The Road to Yindu

Lu Xiaolan opened her eyes to find two glamorous women sitting in the dim, narrow room. One was blending rouge, while the other was combing her hair. Both turned their heads in unison to look at Lu Xiaolan. She instantly squeezed her eyes shut and went back to playing dead. Were these people all Li Qi's helpers? And what was this place? A hidden compartment on the private train? Lu Xiaolan had no recollection of any secret room aboard the Lu family's train. Though her eyes were closed, she kept scanning her surroundings with her Voyeur Cultivator technique, searching for Haolian Shen. Where had he gone? Was he dead, or had he escaped? Lu Xiaolan figured the odds favored his escape. Haolian Shen's cultivation was superior to hers; had Li Qi not seized the initiative, it would have been hard to say who would have emerged victorious. All because that fool Haolian Shen had misjudged Li Qi's strength, landing them in this mess. Lu Xiaolan cursed him inwardly, yet she hadn't the faintest idea how to get away. Li Qi and Zhao Xiaowan stepped into the companion dwelling and took seats before Lu Xiaolan. Seeing her lying motionless, Li Banfeng said, "Looks to me like she's dead." Zhao Xiaowan sighed. "Such a fine young woman, gone just like that. Yingying, toss Miss Lu into the furnace to refine some pills." Hong Ying was just puzzling over which furnace she meant. The house had a tea stove, a heating stove, and a barbecue grill, but didn't seem to have a pill furnace. Wasn't refining pills the Bronze Lotus's job? Should she bring her over? Just as Hong Ying turned to fetch Red Lotus, Lu Xiaolan revived on her own. "Banfeng, I was wrong! Please spare my life!" Madame blinked in surprise. Not many people addressed Li Qi as Li Banfeng. "Husband, is she an old acquaintance of yours?" Lu Xiaolan's appearance had changed drastically, but her voice was much the same as before. In her desperate plea just now, she hadn't concealed it at all. Li Banfeng said to his wife, "This is Ma Junyang and He Jiaqing's fiancée, Lu Xiaolan." Hong Ying stared at Lu Xiaolan in astonishment. "Did the three of you live together? Just how many businesses do you run on the side?" Madame gave Hong Ying a swat, then turned back to ask Lu Xiaolan, "Was your body remodeled by the Great Totem?" Lu Xiaolan nodded. "My physique was replaced twice. Once while I was alive, and once after I died." The gramophone asked, "Why replace your physique while you were still alive?" Lu Xiaolan looked at Li Banfeng. "Banfeng should know part of it. Because of some misunderstandings, there was no place left for me in Puluo Province. I wanted to hide in the Outer States, but Banfeng's influence there was too vast; there would likely be no room for me either. With no other choice, I fled to the Inner States. But as a native of Puluo Province with neither merit nor seniority, I could hardly gain a foothold there, so I had to rely on elders from the Lu family to scratch out a living under Yu Zhuo." Li Banfeng nodded. She wasn't lying about that; Lu Xiaolan had indeed been recommended to Yu Zhuo by Lu Maoxian. "What was Yu Zhuo's objective in sending you to Puluo Province?" Lu Xiaolan replied, "Lord Yu wanted to draw you out to discuss government affairs with you." She didn't dare admit she had come to kill Li Banfeng. For Prince Pingyuan and the Senior Grand Secretary of the Cabinet to confer on political matters was entirely plausible. If Li Banfeng bought it, he might just grant her a chance to live. Li Banfeng turned to Zhao Xiaowan. "Hear that? She's an envoy sent by Lord Yu with urgent matters to discuss with me!" Zhao Xiaowan assumed an apologetic air. "Little Sister, why didn't you say so earlier? We're all on the same side. Had we known you were sent by Lord Yu, we never would have acted so harshly." The couple's swift shift in attitude caught Lu Xiaolan off guard. Could the two of them have been in contact with Yu Zhuo all along? Then why would Yu Zhuo want to eliminate Li Qi? What was really going on here? Zhao Xiaowan said, "Yingying, fetch a chair. Jiu'er, help Miss Xiaolan up so she can sit." A chair was brought