From a country cook to a master chef

"Beware of a strange beast!"

Lin Jue looked around warily, and unconsciously gripped the Dragon Pattern Shield tightly.

When Zhao Xiaoyao saw that Lin Jue actually planned to use a frying pan to deal with the strange beast, she looked puzzled. At the same time, she was even more surprised that he could use a storage bag that only cultivators had.

"Brother Lin, is the weapon in your hand a magical artifact?"

"No, it's just that it's easier to use and more convenient." Lin Jue looked around and prayed softly, "The people of Qingmo Island also call strange beasts 'Nether Corpses.' They are all transformed from beasts and have different appearances. As long as they are not large Nether Beasts, I should be able to handle them."

"Oh no, Brother Lin, it's a tiger-shaped beast!" Zhao Xiaoyao's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly pointed to the right to warn him.

There, a giant demon beast covered in blood scabs was eyeing the two men menacingly.

Upon seeing this, Lin Jue's heart skipped a beat. Judging from the man's large size, which was over ten feet tall, he estimated that he must weigh at least seven or eight hundred pounds.

Such a colossal creature would give even a martial artist of his level, at least not the slightest chance of victory in a one-on-one fight.

Thinking of this, Lin Jue instinctively shielded Zhao Xiaoyao behind him and slowly retreated, whispering, "I'll hold it off for a bit, then you run, and whatever you do, don't look back."

Zhao Xiaoyao looked serious, swallowed hard, and only told Lin Jue to be careful, without saying anything else.

She knew full well that if she stayed, she would only hold Lin Jue back.

"Brother Lin, do you have a way to open the storage bag?"

As the two men and the tiger confronted each other, Zhao Xiaoyao, unwilling to be nothing more than a burden, tentatively asked what was on her mind.

Once a cultivator enters the Netherworld Ghost Land, all their magical power will be restricted, preventing her from opening the storage bag. Otherwise, she could have given the magical sword inside to Lin Jue.

A magical sword crafted by a cultivator, once in the hands of a martial artist, can display immense power even without being activated.

"run!"

The beast launched an attack, lunging at the two of them. Lin Jue told Zhao Xiaoyao to run away, while he himself faced the beast head-on, wielding the Dragon Pattern Shield.

After advancing to the Divine Power Realm, his sensory perception and physical speed have improved to an astonishing level. Even when facing a mutated King of Beasts, he can briefly contend with it using his agile movements.

Zhao Xiaoyao hesitated for a moment, then quickly fled into the forest, glancing back every now and then at the scene of the man and the tiger fighting behind him.

Seeing that Lin Jue was not in danger, she left with peace of mind.

The giant tiger beast couldn't catch Lin Jue for a long time, and its angry roars suddenly echoed through the mountains and forests, scaring hundreds of birds into flight and causing chaos.

Seeing this, Lin Jue was secretly delighted. Whether it was a beast or a human, once they entered a state of rage, they would mostly lose their rationality. At this time, he could find an opportunity to deliver a fatal blow to the opponent.

He continued to dodge the giant tiger's attacks, and whenever he had a chance, he would swing his dragon-patterned halberd and strike the tiger's body hard.

Although it couldn't harm the beast, it was enough to make it even more irritable. It's said that you can't touch a tiger's backside, and Lin Jue only slapped it a couple more times with the Dragon Pattern Ao, which completely enraged the mutated giant tiger.

Its body exuded a chilling aura, and its eyes were wide open, shooting out a terrifyingly fierce light.

Lin Jue stared back at him with wide eyes, his whole body radiating a fierce aura, showing no fear whatsoever.

After another chase, the giant tiger, realizing it couldn't catch Lin Jue, was quite clever. It chose to crouch down, panting, while keeping its eyes on its prey.

Lin Jue was startled by this. The explosive power of felines is extremely amazing. Right now, the giant tiger is lowering its body, obviously accumulating strength. If he still turns his back to the tiger, he will probably be pounced on and knocked to the ground in the next second.

All he can do now is face the giant tiger head-on, confront it with his own imposing presence, and then think about how to escape this predicament.

After observing the giant tiger for a long time, Lin Jue suddenly noticed a wound on its right hind leg that had been torn by a sharp weapon.

