Farewell, Lühuazi!

The Tang dao pierced through the back of his head and burst out through his forehead, skewering Lü Shuigong's skull. The blade stirred several times inside Lü Shuigong's head, and his entire head liquefied into purulent blood, draining into his body through the open stump of his neck. He was still alive. Li Banfeng realized a problem: his understanding of Lü Shuigong had a blind spot. Not just him—many high-tier cultivators believed that the hardest thing to deal with regarding Lü Shuigong was his offensive repertoire. His disease foci were indeed terrifying; once contracted, they were exceptionally difficult to purge. Yet one could not overlook another issue: Lü Shuigong's defensive capability was not in the least inferior to his offensive prowess. The Tang dao had run clean through his skull without inflicting severe injury. The shattered head had turned to pus and blood, which he reclaimed into himself. If the fight dragged on like this, any attack directed at Lü Shuigong would become entirely meaningless. The Tang dao chopped downward in a fluid motion, aiming to cleave Lü Shuigong's body right in two. Lü Shuigong scooped up a withered tree branch from the ground and parried the Tang dao, dodging Li Banfeng's Treading Ten Thousand Rivers in the process. There was yet another overlooked issue. Old Xu, ancestor of Gold Cultivators, had once mentioned that Lü Shuigong possessed a foundation in martial cultivation. A "foundation" did not mean low attainment. The Tang dao had gorged on so many fine ingredients alongside Li Banfeng to reach its current caliber, yet Lü Shuigong parried it with a mere branch. Anyone who considered only his disease cultivation while disregarding Lü Shuigong's martial prowess was bound to suffer a bitter defeat. In the thick of the fray, Lü Shuigong's head sprouted anew from the neck stump. With a flick of his hand, he hurled a scrap of his own flesh and blood toward Li Banfeng. The flesh disintegrated midair, spreading out in an encircling wave. Li Banfeng could hardly evade it, so he chose not to dodge at all. He charged right through the gore, straight toward Lühuazi. If so much as a speck of that flesh brushed him, Li Seven would be infected. And once infected, the rest of the battle would fall entirely under Lü Shuigong's control. When Li Banfeng drew close, Lü Shuigong immediately triggered the disease focus. Yet Li Banfeng showed no symptoms. No rash erupted, no fever spiked, and he neither coughed nor sneezed. He could resist the disease focus? Lühuazi was taken aback, then quickly grasped what had happened. The lad had reached above the clouds. He had used the Carefree and Unfettered technique, evading the thrown flesh and blood. Lühuazi scrambled to shift moves, but it was already too late. This was the difficulty of fighting a Journey Cultivator: their speed was terrifying. Once you made a misstep, you paid a gruesome price. While Lühuazi was trying to anticipate Li Banfeng's methods, seeing him close the distance at blinding speed, the first technique that came to mind was Treading Ten Thousand Rivers. *Boom!* Li Banfeng indeed used Treading Ten Thousand Rivers. Beneath the dust and smoke, Lühuazi's freshly healed chest burst open once more. However, Lühuazi had been on guard. The blood and flesh that splattered in all directions were quickly collected back by him. Just as he prepared to counterattack, waves of excruciating pain racked his body. Li Banfeng's figure flickered near and far before his eyes, baffling Lühuazi. Was he using Viewing Flowers from Horseback over and over? Viewing Flowers from Horseback consumed immense energy; he could not possibly cast it in such rapid succession. Besides, with his gaze locked onto Li Seven the entire time, Viewing Flowers from Horseback should not have succeeded either. Layers of skin and flesh peeled away from Lühuazi's body. As he gathered the falling gore, he noticed a halo of light shifting back and forth beneath his feet. *What technique is this?* *Where is this halo coming from?* *Close the Doors and Bar the Gates?* *He's a Journey Cultivator! How can he use Close the Doors and Bar the Gates?