Previous Person's Cave Dwelling

It's time for the monthly South Foothill Gathering again.

Chen Heng, as usual, arrived at the tail end of the gathering, in the area where rogue cultivators set up stalls, and began to wander around, trying to find bargains.

During this period, he had found quite a few high-grade precious materials that were far more valuable than their price, which had made him a bit addicted to the activity.

Of course, for his own safety, Chen Heng's attire and timing varied every time he appeared in this area, and Uncle Fu didn't always accompany him out.

At this moment.

Chen Heng was wearing an ordinary dark magic robe and a mask commonly used by rogue cultivators, walking slowly through the crowd.

Stalls of various kinds were set up along the street, arranged in a well-ordered manner.

After all, over the years, the market town had developed its own unwritten rules.

Although the South Foothill Gathering was held monthly, with high frequency.

The flow of cultivators was still like a river, with shouts of hawking and bargaining rising and falling.

"A piece of hundred-year-old Black Iron, the best choice for forging magic swords."

"Three pieces of mid-grade first-tier Copper Essence, for a wood-attribute defensive shield."

"A fifty-year-old Purple Cloud Ganoderma, highest bidder takes it!"

Chen Heng casually scanned the stalls on both sides, looking for any spiritual items that caught his eye, and any possibility of finding a bargain.

However, it was unfortunate that his luck was not good today.

He hadn't found anything worth buying along the way.

After walking a few dozen more steps and turning a corner, the sound of pipa and zither music mixed with the scent of perfume wafted towards him.

Chen Heng's lips involuntarily curled. He hadn't noticed this place on his previous visits; it was only last time that he discovered this brothel and entertainment venue.

At this moment, the coy laughter of female cultivators could be faintly heard, occasionally interspersed with the drunken, flirtatious banter of male cultivators.

This enchanting scene caused many rogue cultivators to involuntarily slow down their steps.

Their gazes frequently probed inward, either with curiosity or longing.

Some even stopped to watch, their Adam's apples bobbing as they swallowed.

Often, rogue cultivators and family cultivators with weak willpower, who craved pleasure, would patronize this brothel and entertainment venue, taking care of those female cultivators with tragic backgrounds.

But this seemingly extremely profitable brothel business was not backed by the three major Foundation Establishment Families.

Yet, it could still operate with singing and revelry every night, without anyone causing trouble.

Furthermore, apart from black markets and small market towns, medium and large market towns in the Moon Gazing Mountain Range all had such entertainment venues.

Rumor had it in the market that this was a place opened by a Violet Palace Venerable of the Azure Profound Sect, called the Warm Fragrance Pavilion, specifically to amass wealth for him.

"Young master, you've been walking for so long, why not come into my humble abode to rest for a while, and we can enjoy tea, wine, and music together..."

Under the eaves, a female cultivator in a bright yellow gauze skirt leaned against the window frame, her peach blossom eyes smiling, and beckoned gently to Chen Heng.

Her voice was soft and alluring to the bone, her eyes captivating, making it hard to resist.

Upon hearing this, Chen Heng subconsciously turned his head to look. He saw her jade arms, fairer than frost and snow, emitting a crystal-clear luster.

Beneath the slit of her dress, two plump, overlapping legs were revealed, as if one more glance would lead to utter infatuation.

Seeing this, Chen Heng raised his eyebrows and admired her openly. He had always viewed wealthy and generous female cultivators without judgment.

He smiled slightly at the female cultivator leaning against the window frame, then decisively continued walking forward without looking back.

These female cultivators in the entertainment venues were even more formidable than the female entertainers in the brothels; each had cultivated a natural talent for charm.

If one were not careful, falling into their trap would lead to a clouded Dao heart and the complete depletion of Spirit Stones.

Chen Heng, having lived two lives, knew this principle well.

However, after only a few steps, a gaunt old cultivator, who looked about sixty years old, suddenly blocked his path and said mysteriously:

"Young friend, this old man has an ancestral map here, which records the location of a predecessor's cave dwelling. I see that you are not swayed by beauty, and possess the potential for Violet Palace and Golden Core."

"For just one hundred Spirit Stones, this old man will sell this ancestral treasure map to you, how about it?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he lifted a corner of his tattered magic robe, revealing a worn piece of beast skin map.

It was as if this could increase the credibility of his outrageous words.

Chen Heng initially didn't want to bother, but he wanted to see how good his forgery skills were, so he pretended to be interested and said, "Senior, hearing you speak so extravagantly, may I take a look?"

He had a sincere expression, as if he had truly been moved by the old cultivator's words.

Seeing that Chen Heng seemed ready to take the bait, the old cultivator readily produced the map and said with a smile, "Young friend, you can examine it at your leisure."

Upon seeing this, Chen Heng did not hesitate and took it directly to examine.

He found that the old man's map was indeed very old, and the signs of decay on the beast skin were very obvious.

However, eighty percent of the content was likely fake. The carving marks were clearly distinct from the layers of the beast skin.

It was probably an old piece of beast skin obtained from somewhere, and then he had fabricated the content himself.

With his eyesight, he could only spot this subtle flaw.

If it were the inexperienced Chen Shi Shi, seeing such a lifelike ancient map, he would likely believe more than half of it.

However, one hundred Spirit Stones was a fortune for most rogue cultivators; they wouldn't be fooled so easily.

Chen Heng smiled slightly, wanting to ask a few more questions to see if this old geezer could produce anything new. Otherwise, with this level of trickery, he probably couldn't fool many cultivators.

At this moment, a voice of rebuke sounded in his ear.

"You old man, how can you be so shameless, trying to swindle people here again? Believe it or not, I'll notify the enforcement team and kick you out of the market town completely."

Hearing this, the old cultivator immediately became flustered. For a moment, he even abandoned the ancestral treasure map in Chen Heng's hand and quickly darted away.

While quickly disappearing into the crowd, he still managed to turn back and curse, "Li Zheng, you scoundrel, what nonsense are you spouting? You're not even an enforcement cultivator, why do you keep an eye on me every day?"

Chen Heng turned his head and saw a middle-aged man with thick eyebrows, large eyes, a square face, and dressed in fine clothes standing behind him.

His first impression of this person was that he was righteous and awe-inspiring, making it difficult to guard against him.

"Fellow Daoist, this person is called Wang Yi. He's a Qi Refining seventh-layer Talisman cultivator and is quite well-known among us rogue cultivators."

"Unfortunately, he developed a habit of frequenting brothels and entertainment venues, spending Spirit Stones like water. Last year, he even sold his ancestral stone dwelling to buy the freedom of a courtesan at the Warm Fragrance Pavilion."

"From then on, he resorted to this swindling business."

"This person was good friends with my father. He even held me when I was little. Unable to bear seeing him like this, I often keep an eye on him to stop him from deceiving others."

"Apologies for disturbing you, Fellow Daoist." Li Zheng spoke a long string of words like a broken record, then chased after Wang Yi.

For some reason, Chen Heng inexplicably listened to the man's lengthy speech.

He shrugged, didn't think much of it, casually tossed the beast skin map into his storage bag, and continued to wander for a while. Finding that his luck today was truly terrible, he returned to the Jade Spring Artifact Pavilion.

At a certain street corner, two people watched Chen Heng disappear into the street and vanish completely.

"Will he take the bait?"

"Definitely. Once he discovers the map has a hidden compartment, he'll definitely be unable to resist leaving the market town and heading to that cave dwelling to explore."

"After all, the map itself is real, it's just that the cave dwelling is empty now."