Chapter 380 Reincarnation
Peace returned to the hill.

The appearance of Xiao Chengyun temporarily dispelled Zhao Guanshan’s idea of ​​going down the mountain. He still felt that this place was more real and peaceful.

He didn’t want to pursue the issue of whether Xiao Chengyun’s memory had been modified or if this was her original cognition. It was meaningless.

An era of decadence and despair has ended, and a new and vigorous era has arrived. He doesn’t want to be a trend-setter anymore.

Many of the ideas I once had suddenly become boring. Maybe I’m really getting old.

Even his daily practice has become intermittent.

Well, the real reason should be that he doubts everything now.

Because he felt that his memory had been modified, at least some of the core, important memories had disappeared and been erased.

But he just couldn’t find any clues, just like him and Xiao Chengyun, their bond and fate were really connected because of the Lihuo Secret Key. Now that the Lihuo Secret Key was gone, everything had returned to the way it was before.

Therefore, Zhao Guanshan chose to respond passively.

Don’t go down the mountain, don’t go out into the world, don’t leave.

Time flies, and another ten years have passed in a flash.

The faint sadness deep in Zhao Guanshan’s heart had long since dissipated. Even though he tried hard to retain it and remember it, he couldn’t do it. He even forgot why he wanted to stay.

But it doesn’t seem to matter anymore, he has already adapted to this kind of life.

The outside world seemed to have turned upside down. At the foot of the hill, there were first traces of mortals. Some traveling merchants passed by here. They were highly alert, guarding against possible bandits, road bullies, poisonous snakes and ferocious beasts, but there were none. Instead, they met Zhao Guanshan.

It was evening that day. Zhao Guanshan, shirtless, was using tools to bring spring water to irrigate his vegetable garden. The fruits and vegetables in the garden were lush and growing well.

Somehow, the group of merchants got to the middle of the mountain. At first they were as if they were facing a formidable enemy, but when they saw Zhao Guanshan’s farmer-like appearance, they immediately relaxed a lot.

“My dear little brother, don’t be afraid. We have no ill intentions. We are just passing by. It is getting dark, so we would like to stay here for one night. Please forgive us for disturbing you.”

The leader of the traveling merchants is a muscular middle-aged man with a bright and powerful look in his eyes. He is not only a warrior, but also should know a few small spells. In the past, he would have been a second-level Qi-refining practitioner or a low-level immortal cultivator.

That’s right, if you don’t have this ability, how dare you walk in this wilderness?

“Please do as you please. This place is unowned. My whole family fled here. Now I am the only one left. Life in the mountains is hard, but it is quiet.”

Zhao Guanshan nodded and continued to work.

The merchant leader thanked them and directed the others to set up tents and light a fire in a flat place nearby. There were only nine people in their group and they had no vehicles. They only drove a few strange but extremely strong livestock. The backs of these animals were full of goods, which should be more than 30,000 kilograms.

In addition, there is a tomboy about eleven or twelve years old in their team. She works efficiently and has a stubborn spirit of not admitting defeat.

She should be the leader’s daughter.

After they were settled, Zhao Guanshan picked some fruits and vegetables and sent them over. The leader thanked him and invited him to have dinner with them.

Although they are traveling merchants, the food they eat is not shabby.

There were even chilled wines and drinks. Even the barbecued meat was of excellent quality and cooked with extraordinary craftsmanship. You could tell at a glance that it was from some kind of wild beast with spiritual energy in its body.

“Little brother, I see that you are not that old. Living alone in this wilderness, although you can be self-sufficient, it is hard not to feel lonely. Why don’t you go out and make a living? The world of immortal cultivation is no longer as dangerous as it was a few years ago.”

After eating and drinking, the merchant leader asked.

“I’m used to being free, and I don’t have any ideas. This is good.” Zhao Guanshan said with a smile, and then asked: “Where are you going? How did you get to my place? I remember that this area is quite remote. Back then, our family went through a lot of hardships to escape.”

“Indeed, this place is quite remote. To be honest, we got lost on the way. We were originally planning to go to Zhenhai City. Have you heard of it, little brother?”

“Zhenhai City? I’ve never heard of it.”

Zhao Guanshan shook his head.

“Hehe, little brother, you really have to go and have a look. The customs of the people in Zhenhai City are very different, and the products are rich. The specialty, Heavenly Fate Black Iron, is world-famous. Many major sects will go there to buy it. In addition, the people there are also good at mechanical puppetry. They use mechanical Taoist talismans to control the machinery, which can fly into the sky and hide in the ground. Their combat power is not inferior to their own magic weapons. They are extremely powerful.”

“I came here for business, and also to send my son to study at the Mechanical Dao Palace in Zhenhai City.”

“Why is that?” Zhao Guanshan was stunned and looked at the tomboy who was eating and drinking. Shouldn’t she go to a sect to learn how to cultivate immortality and seek the truth?
“Alas, it’s helpless. My son is thirteen years old this year. At this age, it’s just right to send him to a cultivation sect to learn some skills. Those with talent can stay to cultivate immortality and ask questions, and those without talent can also make a living. But unfortunately, he went to several cultivation sects but failed. His Tao meridians were incomplete, so he couldn’t cultivate immortality, ask questions, or sense spiritual energy. Later, a kind-hearted immortal master gave him some advice, saying that Zhenhai City’s mechanical Taoist talismans are a self-contained system, and maybe he could give it a try.”

