Everything was ready.
Shi Hou kicked one of the pot's legs.
Crimson rune flames blazed beneath the Black Pot.
With a casual wave of his hand, two cleaned and plucked Purple-Feathered Spirit Chickens traced arcs through the air and landed in the bottom of the pot with a plop.
The Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Pool Spirit Spring Water prepared beside him poured down like a waterfall, setting the chickens stewing.
Dragon-Whisker Bamboo Shoots, Jade Lingzhi, and various other spirit medicines lined up, spinning through the air before flying into the pot one after another.
Then Shi Hou jolted his right arm and flicked the gray Stone Knife upward.
The several-meter-long Giant Crocodile tail tumbled into the air.
Crimson rune flames climbed along the knife's trajectory, wrapping around the crocodile tail in midair.
The free-floating essence between heaven and earth was drawn in, pouring into it like mad.
The crocodile skin rapidly contracted under the extreme heat.
Shi Hou reached out with two fingers, pinched a few grains of red glow salt from the jade box beside him, and flicked them out.
The red salt grains struck the crocodile tail.
Boom! The flames instantly surged ten feet high, transforming into a small, coiling fire dragon.
The surface of the crocodile meat began to turn golden, its fat forced out by the heat with a sizzling sound.
A few drops of golden oil dripped into the flames, sending up a puff of white smoke.
A rich, overpowering aroma of meat mingled with spicy fragrance, instantly filling the entire courtyard.
Shi Hou abruptly snapped his legs together and twisted his waist and hips to the left.
He held his left hand beneath his chin in an outrageously flamboyant orchid-finger pose, while his right hand gripped the Stone Knife and swiftly traced three flourishes through the