From a country cook to a master chef

"Young man, a little wine is pleasant, but too much wine is harmful to your health."

Seeing that Lin Jue had gotten tipsy from drinking his wine, the old man couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"This wine is called Five Poisons. It is made by soaking the five most poisonous substances in the world for forty-nine days. Just one cup was enough to break through the shackles of the peak of the Divine Power Realm."

Upon hearing this, Lin Jue was overjoyed. He remembered that he had also broken through to the Martial Master level by eating the old man's food last time, which made him suspicious of the old man's actions.

Seeing that the old man had no other intentions towards him, he did not show it and respectfully bowed to him.

"This junior dares to ask, senior, if you know where one can find black crystal?"

"Smoke crystal?"

Lin Jue's question immediately piqued the old man's interest. He glanced at him and said in a calm tone, "Ink crystal stone involves the mysteries of space. It can not only be used to refine storage magic treasures such as spatial rings, but also to forge various magical artifacts involving the mysteries of space."

Why would a mere mortal martial artist like you be asking about this?

At this moment, the old man's face was full of surprise. Such rare items as ink crystals were extremely precious treasures even to a Nascent Soul cultivator like him.

Once a black crystal mine is opened, it takes tens of millions of years to restore its mineral production. Therefore, each piece of black crystal is essentially one less available after it is used, and most of them are occupied by cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage or above.

Every piece of black crystal that appears on the market is undoubtedly operated by a Nascent Soul cultivator.

After pondering for a moment, the old man glanced at Lin Jue, who still seemed unwilling to give up, and couldn't help but remind him: "Young man, there are some things in this world that not everyone is qualified to possess. I think you understand the principle that 'a common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime.'"

Nowadays, black crystals are extremely rare. Unless you snatch them from the jaws of a tiger or snatch them from those Nascent Soul stage monsters, or you have incredible luck and manage to get some by chance.

The former goes without saying; with your abilities, doing that would be courting death.

Even if you do get the latter, I advise you not to let anyone know that you possess the black crystal.

"How important this item is to a Nascent Soul cultivator? I can only tell you, it is extremely important."

Upon hearing this, Lin Jue dared not disbelieve and immediately bowed to the old man again in gratitude, saying that he would definitely remember the old man's teachings.

"You are a promising young man. Considering that you are not a cultivator but are very much to my liking, I will give you one more reminder."

If you encounter a Nascent Soul cultivator again, please don't forget your place and don't break the rules. After all, not everyone is as easy to talk to as I am.

After leaving behind this confusing reminder, the Nascent Soul stage sect leader of the Misty Cloud Sect vanished instantly from the center of the lake.

Lin Jue was slightly taken aback. After bowing to the surrounding people, he used the Eight Steps to Catch the Cicada technique to leap to the shore and head towards the encampment of the Six Sects Alliance.

He knew perfectly well that he must not mention what he had encountered and seen today to anyone, including his master, Zhong Liang.

At Lin Jue's current speed, it didn't take him long to run five miles and see the banners of the Six Factions Alliance.

Soon, he found a dragon-patterned banner with the character "武" (wu, meaning martial arts) that belonged to Tianwu Mountain.

It is said that this flag was personally bestowed by Emperor Wu of the Great Wu Dynasty and was the main banner used by Emperor Wu during his campaigns in the south and north.

Wherever this flag goes, it is as if the Emperor himself is present.

Therefore, this large banner stands out among the banners of the six factions.

"You must be Lin Jue, my junior brother? I am Long Fei, the second disciple of our master. You can just call me Senior Brother Long."

Lin Jue was walking towards Zhong Liang's tent when he was suddenly stopped by a strong young man. Although he was not tall, he was muscular and spoke very loudly.

"Greetings, Senior Brother Long. I am Lin Jue. However, I have never met Senior Brother Long before. How do you recognize me?"

Lin Jue was unaware of the newcomer's background, but seeing the Zhongliang tent right in front of him, he figured the other party couldn't possibly be trying to deceive him. So he honestly addressed him as "Senior Brother" and then confided his doubts.

"Look, junior brother, take a look at this."

Seeing Lin Jue's puzzled look, Long Fei skillfully took out a square wooden plaque from his pocket and tossed it to him.

Lin Jue took a look and was immediately surprised. Without Long Fei's explanation, he understood the reason.

The square wooden plaque is an identity token possessed only by the personal disciples of the elders of the inner court of Tianwu Mountain. It not only records the person's identity information, but also features a portrait specially painted by an artist on the front.

Long Fei laughed and said, "Junior Brother Lin's identity token needs to be custom-made, so it takes a long time. Shortly after Lin Jue became a disciple, he was sent out to carry out sect missions, so after the token was made, Master gave it to me to keep for Junior Brother."

At this point, Long Fei's smile deepened, and he said in a very friendly manner, "Our master doesn't easily accept disciples. He only has four personal disciples. When I first received your identity token, Fourth Junior Brother, I was so excited that I couldn't sleep for several days."