* Every time the halo passed under his feet, Lühuazi lost another layer of flesh. He wanted to break away from Li Banfeng, but shaking off a Journey Cultivator was no simple feat. Relying on Footprints Without a Trace, Li Banfeng stuck to Lühuazi like a shadow. Wherever Lühuazi darted, Li Banfeng followed. The halo produced by Close the Doors and Bar the Gates swept continuously across Lühuazi's form. Lühuazi's flesh stripped away layer by layer. Handling what fell was of paramount importance—if Lühuazi reabsorbed the flesh, this entire round of attacks would count for nothing. Li Banfeng tapped the liquor gourd lightly. It sprayed a fine mist of liquor, and the glove helped ignite it. Old Yao's liquor erupted into a raging blaze, incinerating the scattered flesh to cinders in an instant. Then the projector used its Wither technique to sweep away the ashes, leaving Lü Shuigong no opportunity to reclaim them. Lühuazi suffered a heavy blow, and the halo beneath his feet was still sweeping back and forth. Just as victory seemed within reach, Lühuazi's figure suddenly vanished into thin air. Where did he go? Li Banfeng activated Golden Pupil Autumn Fur and scanned his surroundings, but saw no sign of Lühuazi. He activated Discern Spirit Sound, but heard nothing. He tried Hundred Flavor Exquisite, yet even the stench on the man had completely disappeared. This was the first time Li Banfeng had encountered such an absolute concealment technique—not a trace was left behind. Could he have entered that so-called Unnamable Land? Li Banfeng's guess was right on the mark: Lühuazi had slipped into the dark-dimension space. Lü Shuigong's dwelling was located in the dark-dimension space. By slipping in and out of it, he could alter the course of battle in an instant. Many masters had fallen prey to this trick when fighting him. His speed in entering the dark-dimension space was relatively slow, which had forced him to take quite a beating just now and lose a significant amount of flesh. Yet compared to the advantage it provided, those losses were well worth it. Lü Shuigong's figure remanifested right above Li Banfeng's head. Li Banfeng shuddered as a prickle of danger washed over him. Looking up, he saw Lühuazi stripping off his tattered coat and slamming it down toward Li Banfeng's head. If it were a slash of a blade or a thrust of a sword, Li Banfeng could have used Carefree and Unfettered to avoid the vital spots. However, Lü Shuigong's ragged coat was immense; when spread open, it could shroud Li Banfeng whole. Li Banfeng moved to dodge, but the coat had already descended overhead—there was no escaping it! *Thud!* A dull crash rang out. The formerly soft fabric turned rock-hard, slamming squarely against Li Banfeng's skull. With that strike, Lühuazi had been certain he would shatter Li Banfeng's head. Yet Li Banfeng's skull did not break. Fresh blood merely trickled down his forehead. Lühuazi was dumbfounded. How could a Journey Cultivator be so resilient? He had to have a numinous treasure hidden in his hair! There was no numinous treasure in Li Banfeng's hair. He had used the Benevolent Dwelling Heart technique to tough it out! Lühuazi pinched the garment and gave his fingers a flick. The fabric softened once more, wrapping around Li Banfeng like reed leaves around a zongzi. Dazed by the blow, Li Banfeng sensed imminent peril in his haze. Taking advantage of the fact that his feet could still move, he activated his footwork and slipped out from the coat using Smooth and Unimpeded. Lü Shuigong pulled back the ragged garment, only to find himself suddenly standing in the depths of a mountain range. *What mountain is this? Why is there nothing here but barren weeds and rocks?* Li Banfeng abruptly blurted out, "Senior, I respect you very much." *What does that mean?* *Boom!* Beneath Lühuazi, a vast expanse of mountain rock detonated. Lühuazi scrambled to dodge. Li Banfeng added, "Senior, even if you lose today, I won't kill you." *Crash!