Chapter 310: Injured Demon Fiend

Li Banfeng knew that cultivation power was stored partly in the soul and partly in the body. His wife had consumed the power from his soul, while the power in his body was left for Lotus. He also understood that pill refining inherently involved some loss, and Lotus deserved compensation for her hard work. However, Ling Miaoying possessed seventh-level cultivation, which meant she had sixty years of life remaining after reaching that stage. So, only six Golden Origin Pills were produced? Six Golden Origin Pills amounted to six hundred days of life, which was less than two years. Under these circumstances, Li Banfeng felt compelled to ask some questions.

"Lotus, how much did you keep for yourself?"

Red Lotus lacked the ability to directly communicate like a familiar spirit. Given Li Banfeng's current status, he couldn't hear her speak. She intended for his wife to relay her words. His wife listened to her explanation for a moment, then turned to Li Banfeng and said, "Husband, there's no need to dwell on this." Seeing his wife's confidence, Li Banfeng felt reassured. While Lotus certainly had her tricks, his wife seemed to have her own methods for handling them.

After resting for a day, Li Banfeng returned to the new territory. After the first phase of land development concluded, he worried that no one would be willing to participate in the second. Contrary to his expectations, many people joined the second phase. This was partly because Meng Yuchun was very generous, providing the developers with numerous local specialties. Another reason was the availability of food. Within Meng Yuchun's territory, there was a forest abundant with fruit trees bearing fist-sized, green-skinned, red-leafed fruits. These fruits were edible and had diverse flavors—some tasted like glutinous rice, others like naked oats, some like beef or lamb, and surprisingly, some even like toenails. In addition to the fruits, plenty of edible wild vegetables were found nearby, ensuring a good supply of both meat and greens. In the new territory, finding food was a significant challenge. For hunters, any place where food was available meant they could survive, and a little remoteness was tolerable.

It was certainly good that everyone was eager to develop the land. Seizing the opportunity, Li Banfeng explored the surrounding area for dozens of miles. He then saw Meng Yuchun standing in a flower bed, smiling and waving at him.

"Come on, quickly!"

Li Banfeng paused, wondering what could make her so delighted.

Meng Yuchun urged, "Hurry over before anyone sees us."

*No one seeing?*

*What was she planning?*

*Was she trying to rob him?*

Li Banfeng immediately became wary.

Meng Yuchun grew impatient. "Why aren't you coming?" she asked.

"First tell me, what do you want me to come for?" Li Banfeng replied.

"What else? I've been waiting for you for ages."

Li Banfeng found this even more inexplicable. "Why are you waiting for me?"

Meng Yuchun chided, "I've hinted so much, do you truly not understand?"

Li Banfeng genuinely didn't understand. "Just tell me directly what you want!"

Meng Yuchun sighed. "Such a dull person," she murmured. "Our meeting is destiny; do some things really need to be stated so explicitly?"

*"Our meeting is destiny?"*

That remark seemed rather ill-timed. Li Banfeng pulled down the brim of his hat and asked, "You don't recognize me?"

"I..."

Meng Yuchun froze. The smile vanished from her face, which slowly twisted into a sinister grimace.

This Meng Yuchun was an impostor. Who had impersonated her, and so convincingly?

They stood in silent confrontation for a moment, each waiting for the opportune moment to strike. Suddenly, a voice from nearby shouted, "Young man, don't be reckless! That's a Hurtful Fiend."

Li Banfeng turned his head and saw a man, around sixty years old, with disheveled grey hair and beard, wearing a mud-stained grey tunic. He was crouching in the tall grass, pressing his palm down as a signal for Li Banfeng to stay still.

*Who was this person?*

As he pondered, the fake Meng Yuchun on the hillside abruptly charged at Li Banfeng. Li Banfeng quickly retreated and dodged, intending to observe his opponent's moves. But before he could, the man who had been lurking stood up, pulled a bronze mirror from his tunic, and directed its light at the fake Meng Yuchun. The bronze mirror burst forth with light, engulfing the fake Meng Yuchun, who began to smoke and let out a bloodcurdling shriek.

The man turned to Li Banfeng and said, "Young man, you should leave first!"

As soon as he spoke, Li Banfeng's feet suddenly lifted off the ground. His body floated into the air and was directly propelled deep into the forest.

