The Netherworld Ship tore through the void and hovered over the Immortal Cooking Realm. Compared to the past, the energy in the realm was much richer now. Nine years was not too long nor short, but it gave the realm enough time to recuperate. As a result, the realm was much stronger now, unlike nine years ago when it was weaker than a second-class small world. It had more Little Saints today, and Realm Lord Di Tai was no longer the only Great Saint.

Bu Fang walked down from the ship, nodding as he sensed the rich immortal energy in the air. Then, he raised his head, looked at the towering Immortal Tree with its crown too far to be seen, and took a deep breath. Leaves rustled in the sky while specks of light fell from them. A few moments later, branches reached down and weaved into a small platform before him. Bu Fang paused, wondering if the Immortal Tree was asking him to step onto the platform. After thinking for a brief while, he stepped on it. The branches moved immediately, bringing him up toward the tree’s crown. Before long, he disappeared from sight.

Nethery held Foxy in her arms while Flowery stood behind her. Meng Qi was at their side. The few of them remained silent as they watched the Immortal Tree took Bu Fang away. At this moment, Realm Lord Di Tai arrived. His cultivation base had improved significantly, and his aura was very stable. Apart from his hobby of not wearing clothes, he had changed a lot.

Bu Fang did not know why the Immortal Tree called him back in such a hurry, but he could sense its urgency. He was now inside the tree, surrounded by its branches. Suddenly, a shaft of light burst out of the darkness, illuminating everything around him. Then, a figure drifted out of the light and came in front of him. It was a humanoid figure made of tree branches. Bu Fang knew it was the Immortal Tree’s spirit.

The spirit stared at Bu Fang with a deep look in its eyes. “That man is coming back…” it said.

That gave Bu Fang pause. He did not expect that the first thing the tree told him was something so incomprehensible. “Who is coming back?” he asked.

“That man like you is coming back… He was deprived of everything, and now he will come to claim them back,” the tree spirit said seriously, looking at Bu Fang.

“That man like me?” Bu Fang froze, then he was startled. ‘What does it mean? What has the Immortal Tree learned?’ he thought to himself, nervous. ‘A man like me… Could he be the previous host?’

The Patriarchs of the nine Nether Prison clans all dreaded him, including Nether Puppeteer Patriarch and Di Ting, just because he performed like that man. Bu Fang knew that. If the two of them were really similar, then the only possibility would be… that man was the previous host!

‘The previous host is still alive? And he’s coming back?’ Bu Fang thought, narrowing his eyes. He found that things were getting stranger and stranger. ‘Is the man I saw through the jade talisman the previous host?’

The Immortal Tree seemed to know what he was thinking. “Ten thousand years ago, that man fought with an expert from a foreign great world. He was severely wounded and then sneakily attacked by the experts of the nine Nether Prison clans. His body was destroyed, but his soul fell into a deep sleep and was sealed in Earth Prison by the Power of the Laws…

“He was a figure from the previous age, and because his flesh had been destroyed, his soul was punished by the Power of the Laws. However, with his mighty ability, he deceived the Heaven Secret and turned the Power of the Laws he had comprehended into an Immortal Tree, which is me, and created the Immortal Cooking Realm.”

Bu Fang was shocked as he listened. The Immortal Tree was actually made of the Power of the Laws comprehended by the previous host?

“The difference between a Demigod and a God is that the latter has mastered a complete Law, while the former doesn’t. I am made of a Law, and now that I have obtained my intelligence, I don’t want to perish… I hope you can help me…” The Immortal Tree swayed, and its voice grew sincere.

Bu Fang was digesting what the tree had told him. It asked him for help, but how was he supposed to do it? From what it said, the previous host should be from a great world. In that case, no one knew how strong he was. Even though he did not have the System now, he would not be too weak since he could come back to life to seek revenge.

It would be fine if the previous host was a Demigod, but if he was a God… Things would be difficult for Bu Fang. He had no idea if the so-called God here was the God of Cooking, but he felt that it was not so simple to become one.