* A cliff face blew apart. Flying debris peppered Lühuazi with bloody punctures. Lühuazi finally recognized the place. This was Mount Xueya. Li Banfeng had brought Mount Xueya here using the Mind Traversing a Thousand Mountains technique. Lühuazi wanted to tell a lie as well to blast open an area of rock, but Mind Traversing a Thousand Mountains lasted only briefly. In the blink of an eye, Mount Xueya faded away. Lühuazi hurriedly tried to gather his scattered flesh, but the gourd sprayed liquor, the glove sparked fire, and the projector vacuumed the ash. Li Banfeng circled Lühuazi, triggering Treading Ten Thousand Rivers again and again. Knock off a piece, destroy a piece, granting no chance for restoration—Li Banfeng intended to grind Lühuazi to death. Parrying the onslaught, Lühuazi grew increasingly bewildered. He had never seen such a crazed Journey Cultivator. An ordinary Journey Cultivator fought while running, testing methods through advance and retreat. This maniac just pressed the attack endlessly, heedless of withdrawal. Seeing the battle turn against him, Lühuazi did not flee. He endured blow after blow until Li Banfeng stomped forward with a foot, yet failed to trigger his technique. Exhausted? Not quite. Li Banfeng's stamina was still holding up. He had remained near the companion dwelling. As long as a high-tier Homestead Cultivator stayed close to their abode, their stamina surpassed that of cultivators of the same rank. The failure to execute the technique stemmed from an interference: Li Banfeng was sniffing hard. It felt as though a worm were wriggling inside his nose, driving him mad with the urge to sneeze. "Lord, by no means must you sneeze!" The Tang dao recalled something upon seeing the symptom. "One sneeze, and your eyes will pop right out!" He had been infected with Lühuazi's disease focus. When did it happen? Could it have been when that tattered coat struck him? Li Banfeng's guess was spot-on. Lühuazi's attacks were never purely physical. The ragged garment carried immense destructive force, but it was also laden with disease foci. Afflicted by the disease focus, Li Banfeng struggled to focus his mind. Lühuazi closed in rapidly and spat a mouthful of thick phlegm. Li Banfeng dodged frantically. The phlegm struck a concrete wall, blasting a fist-sized crater clean into it. Lü Shuigong flung out a glob of snot, which sprouted wings and transformed into crystal-clear flying birds, relentlessly pursuing Li Banfeng. Now Li Banfeng could no longer clash head-on with Lühuazi. The agony inside his nose threw his thoughts into chaos, and tears streamed uncontrollably from his eyes, severely blurring his vision. Under Lühuazi's assault, Li Banfeng scurried across the clearing. *Now* he looked like a normal Journey Cultivator in Lühuazi's eyes. And against such a Journey Cultivator, Lühuazi had plenty of tricks up his sleeve. *** Zhong'er heard the ceaseless rumble deep down the road and glanced toward the cordon. "We should go over and take a look. Madam Bagworm Moth is extremely powerful. Director Li will have a hard time dealing with such a formidable enemy alone. We can at least lend a hand." Lightbulb shook his head. "Brother, once you've been to Puluo Province, you'll understand. When it comes to battles you shouldn't poke your nose into, don't you dare interfere. If we go over, we'll only cause a mess and maybe even get Seventh Master killed!" As they spoke, a man came jogging toward them from the distance. Lightbulb immediately stood up and blocked his path. "What are you doing here?" In the sweltering heat of summer, the man wore a heavy overcoat with a high collar pulled up to mask his face, topped with a mountaineering hat. A closer look revealed that his face was heavily bandaged. The man looked at Lightbulb and said, "I'm new here. Rushed over to back you guys up." "New?" Lightbulb froze for a second. "How come I've never seen you?" "What kind of question is that?" The bandaged man seemed astonished. "If you'd seen me, would I still count as new?" Lightbulb thought about it—that made total sense! Before he could ask further, the bandaged man had already stepped over the cordon and entered Suichen Road. Lightbulb was stunned. "Didn't Director Li say that no one was to cross the cordon without his orders? That kid just disobeyed!" Tangyuan said, "When Director Li gave the order earlier, he wasn't here yet. If he didn't hear the