Old Affairs

"The Four Evils of He Mountain! It's actually them?!"

"No wonder Zhao Family Village suffered such a tragic fate; it all makes sense now!"

"Indeed, who would have thought these men would appear here! It's a good thing the Immortal Master stepped in to resolve this once and for all. From now on, the vicinity is rid of four notorious bandit cultivators!"

"Brother Ding, judging by your words, you recognize them? Would you mind telling me a bit about them?"

"Oh, so you are the newcomer, Brother Xu. That is naturally no problem."

It did not take long.

After about half a day had passed, people from all six villages had sent representatives to gather within Zhao Family Village.

To be honest, when they first witnessed the miserable state of Zhao Family Village, many felt their hearts pounding with unease.

They feared that the Immortal Master Shen from Dawan Village had launched the attack to annex Zhao Family Village.

However, this suspicion quickly dissipated.

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

Clearly, the catastrophe at Zhao Family Village had, in all likelihood, been the work of the Four Evils of He Mountain.

They finally let out a sigh of relief.

For a time, the sound of discussion and chatter rose within the square.

The origins of the Four Evils of He Mountain were dug up by those who recognized them.

The Four Evils of He Mountain were a notorious gang of bandit cultivators.

Whenever the summer and autumn harvests arrived, and merchant caravans departed from Qing City to traverse the entire Border Wilderness to trade with various small cultivation forces, that was when they would strike.

Given their strength, they naturally dared not provoke those merchant caravans.

Thus, they set their sights on the teams from various villages heading to the market to trade.

Just like after the autumn harvest, when Shen Changchuan wanted to obtain more cultivation resources, he had to transport his share of Spirit Grain to Wu Family Market to trade with the caravans.

And the Four Evils of He Mountain were the ones who targeted such teams heading to the market.

They would lie in ambush along the mountain paths, wandering the surroundings like hyenas.

Once they spotted a target they could handle, they would pounce directly, swallowing them whole, skin and bone alike.

Unless a cultivator at the late stage of the Qi Induction Realm was stationed there, or the nearby villages banded together to travel, meeting them meant almost certain death.

These men were infamous, and from time to time, small cultivation families were plundered by them, leading to their total destruction.

However, ten years ago, they had mistakenly slaughtered the men of Wu Family Market during a raid.

As a result, they were officially put on a wanted list by the Wu family of Wu Family Market, to the extent that for all these years, they had not dared to set foot in the nearby regions, wandering instead in distant lands.

Though it was unknown why these four evils had returned, one thing was certain:

Zhao Family Village had almost certainly been destroyed by them.

Given the notoriety of the Four Evils of He Mountain, committing such an act was not surprising.

"Although these four scoundrels have met their end, I cannot be certain how many more bandit cultivators like them remain out there."

"After you all return, please strengthen your patrols and defenses. Should any trouble arise, you may come to Dawan Village to find me."

After some pleasantries, clarifying the specific situation, and fostering a sense of camaraderie, Shen Changchuan spoke to the gathered crowd, offering this reminder.

These words left the cultivators from the various villages feeling quite anxious.

Regardless of the Four Evils of He Mountain's true motives, one thing was certain: if they were the target, they would likely suffer the same fate as Zhao Family Village.

But fear offered no solution; they could only strengthen their ties and assist one another.

The group spoke up one after another, hoping that when they traveled to Wu Family Market for trade after the autumn harvest, they could all journey together.

Shen Changchuan did not object to this.

Having familiar faces to lead the way was quite good.

Hailing from Tiannan City, thousands of miles away, he did not actually know much about the surrounding area.

Furthermore, Since these people handed over seventy percent of their seasonal harvest as "protection money,"

Shen Changchuan felt he should at least play his part to be worthy of the "protection money" they paid.

The current Zhao Family Village was in ruins and awaiting restoration, so it was not convenient to host them.

Thus, after staying in the village for only half a day, the surrounding people took their leave one after another.

With this matter coming to a temporary close, and seeing that the others showed no opposition or resistance to him taking over Zhao Family Village, but instead felt deep concern regarding potential rogue cultivators, Shen Changchuan nodded slightly to himself, fairly satisfied with how things had developed.

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

Some truths should not be hidden away.

Displaying them openly, instead, solved problems more effectively.

Just like this time, to be honest, if Shen Changchuan had sealed off all information and silently taken over the fields of Zhao Family Village, needless to say, those outsiders who did not know the inside story would have been gripped by panic.

They would have guessed whether Shen Changchuan had made a move against Zhao Family Village and whether they would be the next target, and rumors would have spread, leading to widespread anxiety.

Even if he had tried to debunk them later, it would likely have only bred greater rumors, potentially leading to unbearable outcomes.

Watching the group of cultivators depart, Shen Changchuan turned around, and returned to the village hall.

Han Qinhu was already waiting inside.

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

Seeing Han Qinhu, a flash of joy crossed Shen Changchuan's eyes as he asked.

His grandfather, Han Qinhu, had traveled far and wide for many years and possessed much richer life experience than Shen Changchuan, so Shen Changchuan had entrusted the task of interrogating Zhao Hangao to him.

Now that Han Qinhu was waiting in the hall with a thick stack of records in his hand, it was clear there were results.

"It went well. Perhaps because his family was wiped out, his spirit has been completely broken. He answered whatever I asked. Everything is here; take a look."

Han Qinhu nodded and replied.

