Chapter 280: Dream-Tethered Pavilion

Li Banfeng realized he had used the wrong method.

To be precise, he had been misled by the person in white.

This matter had nothing to do with the person in white.

Within his dream, there were only two types of people; the first type were those he had created within the dream.

The second type were those who had invaded the dream. That woman had given a clear hint: she was the only one, and if he wanted to leave the dream, he had to find her.

The behavior of the people created within the dream conformed to Li Banfeng's cognitive logic. Qiaocui, whom he had first met at the village entrance, was a person created within the dream, and her behavior conformed to Li Banfeng's cognitive logic.

After entering the village, the behavior of the others also basically conformed to logic, except for Bai Qiusheng.

Bai Qiusheng should not have appeared in Zhengjing Village; his appearance did not conform to logic, so he was the person who had invaded the dream.

The person who invaded the dream could attach herself to a character in the dream. She did not have enough understanding of the characters in the dream, but she could gather information within his dream. She heard Qiaocui call him Seventh Master, so she followed suit and called him Seventh Master.

Once Li Banfeng saw through the flaw, the intruder immediately entered the outhouse, left Li Banfeng's line of sight, and soon attached herself to Ma Wu, appearing before Li Banfeng again.

She did not understand Ma Wu well enough, still called Li Banfeng Seventh Master, and revealed the flaw again.

She disappeared from Li Banfeng's line of sight once more, turning into Zuo Wugang instead.

After Zuo Wugang revealed the flaw, she attached herself to A-Qin.

Discovering that she had revealed a flaw again, the intruder did not show herself easily anymore; she began to continue collecting information.

As long as Li Banfeng's dream continued, the information she could collect would become more and more abundant.

Were this group of people in the restaurant before his eyes all created within the dream?

Not necessarily.

Their behavior was indeed more reasonable than before, but it was also possible that as the dream extended, Li Banfeng himself had revealed more details.

Now, he could not let them speak freely.

The more details revealed, the lower the chance of Li Banfeng finding the intruder.

He had to verify immediately.

Of course, the process of verification might also reveal a lot of information, but this was unavoidable.

Should he separate these people and verify them one by one?

It was useless.

The intruder could see his dream; no matter where he went, he could not block her out.

Li Banfeng immediately looked at Ma Wu and asked, "Who is your father?"

Ma Wu was stunned: "Why ask this?"

"Just say it!"

"Ma Chunting, of course!"

It was true.

Li Banfeng turned his gaze to Zuo Wugang: "Who was your previous employer?"

"Let's not mention that..."

"Hurry up and say it!"

"The eldest master of the Lu family, Lu Dongliang."

Li Banfeng then asked A-Qin: "Who is your local Earth Deity?"

"Autumn Falling Leaf."

Li Banfeng then asked Xiao Chuanzi: "What work did you do at the Ma family before?"

"Driving a steamroller!"

Li Banfeng then asked Xiao Genzi: "What Daoist sect are you from?"

Xiao Genzi held his bucket and spoon and said: "Metal Cultivation."

Were they all true?

Was the intruder not here?

This was his dream; the places he could see existed, and the places he could not see, logically speaking, did not exist. The intruder might be invisible, but she should be within his line of sight.

Li Banfeng looked at the restaurant owner and the other diners; was the intruder among them?

Li Banfeng was not familiar with this owner, and the diners who came to eat were all passing hunters; Li Banfeng was even less familiar with them.

Was there any way to verify their identities?

Li Banfeng shouted loudly: "All of you, tell me together, what is the name of this village?"

As long as one person dared not open their mouth, or could not answer, they would be the primary suspect.

Everyone looked at Li Banfeng and answered in unison: "Zhengjing Village!"

Everyone answered very loudly and very crisply.

Was this trick ineffective?

Could he not verify it?

Logically speaking, his method had no problems!

Unless the intruder remained invisible, making it impossible for him to see her.

Then how could he possibly find her?

If she did that, it would be meaningless.

Should he test them for another round?

If he continued testing, the information revealed would only be more!

Where exactly did the problem lie?

Exactly...

Li Banfeng looked up and discovered where the problem lay.

