Previous Cultivator's Cave Abode

Another monthly South Foothill Gathering had arrived.

As usual, Chen Heng came at the very end of the gathering, heading to the area on the outskirts where rogue cultivators set up their stalls. He began wandering about, hoping to pick up overlooked bargains.

Over this time, he had found quite a few high-grade materials worth far more than their price, and he had become somewhat addicted to it.

Of course, for his own safety, Chen Heng dressed differently and came at different times whenever he appeared in this area. Even Uncle Fu did not accompany him every time he went out.

At this moment.

Chen Heng wore an ordinary dark robe and a mask commonly used by rogue cultivators as he slowly made his way through the crowd.

Stalls of every kind lined the streets in a scattered yet orderly arrangement.

After all, over so many years, the marketplace had long developed its own unspoken rules.

Though the South Foothill Gathering was held once every month, with great frequency.

Cultivators still came and went in an endless stream, while cries of hawking and haggling rose and fell without pause.

"A piece of hundred-year black iron, the perfect choice for forging a magic sword."

"Three portions of mid-grade first-rank copper essence, in exchange for a wood-element defensive shield."

"A fifty-year Purple Cloud Mushroom—highest bidder takes it!"

Chen Heng casually swept his gaze over the stalls on both sides, looking for any spiritual item he fancied or any chance to uncover a bargain.

Unfortunately, his luck was poor today.

After walking all this way, he had found nothing worth buying.

After another few dozen steps and around a street corner, waves of pipa and qin music mingled with the scent of cosmetics and came rushing toward him.

The corner of Chen Heng's mouth twitched. On his previous visits, he had never noticed this place. It was only during his last visit that he had discovered this district of pleasure houses.

At that moment, the delicate giggles of female cultivators drifted faintly over, occasionally mixed with the drunken, flirtatious teasing of male cultivators.

Such a bewitching scene caused many rogue cultivators to unconsciously slow their steps.

Their gazes repeatedly probed within, filled either with curiosity or longing.

Some had even stopped to stare, their Adam's apples bobbing as they swallowed their saliva.

Rogue cultivators and Lineage cultivators of weak resolve, greedy for pleasure, often visited these pleasure houses to patronize the unfortunate female cultivators within.

Yet the power behind this immensely profitable pleasure-house business was not one of the three great Foundation Establishment Families.

And still, they could indulge in music and revelry night after night without anyone daring to make trouble.

Moreover, aside from black markets and small marketplaces, every medium-sized and large marketplace in the Moon Gazing Mountain Range had such pleasure districts.

Rumor had it that these places were run by a Violet Palace Venerable of the Azure Profound Sect. They were called the Warm Fragrance Pavilion, established solely to gather wealth for him.

"Young master, you have walked for so long. Why not come rest in this humble woman's room for a while? We can drink tea, share wine, and listen to music together..."

Beneath the eaves, a female cultivator in a bright yellow gauze dress leaned sideways against a windowsill. Her peach-blossom eyes smiled as she lightly beckoned Chen Heng with one hand.

Her voice was soft and seductive to the bone, while her gaze seized the soul, making her hard to resist.

Hearing this, Chen Heng instinctively turned to look. Her jade-like arm was fairer than frost and snow, glimmering with a crystalline sheen.

Beneath the slit hem of her dress were two plump, beautiful legs crossed together, as though one more glance would drag him into perdition.

Seeing this, Chen Heng raised his brows and openly admired her. He had never judged female cultivators who were rich and generous with a critical eye.

He gave the female cultivator leaning against the windowsill a faint smile, then decisively continued forward without looking back.

These female cultivators of the pleasure houses were three parts more formidable than the courtesans who merely performed in the entertainment halls. Every one of them had cultivated an inborn seductive charm.

One careless misstep, and one would fall into their snare—one's Dao heart clouded with dust, one's spirit stones scattered to the four winds.

