The Chaos Primordial Body requires three body refinements during the Eternal True God stage. While the third refinement demands profound understanding of laws and highly skilled artifact crafting, the second refinement is considerably less demanding.

Luo Feng, who had already grasped the essence of laws, received further clarification from Entropy Flame, one of Huyang City’s top artifact crafting masters. Combined with his previous preparations, he completely understood the key points of the second body refinement during this meal.

“I’ve understood the theory; next comes the practical application,” Luo Feng said with a smile.

“Theory is the foundation, but practice is the ultimate manifestation of strength,” Entropy Flame replied, smiling. “Since you’re focused on body refinement, Brother Luo He, even occasional failures mean you can simply refine your body again. Body refinement is much simpler than artifact crafting.”

Even if a divine body is largely destroyed, it can recover, so the tolerance for error in body refinement is naturally very high. In contrast, manufacturing weapons, armor, mechanical-flow treasures, and so on has a much lower tolerance for error.

“Haha, if body refinement were as difficult as artifact crafting, the body refinement path wouldn’t be so popular,” Luo Feng chuckled. Many cultivate body refinement, but very few also cultivate artifact crafting.

“In this world, strength is what ultimately matters. What good is even the strongest artifact crafting skill?” Entropy Flame shook his head. “When you encounter someone truly powerful, don’t you still have to humbly bow your head?”

Luo Feng nodded. Even his master, Sitting Mountain Guest, could craft God-King level weapons and had many friends, but what was the outcome? Faced with the might of the Eating Kingdom, the Jin Kingdom had no choice but to be annihilated. Sitting Mountain Guest didn’t even place his hopes on his friends but fled to the Universe Ocean. Ultimately, it’s better to rely on oneself than on others!

Inside the small building, both Entropy Flame and Luo Feng fell silent for a moment. Entropy Flame’s eyes glazed over, seemingly seeing the figure he had longed for.

***

At the Fire Realm Restaurant, Sozai was diligently cooking. After more than an epoch at this small restaurant, he was gradually able to prepare some common dishes.

“Done,” Sozai said, waving his hand. A delicious dish was successfully plated, and another waiter carried it away.

“Junior Brother Sozai’s cooking skills are quite good now,” praised the other chefs at the Fire Realm Restaurant. They were all disciples of Black Butcher, having followed him for even longer.

“Compared to my senior brothers, my cooking is still very ordinary,” Sozai grinned. Being able to prepare dishes himself was a significant step forward for him.

“Sozai! Sozai!” a voice suddenly called out.

Hearing it, Sozai said, “My brother is here. I’ll step out for a moment.”

The other chefs paid no mind; after all, Sozai had only just started and could only make a few simpler dishes, not yet being a key cook.

Sozai walked outside and immediately saw Soyun waiting.

“Soyun,” Sozai said, surprised at first glance. “You…”

Soyun was full of spirit, a bright smile on his face. “I’ve broken through! I’ve finally reached the Void True God realm!”

“That’s wonderful!” Sozai exclaimed excitedly. “We’ve been in Huyang City for over an epoch, and you, Soyun, have finally broken through to the Void True God realm.”

They had come to the city precisely for opportunities! One became a guard for the Diao Rong family, and the other was recruited into the Fire Realm Restaurant.

“I seized the opportunity, received some resources from the Diao Rong family’s young miss, and by refining my bloodline, I finally broke through in one go,” Soyun said, looking at his brother. “Sozai, we were the most talented in our tribe. With ordinary cultivation secret arts, we both reached the True God Ninth Level at a young age. In Huyang City, as long as you obtain powerful secret arts and some resources… I could become a Void True God, and so can you!”

Sozai felt a surge of excitement. Their talents were indeed quite similar; even the tribal chief believed these two young juniors could make a name for themselves in Huyang City.

“My resources are almost depleted, so I can’t help you for now,” Soyun said. “However, now that I’m a Void True God, it will be easy to join a power as a mid-level member. When that happens, I’ll bring you in! With us brothers working together, I believe you’ll also quickly become a Void True God.”

