My path to immortality began with my posting to guard Dawancun.

Chapter 31 Old things
"The Four Fiends of Heshan...it's them?!"

"No wonder Zhao Family Village has fallen into such a miserable state, it's no wonder!"

"Yes, I never expected these people to appear here! Fortunately, an immortal intervened and eliminated them once and for all. From now on, there will be four less notorious cultivators in this area!"

"Brother Ding, judging from your words, you know them? Would you be willing to tell me a little about them?"

"Oh, so you're the new guy, Brother Xu. That's no problem at all."

Not long after,
After about half a day,
People from all six villages have sent representatives to gather in Zhao Family Village.

to be frank,
They began to witness the tragic state of Zhao Family Village together.
Many people are feeling uneasy.

It was feared that Master Shen from Dawan Village wanted to annex Zhao Family Village, which was why the attack was launched.

However, the doubts in my heart soon dissipated.

Because they saw the four corpses hanging in the center of Zhao Family Village and recognized the identities of the four corpses one after another.

Obviously,

The disaster in Zhao Family Village is most likely related to the Four Fiends of Heshan.

Only then did I breathe a sigh of relief.

For a time,

The square was filled with the sounds of conversation and discussion.

The origins of the Four Fiends of Heshan were also uncovered by those who knew them.

The Four Fiends of Heshan were a group of notorious thieves.

Every summer and autumn harvest season, when caravans depart from Qingcheng and travel throughout the desolate borderlands trading with various minor cultivation factions...

It's time for them to make their move.

Given their strength, they naturally wouldn't dare to provoke those caravans.

So they turned their attention to the processions from various villages heading to the market to trade.

Just like after the autumn harvest,

If Shen Changchuan wanted to acquire more cultivation resources, he could only transport his share of spirit grain to Wujiaji and trade it with the caravan.

The Four Fiends of Heshan were targeting groups like this one heading to the nearby market.

They lay in ambush on the mountain path.

Like hyenas, they roamed around.

Once a target is spotted, pounce on it and devour it whole, skin and bones.

Unless there is a cultivator at the late stage of Qi Refining in charge, or the forces of several nearby villages band together, encountering them would almost certainly mean certain death.

These men have a notorious reputation.
Small cultivation families are frequently plundered by them, leading to their demise.

However, ten years ago,

During one of their raids, they mistakenly killed the men of Wujiaji.

As a result, the Wu family of Wujiaji issued a formal warrant for his arrest.

So much so that over the years,

He dared not set foot in the nearby area and wandered around in other places.

Although the reason for the return of these four villains is unknown.
But one thing is certain.
That means Zhao Family Village was most likely destroyed by them.

Given the infamous reputation of the Four Fiends of Heshan,

It's not surprising that he did such a thing.

"Although these four thieves have been executed, I am not sure how many other bandits like them are still out there."

"After you return, please strengthen patrols and security. If there are any issues, you can come to Dawan Village to find me."

After exchanging pleasantries, explaining the specifics, and building rapport,

Shen Changchuan addressed the group of people who had arrived, offering a reminder.

These words caused some cultivators in several villages to feel worried.

Regardless of the motives of the Four Fiends of Heshan, one thing is certain: if their target is them, they will likely suffer the same fate as Zhao Family Village.

But there's probably no other way; all we can do is strengthen our connections and help each other.

However, they all expressed their hope that they could travel together when they went to Wujiaji to trade after the autumn harvest.

Shen Changchuan did not object to this.

Having someone familiar with the area to guide you is quite helpful.

Coming from Tiannan City, thousands of miles away, he didn't know much about the surrounding area.

Furthermore,
These people send 70% of their harvest each season as "protection money."
Shen Changchuan felt that he should at least play a role to be worthy of the "protection fee" paid by others.

Zhao Family Village is now in dire need of reconstruction.

It's also inconvenient to entertain guests.

So everyone stayed in the village for only half a day before saying goodbye and leaving.

The matter has come to an end.

Seeing that the others did not object to or resist his taking over Zhao Family Village, but were instead extremely worried about the possible calamity, he realized that they were not against it.

Shen Changchuan nodded slightly in agreement.
I am quite satisfied with how things have turned out.

In this way, the two acres of spiritual land in Zhao Family Village came into his possession.

Some truths should not be concealed.

Show it off openly and honestly.
On the contrary, it is more effective in solving the problem.

Just like this time,
to be frank,
If Shen Changchuan kept all news under wraps and then quietly took over the fields in Zhao Family Village.

Needless to say, those outsiders who are unaware of the inside story are probably all in a state of panic.

The speculation is that Shen Changchuan has made a move against Zhao Family Village, and they might be his next target.
After that, rumors spread.

This caused widespread panic.

Even if they try to refute the rumors later, it will only breed bigger rumors, which may lead to unfortunate consequences later.

Watching the group of cultivators leave,

Shen Changchuan turned around.

Back in the village hall.

Han Qinhu was already waiting in the lobby.

"Grandpa, how did it go? Did he confess?"

Upon seeing Han Qinhu, a hint of joy flashed in Shen Changchuan's eyes, and he asked.

My maternal grandfather, Han Qinhu, had traveled all over the country for many years, and his life experience was far richer than Shen Changchuan's.
Therefore, Shen Changchuan entrusted the task of interrogating Zhao Hangao to his maternal grandfather, Han Qinhu.

Han Qinhu is now waiting in the lobby, holding a large stack of records in his hand.

Clearly, there have been some results. "Fortunately, probably because of the massacre of his entire family, that person's spirit has been completely destroyed. He basically answers any question. The things are all here, take a look."

