And who was Pan Dehai?
Which territory's local spirit was he?
Was his status the same as Lü Huazi and Feng Daiku?
Li Banfeng questioned the gramophone, but she was plunged into deep contemplation, unable to attend to his inquiries for the moment.
Li Banfeng stared at the flesh on the table for quite a while, feeling rather hungry.
It wasn't that he wanted to eat that piece of flesh. Rather, he had dashed wildly the entire way, exhausting a great deal of physical strength, and then listened to his wife explain so much, draining a great deal of mental energy. Now he was genuinely famished.
He scrounged up some biscuits and canned food to make do for a meal.
The gramophone, meanwhile, was pondering the underlying reasons. "Feng Daiku and Pan Dehai got into a fight, and they did it right on Lü Huazi's territory. No matter how you look at it, this makes no sense.
"This piece of flesh must have been taken straight from Pan Dehai's heart. That wretched Feng Daiku was wounded by Pan Dehai, and Pan Dehai himself wasn't lightly injured either. But... my dear husband, why on earth did you trade blows with Feng Daiku? Did you take a fancy to that woman? Or are you a friend of Pan Dehai?"
Li Banfeng shook his head. "I didn't take a fancy to her, and I don't know Pan Dehai. But this matter really does involve a friend of mine. My friend fell into Feng Daiku's hands, and she said she wanted him to stay behind to help her heal. I tried to rescue him, only to be struck by her art.
"What kind of technique was that? A Joy Cultivator's? As the local spirit of Kudaikan, she ought to be a Joy Cultivator, right?"
*Hiss, hiss—*
The gramophone replied, "Feng Daiku is no Joy Cultivator. She is an Emotion Cultivator. You were afflicted by her emotion root, my lord, but your humble servant has already dissolved it."
Li Banfeng did not understand. "If she's an Emotion Cultivator, why are there so many Joy Cultivators on her territory?"
*Hiss, hiss—*
"Joy Cultivation can breed passion!"
"Doesn't passion only grow over time?"
"Joy Cultivators know how to screw, and they last plenty of time," his wife explained in plain, simple terms.
Thinking of Feng Daiku made Li Banfeng rather irritated. Not only had she detained Ma the Fifth, but she had also nearly forced him straight into the Wireworm River.
"Wife, it looked to me like Feng Daiku hasn't recovered from her injuries yet. I'll find a way to finish her off!"
"Husband, do not be rash."
"Then I'll find a way to lure her into the Portable Abode and let you finish her off!"
*Whoosh—whoosh—*
Gentle waves of steam swept out repeatedly, helping Li Banfeng calm down as quickly as possible.
"My lord, if your servant's battle prowess were fully restored, dealing with that wretched wench would be nothing at all. But in my current state, I fear I am no match for her. You truly must not act rashly."
Indeed. Back then, his wife had only won a pyrrhic victory against Madam Bagworm Moth, let alone a local spirit.
*Hiss, hiss—*
His wife continued, "Besides, among the local spirits, Feng Daiku is considered one of the benign ones. Your friend helping her heal will cost him nothing more than a bit of essence. She is someone who knows how to repay favors; she won't let your friend come out on the losing end.
"However, when local spirits clash in this place, bystanders are bound to get dragged into it. We cannot linger here. Husband, we can discuss the particulars later. For now, it is best we leave as soon as possible."
Li Banfeng pushed open the door of the Portable Abode, intending to pick up his key, only to see a mass of writhing wireworms crawling inside.
He had nearly forgotten: he had thrown the key onto the bank of the Wireworm River. Running into some wireworms was entirely expected.
Li Banfeng raised his foot, preparing to stomp the worms to death, when his wife suddenly shouted, "Husband, look out! This smell isn't right!"
Hearing her warning, Li Banfeng noticed that the damp air outside was far thicker than before—distinctly different from conditions on the riverbank.
He intended to take another step out to investigate, but a sudden shiver ran through his whole body.
The art of seeking good fortune and avoiding calamity.
Great danger lay outside.
Li Banfeng hurried to pull the door shut, and his wife blasted out a sheet of steam, scalding every single worm on the floor to death.
What had gone wrong?
When he reached the bank, he had definitely thrown the key toward the opposite shore.
Could it be that he hadn't used enough strength and had tossed it right into the river instead?
