Chapter 800

Li Li Banfeng stared straight at the table, repeating word for word: "A teapot, a celadon teapot, filled with tea, a celadon teapot with teacups!"

Zhao Zhao Xiaowan didn't dare stop Li Li Banfeng, so she could only whisper to Xiang Xiang Hongying: "Did you really see the Young Master drinking tea just now?"

Xiang Xiang Hongying rubbed her cheeks, rubbed her eyes, bit her finger, and then scratched the spearhead in her hair.

Zhao Zhao Xiaowan asked angrily: "I'm asking you a question, did you see it or not?"

Xiang Xiang Hongying said in a low voice: "It seems I saw it—"

Her mind had been completely filled with that "Breaking Ten Thousand Rivers" technique that could freeze people in place, and she hadn't paid any attention to the matter of drinking tea at all.

Li Li Banfeng stayed by the table for over half an hour without moving, the bloodshot veins in his eyes growing more numerous, and his appearance becoming increasingly unsettling.

The old teapot sighed: "Old Seven, isn't it just a cup of tea? I have plenty of tea here; you can drink your fill. Don't be so unruly; you're scaring everyone in the house—"

No matter who tried to persuade him, Li Li Banfeng wouldn't listen.

He firmly believed that he had just poured tea using the celadon teapot and drank it from the celadon teacup.

He firmly believed that he had mastered the Technique of Everything Going According to One's Wishes and had successfully conjured a set of tea utensils in the main room.

The Copper Lotus said: "Ah Qi, your talent is indeed good, but this is being too impatient. You've only been learning for a few days, and you want to master the most difficult technique in the Residential Cultivation sect?"

Furthermore, have you seriously studied the foundation of the techniques I taught you before?

Li Li Banfeng said: "I have studied them seriously. The first foundation is 'Counting One's Own Treasures'; does that even need to be said?"

The Copper Lotus said: "That doesn't need to be said; you have indeed learned 'Counting One's Own Treasures' well."

Li Li Banfeng added: "The second foundation is 'Living in Peace and Working with Joy.' I used to see it too shallowly; this technique isn't as simple as just staying at home and accumulating luck."

"Life must have a goal to truly live in peace and work with joy. A goal is hard to define, and the technique is indeed hard to practice, but I have already found the trick."

The Copper Lotus was somewhat surprised; this madman's comprehension was truly remarkable.

"But you definitely can't bypass 'Hiding a Beauty in a Golden House,' right?" The Copper Lotus laughed, "Or should I take out Zuo Zuo Wugang's portrait for you to see again?"

?

"Don't always use this one thing to mock me!" Li Li Banfeng handed his notebook to the Copper Lotus, "Look at the effort I've put in. The beauty in this notebook has contributed greatly in front of Shu Shu Fangjuan."

The Copper Lotus extended a lotus leaf and flipped through the notebook page by page; every page described a character with distinct features.

Judging by the writing, one couldn't call it all good; only thirty percent of the notebook could be considered high quality.

But the heart's blood put into it was truly not ambiguous.

Seeing the description of Zhao Zhao Xiaowan, the Copper Lotus was deeply attracted. Li Li Banfeng had written a full twenty pages for Zhao Zhao Xiaowan; between the lines, the feelings were true and sincere. After reading a few pages, the Copper Lotus's leaf trembled.

"Why can't that shrew write such good things?" Xiang Xiang Hongying asked the Copper Lotus from the side: "Who is that shrew?"

The Copper Lotus hummed and said: "I'm talking about you!"

Xiang Xiang Hongying touched the lotus heart: "I'm looking at your heart, and I'm not in it. Are you really talking about me?"

"I am talking about you," the Red Lotus flipped the notebook with a leaf, "After flipping past this page of Zhao Zhao Xiaowan, it's your turn. Let's see how Li Qi wrote about you."

The content on the next page was as follows:

There is a copper lotus, its form is a lotus, its substance is copper, its heart is like a snake or scorpion.

