I picked up skill fragments in the demon world

Zhang Chen peered through the faint light, and what came into view was a small Taoist boy of four or five years old. His hair was styled in the traditional Taoist bun, and he looked at her with rosy lips and white teeth. His eyes were clear and bright, like a pure lake, only the lake was rippling with water vapor gathering.

With a look of grievance, he held a finger up to Zhang Chen, made a shushing gesture near his lips, and then cautiously shrank back into the corner.

Zhang Chen couldn't help but be stunned by this. At this moment, footsteps approached from outside the door, and the two figures stood in front of the offering table. Elder Wu frowned as he looked at the mess on the table: "These disciples are becoming more and more undisciplined."

"This disciple will certainly punish them later and make them remember this lesson," said another deep-voiced middle-aged man.

Elder Wu nodded upon hearing this: "How are you arranging the preparations for the rebellion I asked you to make? You must know that this uprising is related to the gathering of incense. If our Yellow Heaven Taoism can gather a large amount of incense before the imperial court reacts and create a twelfth-level deity, our Yellow Heaven Taoism will have a place in this world. Especially that damned Peace Border King's Mansion, we will also have the opportunity to overthrow it and restore justice to the people of the Northern Lands."

As Elder Wu spoke, he subconsciously stroked his chest. He had not had an easy time when Zhang Shicheng was chasing him, and he almost died. Fortunately, he had mastered a secret technique that allowed him to evade Zhang Shicheng's pursuit.

In the end, he stalled for time until Zhang Shicheng had no choice but to reincarnate. However, once he returned in the future, the Peace Border King's Mansion would definitely not spare him. It would be better to strike first, destroy the Peace Border King's Mansion, and cut off that old thing's luck, so that his own pressure could be reduced.

Hearing Elder Wu's words, the other person said: "It's not ripe yet. There are still grass roots and bark in the mountains, and the people can still survive. This disciple is still waiting for an opportune time and place to accomplish the great task."

As they were talking, a 'gurgling' sound suddenly came from under the offering table, startling Elder Wu and the other man. Elder Wu roared like thunder: "Who's there? Who is there?"

Elder Wu retreated directly to the doorway, while the other man drew an iron ruler from his waist and swept it across the curtain of the offering table, revealing two figures.

"Abbot," the little Taoist boy crawled out from under the table and knelt on the futon, his voice full of entreaty: "This disciple did not intentionally overhear."

The abbot ignored the little Taoist boy and looked at Zhang Chen. Zhang Chen also looked at the abbot, his eyes full of astonishment, because the person in front of him was actually an acquaintance, the old farmer who had come to Cui the blacksmith's house to buy prey in the past.

Zhang Chen remembered that his surname was Liu.

He had transformed into an abbot.

The abbot saw that Zhang Chen had also seen him, and then quickly opened his mouth and scolded: "You wretch, why don't you come out quickly."

Zhang Chen's scalp was tingling at this moment. He probably knew that he had caused trouble, and it was a huge disaster. If he was not careful, he would be finished here today.

"Kneel down," the old farmer looked at Zhang Chen and desperately winked at Zhang Chen.

Zhang Chen hesitated slightly upon hearing this, but still chose to kneel down obediently.

There was no way, facing the old monster Wu Changlao, he couldn't run away!

Not to mention Wu Changlao, his main skill, water control, was not in its element, and it was not easy to mobilize.

On weekdays, drawing groundwater on land to water vegetables, cook rice, and take a bath was fine, but if he wanted to draw groundwater for a decisive battle, at that speed, he was afraid that he would be finished before the water could be drawn out.

Looking at Zhang Chen's tattered clothes, the abbot turned his head to look at Elder Wu: "Master, one of them is a young boy from the Taoist temple, and the other is a new disciple I recruited from the mountain. He just came from the mountain and doesn't understand the rules. Look at his embarrassed appearance now. He even disregards the rules and comes to the main hall to steal offerings. It's simply outrageous. This disciple will definitely punish him well when he returns and make him remember this lesson."

Elder Wu swept his eyes over the little Taoist boy, his gaze did not linger on the little Taoist boy, and then landed on Zhang Chen, a thoughtful look in his eyes: "Since he is your disciple, then he must be well disciplined. In the next three years, you must not let the two of them go down the mountain even half a step."

"This disciple obeys," the abbot said respectfully.

Elder Wu nodded slightly to the abbot, then put his hands behind his back and walked unhurriedly into the distance.

The abbot's gaze swept over the two of them, and the little Taoist boy immediately looked at the abbot with a grievance: "Master~, will this disciple not see the sun tomorrow?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? Fortunately, you met Elder Wu. This man has compassion in his heart, otherwise, I'm afraid that you two would not be able to walk out of the main hall alive today," the abbot looked at Zhang Chen, a trace of incomprehension in his eyes: "How did you get here?"