Chen Heng had lived two lives. How could he not understand such a principle?

Yet after taking only a few steps, a gaunt old cultivator with the appearance of a man in his sixties suddenly blocked his way and said mysteriously,

"Young friend, this old man possesses an ancestral map recording the location of a previous cultivator's cave abode. Seeing that you remain unmoved by beauty, you surely possess the potential to reach Violet Palace and Golden Core."

"For just one hundred spirit stones, this old man will sell this ancestral treasure map to you. What do you say?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he lifted a corner of his tattered robe and revealed an old beast-hide map.

As though this could make his outrageous words more convincing.

Chen Heng had not wanted to bother with him, but he wanted to see how skilled the old man was at forgery. So he feigned interest and said, "Senior, you have made it sound so marvelous. Might I take a look?"

His face was full of sincerity, as though he had truly been persuaded by the old cultivator's words.

Seeing Chen Heng look as though he was about to bite the hook, the old cultivator readily took out the map and said with a smile, "Young friend, feel free to inspect it as you please."

Chen Heng did not hesitate. He took it and examined it directly.

He found that the old bastard's map truly was quite ancient, and the sense of age and decay on the beast hide was unmistakable.

However, the content on it was eighty percent likely to be fake. The marks of engraving were clearly distinct from the layers of the beast hide.

He had likely found an old piece of beast hide from somewhere, then fabricated the contents himself.

With Chen Heng's discernment, this was the only subtle flaw he could spot.

If it had been Chen Shi Shi, still inexperienced in the world, he would probably have believed more than half of it upon seeing such a realistic ancient map.

However, one hundred spirit stones was an enormous sum to most rogue cultivators. They would not be fooled so easily.

Chen Heng smiled slightly, intending to ask a few more questions to see whether the old bastard could produce anything new. Otherwise, with this level of skill alone, he probably could not deceive many cultivators.

At that moment, a voice of rebuke rang out beside his ear.

"You old man, how can you be so shameless? You are swindling people here again. Believe it or not, I'll notify the enforcement team and have you driven out of the marketplace for good."

At this, the old cultivator immediately began jumping about in agitation. For a moment, he did not even care about the ancestral treasure map in Chen Heng's hands and hastily darted away.

As he quickly fled into the crowd, he did not forget to turn back and curse, "Li Zheng, you bastard! What nonsense are you spouting? You are not even a cultivator from the enforcement team, so why are you watching this old man every day?"

Chen Heng turned around and saw a middle-aged man standing behind him, with thick brows, large eyes, a square face, and luxurious clothing.

Chen Heng's first impression of the man was that he radiated righteousness, making it difficult for anyone to raise their guard against him.

"Fellow Daoist, that man is called Wang Yi. He is a seventh-layer Qi Refinement talisman cultivator and is somewhat well-known among us rogue cultivators."

"Unfortunately, he developed the habit of listening to music in entertainment halls and discussing the Dao in pleasure houses. His spirit stones flowed away like water, and last year, to redeem a courtesan from the Warm Fragrance Pavilion, he even sold his ancestral stone house."

"From then on, he took up this swindling trade."

"He was friends with my father, and he even held me when I was little. I cannot bear to see him like this, so I keep an eye on him often to stop him from deceiving people."

"My apologies for disturbing you." Li Zheng spoke on and on like a wheel spinning on its axle, then immediately chased after him.

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

He shrugged, gave it no further thought, casually tossed the beast-hide map into his storage bag, and wandered around for a while longer. Seeing that his luck truly was poor today, he returned to the Jade Spring Artifact Pavilion.

At a street corner somewhere, two people watched Chen Heng disappear down the street until he was completely out of sight.

"Will he take the bait?"

"He definitely will. Once he discovers that the map has a hidden layer, he will surely be unable to resist leaving the marketplace and heading to that cave abode to investigate."

"After all, the map itself is real. It is just that the cave abode is empty now."