After transmigrating, I made a name for myself through my culinary skills.

A few days before Jiang Ning's birthday, Ye Lan had already completed all six tasks ahead of schedule. Now that his cultivation had improved, he was more efficient at doing things. In addition, he had taken some shortcuts in accepting tasks, mostly those involving helping others capture demonic beasts or find spiritual herbs. With his ancient divine beast, Little White, by his side, these tasks were especially easy for him.

When the two of them went to capture the monsters, Xiaobai directly released its ancient divine beast aura in front of the monsters. The timid monsters basically surrendered and were captured obediently, while the bold monsters could not defeat the two of them working together.

Of course, the missions he took on didn't involve dealing with high-level demonic beasts, and he didn't have the guts to risk his life right now.

Tasks like finding spirit herbs naturally rely on Xiaobai's guidance. Xiaobai's father is a dragon and her mother is a demon-devouring lion. She inherited the characteristics of these two divine beasts. Xiaobai is like having radar installed when it comes to these spirit plants and treasures, finding them accurately every time.

Jiang Nan hadn't finished all his tasks over the past two years, but he felt there was still time to do them slowly. So, just like before he went on his training, he would often come to Ye Lan to freeload.

Even when Ye Lan was busy in the sect, he would still find time to cook for Xiao Bai. Doing more was just something he could easily do, and Jiang Nan could help him if he was around, so he tacitly approved of his behavior.

However, these past few days, Ye Lan has been going to Elder Xia's place constantly. Jiang Nan came looking for him several times, but never managed to run into him. Completely curious about what Ye Lan had been doing these past few days, one day he simply stayed outside Ye Lan's door waiting for him to return.

When Jiang Nan asked him what he had been busy with lately, Ye Lan only said that he had some questions to ask Elder Xia. Jiang Nan jokingly teased him, saying that people who didn't know better would think that Ye Lan was going to learn alchemy recently, but Ye Lan brushed it off.

What Jiang Nan didn't know was that Elder Xia had actually said he was willing to teach Ye Lan alchemy and could take him as a disciple, but Ye Lan hadn't dared to agree yet.

Because he had never been a good student in chemistry, and the formulas gave him a headache, forcing him to memorize them, and it wasn't until he chose humanities in high school that his grades improved steadily. Fearing he lacked the talent for alchemy and would disappoint Elder Xia's good intentions, Ye Lan didn't dare agree.

Elder Xia's original words were: "Since you can remember the heat and seasonings when cooking, you can also remember the recipe when refining pills. Moreover, with me as your master, why are you afraid that you won't be able to learn?"

Ye Lan and Doctor Shen complained from the side: "How can alchemy be like cooking?"

That day, Ye Lan took the prepared materials and went to Elder Xia's courtyard. They were going to try making a cake today.

But things didn't seem to go as smoothly as I'd imagined.

"Are you even capable of this? Why does it smell burnt again?!"

Doctor Shen's tone was full of disdain for his partner. This was already the fifth batch of cake bases that his partner had burned. Didn't he see the disappointment on Xiao Yelan's face that she could hardly hide?

"How was I supposed to know this stuff was so fragile?! I was being very careful with the heat!" Elder Xia exclaimed angrily, feeling utterly wronged.

You should know that although Elder Xia has a wood spiritual root, he also possesses a strange fire! His success rate in refining pills is currently very high; he rarely fails due to issues with the heat during the refining process.

Who would have thought this cake base would be so awful? With just a little effort, it was overbaked. The first time, it even burned to charcoal. Alchemy is indeed different from cooking!

But today he refused to believe it and was determined to make this cake base perfectly!

Elder Xia threw away the burnt cake base in the oven and reached out to Ye Lan, saying, "Give me a fresh one."

"Take your time, you'll succeed next time." Ye Lan handed him the prepared cake batter and told him to continue baking it in the alchemy furnace.

Ye Lan was also a little anxious, but fearing to put pressure on Elder Xia, she could only comfort him. If all else failed, she would have to make a mille-feuille cake, Ye Lan silently planned in her mind, just wondering if Jiang Ning could accept the chewy texture.

When it came to the eighth time, Ye Lan could faintly smell the fragrance and timed it perfectly so that Elder Xia would turn off the fire.

This time, the cake base finally took shape.

When the cake base was taken out of the alchemy furnace, the three people and the divine beast present all smelled a fragrant and sweet aroma.

Ye Lan looked at the beautifully colored cake base with delight. He placed his finger on the cake base and pressed down with some force. When he removed his hand, the pressed area quickly bounced back up. It was already perfect to achieve this level of perfection.

He tore off some cake base, put it in his mouth and tasted it. The texture was soft and fluffy, and this time, the taste was right.

When Xiaobai saw him eating, it came closer to him. Ye Lan tore off a large piece and fed it to Xiaobai.

"what about the taste?"

Elder Xia couldn't wait to hear Ye Lan's evaluation; he wasn't even this nervous when refining pills!

Ye Lan wiped her hands and replied, "It tastes good, just what I wanted."

Hearing this answer, Elder Xia finally felt relieved. He tore off a piece himself, wanting to taste his own creation.

Dr. Shen tore off a piece as well, saying, "Let me have a taste too."

After tasting it, both of them expressed their satisfaction with the cake base, and Elder Xia even praised it, saying, "It's really soft and fragrant."

This tastes really to Elder Xia's liking. Apart from his own Daoist partner, few people know that he, a grown man, would have such a fondness for sweets.

As expected of someone who baked it themselves! The deliciousness is enhanced even more.