I see my junior brother's token every day, and his appearance is almost etched into my mind. So, the moment he appeared, I recognized him.

Upon hearing this, Lin Jue didn't know what to say, and could only offer a few dry laughs.

When he first met this senior, the other man's enthusiasm made him feel uneasy for a moment.

So he used the excuse of needing to see his master to quickly slip into the tent.

Seeing Lin Jue enter his master's tent, Long Fei waved his hand helplessly, but soon, as if he had thought of something, he walked towards the Tianwu Mountain disciples' camp with a grin.

Upon entering the main tent, Lin Jue saw his long-lost master and quickly approached him to offer a respectful greeting.

"Disciple Lin Jue greets Master!"

It was at this moment that he noticed a voluptuous young woman sitting on one side of the tent, and couldn't help but steal a few more glances.

"Well, no need for formalities. This is Jiang Luan'er, your senior sister-in-law, but she's not a martial artist; she's a cultivator from the Spirit Talisman Sect." Zhong Liang helped Lin Jue, who was being very respectful to him, to his feet with one hand, and then pointed to the young woman on one side of the tent and smiled.

"Greetings, Uncle-Master Jiang!" Lin Jue dared not be negligent and quickly bowed to the beautiful young woman.

"Well, since you are Senior Brother Zhong's esteemed disciple, there's no need for such formalities," Jiang Luan'er said with a smile, her voice carrying the unique languor of a mature woman, soft and melodious like a night breeze brushing past one's ear.

Zhong Liang sighed and said calmly, "I have heard about your situation. The fall of Yucheng was not your fault. I am very happy that you have returned alive."

Zhong Liang's words deeply moved Lin Jue. On the way here, he was thinking that because of the fall of Yucheng, he would inevitably be scolded. After all, strictly speaking, when Yucheng was captured by Zhanbo's army, his actions could be considered as abandoning the city and fleeing.

Therefore, at this moment, Lin Jue did not know how to reply to his master, and could only awkwardly nod in agreement.

"Haha, you don't need to worry. It's your skill to survive being chased by several witch spirits, after all, those people are equivalent to Core Formation stage cultivators." Zhong Liang deliberately raised his voice a little at the end.

As he expected, when she heard that Lin Jue had survived being chased by four Core Formation cultivators, the unsuspecting Jiang Luan'er was shocked. She then solemnly and seriously examined the disciple of Zhong Liang in front of her.

At this moment, Lin Jue's embarrassment deepened, and he quickly clasped his hands in a fist and explained, "Master, you flatter me. I was lucky to survive. I met Uncle Li from Hengyue Sect on my escape route."

"Oh, you..."

Seeing that Lin Jue had explained the whole story so quickly, Zhong Liang glared at him with exasperation.

This glance left Lin Jue completely bewildered, not understanding what he had done to anger his master.

"Alright, Senior Brother Zhong, don't make things difficult for him. I think he's quite honest. As for the quota for the True Treasure, I'll decide and give him one."

"A real treasure? A spot?"

Lin Jue was stunned and stood there dumbfounded.

Is this why my master is angry with me?

Seeing Lin Jue's bewildered expression, Jiang Luan'er couldn't help but smile, and then explained:

"This time, the Nascent Soul Ancestor of the Spirit Talisman Sect took action and used unparalleled methods to refine a hundred True Treasure Talismans. Moreover, these True Treasure Talismans are extremely special, as they can only be activated and used by the blood of martial artists and cannot be used by cultivators."

After discussion, it was decided that the Hundred True Treasure Talismans would be distributed to outstanding disciples of Tianwu Mountain without regard to military merit. As for how to distinguish whether someone is outstanding, there is no fixed standard.

Your master was just trying to get you a genuine treasure talisman.

Hearing what the young woman Jiang Luan'er said, Zhong Liang took a deep breath and looked at Lin Jue calmly, saying:

"The True Treasure Talisman is extremely powerful. Once activated, its power is comparable to the full-force attack of a Core Formation cultivator. At this moment, it was personally crafted by the patriarch of the Spirit Talisman Sect to protect the martial arts seed of our Tianwu Mountain."

This great battle is of unknown duration, and I, your master, cannot protect you forever. With this precious treasure in hand, as long as you use it wisely, whether for deterrence or self-preservation, it will surely have miraculous effects as long as you do not encounter a powerful expert with profound Core Formation stage cultivation.

As you probably know, in this great battle, not only will the lives of low-level disciples like you be in danger, but even a martial artist like me at the Divine Harmony Realm will one day perish.

"Now that I've said this, you should understand the importance of this precious talisman!"

"Disciple understands!"

Lin Jue bowed and clasped his hands in greeting. He was surprised and deeply moved that his cheap master had considered so much for him.

Zhong Liang looked at Lin Jue with a serious expression. Seeing that Lin Jue understood his considerations, he nodded with satisfaction, chuckled twice, and then asked with a somewhat condescending tone:

"Speaking of which, no one visits a temple without a reason. You didn't come to see your master just to pay your respects, did you?"