Chapter 42: Chu Yulong

Looking at Chu Yulong lying on the ground, Li Banfeng felt a pang in his heart.

This guy was actually decent—he even said he’d buy me a train ticket…

This area was so desolate, there might be wild beasts around; Li Banfeng couldn’t bear to leave Chu Yulong’s corpse exposed to the wilderness, so he decided to bring him back to the Portable Dwelling and use the Bronze Lotus to refine an elixir.

Inside the Portable Dwelling, Li Banfeng lit the candlestand and placed Chu Yulong’s corpse beside the Bronze Lotus.

He was deeply curious: what exactly was the process of turning a corpse into an elixir?

Sssss~

The Bronze Lotus sensed Chu Yulong’s presence; its petals slowly unfolded one by one.

Why did it sense Chu Yulong?

Was it because Chu Yulong had cultivation base?

I also have cultivation base—why didn’t the Bronze Lotus turn me into an elixir?

Was it because it recognized me as its master?

Or was it because it only recognized the dead, not the living?

Chii~

What was that sound?

Li Banfeng turned to look at the phonograph; it had just emitted a puff of steam.

I didn’t light any fire?

As he wondered, the candle flame flickered violently, and a whirlwind surged through the Portable Dwelling.

Chu Yulong’s gray suit and white shirt tore apart, even his forward cap shredded into strips of cloth.

His naked corpse twisted and contorted, eventually collapsing into a paste-like gel that flowed into the center of the Bronze Lotus.

The petals of the Bronze Lotus closed tightly, its surface shimmering with halos—it was refining an elixir.

Tattered cloth fragments littered the floor; among them, Li Banfeng found a dagger, exquisitely crafted and still sheathed.

He drew the dagger from its sheath; a cold gleam flashed toward him, proving it was a rare and fine weapon.

Not a bad haul!

Li Banfeng was just about to examine the dagger closely when another whirlwind erupted inside the Portable Dwelling.

The whirlwind still came from the Lotus’s core; a powerful force snatched the dagger from Li Banfeng’s hand.

Li Banfeng tried to snatch it back, but his hand was too slow.

The dagger dissolved into paste and was swallowed whole by the Lotus’s core.

Was the gold-rimmed glasses’ fan also swallowed like this?

The fan was refined into a rust-red elixir—what will this dagger become?

Li Banfeng instinctively clutched his scythe and shovel, but after thinking it over, he recalled that both items had often been near the Bronze Lotus before, yet it showed no interest in them.

What exactly was the Bronze Lotus’s selection criterion?

Losing the dagger was regrettable, but Li Banfeng continued searching Chu Yulong’s belongings.

He found Chu Yulong’s wallet.

He carefully opened it, fearing the banknotes inside might be swallowed by the Bronze Lotus.

Almost forgot—I got over two hundred thousand from Master Feng yesterday, and the Bronze Lotus didn’t touch a single note.

It was a lotus that didn’t care for money.

Chu Yulong’s wallet contained one thousand two hundred twenty-six yuan, eighty-two fen in banknotes and six silver dollars; Li Banfeng took the banknotes and tossed the silver dollars casually onto the bed.

Li Banfeng picked up one silver dollar and studied it closely; one side bore the characters “Pulu,” the other an engraved flower.

What kind of flower was this? The petals looked unusual.

After staring for a long while, he realized it was a snowflake.

While the Bronze Lotus was still refining, Li Banfeng considered his current situation and future plans.

First question: how could he return to Yuezhou?

Li Banfeng didn’t know what a travel permit was; obtaining a train ticket through official channels would be extremely difficult.

Second question: how should he handle the Dark Star Bureau once back in Yuezhou?

Even if he found a travel permit and bought a ticket to return to Yuezhou, could he escape the Dark Star Bureau’s pursuit?

Clearly not.

As long as the Bronze Lotus remained in Li Banfeng’s hands, he could never escape Xiao Zhenggong’s assassination attempts.

Third question: should he hand over the Bronze Lotus to ensure his own safety?

This idea was quickly rejected by Li Banfeng.

Because handing over the lotus wouldn’t guarantee safety at all.

Who would he even give it to?

Give it to He Jiaqing?

He Jiaqing was lying in the hospital, probably still unconscious.

Even if he woke up, could he protect the Bronze Lotus?

Give it to his third uncle?

Or hand it directly to Xiao Zhenggong?

Both men certainly wanted the Bronze Lotus, but neither would want anyone to know they possessed it.

In other words, if Li Banfeng handed the Lotus to them, they would kill him immediately to silence him.

Xiao Zhenggong had already confirmed Li Banfeng’s suspicions: he ordered the big-eyed man to shoot Li Banfeng dead, and he ordered Jiang Xiang’s gang to kill Li Banfeng and retrieve the treasure.

