Evan Yang and Ivy Xiao stared strangely at the red-robed man before them. He smiled and said, "It's simple. If either of you can prepare a meal that satisfies me, I'll guarantee to take you to Fire God Palace."
"A meal that satisfies you?" Evan Yang and Ivy Xiao were both stunned. Neither knew anything about cooking—one was obsessed with cultivation, the other had never even entered a kitchen.
"What? You can't handle such a simple condition?" The red-robed man chuckled.
"Senior, could you maybe set a different condition? This one is really not our thing," Ivy Xiao offered. But the red-robed man just smiled. "I've seen you two asking about Fire God Palace for three days straight, so I kindly wanted to tell you. But I have a quirk—I don't do good deeds for nothing. Looks like this good deed won't happen after all."
Seeing the red-robed man about to leave, Ivy Xiao grew nervous—her words came out stammered. Evan Yang thought for a moment, then asked, "Senior, a meal that satisfies you? How will you judge it? What if you just refuse to admit it?"
"It's simple. As soon as the meal is placed before me, I'll know if I'm satisfied or not," the red-robed man replied with a smile.
"What do you mean by that?" Evan Yang asked curiously.
"It's very simple. If I'm satisfied, I'll naturally move my chopsticks. If not, I'll act like I never saw it," the red-robed man explained.
"So as long as you move your chopsticks, it counts as satisfaction?" Evan Yang pressed.
"That's right. Why?" the red-robed man asked, curious.
"Then I can make a meal that satisfies you," Evan Yang said with a smile.
"Oh? Really?" The red-robed man eyed him suspiciously.
"Yep, that's right," Evan Yang replied. Not only was the red-robed man surprised, Ivy Xiao was also curious, wondering if Evan really could do it.
"Alright, here's the deal. My room is upstairs in this inn. Just come find me later and bring your meal along," the red-robed man said with a smile.
Evan Yang nodded. Just as he was about to leave with Ivy Xiao, the red-robed man added with a smile, "Don't try to buy something from outside. There's nothing here that would satisfy me, so you'd just be wasting your time. Better to make it yourself—there's at least a sliver of hope that way."
"Thank you for the reminder, Senior," Evan Yang said with a smile.
So Evan Yang and Ivy Xiao walked out of the inn. Outside, Ivy asked curiously, "You really can cook?"
"Nope," Evan Yang replied.
"Then why did you say all that just now?" Ivy Xiao glared at him.
"Come on, let's go to any random restaurant," Evan Yang said.
"Why go to a restaurant?" Ivy Xiao asked in confusion, suspicious.
Evan Yang smiled and said, "To buy some dishes."
"What? Didn't he just say nothing from outside would satisfy him? Buying them is pointless," Ivy Xiao reminded, recalling the red-robed man's words.
"Food bought outside wouldn't suit him, true. But if it's processed, that's another story," Evan Yang said with a smile. So he and Ivy Xiao went and bought some hot, nicely presented dishes, then found a spot with few people around.
He put all the dishes into the tower, then worked on them inside. Ivy Xiao had no idea what Evan Yang was doing—she just saw him standing there motionless, not knowing what he was up to.
After Evan Yang snapped out of his trance, he smiled and asked, "Do you have a Space Ring?"
"I do. What's up?" Ivy Xiao replied.
"Let me borrow it," Evan Yang said.
Confused, Ivy Xiao handed over her Space Ring. Evan Yang looked at it, transferred the dishes inside, and told Ivy, "Later, just stay quiet and let me do the talking."
"You mean we're going to see him now?" Ivy Xiao asked, surprised and uncertain.
"Yeah, that's right. The sooner we finish this, the sooner you can get to your Fire God Palace," Evan Yang said.
With no choice, Ivy Xiao followed Evan Yang back to the inn where they had met the red-robed man. They asked the waiter and found his room.
When the red-robed man saw Evan Yang and Ivy Xiao show up so quickly, he looked surprised. "What? So fast?"
"Yep, that's right. We've already prepared the meal," Evan Yang said.
"Oh? Now I'm really curious how you managed that so quickly," the red-robed man said, a bit skeptical at how fast they were.
Evan Yang glanced around the room, found a table, and laid out the dishes one by one, each still covered to keep the aroma from escaping.
"Smells great, but who knows how it tastes," the red-robed man said, surprised and uncertain.
"Why not try it with your chopsticks, Senior?" Evan Yang said with a smile, uncovering each dish and displaying them to the red-robed man.
All these dishes had been bought from the restaurant—so Ivy Xiao recognized them. But now she realized the dishes hadn't really changed; they looked the same as before. The only difference was a delicate fragrance drifting from them, a scent somewhat like wine.
The red-robed man noticed right away. "Dishes made with wine?"
"Why not give it a try?" Evan Yang said with a smile.
"I'm not falling for your trick. I'll observe first," the red-robed man said with a smile. He didn't pick up his chopsticks, just watched the dishes and wine on the table.
