Chapter 322: Repairing Hundred Blades

Behind Xiaoyao Dock is a cluster of warehouses. Most of them have fallen into disrepair over the years and are now abandoned. I heard Ma Wu intended to build a restaurant there, but construction has yet to begin. My spies have seen Ling Miaoying there more than once. Initially, I thought he was going there to deal with Li Qi, but it now appears he frequents those warehouses. This makes me suspect that Ling Miaoying might be colluding with Li Qi.

As he spoke, Wan JinXian watched Tu Yinghong’s reaction. If she had jumped to Ling Miaoying's defense, it would have proven she had genuine feelings for him. However, Tu Yinghong remained very calm, which confirmed He Jiaqing's suspicion: Tu Yinghong repeatedly targeted Xiaoyao Dock for a specific item.

Tu Yinghong lit a cigarette and looked at Wan JinXian. "What's the point of telling me this? I don't believe Miaoying is colluding with Li Qi. I'd like to confront him directly and get to the bottom of it, but I can't even leave this building."

"You're right, you can't leave because I won't let you. I'm just telling you this information." With that, Wan JinXian departed.

The porcelain vase hovered in mid-air, emitting heat waves that enveloped the surrounding tens of meters, leaving Li Banfeng nowhere to hide.

Strange, it didn't look like a bullet; it seemed more like buckshot.

Ling Miaoying's pistol was incredibly powerful, but Tu Yinghong was wearing heavy armor this time. Although it slowed her movements, it could withstand Ling Miaoying's bullets.

The person inside wasn't Ling Miaoying; it was Li Qi!

He was a Traveler Cultivator; how could he have evaded the hairpin's scrutiny?

Tu Yinghong never imagined that Li Banfeng was also a high-level Dwelling Cultivator, possessing the 'ignored' characteristic, which allowed him to evade reconnaissance spirit items of the same level when fully prepared.

She had just revealed her malice, and Li Qi had sensed it.

She pulled out more than a dozen items, piecing them together to form a full suit of armor.

In a blur, Li Qi suddenly vanished.

The blurred vision was due to excessive blood loss.

It was real money.

Although he couldn't see Tu Yinghong, Li Banfeng pinpointed her location by the sound of gravel hitting the armor.

He managed to withstand the blow, but Li Banfeng lost the initiative.

She tried to pull out the pendulum, but it was lodged tightly in the armor. The armor could self-heal, but it couldn't split open on its own.

But she had to wear it today; it was time to fight for her life.

This was a reconnaissance spirit item. To deal with Ling Miaoying, she absolutely needed this.

Li Banfeng was at a disadvantage.

Wan JinXian was startled, never expecting Li Qi to be the one to win in the end.

But as long as she could defend against "Glimpse," Tu Yinghong wasn't worried about Li Qi's other techniques. Even if Li Banfeng used "Breaking Through Ten Thousand Rivers" again, this armor could definitely withstand it.

When she saw Li Qi at the cinema, she lost this pair of iron rulers.

Tu Yinghong was shocked; this was the Traveler Cultivator's "Breaking Through Ten Thousand Rivers" technique!

The puppet unfurled its coiled body and stood on the ground, similar in height to Tu Yinghong.

No matter the cost, she had to get the iron rulers back.

Li Banfeng dodged the flames, stepped forward, and used his scythe to hack the cloak to pieces.

According to Tu Yinghong's strategy, if the puppet pushed open the door, Ling Miaoying would attack it first.

Tu Yinghong sat in the room, deep in thought.

Wan JinXian observed the situation. Tu Yinghong had dropped many good weapons, and Li Qi would surely try to pick them up. This was the perfect moment to capture Li Qi alive.

As her hand touched the door, there was a deafening roar. The door shattered, and the puppet broke apart with it, sending a pile of splinters crashing into Tu Yinghong.

The porcelain vase sprayed a wave of heat towards Li Banfeng. He dodged it, and the heat wafted over the warehouse behind him, immediately setting it on fire.

A porcelain vase flew out of Tu Yinghong's sleeve, neatly collecting all the tea.

The glove was particularly active tonight.

This person clearly wasn't blind, so why did he insist on carrying a blind man's cane?

He knew Tu Yinghong would launch a night raid. In the morning, he slept at Suishen Residence; in the afternoon, he gathered information in Lushui City, completing his Traveler Cultivation practice. By nightfall, he had been guarding the warehouse.

