Chapter 442: Autumn Elephant, Farewell Journey (This Chapter Contains Nuclear Energy)

Qiu Luoye stood in the scrubbing room, shivering intermittently. He felt cold, and rightly so; his melon-like body was cool and crisp, so he was bound to feel chilled. Qiu Luoye stretched his neck and shoulders. "What kind of poison is this? I feel like this body isn't even mine."

Li Banfeng also began to shiver. "I'm cold too. This poison must generate cold. Take an antidote first, then soak in the hot water."

Li Banfeng offered Qiu Luoye a pill refined by Honglian, but Qiu Luoye shook his head. "I don't need this. You two brothers should take it."

"We have our own," Li Banfeng replied, producing two more pills. He gave one to Ma Wu and took one himself.

Seeing this, Qiu Luoye also swallowed the pill, then stared at the flesh on the ground for a long time. It was his own detached flesh, so parts of it naturally looked familiar. Li Banfeng had considered using lime to cover it earlier, but the source of lime would be hard to explain. Now, they had used human ash and mud, which was plausible and left no flaws. Qiu Luoye kicked the fleshy mud again. "Is that scrubber really dead?"

"His corpse is here; how could it be fake!" Li Banfeng declared.

Ma Wu added, "I saw it with my own eyes; Li Banfeng blew him up!"

Qiu Luoye looked at Li Banfeng. Suddenly, he felt there was no need to doubt; with the corpse right there, the man must be dead. "Could this scrubber have accomplices?"

Li Banfeng had been waiting for that question. "I'll go check."

"I'll go with you," Qiu Luoye said.

Ma Wu pulled Qiu Luoye back. "Big Brother, you're injured. Come with me to soak in the hot water first."

Qiu Luoye submerged himself in the hot water. The chill in his body dispersed considerably, but his body still felt strange. His skin was still hard, and much smoother than before. What kind of poison did that scrubber use? It was incredibly potent.

Li Banfeng hurried to Qiu Luoye's territory, returning to the Portable Abode. He told the phonograph, "Darling, the first stage is complete, the medicine has been taken. The second stage will pass soon."

The phonograph picked up the deed. She had three tasks. The first was to use steam to wash off the bloodstains on the deed. These were Qiu Luoye's blood, but the deed still had a misty illusion maintaining their appearance. For now, this illusion was vital to deceive Neizhou. Now that the blood was washed off, did this part of the deed truly become unrelated to Qiu Luoye? Not yet.

For the second task, the phonograph flipped the deed over. It was densely inscribed with Qiu Luoye's life achievements. This part of the deed was still linked to Qiu Luoye; as long as there was a connection, even just a name, it wasn't safe. The phonograph meticulously changed every instance of "Qiu Luoye" to "Qiu Daxing."

For the third task, there was still a "melon Qiu Luoye" inside the Portable Abode. The phonograph used herself to prick the melon Qiu Luoye's hand and sprinkled the melon's juice onto the iron deed. At this point, the deed was completely severed from Qiu Luoye.

Chuanzi, guarding the border, noticed something amiss. Pebbles and fallen leaves near the border line instantly turned to ash. Wujin Township and Qiu Luoye's territory were now separated by the border. A brother asked him, "Brother Chuanzi, what's happening?"

Chuanzi couldn't understand either. "Don't ask too many questions. Guard the road; no one is to pass!"

Apart from Li Banfeng's family, no one knew the inside story. Qiucheng was now divided into two: Wujin Township belonged to Qiu Luoye, and Qiu Luoye's former territory belonged to Qiu Daxing.

Who was Qiu Daxing? According to the deed, whoever sprinkled the blood was Qiu Daxing. Since the melon had sprinkled its juice, the melon was Qiu Daxing. The phonograph told the melon Qiu Luoye, "You are Qiu Daxing." The melon Qiu Luoye looked blank. Could the melon Qiu Luoye and the deed sense each other? The melon juice was already on the deed; whether a connection was established depended on whether the melon Qiu Luoye knew its nickname was Qiu Daxing. Seeing the melon's expressionless face, Li Banfeng felt uncertain.

The phonograph said, "Husband, proceed without hesitation. This melon was grown from Qiu Luoye's blood. As long as that nickname works, it will surely have a connection. Husband, you must act quickly. Once the deed leaves the room, the illusion will last for a while, but no longer than two minutes. If the task isn't completed within two minutes, you must bring the deed back, or Neizhou will notice the flaw."

