Li Banfeng sprinted ahead with the covenant deed clutched in his arms while Shan Chengjun chased him from behind, shouting, "Catch that thief! Somebody catch that thief! He's stealing! Broad daylight, and he's outright robbing me! Is there any law left in this world?!"
Shan Chengjun ran with increasing fury and haste, but anger was useless—he simply could not outrun Li Banfeng.
Shu Wanjuan was in no rush. He watched Li Banfeng run.
He always planned ahead and left roots wherever he went. Having stayed in He Jiaqing's territory for so long, he had buried a vast number of books in the earth.
All those books were attuned to him. Now, he concentrated his thoughts to summon them out, one by one.
Li Banfeng had not been running for long when a troop of cavalry burst from the ground.
These cavalrymen were bizarrely shaped. Beneath their shoulders, they had no arms at all; instead, long spears hung suspended from each shoulder.
The warhorses beneath their flanks had no heads, yet their four hooves were sturdy, and they charged with incredible speed.
These horsemen were deceptive. An ordinary person would have mistaken them for spirit entities or puppets crafted by artisan cultivators.
Li Banfeng, however, was not fooled. He could tell right away that these cavalrymen were the products of textual descriptions.
To write that cavalry was swift, an author naturally focused on horse hooves; to write that they were fierce, an author naturally described weapons. Clear emphasis, orderly prioritization—such was the defining trait of textual depictions. Irrelevant details like horse heads were generally passed over without a drop of ink.
When Li Banfeng practiced the technique of housing a beauty in a golden chamber, he had mastered the balance of emphasis in textual imagery with exceptional clarity. Unlike the techniques of Scholar Cultivators, the arts of a Dwelling Cultivator were far more exquisite.
The "charming beauties" summoned by a Dwelling Cultivator possessed complete forms, infused with the practitioner's devotion and painstaking effort. Though they could not match a Scholar in sheer numbers, their individual combat strength was leagues ahead.
Li Banfeng produced a notebook. It was the one he had used inside the companion dwelling to hone his writing, filled with descriptions of many "beauties."
The key right now was determining which beauty was best suited for breaking through. Li Banfeng was not very familiar with Shu Wanjuan's literary style.
"Use Meng Qian!" the Judge's Brush spoke up. He was intimately familiar with Shu Wanjuan.
Li Banfeng pricked his fingertip and lightly smeared blood across the page. A peerless beauty sprang forth from the paper.
Shu Wanjuan froze in bewilderment as he saw Meng Qian appear at Li Banfeng's side.
What kind of technique was this?
Shan Chengjun was equally baffled. "Old Shu, how can he do this too? Is he a Scholar as well?"
This was definitely not a Scholar technique. Shu Wanjuan knew Scholar arts could never produce something so intricately refined.
From what Shu Wanjuan knew, Li Banfeng's Shadow Cultivator skills were formidable. Could he have borrowed Meng Qian's shadow?
Seeing Meng Qian drift toward the troop of cavalry, Shu Wanjuan warned Shan Chengjun, "Be extremely careful! Meng Qian's Dream Cultivator arts are remarkably formidable!"
Shan Chengjun did not care about that. Having abandoned all attachments, he could fight through anything, and sleeping or dreaming would not slow him down.
What he cared about was Li the Seventh's back. The silhouette was odd.
It was as if something was trailing behind him.
With an expression of utter languor, "Meng Qian" walked up to the cavalrymen. Her sleeves extended dozens of meters, brushing gently past the riders.
The headless warhorses came to a halt. The cavalrymen stopped moving as well.
Shu Wanjuan initially thought they had been lulled into a dream, but looking closer, none of them had fallen asleep.
Some cavalrymen yawned, while others stretched lazily.
One rider noticed Shu Wanjuan nearby. Hoping to display a bit of valor, he let out a feeble, halfhearted shout: "Charge..."
Witnessing this, Shu Wanjuan shouted at Shan Chengjun, "Steer clear of that woman! She's a sloth cultivator!"
*Leaning against stone to watch the clouds, peering over deep pools to admire her reflection—every trace of languor revealed the grace of an immortal maiden.*
Li Banfeng had copied this from the Portrait of Beauties. It contained no description of Meng Qian's Dream Cultivator abilities, but spent lavish brushwork depicting her indolence. Because the prose was so vivid and true to life, this "Meng Qian" carried the traits of a sloth cultivator.