over, but Jiu'er couldn't lift Lu Xiaolan. "Sister, this woman's injuries are too severe. It's best not to move her." Zhao Xiaowan looked down with apparent distress. "Little Sister, how about you make do lying on your stomach for now? You haven't finished explaining—why did you go to the Great Totem to change your physique while you were alive?" Lu Xiaolan sighed softly. "I didn't have Banfeng's good fortune. I cultivated with all my might along the Voyeur path, but back then I had only reached the fifth layer of the ground level. That little ability wasn't worth showing off under Lord Yu. I couldn't bear the thought of spending my entire life in obscurity, so I took a desperate gamble and went to the Great Totem to remodel my physique and boost my cultivation." Li Banfeng recalled the previous incident at Xiaoyaowu. At that time, Ma the Fifth's cultivation was already above the clouds, and with Yuan Youshang assisting him, the two of them had still nearly perished at Lu Xiaolan's hands. Although Yuan Youshang had suffered from a disadvantage in magical artifacts, Lu Xiaolan's combat prowess back then had truly been formidable. "How much did your cultivation increase the first time you went to the Great Totem?" Lu Xiaolan said, "From the fifth layer of the ground level to the third layer above the clouds." Li Banfeng was genuinely astonished. "A single visit to the Great Totem yields that much cultivation? That Great Totem defies all reason!" Lu Xiaolan replied, "You can't say it defies reason. Out of ten thousand people who go to the Great Totem, coming back alive at all is pure luck, and there's no telling how much cultivation one might gain. One expert under Lord Yu, who was at the eighth layer of the ground level, made a trip to the Great Totem; though he survived, his cultivation dropped to the third layer of the ground level." Li Banfeng blinked and exchanged a glance with Zhao Xiaowan. Zhao Xiaowan's expression turned solemn as old memories surfaced in her mind. "Little Sister, after gaining such high cultivation, weren't you satisfied? Why did you return to Puluo Province to court trouble?" Lu Xiaolan sighed. "Whether I was satisfied wasn't up to me. Yu Zhuo arranged behind the scenes to introduce me to Nian Shangyou. Nian Shangyou is one of Qiao Yi's subordinates, and following Qiao Yi's orders, I was sent to Xiaoyaowu as a sleeper agent. Later, when I received Nian Shangyou's order commanding me to kill Ma Junyang, I was forced to act. From start to finish, I had no choice in the matter. Banfeng, I never truly wanted to be your enemy." As she spoke, Lu Xiaolan let out a few sobs. Zhao Xiaowan looked at her with tenderness. "Little Sister, don't cry. Your tears break my heart. I heard about what happened at Xiaoyaowu, but after you died, why did you go to the Great Totem again? Did you know the way?" That was the crux of the matter! Lu Xiaolan had seen the Great Totem twice; she had to know the route. After a few seconds of hesitation, Lu Xiaolan spoke the truth. "The Great Totem is in Yindu." Li Banfeng asked, "How does one get to Yindu?" Lu Xiaolan didn't dare hide anything. "I've never taken the route from Puluo Province to Yindu, but I know the way from Chaoge to Yindu." Li Banfeng sensed something amiss. "When you died at Xiaoyaowu, who rescued your soul?" "The private detective, Daboynes." This time she gave Spider Bin's name without hesitation. Li Banfeng asked, "Did he take you to the Great Totem?" Lu Xiaolan shook her head. "After rescuing me, he left me on my own. As a soul with cultivation, I was drawn straight to the Great Smelter. Lu Maoxian had taught me the Great Smelter's wind evasion rules. I used the winds of the Great Smelter to carry myself out of Chaoge and flew all the way to the Great Totem." It seemed Lu Maoxian truly doted on this granddaughter; what he had imparted to Lu Xiaolan was genuine expertise—wind evasion rules that even Eighteen Wheels had never mastered. As Lu Xiaolan described it, the projector beside them sketched the scene in light. "Within Ninefold City, there are four palaces facing east, west, south, and north. The lotus