Old Affairs

"The Four Fiends of Heshan, it was them?!"

"No wonder Zhao Family Village ended up in such a sorry state, no wonder!"

"Yeah, I never expected these few would show up here! Thankfully, an immortal intervened and resolved them once and for all. Now, there are four more infamous robber cultivators gone from this area!"

"Brother Ding, your words suggest you recognize them? Could you perhaps tell me a bit about them?"

"Oh, so it's the newcomer, Brother Xu. Of course, I can."

Not too long after, About half a day passed, People from six villages had already sent representatives to gather at Zhao Family Village.

To be honest, When they first saw the tragic state of Zhao Family Village, Many people felt uneasy.

They feared that it was Master Shen from Great Bay Village who wanted to annex Zhao Family Village, and thus had instigated the attack.

However, this suspicion quickly vanished.

Because they saw the four corpses hanging in the center of Zhao Family Village and subsequently recognized the identities of the four bodies.

Clearly, Zhao Family Village's disaster was, at the very least, nine times out of ten, related to these Four Fiends of Heshan.

And only then did they breathe a sigh of relief.

For a time, Discussions and chatter filled the square.

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

The Four Fiends of Heshan were a group of notorious robber cultivators.

Every summer and autumn harvest, when merchant caravans departed from Qing City to trade with various small cultivator forces across the borderlands, That was when they would strike.

With their strength, they naturally wouldn't dare provoke those merchant caravans.

So, they turned their attention to the groups from various villages heading to the market for trade.

Just like after the autumn harvest, If Shen Changchuan wanted to obtain more cultivation resources, he could only transport his share of spirit grain to Wu Family Market to trade with the merchants.

And the Four Fiends of Heshan had their sights set on teams like these, heading to nearby markets.

They would lie in ambush on the mountain paths, Like hyenas, they roamed the surroundings.

Once they found a target they could exploit, they would pounce directly, devouring them whole, skin and bone.

Unless they had a cultivator in the late Qi Gathering stage guarding them, or if the nearby villages banded together, encountering them meant almost certain death.

These few were infamous for their brutality, Occasionally, small cultivator families were plundered by them, leading to their demise.

However, ten years ago, During one of their plundering attempts, they accidentally killed people from Wu Family Market.

As a result, Wu Family Market's Wu Family issued a formal warrant for their arrest, And because of that, in the following years, They dared not set foot in the nearby regions, wandering in other places.

Although they didn't know why the four fiends had returned, One thing was certain:

Zhao Family Village was, nine times out of ten, wiped out by them.

Given the notorious reputation of the Four Fiends of Heshan, It wasn't strange for them to commit such an act.

"Although these four scoundrels have been executed, I'm not sure how many robber cultivator bandits like them are still out there."

"Everyone, please strengthen your patrols and defenses after you return. If anything happens, you can come find me at Great Bay Village."

After some pleasantries, explaining the specific situation, and fostering goodwill, Shen Changchuan cautioned the assembled crowd.

These words, however, caused the cultivators from the various villages to feel a sense of unease.

Putting aside the motives of the Four Fiends of Heshan, one thing was certain: if they were the target, they would likely suffer the same fate as Zhao Family Village.

But there was no way around it; they could only strengthen their ties and help each other.

However, several people spoke up one after another, hoping that after the autumn harvest, they could travel together to the Wu Family Market for trading.

Shen Changchuan did not object to this.

It was good to have familiar people to guide him.

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

Furthermore, These people sent seventy percent of their harvest each season as "protection fees."

Shen Changchuan felt that he should at least play some role to be worthy of the "protection fees" they paid.

The current Zhao Family Village was in a state of rebuilding, and it was inconvenient to host them.

So, after only half a day in the village, everyone took their leave.

One phase of the matter had concluded.

Seeing that others showed no signs of opposition or resistance to him taking over Zhao Family Village, and were instead extremely worried about potential robber cultivators, Shen Changchuan nodded slightly in his heart, and was quite satisfied with how things were developing.

Thus, the two mu of spirit fields in Zhao Family Village now belonged to him.

Some truths were never meant to be hidden.

Displaying them openly, instead, could solve problems more effectively.

Just like this time, to be honest, if Shen Changchuan had kept everything secret and quietly taken over the fields of Zhao Family Village.

Let alone those outside who were unaware of the situation, even the people within would likely have been filled with unease.

They would have speculated if Shen Changchuan had taken action against Zhao Family Village, and if they would be next.

Rumors would have spread, causing widespread panic, and even if he had tried to refute them later, it would have only spawned greater rumors, potentially leading to unbearable consequences.

Watching the cultivators leave, Shen Changchuan turned around, and returned to the village's main hall.

Han Qinhu was already waiting in the hall.

"Grandfather, how was it? Did he confess?"

Seeing Han Qinhu, a flicker of joy flashed in Shen Changchuan's eyes as he asked.

Grandfather Han Qinhu had traveled extensively for many years, and his life experiences were richer than Shen Changchuan's.

Therefore, Shen Changchuan had entrusted the interrogation of Zhao Hantao to his grandfather, Han Qinhu.

Now, Han Qinhu was waiting in the hall, holding a large stack of records in his hand.

Clearly, there had been some results.

"It was good. Perhaps because his clan was wiped out, his spirit was completely broken. He basically told us whatever we asked. Everything is here, take a look."

Han Qinhu nodded and replied.

