Gray only gave a knowing grin in return.
'Recipes, huh? That's the least of my problems.'
Back on Earth, he'd never been much of a cook himself, but he had always chased good food.
He had eaten at the finest restaurants and tasted the most exquisite dishes.
From humble street delicacies to the most extravagant banquets. With his perfected memory and enhanced cooking techniques, every taste, every aroma, every subtle layering of flavor was engraved into him.
With the cooking skills he had just learned and mastered to perfection, he was confident in being able to recreate those recipes and make them infinitely better.
"Matriarch, I'll need some ingredients," he said casually.
"What ingredients?"
"Wait a moment, I'll write down a list."
Matriarch Zareena waved her hand. Bottles and jars appeared mid-air, along with strange vegetables from distant realms. "Take what you need."
Gray's eyes sparkled as he looked at the myriad of ingredients floating in the air.
He took some of them and immediately got into work.
Everyone watched, puzzled, as Gray kneaded dough with Spiritual Energy, grilled the Yellow-Eyed Direwolf meat over a flame, and mixed a strange golden sauce with flicks of his wrist.
The sizzling aroma spread quickly, curling into their noses and making them swallow unconsciously.
Raven tilted his head, whispering, "What… is he making? That doesn't look like any Fierce Beast dish I've seen."
The long-haired elder frowned. "It looks ridiculous. Who stacks bread and meat like that?" however, he didn't notice the drool that was dripping down his lips.
Even Matriarch Zareena and Ziye, with their centuries of experience, found the sight completely foreign.
Ziye looked at Matriarch Zareena and asked, "What is he making? I haven't seen this kind of recipe before."
"Neither have I, perhaps he just created this." Matriarch Zareena replied solemnly.
Ziye's expression also became serious upon hearing her words.
It was not anything new for chefs to create new recipes, however, Gray had only recently learned how to cook and didn't have any experience yet.
Could he actually create something good? Not to mention this recipe was unlike anything they had seen before.
But soon, their skepticism vanished.
A radiant glow shone as Gray pressed the two halves of bread together, in between them was a piece of meat oozing with juice and Spiritual Energy.
A perfect burger stood proudly in front of everyone, dripping with sauce that seemed to glimmer with Spiritual Energy light.
Everyone went silent.
Gray, seeing the astonished reactions, wasted no time and started making more burgers.
The air was filled with the sizzle of meat on the griddle, and the intoxicating aroma of grilled bliss.
One by one, the burgers were placed in front of him, each perfectly cooked and oozing with mouth-watering goodness.
Gulp.
Everyone's throats swallowed hungrily. The scent was too overwhelming.
"I'll test it for poison!" The bald elder immediately snatched it from Gray.
"Nonsense! I should test it!" The long-haired elder grabbed at it, and the two began bickering shamelessly like street children.
Finally, they split the burger in half and each took a bite.
Bite.
The moment the burger touched their tongues, their eyes widened. Then tears rolled down their faces.
"T-this taste!"
"Dear heavens…!"
They chewed slowly, savoring every bit, before suddenly clutching their chests as a rush of Spiritual Energy surged inside them.
The Yellow-Eyed Direwolf meat was only a Qi Condensation level Fierce Beast, yet the dish contained more Spiritual Energy than Foundation Establishment meals they had eaten before.
"How is this possible?" The long-haired elder gasped, staring at Gray like he was some immortal deity.
Gray only smiled, wiping his hands clean.
The two of them snapped out of their daze and quickly devoured the rest, unwilling to waste a single crumb.
Afterwards, they even fought for the second… then third burger.
The two elders ended up eating the entire first batch of burgers by themselves, leaving nothing for anyone else.
From the side, Raven cleared his throat. "Ehem… So, is the food safe?"
The elders froze mid-bite, their faces turning red with embarrassment. Only then did they realize they had completely forgotten the young master. Worse, they had even eaten his portion.
"Ah… Young Master, forgive us!" The bald elder bowed. "We… we only meant to check if it was poisoned!"
"Yes, yes!" The long-haired elder quickly added, holding out his empty hands as if he had proof. "But alas, it was too delicious, and before we knew it, it's already gone!"
Gray chuckled softly, shaking his head. "Don't worry, I made more."
However, in the depths of the two elders minds, they were thinking of something else.
'This is the Dao of Cooking! An Immortal Chef!' the two elders looked at each other in silence.
The long-haired elder nodded, they didn't say anything but simply ate quietly.
But they made sure to take note of this and report it to the sect when they got back.
Immortal Chefs were simply too rare.
When Gray brought out another plate stacked with fresh burgers, everyone nearly lost their composure.
Even Matriarch Zareena and Ziye, with their ancient temperaments, were staring with unconcealed hunger.
Raven rolled his eyes at the two elders, but still held the burger and took a bite.
The moment the taste hit his tongue, his eyes widened.
Rich flavor spread through his body, and waves of Spiritual Energy surged inside him as if he had just swallowed a high-grade medicinal pill.
"This is insane!" Raven blurted out, staring at Gray with shining eyes. "Gray, how did you even make this? This is better than some of the pills my sect paid fortunes for!"
Gray gave a small smile and waved his hand modestly. "I just cooked this casually. Nothing too special, I'm glad you like it."
He then turned expectantly to Matriarch Zareena and Ziye, unable to hide the slight nervous anticipation in his voice.
"What about you two? How is it?"
Both tasted the food in silence. The Matriarch's eyes flickered with surprise, and even Ziye's calm expression wavered.
The flavor was great, and the Spiritual Energy was pure and balanced. But what fascinated them even more was the form of the dish itself.
"A… burger?" Matriarch Zareena murmured, tilting her head.
She had traveled across countless realms, eaten delicacies prepared by Immortal Chefs and Celestial Chefs alike, but she had never seen food placed between two pieces of bread, transformed into something portable, layered, and so uniquely satisfying.
Ziye frowned as if reluctant to admit it, but finally sighed and nodded.
"The flavor is rich, the energy stable. And this… strange idea of combining meat and bread like this. It's… annoyingly good. I can't even pick out a flaw. For someone with no cultivation or experience in cooking, you've managed something rare."