No, absolutely not!
Without the slightest hesitation, Di Xin immediately made up his mind.
The foremost man of fortune and virtue in the Primordial World, its number one knockoff maker-with such a fat sheep standing before him, wouldn't he be taking a massive loss if all he got was this Pine Wooden Sword?
"Hong'er, Jiao'er, do you see? What does it mean to repay a drop of kindness with an ocean? This Daoist master is living proof! Look at this sword-it slays immortals above and demons below. A fine sword! A truly fine sword! Our esteemed Daoist master truly deserves to be called the Chan Sect's foremost Fortune Virtue Golden Immortal and the Primordial World's foremost master of artifact refining. Such an extraordinary gift deserves our admiration!"
"Hong'er, Jiao'er, remember this: if you meet any immortals from the Chan and Jie Sects or the Western Teachings in the future, you must tell them about Uncle Daoist's magnificent generosity. Let everyone know just how generous he is! In a moment, your royal father will offer incense and prayers to the Three Pure Ones and the Three Sage Sovereigns of Fire Cloud Cave, so they too may hear of his lavish gift!"
At that thought, Di Xin's eyes rolled, and he accepted the Pine Wooden Sword with excitement written all over his face. After giving it a couple of swings, he looked at Yin Hong and Yin Jiao and gave them those instructions.
[Negative emotion points from Yun Zhongzi: +999. Cumulative total: +37910...]
Almost the instant Di Xin finished speaking, negative emotion points from Yun Zhongzi arrived through the backend.
At that moment, Yun Zhongzi was truly dumbfounded, almost stunned out of his wits.
What the hell kind of person is this...? The words sounded like praise, yet they left a bitter taste in his mouth. There was something sarcastic about them, as though Di Xin were taking a roundabout jab at his stinginess. Worse still, he intended to tell everyone in the Chan and Interception Sects and the Western Teachings about this sesame-seed-sized matter-even the venerable Three Pure Ones and the Three Sage Sovereigns! Wasn't that making him lose face before the Sages themselves?!
But if Di Xin really did that, wouldn't people point and whisper behind his back wherever he went, saying he had eaten his fill and taken things away, only to give a wooden sword in return, laughing at how stingy he was?!
"This sword is merely the first gift this humble Daoist has for you, Fellow Daoist Di Xin. Here are a Heaven-Flipping Seal and an Eight Trigrams Purple Ribbon Immortal Robe as well, which I refined after the treasures of my junior brother Chijingzi and senior brother Guangchengzi. One is for offense and can slay anyone below the Origin Immortal level; the other is for defense and can withstand ten attacks at the Origin Immortal level!"
With that thought, Yun Zhongzi immediately reached into his flower basket and took out a seal shaped like a small mountain and an outer robe shimmering with pale purple light, offering them to Di Xin.
So they're a Knockoff Heaven-Flipping Seal and a Knockoff Purple Ribbon Immortal Robe!
Yun Zhongzi truly deserved his title as the Primordial World Knockoff Maker. He had copied every one of the Twelve Golden Immortals' signature treasures.
Unfortunately, although the Knockoff Heaven-Flipping Seal felt heavy in his hands, and a closer examination made it seem as though it contained a winding mountain range, it had not, after all, been refined from the broken Buzhou Mountain. Its power still fell short by a few levels.
The Knockoff Purple Ribbon Immortal Robe, on the other hand, could withstand ten Origin Immortal-level attacks. That was genuinely impressive, making it a fine means of protecting himself.
"You're far too kind, Senior. How could I possibly accept...?"
Di Xin shook his head and spoke of his embarrassment, while his hands accepted the Knockoff Heaven-Flipping Seal and the Knockoff Purple Ribbon Immortal Robe without the slightest hesitation.
[Negative emotion points from Yun Zhongzi: +99...]
Watching Di Xin's thoroughly unabashed actions, Yun Zhongzi became even more certain that the fellow had deliberately been calling him stingy. Pointing at Di Xin, he shook his head with a wry smile. "Oh, Fellow Daoist, Fellow Daoist. It seems I truly misjudged you!"
Although he knew Di Xin had pulled a fast one on him, he felt no displeasure.
Their interaction had shown him that the Di Xin he met today seemed quite different from the Di Xin he usually heard about. At the very least, giving him these things had not left him feeling particularly dissatisfied.
"Hahaha, you do love to joke, Senior! What fault has Di Xin committed, and how could you have misjudged me?! Attendants, prepare this iron wok and those seasonings for our esteemed guest, so he can take them back to his mountain and enjoy them."
Di Xin laughed heartily, then ordered the palace maids and the others to prepare the extra iron wok they had forged earlier, along with the various seasonings, for Yun Zhongzi.