“So I wanted to try my luck, but I got lost halfway.”

“I see.” Zhao Guanshan nodded, took another look at the tomboy, thought for a moment, and took out his mechanical sparrow. “Meeting is fate. I don’t know the way to Zhenhai City, nor do I know what a mechanical talisman is. This little gadget was left by an old friend. It is of no use to me, so why not give it to this little brother.”

“How can this be so embarrassing?” the merchant leader said hastily. However, his daughter’s eyes lit up when she saw it. She stepped forward and snatched it away without saying thank you. She ran to the side and started playing with it foolishly, unable to let it go.

“Ah, my son, you are really useless.”

The merchant leader had no choice but to give Zhao Guanshan two silver coins to buy it.

Zhao Guanshan smiled, declined, and took a silver coin.

After eating and drinking, there was no trouble all night.

The next morning, the leader of the merchants said goodbye and they were going to cross the hill to see if there was another road.

Zhao Guanshan continued with his daily life, calm and composed.

There is no time in the mountains. In a blink of an eye, another ten years have passed.

In the past ten years, no one has gotten lost and come here, but occasionally a few teams of merchants pass by the foot of the mountain. It is obvious that a new trade route is taking shape.

Occasionally, Zhao Guanshan thought that maybe one day in the future, he might be able to open an inn or something at the foot of the mountain.

Until another uninvited guest came.

There were two groups of people fighting and chasing each other. There were only three people left on one side, while there were seven on the other side.

Each of them is not an ordinary person. They climb over mountains and cross rivers as if they were walking on flat ground. Occasionally, a flash of light appears, which is a magic weapon. Occasionally, a rune vibrates, like thunder in a valley, which is a magic symbol. Occasionally, a rapidly formed spiritual energy vibrates, followed by an air explosion in a radius of several hundred meters, which is a magical power.

During the fight, both sides suffered casualties, and the ratio soon became one to five.

Finally, only one person escaped to Zhao Guanshan’s hill and saw his small courtyard. This person seemed a little dazed. At this moment of distraction, a stream of light came silently like the fog in the dark night. This person reacted quickly. A flash of light appeared on his body and he moved dozens of meters away. However, Zhao Guanshan’s courtyard suffered the disaster and was half destroyed. Even he, who was watching the excitement, was covered in dust.

At this time, the two sides fought again, one against five. The man was obviously exhausted and suffered repeated injuries. At the critical moment, a mechanical sparrow flew out, and the mechanical talisman was activated, killing three people in an instant.

But he was still powerless and was destroyed by the remaining two people with powerful magical weapons.

But the next second, their skulls were also blown off.

At the moment before they died, they only saw a crow circling in the sky.

Zhao Guanshan did not take any action, he just sat there and watched the fun.

The crow wasn’t his either.

The ground was in a mess and there were corpses everywhere.

The person who luckily survived searched the corpse for a while quickly, and then came to Zhao Guanshan. It turned out to be a woman. She was wearing a set of level five imperial armor. After taking off the armor, her face was very complicated, but also a little surprised.

“I remember you. It’s been ten years, but you still haven’t grown up. Thank you for the mechanical bird you gave me. It’s a pity that it’s destroyed.”

Zhao Guanshan looked up and sighed, “I was still wondering if you had found Zhenhai City, but you came again. Who are they?”

“The people of the Floating Cloud Dao League declared the mechanical Dao Talisman illegal and believed that Zhenhai City was a heresy, so a war broke out between us. You must not be an ordinary person. The mechanical bird you gave me is very powerful. I asked the Grand Master in Zhenhai City, and he said that this is a long-lost mechanical Dao method and they can’t make it anymore.”

“Lost? Can’t be made anymore?”

Zhao Guanshan wanted to laugh, but he didn’t.

“Now that the war has broken out, are you still going to leave? I’m living in complete peace here.”

“Of course I have to go. My companions, my beliefs, and everything I have are in Zhenhai City. I have to fight for the Mechanical Dao. I can see that you are not an ordinary person. Why don’t you go with me?”

Zhao Guanshan shook his head. “Just like you can’t stay, I don’t want to leave either. In fact, if you ask me, the war between you is meaningless.”

“Yes, it is meaningless, but killing the Floating Cloud Alliance and gaining living space for the Mechanical Alliance is very meaningful.”

At this point, she probably felt that the topic was not going well, so she immediately changed the subject.

“I didn’t expect that I would come here again while on the run. It’s just like ten years ago when we got lost and came here. I always feel that this place is different, but I can’t tell exactly how.”

“I’ll clean it up for you. Don’t worry, the people from the Floating Cloud Alliance won’t be able to find you here.”

After saying that, she left in a hurry. From beginning to end, Zhao Guanshan didn’t know her name.

After daybreak, he found the destroyed fragments of the mechanical sparrow in the mud, and when he brushed them gently with his hand, it came back to life.

(End of this chapter)