"Now that this thing is done, hurry up and make that thing. What was that you mentioned called again?" Elder Xia urged Ye Lan, as he couldn't remember the name of the thing for a moment.

"Spirit Fruit Cake," Ye Lan replied.

"Yes! Spirit Fruit Cake! Let me try it and see if it's really as delicious as you say."

"This disciple will begin now."

Ye Lan started cooking as he spoke. He had learned that Elder Xia's courtyard also had a cooking area, even though it looked like it hadn't been used much.

He secretly thought that after he finished making the cake here, he would put it in his spatial storage and freeze it so that Jiang Ning wouldn't find out.

He wanted to give this cake to Jiang Ning as a surprise, because he knew that on Jiang Ning's birthday, many people would give him gifts, including many magical artifacts and pills. He just hoped that this cake would be special.

When Ye Lan accepted his last mission, he went to the local market. He thought that butter would make the cream taste better, so he bought two buckets of fresh milk to make his own butter. The butter he made is still stored in his space.

Speaking of this, I have to praise Xiaobai. Ever since she learned that it could freeze water, Ye Lan has never had to worry about ice or cooling food. Xiaobai helped her make this butter.

Ye Lan found whipping cream very easy. Although there were no egg beaters in this world, there was spiritual energy here, wasn't there?

Ye Lan washed the two bamboo sticks clean, snapped his fingers, and the two bamboo sticks started to stir by themselves. He only needed to use his spiritual power to control them and add the ingredients in the correct order.

By the time the cream was whipped into a smooth frosting consistency, the cake base that had been prepared earlier had already been eaten by Doctor Shen and Elder Xia. The three of them exchanged glances and fell silent for a moment.

Ye Lan put the prepared cream into her spatial storage. The ice in the storage wouldn't melt, so she could put it on top and freeze it, so that Elder Xia could quickly make another cake base while he went to wash the spirit fruit.

Those spiritual fruits were all freshly picked by him when he accepted the mission. This time, when picking spiritual fruits, he not only picked the ones that tasted good, but also the ones that looked good, with beautiful colors and suitable shapes.

While he was washing and cutting the fruit, Elder Xia had finished making the new cake base. Ye Lan cut the cake base into several slices, spread cream on each slice, spread it evenly, and then placed the spirit fruits on top. Ye Lan placed the delicious spirit fruits inside, and the beautiful spirit fruits were waiting to be used as decorations.

Dr. Shen leaned closer to him, watching him work with curiosity. His movements were as smooth as if he had done it many times before, and in the blink of an eye, Ye Lan had shaped the cake into a beautiful form.

This cake has a fresh and delicate design, with pretty berries scattered on the cream, making it look very appetizing.

The people around were waiting to taste it, and Ye Lan didn't keep them waiting too long. He took a knife and cut the cake into several pieces, picked out a large piece and put it on a plate. He then used the wooden spoon he had prepared to give it to Doctor Shen first, and then gave another piece to Elder Xia.

Between these two, Ye Lan was quite clear about who had the most say. Well, to put it simply, although Elder Xia seemed very "dominant," he was clearly henpecked when it came to Doctor Shen.

After receiving it, Dr. Shen first used a fork to scoop off a small piece of white cream and put it in his mouth. The cream melted in his mouth, and the rich milky aroma instantly invaded his entire taste buds. The taste was light, sweet, and creamy.

He then scooped up a large spoonful, still with fruit pulp on it, and put it in his mouth. The sweet cream flavor mixed with the refreshing sweetness of the fruit was delicious. Moreover, Ye Lan had indeed put a lot of effort into selecting the spiritual fruits, as they contained a considerable amount of spiritual energy. This cake could both fill his stomach and replenish his spiritual power.

When he finished eating one piece, he noticed that his Daoist partner had started eating the next piece, while Xiao Yelan sat at the table with two pieces, eating cake herself while feeding her spirit pet named Xiaobai.

Little White seemed annoyed that he kept changing spoons, so it told him to just put the cake on the table. It grew a little bigger and swallowed the cake in one gulp. After swallowing it, it stuck out its tongue and licked its lips, asking Ye Lan to give it another piece.

That's it, we can't beat it anymore.

Dr. Shen stopped watching the spectacle and quickly scooped up the next piece, knowing there wouldn't be any left to eat if he waited any longer.

Ye Lan ate one piece of cake in the end, Doctor Shen and Elder Xia each ate two pieces, and Xiao Bai, the divine beast, ate three pieces, but still didn't look full.

"Make me another one, I want to eat a whole one." Hearing Xiaobai's words from his consciousness, Ye Lan chuckled and replied in his consciousness, "Okay."

On his way back from Elder Xia's place, Ye Lan was stopped by Jiang Nan. Jiang Nan grabbed his arm to stop him from leaving and asked him suspiciously, "Have you been secretly going out to eat something delicious lately?"

"Why do you ask that?" Ye Lan was completely bewildered. Jiang Nan had come to her just to talk about this?

Jiang Nan leaned closer to him, sniffed, and said with a "you can't fool me" expression, "You have a sweet milky scent on you."

This guy has a real nose; it's a shame he's not a police dog.

He pulled Jiang Nan's hand down, neither admitting nor denying it, but instead mysteriously telling him, "You'll find out in a couple of days."

Jiang Nan persisted, pressing him for answers, but Ye Lan remained tight-lipped. He couldn't let his surprise be revealed at this crucial moment.

Having no other choice, Jiang Nan asked him what birthday gift he wanted to give Jiang Ning, to which Ye Lan simply replied, "It's a secret."