Ever since First Master Taishang Laojun had swept the cooking competition with a bowl of "Taiqing Pill Spirit Soup," the atmosphere atop Kunlun Mountain Peak had become subtly strange.
Tongtian Jiaozhu and Yuanshi Tianzun, two towering figures of the Primordial World, were now like two children who had lost a contest, each holding back a stubborn fire.
Tongtian Jiaozhu was still alright.
He had a bold and forthright nature. A loss was a loss; he could always win it back next time.
Every day, he still set up his great cauldron and studied how to bring out the full power of the Solar True Fire, making his stewed meat even more fragrant and domineering.
But Yuanshi Tianzun was different.
He had always valued rules and appearances, believing he had perfected the union of "form" and "meaning," creating artistic dishes like the "Five Flavors Immortal Mountain."
Yet in the end, he had lost to his elder brother's seemingly horrifying but actually highly nourishing "Pill Spirit Soup."
He simply could not understand it.
Could it be that little disciple Lin Shen's tastes were truly that simple and unadorned?
Yuanshi Tianzun sat in Yuxu Palace, staring at the Cloud Brocade Heavenly Robe that had given birth to the paper forest, deep in thought for a long while.
He came to the conclusion that he might truly have gone down the wrong path when it came to cooking.
He had pursued presentation too much and instead neglected food's most fundamental purpose—nourishment.
His elder brother's Pill Spirit Soup had won because it provided the most direct and pure benefit to the true body of an Innate Spiritual Root like Lin Shen.
Having understood this, Yuanshi Tianzun temporarily gave up on competing with his elder brother in cooking.
Since he could not win with food, he would win back his pride through toys!
After the "learning accident," the three brothers had reached a consensus: Lin Shen should grow through play.
Then whoever could provide the most entertaining and interesting toys would earn more of their little disciple's favor.
This was a brand-new arena!
A sharp gleam flashed through Yuanshi Tianzun's eyes. He felt that he had found a new breakthrough.
When it came to creating novel things, he did not believe he would lose to his two brothers.
Thus, while the cooking competition temporarily fell silent, Kunlun Mountain's first "Toy Competition" quietly began.
The first to make a move was Tongtian Jiaozhu, who was equally unwilling to fall behind.
He felt that the little Spirit Beasts he had previously carved from sword qi, though lifelike, were far too small in scale and did not show the immense strength of a Master like him at all.
If he was going to make something, he would make it big!
One day, Lin Shen had just woken up when the excited Tongtian Jiaozhu scooped him up.
"Good disciple, come on! Third Master will take you to see a great treasure!"
Carried on his shoulder, Lin Shen only heard the wind whistling past his ears. In the blink of an eye, he had gone from his palace to an incomparably vast Sea of Clouds.
The Sea of Clouds stretched boundlessly, Immortal Qi rising from it.
And in the center of the Sea of Clouds stood buildings made entirely of pure sword qi!
There were towering sword-qi spires that shot into the heavens, their bodies gleaming with flowing light as sharp intent surged skyward.
There were long sword-qi bridges spanning the Sea of Clouds, their surfaces smooth and transparent. Beneath one's feet rolled endless clouds and mist.
There was even a massive "sword-qi swing" woven from countless fine threads of sword qi. With a gentle sway, it could fly tens of thousands of feet!
Farther away stood a sword-qi Carousel, except its "horses" were all miniature dragons, phoenixes, and qilin, each one majestic and imposing.
How was this a toy? This was clearly a one-of-a-kind amusement park forged from sword qi!
Lin Shen's little mouth fell open.
His eyes widened, and only one thought remained in his mind—
Holy crap!
Third Master, you really know how to have fun!
You built an amusement park with sword qi?
This was way too extravagant!
"Ha ha ha! What do you think, disciple?"
Tongtian Jiaozhu pointed at the magnificent sight before them, brimming with heroic spirit.
"Third Master spent three days and three nights building this Tongtian Amusement Park for you with nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine streams of pure sword qi!"
"From now on, whatever you want to play with, just tell Third Master. Third Master can make it for you with sword qi!"
Lin Shen clapped his little hands excitedly, babbling "yiya yiya" as he urged Tongtian Jiaozhu to take him to play at once.
Tongtian Jiaozhu laughed smugly, hugged Lin Shen, and charged straight toward the enormous sword-qi swing.
For a time, the entire Kunlun Mountain Peak echoed with Lin Shen's delighted laughter and Tongtian Jiaozhu's hearty laugh.
Yuanshi Tianzun and Taishang Laojun naturally witnessed the scene as well.
Taishang Laojun merely stroked his beard and smiled gently, unconcerned.
