From a country cook to a master chef

Jingu Plain is vast, stretching for hundreds of miles in all directions. Lin Jue stood atop a hill and looked out into the distance, where he could vaguely see a place where banners fluttered.

That place must be the encampment of the cultivators from the six alliances of the Great Wu Kingdom.

After determining the direction, Lin Jue quickly set off, unleashing the Eight Steps to Catch the Cicada technique in quick succession. His speed was so fast that only a fleeting figure could be seen passing by.

Just as he was about to reach the encampment of the six factions, he suddenly stopped and followed the source of the strange noise he heard.

What comes into view is a crystal-clear lake. Although heavy snow is falling around it, it seems that the lake will never freeze.

Fish occasionally leap out of the water.

In the very center of the lake stands a wooden pavilion.

At that moment, an old man wearing a straw raincoat was fishing in the pavilion.

When Lin Jue saw the old man's face clearly, he was stunned. He quickly recalled the strange fisherman he had met in Langyan Valley in Yucheng.

"It's him!"

"Young man, we meet again."

The old man also noticed the uninvited Lin Jue. He gripped his fishing rod tightly with one hand and casually waved his other hand, and a leaf turned into a small boat that swam towards him.

Seeing this, Lin Jue did not hesitate and decisively stood at the front of the small boat.

Although no one was rowing, the small boat spontaneously rowed towards the wooden pavilion in the center of the lake.

Before long, Lin Jue arrived at the pavilion and quickly clasped his hands in a respectful bow to the old man, saying, "This junior greets senior!"

"Well, no need for formalities. You're really lucky, young man. You're in for a treat to meet an old man like me hosting a banquet here. You're in for a treat."

The old man chuckled, then suddenly sensed something and turned to look at the horizon. He frowned and said, "Young man, the guest I invited has arrived. Stand behind me."

Upon hearing this, Lin Jue dared not refuse and quickly stood behind the old man.

When he curiously looked in the direction the old man was gazing, he suddenly felt an immense spiritual pressure bearing down on him, as if a huge mountain was crashing down on his head, and he felt as if his whole body was about to be crushed by this spiritual pressure.

"Enough! A dignified Witch King, attacking a junior like this? Aren't you afraid of being laughed at?"

Just as Lin Jue was about to be overwhelmed, the old man finally made his move, snapping his fingers to completely dissolve the spiritual pressure that Lin Jue had been struggling to resist.

Lin Jue breathed a sigh of relief and slowly recovered by supporting himself with his hands on the ground.

Only then did he notice that there were more than just him and the old man in the wooden pavilion.

At this moment, a middle-aged man dressed in black robes and wearing a white silk ribbon was sitting at the stone table behind the old man, curiously looking at Lin Jue.

"Old man Shi, this boy has neither spiritual root nor martial appearance. Why are you protecting him like this? Could he be your illegitimate son?"

I've long heard that the Red Peach Fairy of the Misty Clouds Sect was your furnace vessel; could this kid be your and Red Peach's child?

"Shi? Yanxia Sect? Witch King?"

Hearing what the man said, Lin Jue was shocked. He was so strong, and his surname was Shi. He was also a member of the Yanxia Sect.

Could this senior be the elusive Nascent Soul stage sect leader of the Misty Cloud Sect?

Thinking of this, Lin Jue couldn't help but swallow. If this guess was correct, the guy who dared to provoke this senior in this way must also be a Nascent Soul stage monster.

He is called the Witch King. Could he be a heretical cultivator from Mount Zhanbo?

I suddenly encountered two Nascent Soul stage monsters!

Lin Jue's heart sank. No wonder the senior had asked him to stand behind him; it turned out he was protecting him.

"Fellow Daoist Chu is joking. That Fairy Red Peach is a disciple of an old friend of mine. There is no such relationship between us as you have described."

As he spoke, Shi Wushu turned his head and glared at the Wushan cultivator sitting in the pavilion.

"There's no smoke without fire, and mosquitoes don't bite eggs without cracks. The Red Peach Fairy has a graceful figure; who wouldn't want to cultivate with her? It's only natural that you, fellow Daoist, couldn't resist." The man surnamed Chu chuckled, then his expression suddenly changed a second later. "Let's get back to business."

