Chapter 408: Do You Recognize This Sword? (High-Energy Chapter)

Li Banfeng walked through his own territory and saw that Zhang Wanlong had already built a village, covering three li in every direction, with fields stretching in continuous patches and farmhouses arranged in neat rows.

Planting so much crop makes sense, but what's the point of building so many farmhouses? Aren't there only him and Genzi living here?

Li Banfeng entered the plot and walked along the country path, seeing many farmers working in the fields and chatting by the roadside.

A man was chopping firewood in his courtyard, while a woman, seemingly his wife, was rinsing rice beside him.

Li Banfeng activated his Hundred Flavors Linglong Technique and sniffed at the gate.

The couple emitted a pungent, sweet aroma—they were a pair of radishes.

An old man walked toward him, driving a cart loaded with potatoes, exuding the distinct earthy stench of soil.

As they passed each other, the old man smiled at Li Banfeng; his scent, and that of his ox and potatoes, were identical.

By the river, several women pounded clothes with wooden mallets, some wiping sweat, others chatting, some laughing—ordinary eyes would never guess these women were all winter squash.

A boy in the field carried seven buckets and stirred with a spoon, busily at work.

What crop did he become?

Li Banfeng dared not sniff further—he immediately shut off his Hundred Flavors Linglong Technique and walked over.

"Genzi."

Seeing Li Banfeng, Little Genzi beamed with delight: "Seventh Master, when did you arrive?"

"Just now. Just taking a stroll. You've got two more buckets—did you advance?" Previously, Genzi usually carried five buckets.

Genzi nodded: "Seventh Master, my cultivation base has reached the third level."

"Good lad!" Li Banfeng praised him, handed him two Xuan Chi Pills, then glanced at the busy farmers and asked, "Are all these people grown by Zhang Wanlong?"

Genzi nodded: "Big Brother Zhang is incredibly skilled—I've learned a lot from him."

"Why build so many houses?"

"Big Brother Zhang says what he grows are people—they must live like real people!"

Li Banfeng smiled, guessing this was Zhang Wanlong's defense tactic—if anyone invaded the village, they'd struggle to tell the villagers' true identities and would surely suffer for it.

After chatting a while with Genzi, Li Banfeng turned to leave, then suddenly stopped and asked: "Genzi, where did your buckets come from?"

His buckets weren't common—Li Banfeng knew only the peddler sold them.

Genzi answered honestly: "I bought them from the peddler—he came by just a couple days ago."

The peddler came here?

Li Banfeng froze: "He came to do business here?"

Genzi nodded: "The peddler says he comes often—he's friends with the local earth god."

Li Banfeng shuddered.

The peddler is friends with Ba Shan Zhu?

Does he know Ba Shan Zhu is gone?

"Did the peddler ask about anything else?"

Genzi thought a moment: "He didn't ask much about me—he gave me some medicine, said it was for pests, and told me to pass it to Big Brother Zhang."

"Does he know Zhang Wanlong is here? Why didn't he give it to him himself?"

Genzi said: "The day before the peddler came, Big Brother Zhang vanished somewhere—he didn't want to meet the peddler."

"But when he saw the powder, Big Brother Zhang was in good spirits—he said he wouldn't need to hide from the peddler anymore."

Li Banfeng recognized the powder—it was the same one the peddler once gave villagers in Hai Chi Ling to kill pests.

Thus, the peddler approved of Zhang Wanlong's actions.

Genzi asked: "Seventh Master, are you looking for Big Brother Zhang? I'll take you—he should be home mixing seeds now."

Li Banfeng went to Zhang Wanlong's residence, chatted awhile, and bought two more bags of seeds.

Leaving Zhang Wanlong's territory, Li Banfeng traveled to Bei Wushuang's domain, first heading to the cave to find Tianquan Huan Soil.

The Sui Shen Ju would act on its own when it found something it liked—Li Banfeng hoped it would take more, and build more stations.

After a short while in the cave, the glove crawled out of Li Banfeng's pocket: "Master, our old man has already acted—but this time he couldn't take much."

"What? Has he finally felt ashamed?"

The glove shook its finger: "Ashamed? That old thing never cared about face—the real issue is there's hardly any Huan Soil left here."

"Who says there's little? Look—it's everywhere!" Li Banfeng grabbed a handful from the cave wall and tore out a hole.

