From a country cook to a master chef

A dense gust of cold wind transformed into flying blades that surrounded the scarred man, simultaneously unleashing them all at him; the blades were everywhere in sight.

Even so, the man remained unfazed, wielding his soft sword with immense sword energy that shattered the flying blades that approached him.

The water in the Kan River transformed into a python, which bound and struck the snake.

Seeing that the Xun wind was ineffective, Master Qingmu's eyes turned cold. He swallowed hard, chanted the incantation again, and controlled the changes of the eight gates, using the Kan gate to fight the enemy.

These eight golden light talismans are one of the sect's most treasured techniques of the Misty Clouds Sect. Only disciples in the Foundation Establishment stage can cultivate them. Once activated, the eight talismans can transform into the Eight Trigrams to subdue demons and monsters, and to fight and kill enemies.

However, using this talisman consumes a great deal of mana. A cultivator in the early stages of Foundation Establishment can only open three transformations at most, and the mana consumption increases exponentially with each transformation opened.

Qingmu had only recently advanced to the Foundation Establishment stage and had been cultivating this talisman for a few months, at most opening two transformations.

Veins bulged on his forehead. Using the second transformation was putting a tremendous strain on his magical power, and he gritted his teeth and persevered.

As Kanmen shifted into his new position, a giant python, entirely formed from runic spiritual energy, opened its blood-red maw and lunged at the scarred man.

The man held the sword in his right hand and stroked the blade with his left. The soft sword instantly straightened, and the sword was imbued with primordial energy, making a huge, illusory sword shadow vaguely visible.

"I started practicing swordsmanship at the age of three, mastered all the sword manuals in the world at the age of seven, killed the mountain lord with a single sword at the age of fourteen, and created my own sword style at the age of twenty, thus entering the Divine Illumination Realm."

The man murmured softly, "This sword strike is called Heaven's Rebellion!"

Amidst the blurred sword shadows and crisscrossing sword energy, the giant python of the Kan River was cleaved in two.

The powerful sword energy did not diminish, and it slashed towards Qingmu Daoren with overwhelming force.

At the critical moment, the token that had already cracked at Aoki's waist flew out, its radiant light shining like a rosy cloud, blocking the potentially fatal sword strike for him.

With a snap, this protective token, unique to Foundation Establishment disciples of the Misty Cloud Sect, split completely in two.

"Damn it! Who are you?"

The moment the protective token shattered, Aoki's divine sense was injured, and the color drained from his face, turning it deathly pale. "So be it. You're going to be a dead man anyway, so it doesn't matter who you are, hahahaha!"

With a cold laugh, a white streak of light flew out from the storage bag at his waist, transforming into a bluish-white talisman that floated in front of him.

"I never expected that a mere outer disciple of the Misty Cloud Sect who has just entered the Foundation Establishment stage would possess a true treasure talisman."

The scarred man was shocked. This level of talisman was made by Core Formation cultivators who sealed the power of their own magic weapons into specially made talisman paper. It was a one-time consumable talisman with amazing power, enough to kill Foundation Establishment cultivators and even a Divine Illumination Realm martial artist like himself in one strike.

Seeing a rare hint of astonishment on the man's face, Aoki was overjoyed. "A mere mortal martial artist, a firefly's light, dares to rival the moon's brilliance? Now, do you regret making me your enemy?"

"You're even willing to use your most precious treasures. I have no regrets even if I die today."

Amidst the laughter and sigh, a powerful martial arts aura suddenly surged from the man's body. "But I'm curious, is it my sword that's faster, or the speed at which you draw upon and activate your true treasure?"

Amidst the chilling whistling of the sword, the man moved with lightning speed, his body whipping up a waterfall of blood-red snow from the ground.

The next second, his body suddenly froze in place. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that his feet were covered with an invisible, complex array of patterns.

Amidst Aoki's mocking remarks, the array patterns beneath the man's feet shifted shape, bursting into raging flames that seemed to bar their fangs and claws.

The man turned his head to look at the giant python he had cut down behind him. The python's body, which was scattered all over the ground, did not disappear. Instead, it was slowly shedding its scales.

