Chapter 598: Heavenly Harmonized Technique (High Energy in This Chapter)

Ayi wanted to determine superiority with Li Banfeng.

She raised the explosives in her hand. The bomb, originally the size of a backpack, transformed into the size of a quilt, floating in Ayi's palm.

Naturally, Li Banfeng wouldn't sit idly by. His shadow had already moved behind Ayi, ready to launch a sneak attack at any moment.

His emotions were highly unstable. Gourd Village was extraordinary, and Ayi was equally so. Li Banfeng had little sanity left, but his basic combat logic remained clear.

Ayi roared, "Do you concede? Are you ready to die?"

Li Banfeng also shouted, "First, tell me, what technique is this?"

He was trying to distract Ayi; his shadow was now less than three meters from her.

Ayi's attention was indeed diverted. She looked at Li Qi triumphantly and burst out laughing, "This is one of the three ultimate techniques of my Daoist sect."

"What is the name of this technique?" Li Banfeng continued to engage Ayi. Meanwhile, his shadow raised a pointed stone, aiming for the back of Ayi's head.

Ayi paused, genuinely stumped by the question. She bit her finger, "The technique's name—"

"Take your time thinking," Li Banfeng thought. "I'll send you on your way now!"

Just as the shadow was about to strike, Ayi suddenly remembered. She laughed loudly, "The technique is called, 'Kill all these bastards of the Ignorant Cult!'"

Li Banfeng's expression twisted.

The shadow behind Ayi trembled.

Anyone else might not have taken it seriously, as it was reasonable for the village chief to be eccentric and talk nonsense.

But at this moment, Li Banfeng was on the verge of a breakdown. In an environment like Gourd Village, facing an opponent like Ayi, his ability to maintain sanity had so far relied solely on his dwindling logical thinking.

Yet, Ayi was continuously eroding Li Banfeng's logic.

Li Banfeng asked, "Is your technique's name really that long?"

Ayi counted carefully; the technique she had just made up had nine characters: "It is a bit long."

"Then let's just call it 'Fool Killer!'"

Li Banfeng's mouth twitched, and the shadow behind Ayi shook uncontrollably.

"What is wrong with this woman? What kind of Daoist sect is this? Can techniques be named so casually? Could this technique have been made up on the spot? And a technique made up on the spot is this powerful? Just how powerful is this Daoist sect?"

The shadow behind him continued to tremble. Ayi heard a sound from the shadow and turned to look at it.

The shadow held the stone, looking at Ayi.

After a moment of mutual gaze, the shadow felt awkward and lowered the stone.

Ayi chuckled, "What's your name? When did you come to the village? Do you know Li Qi? Why are you so dark?"

She was chatting with the shadow.

The shadow scratched its head, first pointing to Li Banfeng, then to the sun, and finally to Ayi's own shadow.

Ayi frowned, "Why aren't you speaking? Pointing like that, how can anyone understand?"

The shadow pointed to its own face, then waved its hand, indicating it couldn't speak.

Ayi became displeased. "You say you can't speak? I think you just don't want to."

The shadow shrugged, indicating it truly couldn't speak.

Ayi huffed, "You think I'm crazy, don't you? You look down on me, which is why you don't want to talk to me. Isn't that it?"

The shadow shook its head repeatedly, indicating that was not what it meant.

Ayi grew even angrier. "I can't stand people like you. If you dislike me, just say so. Why hide it?"

The shadow tried desperately to explain, "I truly don't dislike you."

Ayi asked, "Then why didn't you speak to me just now?"

"I can't speak—"

Halfway through the sentence, the shadow looked at Li Banfeng.

The shadow could speak now.

The shadow was terrified; it had never experienced anything like this. Li Banfeng's face was severely contorted; he had no time to console the shadow, as he didn't even know how to console himself.

The shadow squatted on the ground, first covering its mouth, then tightly clutching its head.

