Volume 1, Chapter 66: He Understood! He Completely Understood!
It is the handiwork of the Myriad Realms Delicacy Pavilion. Old Fu's expression was incomparably grave. Such a grand gesture, such an elegant overture of light. Not daring to issue another 'invitation,' they are using this method to 'lure' the Young Master.
This tea fragrance... The Dao principles contained within it are almost on the verge of materializing. Ye Qingxian gripped the sword in her hand tightly, sensing that her own sword intent was as insignificant as a speck of dust before this fragrance.
Will they succeed? Will the Young Master... be lured over? Ji Rushe asked with a trace of worry.
Old Fu fell silent.
He did not know.
Logically speaking, a 'delicacy' of this caliber possessed a fatal attraction for any living being pursuing the Great Dao.
Yet, was the Young Master someone who pursued the Great Dao?
No, he was the Great Dao itself.
Just as the three of them were tensely observing Gu Changsheng's reaction, they clearly heard that muttering in a dream—"The tea brewed by Grandpa..."
The three of them turned to stone once again.
Old Fu's body began to tremble uncontrollably. This time, it was not out of shock, but rather out of... excitement!
He understood! He understood completely!
The Myriad Realms Delicacy Pavilion had exhausted their ingenuity, using the 'Light of Chaos' as water and the 'Leaves of the Era' as tea, to brew a supreme Dao tea capable of captivating the entire cosmos...
Yet in the Young Master's appraisal, its taste was merely... 'so-so.'
Its aesthetic and class were merely... roughly equivalent to... wild tea brewed with mountain spring water by a mortal grandfather?!
What a rating!
And what a... 'belittling'!
No, this was not belittling, this was the truth!
Because deep within the Primordial Ancestor's memory, within that most precious, softest emotion belonging to the modern man named 'Gu Changsheng,' 'the tea brewed by Grandpa' was the most wonderful flavor in his heart.
Any Great Dao, any origin, any delicacy was utterly worthless in the face of 'emotion' and 'memory'!
Returning to simplicity and truth!
This was the true return to simplicity and truth!
Old Fu was so moved that tears streamed down his aged face. He seemed to see a brand-new, broad boulevard leading straight to the Primordial Ancestor's inner self.
If one wished to please the Primordial Ancestor, the key was not rare heavenly treasures, nor the supreme principles of the Dao, but rather... the 'warmth of human mortal life'!
...
Myriad Realms Delicacy Pavilion.
Taste Elder and a host of pavilion members had waited for a long time.
The tea fragrance had drifted for several hours, yet that mysterious lord still showed no reaction whatsoever.
How could this be... A trace of puzzlement appeared on Taste Elder's face for the first time. Could it be that even the 'Era Dao Tea' failed to arouse his interest?
The pavilion master's projection also fell into a prolonged silence.
He could not figure it out either.
This was already the most sincere creation they could produce. If even this failed, they truly did not know what else to do.
Just as the atmosphere in the pavilion plunged into stagnation, an untimely voice, filled with overbearing arrogance, shattered the quietude.
Hmph, and here I thought this so-called 'Eonian Tea Party' was something extraordinary. Turns out, it is nothing more than some pompous and pretentious tricks.
Following the voice, everyone looked over to see a young man slowly stepping into the pavilion. He was dressed in a magnificent alchemist robe, wearing a purple-gold crown, with a handsome face carrying a trace of evil charm.
With every step he took, countless alchemical projections seemed to be born and perish beneath his feet, while a rich medicinal fragrance permeated the air. This medicinal fragrance was incomparably domineering, vaguely rivaling the tea aroma of the 'Era Dao Tea.'
It is the 'Alchemist Emperor' of the 'Divine Nong Heavenly Domain'! Someone recognized the identity of the newcomer.
The Alchemist Emperor was the most dazzling and brilliant alchemical genius in the eternal history of the Divine Nong Heavenly Domain. Rumors said that when he was born, alchemical rain fell from the sky, divine springs gushed from the earth, and the three thousand Great Daos celebrated for him. He possessed an aloof and arrogant personality, believing that the Dao of Alchemy was the sole ultimate Great Dao in the universe, while everything else was merely heretical paths.
