"Why can't it give birth to a dwelling spirit?"
"Because it has no foundation," the peddler explained. "For a residence to give birth to a dwelling spirit, it needs to take root in one place and absorb spiritual energy. This residence is adrift and unsettled. Wherever the key goes, it goes, so naturally it can't take root."
"Without a dwelling spirit, can it still be used for cultivation?"
The peddler stroked his chin. "Advancing to a higher tier is certainly out of the question, but getting initiated is no problem, nor is maintaining your daily basic cultivation—so long as you're willing to acknowledge this residence."
"Willing to acknowledge it?" Li Banfeng was puzzled.
"Yes. As long as you treat this residence as your home, you've acknowledged it. But remember, acknowledging the dwelling must come genuinely from the heart."
Treat this place as home?
That was going to be a bit tough!
Li Banfeng found the nature of this residence hard to comprehend. "Invisible, intangible, and capable of moving—just what kind of existence is this place?"
"Didn't I already tell you? It follows the key. Wherever the key is, there it is. As for how it actually moves, I don't know either. A journey grandmaster built it as his own shelter. Later, as his cultivation deepened by the day, the grandmaster had no further use for it, so he sold it to me. If you find it suitable, I'll give this residence to you. Even though it has no dwelling spirit and you won't be able to advance tiers in dwelling cultivation, living in it every day means you are at least cultivating along the proper path, and your life won't be in immediate danger for now."
Li Banfeng asked, "In other words, I can focus entirely on journey cultivation, and as long as my dwelling cultivation maintains the status quo, that's enough?"
"Of course not," the peddler shook his head. "Dual cultivation across two pathways cannot have a gap of more than three tiers. Without a dwelling spirit, your dwelling cultivation can't advance in tier, meaning it won't even reach Tier One. If your journey cultivation reaches Tier One, things are still manageable. If it reaches Tier Two, the dwelling cultivation will produce a backlash. When journey cultivation reaches Tier Three, the dwelling cultivation will endanger your life. And if journey cultivation reaches Tier Four while dwelling cultivation hasn't even reached Tier One, the cultivator is doomed to die without question. Above all, remember: the difference between the two must never exceed three tiers."
Li Banfeng rubbed his chin. "So in other words, the contradiction between dwelling cultivation and journey cultivation still hasn't been resolved."
"How should I put it?" The peddler smiled. "You come from the Outer States, so you must have seen cars, right?"
Li Banfeng nodded. "I have."
"If a car hits and kills someone, does money have to be paid in compensation?"
"Naturally."
"After paying the compensation, can the dead person come back to life?"
"Certainly not."
"Since they can't come back to life, why pay compensation at all?"
Li Banfeng was momentarily stumped.
The peddler chuckled. "That's the logic behind it. When a mistake is made, corresponding compensation must be given. You ended up cultivating two mutually incompatible pathways, and there was fault on my part in that, so naturally I must give you equivalent compensation. That is my rule—a fair and reasonable rule. And I have given you compensation—fair and reasonable compensation. But whether this compensation can save your life depends on your own fortune. Two paths: one is to build a residence in a perilous place, and the other is to take this mobile residence. Pick one for yourself."
Two paths. Both seemed capable of solving the problem, yet in reality, neither truly solved it.
Li Banfeng first considered the first path. "If I cultivate a dwelling spirit in a residence built in a perilous place, and later don't want the residence anymore, can I move?"
Nobody wanted to live in a perilous place for the rest of their days.
The peddler nodded. "A dwelling cultivator can change residences, but the dwelling spirit must be handled properly. If a dwelling spirit is abandoned, it turns into a vengeful spirit. It will lure others into staying in the house, and spending even a single night inside will make them the dwelling spirit's prisoner. Unless someone else comes to take the captive's place, the dwelling spirit will hold that person prisoner until death, and afterwards continue to harm others. The more people a dwelling spirit harms, the higher its magical power grows. Should it cultivate the means to leave the residence, it will inevitably seek revenge on its former master. Many dwelling cultivators have died at the hands of their own dwelling spirits. Changing residences is something that requires extreme caution; it's best to find another dwelling cultivator to take over the old residence, and you must obtain the dwelling spirit's consent."
That made it terribly difficult!
Where was he supposed to find someone to take over?
Dwelling cultivators all holed up inside their homes and were hard to find in the first place. Even if he found one, they might not be willing to take it. They had their own dwelling spirits; why would they take on a residence in some treacherous, hostile place?
Two paths: the first could produce a dwelling spirit, which was better in the long run.