The Huan Soil around him looked intact, but only the surface layer was real—the inside had been completely hollowed out.

The glove told Li Banfeng: "Master, you see? Our old man acts with great caution—he's nearly stolen everything, yet left no trace."

Bei Wushuang is dead—why hide anything from whom?

Li Banfeng pulled out a sack and collected the entire surface layer of Huan Soil—even if it wasn't enough for a station, he could eat it himself and later pamper his wife.

After removing the surface layer, the cave expanded several meters outward—no soil remained, only dark green-black rock, scraped utterly clean.

Back in the Sui Shen Ju, Li Banfeng asked directly: "How much did you take this time?"

The Sui Shen Ju snorted: "I took nothing."

As he spoke, dirt leaked from the third room.

The glove snorted: "Our old man is so lofty."

Li Banfeng opened the third room and looked: "Is this enough to build a station?"

The Sui Shen Ju roughly calculated: "Just barely enough. Where do you want to build the station?"

Li Banfeng planned to build the station in Qiu Luoye's territory—not only to support this reclamation effort, but to prepare for future matters.

He had opened vast plots in Qiu Luoye's territory—he was the landowner, and all these plots belonged to him. Aside from his own land, Qiu Luoye's territory had become one of Li Banfeng's most vital foundations.

Now he needed to decide where exactly to build the station.

The location must be utterly hidden—even if Li Banfeng was away, ordinary people couldn't approach it easily.

The Sui Shen Ju offered a hint: "Bei Wushuang's residence was unusual—go take a look, learn his methods."

Bei Wushuang has been dead a long time—Pan Dehai must have left.

Li Banfeng arrived at the desert pit and saw Bei Wushuang's remains were gone; the sand eyes that had once surfaced were also gone.

This kind of residence was indeed hidden—perfect for building a station.

But how could he enter Bei Wushuang's dwelling?

Based on Bei Wushuang's battle with Gao Shuxia and Bai Mu Yu, he had opened his entrance by creating a melody from footsteps and howls.

Li Banfeng clearly lacked that ability—he returned to the Sui Shen Ju and said: "To enter his home, I need my wife's help."

The Sui Shen Ju refused: "I already said—this won't happen again."

The phonograph chimed in: "Husband, let me teach you some methods—try them and see if they work?"

Li Banfeng shook his head: "Bei Wushuang had Yunshang cultivation—I can't learn his technique in time to open his door. If my wife doesn't come, this trip is wasted."

After much hesitation, the Sui Shen Ju finally agreed—but the rule remained: the phonograph could not bring any combat power outside.

Li Banfeng carried the phonograph into the pit; his wife rotated the horn, scanning the surroundings.

Ooo~

A low hum sounded; the yellow sand beneath trembled slightly—the phonograph analyzed the underground structure through the sand's feedback.

Dong dong~

Drumbeats began—she mimicked Bei Wushuang's footsteps.

Ta la ba ba~

A suona blast followed—she mimicked Bei Wushuang's howls.

After the melody ended, the desert sand spun rapidly, and a sand eye slowly reappeared.

"Strange," the phonograph murmured, "it shouldn't be this easy—Bei Wushuang's technique feels so familiar."

Li Banfeng asked: "Bei Wushuang was a Sound Cultivator, right? Don't all Sound Cultivators use the same techniques? Isn't my wife always familiar with Sound Cultivation?"

"Husband, Sound Cultivation has unique aspects—each person's voice differs, so their techniques vary. Bei Wushuang's technique feels too familiar to me… yet I can't recall ever knowing him."

Bei Wushuang was dead, his body never recovered—this couldn't be investigated.

"Let's go inside his house—maybe we'll find clues," Li Banfeng said, staring at the sand eye: "Is this the entrance?"

His wife warned: "Husband, be careful—there are dozens of entrances in this pit, most leading to traps."

"The one I opened should lead to his residence, but his dwelling is strange—I can't say what awaits in the hall."

Li Banfeng tightened his guard and entered the sand eye with his wife; fine sand surged toward him, nearly filling his ears and mouth.

Li Banfeng used his Broken Path Opening Technique to repel the sand, following the sand eye until he reached the hall.

The hall was pitch black—he struck a match and glimpsed the layout.

Roughly ten meters long and wide, the ceiling was under two meters high—a spacious yet oppressive hall.

Oooom~

The phonograph emitted another low hum.

