From a country cook to a master chef

Taking a deep breath, Lin Jue devoured large chunks of the cooked beast meat from the dragon-patterned griddle.

Whether it was because of the dragon-patterned iron plate or because he was in a particularly good mood, Lin Jue felt that the meat tasted especially delicious today.

In no time, he had eaten five pounds of meat all by himself.

As the beast meat digested in his stomach, Lin Jue sensed a large amount of pure energy being released from it, constantly impacting his muscles, bones, and skin.

He quickly went to the open space by the pool and, without thinking much, began to practice the Pine Crane Long Fist. After finishing a set of punches, he used the Dragon Pattern Ao as a knife and practiced the Zhao Family Blood Saber by the pool.

At this moment, Lin Jue was completely absorbed in cultivation, as if he were the only person left in the world.

He quickly entered a wondrous state of cultivation, and the world around him underwent tremendous changes. The mountains and rivers surged, and the wind and clouds shifted. He practiced the Pine Crane Long Fist, then the Zhao Family Blood Saber, and finally returned to the Pine Crane Long Fist.

After an unknown amount of time, Lin Jue, feeling that he had almost mastered it, began to comprehend the innate physical techniques of Tianwu Mountain.

The Tianwu Mountain Innate Body Technique contains a hundred kinds of martial arts. It was created by two Divine Appearance Realm experts from the academy by gathering the essence of martial arts from all over the world. It can be said that it has learned from a hundred schools and is unparalleled in the world.

Different people who cultivate this innate physical technique can comprehend different martial arts from it. A large majority of the elders in the inner courtyard were able to reach the Divine Harmony Realm because they comprehended the martial arts that best suited them from the innate physical technique.

Lin Jue calmed his mind and silently recited the secrets of the Innate Body Technique. Suddenly, a very active energy was generated in his body, like a small fish swimming through his meridians and circulating continuously throughout his body.

This energy surged into his dantian, instantly shattering the cloud of energy he had painstakingly condensed.

Lin Jue felt increasingly agitated. Only by condensing his internal energy into a unified whole could he have a chance to condense a Qi core and advance to the Divine Illumination Realm.

"Forget it, I can only consider breaking through to the Divine Illumination Realm after I've comprehended a martial art. Let's deal with the hidden dangers within my body first!"

Thinking of this, Lin Jue decisively stopped cultivating, sat cross-legged by the pool, and planned to devote all his energy to comprehending innate martial arts.

He sat motionless on the shore, as if frozen in place.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. Lin Jue sat by the pool all day, but he was still at a loss as to how to master the innate physical techniques in his mind.

Just as he was sighing, he suddenly heard Zhao Xiaoyao scream.

"Senior brother..."

As soon as Lin Jue entered the forest, he saw a man lying on the ground covered in blood. Zhao Xiaoyao addressed him as "senior brother," so he must be a Qi cultivator from the Yanxia Sect.

"Junior Sister Zhao, two miles west of here, in this desolate land, a peach charm has appeared..."

Before the man could finish speaking, his blood and qi surged, his pupils contracted sharply, and he died instantly.

Lin Jue hesitated for a moment, then remained silent and waited quietly to the side.

Seeing the man who had died in front of her, Zhao Xiaoyao was devastated, and tears instantly welled up in her eyes.

Seeing her crying so sadly, Lin Jue immediately understood that this man must be extraordinary to her, and most likely the one she loved.

Men should marry when they come of age, and women should marry when they come of age. Even cultivators, unless they are heartless, find it difficult to escape the troubles of love.

After a while, Zhao Xiaoyao, whose emotions had gradually calmed down, buried the man on the spot and then planned to go to the desolate place the man had mentioned before he died.

She guessed that the treasure the sect elders had mentioned must have appeared there, so she had to go and see.

"Second Miss, that place might be fraught with danger. Are you sure you want to go?" After some thought, Lin Jue said with a solemn expression, "If searching for that treasure will cost you your life, there's no need for you to take the risk."

"Brother Lin, there are some things you don't understand, and I don't blame you." Zhao Xiaoyao slowly shook his head and said, "Before leaving, my master used his great magic to divine a divination and calculated that the ancient treasure here is related to the fortune of the entire Great Wu Kingdom. If this treasure falls into the hands of the evil cultivators of Wushan, the entire Great Wu Kingdom will face annihilation."

At that time, neither cultivators nor martial artists will be able to remain uninvolved.

Therefore, even knowing there is danger ahead, I cannot take a single step back.

"..."

"In that case, I'll go with you."

Upon hearing Zhao Xiaoyao's words, Lin Jue was slightly taken aback. Although he was annoyed, he still decided to risk his life to accompany her to that desolate place.

Halfway there, Lin Jue was greatly puzzled by the arrangements of the Six Sects Alliance. Since the treasures here were so important, the Six Sects should have tried their best to send more disciples into the Netherworld Ghost Land, instead of the current situation where, before even seeing the treasures, more than half of the disciples from the Six Sects who went to the island had already been killed by the evil cultivators of Wushan.

The two sped along and soon arrived at the desolate place the man had described before he died.

Looking around, both of them were dumbfounded.

On the dry, cracked, yellowish-brown ground, large swathes of trees were burned, leaving only charred trunks emitting black smoke. There was no greenery to be seen, and the air was filled with the smell of burning wood.

The scorched earth was utterly silent.

After regaining his senses, Lin Jue quickly and cautiously looked around to see if anyone else was nearby.

Compared to wild beasts, others who know how to scheme are more terrifying.

Fortunately, he did not find anyone else there. In this burned forest, it seemed that only he and Zhao Xiaoyao were there, which made Lin Jue breathe a sigh of relief.

However, he did not let his guard down. The image of the six sect disciples dying tragically on Qingmo Island kept flashing through his mind, constantly reminding him that the Netherworld Ghost Land was not a benevolent place.

Lin Jue held the dragon-patterned ao in his right hand and a cleanly gnawed bison bone in his left, his eyes fixed on his surroundings, not missing a single sound.

"Brother Lin, these trees all look like peach trees!"

Zhao Xiaoyao broke off a section of the charred branch, examined it carefully, and made a judgment.

She remembered that before they set off, Elder Red Peach, who was leading the group, had said that the Ancient Peach Talisman might appear in a peach grove.

Based on what his senior brother said before he died, Zhao Xiaoyao was now absolutely certain that what the six sects were looking for was hidden in this burned-down peach grove.

"Brother Lin, could you help me break this tree trunk? Ideally, you should strike it from about three feet above the ground."

Upon hearing this, Lin Jue was puzzled, but he still followed Zhao Xiaoyao's instructions and used the dragon-patterned griddle in his hand to cut the peach wood that had already been charred.

The moment the peach wood broke, a piece of wood about two fingers wide and the length of a thumb suddenly popped out from it.

Zhao Xiaoyao's heart stirred. After picking it up and examining it for a moment, her expression brightened with joy. "It really is a peach charm, but it's a pity it's not the most important ancient treasure peach charm."

"You're not suggesting I cut down all the peach trees here, are you?"

Seeing the look Zhao Xiaoyao was giving him, Lin Jue shook his head repeatedly.

This peach orchard has at least a thousand peach trees. Although they have all been burned to a crisp, cutting them all down is no easy task.

Just then, a strange feeling suddenly enveloped the two of them. They looked around, but found nothing.

The moment their eyes met, they saw a scene that sent chills down their spines.