Chapter 437: Passing Three Barriers

Qiu Luoye looked at Li Banfeng's back. Two wounds were still bleeding. He called for Tiger and asked him to get some medicine for Li Banfeng's wounds.

Li Banfeng shook his head and said, "No need for medicine, I'll be fine soon."

"You should at least bandage it."

"No, this blood is fresh; it shouldn't be wasted." Li Banfeng placed the pendulum on his back.

Seeing that Li Banfeng's bleeding had stopped, Qiu Luoye smiled and said, "Shall we have a couple of drinks?"

"Alright!"

Qiu Luoye looked at He Yuxiu. "Are you Old Seven's sweetheart?"

He Yuxiu blushed slightly. "If you say so, then I am."

Qiu Luoye praised her, "This is good; one look at her physique, and you can tell she'd be a good childbearer."

He Yuxiu looked at Li Banfeng with a hint of pride. "See? Brother Qiu says so too."

Qiu Luoye then looked at Chu Er. "I didn't think much of you before, but today, you seem alright. You've got guts."

"I don't," Chu Er shook his head shyly.

Qiu Luoye called out to the group of three-headed people, "Everyone, if you're injured, come to me for treatment; I have excellent medicine. For those not injured, let's have a drink together. I have plenty of good wine. I admit, I was a bit too cautious with you all before, and that was wrong of Old Qiu. We are all fellow disciples, so let's drink to our hearts' content today!"

Fellow disciples? In truth, the three-headed people were failed cultivation practitioners, but Juanzi had never heard other cultivators refer to them as fellow disciples.

Everyone paused for a moment and looked at Li Qi.

Li Qi smiled. "Not enough wine, right? I'll have someone bring more from down the mountain!"

Qiu Luoye brought out all the good wine he had saved over the years. The three-headed people went home and brought back plenty of drinks and dishes. Learning that Li Qi was fine, Ma Wu was overjoyed and ordered people to send wine up from down the mountain.

They set up tables in the forest, clinking glasses and drinking and eating heartily.

Since reaching the tenth level, Qiu Luoye had never had a proper New Year's celebration. This New Year was celebrated well, but it might also be his last.

Mengzi toasted Qiu Luoye, and Qiu Luoye downed it in one gulp. Juanzi toasted again, and Qiu Luoye downed it again. Xiaoshan toasted again, but Qiu Luoye couldn't drink anymore. "Children can drink this much too? Drinking with you all is unreasonable; it's three against one!"

Watching Qiu Luoye stumble, Li Banfeng frowned slightly.

He Yuxiu whispered, "Chu Shaoqiang was driven off, but the deed is still in Neizhou's hands. Old Qiu probably won't get past this. For Neizhou to hold the deed is to hold his life. Your sister, I..."

"It's younger sister."

He Yuxiu coughed, looked around to ensure no one was listening, and continued, "Little sister here isn't in a hurry to advance precisely because I don't want to be a servant in Neizhou."

Li Banfeng put down his wine bowl and sighed, "Is there no other way?"

He Yuxiu shook her head. "I can't think of anything. Why don't you go ask your sweetheart?"

"Which one..."

She was referring to Xiao Yeci.

Li Banfeng actually went to ask. Xiao Yeci had indeed read many books recently, but there was very little information about deeds. He couldn't rely on Xiao Yeci for this; he had to ask his wife.

Li Banfeng found an opportunity to return to his portable residence and explained the whole situation to the gramophone.

"My dear wife, I truly can't understand this. Qiu Luoye has two deeds. Even if Neizhou destroyed one, Brother Qiu shouldn't have lost his standing, let alone be injured like this."

The gramophone said, "My dear husband, was Qiu Luoye's first deed given by Neizhou, or did he seize it from someone else?"

"It was given by Neizhou. Qiu Luoye is a local deity appointed by Neizhou."

"That makes it difficult."

Li Banfeng asked, "What's the difference between a deed given by Neizhou and one seized from someone else?"