The lotus leaf is the surface, green waves overlapping in emerald to mask the killing intent.

The lotus heart is the inside, golden stamens containing green to hide the ruthlessness.

Powdered petals cover the face, filled with a thousand kinds of charm.

Seven apertures suspend the heart, hibernating for ten thousand years of resentment and evil!

When the flower and leaves open, the flesh and blood become nectar.

When the lotus seeds grow, half a lifetime of cultivation turns into a Golden Core!

Xiang Xiang Hongying looked carefully for a moment, then touched the lotus heart again: "Is this really talking about me?"

The Copper Lotus threw the notebook away and pointed at Li Li Banfeng with a leaf, cursing: "You heartless madman, it was in vain that I taught you so many techniques."

The Peddler looked back at the burning house: "Are you saying that you have a reason for burning my house?"

Li Li Banfeng ignored the Copper Lotus, stared at the table, and continued to think about the teapot.

In the midst of his intense concentration, he really did see the shadow of a teapot. Li Li Banfeng laughed out loud and snatched the teapot from Hua Jiuer's hand:

"Hahaha, the technique succeeded!"

Hua Jiuer said cautiously: "Ah Qi, that teapot is one I just bought."

Seeing Li Li Banfeng so obsessed, Hua Jiuer was afraid something would happen, so she bought a set of tea utensils from the street, intending to secretly place them in the main room when Li Li Banfeng wasn't paying attention.

She didn't expect that before she could succeed, the teapot would be snatched away by Li Li Banfeng first.

"Bought?" Li Li Banfeng was deeply disappointed, lowered his head, and left the Portable Abode.

The Lady blamed her: "Hua Jiuer, you really are something. Why tell him you bought it? You should have just said it was conjured out of thin air; he would have believed you!"

Hua Jiuer looked aggrieved: "If it really were conjured out of thin air, I wouldn't make a sound. But this was conjured from my own hands! If I lied to him, how would I explain it when he asks later?"

The Lady was very worried: "Just look at how annoyed he is; I'm afraid he's going to cause trouble."

Actually, Li Li Banfeng wasn't that annoyed. Ye Ye Songqiao was his territory, and after walking around the street, his mood improved a lot.

The Copper Lotus had once said that the key to the Technique of Everything Going According to One's Wishes lay in getting whatever one thought of.

Li Li Banfeng had thought about that set of celadon tea utensils for a day and a night; presumably, because his desire was so urgent, the technique succeeded.

Now that Hua Jiuer had bought the tea utensils back, Li Li Banfeng didn't care about this set anymore. To continue practicing the Technique of Everything Going According to One's Wishes, he had to find another object to obsess over.

Li Li Banfeng was looking for an object he liked on the street. There was a newly opened antique shop ahead. He originally wanted to go in and take a look, but he received a phone call from Luo Luo Shaojun from the Soda Kiln.

"Seventh Brother, Sister Su Lijun found out news in Zhaoge City; Lan Qiao Yi is about to take ruthless action against the Imperial Envoy."

Cui Cui Tike was still in Zhaoge and hadn't returned; Li Li Banfeng had almost forgotten about this matter.

He used a hook to contact Pineapple, asking Pineapple and Ba Ba Suan to call Tianyi City to the Soda Kiln.

Li Li Banfeng took Tianyi City to the Shang Kingdom. As before, Tianyi City didn't dock; twenty miles from the shore, Li Li Banfeng flew to Zhaoge by himself.

Just as he flew to the port, Li Li Banfeng saw that the situation was wrong. More than half of the patrol warships were missing, and less than thirty percent of the soldiers stationed on the shore remained.

Looking at it, Zhaoge City was desolate.

Looking again with the Golden Eye of Insight, Zhaoge City was livelier than at any time in the past.

It was desolate because no living people could be seen. From the first city gate to the third city gate, apart from the soldiers guarding the gates, Li Li Banfeng didn't see a single living person.

