Food gives me an entry, I will be invincible if I stay alive

Chapter 124 The world is in turmoil, and the situation is changing rapidly. Can a true dragon be raised in shallow waters?

Inside the wooden house, the three-foot-tall figurine on the altar collapsed with a thud.

In that instant, the other's eyes met Dao Bing's in the firelight.

From indifference to collapse, from shock to annihilation.

It was only for a moment.

Finally, all the light in those eyes disappeared.

Then, with a crack, the azure fire shield shattered completely. From the spear, a raging inferno erupted.

However, in an instant, he used the three-foot-tall figurine on the altar as firewood, burning it with a crackling sound—

No, that's not right.

Chen Xu sensed it from afar and suddenly realized that what he was burning at the moment was not flesh and blood.
This is clearly just a paper figure!
It was so unexpected, yet perfectly reasonable.

Chen Xu had actually considered that the three-foot-tall figure on the altar was not a real person, but he guessed that it might be some kind of puppet or an external avatar.

But to my surprise, it turned out to be a paper figure.

When the flames subsided, the paper-made leather bag was burned to ashes first, followed by the purplish-red bamboo frame, and then... a bunch of dark, darting shadows.

Chen Xu could see that all the darting shadows resembled cats, dogs, or mice...

Their auras were chaotic, dark, and restless.

It howled mournfully, revealing its ferocious claws and fangs amidst the flames, as it rolled and fled.

Occasionally, a few indistinct human words would escape his lips: "Let...let me go..."

"Kill, kill, kill, kill..."

"Release me, grant me immortality..."

"Ah! Squeak..."

Chaos howled, eerie and twisted, yet there was nowhere to escape.

The soldiers, armed with guns, guarded this place.

No matter how shrill the shadows' cries or how frantically they struggled, they were ultimately burned to nothingness by the flames.

[You hunted the evil sacrificial offerings with unwavering focus, and obtained three coins of the spiritual material Heartfire Lotus.]

It's the Heartfire Divine Lotus again!

With unwavering determination, Chen Xu's literary talent surged like waves.

Within the dantian, the primordial qi surged and roared even more intensely.

He could feel his own power being rapidly depleted when he used his inner fire extensively.

Not only was his innate Qi being consumed extremely quickly, but his mental strength was also being rapidly depleted.

This is a very vague feeling, after all, the concept of "mental power" is too abstract and difficult to quantify.

However, although such profound mental energy is consumed extremely quickly, its regeneration is also extremely fast.

As long as Chen Xu's heart remains steadfast and unwavering, his mental strength will not be exhausted.

As the saying goes: Swift as the wind, silent as the forest, aggressive as fire, and immovable as a mountain!
That's all there is to it.

Ten miles east of the city, the soldiers waited for everything inside the wooden house to burn to ashes.

Later, even this wooden house was burned to the ground.

Chen Xu's will remained unwavering.

The exhilarating slaughter did not fill him with excessive joy or excitement, nor did the fact that the strange little figure inside the wooden house was not a real person made of flesh and blood discourage him.

It's too easy to guess that the other party isn't the real one.

Besides, how could an enemy capable of deploying demonic puppets all over the world easily reveal their true form?

If he were really here, that would be a truly terrible situation.

With Chen Xu's current strength, even if ten or a hundred of him were combined, they might not be enough to defeat the opponent with one hand.

The flames burned out, leaving behind only a handful of ashes and a rusty, charred bell where the cabin had been.

The Taoist priest scooped up the soil, crushed it together with the dust on the ground, put it in his hand, and then picked up the bell.

A gentle breeze blew, and the Taoist soldier's figure appeared and disappeared in the sunlight as he ran away.

A gentle breeze dispersed all traces left behind by the Dao soldiers as they came and went, and the Calamity of Emptiness was activated with the wind.

In the inn, Chen Xu reviewed the gains and losses of this experience.

First, I learned about the entire process of creating the demon puppet.

We can set a strategy: from now on, whenever we encounter a demonic puppet, we should kill it.

Not only must they be killed, but they must be killed so thoroughly that not a single trace is left behind, lest more demonic puppets be created.

Secondly, if you encounter paper figures on the altar again, deal with them in the same way as above; kill them if you can.

