The Snipe and the Clam Fight, the Fisherman Benefits

Southern Foothills Market, West Gate.

Although the market had quieted down since the South Foothill Gathering had just ended, there were still quite a few cultivators coming and going.

In a hidden street corner, a hunched-over rogue cultivator in a gray robe hid in the shadows, scanning every cultivator who left the market.

After an unknown amount of time.

Three figures, dressed in black robes and wearing bamboo hats, walked out of the market in a hurry.

Although wearing black robes and bamboo hats was a common sight in major markets, the old servant, Uncle Fu, recognized at a glance that these three were undoubtedly Luo Yu Lei and his companions.

The reason was simple: the old book sold to Luo Yu Lei had been dusted with a special invisible powder.

Without further thought, he crushed the communication talisman in his hand and informed his young master, Chen Heng, of Luo Yu Lei's departure from the Southern Foothills Market.

"I hope everything goes as smoothly as the young master predicted."

The old servant muttered a couple of sentences before disappearing into the shadows of the street corner.

On the other side.

Chen Heng had already arrived at the location of the predecessor's cave dwelling, as recorded on the beast skin map.

This place was called Bamboo Branch Mountain, located west of the Southern Foothills Market, near Little Bamboo Peak. The spiritual energy here was not abundant, and the terrain was quite steep, with few people venturing here.

However, the bamboo forests were lush and verdant, the vegetation was thriving, and clear streams and springs crisscrossed the area, making for a rather pleasant landscape.

"I never thought a place with such poor spiritual energy would have a predecessor's cave dwelling."

Chen Heng hid above a bamboo forest, looking at the inconspicuous mountain ridges within Bamboo Branch Mountain.

This mountain ridge was unremarkable within Bamboo Branch Mountain, very ordinary, and not much different from its surroundings. The spiritual energy concentration was not even at the first-tier level.

A low spiritual energy concentration meant that it was difficult for Yao Beasts or rogue cultivators to reside here permanently, with at most occasional passersby.

At this moment.

Within the bamboo forest, three figures in black robes and bamboo hats moved rapidly towards a mountain ridge not far away.

The person in the lead held a very old beast skin map in his hand.

He would stop from time to time to check the direction. The two behind him had no objections and followed closely.

Witnessing this, Chen Heng thought to himself, "These two must be Luo Yu Lei's guards. They are both cultivators at the seventh level of Qi Refining. The Luo Family really values him."

After about half a cup of tea's time, Luo Yu Lei, having determined the direction, led the two behind him and sped towards a certain area of the mountain ridge before them.

Not long after.

After seeing the three leave, Chen Heng descended from above the bamboo forest and followed quickly along the traces they left behind.

After walking only a few hundred steps, he found himself facing a sinkhole several zhang in diameter. The pit was dark, and nothing could be seen clearly.

"This place is quite hidden. No wonder that senior chose to build his cave dwelling here."

He muttered softly, and without hesitation, Chen Heng took out the Ruyi Water-Fire Cudgel from his ear and immediately rode his magical artifact, leaping down into the sinkhole.

This sinkhole was actually several hundred zhang deep!

Upon descending, there were seven or eight underground tunnels extending in all directions, their ends unknown.

There was also an underground river, its noisy water standing out conspicuously in the silent environment.

Chen Heng followed the invisible powder left by Luo Yu Lei into one of the tunnels.

This invisible powder was a secret recipe developed by Uncle Fu, an old Spirit Planter, and was currently unknown to outsiders.

After walking for a short distance, he saw a huge cave before him.

The underground river flowed into an underground lake, and the noisy water sound immediately became much quieter.

Chen Heng surveyed the cave, finding it to be over ten zhang high and more than thirty to forty zhang long and wide. One side was the underground dark lake, and the other was jagged rocks.

Many sharp stalactites hung from the cave ceiling, forming a spectacular sight.

"What a pity, the spiritual energy here is insufficient to nurture stalactite milk," Chen Heng sighed and shook his head.

Suddenly.

A sudden sound of fighting came from beyond a stone wall.

"Wang Yi, you old bastard, how dare you scheme against this young master!"

"Luo San Mu, Luo San Shi, kill this old bastard for me!"

"Hurry and attack with all your might, you actually managed to lure this lord here..."

"Not good, it's a Fire Thunder Talisman, dodge quickly!"

The sounds of fighting gradually lessened but continued.

Chen Heng followed the sound to a stone wall at the edge of the cave and stopped.

The sounds of fighting were coming from inside the stone wall!

He listened closely and made a rough judgment, estimating that about seven or eight people were engaged in a fierce battle inside.

There were clashing spells and colliding magical artifacts, but more than anything, there were exploding talismans.

A strange look flickered across Chen Heng's face. That old talisman master had secretly stashed so many talismans. Fortunately, he hadn't fallen for their trap.

The rogue cultivator Li Zheng hadn't lied. Wang Yi was indeed an old rake who enjoyed visiting brothels and discussing the Dao, and was usually penniless.

Chen Heng had investigated all these details.

He hadn't expected these people to put on such a convincing act to swindle cultivators.

However, running into a young master of the Luo Family was their bad luck.

Chen Heng retreated several steps and began to examine the stone wall. If nothing was amiss, it should have some kind of mechanism or restriction set up. Once he found the key, he could open it.

At this moment, the sounds of fighting grew fainter.

"Li Zheng, I never expected a guy with your righteous look would be involved in such sneaky dealings."

"You people actually caused the death of one of my guards! You truly deserve to die!"

Luo Yu Lei's angry voice came through the stone wall.

Chen Heng's lips curved slightly. He had already found the groove that opened the stone wall, but he didn't rush to join the fray.

A short while later.

Luo Yu Lei's confused voice echoed again, "Luo San Shi, search carefully. How can such an ancient cave dwelling be completely empty?"

"We didn't find anything related to the cave dwelling in the storage bags of these guys either."

After a while longer.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it! This is an utterly empty cave dwelling!"

Listening to Luo Yu Lei's exasperated voice, Chen Heng felt the situation was ripe. His guard should be at its lowest now.

He formed his fingers into a sword, condensed fire into a line, and flicked his finger.

Flame Heart Finger shot towards an inconspicuous groove.

BOOM!

The stone wall suddenly rose upwards, accompanied by the sound of crushed stones collapsing from above.

Luo Yu Lei and Luo San Shi were stunned for a moment upon hearing the noise, then looked towards the stone wall.

But all they saw was a talisman being thrown in, and a burst of mist immediately filled the cave dwelling.

"Not good, it's a high-grade first-tier Mist Illusion Talisman!"

"Be careful!"

BANG! BANG!

Two muffled thuds were heard in succession, followed by the sound of heavy objects falling.

The mist dissipated.

Inside the ancient cave dwelling, only Chen Heng stood holding his cudgel. The others were all lying on the ground.

Some were completely dead, while others, though still alive, would likely wish they were dead once they woke up.