“You two are tangled by karma. You will meet him eventually. I just hope that you can help me. If I am still in a muddled state, I would not mind turning back to the Power of the Laws. But I have intelligence now, and I am the guardian of this world. I cannot disappear… Once I disappear, the Immortal Cooking Realm will perish…” the tree said with emotion.

Its wish was simple, and that was to guard the Immortal Cooking Realm. The request was simple as well, but it was not so easy to complete. If truth be told, it was all because of the personal emotion of the tree after it had obtained its intelligence.

“Karma? What karma?” Bu Fang frowned.

“You are the one who released that man’s trapped soul in Earth Prison… You are the one who brought him back…” said the Immortal Tree.

Bu Fang fell silent as he tried to recall. The memory was somewhat vague. Then, it dawned on him—the bronze palace on the Yellow Spring River. He remembered that a mysterious figure had escaped the palace after he picked the Senseless Lotus. ‘Is that figure the previous host’s soul? It’s very likely since he could make Yellow Spring Great Sage cough blood with one slap…’

He was somewhat speechless. He had picked the lotus by accident, and yet it actually caused such a great impact. No wonder that mysterious existence talked so much to him.

“Karma is a Law as well… The Laws of the Universe are supreme. Now that you two are tangled by karma, there is no escaping. I just hope that when the time comes, you can… save me,” the Immortal Tree said in a pleading voice.

Bu Fang remained silent. He did not make any promises to the tree, for he did not know how strong the previous host was, and he had no idea about the reason for his return. He may be able to help within his ability, but he could not guarantee it. In fact, Bu Fang still had a lot of questions in his head. What the tree had said had stunned him. Fortunately, he was excellent at accepting new things, so he wasn’t too surprised.

The leaves rustled as the Immortal Tree put Bu Fang down. It did not keep him for too long. After landing, Bu Fang glanced at the swaying tree and slightly narrowed his eyes. It was a kind tree, he knew. At least, it had brought fortunes to the entire Immortal Cooking Realm and allowed the immortal chefs in the realm to live and develop peacefully. Even so, he would not easily believe everything it said. He would just put it in his head, and when the time really came, he would try his best to save the tree.

When they saw Bu Fang return, everyone’s eyes lit up. Realm Lord Di Tai stared at him with a smile. They had not seen each other for a long time, and he quite missed the little chef.

“The Immortal Tree told me that a visitor from a great world is here… The puppet that scanned the realm but was smashed by the tree is a product of that great world,” said the realm lord. “It asked me to suggest to you the proposal of combining Earth Prison and the Immortal Cooking Realm…”

‘A visitor from a great world…’ Bu Fang was expressionless as the man he saw through the jade talisman emerged in his head. ‘Perhaps that man is the visitor from a great world, and he’s also the one who captured Er Ha… What’s his purpose here?’

“According to the Immortal Tree, that man should be an emissary of a great world, whose job is to plunder small worlds’ resources. Nether Prison had become a great world, but it excluded Earth Prison and the Immortal Cooking Realm. They will obtain recognition from the Laws of the Universe, but not both of our worlds. Therefore, that man will certainly attack us… The tree asked us to be prepared.” Realm Lord Di Tai was very serious. He had to, since it concerned the survival of the Immortal Cooking Realm and Earth Prison.

“Er Ha has been captured by him…” Bu Fang said.

Realm Lord Di Tai’s pupils constricted, and he sighed.

…

On the silver warship in the starry sky outside Nether Prison, Tian Cang was surrounded by many metal puppets. After sensing that he was targeted by terrible killing intent, the previous Nether King became serious. He could feel the fearsome strength in these puppets—each of them was as powerful as a Perfected Great Saint. Even he dared not to underestimate them.

A puppet moved. It swung a spear made of an unknown material with its tip glinting coldly, and then thrust it out. The Nether King Halberd swept up to meet it. Terrible power exploded, and the air rang to a deafening rumbling sound.