Han Qinhu nodded and answered.

However, his expression was somewhat uneasy, as if he had seen a huge secret that he shouldn't have seen.

Shen Changchuan didn't notice his reaction and started browsing through it.

So that's how it is!

After reviewing all the materials, Shen Changchuan breathed a sigh of relief.
His brows furrowed, and he remained silent for a long time.

The worst-case scenario did not occur; the Four Fiends of Heshan did not come to take his life on anyone's orders.

in contrast,

There might also be a great opportunity hidden within.

This is a long story.

It is directly related to the old story of Dawancun changing hands twenty years ago.

Twenty years ago,

A member of a collateral branch of the Shen family came from afar to search for treasure in this desolate land.

As a result of unfamiliarity with the climate
During the rainy season when a leech infestation broke out, he was trapped in Dawan Village and met the head of the Hu family, who were the owners of Dawan Village at the time.

After the rainy season ended, the Shen family branch, having experienced the rainy season firsthand, understood that if he wanted to go into the mountains, he would need a local as a guide.

Otherwise, if they encountered a leech infestation during the rainy season in the mountains, they might die a gruesome death.

Therefore, the Hu family entrusted the matter to the Zhao family in Zhao Village.

Zhao Han Gao was still young at that time.

He had no choice but to become the guide for that branch of the Shen family.

later,

Under Zhao Hangao's guidance
The member of the Shen family's collateral branch successfully entered the depths of the mountains and forests, and based on the map on his person, found the ruins of a cave in a secluded place on a cliff.

Zhao Hangao was unable to enter that cave.

The Shen family's collateral branch opened the outer barrier gate using a personal token.

Zhao Hangao, who was outside, was unaware of the specific situation inside.

However, the fluctuations from the outer perimeter of the cave were at least at the Nascent Soul level!

No one would have imagined that deep within this desolate and uninhabited forest of monsters, there was actually a cave dwelling of a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator!
While Zhao Hangao was excited, he also keenly noticed something.

Faced with such an enormous fortune, the collateral branch of the Shen family might very well silence him to keep it a secret!
So he fled back ahead of time.

However, the matter was discovered by the then-head of the Hu family midway through.
They were called in to inquire about the specifics.

In his panic, Zhao Hangao revealed the details of the situation. He also cleverly used some rhetoric to persuade the head of the Hu family to release him and focus his main attention on the ruins of the Nascent Soul cultivator.

later,

The Shen family branch, returning from the mountains, was ambushed by the Hu family, who had suddenly turned against them, and was killed by the latter.

Upon hearing the news, Zhao Hangao panicked, fearing that the head of the Hu family would kill him and the entire Zhao family.

Fortunately,

He had already secretly reported this matter to the Shen family in advance.

In order to gain the trust of the Shen family, they even revealed some information about the ruins of a true cultivator at the Out-of-Body level.

Sure enough, not long after,
A true cultivator from the Shen family at the Nascent Soul stage arrived and swept everything away.

The Hu family, the previous owners of Dawancun, were all murdered.

Dawancun thus became a prize of the Shen family, who then sent people to oversee and manage it.

And Zhao Han Gao, who is key among them,
This is because the events of that year involved cultivators, and apart from those directly involved, outsiders were unaware of the specific details. Furthermore, he concealed it extremely well.

After the successive deaths of the heads of the Hu family, a branch of the Shen family, no one knew that he was hiding a great secret.

As a result, he managed to get away with it and is still alive today.

And all this,
Until the birth of his son, Zhao Jingming.

Because he was the only son, Zhao Hangao spoiled him excessively from a young age, granting him every wish.

He even revealed a secret he had kept hidden in his heart, which he had never told anyone before, to his only son, Zhao Jingming, after getting drunk one night.

This,

Yet it is also the root of all disasters.

Perhaps it's because he grew up being pampered and had everything go too smoothly.

Zhao Jingming felt he possessed the qualities of an immortal, but his background limited his potential.

He wanted to pursue freedom and a thrilling life of cultivation.

So he ran away from home.
To roam the world

The results that followed are now clear.

Mistakenly associating with scoundrels

Leaking top secrets

This led to the extermination of their entire family.

"The cultivation world is truly fraught with danger at every turn!"

"But then again, I've suffered an undeserved misfortune?!"

After much thought, Shen Changchuan finally sorted out the whole story.

After Zhao Jingming revealed the secret, the Four Fiends of Heshan secretly followed.

Since Zhao Jingming's life and death were in their hands, Zhao Hangao dared not make any moves and could only cooperate with all their actions.

The reason for targeting Shen Changchuan is quite simple.
They had visited that cave ruin.

From the outside, one can vaguely sense that the core is still intact.

The reason why the collateral branch of the Shen family left back then must have been due to some internal trials and obstacles that forced them to depart.

The lineage of most of the true cultivators at the Nascent Soul Realm inside is still intact!

However, the array and restrictions set up by a true cultivator at the Nascent Soul stage were too strong.
To get inside,

We need that token that was in the possession of a collateral branch of the Shen family back then.

And they felt that,
The token that allowed the collateral branch of the Shen family to open the outer gate fell into Shen Changchuan's possession.

otherwise,

The Shen family is a great family of cultivators. Why would the head of the family need to come to such a remote place as Dawan Village?
There's definitely something fishy going on here!
Even if they weren't there, they would definitely be in Dawan Village, and thus not discovered by the Shen family!
then,

This led to the encirclement and killing.

Their preparations were not actually aimed at Shen Changchuan.
Rather, they are potential protectors behind Shen Changchuan!
(End of this chapter)