Ayi turned to Li Banfeng and asked, "What's wrong with him? Is he your friend? Is he sick?"

Li Banfeng was silent for a moment, then suddenly chuckled, "This is my shadow. You didn't expect that, did you?"

"Nonsense!" Ayi also laughed. "Isn't your shadow supposed to be under your feet?"

Li Banfeng looked down and saw a shadow under his feet.

Ayi turned back to Li Banfeng's shadow and said, "Look, he has a shadow too."

The shadow looked down at its own feet. The moment it saw its own shadow, it leaped up.

Li Banfeng's shadow, and the shadow's shadow, both stood up from the ground.

They clutched their heads, staring at Ayi in utter shock.

Ayi looked at the two new shadows and chuckled, "When did you two arrive? What are your names?"

"Hehehe, their names are the same as mine." Li Banfeng's smile grew increasingly sinister.

He didn't know why two more shadows had appeared, nor did he want to know. The last vestiges of logic in his brain had now collapsed.

Ayi looked at the three shadows, then at Li Banfeng. "What nonsense are you talking? How could their names be the same as yours?"

"It's true, I'm not lying. They're all my brothers, good brothers with the same name!" Li Banfeng's smile became increasingly genuine.

The Portable Dwelling kept reminding him in his ear, "A-Qi, stay focused."

"I'm perfectly sober!" Li Banfeng retorted directly.

Ayi was somewhat surprised. "Who are you talking to? Are you crazy?"

"Who says I'm crazy? The doctor told me I'm not crazy at all, and none of us brothers are crazy!" Li Banfeng swept his gaze over the group of shadows. "Brothers, don't be afraid. If anyone says we're crazy, we'll beat her to death. Once she's dead, none of us will be crazy."

Inside the Portable Dwelling, Miss Jiu Fang, observing the battle through Miss Wu Fang, murmured, "This is 'Reversing Cause and Effect.' He's using a technique on himself."

The Projector commented, "That's not using a technique on himself, is it? He's using a technique on his shadow."

Miss Jiu Fang thought for a moment. "The shadow is still himself... I can't tell either. Anyway, his technique is quite effective."

The technique was indeed effective. The three shadows, who had been panicking, all calmed down.

Now they were highly unified, with a single goal: if they could just kill Ayi, their normal logic would return.

"Brothers, blow her up!" Li Banfeng commanded. Leading the three shadows, he sprinted forward, and the four figures simultaneously vanished from Ayi's sight.

"Going to use 'Passing Glance'?" Ayi chuckled and detonated the bomb in her hand.

With a thunderous roar, thick smoke and dust billowed all around. Li Banfeng couldn't pinpoint Ayi's location.

Without needing to think, Li Banfeng employed his most familiar tactic: he charged into the dust, kicking through the Myriad Rivers technique to get out.

Ayi ripped off her top, swung it casually like a ball, and sent the Myriad Rivers attack flying aside, causing one of Li Banfeng's shadows to explode.

The shadow shattered into six pieces. In the chaos of the fierce battle, Li Banfeng didn't know if the exploded shadow was his own or the shadow of his shadow.

These six fragments of shadow did not dissipate; instead, they lingered around Ayi.

Ayi was somewhat surprised. "New friends again?"

Li Banfeng sneered, "Yes, all friends!"

The six shattered shadow fragments slowly began to stretch and soon reformed into complete shadows, though slightly smaller than Li Banfeng.

The shadows, originally three, had now become eight. Ayi was astonished, "Is this the Heavenly Confluence Technique?"

Li Banfeng didn't answer; he didn't know what the Heavenly Confluence Technique was.

The Portable Dwelling was also very surprised.

Miss Wu Fang still displayed the battle outside on the wall. Hong Ying leaned over to watch, exclaiming in surprise, "It truly is the Heavenly Confluence Technique!"

The Projector didn't quite understand. "Which Daoist sect's technique is the Heavenly Confluence Technique?"