That was troublesome. If the key had truly fallen into a pile of worms, how was he supposed to get out?
Even more critically, the worms might have swept the key away. Exactly where they had dragged it remained unclear, but judging by the scent just now, it certainly wasn't the wilderness.
After a moment of thought, Li Banfeng took out the Hanxue pendulum and asked, "Can you swallow poison?"
The pendulum shuddered. "Master, why would you make me swallow poison?"
"To stay alive." Li Banfeng produced a poison pill. "Eat this."
He wanted the pendulum to swallow the poison pill and spew a toxic mist to repel the worms so he could retrieve his key.
Yet the pendulum refused. "Master, I cannot eat this..."
Li Banfeng grew annoyed. "Why can't you eat it? Can't you drink the blood of Poison Cultivators?"
The Thread-Hook Earring whispered, "Master, don't listen to her! She can eat it. She can eat anything!"
The Tang dao chimed in, "'The sword's sharp edge is honed by grinding; the plum blossom's fragrance comes from the bitter cold.' The pendulum has taken so many advantages—it's high time she tasted some bitterness."
With a trembling voice, the pendulum said, "Master, they're bullying me."
*Hiss, hiss—*
The gramophone spoke a word of fairness. "Making the pendulum eat a poison pill is indeed hard on her. Better to let her take in some steam instead."
*Whoosh! Rong!*
Seeing the gramophone vent billows of steam, the pendulum's body flushed crimson on the spot. "Master, I'm willing to eat the poison pill! Master, I really can't take that in! Master..."
*Whoosh—*
A massive plume of steam was forced right into the pendulum.
The pendulum turned as red as a branding iron, though fortunately, the handle wasn't too hot.
Li Banfeng tied the cuffs of his trousers tight, took the pendulum in hand, and stepped out the door. Before closing it, he glanced back inside one last time.
If he couldn't find the key once he stepped out, he would never be able to return.
Should he bring his wife along?
Take the Red Lotus too?
Take all the family possessions he had painstakingly gathered?
And then what?
Abandon the Portable Abode?
*Stop letting your mind wander!*
He had to find the key and defend his home!
As soon as his foot crossed the threshold, the ground beneath him was slick and sticky, crawling entirely with worms.
The wireworms swarmed up his shoes with astonishing speed. Li Banfeng triggered the pendulum first, releasing a blast of steam that scalded a large patch of them to death.
Driven by the searing heat, the remaining worms scattered rapidly. From their curling forms, it was clear the wireworms were furious.
Taking advantage of their contorted writhing, Li Banfeng spotted the key amid the heap of corpses.
Just as he reached out to grab it, he saw the key sink continuously into the dead worms.
It wasn't just the key that was sinking—Li Banfeng's feet were sinking too.
Beneath the dead worms lay living ones, shifting positions at breakneck speed, as though a whirlpool had formed in the Wireworm River.
Li Banfeng twisted the screw on the pendulum and blasted out another jet of steam.
*Sizzle—*
A pungent, scorched smoke stung his nose as vast numbers of wireworms perished. Li Banfeng seized the chance to snatch up the key, then scanned his surroundings for where to go next.
Only now did he have time to observe his environment.
This was neither a riverbank nor the wilderness. It was a cavern.
Surrounding the cavern were slick, damp rock walls, offering nowhere to gain a foothold.
At the cavern floor surged the ceaseless Wireworm River, its depth unknown. Beneath Li Banfeng's feet lay a massive carpet of scalded wireworms, and beneath the corpses were living ones; there was no telling how deep it went before reaching bottom.
The steam's force was rapidly fading, and the wireworms rushed toward the tops of Li Banfeng's feet once more.
Were these worms journey cultivators? How could they move so fast?
The Hanxue pendulum had only one breath of steam left. Once he expelled that final burst, Li Banfeng would have no other means to drive the worms back.
With the key in hand, Li Banfeng could return to the Portable Abode.
Yet going back meant tossing the key into the swarm of worms again, rendering all his previous efforts completely wasted.
If he didn't return to the Portable Abode, where else could he go?
Which way should he take his next step?
Run!
Run toward the cavern's exit.
The crux was: where was the exit?
Li Banfeng had two choices. One was to run with the flow of the wireworms.
Running in their direction of movement would make his footing far smoother, but the problem was that following them might never lead out of the cavern.
