Chapter 273: Travel Cultivation Level Five Skill

Li Banfeng was sifting through the torn clothes on the ground, hoping to find a magic artifact or a spiritual object.

A thought cultivator's perception was decent, but they weren't skilled in direct combat. For him to dare to come as an assassin, he must have had at least one potent offensive spiritual object on him.

To Li Banfeng's disappointment, after searching for a long time, he found nothing but torn scraps of cloth.

A Clear Guard Elder had no valuable possessions at all?

Li Banfeng didn't believe it, so he searched another spot. This time, he finally found something.

Among a pile of tattered rags, there was a single yarn glove.

What was a yarn glove?

It was the kind of glove most commonly used by laborers. This particular one was quite old, stained with oil, and crumpled up among the scraps, making it genuinely hard to spot.

Was this a magic artifact?

It didn't look like it.

Li Banfeng picked up the glove and shook it a couple of times. He didn't sense any spiritual energy, but a good deal of dust fell off.

Yet, Li Banfeng didn't discard the glove. Wu Decheng was a Clear Guard Elder; given his status, it was illogical for him to be working on a construction site. Carrying such a glove made no sense.

To hide fingerprints with this glove?

Was such a thing necessary in Pu’luo Prefecture?

Even if he really needed to hide fingerprints, he would have needed at least a pair of gloves, and newer ones at that.

Li Banfeng brought the glove over to the gramophone. "My dear, does this object possess any spirituality?"

The gramophone's needle poked at the glove. After observing for a moment, it said, "No spirituality at all. It's just a broken glove."

Was it really just a broken glove?

Li Banfeng thought for a moment, then took the glove to the second room and presented it to Red Lotus.

Red Lotus showed no reaction.

Li Banfeng sat beside Red Lotus and said gently, "A-Lian, you've become so thin these days. Quickly eat this to nourish yourself."

"Eat this?"

"Is this a joke?"

"You're stuffing any old junk at me!"

Red Lotus still ignored him, so Li Banfeng, getting angry, moved her to the main room.

"My dear, this wretch won't listen to me. I told her to eat the glove, but she refused. Let's apply family discipline."

"Oh, my husband, you told this wretch to eat the glove?" The gramophone chuckled twice, then sobered its tone. "Wretch, whatever my husband tells you to do, you do it. You have no right to be picky!"

As it spoke, steam enveloped Red Lotus. Red Lotus truly wasn't afraid of a fight, but she was currently refining Wu Decheng's corpse, and a confrontation with the gramophone might cause an accident.

Left with no choice, Red Lotus opened her petals, and a whirlwind rose from her lotus heart, ready to draw the glove in.

The glove approached the lotus heart by a few inches, then suddenly sprang up, dodging the range of the lotus heart.

Red Lotus was stunned.

The gramophone was dumbfounded.

A seemingly spiritless yarn glove actually managed to evade Red Lotus's whirlwind?

Moreover, when it was disguised as an ordinary glove, neither the gramophone nor Red Lotus had detected its spirituality.

"Oh, my husband, this object has considerable spirituality!" The gramophone exhaled steam, attempting to subdue the glove, but the glove zipped through the gaps in the steam at incredibly high speed, its movements exceptionally agile.

Seeing this, Red Lotus opened six of her seven lotus heart apertures, with the remaining one still refining Wu Decheng.

Six whirlwinds, like six swimming snakes, darted up and down, yet still couldn't catch the glove.

The gramophone seized the opportunity, cooperating with Red Lotus to corner the glove against the wall.

The glove had no escape: to its left was the whirlwind, to its right, the steam.

After a brief standoff, the glove darted towards the right.

The gramophone firmly controlled the glove with its steam.

The glove was still searching for an opening to escape.

The steam grew denser, forming a seal.

Being sealed by the gramophone was better than being consumed by Red Lotus, so the glove had made the correct choice.

Since it could make a correct choice, it proved the glove possessed intelligence, and not a low level of it.

This was a magic artifact!

As the gramophone reinforced the seal, it asked, "What is your origin?"

The glove remained silent.

The gramophone increased the steam's temperature. "I asked, what is your origin?"

The glove sneered, "You think a little torture will make me speak? You take me for a spineless coward."

Judging by the voice, it sounded like a middle-aged man.

The gramophone once again raised the steam's temperature. The glove sneered again, "I am a wandering cultivator's magic artifact, named 'Follow the Wind and Fly'!"