Hong Ying explained, "It's not a technique from a specific Daoist sect. The Heavenly Confluence Technique is an 'unreasonable' technique used by certain special cultivators."

"What does 'unreasonable' mean?" The Projector still didn't understand.

The Old Man spoke up: "It refers to a class of techniques mastered by extremely powerful cultivators that are almost impossible to counteract. For example, Green Blossom. When you fought him, he could still fight even after being cut in half, and even if he were chopped into finer pieces, he could still fight. I also remember the Ancestor of Literary Cultivation. He had a lost ultimate technique called 'Myriad Words and Thousand Phrases.' Just by opening any book, thousands of characters would transform into an army, continuously battling the enemy."

The Projector pondered, "Isn't that just 'Counting Ink and Tracing Lines'?"

Miss Jiu said, "This is different from 'Counting Ink and Tracing Lines.' The characters summoned by the Literary Cultivation Ancestor could distinguish between friend and foe, and they lasted for a very long time. Furthermore, even if all the characters were killed, he could simply switch to another book, and it would again transform into an army. Carrying a few books would give him an inexhaustible fighting force. Even reaching this level, it's not considered the strongest Heavenly Confluence Technique. In my memory, the strongest Heavenly Confluence Technique belonged to Old Woman Ku. She had a move called 'Boundless Sea of Suffering.' Once she used this technique, no matter if she was slashed by knives, hacked by axes, drowned by water, or burned by fire, she simply wouldn't die. A-Qi's technique is a bit inferior to theirs, but it's still quite formidable. The more you attack his shadows, the more they multiply. Without a way to completely destroy the shadows, there's no way to defeat A-Qi. Such incredibly powerful techniques seem not to be created by mortals, but rather to be naturally formed by Heaven, hence they are called Heavenly Confluence Techniques."

The Projector recalled past battles: "Old Master He Caiyuan of the He family was also a very powerful cultivator. He could directly control characters in battle; would that also be considered a Heavenly Confluence Technique?"

"Far from it!" The Portable Dwelling still remembered He Caiyuan. "Many methods could counter that old man's characters. Moreover, fighting with characters consumed a great deal of his own energy. But A-Qi's shadows don't consume much; he merely used the Shadow Companion Technique. As for Zhang Gunli, he has half a Heavenly Confluence Technique. Anyone who owes him money is suppressed by him. It's difficult to break free unless the money is repaid. But once the money is returned and the IOU destroyed, he can no longer exploit them. So, it's only considered half a technique."

"Only half?" The Projector clearly remembered Zhang Gunli's formidable power. "His cultivation level was so high."

Hong Ying said, "This has nothing to do with cultivation level. Only a very few cultivators possess the Heavenly Confluence Technique. I don't have it. Xiaowan is said to have it, but I've never even seen her use it. I don't know where A-Qi learned this technique."

"A-Qi doesn't seem to have practiced it," the Projector said, carefully watching the images on the wall. It noticed Li Banfeng's state wasn't right. "A-Qi's Heavenly Confluence Technique seems to be out of control."

Hong Ying nodded. "Heavenly Confluence Techniques are all difficult to control. If one could control such a technique perfectly, then no one else would be able to fight them."

Li Banfeng indeed had poor control. A group of shadows attacked Ayi without strategy or order, even using techniques haphazardly. The scene was chaotic but posed no significant threat to Ayi.

Ayi held the bomb and shouted at Li Banfeng's main body, "I'll invite new friends in a moment, but first, let's settle this. Behold my 'Mad Cultivator Technique,' specializing in killing fools!"

Li Banfeng dodged one bomb, but another appeared in Ayi's hand.

Li Banfeng dodged again, only to step on another bomb.

There were bombs behind his head, beside his ears, in piles of weeds, and on tree branches.

Li Banfeng dodged over a dozen bombs in quick succession, but bombs kept appearing in Ayi's hand.

