Demon hunter's Cooking Manual

[Substitute Technique], [Silence Technique], [Boat Traversal Technique], [Vajra Palm], [Great Majestic Heavenly Dragon Technique] flooded into his mind.

But will they be useful?

Useless.

In an instant, the old monk's mind went blank.

No!

Not entirely blank.

The old monk held onto a single conviction: to save lives!

The heart is the origin.

Heart, move.

Thought, arise.

Golden radiance appeared once more.

When the old monk unconsciously recollected these secret techniques, realizing their futility, leaving only his original intent in the void, the golden radiance appeared again.

This time, the golden light overflowed from his body and condensed behind him.

A golden Buddha mirage, towering over a hundred meters tall, emerged.

The Buddha sat cross-legged, one hand pointing to the heavens, one hand to the earth, its face serene with compassion.

The six attacking serpent heads paused.

Although each of them was unquestionably larger than the golden Buddha's mirage, the inherent power contained within made them shudder.

"What are you afraid of?"

"He's just one person, with only two hands!"

"And you have six heads!"

"Crush him!"

The most massive serpent head, still partially dazed, roared loudly.

The six serpent heads hesitated for a moment.

That's right!

We, the serpents, have strength in numbers!

Attack!

The six serpent heads moved again.

Simultaneously, the golden Buddha mirage also moved.

No grand gestures—just pressing its palms together, and then... within the golden radiance, the Buddha grew even larger. Its gentle smile remained unchanged, but thousands of arms sprouted from its back.

Some formed palms.

Some clenched fists.

The next moment——

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A thousand arms struck in unison, knocking the six descending serpent heads upward.

This time, it wasn't just the serpent heads that rose.

The immense serpent body followed, soaring upwards.

The colossal monster was sent "flying" into the sky by the golden Buddha mirage.

"Is... is that the Master Tongshou Temple?"

Tsuchimikado Motoharu murmured under his breath.

He had interacted with the old monk countless times before.

He always felt the old monk was merely pretending, but that pretense had seemed to him naive and unworthy of attention.

Naturally, the truth behind the facade appeared equally trivial.

Just raw strength.

What else could it possibly be?

Strength—he had it too.

And he even believed he wouldn't lose to the Master Tongshou Temple.

Tsuchimikado Motoharu had once been so confident, but now, facing the attacks unleashed by the golden Buddha with its thousand arms, he could do nothing but let out a bitter chuckle and shake his head.

He'd been deceived!

How could the old monk's childish pretense not also be another layer of disguise?

Wasn't it precisely tailored to deal with people like him who thought themselves clever?

Truly worthy of being a Master of Tongshou Temple!

Tsuchimikado Motoharu sighed.

The surrounding people sighed as well.

They didn't harbor as many designs as Tsuchimikado Motoharu—they simply recognized the unfailing brilliance of the Master Tongshou Temple.

Especially Hui Lijing.

The female detective blinked as she held her dandelion, then scratched her head lightly.

"Turns out, the Master can handle this easily without me!"

The female detective spoke awkwardly.

The old monk folded his palms together and said nothing.

What could he say?

At this moment, he was still bewildered.

Even more bewildered than before.

Perhaps, maybe... could it be that I am quite strong?

This thought flickered in the old monk's heart.

But he quickly shook his head, discarding such notions from his mind.

This isn't the time to dwell on that.

The question was: What next?

The Buddha's mirage was immensely powerful.

The old monk admitted it, but he could also sense that after this round of attacks, the mirage would dissipate.

Once the mirage disappeared, the giant serpent would inevitably fall back.

The situation would revert to what it was before.

As for conjuring another Buddha's mirage?

The old monk certainly wished he could.

But he didn't know how.

He had no idea how the mirage had even appeared.

Thus, only one option remained: asking the others to leave.

At least they needed to preserve their lives.

As for anything else?

Right now, the old monk couldn't formulate a plan.

"Everyone, please leave immediately!"