Startled, Shan Chengjun hastily skirted around her trailing sleeves. He could endure Dream Cultivator arts, but he had no defense against sloth cultivation.
With the help of the sloth cultivator "Meng Qian," Li Banfeng broke through smoothly. Useful as she was, after that single display, she lay down on the ground, unwilling to budge another inch.
The Judge's Brush fumed, "This woman is truly too lazy!"
Shu Wanjuan still possessed millions of written characters waiting ahead. As long as he focused his mind, all those words obeyed his command.
Before running much further, Li Banfeng found himself heavily surrounded by another army. Among these soldiers, some soared through the air, some burrowed through the earth, and some possessed no fighting ability whatsoever, charging forward merely to grab his legs.
Dealing with them did not seem difficult at first glance, as each soldier had minimal combat capability. Yet he could not afford to act rashly—these troops moved in set formations and tactical arrays.
Directly facing Li Banfeng was a line of armored infantry holding large shields. They moved slowly, with stiff motions, carrying no weapons other than their shields.
By ordinary logic, there were two optimal ways to overcome them: either use Ride the Wind and Harness the Clouds to fly overhead, or use Sever the Path to Forge a Way to blast straight through.
Had Li Banfeng done either, he would have fallen right into the trap.
These armored footmen were exceptionally sturdy and vast in number. If he tried to carve a path through them continuously, it would deplete massive amounts of stamina and slow him down, allowing Shan Chengjun to catch up from behind in no time.
Flying over them would be even more dangerous. Flanking the shield-bearers were ranks of archers; taking to the air would turn Li Banfeng into a sitting duck.
The Judge's Brush was familiar with this formation, having seen it in Shu Wanjuan's books. He advised Li Banfeng, "Use your footwork! Weave right through!"
The advice sounded absurd. Against such a densely packed formation of men, how could anyone slip through?
Li Banfeng did not question it. Trusting the Judge's Brush, he charged straight into the enemy line without hesitation.
In the very first rank, Li Banfeng managed to spot a narrow seam and slipped through with his footwork.
Would there be more gaps behind them?
Li Banfeng glanced up and saw an abundance of openings.
These armored soldiers were far too sluggish. When they saw Li Banfeng approaching, some stepped forward to engage, while others chose to hold their ground. Moving out of sync, their ranks broke apart, creating numerous gaps. Li Banfeng darted back and forth through the openings with his footwork, bringing his nimble strides to their absolute limit.
Shan Chengjun, on the other hand, suffered greatly. Already slower than Li Banfeng, he now found himself jammed amidst the throngs of soldiers. He shouted at Shu Wanjuan, "Second King, are you deliberately trying to disgust me?!"
Shu Wanjuan commanded the armored infantry to clear a path, while simultaneously directing Soil Swimmer Hands to impede Li Banfeng.
The so-called Soil Swimmer Hands were monsters described in Shu Wanjuan's own book, *Strange Tales of the Four Seas*. Each creature consisted only of a head and four arms, with neither legs nor torso.
They tunneled forward beneath the earth. When encountering an enemy, one pair of hands continued digging while the other pair thrust out from the soil, exclusively grabbing at the foe's ankles.
These were not real creatures, but entirely invented by Shu Wanjuan. Having never encountered them, Li Banfeng had no way of guarding against them. His ankles were seized several times in succession, causing him to stumble and nearly collapse.
Unwilling to get bogged down by the Soil Swimmer Hands, Li Banfeng gauged the archers' positions, wondering if he could use Ride the Wind and Harness the Clouds. The Judge's Brush warned him once more: "Don't fly! Use the Mud Hag!"
The Mud Hag was a character Boss Lu had created in his new work, *Mochun Pavilion*. Because the character had fallen flat, Li Banfeng had helped Boss Lu polish her and recorded the revised version in his own notebook.
Flipping open the notebook, Li Banfeng's description of the mud maiden read:
*There is a maiden named A'jiang, born of rotting loam, bred in chasms of miasma.*
*Her soft skin of mottled cyan and red glistens like a toad's slime; her lips, touched with deep cinnabar, carry the bitter rankness of insects and serpents.*
*When she leaps, she darts like lightning; her left foot stamps and mud surges, her right foot kicks and slurry congeals.*
*Cheeks swell as wind and thunder rise; her mouth breathes nine-abyss vapors, her tongue sweeps up trailing clouds, and her throat clatters like the fifth-watch watchman's rattle.*
*From her hair, droplets of viscous fluid splash down, turning into bone-rotting acid rain upon contact; from the warts on her back, pus bursts forth, birthing man-devouring quagmires wherever it strikes the earth.*
Li Banfeng pricked his fingertip and smeared blood onto the notebook. A beauty with slender brows, elongated eyes, green hair, and cyan skin leapt from the paper and landed upon the earth.
