Chapter 158: Stepping on a Thousand Pounds

The erysipelas was countered by the Blue Leaf Pill. Li Banfeng entered his portable residence, planning to rest for the night and enter the cave the next day.

It was cold outside. Upon entering the house, Li Banfeng took a sip of wine and suddenly felt the room was much warmer than usual.

Could it be...

"Hey! You crazy man! How can we live like this when you're kissing other women right in front of me?"

His wife was awake. Li Banfeng quickly explained, "I wasn't kissing anyone; I was just taking a sip of wine."

"I saw it with my own eyes, and you still won't admit it!"

The wine gourd spoke, "Sister, a gourd only has one mouth. I just fed him a sip of wine. You're overthinking this."

"Sister? Who are you calling 'sister'? You've taken my man, and now I'm supposed to call you 'Elder Sister'?"

"This girl has quite a temper, doesn't she? Want to test me?" The wine gourd's temper flared up too.

"Oh, now I'm a 'girl' again? Tomorrow, will I have to call you 'Madam'?"

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The gongs and drums pounded more fiercely. Tang Dao sang from the side, "One only sees the new bride smile, but hears not the old wife's cries. Hearts are not what they used to be, oh, not what they used to be! This matter must be settled clearly!"

Li Banfeng kicked Tang Dao away. Seeing the unfavorable situation, he first retreated to the outer room for a moment.

In the outer room, the Copper Lotus was still refining pills, its aura shining layer after layer.

This time, the pills were taking a long time to finish. Not only was Pan Dehai's flesh slow to process, but the corpse of Linli still hadn't been fully refined.

A commotion sounded outside the door, and five minutes later, laughter echoed.

"Hoo hahaha!"

Why was his wife laughing?

Could it be that she had killed the wine gourd?

Such a valuable magic item, just gone?

Li Banfeng was greatly alarmed. He pushed open the door, and the room was filled with the pungent aroma of wine.

*Gurgle*

His wife burped, singing, "Good sister, today we've certainly become acquainted through our little spat!"

The wine gourd replied, "Senior, I spoke out of turn just now and offended you. With my status, how could I call myself your sister?"

"Let's not dwell on that. And don't call me 'Senior'; you'll make me sound old. From now on, we'll be sisters!"

What had just happened?

The situation was simple: the wine gourd hadn't wanted to fight the gramophone. During their confrontation, she had sprayed a cloud of wine mist, transferring half a gourd of wine into the gramophone's water tank. His wife drank the wine, her mood improved, and the two became sworn sisters.

His wife took a large gulp from the water tank and sighed, "Wine without food always feels like something's missing."

Li Banfeng quickly said, "I'll go buy groceries tomorrow."

His wife was still not satisfied. "If you buy groceries tomorrow, won't we be drinking dry tonight?"

Not dry? What else do you want?

I'm the only thing edible left in this house. You don't mean to eat me, do you?

Li Banfeng was complaining internally when he noticed the gongs and drums gradually intensifying again.

*Da-da-da-tai!*

What are they doing?

Do they really mean to eat me?

With his wife's temperament, some things were hard to predict!

Just as the tension mounted, the wine gourd spoke, changing the subject: "Elder Sister, what did you mean earlier about buying groceries?"

"Catch people to eat!" His wife answered without the slightest subtlety.

The wine gourd wasn't surprised. "Elder Sister, you can't blame our little brother for this. He actually caught someone two days ago, but unfortunately, you weren't awake then, so he handed it over to Second Madam."

"Second Madam? You mean that wretch Honglian? Hey, husband, are you saying what you caught was dead?"

The wine gourd said, "Yes, it was dead. It was dead before he even brought it in."

Hiss!

The gramophone scoffed, "I don't eat dead things. What's good about such filthy stuff?"

"Elder Sister, Second Madam ate it with such delight. It's been two days, and she still hasn't finished it."

"She hasn't finished it in two days?" The gramophone hissed, spitting out two puffs of steam. "Hey, husband, what good thing did you catch for that wretch Honglian?"

"It wasn't anything special," Li Banfeng said with a simple smile, "just a Linli from Bloodfang Mountain."

"Linli? One of the Bloodfang monsters known as Linli?" His wife's knowledge truly was extensive.

The New Land of Sanpan River was sparsely populated, Bloodfang Mountain wasn't a famous place, and Linli wasn't a high-level aberrant. Yet, his wife recognized even such a creature.

"My wife, that's really not much of a catch. Bloodfang monsters only have fifth-level cultivation, and Linli might even be weaker than them."

"Oh, husband!" His wife's singing voice was filled with resentment. "You're mistaken! Linli Bloodfang monsters are unique aberrations of the New Land. Such aberrations cannot be measured by cultivation levels. They are truly good stuff! And that wretch Honglian got to enjoy it!"

Li Banfeng didn't understand. "Why can't they be measured by levels?"

"In the New Land, aberrations are divided into three types. The first type are beings from Pro-zhou who accidentally entered the New Land and, over years of erosion by it, gained Daoyuan, becoming aberrations. This type of aberration has little Daoyuan, and their cultivation is very difficult.

The second type are the descendants of the first type. They are born in the New Land but still possess the bloodline of Pro-zhou. They have more Daoyuan in their bodies than the first type and look more unusual. The Straw Cloak Moth is an example of this type.

The third type are aberrations native to the New Land. They have no genetic ties to Pro-zhou, being creatures nurtured within the New Land itself. Their bodies are full of Daoyuan, making them rare and valuable ingredients!"

Full of Daoyuan?

Isn't Daoyuan just dark matter?

