Chapter 246: Breaking the Cocoon

Cong Shixiang had consumed the Rust Pill, and not only was he unharmed, but he could also rust weapons.

Startled, Li Banfeng didn't hesitate; he lit a match and threw it at Cong Shixiang.

Surrounded by wine mist, Cong Shixiang caught fire, and the grease on his body sizzled.

He didn't dodge, struggle, or even rush to put out the flames.

He tore off the quickly charred flesh from his body and swallowed it along with the flames.

Cong Shixiang seemed quite satisfied with the taste. He took a deep breath, inhaling all the flames on his body and the surrounding wine mist into his mouth, then sprayed it back at Li Banfeng.

Dodging the ball of fire wasn't difficult, but Li Banfeng dared not get close again.

He wasn't sure what else Cong Shixiang might spit out, nor what he might consume.

Cong Shixiang charged at Li Banfeng again. Li Banfeng kept his distance, maintaining ten meters as he circled Cong Shixiang. Ren Wenlie shouted, "You're a young man, strong and robust; do you dare not face an old man in combat?"

A wave of guilt washed over Li Banfeng.

In his moment of guilt, Li Banfeng found his path blocked by Cong Shixiang.

He then heard Cong Shixiang shout, "When rivals meet on a narrow path, the brave one..."

This was a 'Shared Lore, Shared Rules' technique. If Cong Shixiang had completed the phrase, Li Banfeng would have charged forward to directly confront him.

If he had fought head-on, Li Banfeng wouldn't have lasted a single round; he would have lost his life, and his corpse would have been eaten by Cong Shixiang.

Fortunately, Li Banfeng was prepared and suddenly began to sing: "The moon is bright, the wind is still, the leaves obscure the window lattice..."

In a moment of urgency, Li Banfeng could only think of this one song; he sang a lullaby.

However, this song had considerable destructive power. Firstly, Li Banfeng was extremely familiar with the area. Secondly, he had just emerged from the mansion, and his physical condition was optimal, allowing him to fully unleash the techniques of the 'Deep Mansion, Grand Courtyard'.

As the song began, Ren Wenlie struggled to fight off drowsiness and nearly fell asleep. His 'Shared Lore, Shared Rules' literary technique couldn't be activated, and the 'Virtuous Reflection' ethical technique of his moral cultivation was also disrupted.

Dealing with Ren Wenlie was not difficult, but Cong Shixiang was far more formidable.

Li Banfeng's song had no effect on him at all. The disparity in their combat power forced Li Banfeng to retreat into the stockade. Cong Shixiang kicked down the stockade's main gate, then in two steps, cornered Li Banfeng against the wooden hut wall.

His 'Ignorant Cultivation' technique was ineffective, as were his 'Deep Mansion, Grand Courtyard' techniques. What method could possibly defeat him?

Li Banfeng seized the opportunity to climb onto the roof. Cong Shixiang tried to pursue him but slipped and fell.

Suddenly, tea water appeared beneath his feet. As Cong Shixiang got up, he discovered that the flesh on his hands and feet was rapidly sloughing off in the tea. Li Banfeng stood on the rooftop, continually rubbing a teapot in his hands.

This tea water was utterly repugnant to Cong Shixiang; the grease on his body constantly sloughed off in it.

Li Banfeng worried that Cong Shixiang might directly crash into the wooden hut, which would leave Li Banfeng without a footing.

However, Cong Shixiang ignored the hut. He was intent on breaking out of the tea's range and slammed his body against a barrier.

The old teapot trembled slightly in Li Banfeng's hand.

The last time it trembled like this was when he encountered Qiu Luoye. Li Banfeng asked, "Is this person's strength comparable to Qiu Luoye's?"

The old teapot gave two coughs and replied, "He's slightly weaker. I estimate it can withstand three to five more blows. Young man, this monster isn't very intelligent; you must outsmart him, not confront him head-on."

This senior disciple indeed lacked intelligence. If he had possessed normal human intelligence, Li Banfeng would have been dead long ago.

Bang! Bang!

Cong Shixiang continuously kicked and hit the barrier. Li Banfeng quickly interrupted the teapot's technique.

A moment ago, the tea water had only reached his knees, but Cong Shixiang's pants were noticeably looser, as if he had lost a lot of flesh.

Now the tea water had receded. Cong Shixiang's movements became slow, his agility considerably dulled, and his resistance significantly decreased. Li Banfeng continuously hacked and burned, tearing off a substantial amount of flesh from him. Cong Shixiang stumbled, and the battle seemed to be drawing to a close.

The staggering Cong Shixiang suddenly lunged at a cow near the stockade gate.

