Metal Cultivator

Liu Liangyi was determined to take revenge on Ma Wu, but he did not act immediately.

Unlike Liu Changyu, Liu Liangyi takes all aspects into consideration before taking action.

First, the operation must be successful. The traces Nightmare Cultivator are too obvious, making it easy for the other party to seize evidence. To erase all traces, no survivors should be left at the scene.

This is not difficult for Liu Liangyi. He has sixty Ghost Servant. As long as he blocks Ma Wu and surrounds him from the front and back, he can kill him without hesitation and ensure that not a single one of them escapes alive.

Second, we must guard against techniques and magic weapons.

Ghost Servant can move freely between reality and illusion, which gives them an advantage in battle, but they are also subject to some Daoist techniques.

Joy Cultivator has some techniques that can counter the undead, but only at the third level.

Does Ma Wu have three levels of cultivation?

Liu Liangyi is uncertain.

According to Liu Liangyi's speculation, Ma Wu was able to kill Song Jia Sen, so his cultivation level must not be too low.

In addition to techniques, there are also magical items to subdue the spirits of the dead.

Does Ma Wu have a magical artifact to subdue the spirits of the dead?

It has happened before.

He had a dog-skin coat, which was dirty and greasy, making him look like a beggar.

Anyone who puts on this dog-skin coat will have their soul scattered the moment he touches them.

Now that Ma Wu has been kicked out of his home, is he still wearing that dog-skin coat?

Liu Liangyi dared not gamble. If the fur coat was still on Ma Wu, the Ghost Servant alone would not only fail to kill Ma Wu, but would also lose a large number of Ghost Servant.

These sixty Ghost Servant were the result of Liu Liangyi's years of hard work. Losing even one meant that the Liu family lost a fighting force. They couldn't kill Ma Wu but lost all their Ghost Servant. Such a loss was not something Liu Liangyi could afford.

To ensure everything went perfectly, Liu Liangyi decided to use paper figures.

The Ghost Servant can attach itself to the paper figure, which avoids direct contact between the Ghost Servant and Ma Wu. Even if the paper figure is destroyed, the Ghost Servant can easily get rid of it and attach itself to another paper figure.

The Ghost Servant wandered back and forth among the paper figures, and Ma Wu could not find a target to use his techniques on. Even if he had to wear them down, he could eventually wear them down.

The method is correct, but it's a bit difficult to implement.

Liu Liangyi hadn't used paper figures for many years. One Ghost Servant could control a maximum of five paper figures, and sixty Ghost Servant could control three hundred paper figures. This was equivalent to using one's own cultivation to control a small army. Liu Liangyi was getting old and was finding it somewhat difficult.

After much deliberation, he decided to use forty Ghost Servant to control two hundred paper figures, and keep the remaining twenty Ghost Servant by his side to protect his safety.

Third, secrecy must be guaranteed.

So many paper figures must be used without being noticed.

Not only must it not be detected by Ma Wu's men, but even his own people must not leak the slightest word.

Does Liu Liangyi trust his own people?

I can't trust him.

He didn't even trust his closest accountant Hu Juncai.

Having roamed the underworld for decades, he trusted no one but himself.

He decided to go to Blue Poplar Village alone, but he couldn't go for the next couple of days.

Because he heard that someone was going to the vicinity of Blue Poplar Village.

If this person shows up, it's best not to cause trouble, or you'll be in big trouble.

Clang, clang!

"Imported Soap, Snow Cream, matches, candles, shovels—come and see! A whole cartload of good stuff for you to choose from!"

The Peddler pulled his cart to the side of the road and had just shouted twice when Li Banfeng rushed over with three men.

Hearing that the Peddler was coming soon, Li Banfeng had been sending people to inquire about the situation, and finally the Peddler arrived.

Li Banfeng was a regular customer; even with a top hat and a full beard, the Peddler could still recognize him.

Seeing his regular customer arrive, the Peddler pushed his cart away, not wanting to do business with Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng intercepted the Peddler first. "I want to buy medicine, basic medicine!"

The Peddler stared at Li Banfeng for a moment. "You want to buy entry-level medicine? You dare to buy entry-level medicine?"

He's already mastered two methods; buying more medicine would be incredibly foolish.