“I’m doing well at the Fire Realm Restaurant, and my master treats me very kindly,” Sozai quickly replied.

“How long will it take for you to gather Chaos Crystals by just being a chef?” Soyun said, turning to leave. “Just wait patiently. Once I establish myself in a new power, I’ll bring you over.”

During this period, fearing being plundered or killed, Soyun had been diligently cultivating in seclusion at his residence, finally breaking through with the help of resources. Now, he was at his most spirited, believing his brother Sozai’s choice to be a chef was extremely foolish.

“Sigh,” Sozai watched his brother depart.

“Sozai,” Black Butcher approached.

“Master,” Sozai said respectfully. Due to his consistent good performance and his connection to Luo Feng, Black Butcher had officially accepted him as a disciple.

“Your senior brother is right; accumulating resources as a chef is very slow,” Black Butcher said. “Even I, after all these long years, have accumulated very limited resources. Perhaps following your brother, your future might be brighter.”

Sozai shook his head. “Back when we hunted together in the tribe, Soyun always loved taking risks. In Huyang City, he still loves taking risks. He might succeed ten times, but one failure means it’s all over! Previously, all beings in the Diao Rong family’s entire dwelling, including the guards, were massacred. He only survived by chance because he was guarding revered Luo He at the Fire Realm Restaurant. I tried to warn him, but he wouldn’t listen. Master, I prefer to stay here at the Fire Realm Restaurant and learn my craft.”

“Since you wish to stay at the Fire Realm Restaurant, I naturally won’t treat you unfairly,” Black Butcher said, smiling and nodding. Only if this disciple truly wished to establish himself at the Fire Realm Restaurant could he be cultivated with greater peace of mind.

“I feel that the path of culinary arts suits me better,” Sozai said. “The culinary path, which involves mobilizing divine power and mental will, is also a form of cultivation.”

Black Butcher nodded in satisfaction before departing.

As soon as the owner left, the other waiters immediately approached.

“Sozai, your brother became a Void True God?”

“That’s incredible! You two have been in Huyang City for just over an epoch and he’s already a Void True God. I’ve been struggling for thousands of epochs, and I’m still only at the True God Eighth Level.”

“Senior Brother Sozai was already at the True God Ninth Level in the tribe; his talent is far superior to ours.”

The waiters spoke with much envy. Their abilities were far inferior to Sozai’s, and most had not been officially accepted as disciples by Black Butcher. Sozai smiled, though his feelings were somewhat complex. In front of his master, he had been resolute, and what he said was truly from his heart. But how could it not be a little stimulating when his brother, Soyun, with whom he grew up, became a Void True God?

“Is it truly as Soyun said, that one must take risks to seize opportunities?” Sozai pondered. “But the tribal chief always said that during a hunt, it’s better to give up ten opportunities than to gamble your life easily.”

“Although the path of culinary arts is slower, it’s safer. If I spend a few hundred epochs, I’m certain I can gather enough resources,” Sozai thought.

***

Inside the small building, Luo Feng also witnessed the encounter between Sozai and Soyun. These two brothers had entered Huyang City with him, a certain connection.

“The lower-tier True Gods in Huyang City are truly struggling,” Entropy Flame said, looking outside. “Most of them risk their lives to seize opportunities, and even if they gain resources by risking their lives, they usually fail to break through. This Soyun is quite talented; he actually succeeded in breaking through in one go.”

Luo Feng nodded. “Both brothers are quite talented. Black Butcher’s culinary path is as subtle as artifact crafting or alchemy, requiring a perfect combination of divine power and mental will to create delicacies that affect the mind. Sozai’s ability to grasp it so quickly also demonstrates his talent.”

Entropy Flame held his wine glass and leisurely said, “They are talented, but among the massive number of True Gods in Huyang City, many more lack such talent.”

“Which one do you admire more?” Luo Feng asked with a smile.

“If it were my younger self, I would have admired Soyun more. As for now?” Entropy Flame finished his wine. “I admire Sozai more.”