order, it doesn't count as disobeying, does it?" Lightbulb shook his head. "Director Li's order wasn't just for the three of us; it was for the whole team. The entire security squad, and even the whole Dark Star Bureau, has to obey Director Li's command." While Lightbulb and Tangyuan bickered over the jurisdiction of the order, Zhong'er was the first to snap back to reality. "Why do you both assume that guy belongs to the security squad?" Lightbulb blinked. "He said so himself. He's a newbie." Zhong'er stared in disbelief. "You believe him just because he said so? He didn't even show an ID!" *** Li Banfeng was still tangling with Lühuazi—or rather, he wasn't even sure if it could be called tangling. Tears poured endlessly, snot dripped without pause, and his vision was a blur. His mind felt just as murky as his sight. Li Banfeng had never imagined that a single suppressed sneeze could drive a person to such desperation. The Tang dao called out, "Gourd, give the Lord a gulp of liquor to clear his breath! Maybe it'll help!" The liquor gourd fed Li Banfeng a mouthful, but after swallowing it, the symptoms did not abate in the slightest. "This is Lü Shuigong's disease focus. Old Yao's liquor won't work on it." The gourd was out of ideas as well. Dragging this out was suicidal. Lü Shuigong was pinning down Li Banfeng's movements with disease foci, and he still possessed martial cultivation techniques capable of ending Li Banfeng's life. The glove offered a reminder: "Boss, let's pull back. Go home and take shelter for a while." Escaping Lü Shuigong was easier said than done. The man's gaze never left Li Banfeng for an instant. If Li Banfeng pulled out the key now, he almost certainly wouldn't get the chance to unlock the door. Even if he managed to open it by some stroke of luck and reach home, the key would surely be snatched away by Lühuazi. Even setting the key aside, returning to the companion dwelling wouldn't cure Lühuazi's disease focus. Amid the skirmish, Lühuazi suddenly leapt before Li Banfeng, brandishing his ragged coat to strike at Li Banfeng's head once more. He couldn't take this hit head-on. Li Banfeng could not use Benevolent Dwelling Heart repeatedly in such a short window. He darted backward, preparing to dodge, when he suddenly sensed danger closing in from behind. What was behind him? The alms bowl! The alms bowl in Lühuazi's hands was gone. That alms bowl had rested in Lühuazi's grip the entire time, but somehow it had circled around behind Li Banfeng. Though he didn't know its precise function, it was undoubtedly a top-tier artifact. Li Banfeng could neither advance nor retreat, caught in a dilemma while still desperately suppressing the urge to sneeze. Just as the alms bowl was about to slam into the back of his head, it suddenly vanished. Lühuazi's brows knit tight; he was furious. Losing flesh and blood, he could handle with composure. Losing his bowl, he lost his temper. He lunged at Li Banfeng, aiming to take his life without delay. That was his mistake. A Journey Cultivator was not someone you could close in on so easily. Li Banfeng dodged Lühuazi with ease. *Squelch!* Lühuazi's feet sank into a mire, stuck fast. Where did a mud pit come from? Li Banfeng seized the opportunity to activate Viewing Flowers from Horseback. With his feet trapped and his field of view constrained, Lühuazi couldn't keep his eyes locked on Li Banfeng's form, and half his cheek detonated. The blown-off flesh was promptly incinerated by the liquor gourd and the glove. Just as Li Banfeng moved to press the attack for another round, Lühuazi slung two streams of mucus, using their stickiness to yank himself free from the mire. He hollered furiously, "He Jiaqing, you bastard! You still haven't run out of stolen Mud Cultivator techniques?" Soaring into the air, he dodged Li Banfeng, his body curling into spasms as if retching. *"Blergh—"* Lühuazi vomited a massive splatter of green fluid that morphed midair into a swarm of green-bottle flies. The flies circled briefly before diving toward a pile of rubble. Hidden within the rubble, He Jiaqing was forced to show himself to avoid being gnawed by the flies. Earlier, it had been he who used a