Li Banfeng knew that learning techniques across tiers was extraordinarily dangerous, but the technique of Close the Doors and Bar the Gates was of immense importance to him.
It was not that the technique itself was so vital; rather, in Li Banfeng's eyes, the underlying principle of Close the Doors and Bar the Gates bore a distinct resemblance to territorial borders everywhere.
Under Li Banfeng's persuasion, Meng Yuchun took the big picture into consideration and explained the technique's principles to him. "Once a Dwelling Cultivator reaches tier eight, they first sprinkle blood around the perimeter of their dwelling. Usually, it's sprinkled in four spots; connecting the four points outlines the boundary's shape. Some people only sprinkle three spots, which makes the technique easier to form, while others sprinkle six, making the boundary neater and more regular. In short, it depends on each practitioner's methods."
Sprinkling the blood served to define the boundary's position and shape.
Li Banfeng asked, "After sprinkling the blood, casting the technique lights up the boundary?"
"Not yet," Meng Yuchun shook her head. "You have to channel dwelling power to foster a resonance between the house and the bloodstains. This is the hardest step. Typically, you must remain indoors for several months without taking a single step outside, working in concert with the house before the boundary can be illuminated. For those lacking talent, it can take years.
"Once successful, the bloodstains resonate with the house. As long as the Dwelling Cultivator is inside or near the house when they activate the technique, the boundary triggers, shielding both the dwelling and the cultivator like layer upon layer of fortified gateways.
"As the resonance between the dwelling and these bloodstains deepens over time, the boundary can expand outward. For those lacking talent, the boundary clings perpetually to their courtyard walls. For the exceptionally gifted, as their cultivation rises, the boundary can extend several li outward."
At this point, Meng Yuchun showed a touch of smugness, which made it clear she possessed some degree of talent when it came to Close the Doors and Bar the Gates.
Li Banfeng asked, "You often talk about sealing off your territory. Does that mean you can expand the boundary across your entire hundred-li domain?"
Meng Yuchun's expression soured; this question was exposing her private secrets.
"I really don't mean to pry into your techniques. We're on the verge of war, and before going to battle, we have to make thorough preparations and plans. At the very least, I need to know how far your technique can reach..." Li Banfeng appealed to her emotions and reason once more, until Meng Yuchun finally came clean.
"My technique can extend twenty li out at most. It can't cover my whole domain. Claiming I would seal the territory was just to intimidate enemies."
Meng Yuchun seemed simpleminded enough, but she certainly wasn't shy about bragging.
Still, extending a boundary twenty li out was an astounding display of power.
Yet the crux of the technique lay in sprinkling blood around the house, which presented a formidable challenge for Li Banfeng.
He had no way to define the concept of "around" the Portable Abode.
More importantly, the Portable Abode could move.
Li Banfeng pondered for a moment and asked, "If you switch dwellings, what happens to the blood previously sprinkled around the old one?"
"It becomes useless," Meng Yuchun replied. "After advancing from tier nine to tier ten, I went to the Inner States. My house in Puluo Province was abandoned, and its dwelling spirit was killed by people from the Inner States.
"When I reached Tier One Above the Clouds and came to the newlands as a local spirit, I had to rebuild my house and find another dwelling spirit. Naturally, the blood-sprinkling had to start from scratch.
"Speaking of which, it still pains me to think about it. If I had never switched dwellings and kept relying on the bloodstains around my old place, my boundary could probably reach thirty li by now. After changing houses, I had to expand bit by bit from around the new place, and twenty li is a stretch even now."
Li Banfeng said, "Even with cultivation at Tier One Above the Clouds, when you change dwellings and sprinkle blood, you still have to expand outward bit by bit from the immediate perimeter?"
Meng Yuchun said, "It has nothing to do with cultivation. Building resonance between the house and the bloodstains takes time. No matter how high your cultivation is, you can't skip this process."
The tier-eight technique of a Dwelling Cultivator was executed jointly by the dwelling and the blood.
Sprinkling blood around the house allowed the house and bloodstains to build resonance over time, forging the boundary.
The Portable Abode was constantly on the move—where could he sprinkle the blood?
Nowhere was suitable.
Once he stepped outside the Portable Abode, he couldn't even see it.
He had no idea where the Portable Abode was physically situated.
