Chapter 414: Chapter 183: Grotto Heaven

Immediately after, he strode into his cave abode.

Over the past while, he had completely tidied up the cave abode. He had also brought in large wooden crates filled with oil lamps, tea sets, meditation cushions, bedding, and other furnishings, making it fully equipped for daily life.

Entering the storage room, he changed into the Black and White Robe that his mother and Hu Niu had made for him.

Then, taking the items he planned to sell at the Valley of Oblivion, he turned and left.

「A short time later.」

On the North Shore of Sea Marsh, at a stretch of tidal flats bordering the mountain forest, Chen Cheng confirmed that no one was around before emerging from the water. With a series of leaps and bounds, he swiftly crossed the flats and disappeared deep into the forest.

He had studied a map beforehand and had already planned a rarely traveled route.

The sun sank below the ridgeline, and the last streak of crimson-purple in the sky was fading.

The entrance to the Valley of Oblivion was hidden between two steep mountain cliffs, so narrow that only two people could walk side-by-side.

Outside the valley entrance, a gravel path snaked out from the dense woods. It was flanked by waist-high weeds that rustled when the wind blew, sounding like countless people whispering.

As dusk settled, figures began to appear on the path.

Everyone did their best to hide their faces. Masks were the most common, while others wrapped their heads in cotton cloth, leaving only their eyes exposed. A rare few even used Disguise Techniques.

At the valley entrance, four towering Martial Artists stood guard.

Each wore a Bronze Mask and had a sheathless long saber hanging at their waist. The blades were lacquered black and did not reflect any light.

In front of each of them was a large chest. Anyone wishing to enter had to deposit ten Large Golden Blade Coins into one of the chests.

One Big Gold Saber was equivalent to one hundred taels of silver.

This meant the entrance fee alone was a full one thousand taels of silver.

It was outrageously expensive.

But this had the benefit of screening who could enter.

The poor with insufficient funds were kept out. Loiterers who only came to look but not trade were kept out. The riff-raff who schemed and pilfered were kept out...

This screening process not only facilitated transactions but also enhanced security and privacy.

At that moment, a woman wearing a black cloak and a black mask, with a full chest, took out a Hexagonal Gold Coin and waved it in front of one of the guards.

The guard not only let her pass immediately but also clasped his fist in a respectful salute.

As for the one-thousand-tael entrance fee, she didn’t pay a single coin and walked right in as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Behind them, a young man who was clearly a first-timer lowered his voice and asked his companion:

"...What’s the deal with that gold coin? Just flashing it saves one thousand taels of silver!"

"That’s not just any gold coin. It’s a Forget Sorrow Token, the symbol of a VIP in the Valley of Oblivion."

His companion lowered his voice and said, half-jokingly:

"Forget Sorrow Tokens are unregistered. Whoever holds one is a VIP! If you want to save that one thousand taels of silver, why don’t you just go kill her and take it!"

"Are you fucking kidding me? You think I’m an idiot?" the young man retorted irritably.

"It may be my first time here, but even I know that the Valley of Oblivion is overseen by a Grand Tributor of unfathomable power. Even a Divine Treasure Powerhouse would be instantly obliterated if they dared to start a fight here!"

From a distance, Chen Cheng saw and heard everything.

He was currently dressed in a white robe, its large hood pulled down low to hide his entire face in shadow.

Apparently, that wasn’t enough. His face was also wrapped in several layers of white cloth, leaving only small slits for his eyes and nostrils.

He raised a hand to double-check that the white cloth was wrapped securely, then walked toward the valley entrance.

Stopping before a guard in a Bronze Mask, he took out the Hexagonal Gold Coin that belonged to Dong Chuo.

The guard took a close look, immediately let him pass without a word, and even offered a respectful fist-clasping salute to Chen Cheng’s back as he walked away.

After passing through the narrow defile at the entrance, the Valley of Oblivion opened up before him.

The valley was shaped like a gourd, with a wide interior encircled by sheer cliffs, leaving only a sliver of night sky visible overhead.

The valley was brightly lit, with rows of stalls of all sizes lined up.

The stalls were set up by the people of the Valley of Oblivion. They were anonymous and unassigned; anyone who wanted to sell something could simply find an empty one and use it.

At first glance, it didn’t seem much different from an ordinary market.

However, no one here shouted their wares or made small talk. If you wanted to see a product, you stood still and pointed. If you wanted to ask the price, you made a hand gesture. Only occasionally would a few muffled words of conversation leak from beneath the masks of customers and merchants.

Chen Cheng did a quick lap. The goods for sale were incredibly varied. There were relatively common items like Treasure Medicines, weapons, Martial Arts, and dried meat...

But there were also things you would never see on the open market: Jianghu intelligence, official government documents, Secret Martial Arts, exclusive secret formulas, military secrets, esoteric medicines from Evil Cults, and even some strange and bizarre items that Chen Cheng couldn’t even name.

In contrast to the dead silence of the stall area, a crowd had gathered in a distant clearing, their chatter, discussions, and occasional gasps of surprise breaking the quiet.

Chen Cheng finally managed to find a good spot and peered through a gap in the crowd to see what was happening in the middle of the clearing.

In the center stood a row of massive iron cages.

Inside the cages were Exotic Beasts, Treasure Birds, and even powerful Martial Slaves.

Chen Cheng listened for a while. A Transforming Force Martial Slave was being sold by auction, with customers taking turns bidding. The price had already reached thirty thousand taels, and people were still raising it.

Chen Cheng wasn’t very interested, mainly because his pockets were empty.

He crossed the clearing and continued deeper into the valley.

There, in the deepest part of the valley floor, he saw a stone staircase slanting downward, leading to an even deeper, darker place.

Two guards in Bronze Masks stood at the entrance to the stairs, holding spears, motionless as statues.

All the customers and merchants kept their distance from that area.

Chen Cheng only gave it a couple of glances, having no intention of getting closer to investigate.

Afterward, Chen Cheng returned to the stall area and found an empty spot.

He had just taken a Tier Two Treasure Fish from the large leather pouch on his back when his first customer arrived.

It was none other than the VIP with the full chest he had seen earlier at the entrance.

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