"Senior, here are some recipes I've written down. You can consult them when you cook." Next, Di Xin wrote swiftly, recording the recipes for braised pork and several home-style dishes on bamboo slips before handing them to Yun Zhongzi. Then he sighed. "Unfortunately, we're missing a few ingredients. Otherwise, these dishes would taste even better!"
"Are dishes like these still not delicious enough? Fellow Daoist Di Xin, aren't you being rather extravagant?!"
At those words, Yun Zhongzi frowned and spoke to Di Xin in jest, though a note of admonishment had already entered his voice.
Even a Daluo Golden Immortal like him considered this pot of braised pork among the finest flavors in the mortal world. How extravagant would something even tastier have to be?!
Moreover, as the ruler of Great Shang, if Di Xin became absorbed in cooking and neglected affairs of state, that would certainly be no good thing for the people under heaven.
"Hahaha, you're mistaken, Senior!" Di Xin shook his head and said slowly, "These things I speak of are anything but extravagant. If they can be found and brought back to Great Shang, it would be a deed of immense merit, saving countless lives and rivaling Sage Sovereign Shennong himself!"
"Hmm?" Yun Zhongzi looked at Di Xin in surprise, an unusual gleam in his eyes-both doubt and anticipation.
His doubt arose because Shennong had become a Sage Sovereign by tasting the hundred herbs, pioneering medicine and food, and protecting the human race, thereby earning tremendous merit from heaven and earth. If the merit Di Xin spoke of could rival Shennong's, how precious and wondrous would these things have to be? And did such things truly exist?!
As for his anticipation, he was already a Daluo Golden Immortal and lacked only an opportunity to take another half-step forward into the Quasi-Sage realm. Gaining a great amount of merit from the human race would be just such an opportunity, perhaps allowing him to fulfill his wish. How could he remain unmoved?
"Sage Sovereign Shennong once appeared to me in a dream. He told me that beyond the many seas lay another continent, where several excellent crops grew. One grows aboveground, with edible roots. Because those roots resemble beans and grow in clusters deep underground, it is called the potato. It can be prepared as a dish or eaten as a staple... Another resembles the potato but grows on vines, with its roots underground. A single root can yield ten or more jin of food, even several dozen jin. Moreover, both grow regardless of whether the soil is barren or fertile, and can help people survive years of famine..."
"Besides those two, there is another excellent crop. Its stalk stands tall and graceful, green from top to bottom, and bears ears the size of a palm. Those ears have things resembling whiskers, yellow-green before maturity and black once ripe. Peel away the outer covering, and each seed inside is several times the size of a grain of millet or wheat. It is also more resistant to cold and has many wonderful uses..."
Di Xin chuckled, attributing everything to Shennong, then continued, "And potatoes are a perfect match for braised pork. You'll understand as soon as you taste them, Senior."
What he described were precisely the three great life-saving crops that transmigrators sought when they traveled back into history.
However, the transmigrators he had read about in books had to sail across distant seas to obtain those three powerful tools, whereas he could send an immortal flying there!
"Since Sage Sovereign Shennong appeared to you in a dream, how do you know they taste so good? Could it be that you tasted them in your dream?"
Hearing this, Yun Zhongzi looked at Di Xin and asked with a chuckle.
"You truly are worthy of being my senior! You even knew I tasted them in my dream!"
Di Xin gazed at Yun Zhongzi in admiration, clapping his hands and praising him repeatedly, his eyes brimming with reverence.
[Negative emotion points from Yun Zhongzi: +199...]
Yun Zhongzi was speechless. His lips parted, but for a moment he could not think of anything to say to Di Xin. Helplessly, he contributed another +99 negative emotion points!
"There is something else in that place. It has a pointed shape, green all over before it ripens and red afterward, roughly the length of a finger. Its flavor is hot and pungent, similar to cornelian cherry fruit, but without so many competing flavors!"
Then Di Xin looked at Yun Zhongzi and added that description.
"Can this also be used as a staple food?" Yun Zhongzi asked, looking at Di Xin skeptically.
"Not that one..." Di Xin shook his head. "But it is a vegetable that can dispel dampness and ward off cold, and it makes a marvelous seasoning!"
Chili peppers could not serve as a meal, but with them, he could wolf down three big bowls of rice!
Besides, without chili peppers, where would Sichuan cuisine and Hunan cuisine come from? And how would he eat hot pot?!
After all, life in the Primordial World was so stressful. Without a few hot pot meals to relieve the pressure, it would truly be hard to keep going.
As he imagined that brilliant red, fiery-hot, glistening-oily sight, drool began trickling disgracefully from the corner of Di Xin's mouth.
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