’Yes, system. Go on.’
Hao was genuinely fascinated.
Every ingredient sounded like it came straight out of some high-grade alchemy recipe.
Or a secret medicinal dish passed down by ancient immortals.
Such premium ingredients…as expected of the Dimensional Convenience Store.
Every now and then, the same thought would pop up again and again. The system was being way too generous with how it priced the store’s products.
’Honestly… this ice cream alone should’ve been twenty crystals minimum.’
[The pricing is properly set, host. We are already earning more than enough. No need to act like a greedy leech.]
Hao choked on air.
What was with the sudden verbal smackdown?
Did the system just call him a leech?
Was this thing secretly holding a grudge or something?
Ruthless. Absolutely ruthless when it came to shutting him down.
It was like arguing with a cold-faced elder who already decided you were wrong before you even opened your mouth.
[As for the cone, it is made with Golden Grain Flour, host. This flour comes from wheat that grows where earth, fire, water, and wind qi meet.]
[It creates balance in the cone for the perfect texture. Not too soft, not too brittle.]
[We use Crystalized Dew Butter to hold it together. It’s churned from Glacialmist Milk and Morning Spirit Dew.]
[Lastly, there’s Radiant Sun Honey Extract. Collected by Radiant Arcanum Bees that gather nectar near solar qi pools.]
As always, the system just moved right along like it hadn’t roasted him alive three seconds ago.
No apology, no pause. Just business as usual.
Hao shook his head and smirked. This system had to be trolling him at this point. If it ever took human form, he was going to flick its forehead.
Meanwhile, Yue Xueyan stood patiently in front of the counter, eyes quietly fixed on Hao.
She narrowed them slightly.
Did she offend Senior Hao somehow?
But no… this wasn’t the first time she saw him act this way. His eyes always drifted to empty space, as if something only he could see was there.
Sometimes he nodded to no one. Other times he muttered to the wind. And now he was smiling at nothing.
Senior must be diving into the vast sea of his memories.
Maybe he was sorting through a heavenly library stored in his divine mind.
If Senior had lived for countless years, carrying centuries of knowledge in his head, then it wasn’t strange at all if it took a while to dig up the details of an ancient recipe such as Soft Serve Vanilla Ice Cream.
Who knew how many thousands of sacred product and secret manuals he had stored in there?
Yue Xueyan couldn’t even begin to guess how old Hao truly was.
A million years? Two million?
He might’ve watched continents shift and rivers turn backward with his own eyes.
She took a respectful step back. Senior Hao must not be disturbed while recalling sacred knowledge.
Hao blinked. Wait a minute.
Why was Yue Xueyan staring at him with that strange intensity?
He realized the problem instantly.
Shit. How dumb he must’ve looked, Hao coughed lightly and straightened up.
“There are four main ingredients for the ice cream…”
And just like that, Hao repeated the system’s detailed explanation word for word.
Yue Xueyan nodded slowly, eyes focused.
She didn’t understand any of the ingredients. But she tried her best to remember them all.
There might be something buried deep in the Snow Petal Sect’s library.
If she could replicate even one-tenth of the recipe… she would be satisfied.
That treat was far too good.
It had completely overtaken her previous favorite – Peach Oolong Tea.
’I guess that’s why it tastes better than any sweet I’ve ever had.’ Lin Yijun thought.
Xiao Lianfeng crossed his arms.
’Those ingredients sound strong.’
He glanced at his fists. ’Can I cultivate with it?’
Hua Feixue, who was still replaying the description in her head, nodded vigorously.
’No wonder it tasted like eating a piece of the heavens!’
Old Tiger Zhao, who had been lounging on the side, twitched his ear.
“Radiant Arcanum Bees?” he muttered.
He stood and stretched his arms with a crack.
“I’ve met those fellas once. Wasn’t fun.”
The others turned to look at him. “Really?” Lin Yijun asked.
“Yeah. They ain’t bees. They ain’t normal spirit beast.” Old Tiger Zhao replied.
“They’re monsters with wings. Group of then nearly cooked me alive.”
Old Tiger Zhao scratched his head and laughed.
“They shoot beams of sunlight from their stingers. Ever been flash-fried by a bug?”
“I have.”
“Nearly lost my pants escaping.”
“You fought a whole hive, Senior?” Xiao Lianfeng blinked.
“Ha! I ran after the second one showed up.” Old Zhao grinned.
“I love fighting, but I’m not suicidal.”
He leaned back.
“Found that place in the Molten Ashlands. Opens once every ten years. Real nasty secret realm… but worth peeking in.”
Xiao Lianfeng’s body trembled.
He wanted to go fight those bees!
Yue Xueyan remained quiet, still processing everything.
Hua Feixue’s gaze slowly moved to the ice cream machine.
Such a holy artifact…
Truly worthy of reverence.
Hao stared at the Old Tiger Zhao in mild disbelief.
The old man actually fought Radiant Arcanum Bees?
So they weren’t just some mythical creatures from the upper realms?
He hadn’t expected them to exist down here.
That secret realm must’ve been something.
The system’s voice chimed into Hao’s head.
[He most likely encountered a degenerated variant, host. Not the pure strain that’s born near fully-exposed solar qi pools.]
[The ones bred in direct contact with raw solar essence are a different breed entirely.]
[Five of those could decimate an entire sect in the mortal realm within a couple of minutes. Even a single one has the capacity to take down a peak Heavenly Emperor Realm cultivator.]
’What? So it’s like that, huh.’
Hao assumed the ingredients weren’t all that rare anymore. Clearly, he was dead wrong regarding that.
The pieces were finally falling into place.
A whole string of possibilities began spinning in Hao’s mind.
If even one of those Radiant Arcanum Bees could knock out a Heavenly Emperor Realm cultivator, then –
What kind of horror would it be if a full hive of them descended on Sovereign City?