Furthermore, although the paper figures on the offering table are completely dead, their very existence seems to reveal a lot of information.

For example: Why are the paper figures on the altar, which are similar to puppets, used to make the demonic puppets, instead of the cultivators of a certain organization that Chen Xu originally imagined?

Is it that living people are not as easy to control as paper figures, or is the other party's power not as great as Chen Xu imagined?

For example, although Chen Xu swiftly killed the paper figures on the offering table, their abilities were actually quite bizarre.

Chen Xu was able to wipe out this paper man stronghold so cleanly, thanks in large part to [Jieyuan Kongzhao].

We must not underestimate the other party because of this.

Finally, the paper figure's belly contained a living creature, or perhaps a vengeful ghost.

Wearing a Taoist robe and with his hair shaved, he resembles both a monk and a Taoist, yet he is neither. His origins can only be traced back to these aspects.

This world is very strange, and its various bizarre abilities are difficult to predict.

Although Chen Xu has gained some skills now, he still needs to intensify his training in order to be able to deal with all the grudges and grievances effectively. He must not be complacent or become lazy.

After reviewing his performance, he gave himself a pep talk.

As the sun began to set, Daobing shook off the chill and leaped up to the second floor, returning to Chen Xu's room through the inn's window.

Compared to the poetic spirit of "Ode to Gallantry," which was still in the works, the Taoist soldier of Niwan at this time did indeed have a sense of traveling hundreds of miles and appearing and disappearing in an instant.

After controlling it in multiple battles, Chen Xu felt that the connection between himself and the Dao soldier had become even stronger.

After sending the Daobing back to the Smoke and Fire Kitchen, Chen Xu also consumed 100 Smoke and Fire Points and entered the Smoke and Fire Kitchen.

First, examine the two items brought by the Taoist priest.

Ashes and bells can both be used in the kitchen.

【Dao Mo Jie Hui Hui: A handful of calamity ash with complex composition, containing extremely faint chaotic demonic energy, which has been repeatedly tempered by the heart fire.】

Mix one ounce with three ounces of spirit wine and drink; this can soothe the mind and eliminate karmic obstacles for a period of time.

This handful of ashes from the calamity actually contains some very valuable things! And look at the bell.

It's rather strange, but every time Chen Xu killed a demon puppet, he remembered to collect the puppet's corpse, yet he always seemed to forget about the bell.

The demonic puppet in the back alley of the inn was just like that.

Fortunately, the soldiers followed his instructions to collect all the spoils of war, and brought the demon puppet's corpse and the bell back to the Smoke Kitchen.

Nowadays, there are actually three magical bells in the Fireworks Kitchen!

Another one came from Shejunxu.

In this battle against the paper figures on the offering table, Chen Xu endured several mental shocks, yet his will remained steadfast and unwavering.

After the war, although his spiritual attributes did not improve in any substantial way, he felt that his mental will had been tempered.

Perhaps this is why he can remember the demon puppet's bell now.

【Meat-like spirit bells, when stewed, can bewitch ghosts, making them obey your commands for two hours.】

It's another interesting and strange object.

No, they are three strange objects.

As Chen Xu surveyed the scene in the kitchen, he couldn't help but let out a soft sigh.

My tense mood can finally relax a bit. Great! I can be both tense and relaxed, and the future looks promising.

In the kitchen, where the smoke and fire are cooking, there is relatively more time.

Chen Xu checked his current fireworks balance. After the previous consumption and the new income during the day, his current fireworks value balance is [1325].

It's not too little, but it also seems like we're running out of money again.

The use of Dao Mo Jie Hui does not require unlocking the recipe, but the recipe for Rou Zhi Ling requires 300 Firework Points to unlock.

Although it was a bit pricey, Chen Xu still immediately chose to unlock it.

In addition, I spent 300 fireworks points to unlock the specific cooking method for [Puppet Skin].

Chen Xu discovered that the more complex the preparation method and the more unusual the effects of a spiritual food recipe, the more Firework Points are required to unlock it.

Simple, basic nourishing spiritual foods, such as those that add vital energy, blood, spirit, and soul, are relatively inexpensive to unlock.

Thus, they cultivated while simultaneously preparing spiritual food.

