Midnight Knocking!

Wu Family Ravine.

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

The moment he appeared,

he looked around.

There was quite a bit of dust in the house, along with traces of others coming and going. The bedding and such were all gone as well. The villagers of Wu Family Ravine must have seen that Chen Jichuan had "left without saying goodbye" and taken them away.

"Gone is gone."

"I can't stay here. I need to leave quickly."

Chen Jichuan had spent nearly three hours outside, carefully sorting through everything that had happened here. He guessed that the person in the mountains who called himself Divine Communion Temple was exceedingly formidable.

Six hours outside.

One hundred days inside.

He had only spent half a month in this new world in earnest, and he had been conserving Origin Force. He could hardly be said to possess much strength.

Relying solely on spells like the Flame Control Technique and Blood-Burning Art, he could not possibly fight that person.

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

Chen Jichuan did not linger.

He felt himself over. His two taels of broken silver were still there, which settled his heart somewhat. He activated Far-Sight and looked over Wu Family Ravine, finding nothing unusual.

He looked at the sky.

It was dawn, and the heavens had only just begun to brighten.

Without further hesitation,

he immediately pushed open the door and hurried north toward the county town.

Dai County lay in the southwestern reaches of Meishan Prefecture in Liang World. It connected north and south, and because of its convenient transportation and roads leading in all directions, it was known as the "thoroughfare of nine provinces."

It should have been a land of utmost prosperity.

Unfortunately, the current emperor was muddleheaded and without virtue. The gods in the heavens had sent down punishment, bringing calamities year after year to every corner of the realm.

When calamity descended from heaven,

demons and monsters were bound to emerge.

All manner of lurking fiends, demons, ghosts, and monsters began springing out one after another. Some bewitched the populace, some slaughtered lives, and some violated the wives and daughters of others.

Order throughout the land gradually crumbled, while the laws and discipline of the court steadily loosened.

Dai County of Meishan Prefecture connected north and south.

Many carriages carrying examinees bound for the capital, scholars traveling for study, merchants conducting trade, and wandering martial folk passed through Dai County.

Thus, it drew the attention of many demons.

Some transformed into seductive fox spirits.

Some commanded ghosts.

Some lay in ambush to kill at midnight.

Many disappeared or died.

As time went on,

Dai County's reputation was ruined. Scholars, merchants, and wandering heroes all avoided it like the plague, taking detours instead.

Dai County declined from then on.

Fortunately, it had once been wealthy.

Dai County's walls had been built solidly, standing three zhang high. Soldiers guarded both the city gates and the ramparts.

"I'm here!"

Chen Jichuan had walked forty li in one breath. With Far-Sight helping him seek fortune and avoid misfortune, he had encountered no trouble along the way.

He glanced at the county town.

A starving camel was still bigger than a horse. Dai County was desolate in every direction, yet the county town itself was still somewhat lively inside and out.

With so many people around,

that demonic Daoist hiding ghosts in the mountains probably would not dare barge in.

A great hermit hid within the marketplace.

This was precisely an excellent place to conceal himself.

In the blink of an eye,

another three months passed.

Winter departed and spring returned, filling the courtyard with the fragrance of peach blossoms.

On this day,

Chen Jichuan practiced martial arts in the courtyard as usual.

A bright moon hung high overhead.

It was midnight.

Though it was already late spring, the weather still carried a slight chill. Chen Jichuan stood bare-chested, his muscles exposed. He planted himself firmly in a horse stance beside the well.

His eyes stared straight into the well. Both hands were clenched into fists at his waist, palms facing upward. He sank his shoulders and dropped his elbows, hollowed his chest and lowered his breath, letting his qi sink into his dantian. Mobilizing the strength of his entire body, he punched into the well.

His movements, intent, and breathing were coordinated as one.

After throwing a right punch, he followed with a left punch into the water, his movements, intent, and breathing unchanged. He alternated left and right like this, throwing thirty punches per minute, for a total of nine hundred punches each session.

One punch after another,

sent splashes blooming in the well, accompanied by a rushing, splashing sound.

This was a sign that the art had reached a certain level of mastery.

"The Void Fist's secrets are boundless and profound; strike empty fists for thirty winters. Throw three thousand punches each day, and over time, mysterious skill will be yours."

This art was called the Void Fist, also known as the Well Fist Art and the Hundred-Pace Hammer. It was an important technique specifically for training the fists, one commonly practiced by disciples of the Chen Sect in Great Yan World.

To cultivate this art,

one had to pound the well with nine hundred punches at midnight every day.

Every morning, one had to face the rising sun and throw nine hundred punches.

