The sun rose over the central district of Taichu Sanctuary Immortal City, painting the white jade rooftops in shades of amber and rose.
At the intersection of the four primary avenues stood a magnificent three-story pavilion built entirely from polished cedar wood and white mountain stone. Red silk lanterns hung from the sweeping eaves, each inscribed with the smiling face of an old grandmother holding a wooden soup ladle.
A massive golden plaque hung above the grand entrance: The Taichu Central Immortal Culinary Palace.
Lin Mo had spent five billion Supreme Spirit Stones on this single building.
The kitchen alone spanned ten thousand square feet. Thirty-six self-stirring Nine-Dragon Woks forged by Master Bram from pure volcanic bronze hovered above spirit-flame burners. In the cold-storage vault beneath the floor sat giant ice chests packed with fresh deep-sea spirit-shrimp, flown in directly from Dr. Marina Solis’s marine sanctuary across the dimensional rift.
Grandma Chen stood in the center of the kitchen, tying her eight-million-stone Nine-Heavens Cloud-Silk apron around her waist. She adjusted her reading spectacles, picked up a three-foot wooden stirring paddle, and inspected the bubbling cauldrons.
Beside her, Little Guo’er stood on a low wooden footstool, dipping a miniature jade ladle into a crystal vial of pure lotus-dew essence. With serious concentration, the six-year-old added exactly three drops to each simmering dragon-broth barrel.