Tea is ultimately a minor path. The Alchemist Emperor's gaze swept across everyone present with a trace of disdain. No matter how well it is brewed, it is still just the moon reflected in water, flowers mirrored in a glass; once tasted, it dissipates. Only my alchemical pills can eternally seal the Great Dao, turning illusion into reality and touching stone to gold!
He spread his palm, and a pill the size of a longan appeared in his hand, glowing with brilliant light and surrounded by the projections of three thousand Dao principles.
This is the masterpiece of my lifelong effort, the 'Myriad Daos Return to Origin Pill'! The Alchemist Emperor's voice was filled with boundless pride. Swallowing this pill allows even a mortal to instantly become an emperor and master the three thousand Great Daos! Can your cup of wretched tea do that?
He had come here purely to smash the venue.
He wanted to prove to the entire universe that the pills of the Alchemist Emperor were the number one delicacy in the world!
The expressions of the pavilion master and Taste Elder both darkened.
The Alchemist Emperor's provocation was undoubtedly a direct slap to the face of the Myriad Realms Delicacy Pavilion.
Yet they found themselves unable to refute it. For they too had heard of the reputation of the 'Myriad Daos Return to Origin Pill,' knowing it was indeed a supreme divine artifact that seized the creation of heaven and earth. Purely in terms of 'efficacy,' their tea indeed fell short.
Their tea tasted 'artistic conception' and 'class.'
While the Alchemist Emperor's pill spoke of 'solidity' and 'efficacy.'
The two were fundamentally not of the same path, but the Alchemist Emperor had stubbornly forced them together for comparison and even gained the upper hand, making it a bitter pill for them to swallow.
Just as the atmosphere in the pavilion became tense to the point of breaking, and Taste Elder was about to speak to salvage some dignity, everyone froze mid-action.
For they simultaneously sensed a... an 'will,' or rather, an 'aura' that could not be described by any words, leaking out from that heavily guarded dimensional singularity.
This aura was very faint, very light, as if it were merely an unconscious... yawn?
No, far worse than a yawn.
This was a... burp.
A freshly awakened, deeply satisfied... belch of repletion.
Gu Changsheng had been woken up by thirst.
He had dreamed all night. In the dream, it seemed he had returned to his high school days, taking a never-ending exam. The questions on the test paper shifted unpredictably—one moment calculus, the next classical Chinese, and then suddenly turning into musical staves. He answered until his mouth was parched and his throat felt as though it were burning.
Old Fu... He opened his drowsy eyes and called out in a hoarse voice.
This old servant is here. Old Fu's figure appeared beside the recliner like a ghost in an instant, a kind and respectful smile on his face.
Water... No, I want something carbonated. Gu Changsheng licked his dry lips. Do you have any cola? Make it iced.
The two words 'cola' exploded in Old Fu's mind like an imperial decree.
He understood instantly.
The Young Master was 'testing' him!
He was testing him, and he was testing the entire Gu family!
Externally, there was the 'Era Dao Tea' of the 'Myriad Realms Delicacy Pavilion' acting as an overture of temptation; internally, there was the 'mundane' need of the Young Master being 'thirsty.'
Between these two, how should one choose?
An ordinary person would inevitably assume the Young Master was hinting that he should go and fetch that cup of 'Era Dao Tea.'
However, Old Fu, enlightened by the episode of 'the tea brewed by Grandpa,' had already grasped the truth on a higher level.
The Young Master did not care about that cup of Dao tea at all!
What he wanted was 'cola'!
What he wanted was that purest, simplest, most unreasonable 'joy,' sought solely to satisfy a momentary craving!
This was the 'original heart' pursued by the Primordial Ancestor after traversing ten thousand Great Daos and billions of eras!
Wait a moment, Young Master; this old servant will fetch it right away. Old Fu's figure vanished from the spot in an instant.
He did not go to a mortal supermarket, but instead descended directly into the true core forbidden ground of the Gu family—the Creation Kitchen.
Here, there were no pots, bowls, basins, or ladles; there were only 'cauldrons' resembling cosmic black holes. Within each cauldron, a primordial law floated and sank.