Invincible Starts From Dao Fruit-Chapter 87 - 66: One of Us! [On Sale at Noon on the 14th]

Chapter 87: Chapter 66: One of Us! [On Sale at Noon on the 14th]

Three days later.

Southeast of Liding County, Yellow Stone Gully.

Tan Zhang wore simple leather armor, with a Heart Protecting Mirror concealed on his chest. A black cloth covered his face, leaving only his eyes exposed, which vigilantly scanned the surroundings.

His ears twitched slightly, as if listening for some movement.

Name: Tan Zhang

Code name: Ugly County Horse

Age: 27

Level: 6

Talent: Sharp-Hearing Ear (4)

Spells: Divine Pouncing Saber (Sixth Layer), Primordial Skill (Second Layer), Iron Bull Skill (Second Layer), Land Flying Skill (Second Layer), Iron Arm Skill (Second Layer), Iron Broom Technique (Second Layer)

Originally, he was a scholar in Yongfu County, but he was fascinated with the Immortal Dao, firmly believing that there must be Immortal Techniques and Immortals in this world. Thus, he searched far and wide for Daoist scriptures, intent on finding a method to ascend to immortality.

One day.

Tan Zhang came across an ancient text titled "Primordial Unity Theory" and discovered a Qi Refining Method within it, which made him ecstatic.

He fondly named this Qi Refining Method "Primordial Skill" and practiced it daily, without pausing for winter or summer. For several years, he felt that he had seen some results.

He often felt as though there were rustling noises in his ears, as if something was crawling out.

One day, Tan Zhang opened his eyes to check, and sure enough, he saw a tiny humanoid creature, barely three inches tall, with a hideous and grotesque visage that resembled a Yaksha, pacing around on the ground.

Tan Zhang was overjoyed and ran to tell his family.

Unfortunately, neither his wife nor his parents believed him.

He went to tell the villagers.

The villagers thought Tan Zhang was neglecting his studies and wasting his days in nonsense, claiming he had gone mad.

This left Tan Zhang deeply troubled.

Not only that, because he often mentioned these bizarre matters to his family and the villagers, others tried to dissuade him, but he, plagued by the buzzing in his ears, often couldn’t hear what they were saying and behaved in many strange ways.

This convinced them further that he was suffering from hysteria, and they collectively dragged him to a medical hall in the county, which specialized in treating hysteria, where he was confined for three months.

Those three months were filled with suffering.

Tan Zhang’s personality underwent a complete transformation, and he no longer trusted anyone. He constantly felt that others were out to harm him, and his temper grew increasingly irritable.

The villagers all became afraid of him.

His wife also left him.

Even his parents moved to his younger brother’s home and rarely interacted with him.

And so.

No one knew that, as early as four years ago, the buzzing in Tan Zhang’s ears had already vanished. Not only that, but he had also developed an extraordinary ability—

Whenever he focused, he could hear every sound within a radius of tens of miles.

Tan Zhang affectionately called it "Sharp-Hearing Ear," believing it to be an Immortal Technique. But by then, he had grown extremely cautious and paranoid, no longer daring to mention it to others.

He focused solely on practicing the Primordial Skill.

After a few years of diligent cultivation, he truly began to see results—not only did his body become significantly stronger, but his strength and reflexes greatly improved as well.

This brought Tan Zhang immense joy.

Six months ago.

A man who introduced himself as "Cao Xiu" suddenly approached him and lured him into "White Jade City," where he was taught Divine Pouncing Saber, Iron Bull Skill, and other techniques. Cao Xiu also assigned him a particularly unpleasant code name, calling him "Ugly County Horse."

Deep down, Tan Zhang had no trust in this "Cao Xiu," nor did he believe in this mysterious "White Jade City."

He remained highly vigilant.

However, faced with the allure of martial arts and ascension to immortality, after a long period of deliberation, he ultimately chose not to flee.

Especially since Cao Xiu persistently flaunted the various martial arts, mystical techniques, secret skills, Spirit Pills, and elixirs of White Jade City right before his eyes...

Three days ago.

He finally accepted a mission from Cao Xiu.

Today marked his first participation in a White Jade City operation.

It was said that others from White Jade City would also be part of the mission.

He arrived early and was waiting.

...

Time passed.

Tan Zhang had arrived at Yellow Stone Gully at the break of dawn, still four hours before the appointed time.

The tedious waiting would have long worn out an ordinary person.

But not Tan Zhang.