Thief Cultivator technique to steal Lühuazi's alms bowl. And afterward, it had been he who used a stolen Mud Cultivator technique to plant that mire under Lühuazi's feet. Li Banfeng sprang into the air, using his footwork to close in on Lühuazi, intending to unleash Close the Doors and Bar the Gates again. Lühuazi grabbed the largest boils on his body and squeezed with all his might. A discharge of white-and-green pus sprayed forth, taking the form of striped mosquitoes that beat their wings and swarmed Li Banfeng. While both Li Banfeng and He Jiaqing were occupied, Lü Shuigong coughed up a ball of flesh and rubbed it into his hair. The flesh grew rapidly amidst the grease on his scalp, dyeing his hair a bloody red. He was brewing a new disease focus—one with even greater potency. Losing the alms bowl had rattled him, and in his agitation, he didn't want to grind this out any longer; he wanted to end it swiftly. Now that he had turned his hair into fodder for the disease focus, Lühuazi needed only to flick his head to disperse it everywhere. The essence of disease cultivation lay in minuteness. These new disease foci were far tinier than the ones Lühuazi normally used. They would seep into the airways first, then penetrate the skin, leaving Li Banfeng and He Jiaqing with no defense whatsoever. Before long, both would perish. Just as Lühuazi was about to whip his head, he suddenly noticed He Jiaqing charging back, covered in flies. Had he lost his mind? The flies were manifestations of disease foci. Was he simply letting them gnaw away at him? He Jiaqing truly didn't care. He was already sick to this degree anyway; what difference would one more disease focus make? Lü Shuigong hoisted his tattered coat and whipped it toward He Jiaqing's face. He Jiaqing could have dodged, but tiny sprouts of flesh suddenly erupted across his bandage-wrapped face. This was Lühuazi's most common and treacherous tactic: during combat, he could stimulate disease foci, forcing an already-infected opponent into a sudden onset of symptoms. With He Jiaqing's cultivation, had the symptoms manifested earlier, he could have forcibly suppressed them with his physical constitution. Yet erupting at a life-and-death juncture gave He Jiaqing no time to suppress them at all. The wriggling sprouts of flesh blocked his vision, and Lühuazi's ragged coat slammed into him. With a dull thud, He Jiaqing's skull fractured, and he collapsed to the ground. The ragged coat wrapped around He Jiaqing, contracting tightly to bind him like a zongzi. Lühuazi hoisted He Jiaqing and slammed him violently into the earth, blasting out a deep crater. A dagger slipped from He Jiaqing's person, carving a slit through the ragged coat. Lü Shuigong stepped forward and wrenched the dagger away, stomping He Jiaqing more than a dozen times first. He Jiaqing curled up to shield his vitals. Lühuazi raised the dagger and stabbed him over a dozen times more. Just as he was about to sever He Jiaqing's head, the alms bowl tumbled out from inside the ragged coat. He Jiaqing seemed to have lost consciousness, unable to hold on to the stolen item any longer. Lühuazi bent down to pick up the bowl. Suddenly, a rush of wind roared behind him as Li Banfeng brought a foot down with Treading Ten Thousand Rivers squarely on the back of Lü Shuigong's head. The blow landed solidly. Lü Shuigong's skull fractured, brain matter spraying outward. He scrambled to scoop the brains back into his head with both hands, terrified they would be burned by Li Banfeng. He Jiaqing was caught in the shockwave as well, his body spasming. Lü Shuigong was astonished to find that the striped mosquitoes around Li Banfeng were gone. Even with fire, those pus-born mosquitoes shouldn't have been cleansed so quickly. He jerked his head violently to fling out the newly crafted disease foci, only to feel a chill at the back of his scalp. His hair was gone. Where had his hair gone? When He Jiaqing had charged recklessly earlier, he had stolen the hair. Seeing Li Banfeng rushing in again, Lü Shuigong immediately triggered the disease focus inside Li Banfeng's body. Yet Li Banfeng's condition was strange: the mucus was gone, and tears no