As she pondered, Tu Yinghong fumbled along the corridor wall and quickly found a hidden door.

Craftsman Cultivators feared being caught off guard the most; their adaptability wasn't strong.

She could lose anything else, but she absolutely could not lose this pair of iron rulers!

Her throat was itchy, her chest felt tight, and a gentle breath sent shivers through her whole body.

Wan JinXian must have his own agenda for telling me this.

Li Banfeng wasn't flustered; he leaped back and forth among the threads while simultaneously dodging the surrounding weapons.

Ready, the puppet reached out to push the door.

There's a saying on the battlefield: "A Craftsman Cultivator with a hundred blades."

Once she started coughing, she couldn't stop.

Long spears, short knives, meteor hammers—dozens of weapons flew out from Tu Yinghong's sleeves, encircling and attacking Li Banfeng.

Her throat felt salty from coughing, and blood continued to trickle from the corners of her mouth.

Lucky today.

How did she suddenly get sick?

Wasn't today pretty good? Someone even gave me a hundred yuan. Isn't that nice?

But Tu Yinghong had never let him touch the iron rulers; they were treasures she had acquired at a very high cost.

Tu Yinghong listened carefully at the door, but the hairpin couldn't detect how many people were inside the room.

Why couldn't it detect them?

Tu Yinghong suspected Wan JinXian's motives, but she had no other choice.

Covered by the gauze garment, her body gradually became transparent, and after a minute, she completely vanished.

At this moment, Li Banfeng's figure flickered back and forth before her eyes. If Tu Yinghong was even slightly careless, she would die from "Glimpse."

Seizing this opportunity, Tu Yinghong would capture Ling Miaoying directly.

Tu Yinghong had also made specific preparations for Li Qi. The best way to deal with a Traveler Cultivator was to control their movements.

Outside the Shadowplay Building, Wan JinXian stood motionless, gripping a blind man's cane.

She also took out a fishing net from her cloth bag; this was specifically prepared for Li Qi.

What's wrong?

Am I sick?

The crack was still half a foot long. As Tang Dao pulled out, the pendulum immediately followed, striking Tu Yinghong's body before the armor could heal.

Traveler Cultivators were fast, but Wan JinXian's pace wasn't slow either. He had driven a nail into his heel—a magical artifact refined from the soul of an eighth-level Traveler Cultivator—which was enough for him to catch up to Li Qi.

No matter how Ling Miaoying prepared, Tu Yinghong was certain he couldn't escape her grasp.

Tu Yinghong's hairpin also had a sensing ability; she observed footprints outside the room door.

Tu Yinghong hadn't worn this armor for a long time because it was very heavy.

She repeatedly thanked Wan JinXian, but he had already walked far away.

The bait had been cast; he knew Tu Yinghong would definitely come.

Why would he collude with Li Qi?

Tu Yinghong slipped into the hidden door, and as her chest armor touched, a layer of gauze appeared over her body.

The old woman sat by the garbage heap, clutching her chest and coughing incessantly.

Li Qi took my iron rulers, and Ling Miaoying knows how to use them. They might have formed some kind of cooperation to do something with my iron rulers.

Tu Yinghong had nearly exhausted her methods.

Was it stolen by Li Qi again?

Is he a Traveler Cultivator or a Thief Cultivator?

She took out a hairpin from her cloth bag.

She took a cloth bag from her skirt, rummaged inside for a moment, and pulled out an iron elbow guard.

Tu Yinghong pulled out a needlework box from her sleeve. Over a dozen spools of thread darted back and forth on the ground. If Li Banfeng were to trip even once, he would be wounded by the weapons.

Li Banfeng wasn't truly afraid of this move. He was used to being scalded by his wife. Thinking of a steam train, he used his "Thick Dweller Heart" technique and endured the attack directly.

But a hundred yuan was not a small sum for her. Even if someone treated her like a beggar, she still wanted to accept the money.

The battle must end quickly!

Tu Yinghong prepared to unleash all her remaining weapons when she suddenly heard Li Qi repeatedly shout, "Huu ya ya ya!"

As the battle raged intensely, Tu Yinghong, who had the upper hand, suddenly found her vision blurring.

There's someone in this warehouse.

Now that the out-of-state person is gone, should his spell be lifted?

What do they want to do?

Tu Yinghong emerged from the rain well outside the Shadowplay Building. Wan JinXian couldn't see her, but he could determine her direction of departure by her footsteps.

This was within Tu Yinghong's expectations.

