"So… what do we do now? There's basically no way out of this!"
Ramon was at his wit's end. No matter how hard he thought, he couldn't come up with a single workable solution. Kael felt less like a person and more like a spiny hedgehog—impossible to get close to.
Trying to recruit him was out of the question. Kael already despised the Taiji Cuisine Realm's way of doing things. Using force was even more impossible. His strength was simply too overwhelming.
Kael's terrifying combat power had been displayed in full just moments ago. Even if they threw the entire Taiji Cuisine Realm at him, they wouldn't be able to scratch Kael and his group.
Recruitment was impossible. Force was impossible. That left only one option—stall for time. Wait until Kael died.
But the potential Kael had just shown made that plan laughable.
He could very well establish a culinary legacy that lasted generations.
More importantly, no one knew how long Kael could live. In this world, eternal-life cuisine wasn't the only way to extend one's lifespan.
Qi alone was proof of that. Kael was only at the Dragon Chef stage, yet the amount of Qi he possessed was already terrifying. Who knew how far he could grow?
For all they knew, Kael might live several hundred years. And during those centuries, there was no guarantee he wouldn't decide to wipe out the Taiji Cuisine Realm on a whim.
In short, Ramon saw nothing but darkness ahead. They couldn't obtain the Legendary Kitchenware, Kael wouldn't budge an inch, and the future looked utterly hopeless.
"Let's withdraw for now. This situation is completely beyond our control," Pei said. "We'll go back and discuss things with the others."
Pei knew just as well that Kael was untouchable. Leaving was the only sensible choice.
From Kael's behavior, it was clear he didn't like the Taiji Cuisine Realm—but he also wasn't the type to storm their headquarters without cause. That was why they dared to retreat.
Kael did find these people unpleasant, especially Song Wan, but they hadn't directly provoked him or crossed his bottom line. He wasn't a bloodthirsty maniac who killed for no reason.
"Mr. Kael, since there's nothing left for us to do here, we'll be taking our leave," Pei said.
The moment those words left his mouth, the monks of Churin Temple looked visibly displeased. Over the years, Taiji Cuisine Realm forces had constantly harassed them, even killing and imprisoning their people.
Still, the monks understood one thing very clearly: the only reason the Taiji Cuisine Realm hadn't dared to act recklessly was because Kael was here.
Kael wasn't part of Churin Temple. If he chose not to intervene, they would stand no chance. Charging in blindly would only get them wiped out.
So they could only watch in silence.
At the same time, they felt a sense of relief. The Eight Spirit Pagoda had already been destroyed.
There would still be friction with Tai Lin Temple in the future, but nothing like the constant, suffocating pressure they'd been under before. No matter how you looked at it, this was a good outcome.
Churin Temple trained warrior monks for two reasons: to protect themselves, and to protect the Eight Spirit Pagoda.
They had never intended to fight Tai Lin Temple to the death. This was the best possible result.
"You may leave," Kael said calmly, "but on one condition. Return everyone you abducted. If not, don't blame me for what happens next."
Kael hadn't forgotten that Ramon and the others had forcibly taken many people. Those who willingly went to the Taiji Cuisine Realm were none of his business—but anyone who had been kidnapped had to be released.
"No problem! Absolutely no problem! I'll go back and release them immediately!"
Ramon didn't dare say a single word of objection. One wrong sentence and he might not make it out alive.
As for whether the higher-ups of the Taiji Cuisine Realm would object, Ramon was sure they weren't idiots. They'd know how to choose.
With that, the Taiji Cuisine Realm's people left—quickly. Much faster than when they'd arrived.
Song Wan took one last reluctant look toward where the Eight Extremes Sacred Codex had been, then turned and left as well.
He'd endured everything up to this point for one reason: he didn't want to die.
He knew better than anyone that opposing Kael meant certain death. He didn't dare linger and quickly followed the others.
Once they were gone, the people of Churin Temple finally relaxed.
Kael, meanwhile, leapt into the air and grabbed the brightest sphere of light at the center.
The residual Qi of the Eight Spirit Pagoda still lingered, allowing the sphere to maintain its form—but with a casual squeeze from Kael, it shattered. A bamboo scroll fell into his hand.
"So this is the Eight Extremes Sacred Codex?" someone murmured.
Every member of Churin Temple stared at the scroll. They all knew of the codex sealed within the Eight Spirit Pagoda.
The pagoda itself had never been the true focus. The real treasure was the Eight Extremes Sacred Codex. That was what had drawn the Taiji Cuisine Realm here in the first place.
"That's right," Kael said. "And among everyone here, there's only one person who can read what's inside."
As he spoke, Kael opened the scroll.
It was blank.
"There's nothing here…"
"Meili Zhou, I'll leave this to you," Kael said, handing her the scroll. "In this world, you're the only one who can read it."
Meili Zhou already knew the truth of her heritage, but she was still stunned. The scroll was completely empty, and she had never learned anything related to it.