longer flowed. Was he cured? This time Lü Shuigong finally understood. Parrying Li Banfeng, he roared, "Good disciple of my pathway, you came too! Good, you all came—I'll reap the lot of you together!" Critick had arrived! He had hidden deep, staying tucked inside an abandoned warehouse without showing his face. Just moments ago, it was he who had gathered up all of Lü Shuigong's pus mosquitoes and drawn away the disease focus from Li Banfeng. Lühuazi squeezed two boils, splashing out a wave of purulent blood to hold off Li Banfeng. He spun around, bounded to the warehouse, and brought it down with a single kick, dragging Critick out from the rubble and slamming him to the ground. Drenched in blood, Critick waved his hands frantically, appearing to beg for mercy. Lühuazi raised his foot to crush Critick to death when he noticed the bloodstains on Critick's body shifting constantly. The disordered blood tracks wandered and converged, forming a blood serpent that slammed into Lü Shuigong's face. The blood serpent possessed no physical form, yet it plunged Lühuazi into waves of dizziness. "Good lad! Fine technique!" This was an illness—an affliction transmitted through sight. Lühuazi felt the world spinning around him. Li Banfeng circled around the thick mist, seizing the chance to unleash Severing Paths and Carving Ways, cleaving Lü Shuigong's body right down the middle. Lü Shuigong was split in two. The left and right halves moved independently: the left half tangled with Li Banfeng, while the right half lunged to kill Critick. Critick scrambled up from the ground, rapidly spiking his body temperature until his skin glowed crimson, preparing to fight Lü Shuigong to the death. Lü Shuigong's right half suddenly wheeled around, ignoring Critick entirely. Holding the alms bowl, it circled behind Li Banfeng and clamped it down squarely over his head. Critick looked around, only to find both Lü Shuigong and Li Banfeng gone. *** Total darkness engulfed Li Banfeng's vision. Groping around, he had no idea where he had been taken. The projector flared to life, warning him, "Director Seven, there's no end to this place—" Before the projector could finish, heavy blows rained down on Li Banfeng like the pounding of an iron sledgehammer. Several bones snapped, and he crashed to the ground. "Run! Why aren't you running anymore?" Lü Shuigong chuckled. "Know where this is? This is the graveyard I built just for you!" Li Banfeng realized the truth: he had been dragged into the Unnamable Land—the dark-dimension space. The alms bowl in Lü Shuigong's hand was the tool used to open the dark-dimension space. No wonder he held it in his grip at all times and grew frantic the moment he lost it. In the dark-dimension space, Li Banfeng couldn't even see his opponent, let alone fight him. Critick outside couldn't help either. Li Banfeng had been driven into a corner. Return to the companion dwelling? Where would he leave the key? Leaving the key inside the dark-dimension space would be no different from waiting to be trapped to death by Lühuazi. Besides, he didn't even know whether the companion dwelling had followed him into the dark-dimension space. There was a way to verify that. Li Banfeng spilled a bit of blood onto the ground and activated Close the Doors and Bar the Gates. A halo lit up on the floor. Li Banfeng felt a surge of joy—the companion dwelling was nearby. Since the companion dwelling could enter, there had to be a way out. In the worst-case scenario, he could take refuge at home and brainstorm a solution for the key together with the Old Master. Seeing the halo light up around Li Banfeng, Lühuazi did not rush forward recklessly. Instead, he asked, "What technique is that of yours, really? It looks somewhat like Close the Doors and Bar the Gates, but that's a Homestead Cultivator method. You're a Journey Cultivator; you can't practice both Homestead and Journey. So you must be using some kind of treasure for this Close the Doors and Bar the Gates, right?" Li Banfeng said, "Come try it. Try it and you'll find out." Lühuazi chuckled. "No hurry. Let's take our time and chat." Veteran of a hundred battles, Lü Shuigong saw the situation clearly. In the Unnamable Land, he held the absolute upper hand, and Li Banfeng had no way out. There was no need for haste; he could wear Li Banfeng down at his leisure. Yet Li Banfeng could not afford to wait. Close the Doors and Bar the Gates consumed immense energy; he couldn't keep it up for long. What to do? *Hoo-oo-oot!