It was lively because there were wandering souls everywhere. Some were dazed by the roadside, some were singing operas on the rooftops, and a few young women were looking at their reflections in well openings, meticulously grooming themselves.

A corpse lay in front of a mansion gate, and a group of wandering souls gathered around to watch. They toyed with the corpse, finding it novel and somewhat desirable, and there were even wandering souls trying to drill into the corpse. Li Li Banfeng walked up close, took out the whip given to him by Prince Chun, and cracked it in the air.

Crack!

As soon as the whip cracked, the group of wandering souls scattered in all directions, leaving only a man with golden hair and blue eyes still squatting beside the corpse, seriously conducting research.

This man was not a wandering soul; he was Cui Cui Tike.

Seeing Li Li Banfeng, he wasn't surprised at all, pointing at the corpse and saying: "This person is very special."

Li Li Banfeng squatted to the side and took a look; this was the corpse of a three-headed person, and all three heads were female.

"What's special about this?"

Cui Cui Tike said: "On the third day of the plague outbreak, this woman died. She was a member of the royal family, and her family members all died on the same day. She was the one who persisted until the end, so I have a very deep impression of her."

"So many people died that day, and her corpse wasn't disposed of in time, but two days later, I saw her in the Nine-Layer City." Li Li Banfeng didn't think this was a question worth paying attention to: "People contaminated by dark energy will have their wandering souls go to the Great Melting Pot; you should be clear about this matter."

Cui Cui Tike shook his head and said: "What I saw wasn't her wandering soul, but a relatively complete person."

"Of course, this isn't too strange in Zhaoge. The Great Melting Pot can, to a certain extent, allow the dead to be reborn, and it is done in a specified way according to the thoughts of some people."

Li Li Banfeng said: "Just like the Earth Gods, giving them new flesh and blood, letting them be reborn once."

Cui Cui Tike nodded and said: "Yes, according to my investigation during this period, the scope of rebirth includes not only Earth Gods but also meritorious generals, nobles with special bloodlines, and even enemies with special value."

"These people all have the possibility of being reborn, and the final decision-making power is in the hands of the imperial court. To be precise, it is in the hands of Lan Qiao Yi."

"Just like this woman, her bloodline is very noble, and she also has a special relationship with Lan Qiao Yi, so Lan Qiao Yi gave her a chance to be reborn and specifically instructed me not to harm this woman again. I agreed."

Li Li Banfeng looked at the woman's corpse: "Judging from the current situation, it seems you didn't abide by the agreement with Lan Qiao Yi."

Cui Cui Tike's expression was somewhat dissatisfied: "Others might not understand me, but you should know that I am a person who keeps his word. I will definitely keep the promise I made."

"I didn't harm this woman; I even used some measures to improve this woman's resistance to the plague."

"But this woman still died. I think you should know the reason for this."

"How could I possibly know?" Li Li Banfeng was confused, "I don't even know this woman!"

Cui Cui Tike explained: "The reason doesn't lie with this woman, but with the Great Melting Pot. The Great Melting Pot was damaged; you participated in this matter, right?"

This question was hard to answer. Li Li Banfeng didn't directly participate in the action of damaging the Great Melting Pot, but he was attacking the Dangkou Camp at the time, which indeed created favorable conditions for damaging the Great Melting Pot.

Cui Cui Tike continued: "To be precise, this woman never was reborn at all. What I saw at the time should have been a walking corpse."

"You can understand it as a ghost possessing a body, or you can understand it as a living dead person. After a period of time, her soul left her body again, and Lan Qiao Yi tried to have her reborn several times but failed."

"Lan Qiao Yi thinks this is my fault, which is obviously absurd. The fundamental reason why this woman couldn't be reborn is that the Great Melting Pot, after being damaged, lost the function of allowing people to be reborn. For the entire Great Shang, this is a devastating blow."