This was a cow left by Niu Guangda at the entrance. Cong Shixiang opened his mouth and stuffed the entire cow's head into it.

Impossible!

The cow's head was larger than Cong Shixiang's, not to mention its horns. How did Cong Shixiang manage to stuff the cow's head into his mouth?

This was no time for such thoughts. Li Banfeng moved behind Cong Shixiang, used 'Crushing Myriad Rivers' with a kick, shattering the stones on the ground. The fragments struck the back of Cong Shixiang's head and body, seemingly causing some damage.

Cong Shixiang paid no heed and continued to devour the cow's body at an extremely fast pace.

Li Banfeng saw clearly: before entering his mouth, the cow's body was compressed into a small ball of flesh.

Cong Shixiang's mouth stretched to an grotesque extent; the flesh on his face elongated by several feet, and his lower jaw extended directly to his navel.

Li Banfeng raised his sickle and struck Cong Shixiang's skull.

A pair of horns grew from the top of Cong Shixiang's head, entangling Li Banfeng's sickle.

He turned and swung a hoof, kicking Li Banfeng back over ten meters.

Eating a cow allowed him to transform into a cow.

Thankfully, he hadn't fully recovered, and this kick wasn't too powerful. Li Banfeng picked himself up and saw that Cong Shixiang had completely consumed the entire cow.

He wasn't full yet and turned his gaze towards Ren Wenlie.

Ren Wenlie, looking composed, grabbed his junior disciple, Jiang Shirong, who was beside him, and threw him towards Cong Shixiang.

Cong Shixiang grabbed Jiang Shirong's head with one hand and a foot with the other, twisting him into a pretzel. He then kneaded him into a ball of flesh, compressed him thoroughly, and put him into his mouth.

This was the very reason Ren Wenlie had brought his junior disciples along.

Two more junior disciples remained. Seeing this, they turned to flee, but Ren Wenlie roared, "In battle, cowards die!"

Shared Lore, Shared Rules.

The two junior disciples dared not move; running now would truly cost them their lives.

Having consumed a cow and a person, Cong Shixiang was in peak condition, with two cow horns protruding, and charged towards Li Banfeng.

At this point, Li Banfeng had only one option left.

He called out to the stockade residents, telling them to clear the way, then led Cong Shixiang all the way into the cave.

The cave was slippery, slowing Cong Shixiang's pace slightly and giving Li Banfeng time to retrieve a key.

He opened his Portable Dwelling. Just as he threw out the key, Cong Shixiang crashed directly into the house.

"You hussy, tell me, how did you just seduce my husband? You just..."

Bang!

Li Banfeng stumbled from the impact with Cong Shixiang and fell into the corner.

The phonograph hissed, "Husband, why have you brought a cow home?"

Cong Shixiang continued to charge at Li Banfeng. The phonograph emitted steam, trapping Cong Shixiang.

"Oh my, this old ox is so strong!" The phonograph began to sing a Peking Opera, "The Little Ox Herder," counting beats, "In the beautiful sunny days of March, I herd my ox to the village edge. Wild flowers are red and vibrant, mountain grass green and fresh..."

The Lady's song was ineffective.

Cong Shixiang roared, almost breaking free from the steam's restraint.

The Lady exclaimed, "A broken chrysalis?"

"What's a broken chrysalis?"

The Lady didn't answer, and her movements suddenly hesitated. "This broken chrysalis, could it be..."

Hong Ying suddenly spoke, "Quickly, bring that hussy Xuansheng Red Lotus here; this one is perfect for her."

Li Banfeng quickly went to find Red Lotus. For the past two days, besides refining Qu Jingzhang, Red Lotus had served no other purpose, so Li Banfeng had moved him to the Sixth Room.

As he ran towards the Sixth Room, Cong Shixiang broke free from the steam and charged at the phonograph.

If this were the phonograph from when it first entered the dwelling, it might not have been able to resist.

But now, the phonograph was vastly different. A record flew towards Cong Shixiang, severing both his legs below the knees.

Cong Shixiang fell to the ground, then crawled towards the phonograph.

The record sliced across him again, severing both of Cong Shixiang's hands.

Deprived of his hands and feet, Cong Shixiang's body rapidly wriggled forward, reaching the phonograph. His toothless mouth bit into the phonograph's casing.

"Disgusting!" The phonograph expressed its strong aversion by directly severing Cong Shixiang's head.

Reduced to just a head, Cong Shixiang stopped gnawing on the phonograph. He turned and swallowed his own body, hands, and feet.

After consuming them, Cong Shixiang's head rapidly expanded, and then a huge fleshy ball protruded below it.

With a head attached to a fleshy ball, Cong Shixiang wobbled on the ground like a roly-poly toy. Small fleshy buds had already begun to grow where his limbs should be.

