Invincible Starts From Dao Fruit
Chapter 136 - 107 Echo Valley: 32 Years! [Seeking Monthly Tickets!]

Chapter 136: Chapter 107 Echo Valley: 32 Years! [Seeking Monthly Tickets!]

Half a year later.

In the eastern part of Ying Country, where East Mountain Prefecture is located.

On this day.

Chen Jichuan carried two baskets and strode swiftly from east to west, plunging straight into the towering mountains.

Standing at a high vantage point.

Chen Jichuan gazed around, seeing peaks rising dramatically, immersing him in a vast sea of forest. At a glance, it was all serene and graceful.

"People say that East Mountain Prefecture of Ying Country, especially Three Realms Pass, is famed for its extraordinary peaks, secluded valleys, and picturesque forests."

"Seeing it today, the reputation is indeed well-deserved."

Chen Jichuan looked into the distance and felt utterly refreshed.

He had taken a boat from Shamen Island, landed at Feixing Port, traversed through Zheng Country, Zhangg Country, and Xue Country, and finally entered Ying Country’s territory.

He was now at Three Realms Pass in East Mountain Prefecture, situated at the junction of Ying Country, Xue Country, and Fann Kingdom.

It was said that Three Realms Pass housed over three thousand unique peaks resembling humans, beasts, weapons, or instruments. These peaks were vividly lifelike and majestically grand, earning it the reputation of "three thousand strange peaks and eight hundred beautiful waters."

Due to its terrain, commoners rarely ventured here, and even the court found it difficult to control every corner of Three Realms Pass.

As a result, it became a gathering spot for cultivators and seekers of immortality.

"Perfect!"

Chen Jichuan couldn’t help but laugh.

Drifting across the seas for half a year and traveling overland for another half year,

he felt a bit worn out.

As he reached Ying Country, with Three Realms Pass being so lively and unique, Chen Jichuan decided not to venture anywhere further.

"This will do."

With a hearty laugh, Chen Jichuan’s voice resonated through the valley, spreading to the adjacent mountain and eastern and western slopes, as loud as a bell, leaving lingering echoes.

Looking down below.

The cliff walls on both sides rose to a height of over two hundred zhang. The geological conditions in the valley were favorable; developing medicine fields and spirit lands would be ideal.

Thus, he didn’t search further and decided to settle in this place.

Because voices echoed in this valley whether shouted from the top or bottom, Chen Jichuan named it "Echo Valley."

...

"Seven years in the mortal world."

"One year of wandering."

"I’ve finally settled down."

After establishing himself in Echo Valley, Chen Jichuan rested for seven or eight days before starting to set up his dwelling, cultivate medicine fields, and develop spirit lands.

Just like on Flying Bird Island, he first leveled the land and then buried a simple "Spirit Gathering Array."

Afterward, at the entrance to Echo Valley, he set up an "Eight Gates Glass Light Formation" using eight "Liguang Mirrors" to prevent intruders.

In the newly cultivated medicine garden, he planted twelve "Green Jiao Flags," setting up the "Twelve Azure Dragon Formation" to keep birds and beasts from damaging the medicinal herbs.

On Shamen Island, Chen Jichuan had slain innate cultivators and obtained three array formations in total.

Besides these two formations, he also had the "Inverted Five Elements Formation," known as a minor forbidden formation. It had a small coverage area and no active enemy-killing abilities, but it could create illusions to disguise the sect’s entrance and confuse or trap opponents.

When combined with the "Eight Gates Glass Light Formation," they complemented each other, greatly enhancing Echo Valley’s safety and secrecy.

However, Chen Jichuan was currently only mimicking the arrangements of these formations. He was still exploring the intricacies of array transformations and could not control or rearrange them freely.

These formations could fend off birds, beasts, ordinary folks, and Postnatal cultivators to some extent.

But if faced with an Innate cultivator, these mere deathly formations would likely be insufficient, and Chen Jichuan would need to intervene personally.

Still, with so many peaks in Three Realms Pass, Echo Valley was relatively inconspicuous, and the chances of attracting an Innate cultivator were low, so there was no need to worry too much.

Time flowed by.

Since settling in Echo Valley, Chen Jichuan returned to his usual routine—

being "offline" for about half the year.

It didn’t always mean being absent for six months straight; he usually disappeared for one or two months at a time.

In normal days, he cultivated, farmed, and refined pills.

He also selected disciples from the secular world to teach and guide daily.

Each day was fulfilling.

In terms of cultivation,

his Inner Strength, external skills, and Daoist Skill had all reached the Sixth Layer.

Further progress in cultivation was slower.

Yet progress was made daily as he steadily aimed toward the Innate realm, Transforming Strength, and Soul Emergence.

Cultivation could not be rushed.

Without the aid of Source Power, haste could undermine the foundation.