Luo Feng nodded, his gaze sweeping over some of the quite envious waiters in the Fire Realm Restaurant.

“On the path of cultivation, avoid greed! Compared to the ordinary waiters at the Fire Realm Restaurant, Sozai is already very fortunate,” Luo Feng said, rising.

“Indeed, avoid greed!” Entropy Flame nodded. “It’s easy to say, but how many powerful beings can truly achieve it? I once made the mistake of being greedy. Some mistakes can be corrected. Some, once made, cannot be undone!”

Luo Feng nodded and said, “Brother Entropy, I will enter seclusion after I return this time. If you have an urgent matter, you can send a message to Morosa.” During seclusion, one must be fully immersed, so his communication token would naturally be turned off. Otherwise, messages from the Yanfeng Guild’s Dark Hall, and from some familiar friends, would disrupt Luo Feng’s concentration. As long as the message was given to Morosa, Morosa could use telepathy to contact Luo Feng.

“Understood,” Entropy Flame nodded with a smile. “I’ll certainly contact you if anything urgent comes up.”

As the two walked out together, Black Butcher, the owner of the Fire Realm Restaurant, personally came to see off the two Eternal True Gods.

After leaving the Fire Realm Restaurant, Luo Feng, accompanied by Morosa and Jade Blackrock, first went to the Yanfeng Guild to purchase the large quantity of materials required for his second body refinement.

“For the first body refinement, I spent about 100,000 cosmic sands’ worth of materials. Based on my understanding of the second refinement, I estimate I’ll need 650,000 cosmic sands’ worth,” Luo Feng thought. “Considering there might be some losses, I should prepare more and buy 700,000 cosmic sands’ worth.”

The Yanfeng Guild truly lived up to its reputation as a famous merchant guild throughout the entire Origin Continent. The 700,000 cosmic sands’ worth of materials were gathered by the Yanfeng Guild in just the time it took to drink a few cups of wine and chat.

“Since some materials are uncommonly used, we had to call in some from our partner guilds this time,” the Vice Guild Master of Yanfeng Guild said. “If Brother Luo He wishes to purchase more, it would be best to place an order through the Dark Hall first. We can then prepare in advance.” After all, they were just a branch in a large city, and their storage was limited.

“Understood,” Luo Feng said, picking up a jade bottle. This bottle contained the massive amount of 700,000 cosmic sands’ worth of materials, many of which were piled up like mountains. The Chaos Primordial Body itself didn’t consume many resources, but Luo Feng’s divine body was simply too immense!

“The next time will be the third body refinement, and the required materials will increase severalfold. I’ll need to order them in advance,” Luo Feng thought. “But for now, I can’t afford that many materials; I’m still too poor!”

After purchasing the materials, Luo Feng quickly departed with his two servants.

Flying all the way back to his dwelling, Luo Feng put away his flying vessel, and Morosa and Jade Blackrock naturally landed beside him.

“Blackrock,” Luo Feng instructed, “I’m preparing for a long period of seclusion. You don’t need to stay guarding the dwelling constantly. You can go home and visit anytime.”

“Thank you, Master,” Jade Blackrock replied, delighted. He hadn’t returned home once since he started following Luo Feng.

“What about me? Can I go out?” Morosa eagerly asked. The last time his master went into seclusion, it lasted over an epoch.

“As long as you don’t cause trouble, you can roam freely in Huyang City,” Luo Feng said, then flew directly towards the underground great hall. After he entered, the underground hall doors rumbled shut, and the formation activated, isolating the interior from the outside.

Luo Feng had already begun his seclusion.

“Divine Lord Morosa, I’ll head back now,” Jade Blackrock said respectfully.

“Go on, go on. I’ll also go out for a stroll,” Morosa said excitedly, already having zipped out of the dwelling. “Master keeps going to the same old places; it’s too boring! There are many fun places in Huyang City!”

The two servants left one after another. The entire dwelling fell silent, with only Luo Feng remaining in seclusion.