A wandering cultivator.

Li Banfeng's eyes lit up.

"A wandering cultivator!" The gramophone instantly flared into a rage, all three of its horn mouths喷吐ing steam simultaneously.

The temperature suddenly surged, and the glove shrieked, "What's wrong with a wandering cultivator? Do you have a grudge against them?"

"A hatred as deep as the ocean!" The gramophone's voice grew even gloomier.

Li Banfeng quickly interjected, "My dear, a wandering cultivator's magic artifact is very rare. Why not let me keep it?"

"If my husband desires wandering cultivator techniques, that wretch Hong Ying is quite enough. There's no need to keep another menace!"

The steam's temperature continued to rise. The glove shouted, "Wait, I have something to say, I'm not..."

The gramophone wouldn't listen to a word it said; it only wanted to burn the glove to ashes.

Hong Ying, from the side, burst into laughter. "Wicked woman, you have a grudge against me, why involve others? Are you planning to exterminate all wandering cultivators in the world?"

"One less is one gone!"

Hong Ying was quite pleased. "Wicked woman, watching you consumed by hatred yet powerless against me, this pathetic sight truly delights me."

*Scratch*

The gramophone scratched its record, producing some static.

"Delights you?" The gramophone was silent for a moment, then suddenly burst into loud laughter. "Wretch, is this glove your beloved? You're trying to use this taunt to trick me into releasing it?"

"A taunt? Do I even have that intention?" Hong Ying also laughed. "If you want to kill it, then do it quickly. After you kill it, see if I suffer. If I suffer, you win!"

"Do you recognize it or not?" The gramophone gnashed its teeth, its needle piercing the glove, tearing it up and down. The glove was about to be shredded.

Hong Ying said, "Of course I do. You absolutely must not kill it. Keep it here and interrogate it thoroughly; perhaps you can uncover the hidden truth from back then."

The gramophone roared in anger, "Wretch! You dare to trick me?"

Hong Ying laughed, "Wicked woman, how have I tricked you? Kill it if you want, don't kill it if you don't want to. Whatever you do, I can laugh. Just seeing you hesitating like this, seeing you suffer, makes my laughter even more unrestrained!"

"Hmph!" The gramophone roared fiercely, and all three horns smoked again.

Li Banfeng quickly advised, "My dear, calm your anger. If you get angry, you'll fall for her trick."

*Hiss, hiss*

The steam's temperature suddenly dropped.

The originally glowing red horns slowly reverted to their original color.

"Oh, my husband, your little servant was just toying with her. Why would I get angry? A mere broken glove isn't worth my anger."

"My dear is truly generous. Let me first feel how big your belly is."

Li Banfeng stroked the gramophone's casing. The gramophone giggled, and its needle relaxed its grip slightly, giving the glove a moment to breathe.

After laughing, the gramophone asked the glove, "You said earlier you had something to say. You may speak now."

The glove panted for a moment, then pointed a finger at Hong Ying and said, "I don't recognize that long spear."

Hong Ying, deliberately affecting a tone, slowly said, "You say you don't recognize it? Isn't that just a case of 'protesting too much'? How do you expect that wicked woman to believe you?"

The gramophone chuckled. "I believe him. I really do believe him; I don't doubt him at all.

"My husband, a wandering cultivator's magic artifact is indeed rare. It possesses extremely high intelligence, and its level is likely not low.

"With your current cultivation, my husband, it might be difficult to control. For now, let's keep it here for safekeeping and decide what to do with it later."

Li Banfeng said with a serious expression, "My dear, don't trust him easily. He might not actually be a wandering cultivator. Allow your husband to perform a brief test first."

"How does my husband intend to test him?"

Li Banfeng looked at the glove and sternly asked, "Do you know the techniques of wandering cultivators?"

The glove replied, "Which level of technique do you wish to know?"

"First, tell me about the fifth-level technique!"

The glove replied, "The fifth-level technique is called 'Viewing Flowers on Horseback'."

"Walking while looking at flowers?"

"What kind of technique is that?"

"Don't spout nonsense. Do you think I'm that easily fooled?"

The gramophone said, "My husband, he isn't lying about this. 'Viewing Flowers on Horseback' is indeed a fifth-level technique of wandering cultivators."

Li Banfeng shook his head. "Just knowing the name might mean he heard it elsewhere. What is the use of this 'Viewing Flowers on Horseback' technique?"

