Barbecue was a meticulous affair. By the time everyone had finished preparing and Lu Yang and Lan Ting carried the osmanthus tree back, night had fallen.
With the osmanthus tree on his shoulder, Lu Yang strode through the crowd like a victorious general returning from battle. He was met with admiring looks and a chorus of astonished exclamations.
"Why did they bring back an osmanthus tree?"
"I heard they're going to use it for firewood."
"Huh? You can use an osmanthus tree like that?"
"Probably. If they were able to cut it down, that must mean the Tree Ancestor gave permission."
Lu Yang split the osmanthus tree down the middle, then chopped it into short lengths. He dried them over a flame to draw out the moisture.
Then he tossed the pieces into a large pit they had dug in advance, set a rack over it, and laid the marinated demon rabbits on top.
Lu Yang flicked his fingertip, sending a flame of the Three Flavors True Fire into the pit. The osmanthus wood caught fire at once. Based on the Undying Fairy's experience, wood from an osmanthus tree of this age could burn all night—more than long enough to roast the demon rabbits.
As the osmanthus wood burned, its fragrance filled the air. The people in the Immortal Palace felt as though they had returned to the season when the osmanthus trees were in bloom, and they were intoxicated by the scent.
As one of the founders of One More Time Barbecue, Lu Yang's grilling skills needed no introduction. He was hailed as the best of his era. Only Man Gu, who had mastered corpse-driving arts, could compete with him—and the skill they were competing over was the title of greatest after the Undying Fairy!
Lu Yang spread his