* A train whistle shrieked, startling Li Banfeng and Lü Shuigong at the same time. "Seven, adapt." *Chug-chug... chug-chug...* Amidst the darkness, a pitch-black locomotive spewing plumes of white steam roared past Li Banfeng. Behind the engine trailed ten black train cars, completely devoid of windows. One of the cars appeared insubstantial, weaving back and forth alongside the other nine. This was... The companion dwelling? Li Banfeng's eyes widened. Having lived in the companion dwelling for over two years, this was the first time he had ever seen its exterior. *Hoo-oo-oot!* Another whistle blasted as the train's headlight pinned Lü Shuigong in its glare. Lü Shuigong's eyes went wide. He had no idea where this behemoth had come from. Before he could react, the train plowed straight into him. "Seven, board!" Li Banfeng leaped forward and caught hold of the outer wall of a car, hurtling along with the train. *Whoosh!* Veiled in a cloud of mist, both Li Banfeng and Lü Shuigong were flung clear off the train, tumbling onto the ground outside. Critick had no clue what had just transpired; all he saw was Lü Shuigong and Li Banfeng flying out from midair together. Watching both men collapse, Critick approached Lü Shuigong. The chance had come. *Patriarch, I truly love you. Allow me to see you off on your final journey.* Critick slipped the stethoscope from around his neck and fitted the earpieces into Lü Shuigong's ears. He picked up the chestpiece, preparing to unleash an acoustic disease to finish Lü Shuigong off. Critick let out a low roar that lasted two or three seconds. Suddenly, Lü Shuigong's eyes snapped open. He kicked Critick dozens of meters away, then rushed up and stomped him several more times until Critick went still. Lü Shuigong plucked the stethoscope from his ears, a broad grin spreading across his face. "Good disciple, you've got real talent. Some of your tricks are beyond even me. Tell me, how did you plant that disease focus? Be my master this once, and let me learn from you properly." Lü Shuigong toyed with the stethoscope for a moment, then realized something was missing from his hand. Where was the alms bowl? It had been in his grasp just moments ago—how was it gone again? Lü Shuigong looked first at Critick, then shifted his gaze to Li Banfeng. Li Banfeng got to his feet and assessed the situation. He Jiaqing was motionless. Critick was gravely injured. He himself was battered. Lü Shuigong was wounded as well, yet he still possessed at least fifty percent of his combat strength. That fifty percent was more than enough to slaughter all three of them. The odds of the three of them killing Lü Shuigong were practically zero. This was the most formidable local spirit in all of Puluo Province. Even with three people laying siege to him with everything they had, they still couldn't bring him down. Now, there seemed to be only one option left: send Lü Shuigong far away first, and figure out a plan after getting to safety. Lü Shuigong glared at Li Banfeng with a savage expression. "Give me back the bowl." Li Banfeng smiled. "The bowl is right here. If you have the skill, come take it." Lü Shuigong paused, then grinned as well. "Fine. I'll take it." He strode toward Li Banfeng with unhurried steps. Li Banfeng readied the technique Parting by Ten Thousand Li. He had no control over where this strike would send him. Watching Lühuazi approach, Li Banfeng lashed out with a kick. The technique failed to trigger—Li Banfeng missed. Using Parting by Ten Thousand Li stripped Li Banfeng of his sense of direction and distance. Against an opponent of Chu Zikai's or the Sedan Chair Carrier's caliber, Li Banfeng could compensate with raw speed. Against Lü Shuigong, he could not. The kick drifted slightly off-course, and Lü Shuigong easily dodged it. Lühuazi chuckled. "Your mastery of this technique is lacking. I'll give