"As far as this humble servant knows, deeds created by Neizhou contain a part of the cultivator's flesh and bone, infused with a curse. What specific curse it is, this humble servant does not know. I have only heard rumors that if a local deity appointed by Neizhou disobeys their orders, Neizhou will destroy their deed, and the local deity will die due to the curse."

Li Banfeng was silent for a moment, then said, "From the ninth level to the tenth, one goes to Neizhou to be a dog. Upon reaching the first level of the clouds, one is sent to new territories. After gaining enough popularity in the new territory and reaching the main territory, Neizhou comes to reap the rewards. Even if one seizes a deed, it's useless because the curse still follows. My dear wife, once someone takes the path through Neizhou, do they never get a chance to turn their life around?"

His wife sighed, "Husband, local deities who have come from Neizhou dare not even mention Neizhou. They are truly terrified. Neizhou can take their lives just by tampering with the deed. Qiu Luoye is still alive; his deed hasn't been completely destroyed, but it must have been partially damaged by Neizhou, which is why he's so severely injured."

Li Banfeng thought of an idea. "I'll go dig out Brother Qiu's deed now. If we can find a way to repair it, Brother Qiu's injuries will heal."

"My dear husband, you can't just dig that out easily. It will cause him to lose cultivation. He's already severely injured; if he loses cultivation and can't recover it, he'll truly die."

Li Banfeng couldn't understand. "He has Lady Wuqin's deed. Why would he still lose cultivation?"

"Deeds have a primary and secondary order. A deed seized from Puluozhou only requires spilled blood. However, a deed from Neizhou not only has blood but also bone and flesh, making its connection with the local deity much deeper. If you were to dig out Qiu Luoye's Neizhou deed now, his cultivation would definitely drop first. He might be able to recover it with the seized deed, but if he can't, and considering his severe injuries, he would likely be annihilated."

Two possibilities: one, he could recover; the other, he would die instantly.

"Is there a good chance of recovery?"

His wife said, "Under normal circumstances, there's less than a ten percent chance. More importantly, doing this would be useless. Husband, even if you dig out Qiu Luoye's deed now and repair it, it won't help. The two parts of the deed are connected. If this part of the deed is repaired, Neizhou will see it and inevitably damage it again. While we expend immense effort repairing it, they can destroy it with minimal effort. This would be like healing Qiu Luoye's wounds only for them to torment him again, repeatedly, making him suffer for nothing."

This line of thought was flawed from the start.

"My dear wife, is there any other way?"

The gramophone recalled for a long time. "This humble servant once heard a rumor: a local deity, unwilling to be manipulated by Neizhou, gradually lowered their cultivation through certain methods, stabilized their soul, and ultimately transformed into a wound demon."

"Becoming a wound demon can break the curse?"

"Theoretically, yes. From the ninth to the tenth level, one sheds their physical body and becomes a wandering soul. From the tenth level to the clouds, Neizhou reconstructs a body of flesh and blood for the cultivator, and the wandering soul becomes human again. The curse is within this flesh and blood given by Neizhou. By becoming a wound demon, one reverts to an evil spirit, abandoning the flesh and blood, and naturally breaking free from the curse. However, this method won't work for Qiu Luoye. To lower cultivation while stabilizing the soul requires extremely intricate techniques, which Qiu Luoye likely wouldn't be able to learn. Moreover, this process would take a year or more, and Qiu Luoye cannot afford to wait. Neizhou could act against him at any time, and if he were to forcibly lower his cultivation, Qiu Luoye still wouldn't be able to endure it."

Li Banfeng sat by the bed, staring at the ceiling, silent for a long time.

His wife tried to comfort him, "Don't be upset, husband. We'll think of another way."

Li Banfeng spoke, "We need to find a solution quickly; we truly can't wait. We should still repair the deed first."

His wife soothed, "Husband, don't rush..."

Li Banfeng then said, "What's the use of repairing the deed? My wife is right; it would only make Brother Qiu suffer for nothing. Let's think if there's another path."

"Husband, what's wrong with you..."

