C13 A Careless Prickle

About an hour later, the shoes Chu Yang had listed were all sold out.

This time, he had set the price a bit higher, and the customers drawn by the buzz were clearly more sensible, not engaging in the frenzied buying of the past.

Ultimately, it was Chu Yang's persuasive skills that swayed the deities.

Of course, many of them said they'd need to wear the shoes for a few days before providing feedback.

Lying in bed, Chu Yang did some quick math. If all went well, he could make over nine thousand soul stones from this sale. Adding in his previous balance, he was on track to break the ten thousand mark!

With such a hefty sum of soul stones, Chu Yang's thoughts turned to new possibilities.

Previously, when soul stones were scarce, he had longed to purchase some cultivation techniques but was deterred by the steep prices.

Now, with his newfound wealth, acquiring a cultivation technique was definitely on the agenda.

...

At the Heavenly Court's Jade Emperor Palace.

"Take this away. I'm tired of the same old meals. Can't the Imperial Kitchen come up with something new?!"

The sound of breaking porcelain accompanied the God of Cookery's hasty retreat from the hall.

"Your Majesty, please, your anger. I will prepare a new dish immediately," he pleaded.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, the God of Cookery bowed and scurried back to the Imperial Kitchen.

The Jade Emperor Palace was the residence of the Jade Emperor himself.

As the ruler of the Heavenly Court, he dined daily on the finest delicacies the world had to offer.

Yet, after millennia of the same exquisite dishes, he had grown weary of them.

Lately, the Jade Emperor had even developed a distaste for food, feeling nauseated at the sight of the imperial meals.

The imperial chefs were in a bind, particularly the God of Cookery, the head chef, who had been stressing over the menu to the point of his hair turning white.

The Jade Emperor's requirements for his meals were simple: he just wanted dishes he hadn't eaten before.

But after serving him for so many years, the chefs had run out of ideas. It was a challenge to come up with anything novel.

Despondent, the God of Cookery sat on the threshold, endlessly scrolling through Amazon's food categories, searching for fresh ingredients or culinary inspiration.

"No, we've already had steamed flying fish last year, and the Nine-colored Deer Meat has been braised before. Plus, His Majesty has grown tired of these vegetables and fruits..."

Behind the God of Cookery, the imperial chefs looked equally concerned.

"Huh, Master Kang's Braised Beef Noodles? What's this all about?"

Upon turning to a certain page, the God of Cookery's eyes widened in surprise.

The imperial chefs crowded around, peering intently at the images on the screen.

"It appears to be some kind of food," a young chef ventured.

"Chen Yan, isn't that obvious? Isn't that a bowl of noodles in the picture?" chided a white-bearded chef.

"It looks like it might taste good."

The God of Cookery gazed at the picture on the noodle cup and involuntarily swallowed.

The noodles seemed springy and appetizing, unlike anything he'd encountered in his millennia of cooking.

"I have to see if it's as delicious as it looks."

The God of Cookery tapped on the screen, noting the affordable price of the instant noodles, and made the purchase.

Once he had the cup in hand, he sniffed but couldn't detect any aromatic scent.

After reading the instructions on the package, he realized it required boiling water to prepare.

He quickly had someone bring freshly boiled water and followed the instructions to steep the noodles.

As the steam rose, the scent of the instant noodles began to fill the air, and the chefs grew expectant, the appealing aroma suggesting a potentially delicious dish.

However, their excitement was premature.

After a few minutes, the God of Cookery felt it was time to unveil the noodles and did so with reverence.

"Where's my beef?!"

He looked in disbelief, rubbing his eyes. Once he confirmed it wasn't a trick of the eye, his anger flared.

What the hell? Aside from a bowl of noodles, there was no sign of beef!

"Damn it, false advertising!"

"Exactly! To think they could fool our Chief! This is outrageous!"

"We should file a complaint! Let's do it together and get that place shut down!"

The chefs were livid, their voices rising in a chorus of indignation.

Fortunately, the God of Cookery was well-versed and managed to keep his cool.

His initial anger subsided as he became intrigued by the instant noodles.

True, the image on the noodle packaging was misleading, but what truly mattered to him was the taste of the noodles themselves.

He then picked up a fork, took a small bite of noodles, and tasted them.

"The flavor is passable, and the noodles have a good chew to them, but they lack spiritual energy, offering no benefit to us as cultivators," he remarked with a hint of disappointment.

The other royal chefs followed his lead, each taking a turn to sample the noodles.

At that moment, a young chef named Chen Yan spoke up, "Manager, may I offer a suggestion, or would it be out of place?"

The God of Cookery shot him a look and barked, "If you have something to say, say it!"

Chen Yan grinned and proposed, "Manager, even though these noodles don't aid our cultivation, we've all had a taste. Surely we can create a supreme grade, spiritually rich version of Braised Beef Noodles fit for the palace?"

His words sparked excitement among the other chefs.

He was onto something. The royal chefs had honed their culinary skills over many years, and they could deconstruct any dish's ingredients and seasonings after just one taste.

United in their effort, they set out to craft a more exquisite bowl of Braised Beef Noodles. It seemed almost too simple!

The God of Cookery was nearly moved to tears by the thought. He had endured harsh criticism from the Jade Emperor lately, and if this bowl of Braised Beef Noodles could be his redemption, then the ten soul stones spent would be well worth it.

Indeed, Chu Yang had priced the noodles at ten soul stones.

Initially, he had listed the noodles on Amazon merely to fill a spot, not expecting to turn a profit, so he chose the platform's minimum allowed price of ten soul stones.

He figured that instant noodles were seldom a choice for the wealthy, and even the most down-and-out immortals of the Celestial Realm wouldn't fancy them, so earning soul stones from them hadn't crossed his mind...

As the Imperial Kitchen busied itself with the replication, Chu Yang lay in bed, the picture of utter despondency.

While browsing through the cultivation technique tomes earlier, Chu Yang had set his sights on several impressive cultivation methods.

Yet, despite his interest, the cultivation methods seemed to scorn him.

Why?

The Celestial Realm boasted a vast array of cultivation techniques, each with varying price tags.

But regardless of the type, it was rare to find any priced below ten thousand soul stones.

The few that hovered around the ten thousand soul stone mark were either incomplete or came with the risk of cultivation deviation.

If the shopkeeper was bold enough to sell them, Chu Yang certainly wasn't reckless enough to buy. What if his cultivation efforts were in vain?

"No point in overthinking it. The soul stones haven't even been deposited yet. If it comes down to it, I'll just purchase the fragmented Dragon Flower Heart Sutra. That should be enough to start cultivating some mana and tide me over with Yang Wanli."

With his decision made, Chu Yang logged off Amazon and drifted off to sleep.