The aroma of wine grew stronger and stronger, gradually drawing in the red-robed man. He began to hallucinate. Finally, right in front of Evan Yang and Ivy Xiao, he started eating, and quickly finished all the dishes on the table.
His face was shiny with oil. Ivy Xiao couldn't believe it. "He moved!" she said excitedly. "He actually used his chopsticks!"
"Yeah, I saw it. He moved," Evan Yang nodded.
The voices were loud enough to snap the red-robed man out of his trance. He looked at what was in his hand, then at the table, stunned. He stared at Evan Yang in disbelief. "Did you use drugs?"
"I didn't use drugs, just wine," Evan Yang replied.
"Wine? What kind of wine could make me hallucinate just from its scent?" the red-robed man said, incredulous.
Evan Yang smiled and took out a small bottle of the most potent Dreamlike. He’d never used it in the human realm, fearing the aroma would be so strong it could trap people in hallucinations forever. But here in the Immortal Realm, things were different. The red-robed man was clearly powerful—if Evan used the usual concentration, it wouldn’t have worked at all.
So Evan Yang used the highest concentration of Dreamlike, relying on its aroma to induce hallucinations in the red-robed man, making him see what he most wanted. Evan had guessed right—what the man wanted most was to eat delicious food, so he mistook the dishes before him for gourmet cuisine.
The red-robed man took the small bottle, drank a sip, and the hallucinations became even stronger—he saw exactly what he most wanted. Ivy Xiao was shocked. "What's happening to him?"
"He's seeing what he most wants to see," Evan Yang said with a smile.
Ivy Xiao was puzzled, until the red-robed man snapped out of it and said, "Even though you used this method, it's not really cheating. And since I used my chopsticks, you win."
"That's great!" Evan Yang said with a smile. Ivy Xiao was overjoyed. "Then hurry up and take us to the Fire God Palace!"
The red-robed man smiled, then his expression suddenly darkened. "Even though you won, I'll only take her to the Fire God Palace. As for you, using this kind of trick doesn't completely convince me."
"Senior, you're not joking, right? Please take him too," Ivy Xiao said, shocked to hear Evan Yang couldn't go.
Evan Yang wasn't too bothered. After all, his goal this time was to help Ivy Xiao find the Fire God Palace. He could go about his own business; this stronghold was no longer safe, since everyone was gone.
"Alright, Senior, take him too. But I hope you make sure to bring her to the Fire God Palace," Evan Yang said.
"No problem. In that case, I'll be off. And I'll accept this bottle as a gift," the red-robed man said, smiling. With a wave of his hand, he and Ivy Xiao vanished at the same time.
Ivy Xiao and Evan Yang didn't even have time to say goodbye before this happened, leaving Evan Yang a bit disappointed.
"Sigh, left alone again. Looks like I need to find some new people and see how they get by in the Immortal Realm," Evan Yang thought, then went to find the waiter.
"Waiter, besides the locals, there are many Earth Immortals from other places who've ascended. Where do those Earth Immortals go?" Evan Yang asked curiously.
"Isn't it obvious? Of course they head to the Three Great Ascension Pools," the waiter replied with a smile.
"Ascension Pools? Which three?" Evan Yang asked in surprise.
"One is the Free Faction pool, which has both locals and outsiders—like the ones you mentioned who ascended. Another is the Outsider Faction pool, for those who ascended from other places. The last one is the Local Faction pool," the waiter explained.
"That's huge! After entering the Three Great Ascension Pools, where do those Earth Immortals go to develop?" Evan Yang asked curiously.
"Develop? First they're taken to the Earth Immortal Newcomer Star System, where they spend a hundred years before they can leave those star systems," the waiter replied.
"Earth Immortal Newcomer Star System?" Evan Yang asked, surprised and intrigued. He felt that place suited him, since he was still an Earth Immortal—only by finding the right place could he really grow.
"That's right," the waiter replied.
"So where is this Earth Immortal Newcomer Star System?" Evan Yang asked curiously.
"That place is vast—I don't remember. You can buy a map of the Earth Immortal Newcomer Star System at the nearby colored map shop," the waiter said.
Evan Yang was delighted. "Thanks!"
He left the inn and went to the nearby map shop. It was quiet inside. Evan Yang looked around curiously and saw many maps, all priced quite high. He didn't have much Immortal Essence left, so he scanned the selection and found maps of the Earth Immortal Newcomer Star System, but they were sold in several parts.
Each map was expensive. Evan Yang calculated that he could only afford one, so he reluctantly chose a relatively broad one. He asked the shopkeeper, "Shopkeeper, which area are we in right now?"
"You mean here? Let me see," the shopkeeper said, checking the map Evan Yang had just bought.
After a while, the shopkeeper said, "Right here. You're in the eastern part of these star systems. You just need to use the interstellar teleportation array to get there."
"Beitian Star." Evan Yang checked his location—it turned out to be Beitian Star. With this starting point, he just needed to find the nearest planet in the Earth Immortal Newcomer Star System.
So Evan Yang took the map and left the shop to look for the interstellar teleportation array.