My Goddess is Good at Pretending

Chapter 153: New Year’s Cake

Light snow fell on New Year’s Day in the Sacred Mountain. It was still noon, just past lunchtime, and the sky was covered with all-white clouds like a blanket of snow on the ground.

The temperature was chilly, but everyone in the Sacred Mountain was covered in sweat as they prepared the forest gathering ground for their annual event before nightfall.

"Hmm-mm~" Ely hummed melodiously in her kitchen. She was baking her new year’s cake.

Her disciples would receive a new year’s gift from her as befits a parent to her children. However, the forest dwellers would also get their share. Tasty cake loved by everyone. Her new year’s cake theme was dark and white chocolate this time. One cake with two colors, depicting a perfect balance.

"That’s the two hundredth cake... May I know how many you want to bake, Saintess Ely?" Kirara washed her hands after wrapping the last New Year’s cake.

"Hmm, we need at least five hundred. That might be more than needed, but we made many new friends this year. I found there are a few new forest dwellers too." Ely patted her chin.

"That’s three more baking sessions, then. By the way, do the forest dwellers you’re referring to also include the beasts and demons that live in the seven great mountains surrounding the Sacred Mountain?" Evelyn wiped her sweat with a handkerchief.

"Mm, yes. They build their nests in the surrounding great mountains." Ely stared out the window to observe the nearby great mountain.

The Sacred Mountains were just like hills when compared to those great mountains. However, it was also like a small mountain in the middle of a beautiful valley fortified by the seven great mountains.

Some forest dwellers only frequently visited Sacred Mountain instead of living there. If those beasts and demons lived on the same mountain, the forest would be full of them.

"Five hundred... Saintess Ely’s disciples total 144, then her friends, and then--" Kirara tried to count who would receive New Year’s gifts from Ely.

Even though she helped in the kitchen, she had restrained her desire not to eat the cakes. The cake was like a sparkling yin-yang gem, made with high-class ingredients and a dao law.

Anyone who could eat it would obviously receive enlightenment or an epiphany. They would also receive a lot of benefits because those cakes were personally cooked by Ely.

"Fufu, you don’t need to count it. Everyone will get a share." Ely was amused when she saw Kirara’s anxiety.

When the third batch of cakes was finished baking, Ely immediately took them out of the oven.

Ely, Evelyn, and Kirara were still busy in the kitchen. However, everyone also didn’t have any time to laze around either. Nobody could remain calm, and everyone couldn’t wait for the nightfall.

"New Year’s celebration, huh... Why do mortals enjoy celebrating something like this..." Zi Xuan complained under her breath.

It was not that she hated such a celebration, but she was too tired to enjoy that festive atmosphere. She floated out of the research room like a zombie ghost.

"Pfft, what’s with your pathetic state? Ely just asked you to help her with some magic research." Sylvia covered her mouth as she almost couldn’t contain her laughter.

"Everyone is so busy, and you relax here?" Zi Xuan glanced at the kitchen. They were busy, but the so-called elders relaxed at the picnic table.

"We finished our tasks an hour ago. We are resting after lunch." Sylvia shrugged her shoulders.

"Are you okay?" Yuuki was concerned because she felt this ghost girl would die of exhaustion.

"Everything is fine." Zi Xuan took a palm-sized purple spirit stone from her storage pouch to recover from her spiritual exhaustion.

Ely asked her to participate in magic research yesterday afternoon, and she kept her promise.

Several people participated in the magic research, but she was the one who completed it. She didn’t even sleep to fulfil Ely’s requests. Although, she used it to keep herself busy so she wouldn’t be disturbed by what that demonic black serpent said.

She tried to deny it, but she knew a calamity was occurring when her parents desperately sealed her up in that blue coffin and sent her to the lower realm.

Whatever happened thousands of years ago, she would find out the truth when she returned to the upper realm.

Sylvia glanced left and right. She then spoke in a whisper-like voice as she was curious. "May I know what Ely asked of you? Did you manage to identify the items dropped by those bad guys?"

"Answer my question first, then I will answer you. What happened to that black serpent guy?" Zi Xuan asked with a bit of complicated feeling after knowing that she was associated with a devil just fine.

She was supposed to destroy the demon and devil, but anyone under Ely’s banner wasn’t that bad.

