"The He Mountain Four Fierce, it was them?!"

"No wonder Zhao Family Village ended up in such a tragic state. No wonder at all!"

"Yeah, I can’t believe those men showed up here! Thank goodness an Upper Immortal took action and dealt with them once and for all. Now there are four fewer infamous Tribulation Cultivators in the area!"

"Brother Ding, from the way you’re talking, you recognize them? Would you mind telling me a thing or two?"

"Oh, so it’s the newcomer, Brother Xu. Of course, no problem."

Before long, after about half a day, representatives from the six villages had all arrived and gathered in Zhao Family Village.

To be honest, when they first saw the tragic state of Zhao Family Village, many of them were deeply unsettled.

They feared that Master Shen of Dawan Village had launched the attack himself, wanting to annex Zhao Family Village.

However, their suspicions quickly dissipated when they saw the four corpses hanging in the center of Zhao Family Village and recognized who they were.

Evidently, the disaster in Zhao Family Village was almost certainly related to the He Mountain Four Fierce.

Only then did everyone breathe a collective sigh of relief.

In an instant, the square filled with the sounds of conversation and discussion.

Those who knew of the He Mountain Four Fierce began to share their story.

The He Mountain Four Fierce were a group of notorious Tribulation Cultivators.

Whenever the summer and autumn harvests came around, when merchant caravans set out from Qing City to travel throughout the Border Desolate Land and trade with the various small cultivation forces, that was when they would make their move.

With their strength, they naturally didn’t dare provoke those merchant caravans.

So they set their sights on the parties from the various villages heading to the market to trade.

For instance, after the autumn harvest, if Shen Changchuan wanted to obtain more Cultivation Resources, his only option would be to transport his share of Spirit Grain to Wu Family Collection and trade with the merchant caravans.

The He Mountain Four Fierce preyed on exactly these kinds of groups heading to the nearby markets.

They would lie in ambush on the small mountain paths, roaming the area like hyenas.

Once they found a target they could take down, they would pounce, devouring them bone and all.

Unless a village had a Qi Introduction Late Stage Cultivator protecting it, or several nearby villages banded together for the journey, an encounter with them meant almost certain death.

Their fierce reputation was widespread. Small Immortal Cultivation Clans would occasionally be plundered and destroyed by them.

However, ten years ago, they mistakenly killed some of the Wu Family Collection’s people during a robbery.

As a result, the Wu Family of Wu Family Collection issued a public warrant for their arrest.

For years, they hadn’t dared set foot in the nearby regions, forced to wander elsewhere.

Although it was unknown why the Four Fierce had returned, one thing was certain: Zhao Family Village was almost certainly wiped out by them.

Given the vicious reputation of the He Mountain Four Fierce, it wasn’t surprising that they would do such a thing.

"Although these four scoundrels have been dealt with, I can’t be sure how many more Tribulation Cultivator bandits like them are out there."

"After you all return, please strengthen your patrols and defenses. If you run into any trouble, you can come find me in Dawan Village."

After some pleasantries, clarifying the situation, and strengthening their bonds, Shen Changchuan offered a word of caution to the gathered crowd.

His words, however, left the Cultivators from the other villages deeply worried.

Never mind the motive of the He Mountain Four Fierce; one thing was certain—if they were targeted, they feared they would suffer the same fate as Zhao Family Village.

But fear was useless. Their only recourse was to strengthen their ties and help one another.

However, several people spoke up, hoping that after the autumn harvest, they could all travel together when going to Wu Family Collection to trade.

Shen Changchuan didn’t object to this.

’It would be good to have someone familiar with the route to lead the way.’

Having come from Tian Nan City, thousands of miles away, his knowledge of the surrounding area was actually quite limited.

’Besides,’ Shen Changchuan thought, ’these people are sending over seventy percent of their harvest each season as a "Protection Fee." I should at least do something to earn it.’

Zhao Family Village was now in ruins and awaiting reconstruction, so it wasn’t a convenient place to host guests.

Thus, the crowd from the surrounding villages only stayed for half a day before taking their leave one after another.

...

With this matter settled for now, seeing that the others weren’t opposed to him taking over Zhao Family Village and were instead more worried about other Tribulation Cultivators, Shen Changchuan nodded to himself, quite satisfied with how things had unfolded.

’Just like that, the two acres of Spirit Fields in Zhao Family Village are now mine.’

’Some truths shouldn’t be hidden away. Displaying them openly can actually solve problems more effectively.’

’Take this time, for instance. To be honest, if I had blocked all information and silently taken over Zhao Family Village’s fields, the outsiders who didn’t know the inside story would surely have panicked. They’d speculate whether I was the one who attacked Zhao Family Village, and whether they would be next. Rumors would spread, causing widespread panic. Even if I tried to debunk the rumors later, it would likely only breed even bigger ones, potentially leading to regrettable incidents.’

Watching the group of Cultivators depart, Shen Changchuan turned around and returned to the village’s main hall.

Han Qinhu was already waiting for him there.

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

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

His maternal grandfather, Han Qinhu, had traveled far and wide for many years and was far more experienced in the ways of the world than Shen Changchuan.

That was why Shen Changchuan had entrusted the task of interrogating Zhao Hanguo to him.

Now, Han Qinhu was waiting in the hall, holding a thick stack of notes.

Clearly, he had achieved something.

"It went well. Perhaps because his clan was annihilated, his spirit is completely broken. He basically answered whatever I asked. It’s all here, take a look."

Han Qinhu nodded and replied.

His expression, however, was somewhat restless and uneasy, as if he had stumbled upon a great secret he wasn’t meant to see.