In his view, as long as the little disciple was happy, the method did not matter.
But Yuanshi Tianzun's expression was far less pleasant.
Watching Lin Shen swing through the Sea of Clouds and play to his heart's content, his brows knitted tightly.
"Absurd!"
"Sword qi is an instrument of slaughter, incomparably sharp. How can it be used as a child's toy? What if Lin Shen gets hurt?"
"Third Brother still acts so carelessly, without any order or method!"
Though he criticized Tongtian Jiaozhu aloud, he felt immense pressure in his heart.
He had to admit that Tongtian's sword-qi amusement park was indeed imposing and highly attractive to children.
If he could not produce something even more interesting, he would likely lose the first round of the Toy Competition.
No, I have to think of a way to beat him!
Yuanshi Tianzun turned and returned to Yuxu Palace, where he began pondering intensely.
Tongtian's advantage lay in being "big" and "dynamic." The spectacle was grand, and the games were thrilling.
His own advantage, then, lay in being "refined" and "ingenious."
He was proficient in formations and skilled in deduction.
The toy he created needed not only to be fun, but also to enlighten the mind, harmonize with the principles of the Great Dao, and allow his little disciple to increase his knowledge without realizing it while playing.
Got it!
Yuanshi Tianzun's eyes lit up, and he immediately got to work.
Rather than creating an earth-shaking spectacle like Tongtian, he fetched a Chaos Divine Stone the size of a human head and inscribed into it all his insights into the Great Dao of Formations from all these years.
A few days later, when Lin Shen had grown tired of the "Tongtian Amusement Park" and was carried back to Yuxu Palace by Yuanshi Tianzun,
Yuanshi Tianzun solemnly presented him with an ordinary-looking square box.
The box had been carved from the Chaos Divine Stone and was covered in densely packed runes, looking mysterious and ancient.
"Second Brother, what is this thing?"
Tongtian Jiaozhu, who had followed them over, asked curiously.
"It's all black and ugly. It doesn't look fun at all."
Yuanshi Tianzun ignored him and introduced it to Lin Shen in an exceptionally gentle tone.
"Lin Shen, this item is called the Myriad Phenomena Heavenly Mechanism Box."
"This box contains three thousand six hundred and fifty basic formation variations. Each time you touch it, it will take on a new form."
As he spoke, he guided Lin Shen's chubby little hand to gently pat the box.
"Click, click—"
A series of mechanical turning sounds rang out.
The originally square stone box actually began to disassemble and reassemble on its own!
Countless tiny modules danced through the air before joining together again in a mysterious pattern.
In the blink of an eye, a lifelike "mechanical bird" made of Array Runes appeared before Lin Shen.
The little bird flapped its wings, let out a crisp chirp, circled Lin Shen twice, and then landed back in his palm.
Lin Shen's eyes instantly lit up.
Curiously, he patted it again.
"Click, click—"
The mechanical bird disassembled once more. This time, it reassembled into a slowly blooming "formation lotus."
The lotus petals layered over one another, each petal flowing with a different Dao rhythm.
"Yiya!"
Lin Shen was completely captivated by the magical box.
He kept patting the box with his little hands.
The box constantly changed shape as well.
At times, it became a running mechanical deer; at times, a delicate nine-turn linked bridge; at times, a conch that could blow rainbow-colored bubbles...
Every transformation was exquisitely crafted and endlessly delightful.
Tongtian Jiaozhu stared beside them, dumbfounded.
His amusement park might have been large, but there were only a few things to play with.
Yet this lousy box of Second Brother's could produce endless varieties of tricks!
Wasn't this cheating?
Watching his precious disciple, now fully immersed in the Myriad Phenomena Heavenly Mechanism Box and having completely forgotten his Tongtian Amusement Park, he felt, for the first time, utterly crushed in terms of intelligence.
When it came to playing, he seemed to have lost to Second Brother again.
Lin Shen hugged the magical box and played to his heart's content.
He felt that this box was like the Lego bricks he had seen in his previous life, except it was hundreds of millions of times more advanced.
He could create anything he wanted with it.
As he played, Lin Shen suddenly stopped moving.
He sensed a strange feeling—
It was as if something far away had lightly plucked at his heartstrings.
The feeling was subtle and indescribable, yet it inexplicably made him uneasy.
Hugging the box, he raised his head blankly and looked toward the lofty sky beyond Kunlun Mountain.
The sky remained pure, and the white clouds remained leisurely.
But Lin Shen felt that behind that pristine blue, a faint shadow seemed to be hidden.
It was slowly drawing nearer to Kunlun Mountain.
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