Every word and phrase composing this beauty had been infused with Li Banfeng's painstaking care, making her combat prowess truly extraordinary.
Li Banfeng glanced at the ground beneath his feet and shouted, "Follow me!"
"Croak!" The maiden answered with a cry. Her foot slapped against the earth, instantly turning a three-foot radius around them into a quagmire.
Though the swamp was small in scope, it perfectly shielded Li Banfeng's feet.
A Soil Swimmer Hand reached up to snatch Li Banfeng's ankle, only to get trapped directly in the mire.
The muck possessed intense corrosive power. After soaking in the sludge for a few moments, the creature melted into a pool of black ink.
Li Banfeng sprinted forward with the Mud Hag right beside him. Wherever his feet touched down, the Mud Hag landed in tandem. Every Soil Swimmer Hand attempting an ambush disintegrated into the mud.
Shu Wanjuan was taken aback. The Soil Swimmer Hands were one of his proudest creations; once their formation was established, breaking through was exceedingly difficult.
Yet the woman Li Banfeng had summoned from a scroll completely countered them.
Ordinary people encountering these monsters would have no idea what they even were. How had Li the Seventh devised a countermeasure so quickly?
Was an expert guiding him, or was this man gifted with extraordinary talent?
And where had this woman come from? Could she be yet another expert's shadow?
Bursting through the line of Soil Swimmer Hands, Li Banfeng saw a dense swarm of caterpillars emerge ahead. Exceptionally plump, these caterpillars bore human faces and squirmed swiftly toward him.
Li Banfeng was thoroughly familiar with these creatures: they were Bagworm Ladies.
In Shu Wanjuan's *Strange Tales of the Four Seas*, there were also records of real monsters, and the Bagworm Lady was one of them.
Because of Ma the Fifth, Li Banfeng knew their weaknesses well and charged straight into the swarm.
The Judge's Brush, however, sensed disaster. "Go around them! Don't go in!"
Unfortunately, the warning came a step too late. Li Banfeng had already plunged into the bagworm formation.
Though these bagworms appeared clumsy, they moved with remarkable agility, and their hides were thick and leathery. They were Shu Wanjuan's crowning work. Trapped within their encirclement, breaking out would be immensely difficult, and Shan Chengjun was right on his heels.
Shu Wanjuan's tactics were crystal clear: he only needed to delay Li the Seventh as much as possible, leaving everything else to Shan Chengjun.
A faint voice drifted from the companion dwelling: "Not good!"
Zhao Xiaowan in the main room startled and asked, "What happened?"
The scene of the battle outside materialized on the wall. Seeing Shan Chengjun and Shu Wanjuan, Zhao Xiaowan drew a sharp breath.
The family knew very well what these two opponents were capable of. Hong Ying lifted her spear, and Zhao Xiaowan readied her records. She also reminded A'yu, "Get all the tools for the ritual array ready!"
The entire household prepared for battle. Zhao Xiaowan said, "Old Master, open the door quickly."
"Can't... open it..." The companion dwelling was in terrible condition, lacking even the strength to open the doors.
Hong Ying asked, "Why doesn't Seven Lang use Extending the Wide Bridal Chamber to swap us outside?"
Zhao Xiaowan looked at the battle and understood Li Banfeng's thinking. "Because Shu Wanjuan is out there."
She was right. The reason Li Banfeng refused to let his family emerge was entirely because of Shu Wanjuan.
Fighting Shu Wanjuan alone was entirely different from fighting him when he worked in tandem with Shan Chengjun. Shu Wanjuan's composure and meticulous coordination made him extraordinarily difficult to counter.
If Li Banfeng called his family out now, they might not win the fight, and fleeing would become far more difficult.
With Li Banfeng's breakout stalled, Shan Chengjun caught up from behind.
Grabbing a bagworm, Shan Chengjun tore off its antennae to use as a spear to block Li Banfeng's path, then ripped out its fangs to serve as short blades. One slash missed, but the second struck Li Banfeng's left shoulder. In just two blows, Li Banfeng was bleeding.