The problem lay in the questions he had just asked.

Not every question could serve the purpose of verification, because the information of one person had already been leaked in advance.

Li Banfeng asked Genzi what Daoist sect he was from, and Genzi's answer was Metal Cultivation.

His attire and his previous performance in the dream had already revealed his Daoist sect; the intruder could judge that he was a Metal Cultivator.

Could it be Genzi?

He could not guess randomly; if he guessed wrong, he would be stuck here forever.

Do not stare at Genzi; if Genzi noticed, and he left the restaurant before Li Banfeng made a judgment, it would be difficult to find him again.

Li Banfeng drank some tea, chatted with the crowd for a few sentences, and turned to ask Genzi: "How did you enter Metal Cultivation back then?"

Ma Wu said: "You went with him, don't tell me you've forgotten?"

Li Banfeng scratched his scalp and said: "I have forgotten a bit."

Ma Wu said: "Isn't he just..."

"Drink a cup!" Li Banfeng used his wine glass to block Ma Wu's mouth, smiling as he looked at Xiao Genzi.

If he took this opportunity to find a chance to leave Li Banfeng's line of sight, it would prove that the intruder was him!

Xiao Genzi's expression was natural as he said: "Seventh Master, you've forgotten, I entered Metal Cultivation from the peddler."

The answer was flawless, but this was common knowledge.

"How much money did you spend to buy the Metal Cultivation powder?"

"One hundred yuan, the bucket and spoon were gifts."

Still flawless, but for a high-level cultivator, this could also be common knowledge.

"Why did you enter the Metal Cultivation sect?"

Xiao Genzi puffed out his chest and answered: "This is the strongest Daoist sect in the world."

Li Banfeng smiled, pointed at Genzi, and said: "I've found you!"

Xiao Genzi was stunned for a moment.

In the dream, everyone was stunned.

Xiao Genzi suddenly smiled, and the coarse cloth short jacket on his body turned into a white robe.

The tall and sturdy Xiao Genzi turned into a slender woman. Before Li Banfeng could see her face clearly, the woman quickly got up and left the restaurant.

Want to leave?

I've found you, and you still won't admit it?

Li Banfeng immediately chased after her. The woman was extremely fast, and Li Banfeng chased with difficulty, from the village to outside the village, chasing all the way to the foot of a small mountain.

The woman quickly climbed the mountain, and Li Banfeng followed closely behind. When they reached the mountainside, the woman suddenly turned and drilled into the forest, and Li Banfeng continued to chase.

Entering the forest, a faint halo appeared in his line of sight, the scenery before his eyes became distorted and blurry, Li Banfeng struggled to open his eyes and finally woke up.

He had broken free from the dream and was currently lying on a bed.

Everything around him was pitch black. Li Banfeng sat up and struck a match.

This was a room, not large in area. If it weren't for the different area and furnishings, Li Banfeng would have almost bristled.

He was worried that he was still in a dream, and had dreamed of the Leaving Suishenju.

If he had dreamed of the Leaving Suishenju, it would prove that the information of the Leaving Suishenju had also been leaked.

Confirming that this was not the Leaving Suishenju, Li Banfeng calmed down a little.

Checking his personal belongings, they were all still there. Li Banfeng pushed open the door and left the room.

Outside the room was a corridor with no end in sight, and there was a door every three meters on both sides of the corridor.

What place was this?

Li Banfeng patted his wine gourd, but the wine gourd did not respond, seemingly still in a deep sleep.

The other magic treasures were all in deep sleep. Relying on the technique of Seeking Good Fortune and Avoiding Calamity, Li Banfeng turned left and followed the corridor forward to look for an exit.

After walking for dozens of meters, he suddenly heard a creak, and a door in front opened.

A man came out of the room and walked slowly forward in front of Li Banfeng.

"Friend, what place is this?"

Li Banfeng asked a question, but the other party did not respond and continued to walk forward.

Li Banfeng struck a match from time to time, followed the man forward, walked for another dozens of meters, and the two arrived at the end of the corridor. The man turned right and entered a room.