Where did Zhang Chen dare to tell the truth? Hearing the abbot's question, Zhang Chen quickly said: "There is a drought at home, and we really can't survive. I wanted to go to the mountains to hunt, but who knew I would encounter a pack of wolves. So I stumbled around in the mountains for three days without seeing rice or water. I happened to meet a Taoist temple and wanted to ask for something to eat, but who knew I would run into this kind of thing."

As Zhang Chen spoke, he opened his eyes and looked at the old farmer in front of him, but he saw that there was no mysterious aura around the old farmer, and he secretly wondered why Wu Changlao possessed such heaven-piercing abilities, while the abbot in front of him was still a mortal?

"Did you hear everything I and Elder Wu talked about just now?" The abbot looked at Zhang Chen.

Zhang Chen hesitated slightly, but finally nodded.

"Then stay in the Taoist temple from now on," the abbot looked at Zhang Chen, countless thoughts flashing in his mind: "My Yellow Dawn Temple doesn't lack a mouthful of food for you. If you can learn some skills to protect yourself here, you won't starve to death in the future when the world is in chaos."

Speaking of this, the abbot looked at Zhang Chen and said in a gentle voice: "Are you willing?"

"This disciple is willing, this disciple is willing to worship you as my teacher, please accept this disciple, Master," Zhang Chen was also clever, he saw that the abbot in front of him did not seem like a bad person, and quickly opened his mouth and gave a respectful salute.

The abbot shook his head upon hearing this: "You will cultivate with Chengyu from now on."

"Whether according to seniority or according to ability, Chengyu is enough to teach you." Speaking of this, the abbot explained: "Chengyu is a rare genius, who has integrated his whole body strength into one, and even derived a yin and yang change, controlling it at will, and has already reached the stage of transformation. This person is one of the most outstanding geniuses in my Yellow Dawn Temple's future. His pure heart is the most outstanding among the three thousand disciples of my Yellow Dawn Temple. In the future, he will definitely be able to break through the void and see the gods!"

Hearing this, Zhang Chen looked at the little bean next to him. The other person was only up to his thigh, with two sky-high buns tied on his head, and his skin was as white and delicate as snow, and he seemed to be exuding a milky fragrance. There were cake crumbs hanging on the corners of his mouth. He didn't look like an expert at all.

“Cheng Yu, from now on, he is your junior brother. You will teach him martial arts and guide him in reciting scriptures.” The old Taoist looked at the little bean sprout and instructed, “You must teach him well and not lead him astray.”

“He's my junior brother?” The little bean sprout's eyes lit up upon hearing this, as if she had thought of something fun. Then, she quickly put her hands behind her back, acting like an adult, and said in a pretentious manner, “Junior brother, you will follow me from now on. I will definitely teach you selflessly, cultivate you well, and train you to become the pillar of our Taoist temple.”

Listening to the little bean sprout's words, especially seeing the crumbs still on her face, Zhang Chen felt speechless and didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

“Zhang Chen greets Senior Sister Cheng Yu. Please take care of me in the future,” Zhang Chen said helplessly.

Cheng Yu nodded pretentiously, wanting to pat Zhang Chen's shoulder, but after standing on tiptoe, she could only reach Zhang Chen's chest. Her little face fell, feeling that her dignity had been completely lost, but she still pretended to be calm and said:

“Good junior brother! Follow your senior sister, and I guarantee you'll become an indestructible god in the future.”

The old Taoist glanced at the funny Cheng Yu, then looked at Zhang Chen: “What's your name?”

“Disciple Zhang Chen,” Zhang Chen replied quickly.

“I've remembered it.” The old Taoist nodded and solemnly reiterated, “You are a smart person, so remember, do not go down the mountain! Do not leave the Taoist temple!”

Zhang Chen, of course, knew the meaning of his words.

To be honest, his impression of the Yellow Sky Tao had greatly changed at this time.

“Cheng Yu, you will live with Zhang Chen from now on and ask Zhang Chen to take care of your food and daily life. You go and help him settle down, and then teach him his daily lessons,” the old Taoist said unhurriedly.

Cheng Yu nodded, her little face stern, and turned to Zhang Chen and said, “What's with your tattered clothes? It's simply a disgrace to the prestige of my Yellow Dawn Temple. I'll take you to wash up and then get your clothes and waist牌 (waist badge).”

As she spoke, the little girl reached out and pulled Zhang Chen's sleeve, walking towards the gate.

