Chapter 315: Husband, You Don’t Want to Undergo the Tribulation Either

Five minutes later, Li Banfeng, feeling invigorated, asked the phonograph, "My dear, please speak slowly."

The phonograph sobbed, "What is there to say, you shameless madman? You've had your pleasure; what more could I possibly tell you?"

"My dear, please just tell me," Li Banfeng said, touching the front cabinet door.

"Don't touch my belly; I ate too much today!"

"My dear, please tell me," Li Banfeng said, touching the back cabinet door.

"Don't touch my peaches either; they're hurting!" the phonograph sang huffily, in a slow tempo. "Since you, my husband, have some dealings with the local deities, do you know that moving from level nine to ten requires transcending a tribulation?"

"I know that," Li Banfeng replied.

"My husband, do you know that transcending a tribulation is an opportunity fraught with extreme peril?"

"I know that too."

"My husband, do you know that even if you succeed in transcending the tribulation, you still have to go to Neizhou to endure hardship?"

"I know that as well."

"My husband, do you wish to suffer?"

"Naturally, I don't."

"My husband, do you know there's a way to avoid the tribulation?"

"I've heard of two methods: one is to steal, and the other is to snatch."

The phonograph scoffed, "Such acts of stealing and snatching are truly beneath me."

Li Banfeng nodded. "My dear, do you have another method?" he asked.

"Oh, my husband," the phonograph exclaimed, "just now I heard that old woman say she is willing to give you the position of the local deity."

Li Banfeng nodded vigorously. "I heard that too," he said.

"Since she's offered it, it would be a bit heartless if we didn't accept it."

"Exactly, we can't let the old woman feel disheartened," Li Banfeng said, patting the back cabinet door.

"Stop patting my peaches! Didn't I tell you they hurt?" The phonograph's tone softened. "My husband, if you take the local deity's contract, it's equivalent to acquiring the position of the local deity."

"With that position, you can bypass the tribulation, jumping directly from the ninth ground level to the first cloud level. Once there, you can cultivate using the methods of the cloud realm."

"However, this opportunity has come a bit early, and you might not be able to bear it. I didn't dare tell you these things before precisely because I was afraid you would act rashly."

"It's not early; it's precisely the right time," Li Banfeng said, touching the phonograph's horn.

"Oh, my husband, it really is early. Seizing a position forcefully carries risks. To jump from the ninth level to the first cloud level, you must have a strong physique, though that can be slowly refined."

"But you are only at the sixth level, and you might not be able to hold onto the local deity's position. You just heard that local deities will fight each other to extend their lives. If one sets their sights on you, my husband, how will you respond?"

What the phonograph said was indeed true.

Although Li Banfeng had experienced two wars between local deities, he still lacked the strength to directly confront one.

The conduct of some local deities was comparable to the customs of Lanyang Village, making it an extremely difficult task to defend one's territory.

"But such a good opportunity cannot be missed," he said. At this point, convincing Li Banfeng to give up was practically impossible. "The price for this deal hasn't been discussed yet. I'll talk it over with Meng Yuchun; there should still be a way. First, let's find that old hag's contract."

"My husband, after you find the contract, please let me see it first. There are some things inside that need to be dealt with."

Leaving the Portable Abode, Li Banfeng put away the key and walked out of the cave. He saw Meng Yuchun circling on the rock face.

"Li Qi!" She had finally found him.

Balong Lord had entered Li Banfeng's cave, and Meng Yuchun had immediately followed.

But after entering, she had seen neither Li Qi nor Balong Lord.

She suspected Balong Lord had used wall-piercing magic to take Li Qi outside the mountain.

Yet she had set up layers of boundaries around the cave. Logically, Balong Lord would lose her life if she passed through two more layers. But if Balong Lord died on the boundary, could Li Qi still survive?

Should she first remove the boundaries, let them out, and save Li Qi's life?

This was nonsense. If Li Qi were captured by Balong Lord, he wouldn't survive anyway.

Balong Lord likely wouldn't force her way through the boundaries; she was probably hiding somewhere inside the cave.

