From a country cook to a master chef

"As expected, I couldn't hide it from Brother Lin's discerning eyes!"

Han Wenqiao sighed helplessly.

As soon as he finished speaking, two strange auras suddenly erupted from his body, and two soaring murderous energies suddenly shot out from his sleeves.

Just as Lin Jue was reacting, he saw two lithe figures dart out from his sleeve pockets, rushing towards him like two bolts of lightning.

Lin Jue quickly retreated and dodged, only then able to see clearly what the two figures were.

Two poisonous snakes!

And they were two highly venomous king cobras!

After dodging the attacks of two venomous snakes, Lin Jue quickly steadied himself and stood still, confronting the two snakes.

Lin Jue knew better than anyone how venomous the banded krait was. Even the Liu family troupe leader, who was at the Foundation Establishment stage, had to quickly circulate his internal energy to expel the venom after being bitten by this snake.

If a Qi Refining cultivator were to encounter the venom of the silver-ringed snake, there would be no other outcome but death.

While pondering, Lin Jue glanced at the bell-shaped magical artifact that was continuously glowing in front of Han Wenqiao. He knew that if things continued like this, not only would he fail to save Wuyanzi, but he would also suffer the consequences once Han Wenqiao had freed his hands.

Thinking of this, Lin Jue calmed his mind. Seeing a poisonous snake attacking him again, he quickly swung his dragon-patterned shovel and smashed it into mincemeat. When he saw another one flying towards him, he gathered his palm power and decisively used the Six Harmonies Great Wilderness Hand with five layers of palm power.

When the two venomous snakes died one after another, Han Wenqiao's expression changed drastically.

He knew that if he used his magic to kill the enemy at this moment, all his previous efforts would be in vain.

Seeing Lin Jue walking towards him, he was horrified, knowing that the other party would probably not be delayed by his words any longer and was determined to save Wu Yanzi.

"Brother Lin, listen to my advice. Wu Yanzi is not related to you at all. You don't need to take risks for him."

If Brother Lin steps down now, I, Han, am willing to compensate you with ten spirit stones. If that's not enough, as long as Brother Lin speaks up, I, Han, can give you anything I have.

What Han Wenqiao said filled Lin Jue with shock. He didn't know what Han Wenqiao was doing, but he figured it must be something important that he didn't want to give up halfway through.

"This person can betray even longtime friends; his words are absolutely unreliable."

Lin Jue muttered to himself, then glared coldly at Han Wenqiao and suddenly threw the dragon-patterned awl at him.

With his current strength at the Great Perfection of the Divine Power Realm, this throw carries a force of a thousand catties. If Han Wenqiao is not on guard, it would be enough to seriously injure him.

Seeing that the thing Lin Jue threw was about to hit him, Han Wenqiao's heart sank, but he was still unwilling to give up.

He wanted to gamble, to gamble that a mere mortal martial artist could seriously injure a cultivator with just a pot.

With this thought in mind, Han Wenqiao did not use any magic power, letting the pot fall on his shoulder.

Bang!

Before he could react, a tremendous force struck him, instantly sending him flying and crashing heavily into the snow.

Buzz, buzz!

At this moment, the Spirit Transformation Bell, having lost its magical power, emitted two buzzing sounds, and its body instantly shrank back to its original size.

Wu Yanzi sat cross-legged beneath the giant bell. As the spirit-transforming bell above his head fell, he slowly collapsed like a candle in the wind.

"No!"

Han Wenqiao roared wildly, venting his pain at all the failure of his efforts.

With a roar, his eyes slowly turned bloodshot, and his breathing became rapid.

He aged rapidly at a visible rate, quickly transforming from a young Taoist into a frail and hunched old Taoist.

"..."

Lin Jue, who witnessed all of this, was dumbfounded and looked incredulous.

"It's all because of you. If it weren't for you, I would have succeeded." Han Wenqiao turned to look at Lin Jue and murmured, "Do you know how annoying you are? Why do you meddle in other people's business? And why do you have to pretend to be so noble and righteous?"

"I've lived for over three hundred years, and this is the first time I've encountered a freak like you. If you won't let me live, I won't let you live either."

"Ice Condensation Mirror!"

As Han Wenqiao slowly uttered these three words, a square, snow-white, mirror-like magical artifact flew out of his storage bag and transformed into a huge, sky-covering mirror above his head.

"Lin Jue, this is a top-grade magic artifact that I obtained by chance many years ago. To die under the Ice Condensation Mirror is truly an honor!"

