Chapter 805: The Road to Yin Capital

Lu Xiaolan opened her eyes and saw two beautiful women sitting in the dim, narrow room. One woman was mixing rouge, while the other was combing her hair. Both turned their heads and looked at Lu Xiaolan. Lu Xiaolan immediately closed her eyes and pretended to be dead.

Were these people Li Qi's accomplices? Where was this room? Was it a hidden compartment on the private train? Lu Xiaolan didn't recall any hidden compartments on the Lu family's private train.

Although her eyes were closed, she was still observing her surroundings using her Clairvoyance technique. She was looking for Haolian. Where was he? Was he dead, or had he escaped? Lu Xiaolan felt it was more likely that Haolian Shen had escaped. Haolian Shen's cultivation was above hers; if Li Qi hadn't gained the upper hand first, it would have been hard to say who would win. Because that fool Haolian Shen had misjudged Li Qi's strength, leading to the current situation, Lu Xiaolan cursed inwardly, but now she didn't know how to escape.

Li Qi and Zhao Xiaowan entered the Portable Residence and sat in front of Lu Xiaolan. Seeing Lu Xiaolan motionless, Li Banfeng said, "I think she's dead."

Zhao Xiaowan sighed, "What a fine girl, to die just like that. Yingying, throw Miss Lu into the furnace to make pills."

Hong Ying was still wondering which furnace to use. There was a tea stove, a warming stove, and a barbecue grill at home, but seemingly no pill-making furnace. "Isn't pill-making the Bronze Lotus's job? Maybe I should bring her over?"

Just as Hong Ying was about to move the Red Lotus, Lu Xiaolan woke up on her own. "Banfeng, I was wrong, please spare my life!"

The wife was startled. Not many people called Li Qi by the name Li Banfeng. "Husband," she asked, "is this an old acquaintance of yours?"

Lu Xiaolan's appearance had changed greatly, but her voice was essentially the same as before. She had not disguised her plea just now. Li Banfeng said to his wife, "This is Ma Junyang and He Jiaqing's fiancée, Lu Xiaolan."

Hong Ying looked at Lu Xiaolan in surprise. "Did you three used to live together?" she asked. "How many businesses do you usually run?"

The wife playfully smacked Hong Ying, then turned to ask Lu Xiaolan, "Has your body been altered by the Grand Totem?"

Lu Xiaolan nodded. "My physique has been changed twice," she said. "Once when I was alive, and once after I died."

The Phonograph asked, "Why did you change your physique when you were alive?"

Lu Xiaolan looked at Li Banfeng. "Banfeng should know some things," she said. "Due to some misunderstandings, I no longer had a place in Puro Province. I wanted to hide in another province, but Banfeng's influence in other provinces was too great, so I presumed he wouldn't tolerate me either. Left with no choice, I could only flee to the Inner Province. But as someone from Puro Province, without any merits or qualifications, it was hard for me to gain a foothold in the Inner Province. I could only rely on the elders of the Lu family to find a way to survive under Yu Zhuo."

Li Banfeng nodded. Her words weren't a lie; Lu Xiaolan had indeed been introduced to Yu Zhuo by Lu Maoxian. "What was Yu Zhuo's purpose in sending you to Puro Province?"

Lu Xiaolan said, "Lord Yu wanted to draw you out to discuss some political matters with you." She dared not say she was there to kill Li Banfeng. It was reasonable for Prince Pingyuan and the Prime Minister to discuss political matters, and if Li Banfeng believed her, he might spare her life.

Li Banfeng looked at Zhao Xiaowan and said, "Did you hear that? This is Lord Yu's messenger, here to see me about urgent matters!"

Zhao Xiaowan also looked a little ashamed. "Sister, why didn't you say so sooner?" she said. "We're all on the same side. If we had known you were sent by Lord Yu, we wouldn't have been so heavy-handed."

The couple's attitude changed so quickly it caught Lu Xiaolan off guard. Had they already been in contact with Yu Zhuo for a long time? Then why would Yu Zhuo still want to eliminate Li Qi? What hidden secrets were there?

Zhao Xiaowan said, "Yingying, go get a chair. Jiu'er, help Miss Xiaolan sit down."

The chair was brought over, but Jiu'er couldn't help Lu Xiaolan sit up. "Sister," she said, "this woman is too severely injured; it's best not to move her."