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

Shen Changchuan did not notice his reaction and began to read.

"So that's how it is!"

After reading all the materials, Shen Changchuan breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time, his brows furrowed, and he remained silent for a long time.

The worst-case scenario had not occurred; the Four Fiends of Heshan had not been hired by someone to kill him.

On the contrary, there might even be a great opportunity hidden within.

This matter was a long story, directly related to the old incident of Great Bay Village changing hands twenty years ago.

Twenty years ago, A collateral branch of the Shen Family traveled from afar to this desolate land in search of treasure.

However, due to unfamiliarity with the climate, they became trapped in Great Bay Village during the mountain leech disaster of the rainy season, where they met the Patriarch of the Hu Family, the then-master of Great Bay Village.

After the rainy season ended, the Shen Family collateral branch, having experienced the ordeal of the rainy season, understood that if they wanted to enter the mountains, they would need a local guide.

Otherwise, if they encountered a predicament similar to the mountain leech disaster in the mountains, they would likely die without a whole corpse.

Thus, the Hu Family at the time handed this matter over to the Zhao Family of Zhao Family Village.

Zhao Hantao, who was still young then, had no choice but to become the guide for that Shen Family collateral branch.

Later, under Zhao Hantao's guidance, the Shen Family collateral branch successfully entered the depths of the mountain forest. Following a map they carried, they found a cave dwelling ruin in a hidden location by a cliff.

Zhao Hantao could not enter that cave dwelling.

The Shen Family collateral branch, however, opened the outer restriction gate with a token they carried.

Although Zhao Hantao outside did not know the specific situation inside, he could feel the fluctuations of the outer restriction of the cave dwelling from the outside. It was at least the pressure fluctuation of the Out of Body Stage!

No one expected that in the depths of this desolate, uninhabited Yao Beast forest, there was a cave dwelling of an Out of Body Stage true cultivator hidden!

At that time, while excited, Zhao Hantao also keenly perceived one thing.

Faced with this immense fortune, the Shen Family collateral branch might very well silence him to maintain secrecy!

So, he fled back in advance.

However, he was discovered by the then-Patriarch of the Hu Family midway, and was summoned to be questioned about the specific situation.

In his panic at the time, Zhao Hantao revealed the specific situation. At the same time, he cleverly used some rhetoric to make the Hu Family Patriarch let him go, focusing his main energy on the relic of the Out of Body Stage true cultivator.

Later, the Shen Family collateral branch, upon returning from the mountains, was ambushed and successfully killed by the suddenly hostile Hu Family Patriarch.

Upon hearing the news, Zhao Hantao became somewhat panicked, fearing that the Hu Family Patriarch would silence him and the entire Zhao Family.

Fortunately, however, he had already secretly reported the matter to the Shen Family in advance.

To gain the trust of the Shen Family at the time, he also revealed some information about the relic of the Out of Body Stage true cultivator.

Not long after, as expected, a Shen Family Out of Body Stage true cultivator arrived and swept away everything.

The previous owner of Great Bay Village, the Hu Family, was wiped out.

Great Bay Village thus became Shen Family's spoils of war, and they sent people to station there and manage it.

As for Zhao Hantao, who was the key figure, because the matter concerned cultivators back then, and outsiders did not know the specific details besides the parties involved, coupled with his excellent concealment, after the Shen Family collateral branch and the Hu Family Patriarch both died, no one knew that he harbored a great secret.

As a result, he managed to get by and live until now.

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

Because he only had this one son, Zhao Hantao was arguably overly doting on him from a young age, giving him whatever he desired.

Even after getting drunk once, he revealed the secret hidden in his heart, which he had never told anyone, to his only son, Zhao Jingming.

And this, was the root of all disaster.

Perhaps because he grew up pampered and had a smooth life.

Zhao Jingming felt he had the potential of an immortal, but his development was limited by his background.

He desired freedom and a thrilling cultivation journey.

So, he ran away from home, venturing out into the world.

The subsequent outcome was as seen.

Falling in with bad company, leaking the great secret, brought about the disaster of the entire clan being wiped out.

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

"But if that's the case, then I've suffered a disaster for no reason?!"

After much thought, Shen Changchuan finally pieced together the entire sequence of events.

After Zhao Jingming leaked the great secret, the Four Fiends of Heshan had secretly followed.

Since Zhao Jingming's life and death were controlled by them, Zhao Hantao dared not make any moves and could only cooperate with all their actions.

The reason for targeting Shen Changchuan was simple:

They had been to that cave dwelling ruins.

From outside, they could vaguely sense that the core area was still intact.

When the Shen Family's collateral branch left back then, there must have been some trials or obstacles inside that forced them to depart.

The inheritance of a true cultivator from the Out of Body Stage was most likely still there!

However, the formations and restrictions set up by a true cultivator of the Out of Body Stage were too powerful.

To enter, they needed the token that the Shen Family's collateral branch possessed back then.

And they believed, that the token used by the Shen Family's collateral branch to open the outer gate had fallen into Shen Changchuan's possession.

Otherwise, why would the Patriarch's son personally come to Great Bay Village, such a remote place, for a prominent cultivation family like the Shen Family?

There had to be something strange going on!

Even if it wasn't on him, it was definitely within Great Bay Village, and undiscovered by the Shen Family!

Thus, this ambush took place.

Their preparations were actually not aimed at Shen Changchuan himself, but at the potential Guardian behind Shen Changchuan!