From a country cook to a master chef

Although the giant beast that attacked Stone Village was named Green Wood Ape, it had no ape-like characteristics whatsoever.

This beast has a single eye, its mouth and nose are connected together, its two ears are the length of a donkey, a row of bone spurs grows on its back, its arms hang down to the ground, its fists are the size of an ox, and its sharp teeth are terrifying to behold.

Looking around, there were at least three Green Wood Apes attacking the stone wall.

The black walls of Stone Village were incredibly smooth, making it impossible for the Green Wood Ape to climb. Its legs were bloated and lacked the ability to jump, so it could only frantically hammer at the walls in an attempt to break them open.

"Quickly pour oil on the fire, don't let them get near the stone wall!" Kahn hurriedly gave the order, throwing the lit oil jug at the monster.

The oil can caught fire and exploded, instantly burning the Green Wood Ape, who retreated repeatedly, roaring angrily at the people on the stone wall in frustration.

Lin Jue drew his bow and arrow, intending to kill it, but to his surprise, the arrow could not pierce the Green Wood Ape's leather armor. This startled him, and he finally understood why there were so many arrows on the wall, but Kahn and the others had abandoned them.

"The Aoki apes are not afraid of iron; only fire can burn them," Kahn explained in a deep voice. Under his command, the group quickly repelled the Aoki apes' attack.

But at that moment, on the ground behind them, the village chief stood on the head of the dead python and, using some unknown method, brought the already dead snake back to life, making it extremely docile.

Faced with the puzzled looks of the crowd, Xiang Ting made no explanation, rode the giant python over the stone wall, and disappeared into the distance.

As the giant snake passed by, Lin Jue noticed the dense, mysterious runes covering its body.

Seeing this, he subconsciously turned to look at the village chief's stone house.

Amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, Lin Jue ran down the stone wall and strode towards the stone house.

Upon re-entering the area and looking around, Lin Jue's heart stirred. "The power of talismans... could he be a Qi Refiner?"

Not long after the village chief left, a large wave of all kinds of strange beasts surged toward Stone Village like a tide.

Kahn was busy organizing defenses on the stone wall and didn't have time to pay attention to Lin Jue. After repelling the small wave of beasts, he turned around and was surprised to find that Lin Jue was sitting cross-legged on the edge of the crack just a few feet away from the stone house, imitating the village chief. He was deep in thought and seemed to be contemplating something.

A new wave of beasts followed. Kahn took a deep breath and continued to direct the defense. In an instant, various firearms and arrows were fired in turn, eliminating countless alien beasts.

On the other side, Lin Jue stared at the crack on the ground, his mind filled with the strange and complex runes on the walls of the stone house.

Besides the runes, he also unexpectedly discovered a map and a scroll depicting a giant python upon entering the stone house.

The scroll does not contain the script of Chingmo Island, but rather a summoning technique originating from ancient times, recorded in the script of Taibu.

"Summoning spells need to be used in conjunction with talismans. It seems that the runes all over the room were left by Xiang Ting when he was trying to draw runes."

The shouts of battle on the stone wall were deafening, but Lin Jue seemed not to hear them, staring at the broken talisman in his hand in deep thought.

In the village chief's stone house, he also found a yellow talisman that was only half intact.

Looking at the runes on the paper, Lin Jue compared them with the book "A Brief Compendium of Talismans" that he possessed, and was able to confirm that it was an imperial edict talisman.

With this talisman, one can summon the spirit of a recently deceased person back into their body, thereby controlling the physical body of the living being.

"Could it be that he has found a way to leave the Netherworld?"

Lin Qi stood up and looked in the direction Xiang Ting had driven away on the giant snake, resting his chin on his hand, deep in thought.

Xiang Ting painstakingly lured the giant python into the village, used the villagers' methods to kill it, and then used the imperial edict talisman to control the snake's body and send it running out of the village.

He wanted to leave Qingmo Island and escape the Netherworld.

Xiang Ting spent his days studying talisman techniques in the stone house, which not only covered the walls of the stone house with runes, but also left his rune traces in every corner of the entire stone village.

In order to leave Qingmo Island, Xiang Ting spent decades learning the art of talismans. This amazing perseverance moved even Lin Jue.

On the stone wall, the villagers, including Kahn, were already very experienced in resisting the beast tides, and each time they were able to block each wave of beast tides with minimal casualties.

Seeing that the beast tide had receded, Kahn breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that Stone Village would soon enjoy a period of peace again.

With a shout from Kahn, the group nimbly and excitedly slid down the stone wall using ropes, examining the countless beast corpses on the ground with spears in hand.

On Qingmo Island, not every type of corpse is edible; some contain deadly poison, and any living person who comes into contact with even a little bit will surely die.

Inside the ancestral hall, women, children, and young kids, who had been quiet outside, rushed out cheering, their faces beaming with the joy of surviving a disaster.

That evening, after burying the dead hunter, the villagers gathered together for a bonfire party.

Apart from the villagers on guard duty, everyone else was drunk and sprawled out on the ground, sleeping haphazardly.

Lin Jue drank little, and at this moment he came to the village chief's stone house alone again.

Not long after, Kahn, who had not seen him, came to the stone house and handed Lin Jue a sharp bone knife and some dry food. "You are not from Stone Village. I know you are leaving. You will need these things on the road."

"Although Stone Village is protected by high walls, it is not a long-term solution. You can actually leave and go to live in a larger village with more people."

Upon seeing the gifts Kahn had brought, Lin Jue's face showed a strange expression. He then suggested that Kahn lead the villagers to seek refuge in a larger village.

Stone Village is too small. If a large beast tide were to occur, the hunters alone would not be able to protect it. It would be better to join a larger village for protection.

The island of Qingmo spans hundreds of miles. According to the map left by Xiang Ting, there is a village that can accommodate over a thousand people, located thirty miles north of Shicun.

"Brother Lin, there's no need for further words. Shicun is my home, and I will stay here forever with my people."

Upon hearing this, Lin Jue blinked but didn't say anything more.

Early the next morning, Lin Jue left Shi Village and headed in the direction Xiang Ting had driven the giant snake.

With the villagers' support, Kahn became the village's new leader. On the stone wall, he watched Lin Jue's back and felt that he looked familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before.

He lowered his head and thought for a while, when suddenly a flash of inspiration came to him, and he remembered the scroll hanging in the ancestral hall.

In that painting, there is also a person walking on the horizon, their back to the viewer.

"Could he be the hero prophesied to lead his people out of their predicament?"

At that moment, a storm raged within Kahn. Without thinking twice, he rushed out of the village, ran to stop Lin Jue, and said breathlessly, "I want to show you something."

"What is it?"

Lin Jue looked at Kahn with a face full of questions and confusion.

"A painting, a painting that my clan has worshipped for hundreds of years."