Shen Changchuan didn’t notice his reaction and immediately began to look through the notes.

"So that’s how it is!"

After reading through all the material, Shen Changchuan let out a sigh of relief, but his brow also furrowed deeply. He remained silent for a long time.

The worst-case scenario hadn’t happened; the He Mountain Four Fierce hadn’t been paid by someone to come and take his life.

On the contrary, this matter might even hide a great opportunity.

It was a long story, and it was directly related to the old affair of Dawan Village changing hands twenty years ago.

Twenty years ago, a member of a collateral branch of the Shen Family traveled far to this Border Desolate Land in search of treasure.

Unfamiliar with the climate, he was trapped in Dawan Village when the mountain leech plague broke out during the rainy season. There, he became acquainted with the village’s master at the time, the Patriarch of the Hu Family.

After the rainy season ended, the ordeal taught the Shen Family member a valuable lesson: he needed a local guide to venture into the mountains.

Otherwise, if he ran into another disaster like the leech plague, he would likely die a gruesome death.

Thus, the Hu Family entrusted this matter to the Zhao Family of Zhao Family Village.

Zhao Hanguo, who was still young at the time, had no choice but to become the guide for that Shen Family member.

Later, under Zhao Hanguo’s guidance, that member of the Shen Family successfully penetrated deep into the mountain forest and, following a map he carried, found a cave dwelling ruin in a hidden spot on a cliff.

Zhao Hanguo couldn’t enter that cave dwelling.

The Shen Family member, however, used a token he carried with him to open the outer Restriction gate.

Although Zhao Hanguo, waiting outside, didn’t know the specifics of what was inside, he could feel the fluctuations of the Restriction on the cave’s exterior. It was the oppressive aura of at least the Soul Emergence Level!

No one would have thought that deep within this desolate and uninhabited Demon Beast Forest, there was a hidden cave dwelling of a True Cultivator of the Soul Emergence Realm!

At that time, amidst his excitement, Zhao Hanguo also keenly realized something.

Faced with such heaven-defying fortune, the Shen Family member would very likely kill him to keep it a secret!

So, he fled back ahead of time. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

However, the Hu Family Patriarch found out along the way and summoned him for questioning.

In his panic, Zhao Hanguo told him everything. At the same time, he used some clever rhetoric to convince the Patriarch to let him go, redirecting his attention to the ruins of the True Cultivator of Soul Emergence.

Later, when the Shen Family member returned from the mountains, he was ambushed and killed by the Hu Family Patriarch, who had suddenly turned on him.

After hearing the news, Zhao Hanguo panicked, afraid the Hu Family Patriarch would silence him along with his entire Zhao Family.

But fortunately, he had already secretly reported the matter to the Shen Family beforehand.

At the time, to gain the Shen Family’s trust, he had also revealed some information about the ruins of the Soul Emergence Level True Cultivator.

Sure enough, not long after, a True Cultivator of the Soul Emergence Realm from the Shen Family arrived and swept everything away.

The previous masters of Dawan Village, the Hu Family, were annihilated.

Dawan Village thus became a prize of war for the Shen Family, who from then on sent people to preside over and manage it.

As for the key figure, Zhao Hanguo, he managed to slip through the cracks. The events of that year concerned Cultivators, so outsiders knew nothing of the details. Coupled with his own skill at concealment, after the successive deaths of the Shen Family member and the Hu Family Patriarch, no one knew he was harboring such a great secret.

And so, he survived, unnoticed, to this day.

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

Because he was his only son, Zhao Hanguo doted on him excessively since childhood, giving him whatever he asked for.

He even, after getting drunk one time, told his only son, Zhao Jingming, the secret he had hidden in his heart and never told another soul.

And this was the root of all the calamity that followed.

Perhaps because he had been spoiled since childhood and his life had been too smooth, Zhao Jingming felt he had the makings of an Immortal, but that his birth had limited his potential.

He wanted to pursue freedom, to pursue an exciting life of Immortal Cultivation.

So he ran away from home to make a name for himself in the world.

The results are now clear.

He fell in with bandits,

leaked the great secret,

and brought about the annihilation of his clan.

’The Immortal Cultivation Realm is truly fraught with peril at every step!’

’But in that case, does this mean I’ve just been caught in the crossfire?!’

After a good deal of thought, Shen Changchuan finally pieced together the whole story.

After Zhao Jingming leaked the great secret, the He Mountain Four Fierce secretly followed him.

Because they held Zhao Jingming’s life in their hands, Zhao Hanguo didn’t dare make a move and could only cooperate with all their actions.

The reason they targeted Shen Changchuan was simple.

They had been to the cave dwelling ruins.

Probing from the outside, they could vaguely sense that the core was still intact.

The Shen Family member must have been forced to leave back then due to some trial or obstacle inside.

The inheritance of the Soul Emergence Realm True Cultivator was, in all likelihood, still inside!

But the Array and Restriction set up by a True Cultivator of the Soul Emergence Realm were too powerful.

To get inside, they needed the token that the Shen Family member had possessed back then.

And they believed that the token used by the Shen Family member to open the outer gate had ended up with Shen Changchuan.

Otherwise, for a Great Immortal Cultivation Family like the Shen Family, why would the Patriarch’s own son come personally to a remote backwater like Dawan Village?

There was definitely something fishy about it!

Even if he didn’t have it on him, it had to be somewhere in Dawan Village, undiscovered by the Shen Family!

Thus, this siege was set.

Their preparations, in truth, were not aimed at Shen Changchuan, but at the potential Guardian who might be protecting him!