Li Banfeng first used Unimpeded Passage to temporarily shake off Shan Chengjun's pursuit, then turned back, intending to cast Viewing Flowers from Horseback.
Modified by *Floating Clouds Inquire at the Relay*, Viewing Flowers from Horseback inflicted two instances of damage: focusing one's gaze was the first, and focusing one's intent was the second, the latter carrying terrifying power.
After his battle with Mister Kongfang, Shan Chengjun had been gravely wounded. As long as Viewing Flowers from Horseback struck true, it ought to repel him.
Using the bagworms as cover, Li Banfeng maneuvered several times until he slipped from Shan Chengjun's field of vision. When he turned back to fix his gaze on Shan Chengjun, a flock of sparrows flew between them, obstructing his view.
The sparrows were made of written characters; Shu Wanjuan had blocked the strike on Shan Chengjun's behalf.
Failing to land the first strike prevented the second from triggering. Viewing Flowers from Horseback had failed.
The sparrows dispersed, and Shan Chengjun closed the distance to Li Banfeng.
Li Banfeng looked past Shan Chengjun's back, gazing deep and far into the distance, and unleashed Treading Across Ten Thousand Rivers with a savage stomp directly against his chest. Ten tenths of its full power were delivered straight into Shan Chengjun.
Modified by *Floating Clouds Inquire at the Relay*, Treading Across Ten Thousand Rivers was equally brutal. Shan Chengjun's frame shuddered, and he staggered back a step.
"Not bad! That one actually hurt!" Shan Chengjun praised him. Swinging the bagworm fang, he carved an open gash across Li Banfeng's chest. Seeing the blood spray from Li Banfeng, Shan Chengjun roared with laughter.
Gritting his teeth, Li Banfeng locked his eyes on Shan Chengjun and used Five Horses Dismembering!
Shan Chengjun's bones cracked and groaned as a terrifying wound ripped open from his left shoulder down to his right ribs.
Five Horses Dismembering took effect, but its results stopped there. Li Banfeng could not tear him apart.
Shan Chengjun did not even spare a glance for his own wound. Raising the bagworm antenna, he drove it directly into Li Banfeng's abdomen.
"No!" the Judge's Brush shouted, darting toward Shan Chengjun.
He was telling Li Banfeng that he could not afford to trade blows like this. Even wounded, Shan Chengjun possessed a far sturdier physique than Li Banfeng.
The brush wanted to lift Shan Chengjun up and use a sloth cultivator technique to buy Li Banfeng time to escape.
Yet the Judge's Brush could not budge Shan Chengjun; the disparity in sheer physical strength was simply too vast.
Shan Chengjun glanced at the Judge's Brush and reached out to grab it. "What a fine treasure!"
Li Banfeng snatched the Judge's Brush back. Seizing the opening, Shan Chengjun stabbed another hole into Li Banfeng with the bagworm antenna.
The Tang dao leapt up and severed the antenna. Li Banfeng pulled out the embedded half and flung it at Shan Chengjun.
Shan Chengjun dodged aside, and the antenna struck the ground.
"You actually thought you could hit me with that? Are you dreaming?" Shan Chengjun was about to mock Li the Seventh further when he realized Li the Seventh had already burst free of the bagworm swarm.
Shan Chengjun laughed. "Running won't help you! Old Shu has plenty of ways to stop you!"
He was not wrong. After running several dozen meters, Li Banfeng was blocked by a vast field of the character for "tree." Some "tree" characters took root where they fell, sprouting lush foliage like real trees.
Other "tree" characters transformed into branches, weaving and drifting through the gaps.
As Shan Chengjun gave chase once more, Li Banfeng snapped a branch and planted it into the ground.
Counting the antenna stabbed into the earth earlier, Li Banfeng had placed two markers. Hundred Steps Traverse was set.
By all rights, Shan Chengjun should have been unable to approach Li Banfeng for a short period.
Yet to his disbelief, Shan Chengjun closed the distance in two strides, entirely unimpeded.
Had Hundred Steps Traverse failed against him?
Li Banfeng looked back and saw that the first marker—the bagworm antenna stuck in the soil—had been pulled out by Shu Wanjuan!
The Judge's Brush raged, "That old bastard!"
Holding the antenna, Shu Wanjuan chuckled. "Trying to use Hundred Steps Traverse? Wait for your next life!"
