First Draw

In the abandoned palace, Bai Wushang waited for a minute or two, getting no response.

It looks like this altar of the Gourmand is not an AI. It's too dumbed-down to answer specific questions… Bai Wushang pondered silently, and then shook his head with a lost smile, thinking, Forget it. I've been through the whole transmigration thing. My three views have long since been shattered, so let's not get to the bottom of it in pursuit of any truth."

Now, I just need to figure out what the altar of the Gourmand can get me, and how it can help me.

Like this First Tier Gourmand's Treasure Chest, what uses do the transcendent recipes, Gourmand's props, and Gourmand's secret techniques have?

[Hint: transcendent recipe, a top gourmet recipe created by the Gourmand, for transcendent creatures only. Its effects include healing and recovery, advancement and evolution, genetic mutation, physique enhancement, ability enhancement, beauty and hairdressing, and so on. They will assist the host in breeding the most powerful pet beasts.]

[Gourmand Props: special items that contain the power of the Gourmand, mostly one-time consumables.]

[Gourmand's Secret Technique: a secret skill created by the Gourmand, the host can gain special abilities in handling ingredients after mastering it.]

Three small lines surfaced in quick succession.

Bai Wushang gradually adapted to this mode of communication. After reading it carefully, he suppressed the questions in his mind, and decided to open the treasure chest first to see for himself.

He reached out and grabbed at the rainbow-colored flames. The flames didn't feel blazing hot.

The white porcelain-like Gourmand's treasure chest fell into his hands, its texture cold and silky smooth, unidentifiable as to what material it was.

Without hesitation, Bai Wushang lifted the lid straight away.

A brilliant flash of light pierced his eyes such that he couldn't open them for two or three seconds.

What could it be?

With some anticipation, Bai Wushang refocused his attention, and fixed his eyes on it.

In the treasure chest, there was only one page of yellowed parchment.

Bai Wushang picked it up, and found that it was written with dense golden characters that were completely unreadable.

Confusion was just rising in his mind when the yellowed parchment suddenly disappeared into thin air.

At the same time, Bai Wushang felt a slight tingling in his brain, and as if it was enlightening, a message appeared…

[Recipe]: Mouse of Temptation.

[Materials]: One fresh rat corpse (any species/mid-larvae/dead within three hours and with a high degree of corpse integrity) +10 grams of ink bamboo leaves +5 phantom grass plants +1 stramonium +300 ml of water + soul power of late-stage Spiritualist or above.

[Process]: Remove the guts of the rat carcass and wash it, stuff the rat belly with ink bamboo leaves, and then simply sew it up → crush all the phantom grass plants and stramonium flowers, throw them into a pot of cold water, and stir evenly until purplish-red → add the rat carcass to the pot, boil it over low heat, inject soul power continuously during the process, and extinguish the fire after the juice is completely collected.

[Description]: A delicacy with a deadly appeal to youth form snake creatures; refer to the actual completion degree of the recipe for specific effects.

This is a transcendent recipe?

Bai Wushang froze and looked back at the passage, somewhat dazed.

It looked like the recipe called Mouse of Temptation had a simple effect of trapping snakes.

In the transcendent world, whether it was a series of sub-professions such as pill refiners, alchemists, talisman makers, array masters, and so on, or the various heavenly treasures, fruits, and medicinal stones in the natural environment, it was possible to achieve a similar effect.

However, it was the first time that Bai Wushang had heard of this special recipe like human dishes with strict ingredients and process requirements, but made only for transcendent creatures.

If it's true that there are transcendent recipes for advancement, evolution, mutation, and other effects as the introduction suggests, then this might be a whole new genre of breeding… a treasure of riches that belongs only to me…

At the thought of this, Bai Wushang's body trembled, every cell excited.

His quest in life was simple—to get strong and stay alive.

Only the strong had the power to dictate their destiny, and not be the target of plundering and killing.

Trying to calm down, Bai Wushang repeatedly told himself to learn restraint, to abandon his greedy desires and false assumptions, that the future would always be the future, and that his eyes should be on his feet, growing firmly step by step.

After calming down, Bai Wushang posed a new question to the altar.

"Is there any other way to get this kind of Gourmand Treasure Chest?"

[Hint: The standard way to obtain the Gourmand treasure chest is by sacrificing Gourmet Cells. 100 gourmet cells are required for the first tier Gourmand Treasure Chest, 300 points for the second tier, and… for the third tier…]

[Gourmet Cells: Special genetic tissues possessed by transcendent creatures. The rarer and more powerful the individual, the greater the number of gourmet cells possessed, all automatically extracted after killing. Gourmet cells are the only Gourmand offerings, and can be used to sacrifice for Gourmand's treasure chests.]

[Additional note, only the host, or a contract pet with which the host has established a contract, can hunt gourmet cells by killing transcendent creatures.]

[Once the gourmet cells of a particular race have been extracted through hunting, individuals of the same race of the same level and below will not be able to obtain them repeatedly. Individuals of the same race above the level will receive the difference by deducting the gourmet cells that were once captured.]

Killing transcendent creatures earns you gourmet cells… then exchange gourmet cells for the Gourmand treasure chests…

Immediately recalling the earlier incident, Bai Wushang said in a sudden realization, "No wonder one point of gourmet cell appeared after killing the first Hungry Zombie, and the subsequent second, third, and fourth kills didn't gain anything, and the fifth was a mid-stage hatchling, yet I got another one point of gourmet cell, so that's it!"

The explanation given by the altar was intuitive and clear, and Bai Wushang quickly figured out the logic.

Right now, the number of gourmet cells he had was two, which was not nearly enough to redeem a Gourmand Treasure Chest.

Bai Wushang also asked for additional ways to obtain treasure chests, such as Gourmand's Gift. The altar didn't respond.

Looking over the 13 statues in the surrounding area, he still didn't find any new rewards.

This altar, it seems, can only be used to draw treasure chests…

Bai Wushang studied it for a while longer, even trying to bring something from the outside world into the altar, and it didn't work at all.

Forget it. My main form is not out of danger yet, so that's it for now. I have to go back!

Black and white went by his eyes. Bai Wushang returned to reality, and regained control of his physical body.

Inside the cave, Mu Xiaoxiao was still sleeping, the fire kept burning, and everything was intact.

Organizing my thoughts, first of all, the secret of the altar of the Gourmand will become my greatest reliance, and must never be exposed… Well… my pupils can identify transcendent beings—it's probably considered a derivative supporting ability—so I'll simply call it the Eye of Perception, and again, it's to be studied in depth…

There's also the transcendent recipe for Mouse of Temptation, and I'll have to find a chance to gather the ingredients to make it to ensure the reliability of the actual results…

…As for now, I'll meditate to recover my mental state at ease, and when the zombies recede during the day, this valley should be safe for the time being, so I'll activate my life-bound summoning first, and with the help of my pet beasts, I'll think of a way to return to the academy…