The peddler pointed out the first path: having Li Banfeng settle down directly in a perilous place.
It seemed like a good solution on the surface, but upon closer thought, it was completely absurd.
It was good because it solved the problem—setting up home in a perilous place would perfectly satisfy the requirement of spending a night in one.
Never mind one night; he could stay several. Hiding inside his own residence would also give him a much higher chance of surviving any dangers.
It was absurd because how was he supposed to live after that?
"Am I supposed to spend the rest of my life in a perilous place?"
The peddler comforted him, "Don't be so pessimistic. As long as you nurture a dwelling spirit, ordinary enemies won't be able to enter your home at all. You can still live in peace and leisure."
"I can even nurture a dwelling spirit?"
"Of course! Perilous places are full of resentful souls, and resentful souls are the best nourishment for a dwelling spirit. Take Lianyingu in Yaowanggou, for example. That valley is dense with yin energy and has nurtured many vengeful spirits; countless people have died on that mountain. It's a textbook perilous place. That place is great—quiet, and ordinary people wouldn't dare disturb you. If you make your home in Lianyingu and live there for half a year to lay your foundation, you'll be able to nurture a dwelling spirit. By absorbing vengeful spirits, your dwelling spirit will grow increasingly powerful, which will be of immense benefit to your future cultivation."
Li Banfeng pondered for a moment, then asked a seemingly simple yet crucially important question: "What are vengeful spirits?"
The peddler blinked, looking rather surprised. "Weren't you well-educated? Why do you need to ask me what a vengeful spirit is? It's a ghost, of course. A ghost filled with intense resentment."
So they were ghosts.
Li Banfeng's brow relaxed. Doing his best to control his emotions, he forced a smile.
To imagine his future life: living alongside a crowd of vengeful spirits in a deep, secluded valley. What a warm, heartwarming chapter of life that would be.
And it might not just be a brief chapter, either. Dwelling Cultivators cultivated inside their residences, which meant he might very well end up spending his entire life trapped in that valley.
Li Banfeng looked at the peddler and said in all seriousness, "Won't the vengeful spirits in the valley harm me?"
"Excellent question," the peddler replied with equal gravity. "Vengeful spirits will inevitably harm people. But you'll have a dwelling spirit, and your dwelling spirit will help ward off their attacks."
"And what if the dwelling spirit can't ward them off?"
The peddler's expression grew even more solemn. "You must have confidence! You have to believe in the power of your dwelling spirit, believe in your own willpower, and believe that there is no hardship in this world that cannot be overcome! Whether you believe in yourself or not, I believe in you! You can do it!"
Li Banfeng thought about it and felt that what the peddler said made some sense. But he still had another question: "Before I nurture a dwelling spirit, who's going to ward them off for me?"
"Well..." That question hit right at the crux of the matter. The peddler pulled out a stack of yellow paper covered in various runes. "These talismans will be enough for you to hold out for three to five months. By then, your dwelling spirit should be cultivated."
"And then? Even with a dwelling spirit, I can't hide inside the residence every single day. I'll still have to go out to find food, won't I? Aren't I still a journey cultivator? Don't I still have to travel around? Once I step outside the residence, how am I supposed to deal with the vengeful spirits?"
"If you can run a bit faster..." Unable to smooth over his explanation, the peddler quickly changed the subject. "You don't necessarily have to go to Lianyingu. There are other places..."
"What difference would another place make? I'm a journey cultivator; I have to go out and roam. By your method, stepping out the front door would be suicide."
If it were just once or twice, fine, but settling down in a perilous place meant risking his life just to buy groceries. How was he supposed to live like that?
The peddler gave a soft sigh. "Tempering yourself in a perilous place really does benefit a journey cultivator, but if you're unwilling, then forget it. There is another path."
The peddler patted his cart cabinet, and a drawer slid open, revealing an assortment of miscellaneous items of all shapes and sizes.
After rummaging for a while, the peddler pulled out a key from the drawer—a brass key slightly shorter than an index finger, spotted with green patina.
"Since you don't want to settle in a perilous place, I'll gift you a different residence."
"What kind of residence?"
In Li Banfeng's eyes, no residence could possibly resolve the conflict between a Dwelling Cultivator and a journey cultivator.
"This residence is truly special, a priceless treasure of this world. If it weren't for the fact that I value my rules and reputation, I would never part with such a fine item." The peddler reached forward with the key, turned it counterclockwise three times, and made the motion of opening a door.
He was unlocking a door in thin air.
His movement was so earnest that it seemed as if an actual door stood before him.
He turned his head to look at Li Banfeng and waved him over. "Come, I'll take you inside to see the house."
Inside?
Inside where?
Ahead lay nothing but empty air.
"Hurry up!" The peddler looked utterly serious.
Li Banfeng walked up beside him, but still saw nothing.
The peddler's expression remained entirely deadpan.
Li Banfeng looked at him. "I know an attending physician named Wang in the psychiatric department of Yuezhou Third Hospital. He's a really nice guy. How about you go visit..."
The peddler gave Li Banfeng a push, sending him forward a few steps.
Suddenly, pitch blackness swallowed everything. The wilderness, the great tree, the campfire, the cart cabinet, and the straw mat all vanished.