Given thirty to fifty seconds, his limbs would regrow. In another three to five minutes, Cong Shixiang would regain his human form.

Unfortunately, he was out of time.

The Lady could have minced him, but she wasn't in a hurry to act.

Li Banfeng moved Red Lotus closer.

Red Lotus, covered in dew, was about to argue with Li Banfeng.

Upon seeing Cong Shixiang, Red Lotus's mood improved considerably, and more dew appeared on him.

The petals opened, and a whirlwind erupted from the lotus core, dragging the still-recovering Cong Shixiang slowly towards it.

Cong Shixiang tried to struggle, but within the whirlwind, his strength seemed to be restricted.

"Agh!"

Cong Shixiang cried out repeatedly. The moment he neared the lotus core, his body began to deform, very similar to when he had consumed the cow.

Red Lotus increased his strength, and the whirlwind grew fiercer. The Lady added a burst of steam, pushing Cong Shixiang forward until he was completely enveloped by the lotus core.

This was the first time Li Banfeng had seen Red Lotus actively hunt; Red Lotus had never targeted living beings before.

Wait, something was wrong.

"My Lady, Red Lotus doesn't consume living things. Why the change in his disposition today?"

"Oh, Husband, this broken chrysalis isn't a living being."

"What is a broken chrysalis?"

"It's when someone attempts to ascend from the ninth to the tenth level but only achieves half of it. Their physical body ascends, but their soul fails to ascend and shatters, leaving behind a walking corpse. Just like an insect that emerges from its chrysalis but doesn't become a butterfly, remaining a mere pupa. That's why it's called a broken chrysalis."

Ninth to tenth level?

Fortunately, this thing wasn't very intelligent.

True, without a soul, a lack of intelligence was inevitable.

Red Lotus closed his petals.

Ren Wenlie was still outside, so Li Banfeng didn't linger and quickly left the Portable Dwelling.

The Lady turned her speaker towards Hong Ying. "You hussy, who asked for your help?"

At a critical moment in the battle, Hong Ying had reminded Li Banfeng to bring Red Lotus, which indeed helped the phonograph.

Hong Ying sneered, "You vicious woman, I was worried that if that madman slipped up, we'd all be trapped here and die. After so many years without battle, your fighting methods aren't what they used to be."

"You hussy, what fighting method I use is none of your business!"

Ren Wenlie stood at the stockade gate, awaiting a response from his senior disciple.

His two junior disciples, Pei Maojin and Gao Yangting, were still by his side, offering Ren Wenlie advice.

"Senior Brother, let's go inside and check. I'm worried Senior Disciple might encounter trouble."

The senior disciple had just consumed Jiang Shirong, who had joined the sect with them, yet Pei Maojin was still worried about him.

"Senior Brother Ren, we can't let Senior Disciple fight alone. Let's go assist him."

Gao Yangting was equally resolute. It was unclear if this was due to Ren Wenlie's 'Virtuous Cultivation' technique or if it was their genuine intention.

Ren Wenlie pondered for a long time before deciding to enter the stockade for a look.

Naturally, he wouldn't lead the way; he would let his two junior disciples go first.

Pei Maojin and Gao Yangting genuinely walked ahead, adopting the demeanor of a sage's disciples, loudly proclaiming, "You common rabble, who commit crimes and acts of evil, your ringleader has been punished. Do you still dare to stubbornly resist?"

Xiao Yeci blocked the path, saying, "This is a battle between dragons and tigers; how can insignificant shrimp, crabs, fish, and turtles like you interfere?"

Ren Wenlie paused, startled. The tone of her voice sounded like that of a literary cultivator. Was she using the 'Shared Lore, Shared Rules' technique?

Xiao Yeci gritted her teeth. She didn't know the 'Shared Lore, Shared Rules' technique, but at this moment, she couldn't retreat even half a step.

Ren Wenlie was hesitating whether to engage this woman when he suddenly heard Li Banfeng from behind him say, "Don't fight her. She's an eighth-level literary cultivator. You should fight me instead."

Ren Wenlie was terrified, unsure whether to move forward or backward.

Moving forward would mean directly facing Xiao Yeci while having his back to Li Banfeng.

Moving backward would mean directly facing Li Banfeng while turning his back to Xiao Yeci. Would that be any safer?

Li Banfeng advised again, "If you can't figure out where to go, the best strategy is to stand still, unmoving."

For a fleeting moment, Ren Wenlie truly felt that standing still was the correct choice.

He lowered the weapon in his hand and shouted, "Do not kill those who are unarmed..."

The word "weapon" was not uttered. His voice was choked by a mouthful of fresh blood as Li Banfeng slit his throat.