Even if the Portable Abode told him where it was, and even if he circled it and sprinkled blood, how could he stay indoors for months without taking a step outside to let it build resonance with the blood?
He was a journey cultivator. He had to travel. Staying cooped up inside for months on end would kill him.
Even if he threw caution to the wind, risked cultivation backlash, stayed inside the Portable Abode, and successfully illuminated the boundary, what good would it do?
Once he moved on, the Portable Abode would follow him, leaving the bloodstains behind, and all his effort would go to waste...
Li Banfeng turned it over in his mind several times and realized one thing: there was no way he could master this tier-eight technique.
This was the fundamental incompatibility between the Dwelling and Journey pathways. Even with the Portable Abode, the problem remained insurmountable.
Seeing Li Banfeng look somewhat sullen, Meng Yuchun asked, "What are you worried about?"
Li Banfeng changed the subject. "I originally thought your technique could cover my territory too. From the look of it now, even defending yourself will be difficult."
Meng Yuchun looked ashamed. "All we can do now is hope their brutal war doesn't spill over into our lands."
For Li Banfeng, this was not something that could be resolved merely by defending their territory.
Based on common sense, local spirits in remote newlands generally possessed cultivation at Tier One Above the Clouds.
Pan Dehai was a local spirit of the proper lands; his cultivation was likely at Tier Three Above the Clouds.
There was a vast disparity in strength between Bei Wushuang and Pan Dehai. If a decisive battle occurred between the two, Pan Dehai would very likely kill Bei Wushuang.
After killing Bei Wushuang, Pan Dehai would likely dig up his covenant deed.
Once he obtained the deed, what would Pan Dehai do with it?
If Pan Dehai turned that deed over to the Inner States in exchange for lifespan, the Inner States would see the record on the deed concerning the war between Bei Wushuang and Lord Mountain-Uprooter.
Through comparison, the Inner States might notice that the two deeds recorded different accounts of the very same war: on the other deed, Lord Mountain-Uprooter's name had already been replaced with Li Furong.
If things reached that stage, the game would be completely up.
From the standpoint of Li Banfeng's own interests, it was best not to let Pan Dehai win this war.
Should he lend Bei Wushuang some aid?
What a joke!
Bei Wushuang was one of the prime culprits behind the insect plague; how could Li Banfeng ever help that bastard?
This was his third time being involved in a war between local spirits. Unlike the previous two times, when he had fought as a helper aiding a local spirit, this time he would enter the fray as a local spirit himself. Exactly how this battle should be fought remained a tangled knot in his mind.
There was still too little information.
Who could provide information at this level?
Old Xu likely knew some inside details; he could go to Yaowanggou to ask.
Or he could have Ma the Fifth inquire with Feng Daiku.
***
The wooden cabin had been built. Inside, He Yuxiu was reprimanding Youtao: "Why were you crowding against me all night in your sleep?"
Youtao looked innocent. "I was cold."
"Didn't I give you both blankets? Why were you still pressing up against me?"
Youtao looked at her with concern. "I was worried you'd be cold."
He Yuxiu stayed silent for a moment, then suddenly chuckled. "Taozi, don't think I don't know—you're a mirror-polisher."
Youtao lowered her head and bit her lip.
"No need to be scared," He Yuxiu lit a cigarette and popped it into Youtao's mouth. "I've seen it all, and I've dabbled in mirror-polishing myself. Once in a while, indulging you wouldn't kill me, but I really don't care for it. I like men."
Flushing, Youtao murmured, "Actually, there are some men I like too."
He Yuxiu laughed. "You're not that old, girl, but you've certainly got wild tastes! Long or flat, you're down for either?"
With flushed cheeks, Youtao replied, "It depends on the person."
He Yuxiu nodded. "A Joy Cultivator ought to have that kind of spirit. Once this storm blows over, I'll take you to Lüshui City. As long as someone catches your eye, just go for it—man or woman, who cares?"
"Thank you, Big Sister," Youtao said gratefully, but the smile on her face gradually faded. "Only... only, I feel like what we're doing isn't right."
He Yuxiu was taken aback. "What do you mean, not right?"
Youtao's expression grew increasingly somber, her stutter becoming thicker: "I... I just feel like I shouldn't be doing this. It's... it's too shameless."
***
"Yuchun, aren't we being a little too shameless?" Huangdie pushed Meng Yuchun away and climbed out from under the quilt.