A hoarse, weathered voice emanated from Han Wenqiao's hunched figure, yet it seemed to possess a magical power, buzzing continuously in Lin Jue's ears.

Under Lin Jue's shocked gaze, Han Wenqiao's body underwent a transformation during cultivation, ultimately merging with the Ice Condensation Mirror.

"A Foundation Establishment cultivator?"

Lin Jue was startled, and his tightly closed lips involuntarily parted slightly.

The Ice Condensation Mirror slowly rose into the air, and the reflected white beam of light enveloped Lin Jue's body.

The next second, the surrounding environment underwent a dramatic change, and Lin Jue saw countless versions of himself.

"Welcome to the Ice Condensation Mirror Space, Lin Jue. Even if I die today, I will take you down with me."

Lin Jue was not intimidated by the scene before him. He took a deep breath and quickly calmed down.

In this so-called Ice Condensation Mirror space, he was surrounded by countless square mirrors, each as tall as a person.

Suddenly, Han Wenqiao's hunched figure flashed briefly in one of the mirrors.

Lin Jue stared at his surroundings, looking at countless versions of himself, and his mind began to wander.

But he quickly recovered, appearing nonchalant and composed.

His calm face showed no sign of guilt or fear.

"Brother Han, is this all the Ice Condensation Mirror can do? Do you intend to trap me, Lin, inside this mirror and kill me?"

"You guessed right, that's exactly what I was thinking." Han Wenqiao shouted sharply, his words revealing his overwhelming hatred for Lin Jue.

"I was originally a Foundation Establishment Peak cultivator, but due to some reasons, my cultivation level dropped to the Qi Refining stage. Now my lifespan is almost over, and unless I can return to the Foundation Establishment stage, I am doomed to die."

"You've ruined my plans today. Even if I die, I'll take you down with me."

"Oh, I didn't expect you to be a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator. My apologies for not recognizing you." Inside the Ice Condensation Mirror, Lin Jue had no way to deal with Han Wenqiao, so he could only resort to verbal sparring. "Brother Han, your treasure is so unique; it must be without any weaknesses, right?"

Han Wenqiao's figure flashed repeatedly in the mirrors as he sneered at Lin Jue, "Lin Jue, don't waste your breath. I've eaten more salt than you've eaten rice. You think you can get anything out of me? No way."

Seeing that he couldn't get any useful information out of him, Lin Jue stopped talking and instead stared at the countless rows of mirrors standing in front of him.

Then, he moved swiftly, wielding the dragon-patterned scythe, and smashed them row by row.

He refused to believe that a Foundation Establishment cultivator's magic weapon could actually trap him to death.

If that's the case, wouldn't cultivators be able to forever outclass martial artists with all sorts of magical artifacts and treasures?

However, the reality is not so. Martial arts, when practiced to the highest level, are in no way inferior to those who practice Qi Refining.

Otherwise, the Great Wu Kingdom would not have had Tianwu Mountain.

The two founders of the inner courtyard were capable of tearing apart Nascent Soul stage cultivators with their bare hands.

Having figured this out, Lin Jue's expression immediately became confident. He was going to smash all the broken mirrors in front of him; he would smash every single one that appeared.

He refused to believe that Han Wenqiao, in his dying state, could continue to activate the Ice Condensation Mirror.

As the mirrors shattered one by one, Lin Jue eventually stopped using the Dragon Pattern Shield and instead began practicing the Six Harmonies Wilderness Hand technique using the mirrors.

With five layers of palm force, he only needs one palm strike to shatter hundreds of mirrors.

At this moment, he was eager to know how powerful the Six Harmonies Great Wilderness Hand would be if he cultivated it to the sixth level of palm power.

Although Han Wenqiao was unaware of Lin Jue's thoughts, seeing his determination to shatter the mirror in this space, he couldn't help but feel delighted and secretly laughed, "Go ahead and hit it, hit it as hard as you can!"

When you are exhausted, you will know that it was all in vain.

Suddenly, he noticed that Lin Jue had frozen in place, motionless, as if he had resigned himself to his fate.

Han Wenqiao was unaware of the truth, so he did not show himself, but instead hid in the shadows and quietly observed, a mocking look on his lips.

Just when he thought Lin Jue would remain frozen in place, he saw Lin Jue suddenly raise his right hand.

For some reason, he felt a slight flutter in his heart the moment he saw Lin Jue raise his hand.

It was as if this palm strike could shatter the entire Ice Mirror.