Watching the backs of Zhang Chen and Cheng Yu, the temple master couldn't help but shake his head: “It really is fate.”

After the two had walked away, Elder Wu's figure reappeared in the main hall. The temple master quickly bowed: “Greetings, Master.”

Elder Wu looked up and down at the temple master, looking at his disciple's honest and simple face, which looked like an honest old farmer. This face was too deceptive. If he didn't know the details of his disciple, he was afraid that everyone would be deceived.

“Liu Feng ah!” Elder Wu said slowly.

“Disciple is here,” the temple master replied quickly.

“When did you actually have a sense of compassion?” Elder Wu asked with a smile.

The temple master was so shocked that he knelt on the ground: “Master, this disciple just feels that the young man was only accidentally involved and does not deserve to die. As long as he is trapped in the Taoist temple, why take his life? Moreover, this disciple has seen that young man down the mountain before. He is indeed just a child from a hunter's family and will not ruin our grand plan.”

Elder Wu was silent upon hearing this, looking at Liu Feng, who was kneeling on the ground begging for mercy. After a long time, he said, “How much do you know about that young man?”

Upon hearing this, Liu Feng patted his chest and guaranteed, “This disciple knows everything! When you asked me to go down the mountain to find the source of the Dragon Walking, this disciple recognized that young man and also conducted a detailed investigation of that young man.”

As he spoke, Liu Feng poured out the information he had found out like beans, and Elder Wu's eyes showed a hint of surprise: “Is it that simple?”

“It's that simple,” Liu Feng said respectfully.

Elder Wu scratched his chin, secretly surprised and uncertain: “Could it be that I saw the wrong person? That shouldn't be!”

The main thing was that Zhang Chen was wearing a mask at the time, and he could only judge through his body shape and movements.

Liu Feng raised his head and carefully looked at his master, who was deep in thought. Seeing that his master was silent, he quickly added, “The most important thing is that after seeing this person, this disciple doesn't know why, but it's as if he saw his dead son, and he felt inexplicably close. If my son hadn't died, he should be about the same age as him.”

“Since you have taken a fancy to him, then cultivate him well. Maybe in the future, you can cultivate a backbone for my Yellow Sky Tao,” Elder Wu glanced at Liu Feng meaningfully and walked towards the door again.

Liu Feng raised his head and looked at the back of his master, and the same doubt arose in his heart: How could he not know what kind of temperament his master had? Logically speaking, that young man should have been killed by his master long ago. Why was his master so magnanimous today?

His master had always been meticulous and would rather kill a thousand by mistake than let one go. He originally thought that he would have to pay a great price today to beg for mercy to save that young man, but he didn't expect that he had thought too much. His master had actually dismissed it lightly.

“Strange! Why do I feel that my master is strange today?” Liu Feng knelt on the futon, his eyes looking at the back of his master, always feeling that something was not quite right.

Let's talk about Zhang Chen. He was pulled out of the main hall by the little bean sprout, and from a distance, it looked like a father was holding a daughter.

“That was close today. I almost thought I was going to die!” After walking to a place where no one was around, the little bean sprout turned her head to look at the direction of the main hall with lingering fear and patted her chest hard.

Zhang Chen glanced at the little bean sprout. He wasn't nervous. At worst, he would fake his death.

“Aren't you afraid?” The little bean sprout suddenly raised her head, her big black and white eyes looking at Zhang Chen.

Zhang Chen shook his head upon hearing this: “I'm not afraid.”

“Why aren't you afraid?” The little bean sprout was puzzled.

“Not afraid is just not afraid,” Zhang Chen said with a smile. As he spoke, he looked at the cute little bean sprout and couldn't help but touch her head.

But who knew that this touch would immediately make the little bean sprout explode, her eyes full of anger: “Rude! I am your senior sister, how can you be disrespectful to your senior sister?”

Zhang Chen looked at the little bean sprout, who was like a cat whose fur had been ruffled, and couldn't help but pinch her fair face, wiping away the pastry crumbs from the corner of her mouth.

Looking at the pastry crumbs on Zhang Chen's fingertips, the little bean sprout suddenly deflated, as if she felt that the dignity she had worked so hard to maintain had been directly shattered by the pastry crumbs, swept away cleanly, leaving nothing behind. The whole person was like a defeated rooster, walking ahead dejectedly.

“What's wrong with you?” Zhang Chen looked at the little bean sprout and asked curiously.

(ps: After writing for so long, I can finally embark on the path of cultivation, and the world's curtain is slowly being unveiled. The protagonist's unique path of cultivation will be revealed soon. The protagonist and Elder Wu, the reincarnated Zhang Shicheng, compete in wits and courage, and various foreshadowings are finally beginning.)