Li Banfeng followed, only to find that this room had no door, but hung with a white curtain, and a familiar smell wafted from inside the curtain.

This was a toilet!

Did this man come to use the toilet?

He didn't even bring a candle, and he just felt his way to use the toilet in the dark?

It seemed this was a hotel, or some kind of dormitory.

Li Banfeng lifted the curtain and went in, seeing that the man was urinating at the urinal.

A urinal?

This thing was not common in Puluo Continent.

Could it be that I had returned to the Outer Continent?

The man finished urinating and walked toward Li Banfeng.

He was wearing a white shirt, black trousers, his complexion was fair, his hair was long and messy, and there was a circle of fine stubble around his mouth, seemingly not groomed for a long time.

He walked straight toward Li Banfeng, and the two almost collided.

Did he not look at the road?

He really didn't.

He had his eyes closed.

Listening to the even and deep breathing, this person was still in a dream.

Was this sleepwalking?

Li Banfeng grabbed the man and shouted twice: "Wake up, wake up!"

Amidst the shaking, the man opened his eyes.

He stared at Li Banfeng, stunned for a moment, took a small glasses case out of his trouser pocket, and stuffed a pair of contact lenses into his eyes.

Contact lenses?

It really was the Outer Continent!

The man looked at Li Banfeng and said: "Who are you? Is something the matter?"

Li Banfeng said: "Nothing, I just wanted to ask..."

"If nothing is the matter, why did you wake me up?" The man was angry.

Li Banfeng took out a hundred-yuan Huanguo banknote and stuffed it into the man's hand: "I just wanted to ask, what place is this?"

"You've already come here, and you still don't know what place this is?" The man was very angry and did not take Li Banfeng's money. "I was just having a good time, and you woke me up."

Li Banfeng was also a little angry: "What do you mean? You're blaming me?"

"Aren't I blaming you?" The man stretched, yawned, and rubbed his stomach. "Forget it, since I'm awake, let's go eat together."

"Eat? Isn't that inappropriate?"

The man smiled: "That's definitely inappropriate, let's go to the cafeteria."

He took Li Banfeng out of the toilet and arrived at the second room on the right at the end of the corridor.

The door was not locked. Pushing open the door, Li Banfeng saw a flight of stairs.

The stairs were very steep, and when walking down, it felt like going down a hillside.

After going down two floors, the man pushed open a door, and the aroma of food wafted in.

This aroma seemed familiar.

Pushing open the door to look, inside the door was a very spacious cafeteria, with no windows, but the lights were very bright, and the tables and chairs were very neat.

The man sat by the table and shouted: "Stir-fry two dishes, bring a pot of wine, come on, come over and eat together."

He beckoned to Li Banfeng, his anger from being woken up dissipated; this man could be considered friendly.

Li Banfeng sat opposite the man and asked: "Are you from the Outer Continent?"

The man nodded: "I'm from Chunshen City, are you also from the Outer Continent?"

Li Banfeng answered: "I have been to the Outer Continent."

While speaking, Li Banfeng looked around. There were more than a dozen people eating in the cafeteria; one woman was wearing a T-shirt and jeans, and another woman was wearing a long trench coat.

Except for those two, the rest of the people were wearing Zhongshan suits, some were wearing horse-gowns, some were wearing long gowns, and some were wearing plaid suits, all dressed in the style of Puluo Continent.

Among these people, three were eating with their eyes open, while the rest all had their eyes closed, seemingly still asleep.

Being able to eat while sleeping, this state was truly fresh.

However, thinking about it, Li Banfeng had also been eating in a dream just now.

Could it be that I had been here just now?

The man asked Li Banfeng: "How did you come here?"

Li Banfeng said: "I came here in a daze."

The man smiled: "I really envy you people from Puluo Continent, being able to come to such a good place in a daze. To come here, I spent nearly two million!"

Li Banfeng frowned: "You spent money to come here?"

The man said: "That's because I found the right path; if it were someone else, two million might not even be enough."

"What exactly is this place?"

"This is the Dream-Tethered Pavilion; there is no better place in the world than this."

PS: Is there really someone willing to spend two million to come to this place?

(End of chapter)