Young Married Woman of Marriageable Age

Chen Heng watched Luo Yu Lei collapse on the ground, his lips curling upwards involuntarily.

He had judged the force of his strike perfectly; it would daze but not injure Luo Yu Lei's brain, allowing him to sleep until morning.

The reason he hadn't directly killed Luo Yu Lei was that this location wasn't far from either Little Bamboo Peak or Southern Foothills Market.

Luo Yu Lei held a significant position within the Luo Family. Not only was he a direct descendant, but he also had a close relative, an elder sister, who had joined the Azure Profound Sect and become a disciple of a Violet Palace Venerable.

What if the two Luo Family Foundation Establishment ancestors stationed at the Little Bamboo Peak mine and guarding Southern Foothills Market had left some sort of contingency on him?

In that case, it would be difficult for him to escape.

It was precisely because Chen Heng had considered such a scenario that he hadn't directly killed them both.

However, he wouldn't let Luo Yu Lei off easy either.

Chen Heng first collected the six storage bags hanging from Luo Yu Lei's waist. Aside from one rather exquisite storage bag that belonged to him, the other five likely belonged to the rogue cultivators with malicious intent.

He swept his gaze across the scene. Among those lying in pools of blood were three men and one woman. Besides Wang Yi and Li Zheng, he didn't recognize the remaining man and woman.

Li Zheng, with his thick eyebrows, large eyes, and square face that inspired trust, was now in the most pitiful state.

His head had been severed, and his face still held an expression of disbelief and terror.

He probably hadn't expected that this venture would attract a powerful local figure with two subordinates.

"What a shame, such a beautiful female cultivator also met a tragic end here."

Chen Heng looked at the only female cultivator present and sighed.

This woman was a young married woman of marriageable age, as beautiful as a peach blossom, with fair and delicate skin and a remarkably proud and voluptuous figure. She was truly a stunner with both beauty and a great figure.

But sadly, she had already passed away. It seemed a magic sword had pierced her abdomen, and she had died from excessive bleeding.

Chen Heng shook his head, then proceeded to strip Luo Yu Lei's magic robe, fearing he might catch a chill lying on the ground. He left him a pair of white socks.

He then took out an Image Recording Jade Slip and preserved a naked snapshot of the young master Luo.

"Tsk tsk tsk, this guy's development is incomplete, it's only this small!"

After looking for a while, Chen Heng commented inexplicably, then solemnly put the Image Recording Jade Slip into his storage bag.

After finishing these trivial matters, he began to seriously examine the ancient cave dwelling.

The cave dwelling was ancient in style, grand and imposing, with exquisite jade pillars, but the interior was empty.

The items in the hall seemed to have been moved out long ago, leaving only a vacant great hall.

Chen Heng mused to himself, "Perhaps this cave dwelling was visited by someone long ago. Even Li Zheng and Wang Yi weren't the first cultivators to discover this place."

Just as he was surveying the interior of the great hall, unable to discern any clues, and preparing to return to Southern Foothills Market.

He suddenly noticed that the carvings on the jade pillars inside the cave dwelling looked somewhat familiar.

As Chen Heng was trying to recall, he suddenly heard a rapid breathing sound.

It sounded like the gasping of a drowning person who had just reached the shore.

No sooner said than done!

He quickly turned, his cudgel striking like thunder towards the source of the sound.

"Fellow Daoist, please spare my life!"

A soft, charming, and pleasant voice rang out.

Chen Heng smoothly stopped his Ruyi Water-Fire Cudgel at the throat of a pale-faced, frail-looking young married woman of marriageable age.

If he had moved it even a millimeter closer, he could have ended her life instantly.

His eyes narrowed, and he said in a deep voice, "Speak, how did you survive!"

Chen Heng was very sure that when he had checked earlier, apart from Luo Yu Lei and Luo San Shi, whom he had intentionally left alive, everyone else should have been dead.