Li Banfeng then said, "What other path could there be? As long as the deed is with Neizhou, the path is blocked."

"Husband, don't be like this..."

Li Banfeng then said, "Isn't the local deity who became a wound demon also a path? At least it breaks free from Neizhou's curse."

Li Banfeng then said, "What kind of path is that? After enduring so much to reach the main territory, now he has to become an evil spirit again? Besides, forcibly lowering his cultivation, Brother Qiu still wouldn't be able to endure it."

Li Banfeng then said, "Didn't you say he could still recover?"

Li Banfeng then said, "Didn't my wife just say there's less than a ten percent chance? What were you even listening to?"

Li Banfeng then said, "Maintain order in the hall; speak one by one in sequence!"

The gramophone spurted steam and enveloped Li Banfeng. "My dear husband, please don't scare me!"

Li Banfeng hugged the gramophone and said, "Wife, if we dig out Brother Qiu's deed, forcibly lower his cultivation to turn him into a wound demon, make him shed his flesh and blood to break the curse, and then use Lady Wuqin's deed to recover his cultivation, is this plan feasible?"

The gramophone pondered for a moment. "In principle, it could work, but he cannot become a wound demon. To recover cultivation, one must pass three trials, and even a slight error in any of them will lead to failure. The first trial is the Soul Departure Trial: cultivation drops from the clouds to the ground, and the soul must separate from the body once. After digging out the deed, some local deities experience this separation instantly, while others have to wait a few days. Soul-body separation, to put it plainly, means dying once. This is extremely painful, and the soul will be damaged by at least twenty percent. If there is fear and panic, the damage will worsen. Once the damage exceeds twenty percent, one will become a wound demon, and cultivation will not be recoverable. Qiu Luoye, being severely injured, would also die as a result. In this trial, the soul's damage must be less than twenty percent. Only those who are extremely intelligent and possess unwavering willpower can endure it. Such individuals are one in ten thousand."

Li Banfeng didn't understand. "Why can those who are extremely intelligent and have unwavering willpower endure it?"

"Extremely intelligent people can clearly distinguish between the body and the soul. They know that only the body dies in that moment, not the soul. They must firmly believe that they are not dead. Even at the threshold of life and death, they harbor no fear or panic. Ask Qiu Luoye if he can do this."

As for unwavering willpower, Li Banfeng had absolutely no doubt. As for extreme intelligence, there was a bit of a gap. He also needed to distinguish the concepts of body and soul. Qiu Luoye certainly couldn't distinguish between these two words. As for the two concepts, could they be explained to him clearly? Qiu Luoye might be able to learn embroidery, but he definitely wouldn't grasp such complex concepts.

"Wife, what if we give Qiu Luoye some medicine to make him fall asleep? That way, he won't feel fear or panic. Do you think this method would work?"

His wife shook her head. "My dear husband, if one falls asleep at the moment of soul departure, they will never wake up again. The soul will perish along with the body."

Giving medicine wouldn't work. At the brink of death, firmly believing one isn't dead—this method seemed familiar. Indeed, he had seen it. This trial was too difficult; he needed to study it carefully and put it aside for now.

Li Banfeng then asked, "What about the second trial?"

"The second trial is Rebirth, which is even harder than the first. The difficulty lies in rapidly regrowing the lost flesh and blood. Only then can the damaged soul be nourished and, with the help of the deed, the lost cultivation be recovered."

Regrowing flesh. Qiu Luoye's wounds healed quickly, but starting from scratch, would he know how to regrow an entire body of flesh and blood? Who could teach him? Who could regrow flesh?

After a moment of thought, Li Banfeng rubbed his cheeks, adjusted the angle between his eyebrows and eyes, and revealed a tender smile. He entered the second chamber and saw Hong Ying grooming herself. He took the eyebrow pencil from Hong Ying's hand and softly said, "Yingying, I'll draw it for you."

Hong Ying smiled shyly, picked up lipstick, wrote the character "贱" on Li Banfeng's face, and softly said, "Seventh Master, just say what you need to say quickly!"

(End of Chapter)