering in her eyes.
"Guoba… you were… you were the Stove God all along…"
Clutching the drooling Guoba tightly, she cried: "Why didn't you say anything…"
Luya answered for Guoba with a sigh:
"He poured all his power into the ley lines, losing his intelligence. He can't speak anymore… and has forgotten the past."
Learning that Guoba was the Demon God of the Stove shocked Hu Tao and all the other customers in the shop. Many had tears in their eyes, some even crying aloud.
"Who would've thought… the Demon God of the Stove sacrificed everything so we could live in peace…"
"To think Guoba had such a past…"
"Liyue is so beautiful now. Guoba must be happy…"
"Anyway, we should look ahead! Back then, when he made that choice, surely he didn't want people to grieve. To thank him, we should be happy instead!"
Now that people knew Guoba's true identity, the full-power Marchosius on Xiangling's field had nearly finished eating. The shop's mood lightened again, and attention turned to the Duel itself.
[Demon God of the Stove – Marchosius] Level 10│FIRE│Demon God/Ritual│ATK: ?│DEF: ?
"Wha—?! Why are his ATK and DEF just question marks? How are we supposed to calculate that? Is he strong or weak?"
Just as the customers asked this, Xiangling revealed the answer with her next move.
"[Demon God of the Stove – Marchosius]'s ATK and DEF become the number of tribute foods offered ×900!"
The crowd instantly understood.
"Whoa! How many dishes did Xiangling offer again? Six, right? Liyue Rice, Special Ham, Horsetail, Almond Tofu, Spicy Steamed Buns, and Jueyun Guoba made from four ingredients!"
"That means…"
Xiangling declared:
"I offered six dishes! So [Demon God of the Stove – Marchosius]'s ATK and DEF are 5400!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Marchosius's ATK and DEF, once question marks, now displayed 5400 each!
"And that's not all!"
"Because among the foods offered in this ritual was [Jueyun Guoba]… according to [Demon God of the Stove – Marchosius]'s effect, when [Jueyun Guoba] is among the tributes, Marchosius becomes unaffected by enemy Spells, Traps, or Monster effects!"
When Xiangling explained this, the audience erupted.
"Holy crap! That strong?!"
"No wonder he's the Stove God! Not only 5400 ATK, but completely immune to Spells, Traps, and Monster effects!"
"Hu Tao's done for… this is terrifying!"
Indeed, Xiangling's field had only two cards, yet already it was unstoppable. With [Demon God of the Stove – Marchosius] boasting 5400 ATK and DEF and complete immunity, Hu Tao's Traps, Spells, and Monsters could do nothing. As long as big Guoba stood there, Xiangling's victory was inevitable.
Since all food on Xiangling's field had been eaten, Hu Tao's monsters recovered from their 200 ATK reduction from [Horsetail].
[Zombie Master] ATK: 2300
[Goblin Zombie] ATK: 1600
[Breaker the Magical Warrior] ATK: 1600
The Duel Stage now showed a fascinating sight: on Xiangling's field were little Xiangling as [Culinary Apprentice] with 1000 ATK, and big Guoba as [Demon God of the Stove – Marchosius] with 5400 ATK.
Meanwhile, standing offstage were Wanmin's head chef, big Xiangling, and little Guoba. The contrast was complete—one big with one small both on and off the field.
"Battle Phase!"
At Xiangling's command, the battle began.
"Go! [Demon God of the Stove – Marchosius], attack [Goblin Zombie]!"
"To be able to fight side by side with this Guoba… I'm so happy! Hahaha!"
At Xiangling's shout, big Guoba leapt into the air, glowing brilliantly. As the Demon God of the Stove, born of fire, flames were his favorite toy. Summoning heavenly fire, he hurled it down toward Hu Tao's [Goblin Zombie] with 1600 ATK. The blaze incinerated it into ash before even touching it. A strike from 5400 ATK was far beyond what such a small zombie could endure.
Seeing this, Hu Tao panicked. The heavenly fire swept toward her, leaving her nowhere to escape.
"Ah! It hurts!!!"
Guoba's blow inflicted 3800 battle damage, leaving Hu Tao with only 200 Life Points!
The sheer force of this strike from a demon god left the onlookers stunned.
"This duel is insane! Last turn, Hu Tao wiped Xiangling's LP, and this turn Xiangling blasted Hu Tao down to 200!"
"So this is what a high-level duel looks like?!"
"It's over… Hu Tao's candle is flickering in the wind…"
"And Guoba is immune to Monster, Spell, and Trap effects! He's untouchable…"
"The duel's ending next turn for sure."
After this attack, Xiangling had no further moves. Her hand was empty, and little Xiangling with 1000 ATK couldn't defeat any of Hu Tao's monsters.
"My turn, over… Next, it's your performance!"
...
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