Cultivation remained partly in the soul and partly in the body. Li Banfeng knew the portion in Ling Miaoying's soul had been eaten by Wifey, while the portion left in her body had gone to the lotus.

There were bound to be some losses during the pill-refining process, and the lotus had to take a little payment for her hard work as well. Li Banfeng could understand that much.

However, Ling Miaoying had been at level seven. What did that mean? It meant that after reaching level one, he had accumulated another sixty years of cultivation.

Yet, only six Golden Essence Pills were made from this kind of figure?

Six Golden Essence Pills amounted to only six hundred days of cultivation, which was not even two years. With the result being this far from what Li Banfeng had expected, he had to ask about it.

"Crimson Lotus, how much cultivation did you keep for yourself?"

Unlike the Pocket Dwelling, the Crimson Lotus had no way to make herself heard. With Li Banfeng's current standing, he still could not hear her voice.

The Crimson Lotus wanted Wifey to speak on her behalf. Wifey listened to her explanation for a while, then turned to Li Banfeng. "Husband dear, there is no need to make a fuss over this."

Seeing how confident Wifey was, Li Banfeng felt reassured. The lotus might have her own schemes, but Wifey clearly had her own way of handling them.

After resting for a day, Li Banfeng went to the New Land again.

Once the first round of land activation ended, he had worried that no one would be willing to join the second round. To his surprise, quite a lot of people joined the second round of land activation.

Part of it was because Meng Yuchun was generous and gave the land activators plenty of local specialties. Another reason was that food could be found in her territory. There was a forest there filled with fruit trees that had green bark and red leaves. The fruits were about the size of a fist, and all of them were edible, though their flavors varied wildly. Some tasted like glutinous rice, some like naked oats, some like beef or mutton, and some even tasted like toenails.

There were plenty of edible wild vegetables nearby as well, so between the fruits and greens, they had both meat and vegetables covered.

Food was hard to find in the New Land, and to hunters, any place with food was a place where they could survive. As long as they had something to eat, they could tolerate the inconvenience of the plot of land being so far from everything.

Since people were still willing to take part in the land activation, Li Banfeng was naturally pleased. He took the chance to walk around the area, and after walking several kilometers, he suddenly saw Meng Yuchun standing among the flowers, smiling as she waved at him.

"Come on, hurry over!"

Li Banfeng froze as he thought, What made her so happy?

Meng Yuchun called out, "Hurry over while no one is looking."

While no one is looking? What is she trying to do? Rob me?

Li Banfeng grew wary at once.

Meng Yuchun grew anxious. "Why aren't you coming over?"

Li Banfeng said, "Tell me first. What do you want me over there for?"

"What else could it be? I have been waiting for you for ages."

That only made Li Banfeng find the whole thing even stranger. "Why were you waiting for me?"

Meng Yuchun complained in a coy voice, "I have already said this much. Do you really still not understand?"

Li Banfeng really did not understand. "Just say it clearly. What exactly do you want?"

Meng Yuchun sighed. "What a dense man. Since fate brought us together here, do some things really need to be spelled out?"

Fate brought us together here? This doesn't seem like the right thing to say at this time? LI Banfeng thought. He lowered the brim of his hat and asked, "You don't recognize me?" 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"I..."

Meng Yuchun froze. The smile vanished from her face, and her expression slowly turned vicious.

This Meng Yuchun is an imposter, Li Banfeng thought. Who disguised themselves as her? How are they imitating her so closely?

The two of them faced each other in silence, each waiting for the right moment to strike.

Someone nearby suddenly shouted, "Young brother, don't do anything rash. That's a Wounded Demonic Fiend."

Li Banfeng looked toward the voice and saw a man of about sixty crouching in the wild grass. His beard and hair were gray and messy, and his mud-stained gray shirt made him look like he had just crawled out of the fields. He kept pressing his hand downward, signaling for Li Banfeng not to make any sudden moves.

Who is this man?

Just as Li Banfeng was wondering about that, the fake Meng Yuchun suddenly charged down the slope toward him.

Li Banfeng retreated and dodged, intending to test his opponent's methods first. Before he could make his move, the man hiding nearby stood up, took a bronze mirror from his robe, and shone it at the fake Meng Yuchun.

The bronze mirror flared with light. Under its glow, smoke rose from the fake Meng Yuchun's body, and she let out a shrill scream.

The man looked back at Li Banfeng. "Little Bro, get out of here first!"

The moment the man finished speaking, Li Banfeng's feet suddenly left the ground. He floated into the air and flew straight into the depths of the mountain forest.

