At that moment, Jiang Ping saw the two women whispering to each other, occasionally glancing over at him.
Without drawing attention to himself, Jiang Ping looked away and focused on preparing the two Demonic Beasts in front of him.
One looked like a sika deer, while the other looked like either a tiger or a leopard. He couldn't really tell.
But after gutting the two Demonic Beasts, Jiang Ping was very satisfied.
Their meat was beautifully marbled and firm. Just by feel, Jiang Ping could tell it was top-quality.
Swish, swish, swish. First, he skinned them and removed the bones.
Then he picked out the cuts that would work best. Today, the main event was barbecue.
He set aside the meat that wasn't suitable for grilling, planning to use it next time for Hot Pot or soup.
Worried the two ladies might get impatient, Jiang Ping quickly cut off several large chunks of meat.
He hung the rest up to air-dry for now, so it wouldn't spoil.
Then he got to work, marinating the meat and threading it onto skewers at the same time.
Houtu was amazed by how deftly Jiang Ping worked.
A superior being's body really was powerful. He skinned and deboned the Demonic Beasts with his bare hands. Even after death, these two Taiyi-realm beasts should have been impervious to water and fire, and impervious to blades and spears.
Yet the superior being hadn't used even a trace of Magic Power. He'd simply prepared them with his hands.
Truly impressive!
Nuwa was puzzled. Didn't barbecue require fire?
How could he barbecue without using Magic Power?
But if they used Magic Power, wouldn't their cover be blown?
By then, Jiang Ping had nearly finished preparing the skewers. He called out to them, "Could you two ladies help me start a fire?"
"Start a fire?"
Nuwa, who had already thought of this problem, was at a loss.
Starting a fire was easy. They only needed to use a little bit of Magic Power or take out a fire-attribute spiritual treasure, and they could do it in an instant.
But they absolutely couldn't reveal either of those things in front of the superior being.
The two hesitated for a long while, and neither made a move.
Until we know exactly what the superior being intends, or he makes his intentions clear, we must never be the ones to expose ourselves!
After a while, Jiang Ping had finished preparing all the ingredients and brought them over one by one.
Seeing the two women standing there dumbfounded, he was quite confused.
"What is it? Are you two having some trouble?"
Nuwa apologized. "I'm sorry, young master. You asked us to start a fire, but we're not very good at it."
Jiang Ping laughed. "Sorry, that's my fault too. In the Primordial World, only cultivators can use their supernatural abilities to create fire. We ordinary beings need to rely on certain objects to do it."
Nuwa and Houtu trembled, inwardly relieved.
So that had been the superior being's test earlier.
He'd deliberately repeated the phrase "ordinary beings" just now.
He was hinting that we shouldn't use Magic Power, no matter what.
If we want to be ordinary beings, we have to commit to it completely. Otherwise, wouldn't we be neither one thing nor the other?
The superior being really did practice what he preached. He saw things through from beginning to end.
Luckily, we'd hesitated and hadn't tried to be clever.
That meant we'd passed the superior being's test once again.
It seemed that next, it would be time for us to receive our fortunate opportunity.
Nuwa and Houtu were curious now, too. They wanted to see what methods the superior being would use to start a fire without Magic Power or spiritual treasures.
After speaking, Jiang Ping rummaged in a corner and brought out two stones.
Then he walked over to the barbecue grill and picked up some dry grass.
Clack, clack. He gripped the two stones tightly and struck them together rapidly.
Sparks flew from the collision and landed on the dry grass. Jiang Ping gave it a gentle blow.
The grass immediately caught fire.
Then he quickly added some twigs. Once the flames had grown, Jiang Ping added the charcoal he'd prepared earlier.
After that, he casually tossed the two stones aside and began laying skewers of meat across the grill.
Nuwa and Houtu stared in utter shock, blinking again and again. The superior being really hadn't used a trace of Magic Power.
Could it be because of those two stones? They looked dirty and ordinary.
Could they actually be special?
Each of them picked up a stone and examined it closely.
Did these look like Xiantian Lihuo Stones?
Yes!
They were Xiantian Lihuo Stones!
Houtu and Nuwa were stunned. The superior being had actually tossed aside such precious stones as soon as he was done with them.
Houtu felt a pang of regret. This Xiantian Lihuo Stone contained an extremely rich and pure Law of Fire.
It was a rare treasure for anyone cultivating the Great Dao of Fire.
They would gladly trade their entire fortunes for one!
Houtu thought that if Zhurong, the Ancestor Witch of Fire, found out there were two Xiantian Lihuo Stones here, he would probably go mad on the spot.
Still, he didn't know about them, and the superior being probably didn't care about these stones. I should bring this opportunity back to him.
Having made up her mind, Houtu still hesitated before speaking. "Young master, could I have one of these stones?"
She'd wanted both, but if she asked for something so precious all for herself, the superior being would surely think less of her.
She was an Ancestor Witch, after all, representing the Witch Clan.
She had to make a good impression on the superior being. What he thought of her personally didn't really matter, but she absolutely couldn't make him look down on the entire Witch Clan because of her!
Jiang Ping was busy. He glanced over and said helplessly, "Miss Wu, you're too polite. I know you like this stone because it can start a fire."
"But it's not easy to start a fire with just one stone. How about this? I'll give you both."
Houtu froze, then was overjoyed.
The superior being was so generous. He'd casually given her both of these precious Xiantian Lihuo Stones.
Houtu was thrilled, but she didn't lose her composure. Then she remembered that Nuwa had picked up one of the stones too, and it was still in her hand. If Houtu asked for it, she would be taking an opportunity away from Nuwa.
That would be terribly improper. Nuwa had been the one to bring her here to meet the superior being in the first place. What she was doing would be truly ungrateful.
Nuwa could at least trade that Xiantian Lihuo Stone for a Xiantian Spirit Treasure.
Houtu looked at Nuwa apologetically, but Nuwa smiled and shook her head.
She gestured for Houtu not to say anything. She understood everything. Then, seeing Houtu nod to show she'd understood, Nuwa handed her the Xiantian Lihuo Stone.
Houtu carefully put it away, feeling rather pleased with herself.
Hmph. Zhurong, let's see if you dare bully me again!
The dusk light settled over the courtyard, and the enticing smell of meat slowly filled the air.
The reddish firelight reflected on Nuwa and Houtu's happy faces.
The crackling of the charcoal mingled with the sizzling of the meat. Every so often, they could even hear Da Huang and Xiao Bai swallowing.
"Wow, that smells so good!" Houtu stared eagerly at the food, her delicate nose twitching nonstop.
Jiang Ping smiled helplessly. "Don't rush, Miss Wu. It's not ready yet. It won't taste nearly as good if we take it off too soon."
"All right. I'll wait a little longer."
After a while, Jiang Ping held out two large skewers of grilled meat.
"Try these first and tell me how they taste."
Before you continue