She seemed to have an endless supply of explosives. Li Banfeng's offense and defense were disorganized. A bomb hit Li Banfeng's face, and he forcibly evaded it using the Carefree and Unbound Technique.

This was a foolish move.

The bomb's destructive range was vast; his entire body would be affected. How could Carefree and Unbound evade that?

Boom!

The bomb exploded.

Ayi had added extra power. Down the mountain, A-Yun and A-Mu felt the ground shake. The rocks and earth splashing from halfway up the mountain were clearly visible from below.

Li Banfeng's body was blown to pieces.

"A-Qi! Save A-Qi!" The Projector inside the Portable Dwelling was terrified.

"This technique, it's so rare—" Miss Jiu was utterly astonished.

"A-Qi, this is just too—" Hong Ying didn't know how to comment.

A gust of wind blew, and as the smoke and dust dispersed, Ayi clearly saw the shattered limbs.

"Why is it so dark?" Ayi looked at Li Banfeng's mangled limbs, feeling they weren't blackened by the explosion.

"Is this you?" Ayi asked.

"No!" Li Banfeng stood behind Ayi, swinging his scythe.

What exploded was a shadow, not Li Banfeng.

The principle of the Carefree and Unbound Technique was to use an indescribable force to transfer a part of the body to another location.

The bomb's range was too vast, making any physical relocation unsuitable for Li Banfeng. So, he changed his approach and transferred his body into a shadow.

As for why he could transfer into a shadow, Li Banfeng didn't think about it, nor did he have the inclination to.

The Carefree and Unbound Technique was one of Li Banfeng's least proficient skills. He had never imagined he could use it to such an extent.

He stabbed Ayi's back, but the sharp scythe failed to pierce her clothing.

"If it doesn't pierce, chop off the head!"

Li Banfeng brought the scythe down, but Ayi swiftly dodged.

The shattered shadow fragments transformed into eight smaller shadows, which rushed forward and embraced Ayi.

Ayi, unable to move, was beheaded by Li Banfeng's scythe.

"Kill her!" The scythe was very excited.

"Hahaha, kill you, you tortoise-grandson, kill you!" Li Banfeng was also very excited.

Ayi stood there, her head emerging from her neck. "Didn't kill me! That head was a fake!"

Li Banfeng stopped smiling.

Ayi bellowed, "Come on, let's settle this once and for all!"

"I'm male, and you're female. Do we still need to settle it?" Li Banfeng asked very seriously.

"Who said I'm female? I'm a person with a wife!" Ayi replied very seriously.

"Come on, call your wife, and I'll call my brothers, let's fight it out!" Li Banfeng, accompanied by a group of shadows, charged towards Ayi.

"Come on, whether new friends or old, everyone stay in Gourd Village!" Ayi, carrying a bomb, met their charge.

Boom!

Rumble!

The villagers watched from below the mountain. They didn't know the situation on the peak, only seeing plumes of smoke and dust rising. A-Mu wiped sweat from his brow. "The village chief hasn't fought such a tough battle in a long time."

Uncle A-Gen took out his dry tobacco pipe and took a puff. "Our village chief is blessed by heaven; nothing should happen to her. But what if something does happen?"

A-Mu looked at Uncle A-Gen. "What do you mean by that?"

Uncle A-Gen calmly said, "I'm just saying, in case of any misfortune, our village can't be without a chief. And I, being the oldest—"

A-Long scoffed from the side, "What does your age matter? My cultivation is the highest! The village chief's position will definitely not fall to you!"

A-Yun couldn't listen anymore. "The village chief is still alive, and you're already coveting her position? She's always treated you well. Is this fair to your conscience? Besides, to be frank, the village chief and I are like sisters. If she were really gone, this position would be reserved for me!"

The Village Chief's Wife squatted on the ground, first tugged at her beard, then wiped away tears. "You good-for-nothings, I'll kill you all in a moment! I've endured humiliation, serving as the village chief's wife for so many years. The village chief's position, no matter what, must stay in our family!"