At the age of five or six, he could immerse himself in dull articles and texts. freewebnøvel.com

By sixteen or seventeen, he had the patience to study extensive Daoist scriptures.

After obtaining the "Primordial Skill," he had persevered in cultivating the nearly fruitless Qi Refining Method for several years—an ordeal far more tedious than this by a hundredfold.

Yet he relished it.

Of course.

It wasn’t without its rewards—

Although his Primordial Skill appeared to only be at the Second Layer right now, in fact, he had reached the Sixth Layer half a year prior.

The current setback was due to the peculiar nature of Primordial Skill, which allowed the Inner Strength it cultivated to be "transferred" at will.

After acquiring Divine Pouncing Saber.

He had transferred his Inner Strength from Primordial Skill to Divine Pouncing Saber.

The latter progressed from nothing to the Sixth Layer in a matter of days and was nearing the Innate Realm, akin to ordinary practitioners spending decades of painstaking effort.

While the former returned to zero.

In the past six months, he had been rebuilding it, and it was now back to the Second Layer, with the Third Layer just around the corner.

Once he restored it to the Sixth Layer and channeled it back into Divine Pouncing Saber, there was a real chance he could break through to the Innate Realm in one go.

Tan Zhang sat cross-legged.

He meditated while keeping his ears perked up, vigilant of his surroundings.

Suddenly.

From outside Yellow Stone Gully came the faint sound of footsteps. Tan Zhang’s eyes snapped open, his hearing sharpening further. These footsteps clearly belonged to someone skilled in White Jade City’s Land Flying Skill.

He stretched out his neck to look.

In the distance, there stood a man around twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with a saber at his waist, carrying a strong bow in his hand, and an Arrow Quiver on his back. The man eyed his surroundings warily.

"One."

Tan Zhang counted. The group was incomplete, so he stayed hidden for now.

A little while later.

Two more people arrived.

They were two youths, about eighteen or nineteen years old, walking shoulder to shoulder. One moved briskly, occasionally waiting for the other.

The two met up with the first man.

Each brought out their White Jade City medallions, exchanged the Yann Building’s coded phrases, and gathered to chat quietly.

Tan Zhang had no real interest in their conversation but eavesdropped anyway. He overheard that the first man was code-named "Wood Guardian," while the two newcomers were "Heavenly Eye General," the nimble one, and "Hundred Victories General," the timid one.

The code names from White Jade City seemed utterly nonsensical to Tan Zhang.

Take his own, for instance.

He was clearly not bad-looking, had married young, and although his wife had left for certain reasons, his appearance hadn’t changed. Yet he was saddled with the code name "Ugly County Horse."

It made no sense at all.

But in hindsight, this was maybe for the best. At least, just from the code name alone, others would have no idea about his true abilities.

Unlike those with names like "Grass Flying" or "Iron Palm Water Floating," which blatantly revealed their specialties and made them easy targets.

Wood Guardian, Heavenly Eye General, and Hundred Victories General had all arrived.

Only one person remained.

The three waited.

Tan Zhang also waited quietly.

About half an hour passed.

Tan Zhang’s ears twitched slightly, and from afar, he heard someone heading straight for Yellow Stone Gully. Before long, the newcomer arrived.

It was a scruffy, unkempt man with a full beard—the "One-eyed Dragon."

The One-eyed Dragon joined Wood Guardian and the others, introducing himself as "Sick Yuchi," a subordinate of Liao Hua, the seventh in the White Jade City Yann Building Heavenly Gang Series.

Clearly:

"He doesn’t seem sick at all."

Tan Zhang muttered to himself, seeing that everyone was present and preparing to reveal himself.

But then "Sick Yuchi" suddenly turned his head, looking straight at Tan Zhang’s hiding spot, and called out loudly, "Friend, since you’ve been here for a while, why not come out and meet us?"

At those words.

Wood Guardian nocked an arrow.

Heavenly Eye General and Hundred Victories General each stepped back cautiously, their expressions turning serious, as they readied themselves.

"They actually spotted me!"

Tan Zhang was taken aback.

Seeing the four of them moving to surround him, his heart pounded wildly, but he suppressed the urge to flee. Clenching his teeth, he stepped forward, holding out a medallion and loudly declaring, "I’m one of you!"

...

PS: At noon next Friday (the 14th), the novel will officially launch. Whether you choose to support the legal version or read an illegal one, the Demon Monk author hopes you’ll at least come to Qidian to support the first subscription. Endless gratitude!