So, having more dark matter in one's body means they're superior?

Li Banfeng asked, "How much Daoyuan does Linli have?"

His wife used a metaphor: "It's like someone who has been illuminated by the light of heaven – just thinking about them makes you salivate!"

Li Banfeng shivered and stopped talking about aberrations. "My wife, I'm going to sleep in the fourth room."

"What are you going to the fourth room for?"

"The smell of wine here is too strong; it's choking me and I can't sleep."

"Go on, go on, don't disturb us sisters while we drink! Gourd Sister, your gourd's mouth is too small; you're going to suffer for it later."

"Suffer what? Elder Sister, don't scare me."

"I'm not scaring you. You don't know how ruthless this crazy man of ours is. When he oils the machinery, he's truly a villain, always picking the places you can't bear..."

The fourth room was at the end of the outer room, furthest from the main room.

Li Banfeng entered the fourth room, put down his bedding, burrowed into the covers, and went to sleep.

The next morning, Li Banfeng used the green vine to climb the rock wall and entered the cave.

The cave wasn't wide, but it was well-ventilated. Li Banfeng sniffed carefully; there was no foul air inside.

After walking a few steps along the cave, the sluggish sensation in his feet returned, very similar to how Li Banfeng felt when walking through thorn bushes.

It wasn't just similar.

It was even more intense than walking through the thorn bushes.

In the thorn bushes, Li Banfeng felt as if he were wearing shackles. In this cave, he felt as though his feet were bound.

After walking several dozen meters, Li Banfeng was out of breath. His body sensed a change; it seemed his daily cultivation quota was full.

For a third-level travel cultivator, Li Banfeng knew he should be able to travel at least 150 li in a day.

It was full already?

While increasing cultivation was good, how was he going to get through this cave?

According to Elder Yao's map, this cave was over 100 li long. Yet, he had barely entered the mouth of the cave and already couldn't move.

Li Banfeng was worrying when he inadvertently glanced towards the cave entrance.

Something was moving at the cave entrance.

Because it was far away, he couldn't see it too clearly.

It seemed to have two antennae.

It had many segments.

And many legs.

It was a millipede!

This creature was also called a centipede. Li Banfeng compared its size to the cave entrance; this millipede, lying on the ground, reached half the height of the entrance.

It was at least a meter tall, and its length was unknown.

Was it benevolent?

That was hard to say.

Li Banfeng quickly got up, ready to flee. After taking two steps, he realized his speed was insufficient.

His legs were too heavy; he couldn't run fast at all.

His speed was lacking, but the millipede's speed was not.

*Rustle! Rustle!*

The creature crawled towards Li Banfeng, its countless, indistinct legs moving rapidly.

He couldn't run with his back to it; if it caught him from behind, it would be dangerous.

Li Banfeng drew his sickle and Tang Dao and ran towards the millipede.

Seeing Li Banfeng approach, the millipede immediately became alert, raising a section of its body to look down at him.

Under normal circumstances, Li Banfeng wouldn't be afraid of this insect, but the current situation was not normal.

Li Banfeng's legs felt impossibly heavy, making it impossible to move freely. This meant losing the greatest advantage of a travel cultivator.

The insect attacked first, swinging its antennae towards Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng dodged with difficulty. The antennae struck the rock wall, shattering a stone.

A single antenna had such power!

This creature's strength was no less than that of Madam Straw Cloak Moth!

The millipede raised both antennae, preparing to attack again.

If both antennae struck at once, it would be difficult for Li Banfeng to dodge again.

The situation was critical; he couldn't just sit and wait. Li Banfeng wanted to jump up, hook the insect's head with his sickle, and then have Tang Dao sweep across, aiming to chop off its head.

Li Banfeng stamped his foot on the ground but didn't jump.

Tang Dao swept forward. Without Li Banfeng's support, its move was too obvious and was batted away by the insect's antenna.

This insect was intelligent! Its offensive and defensive tactics were very clear.

Both antennae attacked from left and right, lunging at Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng squatted to dodge the antennae. The two antennae swung past, then swept back along the ground.

This insect was incredibly malicious!

It realized Li Banfeng couldn't jump and began attacking his lower body.

How was he going to dodge this?!

The two antennae crossed behind Li Banfeng, leaving him no room to retreat.

Jump!

He had to jump, no matter what!

Even if his legs weighed ten thousand jin, he had to jump today.

Li Banfeng's eyes were bloodshot, and he gritted his teeth, concentrating all his strength in his legs, trying to spring.

His right leg rose, but his left didn't. He intended to jump but only ended up stomping his foot on the spot.

It was over!

If his legs were struck by the millipede, they would surely be crippled!

Earlier, seeing it was just an insect, Li Banfeng hadn't thought much of it, never expecting to suffer such a great loss.

If he had known the situation would be like this, he should have hidden in his portable residence from the start instead of fighting it head-on!

Li Banfeng quickly fumbled for his key. Even if the millipede severed his legs, he would have to crawl back into the house.

Just as he pulled out the key, he realized the antennae hadn't swept his legs.

Where had the antennae gone?

They were hovering above the cave.

The millipede tilted its head back, body upright, seemingly deep in thought.

What had just happened?

Had the wine gourd intervened?

The wine gourd said, "Little brother, you just stepped on a pebble and crushed it."

A pebble?

Li Banfeng looked down and saw half a pebble under his foot.

Where was the other half?

The other half was embedded in the millipede's head.

Its head was very hard; it hadn't been pierced, but a dent had been made.

Li Banfeng stared in astonishment at his own feet, then at the broken pebble.