heart of the Great Smelter rotates among the four cardinal directions to absorb deceased spirits, so fierce gales blow ceaselessly throughout Ninefold City. When the lotus heart shifts from east to south, if you stand dead center in the corridor connecting the East Palace and South Palace, neither living person nor spirit will be sucked in by the lotus heart. Instead, you'll be swept out of Chaoge by a gale. Riding that wind out of Chaoge, both the living and the spirits fly continuously toward the southeast. As long as you maintain that bearing during flight, you are certain to find Yindu." Looking at the layout sketched by the projector, Li Banfeng said, "In other words, Yindu is always southeast of Chaoge. Even without riding the wind, heading southeast by boat would take you there just the same." Lu Xiaolan shook her head. "I can't say for sure. I've never tried it." Li Banfeng raised his head toward the ceiling. "Have you tried it?" Hong Ying started. "Who are you talking to?" Zhao Xiaowan puffed a plume of steam toward the ceiling. "Honored guest, don't crouch up there any longer. Come down and have some tea." Sensing danger, Hong Ying thrust her spear upward. With a cry of pain, Haolian Shen tumbled from the ceiling and crashed to the floor. The moment he entered the room, Haolian Shen had cast an illusion to conceal himself. His foundation in the Illusion path was respectable enough that had he remained perfectly still, he truly might have deceived Hong Ying and Jiu'er. Yet this was Li Banfeng's residence, and Li Banfeng had carried him in personally. He hadn't managed to fool Li Banfeng on the train, let alone inside the companion dwelling. A silver dollar slipped from Haolian Shen's pocket and rolled across the floor. Li Banfeng picked it up, examined it, and frowned. "A man like you is considered a Paragon? Does the Illusion path truly have nobody decent to show? What should I call you?" Haolian Shen sneered. "My name is Haolian Shen. Inquire around my school about who I was in Puluo Province twenty years ago, and ask whether I deserve the title of Paragon. Li Qi, I refuse to accept this defeat. I put my trust in the bad intelligence Yu Zhuo gave me. I had no idea what level your cultivation had reached and mistook you for a mere ground-level practitioner. My loss was a blunder, and your victory was a fluke! For two experts like us to fight such a clumsy brawl—if word got out, wouldn't it be an utter joke?" Li Banfeng nodded. "If word got out, it certainly would be a joke." "My husband is right. We simply cannot let word get out!" Zhao Xiaowan breathed another blast of steam, parboiling Haolian Shen until he was half-cooked. Haolian Shen shouted at the top of his lungs, "Li Qi, your name carries immense weight across Puluo Province! Wherever you go, people call you an upright hero. Now that we know each other's depths, if you truly have the guts, fight me fair and square! Win or lose, it doesn't matter—I just want fairness!" "Fine!" Li Banfeng agreed, stepping forward and planting a kick directly into Haolian Shen's face. "That kick was fair and square. Do you consider that fair?" Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Haolian Shen stammered, "I meant waiting for an opportune time to settle it once and for all—that would be fair..." *Thwack!* Li Banfeng planted another kick into his face. "Fair now?" Haolian Shen hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Very fair." Li Banfeng asked, "Have you seen the Great Totem as well?" Haolian Shen nodded. "I served Lord Yu for over a decade and accompanied him to Yindu. The reason I could conjure the Great Totem with illusions is that I have seen it with my own eyes." Zhao Xiaowan nodded. "Husband, the Great Totem he manifested was identical to the real one." With that remark, Madame made it clear to Li Banfeng that she had seen the genuine Great Totem as well. Haolian Shen continued, "To reach Yindu, one must depart from Chaoge. You cannot take the sea route. You must ride the wind, and you must travel due southeast." Li Banfeng asked, "What do you mean by due southeast?" Jiu'er explained from the side, "It