Li Banfeng shook his head and said, "It's not me buying the medicine, it's my two brothers who need to buy it."

Behind him followed Ma Wu, Xiao Chuan, and Little Genzi. These two were road construction workers who were usually devoted to Ma Wu. They had secretly saved money to buy herbal medicine and accumulated Dao Affinity. Seeing that their foundation was decent, they brought them to the sect.

Ma Wu chuckled and said, "Could you please take a look and tell me what kind of medicinal powder we have today?"

The Peddler gave Li Banfeng a disdainful look, then said to Ma Wu, "Isn't it just about entering the sect? You only need to bring these two people; you don't need to bring him along."

Li Banfeng was very dissatisfied. "I'm here to buy things too. You're here to sell yourself, how can you be picky about your customers?"

"You're the one who's out selling things!" The Peddler spat at Li Banfeng, then turned to Xiao Chuan and Little Genzi, saying, "I brought a lot of medicine powder today. Which sect do you two want to choose?"

While Little Chuanzi was still hesitating, Li Banfeng gave her a suggestion. "Why don't you choose the Joy Cultivator' path with your young master? You can cultivate together."

Little Chuanzi shook his head and said, "I don't think that profession has any future."

Ma Wu kicked Little Chuanzi: "Who the hell are you calling a loser?!"

Little Chuanzi said to the Peddler, "Actually, I wanted to study literature."

The Peddler chuckled, "You've got potential! Do you enjoy reading?"

Little Chuanzi answered very seriously, "I love reading, but I can't read."

The Peddler frowned. "If you can't read, what are you studying literature for?"

Little Chuanzi lowered her head and said, "I just want to learn to read."

Ma Wu said to the Peddler, "Give him Wenxiu's medicine powder, I'll teach him to read."

The Peddler shook his head and said, "That's nonsense. Do you think learning to read is easy? How many years have you been learning? Don't you know?"

After entering the path of literary cultivation, one is required to read a book every day. But he can't read, so what can he read? If he doesn't complete his daily practice, isn't he just waiting to die?

Little Chuanzi looked distressed. "I just don't want to be blind."

The Peddler waved his hand. "Then go learn to read, and come back to me when you've learned!"

Little Chuanzi felt even more aggrieved. "I can operate a road roller, I'm not useless."

The Peddler chuckled, "Who said you're a good-for-nothing? You don't have to go to a literary school to be considered successful. You know how to operate a road roller, right? Then do you know how to repair one?"

Little Chuanzi nodded and said, "I can fix it!"

The Peddler put on gloves, picked up a shovel, scooped out a spoonful of medicinal powder, and said to Little Chuanzi, "This is a powder for craftsmen, specially for studying Work Method. The more Work Method you learn, the more refined you become, the faster your cultivation will increase."

Little Chuanzi asked excitedly, "What is Work Method?"

"The Work Method are..." The Peddler couldn't think of a way to explain it to Little Chuanzi for a moment, "Well, it's about repairing road rollers, trains, airplanes, mechanisms, traps... From small bamboo baskets and earthenware pots to skyscrapers, all these things are Work Method. It just depends on how many you can learn!"

Little Chuanzi nodded and said, "I can do that!"

"Sure, but the medicine powder isn't cheap. The repair cost is 110,000, no bargaining."

Upon hearing the price of 110,000 for the medicine powder, Little Chuanzi looked at Ma Wu with a nervous expression.

Without hesitation, Ma Wu took out 110,000 yuan and handed it to the Peddler, receiving the money in one hand and the medicine in the other.

The Peddler advised, "If you learn manual labor, you must also learn to read, otherwise you will have difficulty making progress in the future."

Little Chuanzi agreed, took the bright silver powder with a metallic smell, endured the excruciating pain, and immediately patted the powder onto his stomach, successfully entering the practice.

Little Genzi also wants to do repairs.

But he felt that the price of 110,000 was too high.

Ma Wu and Little Chuanzi were closer, while Little Genzi was not so favored, and he was worried that the Fifth Young Master would not give him money.

Seeing that the Peddler's attention was on Little Chuanzi, Little Genzi quietly slipped over to the Peddler's cart.

The drawer where the Peddler took the medicine powder was still open. Little Genzi secretly put on gloves, grabbed a handful of medicine powder from the drawer, and smeared it on himself.