Danger was approaching; her "Seeking Fortune, Avoiding Calamity" technique was warning her.

Ling Miaoying was a seventh-level Reconnaissance Cultivator. He had heard the commotion, concealed his aura, and prepared himself, so the hairpin couldn't sense him.

Li Banfeng used "Small Steps" again, trying to evade Tu Yinghong's sight.

Tu Yinghong revealed herself, and Tang Dao seized the opportunity to slash down at her back.

She pulled a cloak from her sleeve, and the cloak reflected the flames back onto Li Banfeng.

The strategy must change!

It would be better if he won; it would save him the trouble of snatching the person from Tu Yinghong again.

The most urgent task now was to ensnare Li Qi with the fishing net.

Perhaps the Red Lotus was no longer as important to He Jiaqing, but it was extremely important to Wan JinXian. He was quite old, yet his cultivation was still only at the seventh level.

He had expected to wait a few more days, but unexpectedly, she came tonight.

Are their feelings that deep?

After checking all his magical artifacts and weapons, Li Banfeng softly instructed, "Everyone, we've had a good feast lately, and our skills have improved. Tonight, let's finish this quickly; no one should hold us back."

Countless stones and dirt flew towards her, clanking loudly as they struck the armor.

The blood-absorbing pendulum, stuck in the armor, had been draining blood. Because it caused almost no pain, Tu Yinghong had overlooked it.

Regardless of who won or lost, he would be the one to reap the benefits.

Tu Yinghong was intimately familiar with all of Ling Miaoying's combat techniques, including his weapons and spirit items. She was confident she could capture him alive.

Wan JinXian smiled at the old woman, took a hundred-yuan Huan Kingdom banknote from his pocket, and handed it to her.

But Tang Dao was no longer what it used to be. After consuming so many good things with Li Banfeng, it was far beyond its previous level. With one strike, it cleaved an opening over half a foot long in the armor.

What could be worth Ling Miaoying abandoning his family business and even faking his own death for?

Did they know the origin of the iron rulers?

The more Tu Yinghong thought about it, the more anxious she became.

If it was Li Qi, she needed to prepare for a fierce battle. Traveler Cultivators were fast, so she couldn't be overwhelmed by a single attack. She had to prolong the fight and prevent Li Qi from escaping.

According to Tu Yinghong's judgment, there should only be Ling Miaoying in the room.

The dust from the garbage heap was heavy, and the old woman inadvertently coughed a couple of times.

She definitely had to capture Li Qi tonight. Capturing him would be equivalent to obtaining the Red Lotus.

Tu Yinghong was startled, thinking Ling Miaoying had fired.

Are he and Li Qi working together to deceive me?

Li Banfeng pressed his palm down, signaling all magical artifacts to quiet down.

Later, she went with Ling Miaoying to Xiaoyao Dock to search for Li Qi, and both disappeared.

Her eyes fixed on Li Banfeng, Tu Yinghong fumbled for the fishing net in her sleeve.

Standing in the corridor, she could clearly see the guards in front of the building's entrance.

But once they established their footing and fought move by move, Craftsman Cultivators would unleash an endless array of excellent weapons. The longer the stalemate, the more perilous it became for Li Banfeng.

The glove patted the projector's casing. "You fool! Xiaoyao Dock has spies, and we haven't found out who they are yet. At a time like this, we absolutely cannot let any information leak, or we'll suffer a great loss."

He wants to clear up the matter between Ling Miaoying and Li Qi but doesn't want to get involved himself, so he wants me to act on his behalf?

So, I'm being used by him...

Tu Yinghong, whose vision was already blurring, now lost her hairpin, and her sight couldn't keep up with Li Qi's movements.

Tu Yinghong looked out the window, pondering what Wan JinXian had just said.

The phonograph had warned Li Banfeng never to get into a stalemate with a Craftsman Cultivator.

The projector spoke, "Director Qi, Tu Yinghong is no ordinary person. To be safe, it's better to call for more help."

How many people are there?

If there's only one, it depends on whether it's Li Qi or Ling Miaoying.

Damn it, Glimpse!

Tu Yinghong was greatly alarmed, but it was too late. Her head suddenly exploded, sending brains and blood splattering everywhere.

Wan JinXian watched the battle from a distance, a smile curving his lips.

Li Banfeng swung his scythe, hacking horizontally and vertically, tearing Tu Yinghong's invisibility cloak into shreds.

The pendulum, enduring intense pain, began to draw blood.

