Invincible Starts From Dao Fruit-Chapter 61 - 42 Zhangg Knocking at Midnight!

Wuu Clan Ravine.

Three months later, in the empty house at the village entrance, Chen Jichuan appeared quietly out of thin air.

As soon as he materialized.

He looked around.

The house was covered in dust, showing traces of other people coming in and out. Any valuables were gone, likely taken by the villagers from Wuu Clan Ravine after his abrupt departure.

"Gone is gone."

"This place is no longer safe; I must leave quickly."

Chen Jichuan spent nearly three hours piecing together the events that transpired here, surmising that the man in the mountain claiming to be from the ’Tongshen Temple’ was formidable beyond imagination.

Six hours outside.

One hundred days inside.

Having only spent half a month in this new world, conserving Source Power left him with little strength to speak of.

Just relying on spells like ’Fire Control Technique’ and ’Blood Ignite Technique’ would be far from enough to confront that man.

"Of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, fleeing is the best!"

Chen Jichuan didn’t linger.

Checking his belongings, he found two taels of fragmented silver still intact, which settled his mind slightly. He activated ’Thousand-Mile Eyes’ to scan Wuu Clan Ravine, observing no abnormal occurrences.

He looked up at the sky.

Dawn was breaking, the skies beginning to brighten.

Without hesitation.

He pushed open the door and set off toward the northern county towns.

...

Dai County lies in the southwestern region of Meishan Prefecture in Da Liang, bridging north and south. Because of its advantageous location and excellent transportation links, it earned the name ’Nine Provinces Thoroughfare.’

It ought to be a most prosperous land.

But the current emperor is foolish and without virtue, leading to divine punishment from above, causing disasters to plague the land frequently from all corners.

When disasters descend from the heavens, there must also be demonic calamities.

Many lurking monsters, spirits, and malevolent entities sprang forth one after another. Some deluded the populace, others preyed on lives, and yet others defiled women and daughters.

Such actions caused the gradual breakdown of law and order in all directions, and the court’s authority slowly faded.

Dai County in Meishan Prefecture bridges north and south.

Many scholars traveling to take the imperial examinations, wandering students, merchants, and roaming Jianghu people often passed through Dai County.

Thus it became the frequent target of malicious entities.

Some transformed into seductive fox spirits.

Some commanded ghostly creatures.

Others ambushed victims in the dead of night.

Countless people disappeared or perished.

Over time.

Dai County’s reputation fell to ruin; scholars, merchants, and Rangers actively avoided it, choosing to detour instead.

From there, Dai County began to decline.

Fortunately, it had been wealthy in the past.

The county town of Dai was solidly constructed, with walls three zhang high, and soldiers guarded the gates and the city walls.

"I’ve arrived!"

Chen Jichuan had walked forty li without stopping, using ’Thousand-Mile Eyes’ to avoid danger and ensure a safe journey.

Taking in the sight of the county town.

A camel is still larger than a horse even in death—though Dai County felt deserted all around, it was relatively bustling inside and out of the county town.

So many people.

That mountain-dwelling Demon Path practitioner should not dare to break in.

A great hiding place lies within the city.

Just the perfect place to remain concealed.

...

Time flew by.

Another three months passed.

Winter departed, and spring arrived once more, filling the gardens with fragrant peach blossoms.

On this day.

Chen Jichuan, as usual, practiced martial arts in his courtyard.

The moon hung high in the sky.

At midnight.

Though it was already late spring, the air carried a faint chill. Chen Jichuan stood bare-chested, revealing a well-built figure as he firmly stabilized his horse-stance beside a well.

Eyes steadfastly locked onto the well, hands clenched into fists at his waist, fists facing upward, shoulders sunk, elbows dropped, chest relaxed, breath settling into his Dantian as he mobilized his entire strength to punch toward the well.

Movements, intentions, and breathing synchronizing perfectly.

After circling with his right fist, he struck with his left, repeating the movements, intentions, and breathing. Alternating left and right, punching thirty times a minute, totaling nine hundred strikes per cycle.

One punch followed another.

Ripples appeared in the well, accompanied by splashing sounds of water.

This signified his mastery of the technique had reached a certain level.

"The mysteries of the Mysterious Void Fist Technique are endless. Punching with empty fists for thirty winters. Strike three thousand punches daily, and, after years of practice, profound skill emerges."

The technique was known as ’Mysterious Void Fist,’ also called ’Well Fist Skill’ or ’Hundred-step Hammer,’ designed to hone the vital skills of one’s fists, an art consistently trained by disciples of the Chen Sect in the Great Yann World.

Practicing this art.

Required striking the well with nine hundred punches at midnight daily.

Punching toward the sunrise every morning with nine hundred strikes.