Every noon, one had to face the blazing sun and throw nine hundred punches.

Every evening, one had to face the bright moon and throw nine hundred punches.

Once one's mastery deepened,

the punching speed would grow faster, and the number of punches in each of the four daily sessions would also increase. By persisting in this way for thirty years, one could punch all the way to the bottom of the water. The water would roar and splash upward.

When fighting an enemy, one punch could knock a person down. In serious cases, it could injure the internal organs. If an enemy struck at oneself, a deflection would break tendons and shatter bones; in severe cases, it could claim a life. Its force was irresistible.

Chen Jichuan had already cultivated it to great mastery in Great Yan and in reality.

Having come to this Liang World, he had to begin cultivating it from scratch again.

With how stingy he was with Origin Force, there was no way for him to achieve it in a single leap.

After finishing nine hundred punches,

"Whew!"

Chen Jichuan ended his practice, drank a bowl of medicinal broth, then activated Far-Sight in the courtyard to observe the surrounding lands.

This was something he had done every night for the past three months.

Over these days, he had examined everything within forty li of Dai County inside and out. Some places were strange and ancient, resembling the Divine Communion Temple he had encountered before. Chen Jichuan did not dare look too closely, only marking them down roughly.

It had to be said,

Far-Sight was truly wondrous. Paired with Wind-Hearing, it allowed Chen Jichuan to know the affairs of the world without leaving home. He had seen and heard many bizarre occurrences, greatly broadening his horizons.

Though his cultivation was still shallow, he now understood far more about all kinds of ghosts and abnormalities.

Tonight,

Chen Jichuan followed up on Golden Wind Mountain to the east, which he had not fully observed the night before.

His vision swept across it.

The mountain was silent.

"Eh?"

After taking a closer look, Chen Jichuan frowned slightly. "Don't those two hanging-eyed tigers come out every night to devour moonlight essence and cultivate themselves?"

Why were they nowhere to be seen tonight?

"Could they be sleeping at home?"

Chen Jichuan shifted his gaze toward a stream ravine on Golden Wind Mountain.

There was a cave beside the ravine. Borrowing the pure white moonlight, Chen Jichuan saw that only an aged tiger lay in the spacious cave, looking somewhat listless.

No other fierce tigers could be seen nearby.

"Where did they go?"

"Could they have gone to eat people?"

Chen Jichuan thought for a moment, then raised Far-Sight to search for the tigers' tracks.

He inspected the area around Golden Wind Mountain and found no trace of them.

"I'll stop looking for now."

Setting it aside for the time being, Chen Jichuan did not linger on Golden Wind Mountain.

He turned Far-Sight farther east of Golden Wind Mountain. He had not yet surveyed this region, so he examined it with great care, doing his utmost not to overlook any hidden ghosts or monsters.

In the Dai County courtyard,

before Chen Jichuan,

lay a roughly drawn topographical map centered on Dai County. Numerous locations had been marked on it with various symbols and numbers.

For instance, the location of Divine Communion Temple on Hidden Mountain was marked with two bold exclamation marks.

For instance, Wang Liulang of the Pi River and Hu Hongmei of Wu Family Ravine were marked with "3" and "5" respectively, both written in faint strokes.

Then there were the "three tigers" of Golden Wind Mountain, represented by "777" in strokes neither too dark nor too faint.

Whenever he discovered even the slightest clue or spotted somewhere suspicious, he marked it with a "?" as well, saving it for closer inspection later.

East of Golden Wind Mountain,

another ten li onward would take him beyond the range of Chen Jichuan's Far-Sight.

If he merely gave it a cursory glance, he could finish quickly.

But Chen Jichuan examined it meticulously, inch by inch and foot by foot—mountaintops, riverbeds, forests, and grass alike—all had to be inspected carefully.

This took time.

Chen Jichuan was not in a hurry.

Living in the city, he could investigate some during the day and some deep into the night. Sooner or later, he would finish looking through it all.

He divided his attention between two tasks.

While using Far-Sight to investigate, Chen Jichuan also used the Blood-Burning Art to stir his qi and blood, further consolidating and improving his cultivation results.

The medicinal power in his stomach had yet to be fully absorbed.

Chen Jichuan was in no hurry to sleep and continued looking.

He was examining a dense forest,

when suddenly—

Bang!

Bang bang!

Bang bang bang!

Knocking sounded from the courtyard gate.

"At this hour of the night—"

Chen Jichuan frowned slightly and recalled Far-Sight, looking down from above toward the gate.

He saw two hulking, burly men pounding on the gate with their fists. Chen Jichuan used the Insight Art to examine them, and his heart suddenly sank—

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