The Peddler suddenly turned around, looked at Little Genzi, and said, "What are you doing?"

Little Genzi, enduring the pain, shook his head and said, "I didn't do anything."

The Peddler angrily shouted, "You stole my medicine!"

Little Genzi shook his head again. "No, no."

Ma Wu got angry. "Genzi, if you took their medicine, you have to admit it. I'll pay you back, don't do something so shameful!"

Little Genzi lowered his head, not daring to make a sound.

The Peddler carefully examined Little Genzi's face and asked, "What kind of powder did you take just now?"

Little Genzi pointed at Little Chuanzi and said, "My medicine powder and his are from the same drawer."

The Peddler shook his head and said, "The powders from the same drawer might not all be the same. See if this is the color?"

The Peddler scooped out a spoonful of powder from the same drawer. The powder was golden yellow, even brighter than the golden powder used by the House Cultivator.

Everyone was stunned. The powder they had just scooped out of the drawer was clearly silver, so how did it suddenly turn gold?

Little Genzi was too hasty in stealing the medicine and didn't pay attention to the color.

He opened his palm and looked at it, finding that there were still golden powdery residues on his gloves.

What I just took out was indeed golden powder!

The Peddler laughed and said, "Young man, you're in luck. The medicine powder you chose is cheap, only a hundred dollars."

Little Genzi looked delighted. "One hundred yuan is enough?"

That's good. Young Master doesn't need to pay. Little Genzi can afford it himself!

The Peddler nodded and said, "One hundred yuan is enough, and I'll even deliver it."

After saying that, the Peddler took out two long, thin buckets from his cart. They were about 12 feet tall and about two fists in diameter.

Little Genzi asked in surprise, "What's this bucket for?"

"No rush, no rush, there's more to deliver." The Peddler gave Little Genzi another spoon, the handle of which was almost a meter long.

"This bucket should be used together with this spoon."

Little Genzi, holding a spoon, asked, puzzled, "Why do we have to use them together?"

The Peddler explained, "That bucket is a golden bucket, and that spoon is a golden spoon. They're used to scoop up golden soup."

Little Genzi looked at the spoon in his hand again, a bad feeling creeping over him. "What is Golden Soup?"

"Golden soup in the outhouse!"

"Isn't that manure?"

"Since you chose Jinxiu, you naturally have to go and try your luck!"

"This isn't cultivation of gold, it's Dung Cultivator!" Little Genzi burst into tears. "I won't do it! I won't choose this path!"

The Peddler shook his head and sighed, "I've already chosen the Daoist path; there's no going back now."

Little Genzi wailed, "I'd rather lose my life than choose this sect!"

The Peddler sighed, "You can look on the bright side. The various schools of thought in this world are interconnected and mutually restraining; they all have checks and balances on each other."

Poison cultivation and Medicine Cultivator are incompatible; Water Cultivator and Fire Cultivator are incompatible; House Cultivator and Travel Cultivator are incompatible; Joy Cultivator and Sufferance Cultivator are incompatible. Only your Daoist sect is powerful; you are the one who overcomes others, and no one can overcome you.

Travel Cultivator flee at the sight of you, literary cultivators cover their noses, House Cultivator shut their doors, Food Cultivator feel nauseous, martial cultivators shun you, and Joy Cultivator become weak in body and soul at the sight of you.

The dead fear unclean things; even the Ghost Servant of the Nightmare Cultivator dare not act recklessly before you. If this path is mastered, it will be invincible!

Little Genzi wailed, "I won't fix this! I won't fix this!"

"Take it easy, take it easy. You've already entered the door. From now on, you'll have to carry this manure bucket. Before you move up to the next level, you'll have to carry it for five hours every day. You can't carry an empty bucket; it has to be filled. You also have to change it every day. The more frequently you change it, the faster you'll advance."

Once you reach a higher level, you'll need to carry it for eight hours a day. After advancing to the second level, one bucket won't be enough; you'll need to carry two. Then you can come back to me to buy a third one, to prepare for advancing to the third level.

Even if you don't want a promotion, you still have to carry it for at least two hours every day, and the "golden soup" in the bucket needs to be changed at least every two days.

