"What a beautiful place." Aether couldn't help but exclaim as he looked at the stunning scenery on Mt. Aocang's peak.
The peak was vast, with a pond and a stone table with three stone chairs placed under a tree.
The two of them had walked for almost an entire day, with not much time for rest, finally arriving at the summit of Mt. Aocang on the morning of the next day.
Shenhe's stamina was truly incredible. After walking for so long during the day, she still had so much energy to fight with him while camping at night.
When they started climbing Mt. Aocang the next morning, Shenhe was even faster, and Aether almost couldn't keep up.
"Why are there so many dining utensils here…" Aether approached the stone table and looked down.
Each of the three chairs had three lines of text carved on them.
"Here resides Cloud Retainer." "Here sits Guizhong." "Here borrows Rex Lapis."
Cloud Retainer was naturally Cloud Retainer, and Rex Lapis was presumably Rex Lapis. So, was this Guizhong another immortal?
"Master occasionally dines and drinks tea with friends here." Shenhe also walked over and said, looking at the table.
However, she had never seen the immortal named Guizhong.
The immortals her master interacted with most were likely the two True Monarchs, Lishui Dieshan and Xiaoyue Zhuyang.
"Generally, to meet Master, one must offer tributes here."
"Tri-tributes?" Hearing Shenhe say this, Aether suddenly remembered that he had come to visit Cloud Retainer empty-handed.
Not to mention his current situation was akin to a son-in-law visiting his mother-in-law, even if it were just a simple visit to an immortal, arriving empty-handed didn't seem particularly appropriate.
"What, what does your master like? Should I hurry and prepare something now?" Aether quickly asked Shenhe.
Anyway, they hadn't entered the cave dwelling yet. It shouldn't be too late to prepare a small gift during this time.
"Master likes mechanical devices and also delicious food." Shenhe answered truthfully.
"This…" Aether stroked his chin, pondering.
Mechanical devices were completely out of the question. As for delicious food, he could quickly make some now, but the things he made… they were all powerful aphrodisiacs.
Ever since the last lesson, Aether had never actively cooked again.
But if he didn't bring a gift, it would seem like he lacked sincerity.
This was truly difficult.
"Perhaps, with an immortal's physique, eating a little shouldn't be a problem?" Aether hesitated in his heart.
Immortals were, after all, different from mortals. According to what Shenhe had previously explained to him, immortals were born from elemental energy drifting between heaven and earth, essentially pure elemental beings.
And the people who had eaten his food before were basically mere mortals. Even Lumine's own structure was not too different from ordinary humans.
So, what if?
"Cough, in that case, I'll go make some food to worship the immortal." Aether finally made his decision.
"Mhm, that's good too." Shenhe nodded.
Although she couldn't say she had fully integrated into human society during her days in Liyue Harbor, she had learned some etiquette through observation.
She also felt that since they were visiting her master, bringing a gift was better than coming empty-handed.
"But what kind of dishes does your master like to eat?" Although Aether had made up his mind, he didn't know what to cook for a while.
In reality, his cooking skills hadn't been thoroughly tested. Last time, he had only made some grilled meat, and he hadn't cooked since then.
"As long as it's delicious, Master will be satisfied… Over there are things left by people who have come to worship Master before, which should serve as a reference." Shenhe pointed to a nearby spot.
It was then that Aether noticed there was a small camp there, not only with cooking utensils but even some ingredients left out.
Also, the notebook placed with those ingredients, could it be a recipe book?
"Why does it feel like someone prepared this for me?" Aether couldn't help but mutter a complaint, then walked towards it.
The dish recorded in this recipe was Pearl Jade White Braised Soup, a very, very complex dish that required several types of ingredients and had over a dozen cooking steps.
Aether could be considered a novice in cooking. Although there was a recipe that taught him the method of this dish in meticulous detail, it was his first attempt, so Aether couldn't be sure how well he would do.
"No matter what, let's try it first." Aether looked at it and immediately started working.
A moment later...
The entire process went incredibly smoothly. Aether had prepared for failure, but he didn't expect to succeed on the first try.
He just didn't know how it tasted. On the surface, it looked good, but the taste was hard to say. Aether himself didn't dare to taste it, nor did he dare to let Shenhe taste it.
"If it's just offering food, placing the dish on the table is fine, but since we are meeting Master, you should bring it yourself."
"Mhm, let's go." Aether nodded. After packing up the finished soup, he followed Shenhe towards Cloud Retainer's cave dwelling.
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"...Shenhe?" Aether looked around with some confusion.
He had just entered the cave dwelling when, with a burst of mist, Shenhe's figure vanished from his side.
And everything before him did not look like a habitable cave dwelling should.
In front was a floating platform, covered not only with dense thorns but also several Slimes of different elements bouncing around.
Had he been forcibly separated from Shenhe by an unknown force?
"Hmph, the little Damselette Shenhe brought." Aether hadn't even figured out what was happening when a somewhat majestic voice suddenly rang out.
Aether immediately turned his head and looked around, but he saw no one.
However, he did feel a familiar sensation. The last time he and Xiangling went to Jueyun Karst, he felt like he was being watched like this.
"For the sake of this immortal's disciple, this immortal will give you a chance." The voice rang out again, full of majesty.
"Pass through these mechanisms set by this immortal, and you will be able to meet this immortal. If you cannot, then go back, and do not appear by Shenhe's side again."
"Uh…" Aether blinked, completely surprised that the immortal had set up such a challenge.
"Okay, I understand!"
It was just a Domain, he had already cleared several of them. Even a Domain personally set up by an immortal wouldn't be difficult for him.
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