Raise a sword!

The moment he saw the precipice ahead, Tiancan Daoren's emotions became visibly agitated.

He kept urging Jiang Peng to come closer in his mind.

"Tsk, my cave is right below that cliff. I'll show you the way once you go down."

Jiang Peng shook her head slightly.

Since approaching the cliff, he could vaguely sense several divine senses landing on him, some discreetly, some without restraint.

Not far away, a figure calmly appeared on a towering tree.

"What brings you to my Heartless Valley, fellow Daoist?"

"Let's explore the ruins and try our luck," Jiang Peng replied, using an excuse he had already prepared.

It's worth mentioning that there was an unexpected reason why the Heartless Valley developed into the gathering place for rogue cultivators in the Chen Kingdom.

A century ago, someone discovered a site here.

At first, the news only circulated in a small circle, but later it was said that a Qi Refining rogue cultivator found a Foundation Establishment Pill in the ruins and successfully established his foundation.

The news could no longer be kept secret, and even attracted the attention of the Chen family, the royal family of the Chen Kingdom, who sent cultivators to investigate.

The Chen family cultivators also provided an answer.

There is indeed a ruin at the bottom of the valley, and there is some serendipitous element to it.

Thus, the Valley of Heartlessness transformed from a remote and dangerous mountain forest into one of the most important gathering places for independent cultivators in the Chen Kingdom.

As for the ruins at the bottom of the valley...

Over the past hundred years, it has been explored by countless cultivators, and there are rumors that treasures are found every now and then, but whether they are true or not is still unknown.

But it is true that every year, independent monks come here to explore the ruins.

Upon hearing Jiang Peng's reply, the person in the tree chuckled softly, then looked Jiang Peng up and down a few times before tossing out a jade pendant.

Jiang Peng subconsciously reached out and took it, thinking it was a jade slip that might contain some information.

However, after he got his hands on the jade pendant, he discovered that the jade was of very rough quality and had no spiritual charm whatsoever. It was clearly a low-quality, ordinary jade pendant.

"This is the token for entering the ruins, in exchange for fifty low-grade spirit stones," the man in the tree grinned.

"Hehe, kid, you've been ripped off." Tiancan Daoren laughed gleefully.

Jiang Peng shook her head helplessly.

After hesitating for a moment, he pretended to be in pain, took fifty lower spirit stones from his storage bag, and threw them to the person in the tree.

The other party was clearly a gang. The one in the tree was just the one who showed up. The divine senses that were secretly spying on Jiang Peng were obviously in cahoots with the one in the tree.

Unlike those in the Northern Foothills, the cultivators in the Chen Kingdom are not suppressed by the three major sects. Therefore, regardless of their true intentions, on the surface, the rogue cultivators in the Northern Foothills are all righteous people.

In the Chen Kingdom, cultivators have no taboos among themselves. As long as they do not provoke the royal Chen family, no one will regulate their behavior.

The only constraint the Chen family placed on cultivators was that they were not allowed to easily slaughter mortals.

That's right, it's not that we can't slaughter, but that we can't slaughter easily.

Killing mortals is not impossible; if you can afford the spirit stones, the Chen family's subordinates can even personally guide you to select materials.

Beneath the surface of the Chen Kingdom, where immortals and mortals coexist, lies a thoroughly dog-eat-dog world.

After the cultivator in the tree accepted the spirit stone from Jiang Peng, he casually waved his hand as if to shoo it away.

However, Jiang Peng didn't leave immediately. Instead, he politely asked, "Fellow Daoist, now that I've given you spirit stones, you don't need to give them to me again when I leave, do you?"

The person in the tree chuckled twice, surprised, and said, "Looks like a novice, but I didn't expect him to be so shrewd."

Jiang Peng shrugged.

He could see, of course, that the jade pendant in his hand was utterly useless; the so-called token was merely an excuse to demand spirit stones.

But for newcomers who are unfamiliar with the place, it's okay to suffer a little loss or pay tolls, but it can't go on forever.

The person in the tree disappeared into the canopy, and only their voice could be heard.

"Don't worry, although the brothers are in the business of highway robbery, they won't be targeting just one fierce beast... If anyone stops you on the next trip, just show your jade token and you can pass."

Hearing this, Jiang Peng nodded slightly.

"understood."

Being robbed was just a side story.

After giving away the spirit stones, the faint probing sensations around him disappeared.

So Jiang Peng continued forward and came to the edge of the cliff.

The scene before her eyes was quite unexpected for Jiang Peng.

A set of steps descends along the cliff face, and on both sides of the cliff, many grottoes have been carved out.

Some of the grottoes were the dwellings of monks, while others were used as shops.

Thus, a scene resembling a market town for cultivators was formed on both sides of the cliffs in the Valley of Heartlessness.

Jiang Peng descended the stone steps, occasionally pausing on the platforms carved out halfway up the mountain to observe what kind of businesses the local independent cultivators were engaged in.

After strolling leisurely for about an hour, Jiang Peng finally arrived at the bottom of the valley.

Looking up at the sky, one could see that more than a hundred feet above, the wide cliff opening had become a thin line, with the moonlight faintly falling down, barely enough to make one see, let alone provide any illumination.

The brightness at the bottom of the valley mostly comes from the scattered lights on both sides of the cliff.

Once we reach the bottom of the valley, it will be the Heavenly Crippled Taoist who will guide us.

However, as Tiancan Daoren guided Jiang Peng forward, he noticed that there were more and more figures coming and going along the way.

"I have a bad feeling. Could those so-called ruins be the cave I left behind back then?" said Tiancan Daoren.

Jiang Peng had already sensed something was amiss, and now, hearing Tiancan Daoist's words, he immediately questioned in his heart, "Didn't you say your cave would never be discovered?"

Before coming here, knowing that there was a ruin in the Valley of Heartlessness, Jiang Peng asked the Heavenly Crippled Daoist if it was his lair that had been destroyed.

At the time, the Taoist priest Tiancan swore that it was absolutely impossible.

After passing several forks in the canyon road, they saw more and more cultivators setting up stalls on both sides of the road at the bottom of the valley, and almost all of them were claiming to be selling relics and treasures.

Jiang Peng's expression grew increasingly helpless.

Tiancan Daoist kept explaining, "Don't worry, my cave dwelling is extremely well hidden. The so-called ruins are mostly just the outer perimeter of my cave dwelling. As for the true location of the cave dwelling, there is absolutely no possibility of it being discovered."

"I hope so," Jiang Peng thought, believing this to be true.

After all, it was the hiding place of a Nascent Soul cultivator, and the Chen Kingdom did not have any Nascent Soul True Monarchs of the same level, so Tian Can's cave should not be found so easily.

They traveled for another 15 minutes or so.

The road ahead of the canyon suddenly opened up, and a huge cave entrance appeared before Jiang Peng's eyes.

This cave is completely different from the one that sealed Tiancan. The sides of the cave are even lit up, making it look quite bright, and the ground at the entrance is paved with stone bricks.

"Is this where your cave is located?" Jiang Peng asked.

"Yes."

Jiang Peng's lips twitched twice, but in the end she didn't say anything more.

Give me directions.