No wonder he could easily dodge the giant tiger's attacks; the enormous creature in front of him was just a sick cat.

Lin Jue was startled at first, then realized something, gripped the dragon-patterned griddle tightly, and prepared to strike the injured area as soon as he found an opportunity.

But just then, as the ground trembled, a herd of wild buffalo suddenly rushed out of the dense forest behind the giant tiger, acting like madmen.

Lin Jue paused, then, without thinking much, leaped up the nearest large tree.

The herd of cattle swarmed in and instantly overwhelmed the giant tiger.

The sky in the distance suddenly changed color, dark clouds surged, thunder roared on the dry land, and all the beasts were terrified.

Before Lin Jue could react, a dazzling white light descended from the sky, accompanied by a deafening roar. A large number of massive bison were struck by the lightning and fell straight to the ground, instantly filling the dense forest with a pungent, burnt smell.

What puzzled Lin Jue was that after the thunder, no more lightning fell from the sky, as if the lightning arc that had just struck was there to chase the bison herd.

Unbeknownst to Lin Jue, at this very moment, a similar scene was unfolding across various parts of Qingmo Island.

Some people witnessed wolves dying suddenly amidst thunder, python dens being struck by lightning and countless pythons turning into scorched mud, and some small villages being reduced to ruins by thunder...

Lin Jue breathed a sigh of relief after narrowly escaping death. He mustered his strength and, after confirming that he was safe, carefully jumped down from the tree to examine the bison carcass on the ground.

Of course, the most important thing is that giant tiger beast.

After seeing that the tiger beast was completely dead, Lin Jue's heavy heart gradually relaxed. After a brief thought, he quickly took out his short knife and cut open the tiger skin. After searching for a while, Lin Jue was lucky enough to peel out a beast crystal the size of a fist. When he held it in his hand, it was still emitting a faint red halo.

"This is the beast crystal. Absorbing it is equivalent to half a year of arduous cultivation!"

I don't know how this stuff is absorbed. Do I just eat it directly?

Lin Jue stared at the crimson beast crystal in his hand, examined it briefly, then put it into his storage bag, deciding to make further plans after returning to Tianwu Mountain.

Lin Jue glanced at the bison that had been struck dead by lightning on the ground, and his heart stirred. He began to cut open their bodies one by one to search for them, but the result greatly disappointed him.

Not a single beast crystal was found among the hundred bison.

After packing up some beef tenderloin, brisket, and shank, Lin Jue chased after Zhao Xiaoyao in the direction she had left.

Unexpectedly, he had only chased after her for a short distance when a woman's terrified scream came from the dense forest ahead.

Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Jue strode closer, and the scene that came into view made him freeze in place.

All that could be seen on the large tree in front of Zhao Xiaoyao were the corpses of the six sects' disciples, a total of eleven people.

Judging from their terrified expressions as they died with their eyes wide open, it seemed as if they had encountered some kind of demon or monster.

These eleven disciples of the six sects were hung on the tree after they died. There were no visible wounds on their bodies, their clothes were intact, and there was not a trace of blood. Their deaths were extremely bizarre.

After regaining his composure, Lin Jue touched his nose, took a deep breath to calm himself, slowly approached Zhao Xiaoyao, looked at her calmly, and said, "This place is not safe to stay any longer. Let's leave first!"

Zhao Xiaoyao looked at the corpses hanging in the tree. Two of them were disciples of the Yanxia Sect, one of whom was her senior brother who had taken great care of her. She never expected that he would perish here.

She intended to dismember the body and bury it, but ultimately did not do so.

Lin Jue discovered some clues nearby, which seemed to have been left by the evil cultivators of Wushan in Zhanbo Kingdom.

Forcibly removing the body could easily alert the perpetrators and implicate both of them.

After bowing in resignation, the two fled the place with bitter expressions on their faces.

For the two of them to launch an attack without knowing the other side's strengths and weaknesses would be tantamount to courting death.

"Brother Lin, what do we do now?"

Halfway there, Zhao Xiaoyao looked at Lin Jue with a panicked expression and suddenly asked a question.

Lin Jue, having no better idea in mind, could only reply as he walked:

"Let's see if we can find other senior brothers from Tianwu Mountain first. My abilities are really limited on my own."