Crack!

A peal of thunder ripped across the mountaintop. Everyone looked up, feeling as though the mountain peak had been sliced off.

A-Yun said, "How many techniques did the village chief use?"

On the mountaintop, Li Banfeng was left with only one shadow at his feet; all other shadows had vanished.

The recent peal of thunder had pulverized Li Banfeng's shadows. The particles were too fine to extend and reform, rendering the Shadow Companion Technique broken.

Even Ayi herself hadn't expected it would take so much effort to break Li Banfeng's technique.

"Li Qi, I truly didn't expect you had such great abilities." Ayi wiped blood from her face; she was injured.

Li Banfeng was also injured. "I didn't expect it either. I don't know where these abilities came from."

He truly hadn't expected it.

He had never imagined that his shadow could split into more shadows, let alone that he could swap places with them.

Ayi seemed a bit more normal, and so did Li Banfeng. With the shadows gone, Li Banfeng had regained much of his clarity.

"After this fight, let's go our separate ways," Li Banfeng said, dusting himself off. "If you really made me stay here for half a month, you'd find yourself in a lot of trouble."

Ayi was somewhat disappointed in Li Banfeng. "You have such great talent, why do you dislike this village so much?"

Li Banfeng shook his head. "It's not that I dislike it; there are other reasons."

"Stop talking nonsense. If you really don't want to stay, then fine," Ayi finally conceded. "I can let you go, but you have to agree to two conditions. First, you must stay in the village for three days. During these three days, you must tour the entire village."

Li Banfeng nodded. "I agree to that."

"Second, you must join my Daoist sect."

Li Banfeng shook his head. "That's asking too much. As you just saw, I'm not crazy at all. It's not suitable for me to join the Mad Cultivators; I can't cultivate."

"You're not crazy?" Ayi sneered.

"No!" Li Banfeng replied, patting his chest.

"Don't lie to me."

"What have I lied about?"

Ayi glanced down at Li Banfeng's feet. "He says he's not crazy. Do you believe him?"

The shadow at his feet stood up and shook its head, saying, "I don't believe it."

Ayi continued to stare at Li Banfeng's feet. "I want him to join my Daoist sect. Do you think it's suitable?"

Another shadow rose from the ground. "There's no one more suitable than me! He doesn't want to, but I do!"

Li Banfeng pulled the shadow back, but other shadows emerged from behind him:

"Village Chief, take me! I'm much stronger than him."

"Village Chief, I think I'm crazy enough; they can't compare to me."

"Village Chief, this kid doesn't know a good thing when he sees it. Don't mind him; I'll follow you!"

Li Banfeng struggled to cover and gather all the shadows back, but Ayi still wasn't satisfied. She called out behind Li Banfeng, "That brother over there, I think you're the most handsome. Why don't you come out and chat with us again?"

"No more chatting!" Li Banfeng waved his hand. "I agree. I'll join your Daoist sect."

If he didn't agree now, Li Banfeng didn't know what other strange things might happen to him.

Ayi set up an incense burner, burned yellow paper, and said to Li Banfeng, "From now on, you are a member of my Daoist sect, and I am your master."

"Good! You are now my master!" Li Banfeng readily agreed. As long as it was a logical request, Li Banfeng could accept it now.

Ayi took out incense sticks and candles. "Come, let's become sworn siblings first."

Two shadows emerged from behind Li Banfeng, one chuckling, the other whimpering.

A crack in his logic appeared again.

"Don't you think becoming sworn siblings and becoming a disciple are two different things?"

Ayi looked at Li Banfeng. "What's wrong with that? In your Ignorant Cultivation sect, don't you also call each other 'senior brother' instead of 'master'?"

"That's a point!"

Each Daoist sect had its own rules, its own logic. It wasn't a big deal. Li Banfeng pulled his shadows back.

Li Banfeng asked, "How do we perform the ritual?"

"First, say your name."

"My name is Li Qi!"

