The monks from Churin Temple, drawn by the massive disturbance, also arrived on the scene. They saw Kael in person and learned that the Taiji Cuisine Realm had submitted to him.
Of everyone present, Churin Temple was undoubtedly the happiest.
They understood the Taiji Cuisine Realm better than anyone. In its current state, once it fell under Kael's command, he would inevitably place restrictions on it. For the culinary world as a whole, that was nothing but good news. The abbot and the others were all smiles.
As for the terrifying monster from earlier, everyone knew it had to be connected to Kael. His strength spoke for itself—and the creature had emerged from underground, the same place Kael had been staying.
The man had spent several months beneath the earth. To be honest, no one could imagine what he had been doing down there, but no matter what, Kael had finally come back up.
"Ramon, you'll lead the way. We're heading to the Taiji Cuisine Realm's headquarters."
After chatting for a bit, Kael turned directly to Ramon. He was curious whether there was something buried beneath the Taiji Cuisine Realm as well, so his interest in the place had grown even stronger.
He had no intention of taking their airship—there was no need. In terms of speed, it couldn't compare to Bahemoth.
"Bahemoth!"
Before Ramon could say anything, Kael shouted toward the sky. A moment later, a massive shadow appeared, diving down at terrifying speed.
Boom!
With a deafening crash, Bahemoth landed. Only then did the monks finally get a clear look at the monster's true form. It was terrifying, yes—but they immediately realized it was Kael's pet.
Otherwise, it wouldn't obey him so completely.
As soon as Bahemoth touched down, Kael grabbed Ramon and leapt onto its back.
"We'll ride Bahemoth. You just guide us. Everyone else, take the airships back."
He left that sentence behind, and Bahemoth took off at once. Kael also wrapped Ramon in a layer of calorie-based protection. Even so, Bahemoth didn't dare fly at full speed—otherwise, even Kael would have trouble enduring it.
The gap in their levels was simply too large.
Still, Bahemoth's speed was fast enough that Ramon could only cling tightly to its back, afraid to move even an inch, terrified he might fall off.
Kael, on the other hand, could stand steadily. His physical strength surpassed Ramon's by an absurd margin.
Guided by Ramon, Bahemoth carried the two of them to the Taiji Cuisine Realm's headquarters in less than an hour.
"This place really is fascinating. It's like there's an invisible barrier—but it's not for defense. It blocks the transmission of qi. Interesting."
Kael could clearly feel them passing through an unseen layer. It offered no protection at all—its sole purpose was to isolate qi.
Such a massive creature naturally drew the attention of the Taiji Cuisine Realm. Once they reached the core area, Kael had Bahemoth land directly.
The Phoenix Eight Immortals sensed both Ramon's and Kael's qi and only then dared to gather. Otherwise, faced with such a monster, they would have fled long ago.
"To think someone could control a monster like that… He's even more terrifying than you described."
Jinghua spoke as he looked at Song Wan. Song Wan's lips twitched. He had to admit—Kael was far more frightening than he'd imagined.
Seeing that creature, Song Wan knew one thing for sure: he wouldn't survive even a single exchange. He'd be killed instantly.
"Everyone, Lord Kael has already agreed to our decision…"
Upon seeing Jinghua and the others, Ramon immediately relayed that Kael had accepted their loyalty.
The moment he finished speaking, the Phoenix Eight Immortals exchanged glances. Then, as one, they dropped to one knee.
Since they were joining Kael's ranks, they needed to act like subordinates.
Their inner calculations had already quieted considerably—especially Jinghua and Wu. Any thoughts of using Kael to further their own ambitions were extinguished on the spot.
If Kael could command a monster like that, who knew how terrifying he truly was? Better to behave. Fantasizing about anything else would only get them killed.
"Get up. Now tell me—how did the Taiji Cuisine Realm manage this technique that blocks qi perception?"
Kael asked, his attention still on that invisible barrier.
"This barrier was left behind by our ancestor, Xu Ling," Jinghua replied. "It blocks others' senses because our ancestor's qi was once so powerful that no one could rival it."
To this day, only one person had ever reached that level—Dharma. Even then, he was merely equal to Xu Ling, which was why he couldn't sense the Taiji Cuisine Realm's location either.
Hearing this, Kael understood. Qi truly was a mysterious force. Blocking others' perception wasn't strange at all.
Xu Ling and Daruma's qi stood at the pinnacle. No one who came after could compare. Kael himself was destined to surpass them—but not yet. That was why the Taiji Cuisine Realm, lurking in the shadows for so long, had gone undiscovered.
On top of that, they usually traveled by airship. With no one able to track them, locating their headquarters was nothing but a pipe dream.
Only the original Dark Cooking Society might have known—but that organization was long gone. The traitors from back then were mostly dead, and the later members had no way of knowing this place even existed.
After talking for a while, Kael mentioned that he would send people to jointly manage the Taiji Cuisine Realm. Then he began to wander through the headquarters.