refers to an unnameable alignment—a pure southeast that leans neither toward east nor south, situated precisely between the two. When setting up an array, locating such an exact alignment dramatically enhances the array's potency. If Yindu lies due southeast of Chaoge, taking a boat would indeed be ill-advised. The ocean is vast, and the winds and waves shift constantly, making it very difficult to keep such a precise bearing." To reach Yindu, did one truly have to depart from Chaoge? Was that the route the peddler took? If one possessed a compass chart, could some of those restrictions be bypassed? Regarding Yindu's exact location, Haolian Shen couldn't provide more useful clues, but on the nature of the Great Totem, he offered a vivid example. "To enhance my combat strength, I once underwent remodeling by the Great Totem. Afterward, my strength was reduced to sixty percent of what it used to be." "Why did it decrease?" Haolian Shen pondered for a moment. "From what I could tell, the Great Totem blended things into my physique that conflicted with my path. Not only was my combat strength impaired, but my physical body was weakened as well." Li Banfeng formed a hypothesis regarding the principles behind the Great Totem. Dark energy was chaotic. Ingesting introductory powders and ordering that dark energy in a specific sequence constituted the process of cultivation. The Great Totem likely forced different varieties of dark energy to merge. If the sequences of the dark energy were identical or complementary, they would reinforce each other, boosting cultivation and combat prowess—Lu Xiaolan was a prime example. If the sequences conflicted and canceled each other out, combat strength would be severely degraded, as had happened to Haolian Shen. What if they were neither compatible nor conflicting, but entirely unrelated? The ordered dark energy would likely collapse back into chaos, much like being scorched by heavenly light, leaving no outcome but an explosion. Order was an anomaly; disorder was the certainty. Out of ten thousand, only one survived—the rest must have blown apart. Viewed in this light, the Great Totem truly did not belong in the same league as the Great Smelter. The Great Smelter was purposeful creation, whereas the Great Totem was haphazard grafting without rhyme or reason. Li Banfeng felt all the more that the peddler shouldn't risk himself for the Great Totem. Haolian Shen said, "Seventh Master, we might say our friendship began with a fight. If you still wish to know more about the Great Totem, I can introduce you to several colleagues to help you get to the bottom of it." Li Banfeng sighed. "Enmities are better resolved than sustained. Wife, take this Paragon to the inner room so he can join the family for an informal meal." Zhao Xiaowan nodded. "My husband is right. Though he's a Paragon, with only sixty percent of his combat strength left, an informal meal is about all he warrants." Haolian Shen was taken aback. "Seventh Master is truly straightforward. If my prowess were undiminished from my prime, would you have treated me to a proper feast?" Li Banfeng considered it. "A proper feast might be stretching it, but a decent family banquet would have been in order. Great Paragon, take your seat at the table. Once this meal is done, you'll be one of us." Haolian Shen cupped his fists. "Seventh Master's magnanimity is unmatched. If there is ever anything I can do for you, you need only speak!" Madame escorted Haolian Shen to the inner room, and Hong Ying followed to help set the table. Lu Xiaolan turned pale. "Banfeng, is it truly just a meal?" Li Banfeng nodded. "Of course, just a meal. No need to hurry; you can take your seat in a moment. Let me ask you something: when did you find out that He Jiaqing had the Red Lotus?" Lu Xiaolan said, "During our senior year of college." "That late? Did you notice something unusual about his cultivation?" Lu Xiaolan stole a glance at Li Banfeng. Unsure which questions were genuine inquiries and which were tests, she figured she might as well tell the truth since it involved He Jiaqing. "I didn't notice anything unusual about