Lu Yang observed the expressions of the two Spirit Chefs, which seemed like they were making contact on the street corner.

Could it be that a random movement of his just now happened to be their secret contact signal?

Let’s see then.

Thinking this, Lu Yang’s face broke into an enthusiastic smile, "I was delayed by some matters on the way, but fortunately, I still made it on time."

"Sister Mengmeng, I have something to take care of, so I can’t accompany you shopping. Let’s meet at the inn tonight."

"Alright." Yun Mengmeng found this change puzzling, but since the Second-in-command had said so, she didn’t ask more.

"Fellow cultivator, this way please." One of the Spirit Chefs gestured invitingly for Lu Yang to follow him, while the other stayed at the stall.

Lu Yang used his Spiritual Sense to scan and discovered that both Spirit Chefs were at the Divinity Transformation Stage, and both had sheep horns on their heads.

Are they from the Sheep Clan?

"They are from the Taotie Clan." Immortal Fairy said, Lu Yang was unfamiliar with the Taotie Clan and couldn’t identify the roots of these two Spirit Chefs, but she was very familiar with the Taotie Clan.

"The Taotie Clan? Did they see me use Devour the Sky and Swallow the Earth and mistakenly think I was one of them?"

Lu Yang quickly figured out what was going on.

If consuming soil was the secret contact signal, then only by employing Devour the Sky and Swallow the Earth could you swallow it, whereas someone like Yun Mengmeng who ate it directly would be judged an outsider.

Lu Yang followed one of the Spirit Chefs out of the marketplace, opened a secret door, and entered a crowded underground chamber.

After entering the underground chamber, the Spirit Chef returned to the stall to continue frying soil blocks.

The underground chamber was filled with people who had sheep horns, others with different demon features, and some with no demon features at all.

Noticing the door of the underground chamber opening, the people in the back row all looked toward Lu Yang, realized they did not recognize him, and then turned their heads back.

"There are more than just Taotie Clan here?" Lu Yang puzzled, if there were other demons and humans aside from the Taotie Clan, how did they pass the test of eating soil.

"Probably these people have ingested the blood of the Taotie Clan. Ingesting the blood of the Taotie Clan can also teach you to master Devour the Sky and Swallow the Earth, although the effectiveness is definitely not as good as that of the Taotie Clan itself."

"And after ingesting the blood of the Taotie Clan, the Taotie Clan will exert a suppressive power over them, a common tactic used by the Taotie Clan to build alliances."

"I see."

"The time has come, and everyone should be here now," said the middle-aged cultivator with sheep horns standing at the front.

"Is that person the Taotie Clan Leader Jin Tan?" Lu Yang vaguely remembered seeing him once at the Demon Nation’s founding ceremony, a transcendent Demon Emperor ranked among the top ten in power in the Demon Territory and a senior minister of the Demon Nation.

As soon as Jin Tan spoke, everyone immediately fell silent.

Jin Tan looked at the crowd and slowly said, "You all should more or less know the purpose for which I have gathered you."

The crowd looked up at Jin Tan standing on high, their eyes fiery and fists clenched tight, as if ready to brave boiling waters and step through fire for their beliefs.

Lu Yang had no choice but to pretend the same, convincingly.

Jin Tan was very pleased with the crowd’s reaction, knowing that plotting big endeavors wouldn’t be possible without these people’s support.

"Nowadays, the leader is foolish, dictatorial, and disregards advice from others, even absurdly deciding to hold this Spirit Chef competition in Demon City!"

"And look at the current state of our organization, the internal management is chaotic, the leader does nothing, reluctant to manage, allowing infighting and wasting our strength!"

"It has not been easy for the organization to reach its current size, yet if we let the leader manage like this, it will certainly head toward decline!"

Jin Tan scanned the crowd, his technique of observing people was skillful and slow, as though making eye contact with everyone, giving a sense of being respected.

"You come from the Demon Territory, Great Xia, the East Sea, the Extreme Northern Lands: from all corners of the world, each with Divine Abilities. My Taotie Clan has spent hundreds of years and all our resources to groom you for this moment!"

Lu Yang’s eyes narrowed slightly, was this the start of a rebellion against Zhu Tian? Perhaps they had a Semi-Immortal backing them, which would indeed be very interesting.

Jin Tan’s expression revealed a righteous indignation as he shouted loudly, "Everyone, what should we do!"

His words ignited the atmosphere like a blaze, with the crowd responding by raising their arms and shouting, "Overthrow him, overthrow him!"

"Exactly, Elder Ming Yuan should have stepped down long ago, that leader’s position should rightfully be mine!"

Lu Yang was startled. Elder Ming Yuan? Wasn’t he the Alliance Hierarch of the Spirit Chef Alliance?

It then dawned on Lu Yang that Jin Tan had another identity, the Vice Alliance Hierarch of the Spirit Chef Alliance.

So, you orchestrated all this just to become the Alliance Hierarch?

"To defeat Elder Ming Yuan, the only way is to beat him in culinary skills so thoroughly that he accepts defeat wholeheartedly!"

"I have devised a dish from the mortal world which will surely surpass Elder Ming Yuan."

"However, gathering the ingredients is immensely challenging, and four of the ingredients are stored in the Spirit Chef Alliance’s ingredient reserve. These four are extremely precious, and acquiring them requires the unanimous agreement of the three vice alliance hierarchs and the Alliance Hierarch."

"But there is one exception, which is to win at the Spirit Chef Competition!"

"The Spirit Chef Competition is divided into five groups: Foundation Establishment Group, Golden Core Group, Nascent Soul Group, Divinity Transformation Group, and Unification Group. The champion of each group may select one ingredient from the ingredient store!"

"What you must do is win the competition by any means necessary! Remember, by any means!"

"Yes!" everyone shouted in unison, making the basement tremble.

Having boosted morale, Jin Tan’s tone was no longer so passionate.

"There’s one more thing, some of you have been diligently practicing your culinary skills, yet have never qualified as Spirit Chefs."

"If you were to take the Spirit Chef qualification exam, there’s a risk that your skills might be exposed."

"So I can use my authority to grant you the title of Spirit Chef without needing to pass the exam, allowing you direct entry to the Spirit Chef Competition."

"Now, those who haven’t obtained their Spirit Chef qualification, stay behind."

"A Spirit Chef Competition, huh? I’ve never tried it, why not seize the opportunity and experience it?" Lu Yang thought, since he was there to report on the Spirit Chef Competition, it was only natural to experience the whole process.

Over half the people gradually left, including Lu Yang, who was among the small group remaining to line up and register their names.

"What’s your name?" Jin Tan asked when it was Lu Yang’s turn.

"Lu Yunyang."

"Good, next."

Lu Yang’s mask was of such high quality that even those at the Transcendence Tribulation Stage could not discern anything amiss.

…

After parting with Lu Yang, Yun Mengmeng hummed a tune and continued to wander the streets and feast.

However, without Lu Yang accompanying her, many cultivators approached Yun Mengmeng, finding her beautiful and adorable, much to her annoyance.

"So annoying, I can’t even eat in peace, I’ll go somewhere else."

Yun Mengmeng muttered to herself and left the market, winding through the alleys.

"This small restaurant looks decent," Yun Mengmeng discovered a restaurant with a new sign deep in the alley, though it appeared to be lacking in business.

She lifted the door curtain and entered the clean and tidy shop, indicating that the owner was someone who valued cleanliness.

"Is anyone there?"

A woman in a sky-blue dress came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands and apologetically said, "I’m sorry, dear customer, we’ve run out of ingredients, the owner has gone out to buy some."