Zhao Xiaowan lowered her head, looking at Lu Xiaolan with concern. "Sister," she said, "why don't you just stay prone for now? You haven't told us about earlier: why did you go to the Grand Totem to change your physique when you were alive?"

Lu Xiaolan sighed lightly. "I didn't have Banfeng's good fortune," she said, "and despite training desperately on the path of Clairvoyance, I only had a Level 5 Ground Cultivation at the time. Such limited ability wasn't enough to be recognized by Lord Yu, and I was truly unwilling to live out my life in obscurity. So, I took a risk, went to the Grand Totem to change my physique, and increased my cultivation."

Li Banfeng recalled the incident at Leisurely Dock. At that time, Ma Wu's cultivation was already "above the clouds," and Yuan Youshang was assisting him. Yet both of them nearly fell at Lu Xiaolan's hands. Although Yuan Youshang suffered a loss due to a magic artifact, Lu Xiaolan's combat power at that time was indeed considerable.

"How much did your cultivation improve the first time you went to the Grand Totem?"

Lu Xiaolan said, "From Level 5 Ground Cultivation, it increased to Level 3 Cloud Cultivation."

Li Banfeng was very surprised. "Just by taking a look at the Grand Totem, you can gain so much cultivation?" he exclaimed. "This Grand Totem is too unreasonable!"

Lu Xiaolan said, "It's not entirely unreasonable. If one person out of ten thousand who go to the Grand Totem comes back alive, that's already considered lucky. And there's no guarantee how much cultivation will be gained. A Level 8 Ground Cultivation master under Lord Yu went to the Grand Totem once, and although he survived, his cultivation was reduced to Level 3 Ground Cultivation."

Li Banfeng blinked and looked at Zhao Xiaowan. Zhao Xiaowan's expression grew solemn as she gradually recalled some past events.

"Sister, you gained such high cultivation; weren't you content? Why did you come to Puro Province again?"

Lu Xiaolan sighed. "Whether I was content or not wasn't up to me," she said. "Yu Zhuo secretly entrusted someone to introduce me to Nian Shangyou. Nian Shangyou was Qiao Yi's subordinate. According to Qiao Yi's instructions, I was sent to Leisurely Dock as an undercover agent. Later, I received Nian Shangyou's order to kill Ma Junyang, and I was forced to act. From beginning to end, I had no control over the entire matter. Banfeng, I truly didn't want to be your enemy." As she spoke, Lu Xiaolan sobbed a few times.

Zhao Xiaowan's face showed compassion. "Sister, don't cry; it pains me to see you cry," she said. "I also heard about what happened to you at Leisurely Dock. But why did you go to the Grand Totem again after you died? Do you know the way?" This was the key question! Lu Xiaolan had seen the Grand Totem twice, so she should know the way.

After a few seconds of hesitation, Lu Xiaolan told the truth: "The Grand Totem is in Yindu."

Li Banfeng asked, "How do I get to Yindu?"

Lu Xiaolan dared not conceal anything. "I haven't taken the path from Puro Province to Yindu," she said, "but I know the path from Chaoge to Yindu."

Li Banfeng felt something was amiss. "The last time you died at Leisurely Dock," he asked, "who rescued your soul?"

"Private investigator, Dabuyins." This time, she didn't hesitate and immediately gave Spider Bin's name.

Li Banfeng asked, "Was he the one who sent you to the Grand Totem?"

Lu Xiaolan shook her head. "After he rescued me, he didn't concern himself with me anymore," she said. "As a soul with cultivation, I was directly led to the Great Smeltery. Lu Maoxian taught me the wind-avoidance principle of the Great Smeltery. I used the winds of the Great Smeltery to send myself out of Chaoge and flew all the way to the Grand Totem."

It seemed Lu Maoxian truly doted on his granddaughter. What he taught Lu Xiaolan was genuine skill, a wind-avoidance principle that even the Eighteen Rounds had never mastered. Lu Xiaolan described it verbally, while the Projector nearby constructed images.

"Within the Nine-layered City, there are four palaces: East, West, South, and North. The Lotus Core of the Great Smeltery rotates, absorbing spirits from all four directions. Thus, strong winds constantly blow within the Nine-layered City. When the Lotus Core turns from East to South, if one stands precisely in the center of the corridor between