Before Lin Jue could react, a transparent crimson light shield instantly surrounded him. He could only see the two people's mouths moving, but he couldn't hear what they were saying at all.

A moment later, the two finished their discussion and then used magic to remove the soundproof barrier from Lin Jue's body.

"Old man Shi, I hope that in six months you can give me a satisfactory explanation."

Until then, the struggle between Zhanbo and Dawu will not cease.

As soon as he finished speaking, the figure of the Wushan cultivator vanished from the wooden pavilion.

"Teleportation? As expected, he's a Nascent Soul stage monster."

Lin Jue was secretly startled. When he looked at the old man who was the leader of the Yanxia Sect, the latter still had a smug look on his face.

"Young man, after listening for so long, you should have guessed my identity by now. Would you like to know what that Wushan cultivator said to me just now?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Jue quickly shook his head.

Knowing the secrets among the Nascent Soul stage monsters is not a good thing for him.

Seeing Lin Jue shaking his head repeatedly, Shi Wushu also shook his head, leaving Lin Jue completely confused.

Before long, the fishing rod in his hand suddenly began to tremble.

"Young man, something good has arrived!"

The old man laughed loudly and quickly grabbed the fishing net to catch the fish that had taken the bait.

Upon closer inspection, Lin Jue discovered that the fish in the net was actually a rare, dark-colored treasure fish.

Once he had the treasure fish, the old man didn't even bother with his fishing rod anymore. He simply tossed it aside, grabbed the fish's gills with two fingers, and took out a small knife to begin butchering the treasure fish.

Lin Jue was dumbfounded by this scene. With the power of a Nascent Soul old monster, he could have done all this with just a flick of his finger. He never expected that the old man would do it all himself without slacking off at all.

As soon as the fish was cleaned, the old man flicked his sleeve, and a stove and a small pot appeared out of thin air on the stone table in the pavilion.

The old man's method of cooking the Bao fish was extremely primitive. He simply boiled a pot of water from the lake and then threw the Bao fish, which had already been gutted and cut into pieces, into the pot all at once.

Without chopsticks, he waved his hand and took a branch from the lakeside bushes, whittling it into chopsticks on the spot.

If there's no bowl, they'll catch it with their hands. They won't mind if the soup spills on their hands; they'll just lick it clean with their mouths.

"Eat up, don't just watch me eat, you should eat too."

As the old man spoke, he picked up a large chopstickful of fish and stuffed it into his mouth. After taking a bite, he said with a look of enjoyment, "The most comfortable thing in the world is the satisfaction of one's appetite."

"The conditions aren't great today, but this fish is top-notch. Young man, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

After the old man's reminder, Lin Jue, realizing what was happening, also began to wolf down his food.

The two of them took turns eating with their chopsticks, and the whole pot of fish was quickly devoured.

"Oh no, this is terrible!"

Suddenly, the old man jumped up excitedly, slapping his thigh in frustration, "How could I have forgotten about this? I only remembered after we'd finished eating the fish."

"..."

Lin Jue looked at him, completely bewildered, and had no idea what he was talking about, but still nodded repeatedly in response.

After blaming himself for a while, the old man suddenly took some peanuts out of his pocket and threw them into the pot. He sighed helplessly, "Now I can only make do with a small bite."

After saying this, the old man waved his hand, and suddenly something flew out from the depths of the lake and landed in his hand in the blink of an eye.

"Alas, what a waste of my Five Poisons Wine!"

The old man sighed deeply, then conjured two wine cups, personally filled one for Lin Jue, and said in a calm tone, "Come on, have a drink with this old man. If you don't drink now, you won't have another chance."

After all that, it turns out he was just lamenting that there weren't any good dishes to go with his drinks!

Once he realized what was happening, Lin Jue smacked his lips, curious about what kind of fine wine could fascinate a Nascent Soul cultivator so much. So he raised his cup and took a couple of sips.

"Mmm! This flavor... is amazing..."

Lin Jue was greatly shocked. It was the first time he had tasted such mellow and sweet wine. He couldn't help but ask for another cup, completely forgetting that the person in front of him was a Nascent Soul cultivator with boundless magical power.