"Ely burned him in purgatory and sent him to the afterlife." Sylvia tilted her head slightly and glanced towards the kitchen. The smell of the newly baked cakes passed by, and the aroma was so delicious...

She wiped her saliva as she couldn’t wait to taste it tonight.

"Is that so. That’s good, then." Zi Xuan rested her head against her arms.

"Hey, answer me first, then you can sleep." Sylvia poked the ghost girl’s head with her finger.

"Most of those cursed items shouldn’t be used, let alone by someone with a pure heart like her. There are even some God-tier cursed weapons. I sealed them with some additional seal formations."

Zi Xuan answered softly, but her face still remained in her arms. She was silent for a moment before continuing.

"As for Ely’s requests, I made an artifact and a magic item from her prototypes as she requested. I don’t know why she needed extra items to strengthen her physique when she has those Immortal-class artifacts."

After saying that, Zi Xuan raised her head and pointed at the pink tree spirit above the Sacred Sakura Tree. "But, how come she has so many precious treasures in her warehouse? Why she only entrusts everything to that pink spirit to guard it?"

"Is there something wrong with that? Sakura is the Immortal Tree’s spirit. I wouldn’t be surprised if Sakura was categorized as one of the Heavenly Tree." Yuuki glanced up.

"Hmm~ Even the Immortal Saintess said Ely’s treasures are precious. Aren’t the standards of people from the upper realm a bit twisted and biased towards us mortals?" Sylvia grinned and squinted her eyes.

"How can I see her as a mere mortal? Her Goddess Master is so generous..." Zi Xuan grumbled with a hint of envy. It was nice to have someone powerful ready to help and support from behind.

"..." Gabriella had just returned after finishing monitoring the preparations for tonight’s event. Still, she found the two elders were busy teasing the ghost girl.

She glanced at Rafaela, and then they went inside the kitchen.

"Hmm~ With this, we are done." Ely wiped her hands with a smile.

Five hundred New Year’s cakes were ready for distribution tonight, and she had prepared five hundred envelopes for everyone. Everything was stored neatly in her storage pouch, and she only needed to wait for nightfall.

"Master." Gabriella called out from the doorway.

"Hi ~ You came just in time, Gab-chan, Raf-chan. We just finished but made a bit more of the remaining dough. Would you like to taste some?" Ely took the nearby tray. There were eight black-and-white cakes the size of one mouthful.

Gabriella and Rafaela waited to answer. They immediately returned to help their master after their tasks were over.

However, their master finished baking the cakes quicker than expected, but they arrived just in time. There was some cake left. Evelyn and Kirara have got a cake to taste.

"All preparations for tonight’s event have been completed, master. Mhm, I am honored to have a taste." Gabriella stretched out her hand as if she was about to receive a peerless treasure.

"Yes, please." Rafaela also extended her hand. Everyone would receive one tonight, but the lucky ones who returned at the right time would receive an extra cake to taste.

"Mm~" Ely handed Gabriella and Rafaela a cake with a pink leaf base.

Evelyn and Kirara watched from the side with a cake in their hands. The size was smaller than the original ones that would be distributed tonight. However, the cake still contained tons of goodness that could benefit their bodies, spirits and cultivation.

Ely’s method to improve one’s cultivation was a blessing for anyone lucky enough to enjoy it. She never asked anyone to enter seclusion or asceticism like a hermit for years.

It was as simple as eating and drinking. Everything Ely made, cooked, or created could become elixirs and treasures.

*Bam*

The cake was devoured in one go. Gabriella and Rafaela could see the vast expanse of the rhythm of the perfect balance of the spiritual flows.

The flow was like guiding them to the Dao wonderland. The path they should have taken would have led to somewhere unknown, but they knew their destination was the same. Their master was at the summit, waiting for them in peace.

Unfortunately, that was just one bit, and their epiphany lasted only a few seconds.

By the time Gabriella and Rafaela returned, they were greeted by their master’s tender expression. The cake was delicious and impressive, as they had expected.

"???" Ely asked in wonder. She had no idea why her disciples suddenly fell silent and showed enlightened expressions.

"Wow..." Evelyn and Kirara were amazed at what might have just happened. They then tasted the sample cakes in one go as well.

Sure enough, while enjoying the cake, they could tell something had changed inside their bodies. Their spiritual flows within their bodies became so balanced and well-ordered. Peace and serenity came to greet them after relief.