In the Dao Fruit World, time was the least valuable resource, and Chen Jichuan was unwilling to waste Source Power here.

Additionally, he wished to use this opportunity to consolidate insights he had gained from the "Da Liang Dao Fruit," "Qizhenzi Dao Fruit," and "Ann Jishi Dao Fruit" before opening the Jade Spring World.

Firstly, to solidify his foundation.

Secondly, it might assist him in breaking through his limits in the future.

There were natural limits to daily cultivation practices; he couldn’t afford to be reckless, which left him with more free time.

Beyond studying the "Sword Map," "Chen’s 72 Skills," and "Taiyin Refining Body Technique," Chen Jichuan practiced swordsmanship, refined pills, explored magic, cultivated medicine, grew Spirit Rice, and taught disciples.

His schedule was tightly packed, and his life was exceptionally fulfilling.

Whenever he made progress in swordsmanship, he felt deeply delighted.

Whenever he mastered the refinement of a kind of pill, he was exhilarated for days.

Whenever he gained new insights into magic techniques and advanced their power, he couldn’t contain his joy.

Cultivation was like learning.

Once immersed, it felt far from tedious; instead, it became a source of pleasure. Each achievement was like solving a challenging problem or enjoying a bowl of cold tea on a sweltering summer day, leaving him entirely refreshed and content.

In his second life,

he relied neither on pills nor Source Power but solely on his own efforts to cultivate.

As a result, Chen Jichuan’s cultivation progressed rapidly.

By the first year of living in Echo Valley, eight years after entering the Jade Spring World, he had reached the Sixth Layer in Inner Strength, external skills, and Daoist Skill.

Six years passed.

With his internal power deepened, Dantian opened, spirit and qi united, he successfully reached Innate.

Another ten years later,

his Innate Internal Power saturating his Dantian transformed into True Qi, achieving the Second Realm of Innate: the True Qi Realm.

After another sixteen years,

his Innate True Qi reached perfection, its quantitative change triggering a qualitative transformation into Innate True Yuan, achieving a state of endless vitality and perpetual circulation.

His mastery of the "Sword Map" reached the Ninth Layer, achieving the Third Realm of Innate: the True Essence Realm.

By now,

Chen Jichuan was just one step away from the Innate limit and Inner Strength Tenth Layer seen in the Jade Spring Mountain and Mysterious Nether Sea.

That year,

Chen Jichuan was fifty-seven years old, with a bone age of forty-one. He had entered the Jade Spring World thirty-nine years earlier and lived in Echo Valley for thirty-two years.

...

In the golden autumn season.

The sky was clear and boundless.

On this day.

A mighty eagle spread its wings, carrying a scholarly man clad in a long robe on its back, his hands gripping the reins tightly.

The fierce wind howled.

He struggled to maintain his balance, lest he be thrown off and meet a shattering end.

The eagle’s speed was astonishing.

Even with a passenger, its swiftness barely diminished.

Taking off at dawn, pausing briefly at noon, by dusk it had already traversed over two thousand li, reaching Echo Valley in Three Realms Pass.

The eagle swooped down.

From above, Echo Valley had an entirely different appearance.

Not only had the valley gained a few majestic buildings, but outside the valley stood numerous palaces—some embedded into cliff walls, some perched halfway up mountains, and others towering atop peaks.

A closer count revealed,

there were at least a dozen palaces and over a hundred rooms.

Some practiced swordsmanship atop mountain peaks, while others honed martial arts in water or meditated on cloud platforms...

Each person engaged in their pursuits, diverse yet orderly.

The eagle landed, descending upon Yaozi Mountain behind Echo Valley.

Wun Shouyang dismounted, his hair and robe slightly disheveled.

A disciple stepped forward, bowed deeply, and addressed him, "First Senior Brother."

"Is Master in the valley?"

As Wun Shouyang handed the reins of the eagle to the disciple, he asked aloud.

"The Grandmaster is in the Sword Pavilion."

The disciple responded respectfully as he took hold of the eagle.

"Very well."

Wun Shouyang nodded, tidying up his disheveled robe and hair casually as he strode down the mountain toward Echo Valley.

He went straight into the "Sword Pavilion."

In the center of the hall stood a young man with his back to the door, wielding a sword as if playing a qin. The faint sound of strings filled the air, alternating between the clamor of metal and horses and the tenderness of deep affection.

It left an enigmatic impression.

Seemingly sensing Wun Shouyang’s arrival, the youth slowly sheathed his sword.

Seeing this, Wun Shouyang hurriedly bowed toward the young man in the hall and said, "Master, your mastery of the ’Seven-stringed Immortal Surprising Sword Technique’ grows ever more profound; I trust you are nearing the Divine Realm."

Echo Valley was renowned in Three Realms Pass for its external skills and swordsmanship.