The glove said, "When moving rapidly, anyone whose eyes are fixed upon will transform into a flower."

Li Banfeng was astonished. "People turn into flowers when you look at them? Isn't that just a magic trick?"

"You're not entirely wrong. Those gazed upon with that technique will have their flesh and blood burst apart, resembling blooming flowers."

"One glance, and a person explodes?"

Li Banfeng scoffed, "That just proves you're spouting nonsense. If there were truly such a powerful technique, wouldn't a fifth-level wandering cultivator be invincible?"

The glove wiggled a finger and said, "This technique sounds formidable, but it heavily tests one's cultivation and talent. An ordinary fifth-level wandering cultivator using this move can only kill a 'white lamb' [beginner], and it might not even work against a first-level cultivator.

"Moreover, this technique consumes an enormous amount of energy; killing one person might deplete seventy to eighty percent of a fifth-level cultivator's strength. Think about it: a fifth-level wandering cultivator has countless ways to kill a 'white lamb,' so why would they choose this particular technique?

"Out of ten thousand wandering cultivators, more than nine thousand would be unwilling to use this technique. They might occasionally pull it out to scare others, but to put it plainly, it's just a 'brocade pillow' – pretty to look at, but useless in practice."

Upon hearing this, Hong Ying let out a scoff. "That's because they haven't grasped the key."

The gramophone sighed, "That wretch Hong Ying, however, possesses that one-in-ten-thousand talent. Her spiritual energy is abundant, she isn't afraid of depletion, and she uses the 'Viewing Flowers on Horseback' technique with great proficiency."

Li Banfeng was startled. "So if one day she were to glance at someone..."

Hong Ying spat. "Bah! Shameless madman! Do I even have eyes?!"

The gramophone burst into loud laughter. "It was precisely to guard against that technique of yours that I ruined your eyes back then! Do you resent it? Hahahaha!"

Li Banfeng looked at the glove and said, "This technique might be something you observed elsewhere; it doesn't prove you're a wandering cultivator!"

The gramophone said, "My husband is right. Let's see if it knows the key principles of the technique."

Li Banfeng tenderly stroked the gramophone's casing.

The glove replied, "The 'Viewing Flowers on Horseback' technique's essence lies in 'riding a horse' and 'viewing flowers'."

Li Banfeng asked, "Must one ride a horse when performing the technique?"

The glove again wiggled a finger. "It has nothing to do with a horse. 'Riding a horse' refers to moving extremely fast. When a wandering cultivator employs this technique, they must move so rapidly that the opponent cannot see their figure at all. If even the slightest glimpse is caught, the technique will fail."

"Not even a single glimpse is allowed?"

Li Banfeng asked, "How fast does one have to run? Wouldn't that exhaust the wandering cultivator to death?"

The glove said, "That's why this technique consumes so much. The other key lies in 'viewing flowers': one must gaze intently at the enemy while moving rapidly, and one's 'sight power' must be extremely great. Before the technique takes effect, there can be no deviation in one's gaze."

Li Banfeng fell silent.

So, one has to run fast and stare intently.

And 'sight power'...

What is 'sight power'?

This technique is indeed not very practical.

Li Banfeng continued, "Just stating a fifth-level technique isn't enough to prove you're a wandering cultivator. Now tell me about the sixth-level technique!"

"The sixth-level wandering cultivator technique is called..." The glove suddenly found a tiny gap in the steam and was about to slip out, but it was hooked again by the gramophone needle.

"Wait, I'll tell you..." Before the glove could speak, the gramophone sealed it.

"This magic artifact is too cunning, my husband truly cannot control it."

"I truly can't control it?" Li Banfeng was unwilling to accept this.

The gramophone said, "My husband, consider this: when that old fellow fought with you just now, he had this magic artifact, yet why did he keep it hidden and not use it? Why didn't he just wear it on his hand?

"It's very likely because this glove is disobedient, or perhaps its demands are too high.

"His cultivation was not inferior to yours, which shows how difficult this magic artifact is to control.

"A magic artifact that cannot be controlled should not be carried. Not only is it useless, but it can also invite disaster."

Wu Decheng had indeed fumbled around on his person; he might have been trying to summon the artifact at that moment.

This magic artifact is indeed difficult to control, but there's no need to rush since it's already in hand. He could find a way to inquire about the sixth-level technique later.