you another kick. Aim properly and try again!" Li Banfeng gritted his teeth and tapped the glove lightly. He had to regain his bearings. Without a sense of direction, even a hundred kicks wouldn't land on Lühuazi. If no one was calling in, they would call out. As long as the call connected, wouldn't he be able to sense the direction? The glove dialed several times, but not a single call went through. Parting by Ten Thousand Li affected the objects around him; the phone itself had lost all sense of direction and didn't know how to place the call. Lühuazi wiped the smile from his face. "Are you coming or not? If you're not going to strike, I will." Li Banfeng didn't reply. Lühuazi sighed. "Li Seven, having the guts to stand against me counts as the fortune of your lifetime. Dying by my hand today can be considered a fitting end to your tale." Li Banfeng had no mood for banter. He was straining with everything he had to gauge Lühuazi's position and the timing to strike. Critick gritted his teeth and closed his eyes. He had always wanted to bet on a big catch. Now he had placed the bet and lost; he had no complaints. Lühuazi closed in on Li Banfeng once more, keeping an eye on the ground beneath his feet, wary of the halo lighting up again. *Buzz!* Li Banfeng's phone suddenly rang. The glove hurriedly answered and pressed the phone to Li Banfeng's ear. A voice came through the receiver: "Banfeng, time to get up and pee." Li Banfeng's sense of direction snapped back into place. He drove a kick squarely into Lühuazi. Lühuazi stumbled back two paces, but did not fly away. Li Banfeng flew instead—though not far, landing right beside He Jiaqing. Why hadn't Lü Shuigong flown? "A-again..." He Jiaqing wheezed on his dying breath, still clutching a phone in his hand. He had experienced this before. During his first clash with Lü Shuigong, the man had managed to endure one strike of Parting by Ten Thousand Li. Could he endure a second? At full strength, Lü Shuigong might barely have managed it. Now, with only half his strength remaining, it was a different story. Lü Shuigong staggered, fighting to steady his footing. "I said your technique was lacking, and you wouldn't accept it. Try me one more time!" "Sure! Lühuazi, farewell!" Li Banfeng flashed a grin, gritting his teeth as he charged before Lü Shuigong. Inwardly, he prayed ceaselessly: *Help me! You have to help me!* He drove his foot forward. Lü Shuigong felt uncertain and moved to dodge, but the Tang dao plunged from above his head. "Every strike claims a foe's head!" The blade glowed blazing red, webbed with cracks. In this strike, the Tang dao staked both its cultivation and its very life. Having just weathered a strike of Parting by Ten Thousand Li, Lü Shuigong was severely strained. If he dodged the Tang dao, he couldn't dodge Li Banfeng; if he dodged Li Banfeng, he would never evade the Tang dao. In the end, he chose to dodge the Tang dao. He could tell that Li Banfeng had only recently broken above the clouds; with his current cultivation, it should have been impossible to unleash Parting by Ten Thousand Li in succession. As far as Journey Cultivation alone was concerned, Li Banfeng indeed lacked the ability. Yet as the kick landed, Lü Shuigong was launched airborne. Once he took flight, coming back down would not be easy. *Parting by Ten Thousand Li?* *He really used Parting by Ten Thousand Li twice?* *Impossible!* He could never have dreamed that the first kick of Parting by Ten Thousand Li had been Li Banfeng's own technique. The second kick of Parting by Ten Thousand Li was borrowed from Hong Ying using the Sprawling Compound technique. Lü Shuigong's figure vanished into the night. Li Banfeng retreated to He Jiaqing's side and sat down on the ground. He Jiaqing looked up at Li Banfeng, a faint smile touching his lips. "Banfeng..." Li Banfeng nodded, gently closing He Jiaqing's eyes. Critick chimed in from the side, "I think... he might not be dead yet." Li Banfeng said nothing, rising to his feet to leave. Critick asked, "Could you tell me where my Patriarch went? I'm very worried about him." Li Banfeng looked back at Critick. "He went to the place you most wanted him to go."