Hearing this heavy news, Li Li Banfeng's mood improved a lot.

"It seems the harvest of this operation exceeded expectations, and you should also return to Puluo Continent to collect your reward."

Hearing this, Cui Cui Tike was somewhat moved: "My friend, did you come specifically to pick me up? I thought you just came to investigate Zhaoge City."

Li Li Banfeng said: "Out of our friendship, I suggest you leave Zhaoge with me immediately."

"I'm not leaving," Cui Cui Tike shook his head, "because I have already obtained the most generous reward."

"What reward?"

Cui Cui Tike stood up and looked around: "Zhaoge City is my reward. Here, I have already stepped into the palace of my dreams."

Li Li Banfeng knew what Cui Cui Tike's dream was.

His dream had indeed made significant progress here.

"Lan Qiao Yi wants to kill you; I have already received definite news. It's still not too late to leave now."

Cui Cui Tike laughed: "I am very clear about this point. Lan Qiao Yi is a very terrifying person; perhaps tomorrow he will take my life."

"But what does that have to do with anything? Isn't it good for me to leave my dream in the Shang Kingdom? Do you want me to bring my dream to Puluo Continent?"

These words actually left Li Li Banfeng speechless.

After a long silence, Li Li Banfeng thought of a reason: "Your business in Zhaoge is already finished, and the people here are almost all dead; staying here doesn't have much meaning."

"It has meaning!" Cui Cui Tike disagreed with Li Li Banfeng's view, "There is a kind of life that still lives very well in Zhaoge City. They have also been infected with the plague and have corresponding symptoms, but they won't die; they will recover within a period of time."

Li Li Banfeng thought for a moment: "What kind of life are you talking about?"

"Weapon-beings! Weapons transformed by the Shang Kingdom using life," Cui Cui Tike looked at the mansion's courtyard, "There is a first-class weapon-being in this mansion, which Lan Qiao Yi used to protect this woman. I have conducted several experiments on that first-class weapon-being, and my disease focus couldn't kill him."

"I don't know what kind of life form these weapon-beings are, but this is definitely a topic worth researching. If the research is successful, I will achieve a breakthrough result, the value of which won't even be inferior to the results we achieved together."

Li Li Banfeng took a deep breath: "I have always wanted to discuss one thing with you; can you change your dream?"

Just as Cui Cui Tike was about to speak, a scholar, a commoner, and a servant walked toward the mansion.

Cui Cui Tike used his disease focus to interfere with the vision of these three people, so they couldn't see Cui Cui Tike.

Li Li Banfeng didn't need to be so troublesome; if he didn't want them to see, they definitely wouldn't see.

The scholar stepped forward, pointed at the woman's corpse, and looked at the commoner.

The commoner waved at the servant.

The servant carried the corpse on his back, the commoner followed behind holding a whip, and the scholar walked to the side with his hands behind his back.

Cui Cui Tike looked at Li Li Banfeng: "One person works, one person supervises, one person waits to eat the ready-made meal. Even if one day Zhaoge City only had three people left, this situation wouldn't change at all."

"You want me to change my dream, it's not impossible, but you have to find a way to convince me and tell me if there is a better way to solve this problem?"

Li Li Banfeng didn't want to convince Cui Cui Tike now.

He lowered the brim of his hat, bowed slightly, and performed a salute: "Goodbye, my friend."

Cui Cui Tike took off his hat and returned the salute: "I hope to see you again, my friend."

Leaving the Shang Kingdom, Li Li Banfeng felt a wave of fatigue; he suspected he might have been infected by the disease focus.

This wasn't anything to be afraid of; just activate the Technique of Sleeping Without Worries and sleep in the room.

Li Li Banfeng slept for a day and a night, and still felt fatigued after waking up.

He didn't have symptoms of illness, but rather signs of a Residential Cultivation backlash.

"That can't be!" Li Li Banfeng carefully sensed his own cultivation base, "I feel quite stable."