*Scritch!*
The peddler struck a match. By its faint, flickering light, Li Banfeng clearly saw his surroundings.
It was a room—a not-too-large room, visually about three meters wide and two meters long, around six square meters in area.
The room was completely empty. Apart from the mottled walls, there was nothing, not even a single window.
As the match was about to burn out, the peddler stood with one foot outside the doorway and one foot inside. He said to Li Banfeng, "The door is going to shut soon. What comes next is crucial: before the door closes, you must throw the key outside to a suitable spot."
With that, the peddler tossed the key out.
A thick fog churned outside the doorway, making it impossible for Li Banfeng to see where the key had landed.
*Clang!*
The door slammed shut, the match extinguished, and the room plunged into absolute darkness.
*Scritch...*
The peddler struck another match. This time, he lit a candle and held it in his hand.
"Take a good look. This is the residence I'm giving you."
Li Banfeng looked around. "If you called this a room, I'd believe you. But if you call it a residence..."
This "residence" was truly on the small side.
"It is indeed a residence—one of the most precious residences in the world."
"What makes it so precious? Because it can turn invisible?"
Before the peddler unlocked the door, Li Banfeng hadn't been able to see this "residence" at all. Clearly, it possessed the ability to turn invisible.
"It's far more than just invisibility," the peddler said with a smile. "This residence moves. Wherever the key goes, it follows. As long as you carry the key, it will stay with you wherever you go."
Li Banfeng froze.
If what the peddler said was true and this was a mobile residence, then the contradiction between journey cultivator and Dwelling Cultivator would be completely resolved.
Yet could such a residence truly exist in this world?
"Don't believe me?" The peddler chuckled. "You can give it a try."
With that, the peddler opened the door and led Li Banfeng outside.
The moment both feet stepped past the threshold, dense fog obscured their vision.
The instant the door closed behind them, the fog dispersed, and Li Banfeng found his feet planted in an expanse of tangled grass.
The peddler bent down, picked up the brass key from the grass, and handed it to Li Banfeng.
"Let's switch spots." Leading Li Banfeng a few hundred meters away, the peddler brought him into a patch of woods.
"Insert the key outward until you feel it slide into a keyhole."
Li Banfeng followed his instructions.
He pushed the key into empty air, but felt nothing at all.
The peddler shook his head. "That's not right."
"I haven't gotten the technique down yet..."
"You don't need any special technique. Just do it like you're unlocking a door. It's such a simple matter—be crisp and decisive, don't hesitate."
Li Banfeng tried again. This time, his movement was brisk and natural.
*Click, click, click...*
Li Banfeng seemed to hear the sound of a key entering a lock cylinder, and his fingers felt a distinct resistance.
"That's the right way," the peddler smiled. "Turn the key to the left. Once you hear two clicks, the lock is open."
Gripping the key, Li Banfeng twisted it counterclockwise.
*Click!*
*Click!*
The peddler said, "Push the door!"
Li Banfeng pushed forward. He felt the texture of a wooden door and even heard the creak of door hinges.
*Creak...*
Yet he saw no door, nor did he see the room from before.
"Take a step forward. Just one step."
Li Banfeng took a step forward. A thick fog swept in, swiftly blinding his sight.
One more step forward, and he should be able to see the room.
The peddler immediately warned, "Don't move yet! Throw the key out! The exit of the residence is linked to the key. If you bring the key inside, the exit will lead right back into the residence, and you'll be trapped inside forever."
Li Banfeng turned to toss the key away, but the peddler called out another reminder: "Pick a good spot to drop it! Don't make it too obvious, or someone else might pick it up. But don't make it too hidden, either, or you won't even be able to find it yourself."
Nothing but fog filled Li Banfeng's sight, leaving his vision completely blurred; throwing the key accurately was no easy task.
No wonder the peddler had said throwing the key was of utmost importance.
The peddler urged, "Hurry up and throw the key out! The door is about to shut!"
Fortunately, Li Banfeng possessed his exceptional skill. Relying half on his eyesight and half on his memory, he tossed the key out, then stepped his other foot through the doorway.
*Clang!*
The door slammed shut.
Li Banfeng was inside the room.
Turning around, Li Banfeng pushed the door open and stepped out, finding himself back in the woods.
He located the key on the ground. It hadn't landed far, right beneath a tree.
Within five meters, even if his vision was obscured, he wouldn't miss.
The peddler chuckled. "Still a bit too obvious. Remember to pick better spots in the future."
Li Banfeng nodded, clutching the key tightly in his hand.
"Satisfied?" the peddler asked.
Li Banfeng nodded again.
Satisfied—he was more than satisfied.
"With this residence, I can roam wherever I want from now on. When I'm tired from walking, I can return to the residence to rest. It won't hold back my journey cultivation, nor will it hinder my dwelling cultivation."
"Uh..." The peddler's smile froze, his expression gradually turning grave. "Things aren't quite that simple. Journey cultivation is fine, but for dwelling cultivation, you'll have to find another way. This residence has a slight defect."
Li Banfeng gave a start. "What defect?"
The peddler sighed. "It cannot give birth to a dwelling spirit."
Chapter 20