Li Banfeng nodded. He took the iron deed, the prepared paper deed, and the remaining melon Qiu Luoye, and left the Portable Abode.

Standing in Qiu Luoye's territory, Li Banfeng unfolded the paper deed. It read: "Qiu Luoye defeats Qiu Daxing; Qiu Daxing cedes all his territory, a hundred li and ten thousand square li, to Qiu Luoye." Li Banfeng glanced at the melon Qiu Luoye and asked, "Qiu Daxing, do you agree?" The melon Qiu Luoye nodded, indicating agreement.

Li Banfeng handed the paper deed to the melon Qiu Daxing, who took it and dripped melon juice onto it. Then, Li Banfeng took out a small bottle and sprinkled Qiu Luoye's remaining blood onto the paper deed. For the deed to be effective with both Qiu Luoye's and Qiu Daxing's blood, the iron deed needed to react. He flipped the iron deed over. No reaction. It wasn't working? The melon and the deed hadn't established a connection? What now?

Although the deed was no longer related to Qiu Luoye, the current Qiu Luoye was merely the local deity of Wujin Township. However, Qiu Luoye was unfamiliar with Wujin Township, and its land wasn't extensive enough. In this situation, he couldn't stabilize his position and cultivation through his land; he wouldn't pass the third stage.

Li Banfeng was very tense. Two minutes were almost up. Why hadn't the deed changed? Wait! He almost forgot, there was still an illusion on the deed! Li Banfeng used his Golden Eye Subtle Skill to re-examine the deed. He saw a line of text appear at the very bottom: "Qiu Luoye defeats Qiu Daxing; Qiu Daxing cedes all his territory, a hundred li and ten thousand square li, to Qiu Luoye."

It worked! The task was complete!

Li Banfeng looked at the melon and burst into laughter. "It's done, Qiu Daxing, farewell." As his words faded, Li Banfeng stomped, shattering the melon Qiu Daxing.

Li Banfeng immediately opened the Portable Abode and handed the deed to the phonograph. "Darling, it's done."

The phonograph replied, "Quickly, give the deed to the elder!"

Li Banfeng took the deed to the third room and placed it on the ground. "Elder, please destroy this deed."

"Are you certain this deed is unrelated to Qiu Luoye now?"

Li Banfeng nodded. "Completely unrelated."

"Then I shall proceed!"

The deed on the ground still had residual steam. A cold wind swept through the third room, dispersing all the steam and revealing the deed's true appearance.

"What's it doing?"

"Hehehe, let's play with them!" The Portable Abode laughed sinisterly.

The deed on the ground shimmered faintly. Li Banfeng didn't understand the Portable Abode's intention. *Hiss*, a wisp of green smoke rose from the deed. Li Banfeng didn't know where the smoke came from. The Portable Abode said, "Use your Insightful Spirit Sound to listen. Let's listen together and see if we can hear their movements. Their noises are delightful!"

With the Portable Abode's help, Li Banfeng used his Insightful Spirit Sound skill and heard a scream from the deed. The voice was deep and husky, a man's. Li Banfeng asked, "Who is this person?"

"This is the one guarding the deed in Neizhou. He touched my fire, hehehe..." The Portable Abode laughed even more sinisterly. "Listen, it sounds like another one has arrived!"

Another scream came from the deed, also a man's voice, much hoarser than the first. "Good! Let him be so reckless as to touch it. Touch my fire, and you die. Burn these bastards. A-Qi, you don't know, the ones guarding the deed aren't mere lackeys; they're pure-blooded Neizhou people. The old train used to love killing these pure-blooded Neizhou people. These bastards are the worst; killing them is the most satisfying!"

"Pure-blooded!" Li Banfeng also became excited. "Pure-blooded Neizhou people, are they Chu Shaoqiang's masters?"

"Yes, they are those lackeys' masters!"

"Where do they come from?"

"The old train was always investigating, but never found out. They're not from our world!"

Li Banfeng gritted his teeth. "If only I could kill one of them with my own hands!"

The Portable Abode laughed. "A-Qi, these two were killed by your own hands. You came up with the idea, and you carried it out. At least seventy percent of the credit is yours!"

"Good! I like hearing that!" Li Banfeng was still happy when he heard another scream from the deed.

"Another one! Hahahahaha!"

