Chapter 33: Chapter 32: Taking Stock of the Harvest

’Come to think of it, maybe this disaster wasn’t completely random?’

Sorting through the entire chain of events,

Shen Changchuan suddenly recalled the Token engraved with the Xiang character, which he had found in the hidden cave under the Dawan River along with the Cyan Essence Water Grass.

That Token...

’It must have been the personal token of that member of the Shen Family’s collateral branch back then, right?’

Although there was no direct proof,

Shen Changchuan guessed that this was more than likely the case.

Zhao Hanguo was in the backyard.

He could just ask him directly later.

However, thinking of Zhao Hanguo also reminded Shen Changchuan of something else from before.

’No wonder that Zhao Hanguo knew my identity from the very beginning. He must have been watching me from the start, right?’

Shen Changchuan remembered how, the first time they met, Zhao Hanguo had been exceedingly deferential.

At that time, when he had asked why, the man had replied that it was because he knew Shen Changchuan’s true identity.

That was why he had been so respectful.

In contrast, the Cultivators from the other six villages he later came into contact with had no idea about his identity.

Shen Changchuan had found it a bit strange at the time.

Looking at it now,

it was likely that Zhao Hanguo had set his sights on Dawan Village a long time ago.

That was why,

he had learned of his identity right away.

And yet, at the same time,

while he knew Shen Changchuan’s identity,

he didn’t know the specific details of his situation.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been worried about potential bodyguards like a Guardian watching over Shen Changchuan, and he wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of setting up a trap and ambush.

’I was lucky. Those people didn’t strike right away, which gave me a two or three-month reprieve.’

At this thought,

Shen Changchuan couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief.

If Zhao Hanguo and the He Mountain Four Fierce had known his true status and treatment in the Shen Family—and understood he couldn’t possibly have a Guardian or any bodyguards—

they would have likely attacked him directly at his doorstep!

And with his strength at the time,

he would have been completely powerless to resist such opponents!

It could be said

that Shen Changchuan had just had a brush with death!

’The Immortal Cultivation Realm is too dangerous! I was lucky this time, narrowly avoiding a fatal crisis and buying myself enough time to grow stronger.’

’And my luck held out after that. I came across one opportunity after another, allowing my strength to increase rapidly in a short time, giving me the ability to protect myself.’

’Otherwise, the one lying on the ground right now would have been me!’

’Strength! I need more strength!’

A resolute light shone in Shen Changchuan’s eyes.

His inner desire to increase his strength 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

grew even more urgent.

At the Shen Family Mansion, he had to live in constant fear.

But even after leaving the Shen Family Mansion and coming to Dawan Village, thousands of miles away, he had unknowingly almost met with a catastrophic end.

The root cause of all this

was his own lack of strength!

If he had the strength of the Soul Emergence Realm,

who in the Shen Family Mansion would dare to scheme against him?

How would the mere He Mountain Four Fierce dare to plot against him?!

Strength.

He needed even greater strength

to be the master of his own destiny!

Inside, Shen Changchuan’s resolve

hardened even further.

"Grandfather, leave everything concerning Zhao Hanguo to me from now on."

"But don’t let any of the secrets involved in this get out."

"The ruins of a Soul Emergence Realm expert’s cave abode—if news of this gets out, I’m afraid countless people will swarm here."

"If I’m not mistaken, the Soul Emergence Realm expert from the family that personally destroyed the Hu Family of Dawan Village twenty years ago—nine times out of ten, they were also acting because of those Soul Emergence Level cave abode ruins."

"If word gets out, we’ll be in for huge trouble!"

Shen Changchuan said in a low voice, holding the thick stack of papers.

At the same time,

with a single thought, he instantly cast a Perfection-level Fireball Technique. In the blink of an eye, the intense heat engulfed the papers in his hand, burning them to ashes.

Shen Changchuan gave a light wave of his hand,

and the ashes in his palm disintegrated into fine powder, disappearing completely.

All traces were now completely destroyed.

"Don’t worry, Changchuan. I was the only one present during the interrogation."

"I know how serious this is. I won’t reveal this secret to anyone, not even Dayong!"

Han Qinhu nodded, his expression grave.

The cautionary tale of Zhao Hanguo’s son, Zhao Jingming, was right before his eyes.

Han Qinhu would certainly not make a mistake of that magnitude.

He had already decided

that he would lock all these secrets deep within his heart and not breathe a single word of them to the outside world.

"Then I’ll have to trouble you, Grandfather."

Afterward, they briefly discussed a few things about the future management of Zhao Family Village,

and Han Qinhu took his leave.

Shen Changchuan, on the other hand, went into the back room.

Half an hour later,

he emerged with a calm expression.

He had asked Zhao Hanguo for some more detailed information,

and had also confirmed

that the Token he had found at the bottom of the Dawan River

was indeed the very credential that the member of the Shen Family’s collateral branch had used to enter the ruins.

From him, Shen Changchuan also

obtained a map leading to the cliff where the ruins were located.

However, Shen Changchuan didn’t let the discovery of a Soul Emergence Level cave abode go to his head and immediately run off on an adventure.

He had looked at the map.

The location was somewhere deep within the Demon Beast Forest.

He was only at the Qi Introduction Fourth Layer Middle Stage.

Although he had some tricks to supplement his combat power, he was, in the end, too weak.

Shen Changchuan had no intention of exploring it now.

He felt that if he were to go investigate,

he should at least wait until he reached the Qi Introduction Fifth or Sixth Layer.

It was always better to be cautious.

...

For the time being, all these matters had come to a close.

Shen Changchuan finally had time to take stock of his gains.

The battle where he turned the tables on and killed the He Mountain Four Fierce

was the most dangerous one Shen Changchuan had fought since his transmigration.

It was also his most profitable battle.

After organizing the various items in the Storage Bags,

Shen Changchuan’s final haul was as follows:

Two hundred and twenty-three Spirit Stones.

Magical Artifacts: one Soul-Attracting Bell; the Poisoned Dagger from He Mountain the Second; one set of Broken Defense Spiritual Armor from the fourth brother; and a Quasi-Low Tier Magical Artifact from the third brother, infused with a large amount of Gold Essence.

Spirit Medicines: one stalk of Cyan Spirit Grass, three Jade Heart Leaves, two Jade Dew Flowers, and so on. These were all Low Tier Spirit Medicines, similar to the spirit ginseng Shen Changchuan had taken for his Cultivation in the past. There were no particularly noteworthy Spirit Medicines.

Elixirs: a total of thirteen Qi Nourishing Pills and two Essence Pills.

Remaining miscellaneous materials: ninety pounds of Spirit Grain, twenty pounds of Iron Essence, a chunk of Red Origin Iron Ore, a few nondescript dark ore chunks he couldn’t identify, some Spirit Wood, and Demon Beast Materials.

Inside the Storage Bag, Shen Changchuan also found a handwritten copy of a manual called *True Understanding of Magic*, which recorded Basic Magic like the Breath Concealment Technique, Water Blade Technique, Water Dragon Technique, Earth and Stone Impact, Earth-Shaking Technique, and Golden Bell Technique.

It seemed to be a collection of the various Magic the He Mountain Four Fierce had gathered over the years.

It also included the Basic Qi Absorption Technique, various notes on Cultivation Experience, and other things.

And besides all of these,

there was also the Array he had uprooted from the ground before leaving, called the Mysterious Two Forms Array.

He didn’t realize how much he had gained until he took stock of it all;

once he did, the sheer amount of loot shocked him.

As of now,

he had practically gotten rich overnight!