Tian Cang focused his eyes, swinging the halberd fiercely and clashing it with the spears repeatedly, filling the air with a clanging noise and bright sparks. Every collision sent powerful blasts rolling across the void. However, the attacks of the puppets, seven or eight of them, were so strong that they forced him to keep moving backward. That enraged him. He roared and used the Nether King’s Three Halberds.

Boom!

A huge halberd swept out and knocked a puppet flying away. The mechanical eyes of the other puppets flashed as they scanned Tian Cang. The next moment, they all used the same technique—the Nether King’s Three Halberds! They were copying Tian Cang’s offensive techniques!

“What monsters are these?!” Tian Cang sucked in a cold breath. By then, he was sure that these metal puppets were not made by Nether Puppeteer Patriarch. Her skills had not reached this level yet. Compared to these puppets, hers were simply rubbish.

He kicked the deck with all his might. The ship was unscathed, while he shot out of it and stepped through the starry sky. The puppets copied his fighting style and kept suppressing him. Soon, cracks began to appear across his body. Although Tian Cang only had his soul in this body, he was infuriated by the puppets’ attacks.

His halberd collided with their spears, causing bright sparks to dart out in all directions. Of course, there were differences between a spear and a halberd, and Tian Cang had clutched on those differences to launch a crazy attack at one of the puppets. He used the Nether King’s Three Halberds again, striking it three times in a row until he dismantled it thoroughly and cut it into pieces!

When he was done, wisps of white smoke rose from his body. He had overworked his puppet body.

Inside the warship, Alpha put down his fork and knife, grabbed the square of cloth from his chest, and wiped his lips with it. After that, he took out the metal plate, his face cold.

“How dare a worm destroy my little darling… Kill him!”

Buzz…

The mechanical eyes of all the metal puppets outside the warship burst into a cold light in an instant. One by one, they rose into the sky and raised their arms. Then, amid a series of clanging sounds, their hands all transformed into six-barrel guns. The next moment, accompanied by deafening rumbles, one shell after another shot out of these barrels, pierced through the air, and headed straight toward Tian Cang.

Tian Cang’s pupils constricted. He recognized the technique. It was what had defeated Er Ha. The next moment, a metal plate lifted beneath each of his arms, revealing a muzzle, and a plume of white flame poured out of it.

Boom!

He sped away in an instant, turning into a beam of white light that flew at high speed, attracting the shells behind him.

“This is a game of cat and mouse,” Alpha said with a faint smile and crossed his legs. Suddenly, the smile on his face froze. He saw Tian Cang fly around, guiding the shells into his puppets.

The next moment, a terrible explosion broke out over the warship. Flames swept out in all directions as a huge mushroom cloud rose into the sky, and those who heard it had their ears abuzz with a deafening rumble. A few moments later, pieces of broken metal fell on the ship’s deck. The explosion had destroyed two puppets and badly damaged the rest. The arms of some were broken, with tiny electric arcs jumping from the stumps, while others were blackened and dented.

Alpha’s eyes turned cold, filled with killing intent. “Dammit… How dare he do this to my little darlings…” he said coldly.

He rose to his feet, put his hands behind his back, and walked out of the metal door. Once outside, he kicked the deck, rose into the sky, and disappeared. When he reappeared, he was already in front of Tian Cang.

Terrible pressure lingered around them, and the air seemed to freeze. At the same time, killing intent squeezed into Tian Cang’s body like tiny snakes, trapping him to the spot.

‘This terrible feeling…’ Tian Cang’s pupils constricted. ‘This man is a… Demigod!’

“You will die for destroying my little darlings…” Alpha said faintly. Then, he raised a hand and put it against Tian Cang’s chest. A terrible force exploded out of it in an instant.

Crack…

The metal that made Tian Cang’s chest was crushed. In the face of a Demigod, even the once invincible Tian Cang was powerless.

All of a sudden, the void behind him tore open, and from the rift came reaching out two dog paws, one white and one black. Together, they blocked Alpha’s retreat path, and it seemed that they were going to kill him!