What kind of spell is this? How could it make me fly? Li Banfeng muttered inwardly. Is this the fake Meng Yuchun's spell, or the old man's?

An invisible force held Li Banfeng up and carried him swiftly forward.

Li Banfeng kicked out again and again, disrupting the source of the force. After flying for more than two minutes, he finally broke free of the spell and landed back on the ground.

When he looked back, the fake Meng Yuchun had already vanished. Li Banfeng had no idea how far he had flown, but he seemed to have been moving about as fast as he did when he ran at full strength.

What on earth is going on?

Li Banfeng was still trying to make sense of it when the old man caught up, panting heavily. "Little Bro, you are lucky to be alive. If you had taken even one more step forward just now, I wouldn't have been able to save you!"

Li Banfeng looked at the old man in confusion and said nothing.

The old man smiled. "I am the land deity of the neighboring territory. According to the rules, I shouldn't have entered Meng Yuchun's territory, but she has only just become a land deity. There are still some rules she doesn't understand and some things she has never seen before.

"That girl is also rather careless by nature. A Wounded Demonic Fiend disguised itself as her and came here to cause trouble. I was worried something might happen to her, so I came over to take a look."

Li Banfeng still said nothing.

The old man said, "Scared out of your wits? Don't worry. That Wounded Demonic Fiend knows the limit. With me here, she won't dare come chasing after us."

Li Banfeng blinked and stared at the old man with a very serious expression.

The old man dragged over two stones and set them on the ground. "There, there. Don't worry. Sit down, and we will talk."

With that, the old man plopped himself onto one of the stones.

Li Banfeng did not sit. He kept staring at the old man.

The old man frowned. "What's the matter with you, boy? I tell you to sit, and you don't sit. I ask you a question, and you don't answer. Have you lost your tongue?"

"You don't recognize me?" Li Banfeng finally asked.

The old man was startled. He looked Li Banfeng up and down, then asked uncertainly, "You are..."

Li Banfeng frowned and said, "You really don't recognize me?"

The old man's cheeks twitched. Then a smile spread across his face. "So you have seen me before? In that case, there's no need to waste any more breath. I suppose it's about time I made my move."

Li Banfeng pushed off the ground with the tip of his foot and bolted. The old man hovered in midair and chased after him relentlessly.

What speed! Is this old man a Wanderlust Cultivator too?

"The mountain path is hard to walk," the old man called out. "Here! Let me give you a walking stick!"

He threw a branch at Li Banfeng. Li Banfeng dodged at once, and the branch stabbed into the ground without touching him.

The old man shouted again, "Since you are in such a hurry to leave, I will send you on your way!"

A strange force surged up from beneath Li Banfeng's feet. This time, Li Banfeng was ready. Before his feet could leave the ground, he used Treading Through Ten Thousand Rivers and crushed the source of the force underfoot.

The old man laughed. "Poor thing, you look terribly tired from all that running. Here, let me wipe your sweat."

A gentle breeze swept over Li Banfeng's face and dried the sweat from his skin.

"Stop!" the old man shouted.

Li Banfeng froze in place like a clay statue. Just like that, he stopped. His legs would not move at all, as if they no longer belonged to him.

The old man floated over and stopped in front of him. He then said in a solemn expression, "Listen carefully. You have accepted my offerings three times, and now it is time for me to collect my payment. Stand right there and don't move. This is the first payment."

What does he mean? What three offerings? When did I ever accept anything from him?

The old man spoke first. "I have a few questions for you. This is the second payment, so you must answer truthfully. You said just now that you knew me. When did that happen?"

Li Banfeng did not want to speak, but his mouth opened against his will. Air pushed through his throat. He fought to hold the words back, but the truth still came out. "I don't know you. I was asking whether you recognized me."

The old man's cheek twitched again. "Good lad. You tricked me. Let me ask you one more thing. What is your relationship with Meng Yuchun?"

Once again, Li Banfeng told the truth against his will. "I am activating land in her territory. Apart from that, we have no other relationship."

The old man nodded. "Then you are of no use. There's no need for me to keep you alive."

Li Banfeng's thoughts raced as he tried to find a way out. His feet were no longer under his control. Without them, he could not use any Wanderlust Cultivation abilities. Even if he took out the key and opened the door, he still would not be able to move. He would never make it back.

I have to break his ability somehow. Otherwise, I am dead. What Homebound Cultivator ability can I use? Should I try using An Arrow Bound for Home?

He tried it, but his legs still would not move.

Enchanted artifacts, then? The Film Projector? No, too slow. I would be dead before it could cast out a helper.