Li Banfeng clearly pinpointed Shu Wanjuan's position.
Without bringing Shu Wanjuan down, escape seemed impossible. Li Banfeng sprinted toward Shu Wanjuan, but Shan Chengjun cut him off a step ahead.
"Li the Seventh, where are you going? We're not done fighting yet!"
Li Banfeng lunged forward, grabbed Shan Chengjun's head, and hooked his sickle into Shan Chengjun's neck.
Shan Chengjun retaliated with full force, his fangs hacking into Li Banfeng, yet unable to leave even a scratch.
"Boundless Traveler!" Shan Chengjun glared at Li Banfeng. "Let's see who can hold out longer!"
Li Banfeng's Boundless Traveler could last twelve seconds. He released his shapeless halo, activated Sit Back and Relax, and unleashed Five Horses Dismembering three times against Shan Chengjun, sending the shapeless halo carving back and forth through Shan Chengjun over a hundred times.
Dozens of shadows exerted their might together, wielding various weapons and battering him relentlessly for the full twelve seconds.
Shan Chengjun relied purely on flesh and blood to endure the onslaught. When the twelve seconds ended, Li Banfeng had still failed to kill him.
Time was up; Li Banfeng had to pull back.
Shan Chengjun was covered in gashes, his front and back ripped open to the point where light shone through him. Yet he was still grinning as he looked at Li Banfeng. "Done already? That didn't hurt much!"
The surrounding text grew denser and denser, shrinking the space Li Banfeng had to maneuver.
He reached a hand into his pocket.
If he returned to the companion dwelling now, he could use Extending the Wide Bridal Chamber to travel directly back to Hulu Village. The price, however, was that Shan Chengjun and Shu Wanjuan would discover the companion dwelling's location.
At a life-or-death juncture, that price was not intolerable. If he masked it well enough, he might even deceive them.
Just as his fingertips were about to touch the key, Li Banfeng sensed danger—overwhelming, violent danger.
Why?
Was returning to the companion dwelling unsafe right now?
Mangled and covered in blood, Shan Chengjun lunged forward, spat out a mouthful of bloody froth, revealed crimson teeth, and grinned. "What's that behind you? Is that Little Train? I see him!"
Li Banfeng was stunned!
Shan Chengjun's eyes were that sharp?!
"Bring Little Train out, let's have a chat!" Shan Chengjun's grin spread from ear to ear as he grabbed Li Banfeng. "I haven't seen him in so long. I've missed him!"
Banfeng Yi led the Heavenly Stem shadows to join Li Banfeng in besieging Shan Chengjun.
Banfeng Zi led the Earthly Branch shadows to search everywhere for an opportunity to break through.
Shu Wanjuan had always found these shadows peculiar, but Shan Chengjun did not care about where they came from; his only thought was slaughter.
Using the bagworm fangs, he sliced Banfeng Bing in two. Banfeng Bing split into two separate entities and stood back up.
He then cut Banfeng Ding down, and Banfeng Ding also multiplied into two.
Seeing more and more shadows emerge, Shu Wanjuan shouted, "Be careful, that's the Heavenly Union technique!"
Shan Chengjun showed no fear, only growing more thrilled. "The Heavenly Union technique is great! Come on, all of you, fight me!"
Within the boundary, bolstered by Sit Back and Relax, Li Banfeng fought tooth and nail alongside his flock of shadows, yet they still could not gain the upper hand against Shan Chengjun.
The Earthly Branch shadows roamed about, discovering that Shu Wanjuan's tactical array was full of intricate variations and tightly orchestrated. In the short term, there was no chance of breaking out.
Find a way to take down Shu Wanjuan first?
With only shadows, that was utterly impossible. If Li Banfeng's true body could close the distance to Shu Wanjuan, he might stand a chance.
Shu Wanjuan had a clear view of the battlefield as well, maintaining a safe distance from Li Banfeng the entire time.
Seeing how perilous the situation had become, Zhao Xiaowan grew increasingly frantic. "Old Master, let me out quickly!"
After several cries, a reply finally came, the companion dwelling's voice even weaker than before: "You can't go out. If you go out, you won't be able to come back."
Zhao Xiaowan said, "Then have my husband come back!"
"I urged him, but he refused!"
*Toot—toot—*
A train whistle sounded in Li Banfeng's ears.
