Zhong Yiyang had a master, but his master wasn't a chef. Cooking was his hobby, and more than that, his passion.
That was why he poured so much effort into his culinary arts.
He knew how to make almost anything and could even develop new techniques on his own.
He had also studied Sword Skill, but the results were less than satisfactory.
So when he saw Jiang Zuo's Sword Skill, he was stunned. He couldn't be mistaken—that was it. That was the Sword Skill he had to possess.
He had to learn it, no matter what.
However, Zhong Yiyang didn't approach him right away, choosing to wait until Jiang Zuo had finished eating.
Jiang Zuo slowly savored the dog leg. Zhong Yiyang's cooking was quite good; at the very least, it gave him a sense of enjoyment.
Although it couldn't compare to the chefs he had hired in his past life, it was still a thousand, no, ten thousand times better than his own cooking.
Jiang Zuo ate very slowly, perhaps intentionally.
He remembered that Su Qi was planning to sneak into their house to steal the divorce papers, so he decided to give her the opportunity.
It wasn't until evening that Jiang Zuo finally finished the dog leg, completely satisfied. He hadn't eaten it in years, but it was just as delicious as he remembered.
After he finished, Jiang Zuo prepared to leave.
Just then, Zhong Yiyang approached Jiang Zuo's side, his voice full of respect. "Fellow Daoist, I wish to learn the Sword Skill you just used. Whatever you require, I can almost certainly provide it."
Jiang Zuo glanced at him and said, "I don't teach."
"I can offer you a great deal," Zhong Yiyang said. Jiang Zuo's refusal was within his expectations, but he wasn't going to give up. "I'm a chef. I need a true Sword Skill. I can tell that your Sword Skill was created specifically for handling ingredients. I want to learn it. I really, really want to learn it."
Jiang Zuo gave Zhong Yiyang a deep look. 'This person is rather interesting. He could tell that this Sword Skill was invented specifically for ingredients just by watching me use it a few times.'
He had invented this Sword Skill himself. He had once wanted to learn to be a chef, and as a chef, his knife work naturally had to be impressive.
He had seen countless Sword Skills, but none had met his standards. In the end, he created this one himself.
A Sword Skill designed exclusively for preparing ingredients.
Later, he perfected the Sword Skill, but unfortunately, his cooking never improved.
Just as Jiang Zuo was about to refuse again, he suddenly froze.
He had just taken out the coin and was habitually toying with it in his hand.
What Jiang Zuo hadn't expected was that, while facing Zhong Yiyang, he felt a certain sense of smoothness from it.
He then said to Zhong Yiyang, "I can teach you. But first, tell me, have you seen a Three-tailed Fox?"
Zhong Yiyang was taken aback. "A Three-tailed Fox? I did see a fox this morning, but I don't know how many tails it had."
Jiang Zuo smiled faintly. 'Good. I've found a lead.'
"Tell me where you saw it and where it was headed."
Zhong Yiyang said, "In the forest park on the outskirts of town, by a lake. I kindly tried to help it, but it actually kicked me into the river."
Jiang Zuo paused. 'The forest park on the outskirts?'
Then, the corners of Jiang Zuo's mouth lifted into a smile. He knew where that fox had gone. No wonder he couldn't find it.
'In that case, the route is perfect for me.'
As long as it hadn't been reduced to dust, Jiang Zuo was confident he could find it quickly.
Then Jiang Zuo said to Zhong Yiyang, "Go to the kitchen. I will teach you one stance."
Zhong Yiyang asked anxiously, "Does that mean you won't teach the others?"
"I will," Jiang Zuo said, but before Zhong Yiyang could get excited, he continued, "Help me with one thing, and I'll teach you one stance. This Sword Skill has seven stances in total."
"They correspond to Tier One through Tier Seven. Don't come looking for me if you haven't reached the required Cultivation."
Zhong Yiyang was stunned. 'This Sword Skill actually points toward the Great Dao?'
Tier Seven establishes the Dao Foundation. No matter how foolish he was, he knew how terrifying this Sword Skill must be.