The armor closed, firmly clamping down on the blood-absorbing pendulum.

The old teapot flew in mid-air, splashing tea towards Tu Yinghong.

She carefully put the money into her pocket and continued picking up trash.

How could such a large puppet be stored in a sleeve?

This was a technique of high-level Craftsman Cultivators.

He couldn't afford to be inactive. If he couldn't kill Tu Yinghong quickly, his theft of the iron rulers would likely be exposed.

After chasing for dozens of meters, Li Qi disappeared.

He Jiaqing always said the Red Lotus would soon be acquired, but Wan JinXian didn't want to wait anymore.

In this situation, Tu Yinghong would choose to retreat. Fighting two opponents, she would have virtually no chance of winning.

Was she truly here to avenge Ling Miaoying?

Having gathered all her weapons and spirit items, Tu Yinghong quietly left her room.

Ling Miaoying had shown interest in the iron rulers more than once. The Shadowplay Building's ability to move relied entirely on them.

Wan JinXian frowned, realizing the problem.

The heavy armor Tu Yinghong wore was the culmination of much of her effort. An earlier version of Tang Dao would not only fail to cut through the armor but might even chip its blade.

Now that I have money, I can eat something good today...

The problem now was how to cast the fishing net.

The hairpin on Tu Yinghong's head snapped. Li Banfeng's shouts were extremely damaging to reconnaissance spirit items.

Now it was time to rely on the fishing net!

If she could successfully cast the fishing net over Li Qi, her strategy would be seventy percent successful.

An old woman picking up trash nearby stared at Wan JinXian for a long time.

At one AM, Li Banfeng shivered in the warehouse.

Was it for my iron rulers?

Is he deceiving me?

Li Banfeng gave Tu Yinghong no chance to catch her breath.

He watched Tu Yinghong and quickly burst out of the warehouse.

Tu Yinghong dared not be careless in the slightest, keeping her gaze constantly fixed on Li Banfeng.

She opened the hidden compartment on her sleeve and carefully tucked various weapons and magical artifacts into it, one by one.

While Tu Yinghong fumbled for the fishing net, the wine gourd flew up and sprayed a mist of alcohol towards her.

Tu Yinghong actually blocked it.

After the elbow guard came the knee guards, followed by shoulder pads, an iron helmet, a breastplate...

The old woman froze, wanting to say she wasn't a beggar.

This blind man's cane was a reconnaissance spirit item. Through it, Wan JinXian clearly heard Tu Yinghong's footsteps.

Less than ten minutes later, the earring whispered in his ear, "Master, I hear footsteps."

The old woman held the Huan Kingdom banknote, examining it carefully several times.

Tu Yinghong had no time to worry about such a minor injury.

But ever since that person from out of state arrived, all the exits had become undetectable.

The armor cracked, but Tu Yinghong wasn't flustered. Tang Dao was stuck in the opening, unable to exert force, only causing her a superficial wound.

Tu Yinghong first tugged at her collar, making herself invisible.

The old woman collapsed into the garbage heap and, after a series of violent coughs, stopped breathing.

Li Banfeng struck a match and flicked it with a single finger. He wanted to see if Tu Yinghong's armor could withstand the flames.

Tu Yinghong stared intently at Li Banfeng, not daring to be distracted in the slightest, fearing he would use "Glimpse."

Tu Yinghong's hairpin constantly monitored Li Banfeng's movements, helping her keep her gaze fixed on him.

If both were present, it would prove that Ling Miaoying and Li Qi were indeed colluding.

These guards alone couldn't stop Tu Yinghong, because the building had more than one exit, and some were known only to her.

But he surely wouldn't expect that once I'm out, he'll never find me again.

She pulled another puppet from her left sleeve.

Where's the fishing net?

Tu Yinghong fumbled for a long time but found that the fishing net was gone.

Found it, really found it!

Wan JinXian truly intended to let me out on purpose!

Unexpectedly, Li Qi didn't pick up the weapons. He hoisted Tu Yinghong's corpse and suddenly fled.

Footsteps gradually approached and stopped outside the door.

The armor actually healed?

Tang Dao didn't hesitate and immediately chopped down with a second blow.

The battle reached a stalemate, gradually turning in Tu Yinghong's favor.

Tang Dao withdrew its blade and struck the same spot a second time, only to find that the wound previously cut into the armor had vanished.

Where did it go?

Without even seeing a shadow, how could he run so fast?