The second could only resolve his immediate predicament, and was no long-term solution.
Weighing the pros and cons, Li Banfeng chose the second path.
The reasoning was simple: right now, he didn't have the capital to worry about long-term plans.
From boarding the train until now, Li Banfeng had encountered too many situations that overturned everything he knew. If not for exceptional luck, he most likely wouldn't have survived this long.
And this was merely daily life in Yaowanggou. If he actually went to some perilous, sinister place, he feared he wouldn't even last a single day. Fantasizing about gaining a dwelling spirit after six months? By then, he would probably have long become a wronged soul, serving as nourishment for some other residence's dwelling spirit.
With matters settled, the peddler handed the brass key to Li Banfeng on the spot.
Li Banfeng tested it several times and confirmed everything was in order, concluding the transaction.
"Losses and gains, settled and square. I took a loss on this deal, but I'm a man who cares about his reputation. Since you've taken my goods, you can't go around tarnishing my good name. You must not mention this matter to anyone. Do you agree?"
Li Banfeng nodded. "I agree."
"Then it's settled. Do you have any relatives in Yaowanggou?"
Li Banfeng's brow furrowed slightly. "Why ask that?"
The peddler twitched an eyebrow. "Once, there was someone who started as a Fire Cultivator. He later regretted it and wanted to switch pathways, changing to become a Water Cultivator. Nothing happened the first day, but on the second day, he turned into ashes."
Li Banfeng's cheek twitched. "What do you mean by that?"
"I mean that you might not survive. What happens in the long run isn't my concern, but if you can't even make it through tonight, I can convert this compensation and pass it to your family." The peddler truly was a man of his word.
Li Banfeng shook his head. "I don't have any family."
This was the truth. Whether in Yaowanggou or anywhere else, Li Banfeng had no relatives.
"Then you can't blame me. Either way, I've given you the residence; the rest is up to fate." The peddler smacked his lips and exhorted:
"Mark this well: sleep a night in the residence, and if you feel energy surging in your body, it proves you've genuinely acknowledged the dwelling, and your cultivation can harmonize with this residence. That will mean you've survived the first hurdle.
"Inside their residence, a dwelling cultivator's combat strength is at its peak, far surpassing ordinary people. After leaving the residence, combat strength gradually wanes, and once back inside, it quickly recovers. This is a vital rule of dwelling cultivation.
"A journey cultivator holds the greatest advantage in the wild and barren wastes; the more perilous the terrain, the stronger their combat prowess. But if trapped inside a room, a journey cultivator's life is at risk at any moment. This is a vital rule of journey cultivation.
"Spend at least two hours in the residence every day, and walk at least twenty li. This is the foundation of daily cultivation. When the foundation is fulfilled, you will feel a resonance. If you fail to complete your basic cultivation, you will suffer a backlash—Qiao Yuesheng is proof.
"If you run into real trouble, you still must return home at least once a day, and find a way to walk three to five li. If you can't even manage that much, all you can do is wait for sudden death.
"For a journey cultivator, spending a night in a perilous place allows advancement by one tier. For a dwelling cultivator, pleasing the dwelling spirit allows advancement by one tier. Once you advance a tier, there will also be a resonance. Bear this in mind. Bear it well."
The peddler tied the mat rolled around the corpse onto his cargo cart and moved to push his cart away.
Li Banfeng asked, "Do you have a power bank?"
"A power bank? No, not that," the peddler shook his head. "Things that run on electricity, I don't carry any of them."
Li Banfeng looked at the pitch-black wilderness, thought about what he had seen along the way, and asked, "Is this place electrified?"
"Electrified?" For a moment, the peddler didn't know how to answer. "Some households use electricity, but the grid doesn't connect. In Puluo Province, electricity is very difficult to transmit over long distances—or in the words of your Outer States, line loss is too high. That power bank you mentioned is probably for a cell phone. In Puluo Province, it's best to use cell phones as little as possible. There shouldn't be any signal here to begin with; whatever signals you receive might not come from where you think, and could invite disasters that shouldn't come, or attract people who shouldn't be summoned. Especially Scrying Cultivators—in the Outer States, they love using cell phones as hooks."
"What do you mean by hooks?"
"Like fish hooks. A Scrying Cultivator's Clairaudience is often hooked onto cell phones." The peddler offered no further explanation, merely waving to Li Banfeng. "Our deal this time is concluded. Though there were a few minor hitches, my reputation stands firm, and my sincerity remains unchanged. Safe travels, customer, and please favor me with your business next time."
Chapter 21