From start to finish, Xiao Zhenggong never intended to let Li Banfeng live.

The Bronze Lotus absolutely could not be handed over—but he still had to return to Yuezhou.

In Yuezhou, Xiao Zhenggong would have some restraint, whereas Yao Wang Gou was far wilder.

But to return to Yuezhou, he first needed a travel permit—where could he get one?

Could Qin Xiaopang get one for him?

Could Master Feng help?

Li Banfeng peeled off two greenish lotus seeds; the first seed immediately exploded, producing a rust-red iron bead identical to the rust elixir he’d seen before.

Seeing the rust elixir, Li Banfeng’s scalp prickled; he hurled the elixir onto the floor at once.

Despite his swift action, his palm still felt a faint sting—the poison and corrosiveness were too strong; he still had the urge to test it himself.

The previous rust elixir came from the fan; this one must have come from the dagger.

Li Banfeng carefully stored the rust elixir in his glasses case; the two rust elixirs lay quietly inside, showing no reaction to each other.

After a while, the second lotus seed exploded.

Li Banfeng peeled the seed; after it burst, two completely crimson elixirs appeared.

Two?

When he refined the gold-rimmed glasses and the tiger cub, only one elixir came out each time.

This time, refining only Chu Yulong produced two elixirs—why?

The gold-rimmed glasses and the tiger cub were cultivators who had entered the Dao but had no rank.

Chu Yulong produced more elixirs—was it because his cultivation base was higher?

That meant Chu Yulong was likely a Level One cultivator.

But this Level One cultivator’s power was weak!

Was it because I didn’t give him room to fight?

“Brother Yunlong, I’m sorry—next time, I’ll definitely let you put up a real fight.”

Li Banfeng swept the scattered cloth fragments into the corner of the room and lay on the bed, continuing to ponder his strategy.

Since he couldn’t return to Yuezhou anytime soon, he needed a way to survive in Yao Wang Gou for a while.

Money wasn’t lacking—at least food and drink were secure.

His living conditions needed improvement; he needed to buy more furniture.

For the next couple of days, he should avoid going out—Chu Yulong was dead, and Jiang Xiang’s gang would be searching for him everywhere.

But staying in wasn’t an option either.

How should he handle his cultivation?

He had to walk fifty li daily—that was a requirement for Level One Travel Cultivator.

What if he just walked inside this small room?

Li Banfeng got up and paced back and forth inside the room.

Pacing in such a cramped space was extremely difficult for Li Banfeng; if he misjudged his strength even slightly, he’d slam into the wall at over thirty kilometers per hour.

According to Li Banfeng’s estimate, he paced back and forth for at least five hours inside the Portable Dwelling, leaving him bruised and swollen.

He had mostly controlled his movements, but he sensed no increase in his cultivation base whatsoever.

Pacing endlessly in a small room clearly wasn’t recognized by his own cultivation system—no matter how many steps he took, it didn’t count as Travel Cultivator training.

But going outside wasn’t safe right now!

If only I could have been a pure Home Cultivator from the start!

No choice—this house couldn’t generate a Home Spirit; Home Cultivation could never reach higher levels, so Travel Cultivation must remain his primary path.

Of course, Li Banfeng remembered the peddler’s advice: the gap between Home Cultivation and Travel Cultivation must not exceed three levels; once back in Yuezhou, he must buy a house as soon as possible—even a small one—to nurture a Home Spirit.

All that was future talk—right now, he had to get through the basic Travel Cultivation training.

Li Banfeng left his portable dwelling and retrieved the key from the rubble of the abandoned farmhouse.

Dressed in a beige suit and wearing a black top hat, Li Banfeng lowered the brim and sprinted swiftly across the wasteland.

Night had fallen; the deserted village stood empty. At first, Li Banfeng restrained his steps, but once he left the village and reached an open field, he shed all restraint, running like the wind, letting loose.

Running was a deeply satisfying act for a Traveling Cultivator.

There were no roads in the wasteland, but for Li Banfeng, every patch of ground was a path—unrestrained sprinting brought him inner and outer fulfillment and release.

After running for over an hour, passing several villages, Li Banfeng’s cultivation base responded—his daily foundational practice was sufficient.

He did not stop, continuing to sprint forward.

It wasn’t because he hadn’t run enough—it was because he was hungry and needed to eat.

This was no hardship for him, for he remembered every road, every place he had passed.

Arriving at the entrance of a village, Li Banfeng glanced at the stone tablet there, which bore three characters: Changliu Village.

One household in the village still had lights on; Li Banfeng walked to the door, preparing to ask the owner for something to eat.

More accurately, it wasn’t begging—it was purchasing.

This was the method Qin Xiaopang had taught Li Banfeng.

Calming his mind, Li Banfeng carefully sensed the surroundings and detected no danger; he knocked on the door.

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(End of Chapter)