Solemn ritual music began to play, instantly drowning out the clamor of the entire crowd.
Tens of thousands of spectators held their breath in unison, their gazes converging fervently upon the altar. The atmosphere of the entire venue shifted instantly from a food festival carnival to a solemn pilgrimage.
Pan Wenhuo hugged the massive porcelain jar, his expression grave, his eyes filled with the devout faith and excitement of one about to meet a God.
Each step he took was firm and steady, as if the ground beneath his feet were the sacred stairs leading to the pinnacle of the Path of the Chef.
The altar was now right before his eyes.
"What should we do?"
Lin Xiyue lowered her voice, her hand already gripping the sword hilt, "Should we just initiate the fight and seize that jar of soup?"
"No."
Su Wan rejected the idea instantly, her gaze sweeping quickly over the fervent expressions on the faces of the surrounding spectators.
"Taking action now would mean making enemies of the entire Valley of the Four Winds. Until we understand the true nature of that 'God of Food,' don't take any risks."
"Su Wan is right."
Lin Qingyue's eyes were sharp as she stared fixedly at the altar, her mind already racing at high speed.
"This is a standard Summoning Ritual. The soup is the offering, and the chef is the caster. The moment the BOSS is summoned is our best opportunity to strike!"
She licked her dry lips, and instead of tension, a trace of excitement belonging to a veteran Player appeared on her face.
"Everyone follow my orders! Xiyue, you're the main tank. As soon as the BOSS shows its face, hit it directly with a Shield Bash to lock in the aggro!"
"Xia Lian, find a high vantage point and keep your eyes on the altar's Energy Node. Wait for an opportunity to give it a physical disconnect!"
"Su Wan, get your wide-area freeze ready. Don't rush to release it. In case it summons adds, you're responsible for crowd control and clearing the trash!"
The three teammates immediately understood, quickly adjusting their battle stances. They hid in the shadows of the crowd like cheetahs ready to pounce.
At this moment, Pan Wenhuo finally stepped onto the altar.
He placed the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall: All Creation's Forest, which weighed over a hundred jin, steadily into the groove in the center of the altar.
Then he took three steps back, knelt on both knees, and piously chanted in an ancient rhythm:
"Supreme Flavor, Source of All Things, Spirit of the Four Winds, Venerable One of a Hundred Flavors... Your follower, Pan Wenhuo, offers this lifetime's greatest taste, praying for Your descent to bless all people..."
As he chanted, the faith power of tens of thousands of Pandaren followers was drawn in, turning into a sky full of golden points of light that flowed into that ancient porcelain jar like a hundred rivers returning to the sea.
The porcelain jar began to emit a soft white light. The steam rising from the jar's mouth was no longer ordinary water vapor, but had transformed into miniature auspicious omens of a dragon's form, a phoenix's shadow, and a galloping Qilin.
A sudden anomaly erupted!
The space above the altar fluctuated violently, like a water surface struck by a stone. A crack silently opened, emitting a heart-pounding pressure.
It's here!
Lin Qingyue and her three teammates tensed their muscles, Magic Power and Holy Light surging within their bodies, waiting for the Evil God to extend its claws and fangs to strike it with a thunderous blow!
Behind the rift lay a profound Chaos.
A massive, fluffy, black-and-white head cautiously peeked out.
It first looked left and right warily, then twitched its nose, sniffing the aroma wafting from the porcelain jar.
The next second, a light comparable to a hundred-watt bulb instantly erupted from those giant obsidian eyes!
The rift was violently forced open as a colossal creature struggled to squeeze out. Its posture was just like a giant fat cat trying to crawl through a door made for a hamster.
Lin Qingyue and her three teammates completely crashed.
The prepared killing moves, the brewed battle intent, the carefully thought-out tactics... all got choked back in this moment, stuck in their chests, neither going up nor down, almost causing internal injuries.
What appeared in the sky above the altar was none of the blue-faced, fanged, tentacle-covered Ancient God avatars they had imagined.