The old monk said this resolutely.

Everyone was taken aback.

"Is it because of our presence that you cannot unleash even stronger secret techniques?"

Tsuchimikado Motoharu asked softly.

Though anxious inside, the old monk kept his smile and palms folded together.

Witnessing the monk's demeanor, everyone instantly understood.

They were dragging him down.

The situation couldn't continue like this.

None of them wanted to be a burden.

So, they all bowed and quickly retreated.

I actually wanted to leave with them...

The old monk watched their departure, silently thinking to himself.

But he didn't call them back.

Because he had to maintain the golden Buddha mirage behind him to buy them time.

He slightly raised his head, gazing at the Buddha mirage continuously striking with its fists and palms, his eyes filled with foggy amazement.

Was this really something I could do?

It felt unreal, like being inside a dream.

When did I acquire such power?

It doesn't feel real at all.

The old monk thought as he inhaled softly, then firmly resolved himself.

Now that I have such strength, it's time to let loose and do my best!

The old monk made up his mind with unyielding determination.

Then——

Snap!

The golden Buddha mirage vanished.

As soon as the monk was about to let loose, it disappeared without a trace.

Even the golden radiance seemed to fade, as if it had never existed.

Boom!

The huge serpent fell right before the old monk.

Fourteen enormous eyes glared at the old monk—cold, poisonous, hateful.

The old monk instantly broke out into a cold sweat.

What?

What's going on here?

Why so sudden?

I was just planning to create a memorable moment before I died!

The old monk, confronted by those fourteen massive eyes, produced a faint smile and clasped his hands together.

This was instinctive for his body.

As for saying a word?

He couldn't manage that.

He feared that as soon as he spoke, he'd burst into tears.

Yet, despite the old monk's demeanor, the massive monster hesitated, puzzled.

The monk before it was undeniably powerful!

Strong enough to surpass most beings it had ever encountered!

Certainly among the elite few!

Such a person would never abruptly end their attack and relinquish their advantage.

There must be an even bigger advantage lurking.

Or... a hidden gambit!

Hmm?

A gambit?

Suddenly, the thickest serpent head seemed to realize something. It twisted its gaze toward a head swaying left and right—the one that had been "out of sync" since the battle began, contributing nothing at all.

At this moment...

Huh?!!!

The thickest serpent head froze when it saw the swaying head.

Among the eight heads, it was undoubtedly the strongest and sturdiest.

While the other seven heads were relatively similar, this swaying head now appeared visibly diminished—a size smaller, its hollow eyes emitting whistling noises as air passed through, almost as if... its brain was missing.

What is this?

The other heads looked equally perplexed.

Then, instinctively, they began to assess the situation.

The very next moment——

Roar! Roar! Roar!

"Insects! Vermin!"

"Unforgivable!"

Furious roars erupted like never before.

They had sensed it.

The swaying head was hollow.

Not just its brain—its neck and flesh were ninety percent devoured, leaving only its outer skin, a thin layer of muscles under the scales.

The missing flesh...

Had been eaten!

Devoured by a tiny insect that had invaded their body!

They thought nothing of this intruder.

They knew full well the lethal nature of their toxic gases and corrosive fluids.

Any creature venturing inside would die!

Yet, this intruder hadn't merely survived—it was eating them alive.

It ignored their poisons.

It ignored their churning acids.

It kept eating.

Kept eating.

Not dying!

Even if it died, it would revive shortly after and continue consuming.

Like some ghoul reborn out of starvation.

No!

Even calling it a ghoul was a compliment.

It was an insatiable black hole!

The wrath was overwhelming!

Such a situation ignited their fury!

They reared their massive bodies, revealing their rotting bellies, and instantly enveloped Jason in a pool of acid and toxic gas.

Jason had faced similar situations before.

But the acid and toxic gas presented here were tenfold as lethal.

In a fleeting moment, Jason was melted away.

Not even a trace remained.