"A'qi, come home!"
Li Banfeng gave no answer. Shan Chengjun had already spotted the companion dwelling; he could not go back now.
If he returned, using Extending the Wide Bridal Chamber required time. Shan Chengjun would seize control of the companion dwelling from the outside. In its current state, where even speaking was an effort, Shan Chengjun could tear the companion dwelling apart.
"Come on, Little Train! Don't just tell him to go home—take me to your place for a visit too!" Shan Chengjun laughed wildly as he slashed Li Banfeng.
Banfeng Yi struck Shan Chengjun with over a dozen slashes, but Shan Chengjun ignored them entirely.
The other shadows unleashed techniques against Shan Chengjun in succession, and he disregarded those as well.
Flesh and blood splattered everywhere across his body, yet his eyes remained fixed on Li Banfeng alone. No matter how many blows he took, he felt no pain whatsoever.
Had he gone mad?
Yes, he had.
Li Banfeng had used the Mad Cultivator technique: Frenzied and Domineering.
Shan Chengjun was now devoid of all tactics, craving only to clash head-on.
Then he would give him that chance to clash.
Li Banfeng instantly recalled all his shadows and planted a kick directly onto Shan Chengjun.
Shan Chengjun assumed it was Treading Across Ten Thousand Rivers. Neither dodging nor parrying, he threw himself forward to meet the kick head-on, only to find his legs retreating involuntarily.
This wasn't Treading Across Ten Thousand Rivers...
He realized Li Banfeng was rocketing backward at an even greater speed. This was Parting Ten Thousand Li.
Before activating Parting Ten Thousand Li, Li Banfeng would lose his sense of direction.
To ensure this kick landed squarely on Shan Chengjun, Li Banfeng had first deployed the Mad Cultivator art.
With the Mad Cultivator art taking effect, Shan Chengjun had willingly thrown himself into the kick, successfully triggering Parting Ten Thousand Li.
Though he had no control over the destination, so long as he shook off Shan Chengjun, Li Banfeng did not care where he ended up.
Parting Ten Thousand Li ignored all obstacles; Shu Wanjuan's troops could not block him either.
Shan Chengjun had not been sent flying, but Li Banfeng did not mind, since he had successfully extricated himself.
Having stumbled back two steps, Shan Chengjun suddenly lunged forward. Seizing Li Banfeng's ankle, he hoisted Li Banfeng up and slammed him violently onto the ground.
Li Banfeng's mind went blank.
Didn't Parting Ten Thousand Li ignore all obstacles?
How had he still managed to grab me?
Not only was Li Banfeng dumbfounded, even Hong Ying watched in stunned disbelief.
She was the leader of Travel Cultivators and had fought countless grueling battles, yet she had never seen anyone brute-force their way through Parting Ten Thousand Li like this.
Zhao Xiaowan shouted, "Old Master, open the doors!"
If they didn't go out now, it was over—Li Banfeng was going to die at Shan Chengjun's hands.
*Creak—creak—* One door after another opened in sequence, from the main room all the way to the Thirty-Second Room.
The Old Master was striving to open doors, but seemed to be opening them in the wrong direction.
Hong Ying yelled, "Old fool, you're opening the wrong doors! Open the front gate!"
The companion dwelling gave a racking cough, then fell silent.
The images on the wall vanished; something grave seemed to have happened to the companion dwelling.
Bloodstains!
There were bloodstains on the wall!
Was the companion dwelling bleeding?
Zhao Xiaowan used the technique of Exquisite Hundred Flavors to sniff the scent of the blood, then shook her head. "No, this is Shan Chengjun's blood. Part of his flesh and blood can fight on its own—the Old Master was wounded by him!"
Hong Ying couldn't comprehend it. "You mean Shan Chengjun's flesh and blood fought its way into the house from the outside?"
Even the Bronze Lotus was shocked. "That bastard has actually grown strong to this extent."
The Lady of the Fifth Room said, "It's also because the Old Master is too weak. But since he's so frail, why don't we—"
The Bronze Lotus sneered, "Why don't we what? Do you want to go out and die?"
The Fifth Lady replied, "Perhaps we could catch up on old times with Shan Chengjun."
The Bronze Lotus retorted, "Feel free to try. See if Shan Chengjun honors that sentiment of yours."
A'yu sensed peril drawing near. Looking deep into the companion dwelling, she cried out, "There's an extra door! The Thirty-Third Room seems to have opened!"