"How am I supposed to read this?" she asked, confused. "I know my background now, but my mother never taught me anything like this. Why does everyone think I can understand it?"
The Taiji Cuisine Realm had said the same thing. Now Kael was saying it too. She genuinely didn't understand.
"Your ability to read this doesn't come from knowledge," Kael said. "It comes from your bloodline. Just look at it. The power in your blood will awaken on its own."
Kael had read the original story. He knew Meili Zhou could understand the contents.
Hearing this, Meili frowned slightly. Zhou Yu couldn't help but speak up as well.
"Mr. Kael… will awakening her bloodline have any side effects?"
Zhou Yu was worried. No matter what, Meili was his daughter.
"Relax," Kael said. "There are only benefits, no drawbacks. Anyone with Taiji Cuisine Realm blood has extraordinary culinary talent."
"Your daughter's talent isn't weak either. It was just dormant. Once her bloodline awakens, her abilities will undergo a dramatic transformation."
Hearing this, Meili Zhou focused her gaze on the scroll. Culinary talent mattered deeply to her.
Her father was a famous chef in Guangzhou, yet she herself had always struggled. That gap weighed heavily on her.
Liu Maoxing was different. His talent had fully bloomed—but Meili was an only child. The pressure on her was immense.
She wanted to prove herself. But her talent had always held her back.
If awakening her bloodline could change that, she was more than willing to try.
After only a few seconds, crimson characters slowly appeared on the blank scroll.
Even Kael couldn't read them. These were ancient characters from a distant era.
No matter how strong he was, his sense of smell hadn't reached the absurd level where he could "smell" written information directly.
That kind of ability would require his Gourmet Cells to evolve hundreds of levels further.
Meili Zhou's eyes glowed red as her bloodline fully awakened. She could now read the contents clearly.
A short while later, the red light faded.
She returned to normal.
"Meili, are you okay?" Zhou Yu asked immediately.
"I'm fine," she said softly. "I actually feel great. It's just… what's written inside is a bit shocking."
"What does it say?" Kael asked.
In the original story, Meili had only read half of it. That half described how to destroy the Legendary Kitchenware. The latter half had been stolen by Pei.
"Is it okay to talk about it here?" Meili asked, glancing at the monks.
"Go ahead," Kael said. "Churin Temple has guarded this for generations. There's no need to hide it from them."
"Thank you, Mr. Kael," the abbot said gratefully.
The other monks echoed his gratitude.
Meili then explained everything she'd learned.
The first half was exactly as Kael remembered—methods for destroying the Legendary Kitchenware.
She didn't hide anything. It required the bloodline of the Taiji Cuisine Realm.
In the original story, Meili believed she was the only one who could do it because Taiji Cuisine Realm members would never destroy the utensils themselves.
But now, with all the Legendary Kitchenware in Kael's possession, that concern was meaningless.
The latter half contained recipes.
Not ordinary recipes—but Immortality Cuisine.
Xu Ling had created the first version of Immortality Cuisine long ago.
Dharma, a figure equal to Xu Ling, later developed his own version after learning the secrets of the Legendary Kitchenware.
Xu Ling's recipes were surely preserved within the Taiji Cuisine Realm itself. After all, Xu Ling founded it—there was no way he would leave his legacy to outsiders instead of his own people.
The recipes here belonged to Dharma.
The Taiji Cuisine Realm wanted them to merge both sets, hoping to create a perfect Immortality Cuisine.
But after hearing Meili's explanation, Kael knew that was impossible.
Dharma's path was also one of extreme enhancement.
Merging the two would only create an even more brutal dish—one that inflicted unbearable pain, possibly even death.
In other words, it was useless.
"Is it really okay for us to know Immortality Cuisine recipes?" one monk asked uneasily.
"Only with Legendary Kitchenware, the effect is best," Kael said. "Without them, you'd need extremely rare medicinal ingredients just to extend lifespan a little."
"And even then, the effect is limited. Otherwise, how do you think Xu Ling and Dharma died?"
"They created Immortality Cuisine, yet they still passed away. That alone proves the recipes were flawed."
Kael shook his head.
Extending life by a few hundred years was the limit. The longer it went on, the worse the side effects became.
In the end, both Xu Ling and Dharma chose to imprint their wills onto objects, hoping for a chance to return someday.
But that hope was doomed from the start.
This world wasn't a cultivation realm or a fantasy world with resurrection techniques. Its limits were clear.
Even if their wills possessed others temporarily, true revival was impossible.
And now, they had no chance at all.
Their remaining wills had been completely devoured by the Red Demon within Kael.
"There's no coming back from that," Kael thought.
"In the end, immortality has always been humanity's obsession," the abbot said calmly. "The Taiji Cuisine Realm lost itself chasing it."
"Even if lifespan can be extended, it only brings more suffering."
Kael didn't need such consolation.
In a way… he had already achieved immortality.