Meng Yuchun froze. "What did you just say?"
Hongdie crawled out from under the covers as well. "Yuchun, I think she's right. We're all women. Doing this kind of thing all day long—what has become of us?"
Meng Yuchun stared in astonishment at Huangdie and Hongdie, and then a sudden intuition stirred in her heart.
Someone had entered her territory.
***
Li Banfeng took a circuit around Meng Yuchun's territory, making a special point to check on his own three-li parcel.
The entire plot had been managed in an orderly fashion by the Toad, with the Mountain Wolf and the eagle pitching in plenty of effort as well.
It was just that the house left a bit to be desired. Back then, Li Banfeng had hired a bunch of aardvarks as laborers, and that crew had built the dwelling underground.
Underground was fine too. These aardvarks possessed excellent craftsmanship, and the ventilation was well done. The newlands were naturally dark, with only a sliver of Heavenly Light in the sky, so aboveground and underground hardly made a difference.
Li Banfeng was thoroughly satisfied with the plot. Pulling out a good number of Xuanchi Pills, he prepared to reward their merits.
To his surprise, none of them were willing to take the pills.
The Toad hung its head. "Master, I don't have the face to accept these pills. I failed in my duties."
Li Banfeng was startled. "How did you fail? Isn't everything here in great shape?"
The Toad sighed. "A flock of two-faced sheep passed through earlier and nearly chewed our territory's turf down to the dirt. I tried to urge them away, but they wouldn't listen. They had numbers on their side, and I didn't dare fight them."
Li Banfeng chuckled. "What's the big deal about that? Where do sheep not graze on grass? New grass will sprout next year anyway. Having so much grass around wasn't doing me any good."
The Toad shook its head. "Whether it's useful or not is for the Master to decide. What I did was wrong, and I dare not accept the Master's reward."
The Mountain Wolf chimed in from the side, "This isn't Manager Toad's fault. It's mine. I'm the head guard; I shouldn't have let those two-faced sheep set foot on the Master's land. I don't have the face to stay here anymore."
The male eagle spoke up as well: "I'm a head guard too. I spotted that flock of two-faced sheep from far off. If I had sent word in advance, maybe there would have been a way to drive them off early. But that day, my wife insisted on doing that..."
The female eagle kicked the male eagle from the side. "Why do you have to go blabbing everything to everyone?"
The male eagle snapped angrily, "Why shouldn't I say it? Was I wrong? You shameless hen, all you know how to do every day is entangle me! You just had me go at it twice with you earlier—thinking back on it makes me burn with shame!"
*What is going on here?*
Some grass on the territory had been eaten by sheep; was such a minor matter really worth this level of uproar?
Li Banfeng's eyes darted around, and he commanded everyone, "Take these pills, all of you."
"Master, we cannot accept them."
"Refusing will be deemed disloyalty! Take them right now, and then go hide in my dwelling!"
The Toad shook its head. "That won't do. That is the Master's dwelling. How could we servants barge in as we please?"
"If I tell you to go, go right now! No one comes out without my orders!"
The whole group scurried into Li Banfeng's underground residence.
Li Banfeng activated his Golden Eyes of Keen Detail, relying on his journey cultivator footwork to scour Meng Yuchun's territory.
Arriving beneath a tree, he found an old man wearing a dome-topped skullcap and round-framed spectacles, sporting a handlebar mustache and bearing the air of a relic from the fallen dynasty. The elder smiled at Li Banfeng. "Li the Seventh, it has been a long time. I am, after all, several years your elder. Seeing me face to face, will you not even offer a bow?"
Pan Dehai had arrived.
Li Banfeng felt a powerful urge to bow to Pan Dehai, but he reined himself in with great difficulty.
He came up with an excuse to convince himself: "I do not bow to men of no virtue."
"You say I have no virtue?" Pan Dehai was taken aback. "Where does this come from?"
"Peeping on a married couple in bed—that is having no virtue!" Li Banfeng was referring to the eagle couple.
Pan Dehai denied it flatly. "I did not look!"
"If you didn't look, why did they feel so ashamed?"
"Carrying on like that in broad daylight—they ought to feel ashamed in the first place!"
"Carrying on how? How would you know? You still dare claim you didn't look? You shameless old bastard!"
Pan Dehai's eyes went wide as he stared at Li Banfeng, struck utterly speechless.
Chapter 382