Chen Xu controlled the fire and summoned the wind, burning the demon puppet bones into powder and stewing the meat ling into a soup.

The puppet's skin was then marinated and deep-fried, transforming it into an alien-shaped skin—

This painted skin is quite interesting. Although it is a product of marinating and deep-frying, it is surprisingly smooth and light as silk after frying.

Chen Xu carefully stored it away, intending to use it when needed.

He gained many insights from this battle, and while those insights were still fresh in his mind, Chen Xu cooked spiritual food while cultivating, thus entering the kitchen three more times.

[Cultivation: Mid-stage Tongmai Realm 55%]

As breath flowed through his veins, Chen Xu felt his body's strength replenish itself.

He left the kitchen, looking quite pleased with himself.

Looking at the sky again, it was almost evening.

The outside world was as noisy as ever, with all sorts of voices coming in through the window.

Chen Xu's thoughts shifted, recalling how Master Wu seemed to have some unease before. After he finished learning the method of observing the tide, he was forcibly kicked out by the master.

Now is the perfect opportunity to go to Master Hong's small kitchen and personally prepare some food, adding spiritual ingredients to repay the Master.

Although there are several kinds of spiritual food readily available in the kitchen, it is best to have something clear about how it is taken out.

Chen Xu went to the inn's kitchen and found Chef Hong.

Master Hong was quite moved when he heard that he wanted to personally cook a delicious meal for the master.
"You suddenly came to learn cooking from me yesterday, it turns out it was all to show your filial piety to your master. My rascal has never shown me this kind of filial piety."

This……

Chen Xu was taken aback by this interpretation and was speechless for a moment.

This seems to give him another perfect reason to learn cooking. By the way, does the Master like good food?

Inside the inn room, Wu Zhengze was receiving Feng Yuanbai.

Magistrate Feng's visit at this time was actually to find Chen Xu.

However, Chen Xu happened to be out of the room. Wu Zheng heard the noise, opened the door, and invited Feng Yuanbai inside for a chat.

The two sat facing each other, but the atmosphere became slightly awkward.

To be honest, the two weren't actually very familiar with each other.

During this period, Feng Yuanbo often came to give lectures to Chen Xu, and he would often visit late at night without showing his face to anyone else.

Finally, Wu Zhengze broke the silence first. He personally poured tea and, as a senior teacher, thanked Feng Yuanbai for his help to Chen Xu in recent days.

Feng Yuanbo smiled faintly and said, "Xu Zhi and I are like brothers, friends despite our age difference. Everything we do is out of affection. Why should Instructor Wu thank me like this?"

Wu Zhengze said, "Your Excellency's friendship with Xuzhi is one thing, but it doesn't stop me, as your teacher, from being grateful to you."

The two men held their teacups, looking at each other.

Feng Yuanbo said, "Wu Xundao's words were not merely expressions of gratitude, were they? I think Wu Xundao has something else to say to me, so I might as well speak frankly."

Wu Zheng readily agreed and suddenly asked, "Will Yunjiang Prefecture be in chaos?"

Asking this question out of the blue felt like throwing a random punch.

“There won’t be major chaos for now,” Feng Yuanbo said calmly, “but there will always be a few companies that might go out of business.”

Wu Zhengze then asked, "After the provincial examination, did Magistrate Feng suggest that Xuzhi come to the prefectural academy to study?"

"Personally, I would suggest it, depending on whether Xuzhi intends to participate in this year's autumn provincial examination."

He's still young; he could easily take another two years to mature. But…

Feng Yuanbai paused slightly at this point before saying, "But the world is in turmoil, and time is of the essence."

Things are different now than before; if you can be courageous and diligent, it's best not to procrastinate.

Instructor Wu, shallow waters cannot nurture a true dragon. Is it really a good thing to be overly cautious and protective?

Have you not heard that loving something can actually harm it?

Wu Zhengze paused for a moment, seemingly lost in thought, and a slight sadness appeared on his face.

He didn't speak again, but expressed his agreement with silence.

Just as the atmosphere inside the room fell silent again, there was a gentle knock on the door.

Chen Xu's voice rang out from outside the door: "Master, I have prepared some dinner. Please enjoy it."

(End of this chapter)