The elder and Li Banfeng started laughing together, their laughter echoing throughout the Portable Abode. The elder sighed. "It's a pity this deed can't hold up, or we could have lured more over." As he spoke, Qiu Daxing's deed melted into molten iron, rapidly evaporating and disappearing.

Li Banfeng said, "Don't worry, we'll have plenty of opportunities to kill these bastards until they no longer dare to reach into Prozhuo!"

"Good boy!"

"Hahahahaha!" The two men's laughter resonated again within the Portable Abode.

Hong Ying shivered. "Their laughter is really unsettling!" She shivered again. No, this was an instinct for good fortune and avoiding disaster. Something bad was about to happen! Hong Ying couldn't see, but she felt a cold glint on her spine.

The phonograph was behind her. Taking advantage of Hong Ying's inattention, it injected a stream of steam into her body. Hong Ying became immobile. The phonograph moved her into the second room. Hong Ying gritted her teeth. "What are you doing?"

The phonograph took out a wooden box. "That madman is so happy, I definitely can't escape tonight. We sisters have fought battles our whole lives; tonight, I can't suffer alone!" Hong Ying tried to shout, "You murderous shrew..." The phonograph covered Hong Ying's mouth, stuffed her into the box, and created a fake phonograph. The phonograph looked around. She also needed to hide the Joyful Earth, or Hong Ying wouldn't last long.

Li Banfeng left the Portable Abode and rushed towards the bathhouse. Halfway there, he was stopped by Chuanzi's subordinates. "Seventh Master, you can't pass. This border line has reappeared." Li Banfeng picked up a stone from the ground and threw it over the line. The stone flew over completely unharmed. Everyone was bewildered. The line had clearly appeared moments ago, but now it was gone. Li Banfeng pulled down his hat brim and smiled. "There will be no more border lines in the future. From now on, there's only one territory, only Qiucheng here!"

In the bathhouse, Qiu Luoye felt increasingly strange about his flesh. "Old Five, why do I feel like I'm wearing clothes?"

Ma Wu shook his head. "No clothes, how can you wear clothes while bathing?"

"Something's clearly wrong with my body; it's so uncomfortable." Qiu Luoye kept scratching his skin.

Ma Wu tried to dissuade him. "Brother Qiu, you're poisoned. You absolutely must not scratch randomly. Bear with it for a while; it will be fine soon."

Qiu Luoye couldn't hold back. "This isn't my body. This definitely isn't my body. Old Five, what happened? Are you hiding something from me?" Since Li Banfeng wasn't there, the Ironclad Evidence Skill had failed, and Qiu Luoye gradually regained clarity. He kept hitting his flesh, and his flesh slowly began to expand.

"Brother Qiu, don't, listen to me, wait a moment..."

Qiu Luoye exploded, splattering Ma Wu's face with melon pulp.

"Oh, Brother Qiu, Brothe..." Ma Wu wiped off the melon pulp and saw a slender man standing before him, without skin, his entire body of flesh exposed. The man turned to look at Ma Wu. Ma Wu was stunned for a long time, then tentatively asked, "Brother Qiu, is that you?"

Qiu Luoye touched his flesh, still confused. "Is this me? Where did my skin go?"

The second stage was passed? He had grown his own flesh! Ma Wu was momentarily overjoyed, but then realized Qiu Luoye's condition was not good. His thoughts gradually became confused, and Qiu Luoye's body swayed, causing him to fall into the water. Ma Wu helped Qiu Luoye up. This was a sign of an unstable soul. Ma Wu carried Qiu Luoye out of the water and placed him on a lounge chair. He didn't know what to do now; he could only wait for Li Banfeng to return.

A few minutes later, Li Banfeng rushed into the bathhouse and saw the skinless Qiu Luoye on the verge of death. "Brother Qiu, think about your own territory. Stabilize your soul!"

"Territory? Are you talking about Wujin Township?" Qiu Luoye was somewhat dazed; he couldn't remember anything.

"Don't think about Wujin Township. Just think about your own territory, the territory you guarded for so many years!"

"My own territory..." Qiu Luoye didn't understand.

"The territory you're most familiar with, think carefully!"

After a moment of thought, Qiu Luoye's eyes widened. His own territory slowly reappeared in his mind. From every mountain and river to every blade of grass and tree, he was incredibly familiar with it. The more he thought, the clearer his thoughts became, and he regained some strength. Qiu Luoye sat up; his soul was stabilized.

The third stage was passed.