Raise a sword!

As evening fell, Jiang Peng and Wei Zhilan disguised themselves as ordinary rogue cultivators. After being extorted for some spirit stones by the Chen family members at the valley entrance, they successfully infiltrated the Wuqing Valley market.

Returning to this place after many years, the Valley of Heartlessness has not changed much.

As dusk fell, the shops on the canyon walls lit up, illuminating the otherwise dark and deep rift valley.

In an inn, Jiang Peng sat in a corner with Wei Zhilan.

"There are four Foundation Establishment cultivators stationed in the Valley of Ruthlessness. Two of them are members of the Chen clan, and the other two belong to a sect called the Star Radiance Sect."

Wei Zhilan whispered what she knew.

"Xingyao Sect has its own stronghold here, so when we infiltrated the Chen Clan Chamber of Commerce, we encountered at most two Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Chen Clan at the first opportunity."

Wei Zhilan took out a piece of white paper from her storage bag. The paper had a hand-drawn layout of the Chen Clan Chamber of Commerce.

The Chen Clan Chamber of Commerce's branch in the Valley of Heartlessness is a three-story attic building.

However, according to the blueprints, the warehouse in the Chamber of Commerce's attic is actually underground.

After carefully examining the blueprints, Jiang Peng gave Wei Zhilan an incredulous look.

"This blueprint not only shows the location of the Chamber of Commerce's warehouse, but it even clearly marks their array formations and mechanisms... Senior Sister Wei has good connections."

"Hmph, do you think others don't covet the Chen Clan Chamber of Commerce? They're just hesitant to act because of the Chen Clan! That lousy chamber of commerce has been scouted countless times. With the right connections, it's not hard to get similar information."

Wei Zhilan tapped the blueprint lightly with one finger, her tone tinged with smugness as she said, "Perhaps the earliest source of this blueprint was leaked by someone from the Chen family themselves! After all, no matter how many treasures the Chamber of Commerce has, it has nothing to do with ordinary members of the Chen family; what matters is the benefits they actually receive."

"Young man, do you know anything about formations?" Wei Zhilan asked again.

Jiang Peng shook her head.

Wei Zhilan wasn't surprised. She simply said, "Then you'll be in charge of drawing attention while I sneak down to retrieve the treasure... Since you're a new face, the people in charge at the Chen family will definitely want to find out more about you when they see you. Just chat with them for a bit."

"When you hear my message, find a way to escape immediately, okay?"

Jiang Peng nodded in agreement.

...

Night seemed to never appear in the depths of the Heartless Valley.

Even though it was late at night, the lights on both sides of the cliff above still illuminated the valley floor as if it were daytime.

Moreover, the valley floor became even more lively as the night deepened.

At this moment, Jiang Peng did not deliberately conceal his cultivation level, nor did he intend to reveal his Foundation Establishment cultivation level. He was just like an ordinary guest visiting the Valley of Heartless, walking around the bustling valley floor.

He would occasionally stop at certain stalls, listening to the stall owners talk about the origins of the treasures on their stalls, sometimes refuting their arguments, and occasionally buying one or two small items.

"Someone's watching you," Wei Zhilan's voice transmission rang in Jiang Peng's ear.

Jiang Peng acted as if she hadn't heard him and didn't respond. She remained as a newcomer to the place, looking at everything with a sense of novelty.

He was aware of this, and his words and actions at this moment were all an act.

Wei Zhilan had mentioned it before the operation began.

The Chen family set up several layers of formations in the Valley of Heartlessness for security. The closer one got to the core area deep within the Valley of Heartlessness, the tighter the monitoring of the formations became.

Just now, when Jiang Peng crossed a certain boundary, she clearly felt a mysterious power sweep over her.

It's likely because they didn't conceal their cultivation level, and the Chen family already knew that an unfamiliar Foundation Establishment cultivator had appeared.

As Wei Zhilan predicted, someone would soon come to invite Jiang Peng to the Chen Clan Chamber of Commerce for a chat.

Less than a quarter of an hour later.

Just as Jiang Peng was haggling with the stall owner over an ancient book about alchemy, a soft laugh suddenly came from beside her.

"Wu Laojiu, you blind fool! A Foundation Establishment senior buying your lousy book is giving you face, and you still dare to argue and cause trouble?"

The stall owner, Wu Laojiu, looked up at the person who spoke, and then his whole body tensed up.

His eyes widened in surprise.

"This humble servant greets Young Master Chen Xing."

After exchanging greetings, Wu Laojiu seemed to finally realize the meaning behind Liu Xing's words, and then looked at Jiang Peng in shock.

"It's actually you, senior? Please forgive my poor eyesight..."

Seeing this, Jiang Peng lost interest in haggling over the price and immediately took out a mid-grade spirit stone to buy the ancient book according to Wu Laojiu's offer.

Then, Jiang Peng looked at Chen Xing beside her.

"A member of the Chen family?"

"Chen Xing greets this senior." Chen Xing bowed respectfully, then gestured for him to speak, "My elders invite you to have a chat."

Jiang Peng frowned slightly.

"I heard about the Chen family's domineering ways when I was in the south. What, does this Heartless Valley not allow Foundation Establishment cultivators to come here? I just felt the array probing me, but I figured I should just go with the flow and ignored it."

"I never expected that someone like me, who came uprightly and openly, and who didn't conceal my cultivation level, would still be subject to questioning by your Chen family?"

Upon hearing Jiang Peng mention the word "south," Chen Xing's polite smile was immediately replaced by respect.

"Senior Xu is a cultivator from the Southern Mountain?"

Jiang Peng did not answer, but instead looked Liu Xing up and down with a slightly oppressive gaze until Liu Xing was covered in cold sweat before she finally stopped.

"Alright, this is your Chen family's territory after all, so I'll give you some face and lead the way."

Chen Xing felt relieved and quickly and respectfully walked ahead to lead the way for Jiang Peng.

Soon, Jiang Peng was taken to the Chen Clan Chamber of Commerce's branch in the Valley of Heartlessness.

Standing at the entrance of the three-story pavilion with its carved beams and painted rafters, Jiang Peng paused for a moment, looking left and right.

"Senior?" Chen Xing asked cautiously.

Jiang Peng observed the people coming and going. When he saw an elderly rogue cultivator with a slightly sleazy appearance, his gaze paused for a moment before he chuckled and said, "Business is good. It's a good place to gather wealth."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a hearty laugh echoed from the attic.

"Haha, Chen Xing, you absolutely mustn't take that seriously!"

A middle-aged man in a brocade robe walked out of the pavilion, stopped in front of Jiang Peng, and said, "Fellow Daoist Xu is a cultivator from the Southern Mountain. The world you have seen is far beyond what our Chen family, with its small-scale operations, can compare to."

"Uncle," Chen Xing bowed to the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man then said to Jiang Peng, "My name is Chen Shiyu, and I greet Fellow Daoist Xu."

Jiang Peng smiled and returned the greeting.

"You're too kind, fellow Daoist."

Chen Shiyu waved Chen Xing away and invited Jiang Peng into the Chamber of Commerce.

We made our way to the third floor and sat down in a magnificent main hall.

After serving the tea, Chen Shiyu said with a hint of apology, "I'm sorry to have made you laugh, Fellow Daoist Xu. The situation in Chen Kingdom has been unfavorable lately, and our family has strengthened our defenses in various places. As a Foundation Establishment cultivator like Fellow Daoist Xu, we must be careful and personally entertain you before we can feel at ease."

Jiang Peng smiled slightly.

"I heard it's because of the Cangshan Sect on the northern slope?"

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