*What kind of spell was this?*

*How could it make him fly?*

*Was it the fake Meng Yuchun's spell, or the old man's?*

An invisible force supported Li Banfeng's body, rapidly carrying him forward. Li Banfeng repeatedly struggled and kicked, trying to disrupt the source of the force. After flying for more than two minutes, he finally broke free from the spell and landed back on the ground.

He looked back, but the fake Meng Yuchun was nowhere to be seen. Li Banfeng had no idea how far he had flown, but the speed of his flight seemed comparable to his full-speed sprint.

What exactly was going on?

Li Banfeng was completely bewildered when he suddenly saw the old man hurrying towards him, out of breath. "Young man, you're tenacious," the old man panted. "If you had taken one more step forward just now, I wouldn't have been able to save you!"

Li Banfeng looked at the old man, a perplexed expression on his face, and remained silent.

The old man chuckled. "I am the local guardian deity of the neighboring territory," he explained. "By rights, I shouldn't be here in Meng Yuchun's domain. However, Meng Yuchun has only recently become a guardian deity. There are rules she doesn't yet understand and dangers she hasn't encountered. The young woman is quite reckless by nature, and when that Hurtful Fiend disguised itself as her and came here to cause trouble, I worried she might make a mistake, so I came to check on things."

Li Banfeng still remained silent.

The old man said, "Are you frightened? Don't worry, that Hurtful Fiend knows its place. As long as I'm here, it won't dare to pursue you easily."

Li Banfeng blinked, gazing at the old man with a serious expression.

The old man moved two stones, placed them on the ground, and told Li Banfeng, "Don't worry, let's sit and talk." With that, the old man sat on one of the stones.

Li Banfeng did not sit; he continued to watch the old man.

The old man frowned. "What's wrong with you, child?" he asked. "You won't sit when I tell you to, and you won't answer my questions?"

"You don't recognize me?" Li Banfeng finally spoke.

The old man was startled. He scrutinized Li Banfeng, then tentatively asked, "Are you...?"

Li Banfeng frowned. "You really don't recognize me?" he pressed.

The old man's cheek twitched before a smile spread across his face. "You've seen me?" he chuckled. "Well then, no need for further explanation. I should probably get started now."

Li Banfeng pushed off with his toes and bolted!

The old man hovered in mid-air, pursuing him relentlessly.

*So fast! Was this old man also a journey cultivator?*

"The mountain path isn't easy; let me give you a walking stick!" The old man tossed a branch at Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng swiftly dodged, and the branch plunged into the ground, missing him.

The old man shouted again, "You're in such a hurry to leave; let me give you another boost!"

An unusual force surged from beneath his feet. This time, Li Banfeng, having learned his lesson, immediately employed the "Treading Through Ten Thousand Rivers" technique before his feet could leave the ground, utterly shattering the source of the force.

"You're running so hard; let me wipe your sweat!"

A gentle breeze swept over, drying the sweat from Li Banfeng's face.

"Stop!" the old man commanded, and Li Banfeng halted in place as if turned to stone. He simply stopped, his legs completely beyond his control.

The old man hovered before Li Banfeng, his expression stern. "Listen closely," he said. "You've received three offerings from me, and now it's time for me to claim my reward. Stand still; this is the first installment of my reward."

*What did he mean by that? What were these 'three offerings'? When had he ever received anything from this man?*

The old man first asked, "I'm going to ask you a few questions. This is the second installment of my reward, and you must answer truthfully. When did you say you recognized me?"

Li Banfeng didn't want to speak, but his mouth opened against his will. A breath passed through his throat. Despite Li Banfeng's desperate resistance, he spoke the truth:

"I don't recognize you. I was just asking if *you* recognized *me*."

The old man's cheek twitched again. "Clever boy, trying to trick me," he muttered. "I'll ask you one more thing: what's your relationship with Meng Yuchun?"

Again, Li Banfeng was forced to speak the truth. "I'm developing land in her territory," he stated. "Beyond that, there's no other relationship."

The old man nodded. "So you're of no use," he said. "Then there's no reason to keep you alive."

Li Banfeng's mind raced, trying to figure out how to escape with his life. With his legs paralyzed, he couldn't use his journey cultivation techniques. If he pulled out the key now, even if it could open the main gate, he couldn't move, so he wouldn't be able to return. He had to find a way to break the old man's technique, or he would simply await his death.

*What home cultivation techniques were available to him?*

*Should he try "Heart Returns Like An Arrow"?*

He tried, but his legs remained immobile.

