My path to immortality began with my posting to guard Dawancun.

Chapter 11 Heartbeat
After learning the general situation from Zhao Hangao, Shen Changchuan fell into a silent silence.

The other party must have learned of my identity through some unknown means.

Although he was just an insignificant nobody among the more than fifty children of Shen Fuxing, the head of the Shen family.

But anyway,
Ultimately, they are descendants of the Shen clan patriarch.
He is the son of Shen Fuxing, the head of the Shen family.

Even within the Shen family, where everyone knows each other well, it might not seem like much.
Even a servant probably wouldn't take him seriously.

But in the eyes of outsiders,

He remains a great man of noble blood!
However, at the same time,

Shen Changchuan shook his head slightly in his heart.

They did not feel any pride because of the other party's respect and awe.

Shen Changchuan was very clear about this.
The other party was paying respects to the Shen family of Tiannan.
Not myself.

I myself do not possess that power that commands respect.

There's nothing to be proud of.

"By the way, Brother Zhao, do you know if there are any markets for cultivators around here?"

During their casual conversation, Shen Changchuan suddenly remembered that after he had eaten all the flesh and blood of the giant wild boar he had killed, he still had the boar skin left in his hand, and couldn't help but ask about it.

If that wild boar hide were crafted into leather armor, it would possess a certain level of defense, enough to withstand some of the damage from spells, giving cultivators an advantage in battle.

If it can be sold, it can earn at least ten or twenty spirit stones.

"A market for cultivators? Well, our location is rather remote. The nearest market to us is in Qingcheng, which is over a thousand miles away."

"More than a thousand miles away?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Changchuan's expression changed slightly.

This distance,
But it's not close at all anymore.

At least with Shen Changchuan's current pace, even if he traveled alone, it would take him more than half a month to make the round trip.

This doesn't even take into account the possibility of encountering unexpected attacks from monsters along the way.

If we really need to get there,
It could take a month to travel back and forth.

Moreover, the level of danger is not low.

This made Shen Changchuan hesitate.

"Then where do you usually trade cultivation resources? You wouldn't travel all the way to Qing City, would you?"

"That's not the case."

"Shortly after the harvest of spirit grains, caravans of itinerant merchants will set off from Qingcheng and travel to the rural and remote areas. At that time, we insignificant people who are unable to travel far can take the spiritual herbs we have gathered from the mountains, the materials obtained from the monsters we have killed, the spirit grains we have harvested, and other spiritual items we have accumulated during this period to exchange for what we need."

"The caravan's stop near us will be Wujiaji, about two hundred miles away, in about four months."

"Because accidents may happen on the way, the caravan's arrival time may be delayed or advanced. But there is no need to worry, because if it is delayed, they can wait in Wujiaji for a while, and if they arrive early, they will rest and recuperate there for a while until the trading day is over before leaving."

"If you need anything, Young Master Shen, I can lead the way to Wujiaji in four months."

Zhao Hangao carefully explained the tunnel to Shen Changchuan.

"In that case, I'll have to trouble you, Brother Zhao, in four months."

Hearing this from the head seat, Shen Changchuan felt somewhat helpless, but that was all he could say.

no way,
We have no choice but to go to Wujiaji.

never mind,

The spirit grain should be harvested in four months. Hopefully, the yield will be higher this time so we can exchange it for some cultivation resources at the market.

However, at the same time,

He couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed.

He knew that Dawancun was remote.
But I never expected it to be this remote.

Not only were there no markets, but even fairs were held only once every six months or so.

It was so bad that it left people speechless.

But that's fine too. If this place weren't so remote, he wouldn't have had to come here to oversee things.

If we look at it this way,

The cultivation I will undergo in the future will probably be even more difficult than I imagined!
Shen Changchuan couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion.

"No trouble at all, it's my honor to be able to help you, Young Master Shen."

Zhao Hangao appeared quite pleased. The ensuing casual conversation...
Shen Changchuan also obtained a lot of information from Zhao Hangao about the distribution of power, local customs and other things in the area near Dawan Village.

About an hour later,

Zhao Hangao bid farewell to Shen Changchuan and left, citing the late hour.

Shen Changchuan personally escorted him out of the village.

It made the other party feel flattered and overwhelmed.
He left with an excited expression on his face.

Shen Changchuan watched the other person's departing figure, remained silent for a moment, and only turned and left after the figure had completely disappeared.

He returned to the main hall.
Open the gift that Zhao Hangao brought during his visit, which was wrapped in a jade box.

Inside is a wild ginseng that contains a great deal of spiritual energy.

Judging from its spiritual energy content, it would probably be worth about two spirit stones if placed in the market.

It can play a significant role in cultivation.

This gift is quite valuable to cultivators in the early to mid-stages of Qi Refining.

Shen Changchuan fell into deep thought for a moment.

His fingers tapped unconsciously on the table beside him.

After the previous conversation,
He could roughly understand why Zhao Hangao was happy.

Their small, insignificant cultivation sect was far too weak.

In the world of cultivation, there's not much difference between them and the weeds in the ground.

And because they lack the ability to protect themselves,

They could only rely on a larger power and pay huge protection fees every year in exchange for nominal protection from that power.

Otherwise, in this dog-eat-dog world, where there is no law, they would only become easy prey for robbers.

Shen Changchuan could imagine it.
Without the backing of a powerful force, every year there would be cultivators tirelessly roaming around the villages, stealing the spiritual grains that small cultivation families and forces had painstakingly cultivated.

Murder and annihilation of a village
It's not impossible.

According to previous conversations,

Twenty years ago, Zhao Family Village had to hand over at least 70% of its annual harvest of Linggu to Dawan Village.

Of course, at that time, Dawan Village would also send 60% of the tribute from the villages that surrendered and were sent to Zhao Village to Wujiaji.

The Wu family of Wujiaji would send powerful cultivators to travel around the world during the annual harvest of spirit grains, driving away any rogue cultivators who entered their territory to ensure that no major problems would occur during the harvest season and to maintain public order in the area to a certain extent.

Of course, the Wu family has even bigger fish up there.

But let's leave that aside for now.

Later, Dawan Village came under the control of the Shen family, and the tributes from Zhao Village and several other nearby villages naturally fell into the hands of the Shen family who guarded the area.

With the prestige of the Shen family of Tiannan,

Naturally, there was no need to send the protection money they received to Wujiaji anymore.

Therefore, this part of the extra income,
It went directly into the hands of the cultivator guarding Dawan Village.

"I never imagined that Dawan Village would have such an extra benefit."

"In that case, the benefits that Dawancun can gain are much greater than I imagined!"

this moment,
Shen Changchuan felt again that
How wise it was that I decided to escape the Shen family compound and be sent here!

Simultaneously,

Seeing the situation in and around Dawang Village,

A thought struck him.
I thought of something else.

"If I were stronger, reaching the late stage of Qi Refining, or even the Out-of-Body Realm, would I be able to protect a wider area and receive more 'offerings' from the surrounding area?"

"There seems to be a lot going on here!"

However, before Shen Changchuan could think any further,

A commotion arose outside.

Something seems to have happened.

what's the situation?
Shen Changchuan's thoughts were interrupted, and he frowned slightly, but he had no choice but to stand up and walk out.

(End of this chapter)