The young married woman of marriageable age's face was exceptionally pale, her brows tightly furrowed. Clearly, she had lost a lot of blood. She trembled and said, "Turtle Breath... Talisman."

The Turtle Breath Talisman was a mid-grade second-tier talisman, a type of breath-concealing talisman. It not only concealed one's aura but could also fake signs of death.

Chen Heng instantly understood how this woman had survived the previous melee.

She must have been struck by the sword that pierced her abdomen, and then immediately activated this rather precious second-tier talisman, feigning death on the spot.

Even the Chen Family, renowned for their artifact refining and talisman crafting, had not issued talismans of this grade to him.

Chen Heng looked the young woman up and down, hesitating whether to kill her.

In this cultivation world, deception and suspicion were rampant, with no trust to be found. It was a typical dark forest rule.

He wouldn't feel pity for her just because she looked so pitiable now, because she had seen something she shouldn't have.

Chen Heng did not want the matter of him hitting Luo Yu Lei with his cudgel to be revealed.

Seeing Chen Heng remain silent, a chill rose from the young woman's spine, completely overshadowing the pain in her body.

She forcibly suppressed her pain and hurriedly said, "Fellow Daoist, what if you spare my life? I can make a Dao Oath, and from now on, I will be your slave and maid, loyal only to you."

In this world, Dao Oaths bound cultivators far more strongly than anything else.

Dao Oaths reached the heavens and imprinted the Dao heart.

If a cultivator violates their oath, inner demons will arise, heaven and earth will not tolerate them, they will surely suffer qi deviation, and turn into ashes.

This is the result of countless cultivators personally verifying.

Especially for cultivators with higher cultivation realms, the Dao oaths they make are even more terrifying.

She is willing to make a Dao oath, which is even more so than releasing her own sea of consciousness and planting a restriction.

At this moment.

The young married woman's eyes were like autumn water, flowing with a desire to survive.

Although Chen Heng had lived two lives, he had never personally killed anyone so far.

Moreover, it was difficult for him to cruelly attack a beautiful, helpless, and pitiable young married woman.

Besides, her cultivation was not bad either, only one step away from late Qi Refining. If she could be used by him, it would indeed be much more convenient for his future actions.

With this thought, Chen Heng slowly put away the Ruyi Water-Fire Cudgel in his hand, but his eyes were still filled with vigilance.

He stared at her intently, without speaking.

The young married woman frowned, forcing a smile with a look of reluctance, and patiently waited for Chen Heng to make a decision.

But her body trembled uncontrollably, both from the unbearable physical pain and the surge of her survival instinct.

There is great terror between life and death!

Not long after.

Chen Heng's expression softened slightly, and he said calmly, "Chen Heng of the Chen Family."

Upon hearing this, the young married woman breathed a sigh of relief and quickly made a Dao oath: "This concubine is Wen Ning, and from this life onwards, I am willing to serve Chen Heng as my master, and be your slave and maid from now on, without any complaints."

Seeing Wen Ning make the Dao oath on the spot, Chen Heng immediately took out a high-grade healing pill from his storage bag and handed it to her to help her heal.

He was afraid that his beautiful and delicate maidservant would bleed too much and die on the spot.

Then he got up and hit Luo Yu Lei and Luo San Shi a few more times with his cudgel, ensuring that they would not be able to wake up.

Chen Heng walked to the jade pillar from before and continued to observe the carvings on the jade pillar in front of him.

At this moment, a flash of inspiration suddenly crossed his mind.

Chen Heng finally remembered where he had seen similar carvings. It was on the shield he bought when he first went to the market in Southern Foothills Market.

The two were practically from the same origin, with a similar effect.

It was highly likely that they were refined by the same person.

Although the jade pillar in front of him was not a ranked magical artifact, it was not an ordinary object either. The carvings inscribed on it were an incomplete artifact pattern.

It was probably casually refined by that artifact refiner or the owner of the cave dwelling.