*What about his magical artifacts? Could he have the projector create a helper?*

The projector was too slow; the helper might not even materialize before he was dead.

*Use a pistol? What if it misfired?*

*The Tang blade?*

This old man's cultivation was clearly far superior to his, by more than just one level. The Tang blade had limited combat power and was unlikely to harm him.

*What other magical artifacts could he use?*

The old man was contemplating how to kill Li Banfeng. "I'll burn you," he declared, "to save the trouble of collecting your corpse. This is the third installment of my reward, and you are forbidden from extinguishing the flames."

*Not allowed to extinguish the fire? So, if he said no, then it was truly no? It was very possible.*

He said he couldn't leave, and he couldn't. He was forced to tell the truth. This was his technique.

*If this technique was so powerful, why hadn't he used it sooner?*

*Three offerings?*

Offerings and rewards were reciprocal; this was a rule, a rule he had to obey.

Li Banfeng quickly lowered his head, wrapping his arms tightly around it.

*Could this really block fire?*

The old man scoffed, and a ball of flames instantly enveloped Li Banfeng. The flames clung to Li Banfeng's body, swirling around him. Li Banfeng's clothes remained unburnt, his magical artifacts were untouched, and even his hair showed no sign of scorching.

The old man was momentarily stunned, unsure what kind of technique this was. This was the sixth-level home cultivation technique: "Heart of a House"! By imagining himself as a portable dwelling, he could withstand fatal attacks. Since a portable dwelling was fireproof, Li Banfeng was invulnerable to flames!

The old man drew a short knife from his waist, intending to strike Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng shouted loudly, "Three offerings, three rewards! Are you trying to cheat me?"

*Was that considered taking advantage of him?*

The old man hesitated for a moment, then dispelled the flames, shaking his head. "I intended to burn you, but I failed. Thus, the reward hasn't been recovered, and I haven't taken advantage of you."

*Was he trying to reason with him? Why was he reasoning with him? If he didn't consider it taking advantage, he should just attack directly. Why bother explaining things?*

The old man's knife was about to descend. "Heart of a House" could only be used once. Li Banfeng had to find a way to parry.

The Tang blade leaped up, struggling to block the old man's short knife.

The old man roared, "No resistance!"

The Tang blade clattered to the ground.

*Even his magical artifacts were under the old man's control?*

The wine gourd leaped up, aiming to spray wine into the old man's eyes. The old man shouted, "The third installment of my reward hasn't been returned yet, so you are forbidden from retaliating!"

The wine gourd truly could not spray wine.

*What kind of Daoist sect was this? Its techniques were so formidable? If he possessed such powerful techniques and such speed, why was he still trying to kill with a knife? He surely had a weakness. But where?*

Li Banfeng suddenly felt something vibrating in his embrace; his pocket watch was constantly moving.

*Mengde? What did she intend to do?*

Li Banfeng pulled the watch stem, and a calendar card swiftly unfolded before him.

Just as the short knife was about to descend, Mengde roared, "You shameless old man, where did you get these 'three offerings' from?"

The old man was startled, then chuckled. "What's there to ask about that?"

Mengde retorted, "If you don't clarify things, what reward are you claiming?"

Li Banfeng suddenly felt his legs loosen slightly. This meant the old man's technique was weakening.

*Reason! He had to be reasoned with! Reasoning was the key!*

The old man nodded. "Very well," he said. "I'll clarify the three offerings. He almost encountered a Hurtful Fiend, and I saved his life. That's one offering. When he ran away, I used my technique to propel him along. That's the second offering. He was drenched in sweat from running, and I wiped his sweat away. That's the third offering. I've made it clear now. What else do you have to say?"

Mengde remained silent, temporarily unable to think of a rebuttal. The three offerings had indeed been stated clearly.

His previously loosened legs tightened once more; the old man's technique had been reinforced. The old man raised his knife again. Li Banfeng suddenly shouted, "Was what I encountered truly a Hurtful Fiend?"

The old man remained silent for a moment, not answering.

Mengde yelled, "You shameless old scoundrel! You lie and deceive people, yet you dare to demand a reward!"

A Virtue Cultivation technique: "Seeing Virtue, Striving for Alignment."

The old man felt a pang of guilt. What Li Banfeng had encountered earlier was not a Hurtful Fiend.

Li Banfeng tested his knees; his right leg could move!

The old man's arm trembled slightly; he was suffering a backlash from some force.

*Could such a good thing really exist?*