The Thirty-Third Room opened?
Too many variables had erupted all at once, leaving Zhao Xiaowan momentarily overwhelmed.
The Bronze Lotus spread its petals and said to Zhao Xiaowan, "Find a way to save that madman. I'll take care of Shan Chengjun's blood."
Zhao Xiaowan rushed to the Tenth Room, where a seam existed. If all else failed, she would break out from here; she had to save her husband at all costs.
Li Banfeng lay on the ground, watching Shan Chengjun raise the fangs to sever his head.
"Li the Seventh, hand over the covenant deed, and I'll spare your life." Shan Chengjun still felt like taunting him. He didn't actually need Li Banfeng to surrender it willingly; taking it after killing him would be just as easy.
Just as the fangs were about to strike, Shan Chengjun's torso surged forward while his legs pulled backward, sending him crashing face-first into the dirt with a loud thud.
"Scurrying East and West? You know Tou Youlu?!" Shan Chengjun took a mouthful of mud. He had suffered under this technique before and remembered it vividly.
Scurrying East and West carried negligible lethality, but its virtue lay in its lightning-fast execution and extremely high hit rate.
Taking advantage of Shan Chengjun's fall, Li Banfeng immediately rose to his feet and deployed Treading Across Ten Thousand Rivers once more.
Gravely wounded as he was, Five Horses Dismembering might fail to trigger, but Treading Across Ten Thousand Rivers was swift and ferocious enough, and it was guaranteed to hurt Shan Chengjun.
Injured to such a degree, Shan Chengjun might not last much longer either. As long as he could temporarily drive him back, Li Banfeng would have a way to break through.
Naturally, the prerequisite was that he could no longer trade wounds with him. When Li Banfeng unleashed Treading Across Ten Thousand Rivers, he also enveloped himself with Benevolent Homestead.
*Boom!*
The stomp came crashing down toward Shan Chengjun, but it failed to land.
Li Banfeng's kick went wide.
At the brink of life and death, his most familiar technique, Treading Across Ten Thousand Rivers, had actually missed.
"Li the Seventh, with such a good opportunity, how can you be so useless!" Before Li Banfeng could recover from the stance, Shan Chengjun stepped forward, raised the fangs, and thrust them toward Li Banfeng's throat.
Li Banfeng intended to brace himself using Benevolent Homestead, only to discover his body was not hardened at all.
Benevolent Homestead hadn't activated!
His most familiar Dwelling Cultivator art had also failed to manifest!
No, he had definitely used a technique just now—Li Banfeng could feel it!
The fangs in Shan Chengjun's hand closed in rapidly on Li Banfeng's throat.
Li Banfeng was using Free and Unfettered to shift the position of his throat, when he saw Shan Chengjun's hand halt midair, his body freeze mid-motion, and the fangs stop frozen between them.
Like a stone, Shan Chengjun's entire body solidified. Even the grin on his face and the frenzy in his gaze froze rigid along with his frame.
A technique!
A technique had taken effect!
What technique was this?
Li Banfeng had no time to ponder. He turned his head and looked toward Shu Wanjuan.
Shu Wanjuan had no idea what was happening to Shan Chengjun, nor what methods Li the Seventh had used on him.
Just as he was about to dispatch reinforcements to aid Shan Chengjun, he suddenly saw Li the Seventh appear right before him.
Shu Wanjuan cried aloud, "Petty scoundrels and common thieves ought to surrender without resistance!"
He sought to use Common Script, Shared Rules to bind Li Banfeng.
That was a fatal blunder!
Li Banfeng retorted, "You stole the imperial court's covenant deed, yet you dare claim you are not a thief?"
Shu Wanjuan startled. "The deed is in your hands!"
"I am Prince Pingyuan. I am the court! This is returning property to its rightful owner!"
Shu Wanjuan's mind lapsed into a momentary daze, and Li Banfeng vanished.
Where did he go?
*Bang!*
Li Banfeng concentrated his gaze. Shu Wanjuan stumbled, gasping violently for breath.
*Bang!*
Li Banfeng concentrated his intent. Shu Wanjuan's chest ruptured, blood gushing forth uncontrollably.
With Shu Wanjuan grievously injured and his consciousness wavering, the army formations descended into utter chaos.
By the time his wits returned and he looked up again, Li the Seventh was nowhere to be seen.
Chapter 796