The woman collapsed to the ground, barely managing to straighten herself. Only then did Chen Zhou notice that her clothes were covered in blood.

Moreover, she was extremely dirty, completely different from the woman Chen Zhou had just seen, which surprised Chen Zhou greatly.

What exactly happened?

"Help...help..." the woman stammered, blood already trickling from the corner of her mouth.

The next moment, the woman vomited a mouthful of blood, and then collapsed to the ground like a puppet that had lost control, without making any further movements.

Chen Zhou had no intention of resting any longer. He braced his back and immediately climbed off the bed, then quickly walked to the woman's side and squatted down.

Chen Zhou first checked the woman's breathing.

Is there no breath left?

Chen Zhou scanned the woman's body and saw all sorts of wounds, including knife wounds, sword wounds, and axe wounds.

Looking at the wounds and the woman who had died from blood loss, Chen Zhou was furious.

The woman and her uncle were such good people, so why did they suffer such a terrible fate?

They had only gone to the capital to redeem their daughter; the woman had already died before the uncle returned.

Chen Zhou had no idea what had happened. The only clue they had found was that the woman was dead, and no one was telling Chen Zhou what had happened.

Chen Zhou could only stand there helplessly watching the woman's body fall to the ground.

"Look at the wounds on her body, this must have been a group, a small group that killed the woman. And look at the bruises on her hands, you can tell at a glance that she went through a painful struggle before she died."

Following Chen Zhou's gaze, Ren Lao looked at each of the wounds on the woman's body, and they were indeed shocking.

"I want to find the murderer," Chen Zhou said, looking down.

Ren Lao nodded, but instead of stopping Chen Zhou, he said, "Aren't you just going to your death if you go to find the murderer now?"

"You should wait until you've recovered before setting off; there's nothing you can do right now."

"Once we get back, we should focus all our energy on nourishing our bodies and helping them recover as quickly as possible!"

Ren Lao's words forced Chen Zhou to return to the bed he had just been on.

Chen Zhou was finding it extremely difficult to even squat down, and naturally wanted to go back to bed, but seeing the woman's injuries all over her body, Chen Zhou became extremely angry.

Why would you be so cruel to such a kind person?

Chen Zhou racked his brains but still couldn't figure it out.

What did this group of people see in the old woman?

Why kill the old woman?

"Auntie, I will definitely avenge you!" Chen Zhou said firmly, then used all his strength to move the old woman's body aside. Chen Zhou removed a long cloth and gently covered the old woman's body with it.

Chen Zhou sat cross-legged on the spot, and the automatic spiritual breathing technique, along with the Salty Fish System, was constantly providing him with true energy. However, Chen Zhou was too eager to heal his body, and this true energy was not enough at all.

Chen Zhou swallowed another Foundation Establishment Pill.

Chen Zhou had a whole box of Foundation Establishment Pills, but he only used the first one. Chen Zhou believed that maintaining one's cultivation level by taking pills would definitely be unstable. Only by cultivating steadily and practically could one achieve the most stable state.

Moreover, the pills would have adverse effects on the body, so Chen Zhou didn't want to take them, even though many people were scrambling to get them.

But Chen Zhou didn't care at all.

What he cared about was that the Foundation Establishment Pill contained a vast ocean of true energy.

Chen Zhou needs to recover his health as soon as possible. The old woman died so tragically, and Chen Zhou must find out why, otherwise, the old woman will not rest in peace.

After swallowing the Foundation Establishment Pill, Chen Zhou immediately felt a tidal wave of true energy rushing into his body.

The true energy of the Foundation Establishment Pill is very gentle and will not have a repulsive effect on anyone. For example, Chen Zhou can completely absorb the true energy in the Foundation Establishment Pill and perfectly transform it into his own true energy.

"You can absorb a maximum of three Foundation Establishment Pills per day. Once you've absorbed this one, you can't absorb any more. It will have side effects on your body," Elder Ren warned.

Chen Zhou didn't care about any of that; he was extremely anxious.

True energy surged in like a tide, and Chen Zhou's injuries healed faster and faster.

"All I need now is to be able to walk!" Chen Zhou thought. As long as he could walk freely, he could set off.

Previously, I couldn't straighten my back, but now I can support myself and walk upright without much trouble.

However, the biggest problem is that although he can walk upright, Chen Zhou still cannot move too much and can only walk normally.

Chen Zhou allowed the internal energy to continue repairing his body, and he walked out of the wooden house.

Chen Zhou hadn't left the wooden house since waking up, and this was the first time he had stepped out and seen the sights of the people's village.

Because the old woman was covered in wounds, she dragged herself back in a trail of blood. Her whole body was covered in blood, so if you looked out along the bloodstains inside the wooden house, you could see a bright red trail of blood running from the wooden house steps all the way to the main road.

People hurried to and fro on Mindao Avenue, almost all of them emaciated with empty eyes. They showed no pity for the bloodstains on the ground and just went about their own business.

Some people even stepped on the bloodstains, showing no respect for them whatsoever.

Chen Zhou stood there, and his initial anger actually subsided considerably.

Chen Zhou suddenly calmed down.

He suddenly realized that there were very few people on the road who shared the same compassion as the old woman and her husband. If he hadn't encountered them, but instead met other residents of the road, he would probably still be lying on the road, only now his belongings would have been stripped away.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!