I've shown you the way; how you walk is up to you.

Little Genzi sat on the ground wailing, while the Peddler continued to hawk his wares.

Ma Wu approached the Peddler and asked, "I'd like to buy some tonics."

"Joy Cultivator's tonic?" The Peddler smiled. "Yes, do you want a decoction, a powder, or a pill?"

Decoctions take effect slowly, powders don't last, and pills are highly toxic. The choice is yours.

Ma Wu bought the herbal medicine, Peddler didn't give him a prescription, only a medicine packet. He prescribed one dose a day and warned Ma Wu that it wouldn't work if he opened it.

Having bought over a hundred medicine packets to ensure he could wait for the Peddler's next appearance, Ma Wu was satisfied and began planning the next stage of his cultivation.

Li Banfeng also inquired about the medicine.

"Is there any medicine that can cure Pill Poison?"

The Peddler shook his head and said, "I don't have that."

"Really not?"

"If I had that good stuff, would I need to push a truck around all over the place?"

Different elixirs have different toxicities, and there's no good way to neutralize them. You either have to rely on your physical strength to withstand them, or time to wear them down. There are no shortcuts.

Unable to find a cure for Pill Poison, Li Banfeng turned to another question, "Where is the Peddler's Road?"

The Peddler looked at Li Banfeng, unsure how to evaluate him. "Don't you have any sense of propriety? I am Peddler, and you ask me where the Peddler's road is? That's my secret. Do you think I'd tell you?"

Li Banfeng said very sincerely, "I'll pay."

The Peddler flew into a rage. "Is this about money? This is my livelihood! How can I just tell anyone? You're asking such a vulgar question. Do you have any respect for me?"

Li Banfeng curled his lip and said, "We absolutely can't tell?"

The Peddler shook his head. "That's not true. If you enter my Daoist sect and cultivate to a certain level, I can tell you some things about the Peddler's way."

Is there a Daoist sect behind the Peddler?

This is the first time I've heard of this.

Why not try joining his sect?

Li Banfeng has already entered two Daoist sects.

He pondered for a moment and said, "What would happen if I joined another Daoist sect now?"

"I'll die," the Peddler replied bluntly.

"Never mind then."

With the Peddler's road deal out of the question for the time being, Li Banfeng simply asked a more direct question, "Do you sell Travel Permit?"

The Peddler was speechless. "Do you think I would sell such vulgar things? No way!"

Li Banfeng snorted, "You have nothing to show for it, and you still have the nerve to do business!"

The Peddler wanted to beat up Li Banfeng, but he was afraid of ruining his reputation in front of so many people, so he could only hold back.

Ma Wu and Xiao Chuan both bought what they wanted.

As for Little Genzi, he's at least entered the field.

It was a rare occasion for the Peddler to come, but Li Banfeng came empty-handed, and he was unwilling to give up.

"I'll buy that metal bucket, two bottles of Snow Cream, two bars of scented soap, that rice scoop, that pot, and I'll also take some rouge and face powder, and a few of those beaded flowers."

"Why would a man like you buy so much rouge and pearl flowers?" the Peddler asked, puzzled.

"None of your business, I'll pay," Li Banfeng said, glancing at the red lantern stuck in the Peddler's cart. "I'll take this one too."

The Peddler waved his hand and said, "I can't give you this lantern. I told you last time that a friend gave it to me, and I won't sell it for any amount of money."

Lanterns are not for sale.

"Where's the Feather Duster?"

"That Feather Duster is for sweeping dust!"

"Will you sell it for one hundred yuan?"

"Not for sale!"

"One thousand!"

"Not for sale!"

"Ten thousand!"

The Peddler frowned. "Why do you insist on buying this Feather Duster?"

Li Banfeng remained silent.

He felt as if the Feather Duster was talking.

He couldn't hear what was said.

He listened with his Thread-Pulling Earring, as if it were saying, "Have pity on me, give me something to eat."

The Peddler glanced at Li Banfeng, then at the earring he was clutching in his hand, and frowned slightly.

PS: Li Banfeng heard something he shouldn't have heard.

Thanks to Nyaruko for initiating the character summon, and thanks to reader 20180905205521924, whose guidance led me to discover an incredibly powerful path of cultivation.