Their destination might not lie outside at all; it could be deeper inside, perhaps the lair of some worm king, or the dwelling of some deity.
The other choice was to run against the flow of the wireworms.
The advantage of running against them was that it was guaranteed to lead out. However the worms had entered was how he would leave.
The drawback was that he had no idea how long he would have to run. He didn't know the cavern's length, nor where the swarm had entered.
If they had entered through an underground river, things would become dire.
Judging by his art of seeking good fortune and avoiding calamity, running in either direction seemed perilous, though still within his capacity to endure.
However, if he ran into a higher-tier entity, the art might not work reliably.
After a brief deliberation, Li Banfeng made his choice: run against the flow of the worms.
No matter how long this path was, the outcome was predictable. By running against them, he would find the exit.
Clutching the key tightly, Li Banfeng surged forward in a sprint.
Running against the wireworms meant moving opposite to their writhing march, and he frequently kicked them head-on.
If he kicked them, so be it. They were merely wireworms, possessing little intelligence.
Or so Li Banfeng thought, but the reality was quite different. These wireworms were unlike ordinary creatures.
They possessed some degree of sentience. Though meager, they knew how to retaliate.
Having been scalded earlier and now kicked head-on, any worm that sensed Li Banfeng whipped its head around, burrowing and biting into him.
Fast!
He had to be fast!
As long as he ran fast enough, he could evade them.
They couldn't catch up to him; of that, Li Banfeng was confident.
Yet while the wireworms were slower than him, they weren't much slower. Driven by fury, they snapped at his heels in close pursuit.
Moreover, these worms shared an innate connection. When the ones behind couldn't catch him, the ones ahead began knotting themselves together in place.
Li Banfeng was tripped into a stumble. The cluster of worms parted abruptly, causing him to misstep and plunge straight into a vortex in the Wireworm River.
The pitch-black mass of wireworms, which had previously only covered his feet, now reached up to his waist.
Li Banfeng struggled desperately in the swarm, but the worms had learned from experience. They swirled around his legs, depriving him of any leverage to kick off.
The creatures gnawed and bored with all their might, quickly tearing through his clothes and burrowing into his flesh.
Li Banfeng pulled out the pendulum and released its final breath of steam, scalding a large swath of worms to death.
Using their corpses as purchase and relying on the stride of a journey cultivator, Li Banfeng clambered out of the vortex and sprinted onward across the carpet of worms.
Ahead, more worms were gathering into another vortex, but Li Banfeng relied on seeking good fortune and avoiding calamity to dodge it in time.
In such a perilous place, every single step was equivalent to walking ten li on flat ground. Ten steps earned him an entire day's worth of progress.
After sprinting seven or eight hundred meters, several vortexes opened up at once. Li Banfeng darted left and dodged right, but inadvertently stepped into one of them, his body sinking again.
Now that he was out of steam, sinking down once more would make escape nearly impossible.
At the brink of life and death, veins bulged across Li Banfeng's skin and his eyes went completely bloodshot as he stared fixedly ahead.
Sensing the scent of blood, wireworms lunged to burrow into him, only to strike empty air.
Traceless Half-Step!
Li Banfeng's figure flickered forward in a flash, landing on another vortex.
Not here!
His figure flashed again, bypassing the whirlpool and landing atop a cluster of worms.
Triggering Traceless Half-Step twice in succession, Li Banfeng didn't even know how he had managed it.
The worms beneath his feet hadn't had time to disperse, giving him solid enough footing. Those two half-steps alone granted him over five hundred li of cultivation progress.
Right now, Li Banfeng had no time to tally his cultivation. His entire body was racked with agony. Over a hundred wireworms had bored into his flesh, and the blood seeping out drew even more of them toward him.
He dared not pause for an instant, sprinting forward with everything he had. After covering more than two li, a faint breeze blew in from ahead.
The cave mouth!
Overjoyed, Li Banfeng dashed at full tilt. The moment he burst out of the entrance, an open wilderness stretched before his eyes.
He was out! He was finally out!
Just as Li Banfeng was about to see where he had emerged, he suddenly felt something wriggling on his cheek.
A wireworm had burrowed into his cheek, squirming from his jaw up toward his cheekbone, on the verge of boring right out of his eye.
Chapter 149