Punching toward the midday sun with nine hundred strikes each noon.

Punching toward the moonlight every evening with nine hundred strikes each night.

Once mastery deepens.

The punching speed increases, and the daily strikes quadruple. Over thirty years of persistence, one can punch to the bottom of the well, causing loud splashes and water to spray upward.

In battle with opponents, the punches can knock them over, inflicting severe injuries on internal organs; deflecting enemy blows can fracture their bones or, in heavy cases, cause fatal injury, displaying unmatched power.

Chen Jichuan had already mastered this technique in the Great Yann and the real world.

In this Da Liang World, he had to start over in training.

With scarce Source Power, there was no shortcut to his progress.

Completing nine hundred punches.

"Hah!"

Chen Jichuan finished his exercise, drank a bowl of medicinal soup, and activated ’Thousand-Mile Eyes’ from the courtyard to observe the surroundings.

It was an activity he had done nightly for the past three months.

After days of observation, he had scouted all forty li surrounding Dai County thoroughly. Certain places felt peculiar, resembling the ’Tongshen Temple’ he encountered before. He didn’t dare investigate them deeply but marked them roughly for later exploration.

Without a doubt.

’Thousand-Mile Eyes’ was truly extraordinary, especially when paired with ’Sharp-Hearing Ear,’ enabling Chen Jichuan to stay informed of worldly affairs without leaving his home. He had witnessed and heard numerous uncanny events, significantly broadening his horizons.

Though his cultivation remained shallow, his understanding of various spirits and anomalies grew considerably.

Tonight.

Chen Jichuan turned his attention to the eastern ’Golden Wind Mountain,’ where he had left off investigating last night.

His vision swept across.

The mountain was silent.

"Hmm?"

Upon closer inspection, Chen Jichuan frowned slightly, "Weren’t those two sharp-eyed tigers emerging every night to absorb lunar energy and cultivate themselves?"

Why were they absent tonight?

"Could they be resting at home?"

Chen Jichuan shifted his gaze towards a stream at Golden Wind Mountain.

Alongside the stream lay a cave, illuminated by white moonlight. Inside this spacious cavern was a single aged tiger, looking somewhat lethargic.

The other tigers were nowhere to be seen.

"Where did they go?"

"Did they go to hunt humans?"

Chen Jichuan contemplated briefly before elevating his ’Thousand-Mile Eyes’ to search for the tigers’ whereabouts.

Scanning around Golden Wind Mountain but failing to locate any traces.

"I’ll leave it for now."

Setting the matter aside, Chen Jichuan refrained from lingering at Golden Wind Mountain.

Instead, he directed his ’Thousand-Mile Eyes’ further east of Golden Wind Mountain—a region he hadn’t explored yet. He scrutinized the area meticulously, ensuring he missed no hidden spirit or malicious entity.

In his courtyard at Dai County.

Before Chen Jichuan.

Lay a roughly sketched topographic map centered on Dai County’s town, adorned with various symbols and numbers marking specific locations.

For instance, Mount Qian’s ’Tongshen Temple’ was highlighted with two bold exclamation marks (’!’).

Places like Pi River’s ’Wang Liulang’ and Wuu Clan Ravine’s ’Hu Hongmei’ were marked faintly using ’3’ and ’5,’ respectively.

Golden Wind Mountain’s ’Three Tigers’ bore ’777’ in moderately weighted strokes.

Any trace of suspicion or peculiarities received a question mark (’?’), serving as notes for future detailed examination.

Golden Wind Mountain to the east.

At ten li away from his current location, it would soon exceed the range of Chen Jichuan’s ’Thousand-Mile Eyes.’

Skimming quickly would finish the task swiftly.

But Chen Jichuan preferred thorough investigations, examining every inch and every foot, scrutinizing the forests, grasslands, mountain streams, and subterranean waters carefully.

This required time.

Chen Jichuan wasn’t in a rush.

Staying within the city, he examined a little during the day and a little at night—sooner or later, he’d finish surveying the area.

Multitasking.

Chen Jichuan explored with ’Thousand-Mile Eyes,’ while simultaneously using ’Blood Ignite Technique’ to invigorate his Qi-Blood, consolidating and enhancing his cultivation progress.

Medicinal energy within his body wasn’t yet fully absorbed.

Chen Jichuan didn’t hurry to sleep, continuing his observations.

While examining a dense forest.

Suddenly.

Bang!

Bang! Bang!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Knocking sounded from the courtyard gate.

"At this hour of the night—"

Chen Jichuan frowned slightly, retracting his ’Thousand-Mile Eyes’ and peering outside from a high vantage point.

He saw two imposing, burly men banging on the gate with their palms. Activating ’Insight Skill’ to assess them filled his heart with a sudden weight—