Doors appeared on all four walls.

The phonograph grew even more puzzled: "Husband, Bei Wushuang's teacher must be extraordinary—his technique is so similar to mine."

"Don't joke—how could his camel-like howls resemble yours?" Li Banfeng glanced around: "Where do these four doors lead?"

"Each door leads to a room—go open them if you wish, but beware the traps."

Li Banfeng opened the nearest door—it revealed a small room filled entirely with gold bars, scattered with silver dollars.

"Trivial trash!" Li Banfeng sneered, hauling the entire room's contents into the Sui Shen Ju.

He opened the second door—the room was spacious, Bei Wushuang's bedroom, with a very wide bed. The pale yellow bed curtains and canopy felt incredibly soft; the painted designs were intricate, depicting a caravan's long journey for trade.

Li Banfeng didn't examine the curtains—he tested the bed's texture.

This bed is so soft!

Li Banfeng placed the phonograph on the bed: "Wife, wouldn't it be comfortable to sleep on this?"

The phonograph hummed: "Husband, are you mocking your humble servant?"

"I meant to carry this bed back home, then place you upon it."

The phonograph chuckled softly; Li Banfeng wasn't joking—he actually lifted the bed.

The bed was too large to fit through the door. Seeing Li Banfeng was serious, the phonograph quickly produced tools and dismantled the bed in a few swift motions. Li Banfeng reassembled the parts, along with the bed curtains and hangings, and carried them all back to the room.

He pushed open the third door; behind it lay an empty room. As Li Banfeng was about to step inside, he suddenly sensed imminent danger.

He would not enter this room.

If he wasn't mistaken, this room must be where Bei Wushuang hid his contracts—filled with traps, no doubt.

Behind the fourth door lay many musical instruments: huqin, pipa, guzheng, yangqin, suona, gongs, drums… and a sword.

Among the pile of instruments sat a sword—it looked out of place.

Considering Bei Wushuang's appearance, a camel hardly seemed suited to wield a nimble weapon like a sword.

The wife in his arms suddenly trembled.

She now understood why Bei Wushuang's techniques resembled hers—many of them were learned right here!

Seeing his wife tremble in his arms, Li Banfeng asked: "Wife, what's wrong?"

"Husband~ I love everything in this room."

Li Banfeng had overlooked his wife's love for musical instruments—he should have bought her more often.

He entered the room; there were no traps. He carried all the instruments back to the room.

His wife added: "Husband, I also love that sword."

His wife liked swords?

For a phonograph, wasn't sword-dancing a bit difficult?

If his wife liked it, he'd take it. Li Banfeng brought the sword back to his Personal Dwelling.

There was also a large wooden cabinet in the room. Li Banfeng opened it and smiled.

Inside were contracts.

Not the contracts of the Earth Deities—these were contracts with aberrations of the Earth Realm. The cabinet was full of them.

Li Banfeng gathered the contracts and brought them all back to his Personal Dwelling. These aberrations now belonged to him!

After moving the cabinet to his Personal Dwelling, Li Banfeng asked: "Have you fully mapped his residence?"

His Personal Dwelling replied: "You haven't explored all of his estate, but other areas may be hard to navigate."

The phonograph said: "It's dangerous—many places are trapped."

His Personal Dwelling told the phonograph: "Enough. You've learned enough of the craft. Even if I missed something, you've learned it now. Take your man and leave."

The phonograph played another melody; sandholes appeared in the ceiling of the hall.

Li Banfeng leapt into the sandhole. Climbing up was harder than descending, but for a Traveling Cultivator, it was nothing.

Emerging from the sandhole, Li Banfeng returned his wife to his Personal Dwelling, took out a stack of contracts, gathered his magic treasures, and went to seek out the aberrations of Bei Wushuang's realm.

No sooner had Li Banfeng left than the phonograph drew the long sword and pressed its tip against Hong Ying's forehead: "Wretched woman, do you recognize this sword?"

The blade bore dried blood; a faint metallic stench lingered.

Hong Ying smiled: "I recognize it. This is my sword—the one I used to kill you!"

"Wretched woman!" The phonograph's voice trembled. "I'll cut off your head right now!"

"Go ahead," Hong Ying extended the spearhead toward her throat. "Kill me, and we're even."

PS: How did this sword end up in Bei Wushuang's hands?

(End of Chapter)