Meng Yuchun searched, agonizing over her dilemma, when unexpectedly, Li Banfeng simply walked out by himself.

Meng Yuchun was both surprised and delighted. "Li Qi, how did you escape? Where's Balong Lord?"

This matter was difficult to explain, so Li Banfeng simply decided not to. "Balong Lord had something to do and left," he said.

"Left?" Meng Yuchun didn't quite understand.

Li Banfeng asked, "Are her subordinate strange creatures still alive?"

"They're all here." In a corner of the cave, Meng Yuchun had drawn a circle with boundaries, enclosing all the strange creatures within it.

Li Banfeng praised, "This technique is truly effective! What level of House Cultivator technique is this?"

Meng Yuchun playfully chided, "How can I tell others this so casually? If you say this is part of the deal's price, then I might tell you."

Li Banfeng shook his head. "Let's not talk about this for now. Let's find a place to discuss the price."

Meng Yuchun led Li Banfeng to her dwelling. Just as before, Li Banfeng only stood at the entrance and didn't go in.

"The price I'm offering is Balong Lord's territory. Do you agree?"

Meng Yuchun didn't understand. "Balong Lord's territory? Is that something I can decide? Where is Balong Lord?"

"Don't worry about where she is; she has already agreed to this."

Meng Yuchun looked at Li Qi in surprise. Even if House Cultivators were somewhat dull, she understood the implication of his words.

"Balong Lord is dead? Died by your hand?"

Li Banfeng nodded slightly.

"How could that be..." Meng Yuchun was dumbfounded.

"You don't believe me?"

"I've seen you clear wilderness. Your cultivation isn't low, but you're still at the ground level. How could you possibly have killed Balong Lord?"

Li Banfeng smiled slightly. "I was hiding my true abilities then."

Meng Yuchun blinked. "You hid them for three whole days?" she asked.

Li Banfeng pulled down the brim of his hat. "I hid it very well."

Meng Yuchun looked bewildered; she still couldn't believe it.

Li Banfeng said, "Whether you believe it or not, Balong Lord is dead. I want her territory, but I don't want anyone else to know about this. I want to use your name to claim her territory and count it as the price for this deal. Do you agree?"

It took Meng Yuchun a long time to understand Li Banfeng's meaning. "You mean you want to put this territory under my name?"

Li Banfeng nodded.

Meng Yuchun shook her head repeatedly. "How can that work? How can an ordinary local deity occupy two territories? What would the other local deities think?"

"The other local deities have always wanted to deal with you because you're too easy to bully."

"As for what they'll think in the future, you don't need to concern yourself. They won't bother you anymore because they'll be afraid of you."

"They'll believe I killed Balong Lord?"

"Balong Lord was trying to kill you first. When it came down to a life-or-death situation, it was only natural for you to kill her."

"If they don't believe it, they can certainly challenge you to a fight, but I'm sure they won't dare."

Li Banfeng wasn't deceiving Meng Yuchun; this was indeed the best way to deal with the other local deities.

Balong Lord came, and Balong Lord died.

If anyone else dares to come, they'll face the same fate!

Meng Yuchun pondered for a long time, then sighed. "To be honest," she said, "I still can't quite grasp this matter, and I'm not really brave enough to do it."

"But I owe you. If it weren't for you today, I would surely have died by Balong Lord's hand."

"It's my life either way, so I agree to this."

"Good! Let's go find Balong Lord's contract first."

Meng Yuchun led Li Banfeng to a group of wandering strange creatures. Xizhao Lady lay among them, seemingly dead.

Li Banfeng looked for a moment, then said to Meng Yuchun, "This one is already dead. Burn him and destroy the evidence."

Xizhao Lady immediately opened his eyes, pleading with tears, "Please spare my life, both of you. I didn't intentionally provoke you; I was deceived by Fengqu Weng. He forced me to come!"

Li Banfeng had Meng Yuchun open an exit in the boundary and released Xizhao Lady.

Xizhao Lady hugged his shoulders tightly, trembling all over, perfectly displaying the helplessness of a frail woman.