In the fierce battle with Shan Chengjun and Shu Wanjuan in the New Land, every step was on the edge of life and death. Relying on this danger alone, his Traveling Cultivation had indeed surged. But during this period, "Living in Peace and Working with Joy" had greatly improved, and his Residential Cultivation base had also grown quite a bit. The two sides were balanced, and no gap had opened up.

Why would there be a backlash?

Zhao Zhao Xiaowan also couldn't figure it out, and she looked at the Copper Lotus with tenderness.

The Copper Lotus said angrily: "I am the most vicious woman in the world; what are you looking at me for?"

Zhao Zhao Xiaowan gently stroked the lotus heart: "Sister, in the beginning, there were only the two of us in this house. You know what the Young Master's temperament is like, don't you?"

"He is used to being mischievous and wrote a few lines casually; are you really going to hold it against him? Those absurd words on that paper are all jokes; none of them are his true feelings."

The Copper Lotus hooked Zhao Zhao Xiaowan's chin with a lotus leaf: "If they aren't true feelings, why did he write you so well?"

Zhao Zhao Xiaowan gently stroked the lotus leaf and said: "Sister is a person from heaven, and the Young Master uses a mortal's brush. How could a mortal's brush write out the beauty of a person from heaven?"

These words softened the lotus heart. The Copper Lotus gave a reminder: "With more mansions, you have to put in more thought. Even if you don't share the rain and dew equally, you can't just leave them out in the cold."

Zhao Zhao Xiaowan immediately understood: "Young Master, let's go see Linger."

After sleeping at the Jade Emerald Mansion for two days, Li Li Banfeng had some spirit, but he hadn't completely recovered.

He went to the mansion in Gourd Village again, only to see A Yu had set up two sets of mahjong and was scrubbing away with great enthusiasm.

Li Li Banfeng said: "I'll call A Yi and Qiu Qiu Luoye over in a while, and the four of us will play together."

A Yu waved her hand: "Don't cause trouble, I'm doing serious business here."

"What serious business requires mahjong?"

A Yu scrubbed for over an hour, grabbed a One-Bamboo tile, looked at it for a moment, and said to Li Li Banfeng: "There is a disciple in my sect who died twice and came back to life twice; this matter is a bit abnormal."

Li Li Banfeng was shocked: "You know about the affairs of your sect's disciples?"

A Yu said: "I just know the general idea; I don't pay much attention to ordinary things, but this person is too special."

"Before and after the two rebirths, this person must have defected to the Inner Continent and gone to the Great Melting Pot."

"But how much merit did she earn? Could the Inner Continent give her two chances for rebirth?"

Was it really the Great Melting Pot that resurrected her disciple?

Li Li Banfeng asked: "Is your disciple really alive, or has she become a living dead person?"

A Yu groped around on that mahjong tile several times: "She must be alive; this person has vitality."

"When was the second rebirth?"

A Yu calculated the days: "It was just these past two or three days."

Two or three days?

Li Li Banfeng shook his head incessantly: "Then this has nothing to do with the Great Melting Pot."

"How do you know it has nothing to do with it?"

"I just went to the Inner Continent; the Great Melting Pot has already lost the ability to allow people to be reborn."

"The peddler is truly ruthless, actually destroying the Great Melting Pot!" A Yu sighed repeatedly, then turned to a new speculation: "My disciple is indeed alive. Apart from the Great Melting Pot, where else could she be reborn? Could she have gone to the Great Totem?"

Li Li Banfeng was very interested in the Great Totem: "Can the Great Totem also allow people to be reborn?"

A Yu fiddled with her hair: "It can, but if a hundred people go, it's good fortune if one can be resurrected. Now that she's been resurrected twice in a row, this is a bit like a joke."

A one-percent probability falling on the same person twice in a row makes it one in ten thousand.

"Is the probability of the Great Totem allowing rebirth so low?"