The pistol? What if it jams? The Tang Saber? No good. This old man's cultivation is clearly far above mine, and not by just one level. The Tang Saber's combat strength is limited. It probably can't even hurt him.

What other enchanted artifacts can I use?

As the old man was thinking about how to kill Li Banfeng, he said, "I will burn you. That saves me the trouble of dealing with your corpse. This is the third payment. You are not allowed to put out the fire."

Not allowed to put out the fire? Just because he says I am not allowed, I really can't do it? My, my. That might actually be possible.

When he told me not to walk, I stopped walking. When he told me to tell the truth, I had no choice but to tell the truth. Is that his ability? If his ability is this powerful, why didn't he use it earlier? Three offerings? The offerings and payments have to be equal. This is some kind of rule that even this old man must follow.

Li Banfeng quickly lowered his head and wrapped his arms tightly over it, but would that really block the fire?

The old man sneered, and a ball of flame instantly engulfed Li Banfeng. The flames clung to him, rolling up and down his body. Yet his clothes did not catch fire. None of the enchanted artifacts on him burned, and even his hair remained untouched.

The old man froze, unable to understand what sort of method this was.

This was Li Banfeng's level-six Homebound Cultivator ability, Homebound Heart and Thickset Body! By imagining himself as the Pocket Dwelling, he could withstand a fatal attack. Since the Pocket Dwelling could resist fire, Li Banfeng had no reason to fear being burned!

The old man drew a short saber from his waist and swung it at Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng shouted, "Three offerings and three payments. Are you trying to take advantage of me?"

Would this count as taking advantage of me?

The old man hesitated for a moment, withdrew the flames, and shook his head. "I tried to burn you, but I failed. Since that payment hasn't been collected, I am not taking advantage of you."

He's actually reasoning with me? Li Banfeng thought. Why would he do that? If he really believed this didn't count as taking advantage, he could have attacked directly. Why did he still have to explain it so clearly?

The old man's saber was about to strike down.

Homebound Heart and Thickset Body could only be used once, so Li Banfeng had to find another way to block the strike.

The Tang Saber flew up and desperately blocked the old man's short saber.

The old man shouted, "No blocking!"

With a clang, the Tang Saber fell to the ground.

Even my enchanted artifact is under the old man's control?

The Liquor Gourd sprang up and aimed at the old man's eyes, ready to spray liquor, but the old man shouted, "The third payment has not been collected. You are not allowed to fight back!"

The Liquor Gourd really could not spray a single drop.

What sort of Daoist Path is this? How can its abilities be this ridiculous? He has monstrous abilities and that horrible speed, so why is he still trying to kill me with a saber?

He must have some kind of weakness.

WHAT IS IT?!

Li Banfeng suddenly felt something trembling in his arms. The pocket watch had been moving the whole time.

Dream Virtue? What is she trying to do?

Li Banfeng pulled the watch crown, and the illustrated calendar swiftly unfolded in front of him.

Just as the short saber was about to fall, Dream Virtue shouted, "You shameless old thing! When did you give your three offerings?"

The old man froze, then smiled. "What is there to ask about?"

Dream Virtue shouted, "If you don't explain things clearly, how can you claim payment?"

Li Banfeng suddenly felt his legs loosen slightly. The old man's ability had weakened.

Reasoning! I must reason with him! This is the key!

The old man nodded. "Fine. I will explain the three offerings clearly. He almost encountered a Wounded Demonic Fiend, and I saved his life. That was one offering.

"When he escaped, I used my ability to drag him along the entire way. That was the second offering. He was covered in sweat from running, so I wiped the sweat from his face. That was the third offering. I have explained everything clearly. What else do you have to say?"

Dream Virtue did not speak. For the moment, she could not think of anything to say. The old man had indeed explained the three offerings plainly.

The force binding Li Banfeng's legs had loosened earlier, but now it tightened again. The old man's ability had grown stronger.

The old man raised his saber again, but Li Banfeng suddenly shouted, "Was what I encountered really a Wounded Demonic Fiend?"

The old man fell silent for a moment and did not answer.

Dream Virtue shouted, "You shameless old thief! You lied to him, and you still dare demand payment?"

This was the Moralism Cultivator ability, Seeing Virtue and Aligning With It.

The old man felt a trace of guilt. What Li Banfeng had encountered earlier was not a Wounded Demonic Fiend.

Li Banfeng gave his knee a careful little twitch! His right leg could move now!

The old man's arm trembled slightly as some unseen power lashed back at him.

Author's Note:

P.S. If the old man ran into someone deaf who could not hear him speak, would that stop his ability from taking effect? Could things really be that simple?