This "Seven-stringed Immortal Surprising Sword Technique" was among the finest of its sword arts. Despite his years of practice, Wun Shouyang admitted he was far below the skill of the master who founded Echo Valley.

"What have you found?"

The young man ignored Wun Shouyang’s flattery and asked directly.

Wun Shouyang, scholarly and refined, appreciated his master’s concern. His heart grew anxious as he promptly replied, "In the northern Fann Kingdom, a certain Immortal Master has recently gained fame, going by the name Zhang Zhihe, and has been appointed ’State Preceptor’ by the Fann royal court. Reportedly, this man excels in the Vajra cross-training method. Early on, he widely spread the technique, training many cross-training experts. However, in recent years, these accomplished practitioners have mysteriously disappeared one by one. Four of our fellow disciples—Senior Disciples Bian, Kang, Meng, and Huang—who had reached Transforming Strength and were traveling the Jianghu challenging various experts, also vanished without a trace in Fann Kingdom."

"You suspect it was Zhang Zhihe who acted against them?"

At these words, the young man turned abruptly.

His face was youthful and elegant, exuding an ethereal aura. He was none other than Chen Jichuan, who had traveled from the Mysterious Nether Sea and established himself in Echo Valley in Three Realms Pass.

Thirty or so years had passed in a moment.

Living secluded in the mountains, Chen Jichuan relied on pills, magic artifacts, and his skills to build a vast enterprise effortlessly.

In the first year of arriving at Echo Valley, he had already taken in twelve disciples from East Mountain Prefecture, diligently teaching them the "Sword Map" or "Chen’s 72 Skills."

Later, he gradually accepted over a dozen more disciples.

These disciples, in turn, trained their own disciples.

From Chen Jichuan’s generation onward, in just three generations and thirty-two years, Echo Valley had grown to house over a hundred disciples.

On Shamen Island, Chen Jichuan had acquired nearly a thousand pills, and over the years, he continuously refined his alchemy skills, producing thousands more.

Aside from selling a small portion to exchange for medicinal herbs and Spirit Stones,

most of the pills were distributed to the disciples of Echo Valley to strengthen their capabilities.

Unlike in the real world,

investing in personal cultivation or in enhancements like the "Five Ghosts Yin Soldiers Skill" and "Paper Cutting into Soldiers Skill" would yield negligible long-term benefits compared to training disciples.

Even cultivation and magic would stagnate when Chen Jichuan returned to reality.

Though the Five Ghosts Yin Soldiers and paper soldiers would continue growing in power, their progress would slow significantly without Chen Jichuan’s daily rituals, even if not entirely halted.

The disciples, however, were different.

Even when Chen Jichuan was offline, their cultivation and growth would continue unabated.

After decades or centuries,

these disciples and their descendants would become Chen Jichuan’s greatest strength.

Much like "White Jade City" in the Da Liang World,

or "Chen Sect" in the Great Yann World.

Chen Jichuan deeply understood this principle.

Therefore,

he expended a portion of his energy on teaching disciples. The initial effort might be arduous, but once the first batch of disciples matured, the sect would develop autonomously, managed by these disciples.

In this lifetime,

Chen Jichuan also delved into alchemy, using the pills he refined not for himself but rather to nurture his disciples, which he found most suitable.

With the experiences from "White Jade City" and "Chen Sect," it didn’t take long for Echo Valley to flourish.

Among the original twelve disciples and the subsequent eighteen, all possessed Spirit Roots, and their talents were exceptional.

With someone like Chen Jichuan as their master,

alongside Qi Eater Powder, Qi Storage Pills, and Innate Pills,

these disciples achieved great success.

Many of them either reached the Innate realm or mastered Transforming Strength,

earning the external titles of Echo Valley’s "Twelve Swords" and "Thirteen Grand Protectors."

Among them, "Bian, Kang, Meng, and Huang" mastered "Chen’s 72 Skills" to perfection and became known as the Four Grand Protectors among Echo Valley’s Thirteen Grand Protectors.

The four shared a close bond,

often traveling together in the Jianghu, exchanging techniques and skills with other masters, their names well-known. Yet eight months ago, when they journeyed through Fann Kingdom, they vanished without a trace.

Initially, Echo Valley remained unaware.

It wasn’t until last month, during the sect’s triennial martial arts competition, that their absence raised suspicion among Wun Shouyang and others. They reported to Chen Jichuan and dispatched disciples to investigate.

Finally, at the beginning of this month, they identified the location where the four were last seen.

Wun Shouyang, the leader of Echo Valley’s "Twelve Swords" and the wielder of the Jade Dragon Sword, personally ventured to Fann Kingdom to investigate thoroughly, ultimately pinpointing State Preceptor Zhang Zhihe as the prime suspect.

...

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