A Yu shook her head: "I can't say the probability is low; it's mainly because the Great Totem is useless. This thing has been broken for a long time."

"But if this thing were repaired, it would be hard to say."

"How is it hard to say?"

Speaking of the Great Totem, A Yu was somewhat nervous: "The Great Totem is an object from Wan Sheng Continent; it was broken when it was sent over."

"Once this thing is repaired, it can not only bring people back from the dead, but it is said that it can create things even more terrifying than first-class weapon-beings. What exactly it is, I can't be sure yet."

Li Li Banfeng cared even more about the Great Totem: "Sister, do you know where the Great Totem is?"

"I really don't know this. I checked before, but the Shang Kingdom has always hidden the Great Totem very deeply."

Great Totem, rebirth, and also a Residential Cultivator; Li Li Banfeng thought of a person.

"Sister, is your sect disciple surnamed Lu?"

A Yu shook her head: "I can't be sure of this. My sect has so many people; it's already my ability to discover a life and death. As for their name, where would I look?"

"Male or female, you can at least tell that, right?"

She looked at the One-Bamboo tile in her hand again: "She should be a woman."

Li Li Banfeng stood up immediately, enduring the fatigue, and returned to Green Water City.

Green Water City, Round Bamboo Workshop.

In an abandoned courtyard, Qin Qin Tianjiu found the living dead person who had gone to cause trouble at Xiaoyao Dock.

This courtyard had been abandoned for many years, and the house had collapsed. The living dead person had built a shed with bricks and was curled up inside to heal his wounds.

He had been seriously injured by Qin Qin Tianjiu, and even when he saw Qin Qin Tianjiu, he refused to speak.

But when Qin Qin Tianjiu called Ma Wu over, the living dead person spoke.

"Seven Totem, Seven Totem—"

Ma Wu didn't understand what he meant, but the voice sounded somewhat familiar.

The living dead person said again: "You've come to see me, and you won't even invite me for a drink?"

Zhao Zhao Xiaowan and Jiu'er went to the street and bought pots, bowls, ladles, basins, brushes, ink, paper, inkstones, knives, forks, chopsticks, spoons, pillows, curtains—a whole pile of family assets.

The other party didn't answer, just couldn't stop trembling; this name had a great impact on him.

Ma Wu hadn't heard wrong; this person was Yuan Watch Yuan Youshang.

But how did he become a living dead person?

"Brother Yuan, you came to Xiaoyao Dock, were you looking for me specifically?"

"I want to go to your place for a drink; I have an urgent matter to tell you."

"What matter?"

"Seven Totem, Seven Totem—"

Ma Wu didn't understand again.

Qin Qin Xiaopang said: "Is he trying to see Seventh Brother?"

Ma Wu thought about it; Yuan Watch Yuan Youshang didn't seem to have much interaction with Li Qi.

Regardless, Yuan Watch Yuan Youshang was Ma Wu's friend. He first took Yuan Watch Yuan Youshang to Xiaoyao Dock and then immediately contacted Li Qi.

It just so happened that Li Qi had just returned to Green Water City, and Ma Wu hurriedly told him the matter.

Li Li Banfeng went to see Yuan Watch Yuan Youshang, but Yuan Watch Yuan Youshang hadn't improved.

He could say a few relatively complete sentences, but when it came to key matters, his mouth wouldn't work well.

He repeatedly repeated the two words "Seven Totem." Li Li Banfeng seemed to understand his meaning: "You said Totem, are you talking about the Great Totem?"

"Hmm!" Yuan Watch Yuan Youshang nodded incessantly.

"The Great Totem has been repaired?"

Yuan Watch Yuan Youshang shuddered, as if recalling a very terrifying memory.

He curled up in the corner and whispered: "Seventy percent, seventy percent—"

Li Li Banfeng also shuddered. He didn't know what function the Great Totem had, but this "seventy percent" made him perceive a strong chill.

PS: Where exactly is the Great Totem?