Li Banfeng asked very seriously, "How did Fengqu Weng deceive you?"

Xizhao Lady tearfully recounted, "I met him while wandering in the wilderness and unintentionally accepted his offering. He desired my body, and I couldn't resist him, nor could I refuse, so I became his temporary spouse and even bore him a child."

Li Banfeng said in surprise, "You even bore him a child?"

Meng Yuchun explained from the side, "It's common for strange creatures to marry and have children."

Xizhao Lady cried, "Please, both of you, be lenient and spare my life—not just for my own sake, but also for my poor, unfortunate child."

His words were so impactful that even Meng Yuchun felt a little soft-hearted.

Xizhao Lady cried so sorrowfully that the surrounding strange creatures all began to shed tears too.

Li Banfeng wiped his tears, then kicked Xizhao Lady over. "A child, you say? You're a man; how could you give birth to a child!"

"A man?" Meng Yuchun looked at Li Banfeng in surprise. "This... Xizhao Lady... is a man?"

"It's not that this particular Xizhao Lady is a man; it's that all Xizhao Ladies are men. They are a special type of wandering strange creature who are not only drama cultivators but also pleasure cultivators."

"Affected by the New Land, all Xizhao Ladies can only disguise themselves as women. They all share a common habit: to deceive other women while disguised as women."

"First, they gain a woman's trust, then they trick their way into her bed. Because they are pleasure cultivators, they have countless methods in bed, and even if a woman realizes she's been deceived, most won't resist."

Li Banfeng displayed his erudite side. Even in the New Land, very few people knew the true nature of Xizhao Ladies.

The strange creatures present, including two wandering strange creatures, had never heard the name "Xizhao Lady," much less knew their habits. They all regarded Xizhao Lady as a high-level drama cultivator.

Even Xizhao Lady himself was surprised that the man before him actually knew his true background.

Actually, this knowledge had just been taught by his dear wife.

Meng Yuchun stepped forward and kicked Xizhao Lady twice. "Where's Xiao Die?" she demanded.

Xizhao Lady no longer dared to feign pity. He got up and honestly replied, "Xiao Die went to a mountain southwest to form a cocoon and pupate."

"She told me the temperaments and habits of the people around her, but she refused to tell me your whereabouts. That's why I disguised myself as her and followed Red Butterfly and Yellow Butterfly to deliver wine, taking the opportunity to scout ahead."

Meng Yuchun wanted to find Xiao Die to get a clear explanation, but Li Banfeng reminded her not to rush; there were more pressing matters at hand.

Li Banfeng asked Xizhao Lady, "Do you know where Balong Lord's dwelling is?"

Xizhao Lady nodded. "I'll take you there."

Li Banfeng and Meng Yuchun followed Xizhao Lady to Balong Lord's territory. When they arrived at a cliff face, Xizhao Lady said, "Two heroes, Balong Lord lives inside this cliff."

"Where's the entrance?"

Xizhao Lady shook his head. "This cliff face itself is the entrance. Balong Lord's ghost fire can pass in and out of the stone."

Li Banfeng asked, "Has no one ever entered Balong Lord's dwelling?"

"I've seen people go in, but I haven't seen anyone come out."

"Then how did they get in?"

"They went in by following Balong Lord through the wall. I don't know what kind of spell they used."

Li Banfeng stared at the cliff face, pondering how to get in.

There were only two methods. One was to cut a path, which was the safest method.

However, the technique of cutting a path caused a lot of commotion. With Li Banfeng's current cultivation, carving an entrance into such a hard rock face would also take a long time.

If he really did that, the matter of Li Banfeng digging for the contract would be exposed, and concealing it again in the future would not be so easy.

The other method was unhindered passage, also known as wall-piercing magic.

Unhindered passage was very discreet. The key was not knowing how thick the wall was. Li Banfeng had sixth-level cultivation and had received guidance from Grandfather Train, so passing through a wall tens of meters thick would not be a problem.

But this was a large mountain. If the thickness reached three to five li, Li Banfeng would likely be trapped in the rock.

If the unhindered passage technique failed, the consequences would be very severe.

Was there no other way?