his cultivation. I only saw him chatting frequently with a woman on the computer. He claimed she was a gaming teammate. I was a bit jealous at the time, so I put a spy tool on his computer. Later, I learned from that woman that he had obtained the Mystic Red Lotus." "What kind of woman was she?" Lu Xiaolan recalled carefully. "Most of the time I couldn't see her face, only hear her voice. On a few occasions I caught glimpses of her clothes—denim jackets, short leather skirts, that sort of thing. She didn't look like a respectable sort. I only saw her face once, and not very clearly. She wore heavy makeup, had red bangs, and was constantly chewing bubblegum." Li Banfeng knew who she was talking about. He Jiaqing had been in touch with Yuan Miaoping, and the two had communicated frequently after he acquired the Mystic Red Lotus. Yuan Miaoping hadn't told the truth before, which was hardly unexpected. Lu Xiaolan assumed Li Banfeng still harbored a grudge over that matter. "Banfeng, I didn't want to hurt He Jiaqing back then. I genuinely wanted to make a life with him. It was only when my mother and the others caught wind of the Mystic Red Lotus that they forced me to move against him. And I never wanted to harm you either. Back at the He family ancestral residence, I only wanted you to take my place inside for a short while. As soon as I found help, I intended to get you out. Throughout four years of college, I never did anything to hurt you. Banfeng, why won't you believe me?" "I believe you. It's all in the past," Li Banfeng said as he rose to his feet. "Come have an informal meal. Once the meal is finished, all grievances will be resolved." Jiu'er escorted Lu Xiaolan to the second bedroom, where Madame was waiting. "Miss Lu, my husband told me you've long desired the Mystic Red Lotus. Today I'll grant your wish. Take it." Madame held out the Bronze Lotus. Lu Xiaolan had no idea what Zhao Xiaowan intended, and with the Bronze Lotus right before her eyes, she didn't dare reach for it. "You don't want it anymore?" Madame didn't press her. She set the Bronze Lotus aside, stepped up to Lu Xiaolan, and asked, "Do you have any other wishes?" Lu Xiaolan understood. They were going to kill her. Shoving Jiu'er aside, she tried to charge back into the main room to fight Li Banfeng to the death, but the door leading there wouldn't budge. She burst into the third bedroom, only to find that aside from slightly different furnishings, its layout was identical to the second. When she rushed into the fourth bedroom, despair took hold; its layout was identical as well. It reminded her of being trapped in the He family residence. She realized there was no way out. When she reached the fifth bedroom, it was far livelier than the rest. Lu Xiaolan saw the dining table, the family eating around it, and the food spread across the surface. Haolian Shen, lying upon the table, showed Lu Xiaolan her own fate with absolute clarity. Zhao Xiaowan offered comfort beside her: "Miss Lu, do you truly not want to hold Red Lotus?" Lu Xiaolan lunged forward in a desperate bid to attack Zhao Xiaowan, only for Hong Ying to send her sprawling with a kick. Zhao Xiaowan sighed. "No matter. If you don't wish to hold her, she can hold you in a moment." Watching Zhao Xiaowan draw near, Lu Xiaolan had nowhere left to run. She muttered incoherently under her breath, "Impossible... My mother said Li Banfeng's life was viler than a cockroach's... He's just a speck of dust, not even human... How could he—" Excruciating pain silenced her muttering as Zhao Xiaowan steadily drew out her soul. Jiu'er wiped away tears beside them. Hong Ying frowned. "What are you crying for? Isn't she Seventh Master's enemy?" "It's because she's an enemy that I'm crying!" Jiu'er sobbed. "I was afraid she wouldn't die cleanly." A light dusting of ash drifted through the air as the remnants of Lu Xiaolan's soul were swept away completely. Hong Ying grumbled in distaste, "We're in the middle of eating! Making such a mess of dust everywhere—hurry up and find a cloth to cover the dishes." Amid the drifting ash lingered a distinctive scent. Madame sampled