However, his expression was somewhat uneasy, as if he had caught sight of a massive secret he shouldn't have known.

Shen Changchuan did not notice his reaction and took the records to browse through them.

"So that's how it is!"

After finishing all the materials, Shen Changchuan felt a wave of relief, but his brows furrowed deeply, and he remained silent for a long time.

The worst-case scenario had not come to pass; the Four Evils of He Mountain had not been paid by anyone to take his life.

On the contrary, there was a possibility of a great opportunity hidden within this affair.

This was a long story, directly related to the old incident twenty years ago when Dawan Village changed hands.

Twenty years ago, a distant branch of the Shen Clan traveled from afar to this Border Wilderness in search of treasure.

Unfamiliar with the climate, they were trapped in Dawan Village during the outbreak of a mountain leech plague in the rainy season, where they became acquainted with the then-master of the Hu Clan, the lords of Dawan Village.

Once the rainy season ended, the Shen Clan member realized that if he wanted to venture into the mountains, he would require a local guide.

Otherwise, should he encounter a predicament like the mountain leech plague again, he feared he would not even leave a corpse behind.

Consequently, the Hu Clan of that time delegated the task to the Zhao family of Zhao Family Village.

Zhao Hangao, who was young at the time, was forced to become the guide for that Shen Clan member.

Later, under Zhao Hangao's guidance, the Shen Clan member successfully penetrated deep into the forest and, following the map he carried, discovered a Cave Abode Ruins hidden on a precipitous cliff.

Zhao Hangao was unable to enter that cave abode.

The Shen Clan member used a token he carried to open the outer restrictive gates.

Although Zhao Hangao, waiting outside, did not know the specific situation within, he sensed the fluctuations of the restrictions from the outside—the pressure was at least that of the Out of Body Realm!

No one had imagined that deep within the desolate Monster Beast Forest, there would be hidden a cave abode of a true cultivator at the Out of Body Realm!

While excited, Zhao Hangao also keenly sensed one thing.

Faced with such immense wealth, the Shen Clan member would likely silence him to keep the secret!

Thus, he fled back early.

However, the Hu Clan master learned of this midway and summoned him to inquire about the details.

In his panic, Zhao Hangao revealed the truth, while cleverly using rhetoric to persuade the Hu Clan master to let him go and focus his efforts on the Out of Body true cultivator's ruins instead.

Later, the Shen Clan member returning from the mountains was ambushed and killed by the Hu Clan master, who had suddenly turned on him.

Upon hearing the news, Zhao Hangao was terrified, fearing that the Hu Clan master would wipe him out along with the entire Zhao family.

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

To gain the Shen Clan's trust, he had even disclosed some information regarding the Out of Body level ruins.

Sure enough, not long after, an Out of Body realm true cultivator from the Shen Clan arrived and swept away everything in his path.

The Hu Clan, the previous masters of Dawan Village, were wiped out, and Dawan Village became the spoils of the Shen Clan, with personnel sent thereafter to garrison and manage it.

As for Zhao Hangao, who had been a key figure, because the matter involved cultivators and was known only to the parties involved, and because he had hidden his tracks exceptionally well, no one knew he held such a deep secret after the deaths of the Shen Clan member and the Hu Clan master.

He managed to muddle through and has lived to this day.

Yet, all of this changed with the birth of his son, Zhao Jingming.

Because he was his only son, Zhao Hangao could be said to have doted on him excessively from childhood, granting his every wish.

In a drunken stupor, he even revealed the secret he had kept hidden in his heart and never told anyone to his only son, Zhao Jingming.

And this became the root of all calamity.

Perhaps because he had grown up pampered and everything had gone too smoothly, Zhao Jingming felt he possessed the talent of an immortal, limited only by his humble origins.

He longed for freedom and a stimulating life of cultivation.

Thus, he ran away from home to wander the world, and the results of that are what we see now.

He fell in with the wrong crowd.

Leaking a great secret had invited a calamity that threatened to wipe out the entire clan.

The Cultivation World truly is a place where danger lurks at every step!

But if that is the case, does this mean I have suffered this disaster for no reason at all?!

After much deep thought, Shen Changchuan finally managed to piece together the full sequence of events.

After Zhao Jingming leaked the great secret, the Four Evils of He Mountain had followed them in the shadows.

Because Zhao Jingming's life and death were held in their control, Zhao Hangao dared not make a single move, forced to cooperate with their every action.

The reason they targeted Shen Changchuan was simple.

They had been to the ruins of that cave dwelling and, by probing from the outside, could vaguely sense that the core remained intact.

When the branch family of the Shen Clan left all those years ago, they must have encountered some trial or obstacle inside that forced them to retreat.

The inheritance of an Out of Body Realm true cultivator was, in all likelihood, still inside!

However, the arrays and prohibitions set by an Out of Body Realm true cultivator were far too powerful.

To enter, one required the token that had been in the hands of the Shen Clan's branch family.

They believed that the token used by the branch family to open the outer gate had fallen into the hands of Shen Changchuan.

Otherwise, why would the son of a Clan Head from a prestigious cultivation family personally travel to a remote, backwater place like Dawan Village?

There was definitely something strange going on!

Even if it wasn't on him, it was certainly somewhere in Dawan Village, undiscovered by the Shen Clan!

Thus, the ambush was set.

In truth, their preparations were not actually aimed at Shen Changchuan, but at the potential Dao Protector lurking behind him!