Trouble!
The patriarchs of several villages all wore worried expressions.
They could not help but worry.
The reason was that
this was precisely the time when bandit cultivators were at their most rampant—and most dangerous!
At a time like this,
the various villages would head to Wu Family Market to trade, carrying with them half a year's harvest from their Spirit Fields, as well as spiritual herbs, all manner of materials, and other goods accumulated from the wilderness.
Thus,
in the eyes of the bandit cultivators,
these merchant caravans cobbled together by small villages were practically fat sheep walking on two legs.
Robbing such merchant caravans was not only far easier than breaking through a village's defenses,
but the gains were also far greater than the latter!
With that being the case,
how the bandit cultivators would choose was plain for all to see.
It was precisely because of this
that under normal circumstances,
few bandit cultivators would risk so much to attack villages and rob those small cultivation Lineages.
But during the trading season,
nearly all bandit cultivators would come out in full force, lying in ambush throughout the mountains and forests to plunder the merchant caravans traveling between villages and partake in this brief feast.
During this process,
even cultivators from some of the larger villages would cover their faces, conceal their identities, and join in the revelry.
It was practically a hunting season on the open plains!
And for weaklings like them,
it was undoubtedly a disaster!
Fortunately,
they were not entirely without the ability to resist.
Perhaps because this region was so remote and the cultivation world here was not particularly prosperous,
the bandit cultivators participating in these robberies
were mostly below the Qi Gathering Seventh Level.
Perhaps it was because the gap between the Qi Gathering Sixth Level and the Qi Gathering Seventh Level was a massive watershed. Once one reached the Qi Gathering Seventh Level, such petty gains no longer held much appeal.
Or perhaps they had been suppressed by greater cultivation powers above them, making cultivators above the Qi Gathering Seventh Level wary of acting too recklessly.
But no matter what,
since the bandit cultivators were generally only in the early to mid Qi Gathering stage,
it gave the small cultivation Lineages of these villages a chance to fight back.
Just as before,
they had gathered around Shen Shiying, the garrison commander of Great Bay Village.
With Shen Shiying as their backbone, relying on their superiority in numbers and the great banner of the Tiannan Shen Clan, even when they encountered bandit cultivators on the road, they had always made it through safely.
But this had a prerequisite:
the strength of the person serving as their backbone had to be sufficient!
Back then,
Shen Shiying's cultivation had already been above the late Qi Gathering Fifth Level. Combined with the powerful inheritance he possessed as a member of the Tiannan Shen Clan, he could contend against a Qi Gathering Sixth Level cultivator here for some time.
And with their assistance, holding out for a while was hardly impossible.
Even most bandit cultivators at the Qi Gathering Sixth Level might have been able to defeat them, but they could not slaughter them all in a short time.
Once one or two people escaped,
the consequences of ambushing the colossal Tiannan Shen Clan had been demonstrated firsthand by the Hu Family back then.
Twenty years ago, the Hu Family of Great Bay Village
had possessed no small measure of renown in these parts.
But
all of that had one prerequisite:
the person serving as the backbone had to be able to withstand the bandit cultivators' attacks!
Shen Shiying had at least been a late Qi Gathering Fifth Level cultivator back then.
More or less, he could rely on his methods to make up for the gap of a single realm.
But what about Shen Changchuan?
Qi Gathering Fourth Level,
and only a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old youth at that.
Could such a youth
possibly possess the strength to fight enemies two realms above him?
Impossible!
"What should we do, everyone?"
The Li Family Patriarch asked the group in a low voice.
Though there might have been some rivalry between them,
their interests were aligned in this matter.
Yet the men merely looked at one another, all with deeply furrowed brows, unable to think of any solution.
"Young men are high-spirited. Young Master Shen is likely trying to prove himself. His words were so resolute that it seems there is no room to turn back."
Guo Cheng sighed and spoke softly.
In their preconceived view, the person who had killed the Four Fiends of Heshan must have been one of Shen Changchuan's elders.
It was only that the other party's strength was extraordinary, and he could not be bothered to appear before them or make their acquaintance, so they had tacitly refrained from asking.
Shen Changchuan's words now
were like those of a youth in his rebellious years who had fallen out with his elders, determined to prove himself and carve out an achievement of his own.
In such a state,
no matter how outsiders tried to persuade him, it would likely be useless.
If they explained the dangers of this journey to him, they might instead provoke his rebellious streak further and make matters even more troublesome.
"Alas, let nature take its course. Those young people are impulsive. If we anger him, who knows what trouble we might stir up?"
"Since that senior acted to eliminate the Four Fiends of Heshan, he should know something of the dangers here. Perhaps he has been hiding in the shadows, protecting him all along?"
"If that is the case, this journey may not be as dangerous as it appears."
Guo Cheng said this somewhat as consolation to himself.
"That is all we can do."
The others felt uneasy, but could only agree helplessly.
The convoy soon set off.
Loaded carts formed a long snake, kicking up dust as they traveled toward Wu Family Market.
Along the way,
they encountered several other groups traveling like themselves.
Large and small carts carried considerable goods.
They appeared to be other people heading to Wu Family Market for the fair.
However, after the nervous reminders of the village patriarchs, Shen Changchuan readily accepted their advice and took the initiative to keep his distance from the others.
According to the patriarchs,
there had once been bandit cultivators who disguised themselves as merchant caravans and asked to travel alongside them, only to launch a sudden attack at night and nearly wipe out the entire caravan.
Therefore, unless they knew the other party inside out, even if they encountered another merchant caravan traveling the same road, it was best to keep their distance.
Other than that,
nothing unexpected happened to the convoy.
However, because they were laden with packages and goods, the long procession had to cross mountains and rivers over difficult roads,
so their progress was somewhat slow.
By the fifth day,
they were still three days away from Wu Family Market.
And at that moment,
out in the wilderness,
they came across a pursuit.
More than a dozen, perhaps twenty, figures in black
were chasing an old man and a youth. The pair rushed past Shen Changchuan's vigilant group at great speed.
What was going on?!
Could this be a trap?
In that instant, Shen Changchuan's vigilance surged sharply.
Everyone in the convoy went on guard.
The black-clad men pursuing the old man and youth in the distance also spotted Shen Changchuan's group.
The apparent leader's eyes bloomed with cyan light as his gaze swept across them.
In an instant,
Shen Changchuan and everyone present felt as though their aura had been sensed and scrutinized!
This seemed to be an ocular technique for scouting an enemy's level of strength.
Within a few breaths,
the Cultivation Realms of Shen Changchuan's entire group were thoroughly exposed to him.
"So it's just a bunch of little trash!"
"Since you're here, don't even think of leaving!"
"Kill them! Leave none alive!"
In the distance,
the black-clad leader gave a savage grin.
His gaze passed over the crowd
and settled on the several heavily loaded carts behind them, a flash of greed glinting deep in his eyes.
"Wait! Good sirs, we are merely passing through!"
The Li Family Patriarch cried out in terror.
But the black-clad men did not hesitate in the slightest. Pale white light lit up around them as they used the Light Body Technique, gripping their long blades as they charged swiftly toward the convoy!
Well then,
there was no need to agonize over it anymore.
They would fight!
He had suddenly received word that the novel would go premium on Friday. He would release more chapters then.
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