it with her Exquisite Hundred Flavors technique, then instructed the others, "While you're eating, preserve as much of her blood as possible and leave it with the clock pendulum. It will be useful." Hong Ying asked in bewilderment, "What use could this wench's blood have?" Madame took another sniff of the blood's scent. "There's a technique inside it—a technique from the Sound Cultivator ancestor." *** Li Banfeng emerged from the companion dwelling, walked to another compartment, and woke the sleeping Lu Chunying and Xiao Yeci. "No need to head to Santoucha anymore. You can go home." Xiao Yeci looked astonished. "What about those two enemies of ours?" Li Banfeng said, "I've sent them on their way. The feud is settled." Xiao Yeci still couldn't believe it. "Just which enemy was it, anyway?" Li Banfeng glanced at Lu Chunying. "Your sister." "My sister—" Lu Chunying knew who he meant. "That wretched woman! If Mother and I hadn't saved her back then, she would have died trapped in the He family residence!" Li Banfeng looked at Xiao Yeci. "I told you back then not to go looking for her." Xiao Yeci was full of remorse. "It's all my fault for not listening to our Benefactor. Lu Xiaolan really won't come back again, will she?" Li Banfeng nodded. "She certainly won't." Xiao Yeci breathed a long sigh of relief. "Then my mind is at ease. Nannan, let's head home." Lu Chunying thought for a moment, then turned to Xiao Yeci. "Mom, let's not go back to Green Water City just yet. Let's go to Santoucha. I want to build up more cultivation." Li Banfeng was pleased; the girl had ambition. Just as he rose to leave, he heard Lu Chunying say, "If only there were a way to shoot straight above the clouds in a single day, that would be wonderful." Li Banfeng halted, tipped up the brim of his hat, and fixed his gaze on Lu Chunying. Terrified, Lu Chunying began to tremble. "Brother Seven, I was just speaking off the cuff—" Li Banfeng kept his eyes locked on her. "You must never speak of such things lightly, nor even entertain the thought. Before you reach the ninth layer, if anyone tells you they can bring you above the clouds in a single day, that person is out to ruin you. Understand?" Drenched in cold sweat, Lu Chunying found herself unable to sleep even after Li Banfeng departed. Xiao Yeci comforted her: "Nannan, don't be afraid. Our Benefactor is right! We must listen to him. He sent Lu Xiaolan away; we owe him another immense debt of gratitude!" Lu Chunying shook her head. "What do you mean, sent away? Mom, did you really not understand? Lu Xiaolan is gone. Brother Seven sent her down the Yellow Springs." "The Yellow Springs?" Xiao Yeci shivered. "Heavens above! Lu Xiaolan is dead?" *** A throng of souls trudged along a rugged mountain trail toward the summit. At the peak, an enormous ring stood mounted upon a flat stone pedestal, rotating slowly. Viewed from afar, the ring was dazzling and immaculate, but upon closer inspection, its surface was pitted and heavily scarred. Yu Zhuo, Senior Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, stood upon a two-tiered sedan chair carried by dozens of laborers. Once ten thousand souls had assembled at the summit, Yu Zhuo gave the order for them all to pass through the ring. Subordinates wielding first-rate weapons infused with demonic traits herded the spirits toward the ring. Passing through the ring was an event of vanishingly small probability. The vast majority of the souls dissolved into smoke and dust the instant they drew near. Out of ten thousand, only one made it to the other side. Yu Zhuo was less than satisfied with the result, but the two heads upon his shoulders remained optimistic. The head on the left, Lian Xian, said, "There are over ten thousand more souls waiting down the mountain." The head on the right, He Shun, chimed in, "The Great Smelter is ruined. All spirits will ultimately have to come to the Great Totem." Yu Zhuo let out a heavy sigh. "One in ten thousand. And there's no telling what quality this survivor turned out to be." The peddler took a look and shook his head. "In my opinion, this one's quality isn't much to look at."