It was a... a creature the size of a small mountain.
It had the panda's signature black-and-white color scheme, a round and honest physique, and those iconic giant dark circles around its eyes.
But at the same time, it also had a mouth as large as a Taotie's, a pair of small dragon horns growing from its head, and several wisps of immortal-qi-shrouded cloud patterns floating behind its back.
This thing, rather than being called an Evil God, was more like a super-giant mascot, enlarged by hundreds of times, fusing the National Treasure with elements of an ancient ferocious beast!
The heart-pounding pressure from before, after it completely squeezed out of the rift, also instantly transformed into... a warm, friendly aura that made one want to pet it.
"Good lord..."
Lin Qingyue's mouth hung slightly open, and after a long while, she managed to squeeze out a quip:
"Panda Limited Edition Skin: Taotie? Does this count as an invasive species, or a cross-dimensional collaboration?"
Lin Xiyue was already staring stupidly, almost unable to hold her shield steady, as she turned her head blankly to look at her sister:
"Sis... this thing... is it even normal? If I hit it with my shield, would that count as abusing a first-class protected animal?"
"I think it's more normal than the four of us combined."
Xia Lian's expression was the most spectacular; she felt her worldview was being repeatedly crushed by a giant fluffy creature.
Su Wan's brow was furrowed tightly. As a top student, she tried to analyze it from an academic perspective, but ultimately gave up.
"Species: Unknown. Composition: High-concentration Faith Energy and Gourmet Aromatic Hydrocarbon Polymer... Energy reaction: Gentle, harmless, beneficial to physical and mental health... Analysis impossible, no records of similar species found in database. Recommendation... Recommendation: Try petting it?"
Above the altar, the "God of Food" phantom was clearly oblivious to the "Heroes" below who were plotting against it.
Its entire attention was captivated by the jar of [Buddha Jumps Over the Wall: All Creation's Forest].
It lowered its massive head and gently took a sniff toward the porcelain jar.
"Huuuuuuu—"
The Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin formed from the aroma within the jar transformed into a colorful stream of light, which it then inhaled.
The "God of Food" phantom narrowed its eyes, revealing an extremely human-like, utterly satisfied expression, and even comfortably shook its big fluffy ears.
Afterward, it gave a slight nod.
"Ying ying ying!"
An invisible wave of warmth spread out from it, enveloping the entire Valley of the Four Winds.
The tens of thousands of Pandaren present all felt a warm current wrap around their bodies at the same time, instantly sweeping away a whole day's fatigue and leaving them full of energy. Even the chronic ailments of some of the elderly and frail were considerably relieved.
"Divine Grace! It's the grace of the God of Food!"
"The God of Food is blessing us!"
The mountain-shaking, sea-roaring waves of gratitude rose again, even more fervent than the previous cheers.
And the four of them, Lin Qingyue and her companions in the crowd, were also bathed in this "Divine Grace."
They only felt that their stomachs, which had been screaming warnings due to [Survival Instinct], were instantly soothed. That weakness from being starved for eight hundred years was swept away, replaced by the fullness and happiness of having just finished a Manchu Han Imperial Feast.
The four looked at each other, their minds filled with question marks.
What happened to the Evil God? What happened to the "Gluttony" of the Seven Sins?
No matter how you looked at it, this was a Five-Good God with a gentle temper, a love for gourmet food, and a habit of giving benefits to its believers!
Could it be... that they had been wrong from the very beginning?
"Gluttony" wasn't disguised as the God of Food?
"Wait a minute..."
Lin Qingyue's brain finally finished rebooting. She looked at the giant, fluffy creature licking its paw on the altar with an extremely complicated expression.
"This BOSS... did it get the battle sequence backward? It's starting by casting a Max-Level Recovery Spell and a Satiated BUFF on all the players on the map? What kind of new mechanic is this? Is it forcing us to get full and stuffed so we have the strength to fight it?"