"My name is 'Drawing a Gourd from a Gourd'!"

The shadows emerged again.

Li Banfeng and the shadows looked at Ayi together. "Are names this long too?"

Ayi huffed, "Is it forbidden for names to be long now? What business is it of yours what name I choose?"

Li Banfeng reabsorbed the shadows. Ayi wrote a prayer, and they recited it together: "From this day forth, 'Drawing a Gourd from a Gourd' and Li Qi shall become sworn siblings, sharing fortune and hardship, enduring bitterness and sweetness together, unchanging in this life!"

After the sworn sibling ritual, Li Banfeng respectfully bowed to Ayi. "Older Sister!"

Ayi, equally seriously, returned the bow. "Older Brother!"

Li Banfeng pondered for a moment. "Isn't that a bit inappropriate?"

Ayi puffed out her chest. "If you respect me an inch, I'll respect you a foot."

The two stared at each other for a moment, then shadows emerged one after another from behind Li Banfeng.

He kept reminding himself to keep his emotions stable, but in front of Ayi, he simply couldn't.

Ayi looked at Li Banfeng. "Now, you are a member of my Daoist sect, but there's one thing that doesn't fit my sect's rules."

"What doesn't fit?"

"Your appearance doesn't fit; you're not good-looking."

Li Banfeng raised his eyebrows. "That's a matter of opinion."

"I'll make you look presentable." Ayi took out some rouge.

Li Banfeng pushed the rouge away. "Men don't put that on!"

"My wife often puts it on."

"I'm not your wife."

"Older Brother, aren't you listening to your Older Sister? Think carefully, was there an Older Sister first, or an Older Brother first?"

"I don't want to!" Li Banfeng couldn't think about anything now. If he did, his mind would collapse.

It's just some rouge, isn't it? Let her put it on. Li Banfeng gave up.

Ayi took a powder puff and applied some powder to Li Banfeng's face.

Li Banfeng let out a wail, rolling on the ground in pain.

"What kind of powder is this?"

"It's the initiation medicinal powder!"

"Why did you put it on my face?"

"Didn't you say you wanted to be made presentable?"

Fortunately, Li Banfeng was a home-cultivator, and his physique was decent. A few minutes later, the pain subsided. Li Banfeng rubbed his face and asked, "Your Daoist sect has initiation medicinal powder?"

Ayi huffed, "What do you mean 'your' Daoist sect? This is *our* family's Daoist sect! We Mad Cultivators are a proper Daoist sect; the peddler acknowledges us. This medicinal powder was even personally made by the peddler. Because I wasn't in Puluo Prefecture, he specifically left me a portion for me to use as I please."

"Use as you please?"

The peddler's control over medicinal powders was extremely strict; such a precedent had never been heard of.

Li Banfeng didn't believe it. "The peddler really recognized the Mad Cultivators? The conditions for establishing a new Daoist sect are quite strict!"

Ayi nodded seriously. "They are quite strict. At first, he didn't agree either. But then I followed him every day. When he did business, I did business with him. When he fought, I fought with him. When he slept with his beloved, I also slept with them."

Li Banfeng blinked. "Where did you sleep?"

Ayi gave a naive smile. "I'm not picky. Top, bottom, I'm fine with either. I can even be in the middle."

"Then what happened?"

"Later, he insisted on driving me away. I let him hit me, let him curse me, but I absolutely refused to leave. Until one day, the peddler was especially happy, smiling at everyone he saw. He said he recognized my Daoist sect and even refined the medicinal powder for me on the spot. Seeing him smiling so happily, I thought he had quite a talent for the Daoist path. So I asked him if he wanted to be my disciple."

Li Banfeng was startled. "The peddler agreed?"

Ayi shrugged. "He told me to take the powder and get lost quickly. What a pity for the peddler, such a promising talent, to miss out on such a good opportunity."

But Banfeng has joined four Daoist sects; isn't he afraid of cultivation backlash?