'Unless this person is lying to me. No, the possibility that he's lying is very high.'
'He's bluffing. It's definitely a bluff.'
'The Sword Skill is shocking, yes, but there's no way it could point directly to the Great Dao.'
'I was almost tricked by a 1.2 Cultivator.'
But for the sake of learning the Sword Skill, Zhong Yiyang didn't say anything more.
Half an hour later, Jiang Zuo left the Inexplicable Fate Restaurant. In the kitchen, Zhong Yiyang had collapsed to his knees.
That Sword Skill was simply unheard of and unseen, completely shattering Zhong Yiyang's understanding of what a Sword Skill could be.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it heretical.
Zhong Yiyang felt like he was being tricked by a 1.2 Cultivator all over again.
'This world is too crazy.'
Jiang Zuo, of course, paid him no mind. He was currently worried—worried that he would see Su Qi when he got back.
And yet, there was also a sliver of anticipation, a hope that he *would* see Su Qi.
As for the Array in the bedroom, Jiang Zuo wasn't worried. Su Qi wouldn't be able to understand it; she would just think it was some meaningless scribbles.
There was no Spiritual Liquid inside it either, so it looked very ordinary.
Before long, Jiang Zuo arrived back at his residential complex.
He hesitated at the door for a long time before finally opening it and walking inside.
The lights were off. Not the slightest sound could be heard, and there was no one in sight.
Jiang Zuo sighed, then turned on the lights and looked around.
As expected, there was no sign of Su Qi. He felt a little disappointed.
Jiang Zuo then checked the entire house, even taking a specific look at the divorce papers in the trash can. He could now confirm that Su Qi hadn't come.
"Women are so fickle. She said she was coming to steal something, but in the end, there wasn't even a shadow of her."
After that, Jiang Zuo began to enhance the quality of the Moon Tear Bead, once again using the induction cooker and hot pot.
Three hours later, Jiang Zuo walked out of the kitchen with a deep blue Moon Tear Bead.
Quality ingredients really were something else; they had directly raised the Moon Tear Bead's quality to the highest level.
The medicine Jiang Zuo prepared would produce an energy similar to Moonlight. When this pseudo-Moonlight was absorbed by the Moon Tear Bead, which possessed Moonlight Power, it would be converted into true Moonlight.
The secret to this process was, naturally, credited to the Moon Tear Bead itself.
Nothing else could accomplish this.
Afterward, Jiang Zuo went to the bedroom, locked the door, and allowed the moonlight to shine in.
He then set down the Moon Tear Bead and began to absorb its energy.
This process was painful, especially now that his Innate Two Qi was restored.
Jiang Zuo endured excruciating pain for the entire night. When he rose from the Array the next day, he had reached 1.3.
Sensing his 1.3 Cultivation, Jiang Zuo felt a mix of gain and loss.
All of the Moonlight had been absorbed into his Cultivation—every last bit of it.
This meant that advancing to the Innate Three Qi stage had now become incredibly difficult for him.
Several times more difficult than in his past life.
He could only hope that the Innate Two Qi would be sufficient for his needs for the time being.
It was getting late, almost noon. Jiang Zuo had to get to the forest park.
That was the entrance to the Immortal Spirit Cave Mansion—or rather, the entrance to the rift.
Back then, he had just been going to the forest park to relax when he stumbled into the Immortal Spirit Cave Mansion by mistake. And that had been the start of his path of fortuitous encounters, leading him all the way to the peak.
For many people, that was a path to the Dao they could only dream of.
Jiang Zuo had walked it before. And though others might not be able to walk it as well as he had, he still didn't like the idea of anyone else taking it.
As for the Mystic Study of finding things, that was truly an accident—an accident beyond all accidents.
Most of his path could be repeated, but this alone could not be replicated.
It was tied to the person.
On the way to the forest park, Jiang Zuo sent a message to Gu Jiansheng. The content was simple. He told him that by tomorrow at the latest, he wanted to see the fox, dead or alive.