Those crystal-clear scales, reflected in the snow, shimmered like wildfire, seemingly capable of burning everything in their path.

"I see!"

The man suddenly realized that he had unknowingly fallen into a trap that Aoki had prepared.

The Eight Gates Golden Light Talisman was merely a smokescreen. From the very beginning, he did not expect the talisman to kill him. The Kan water transformed into a python, and the python fire bound his body.

He wanted to use this opportunity to unleash Zhenbao's true killing move.

"You're not entirely stupid; to have accomplished this much, no wonder the Misty Cloud Sect bestowed upon you a true treasure!"

Hearing the man's praise, Qingmu's face lit up. As he activated the treasure in front of him, he became uncontrollably frenzied, "The White Feather Soft Sword, with its domineering aura, you are a remnant of the Xiang family from Hanzhou thirty years ago. Xiang Yantian is your father, right?"

As the fight progressed, Qingmu recalled the time when he was still a rogue cultivator and had slaughtered the entire Xiang family in Hanzhou City of Xiaoyao Prefecture.

I still remember one person who escaped back then, and I suppose it was the scarred man in front of me.

"I accidentally overlooked you back then, so today, I'll kindly give you a ride again."

After speaking, Aoki crossed his four fingers to form a hand seal, and the red spiritual light of the True Treasure Qilin Talisman in front of him rose up, transforming into a ferocious and savage Qilin.

The Qilin was covered in flames, and the temperature inside the patrol office suddenly rose, causing the surrounding ice and snow to melt rapidly.

As soon as the True Treasure Qilin Talisman appeared, the Qilin Beast roared and pounced on the bound man.

Aoki watched all this in silence, a look of smugness and disdain on his cold face.

In his view, anyone who dared to dream of being on par with a Qi Refining cultivator with a mortal body would only end up dead.

but!

The smile on his face froze instantly the next second.

He suddenly heard a sound like a mountain collapsing and the earth splitting, and a dense and intense friction sound came from the man's body. It was the sound of countless joints twisting and exploding, like a raging torrent, earth-shattering.

"The path of martial arts can also lead to divinity."

Amidst the burning flames of the Qilin beast, a man emerged with bloodshot eyes, his longsword now bearing several nicks: "You mountain dwellers will never understand the terrifying power that a martial artist can unleash when they stimulate the human body's potential."

Aoki hurriedly formed a hand seal, attempting to unleash the remaining power of the true treasure, but this time, the man, whose body was no longer bound, would not allow him to do so.

The moment their eyes met, the man's sword flashed like the wind, moving with the speed of lightning.

The treasure in front of Aoki was severed by a single sword strike, and his body was also pierced by the sword energy. He swayed and fell to the ground.

"Aren't you afraid of dying?"

As his soul dissipated, Aoki stared at the man and asked, puzzled.

The man coughed, clutching his chest. The True Treasure Qilin Talisman was incredibly powerful. Although the attack didn't kill him instantly, it shattered his internal organs, leaving him severely injured. He fought desperately to perish together with Qingmu.

As the soft sword in his hand shattered into several pieces, the man said calmly, "Today, I will only die!"

He slowly walked out of the patrol station, and a loud bang came from behind him. The entire patrol station had been reduced to ruins, with thick black smoke billowing up.

Behind an apricot tree a hundred paces away from the patrol station, Lin Jue stared intently at the man. He watched as the man dragged himself into a small alley. After hesitating for a moment, he clenched his fist and followed him.

The man was weak and listless. He caught a glimpse of the young man who had followed him out of the corner of his eye, but ignored him and continued to flee Chang Le Fang, pretending not to know anything.

He was like an oil lamp that could go out at any moment, his figure swaying like a candle flickering in the wind, coming from the east and heading west.

Lin Jue maintained a distance of 100 zhang from him, but in the blink of an eye, the man disappeared from his sight.

Without time to investigate further, Lin Jue quickly followed, when the man's figure suddenly flashed and appeared behind him.

Why are you following me?