He didn't believe Xu Ling would have chosen this place at random. There had to be something special here.
Maybe the remains of a sacred beast… or even a living one.
That was something he'd have to investigate himself.
He asked whether there were any unusual locations beneath the headquarters, but the answers were all no. Left with no other choice, Kael decided to search on his own.
Perhaps Xu Ling had never told his descendants what lay here.
In truth, Xu Ling had been wary of them. The will sealed within the legendary kitchenware was the best proof of that. Even one's own children could become traitors—let alone descendants separated by countless generations.
Kael continued exploring the Taiji Cuisine Realm. Things others couldn't detect posed no problem for him, thanks to the Devil's Sense of Smell.
As for Bahemoth, he let it roam freely.
Kael wasn't worried about its food. He had the World of Food Wars—a massive food reservoir. It was a peaceful gourmet world with absurdly abundant supplies.
While its ingredients couldn't compare to those of the Gourmet World, quantity alone was more than enough to feed a Jack Giant Beetle Elephant.
Besides, he could also use the Taiji Cuisine Realm to cultivate special ingredients—far superior to ordinary ones, though still limited without enough gourmet cells.
Transforming an entire world with gourmet cells was impossible for Kael. Setting aside the billions of years such a "cooking" process would take, he didn't even understand the necessary steps—or possess the tools required to cook a planet.
Those blue Nitros might manage it. Kael certainly couldn't.
Unless the system stepped in and forcibly accelerated the transformation, it was nothing more than a fantasy.
Using the Devil's Sense of Smell, Kael quickly detected something unusual.
About ten meters underground, there was a passage—its entrance completely buried. Unless an earthquake exposed it, no one would ever find it by chance.
But Kael's sense of smell, combined with his enhanced super senses, could detect subtle differences with ease.
Xu Ling probably never imagined someone like Kael would exist.
Once he confirmed the location, Kael raised his hand. His hand-blade sliced rapidly through the ground, then he used a Fork strike to lift an ultra-dense mass of earth nearly ten meters thick.
As the earth was pulled free, the hidden entrance to the passage was revealed.
"There's actually something like this hidden beneath the Taiji Cuisine Realm?!"
The Phoenix Eight Immortals were stunned. None of them could have imagined something lay buried ten meters underground. Without Kael, they would never have discovered it in their lifetimes.
With Kael leading the way, everyone entered the passage. Ten meters would be impossible for ordinary people, but for these powerhouses, it was trivial.
They descended along the passage, which stretched deeper and deeper.
As Kael walked, he had the strange feeling that he wasn't even in a culinary world anymore. Lately, he'd been digging nonstop, living underground—it felt like he'd wandered into some kind of tomb-raiding world.
Since not everyone could see in the dark, Kael conjured a ball of flame. The air was perfectly fine, which was surprising in itself.
After descending nearly a hundred meters, they finally reached a stone chamber.
Kael couldn't help but admire Xu Ling. To build a stone chamber this deep underground was no small feat.
The chamber wasn't very large. In the center lay a block of metal that looked as if a portion had been cut away.
"What is this? Who put it here?"
The others stared at the metal, puzzled.
"Who else could it be?" Kael said. "The Taiji Cuisine Realm was founded seven thousand years ago. The first to discover this place was Xu Ling himself. And building a chamber this deep—only he could've done it."
"As for this metal… it's probably the material used to forge the legendary kitchenware. Don't forget the rumors."
At his words, everyone understood.
The legends said Xu Ling used a meteorite from the heavens to create the legendary kitchenware. This metal was likely what remained of that meteorite—he'd only needed a small portion back then.
The legendary kitchenware endured for seven thousand years. That wasn't just due to qi—the material itself played a crucial role.
These metals were likely hidden here by Xu Ling, perhaps saved for further research after attaining immortality.
After all, the Eight Spirit Tower owed its existence to the Black Tortoise corpse beneath it. Without that corpse, it would never have become so special.
Dharma, lacking such a material, had never created weapons or kitchenware like Xu Ling's.
Xu Ling's luck had simply been extraordinary.
When Kael touched the metal, he immediately realized it surpassed even the advanced alloys of the World of Food Wars.
Whether in hardness or malleability, it was exceptional. Through the Devil's Sense of Smell, Kael could tell just how precious it was.
No wonder Xu Ling had hidden it here.
Now, though, it belonged to Kael.
He directly stored the metal in his space. The Phoenix Eight Immortals' eyes widened once again.
Kael had revealed yet another unfathomable ability.
A storage technique akin to shrinking the universe into a grain of sand—it left them utterly awestruck. But this was Kael's secret. As his subordinates, they couldn't ask.
All they could do was stare at him with a mix of awe and envy.
"Let's go. There's nothing else of value here."
After one final check confirmed there was nothing more, Kael led them back out.
The harvest this time wasn't spectacular—but nothing had been missed, either.