Ultimate Luxury Home

The Peddler pointed out the first path: Li Banfeng could settle down directly in a perilous place.

It sounded like a fine plan, but the more he thought about it, the more absurd it became.

It was good because it solved the problem. Settling down in a perilous place would perfectly solve the problem of spending a night there.

Not just one night—he could stay for several nights. Hiding in his own home would also give him a higher chance of surviving danger.

It was absurd because how was he supposed to live the rest of his days?

"Could it be that I'm supposed to spend my whole life in a perilous place?"

The Peddler comforted Li Banfeng. "Don't be so pessimistic. Once you cultivate a Home Spirit, ordinary enemies won't be able to enter your home. You can still live in peace and ease."

"I can cultivate a Home Spirit?"

"Of course! Perilous places have many resentful souls, and resentful souls are best suited to nourishing a Home Spirit.

Take Continuous Yin Valley in Medicine King Gully, for example. That valley has extremely heavy yin energy and has nurtured quite a few Vengeful Spirits. No one knew how many people had died on that mountain. It was a typical perilous place.

It's a wonderful place—quiet, and ordinary people wouldn't dare disturb it.

If you set up your home in Continuous Yin Valley and live there for half a year, laying down roots, you'll be able to cultivate a Home Spirit. The Home Spirit can absorb Vengeful Spirits and grow stronger and stronger. It will also be of immense benefit to your future cultivation."

Li Banfeng pondered for a moment, then asked a question that seemed simple yet bore enormous consequences. "What is a Vengeful Spirit?"

The Peddler blinked, rather surprised. "Didn't you receive a higher education? Why do you need to ask me what a Vengeful Spirit is? It's a ghost, of course—a ghost filled with overwhelming resentment."

So they were ghosts.

Li Banfeng's brow relaxed. He fought to control his emotions and forced out a faint smile.

Just thinking about his future life—living with countless Vengeful Spirits in a deep, secluded valley—what a warm and cozy stretch of time that would be.

Perhaps it would not merely be a stretch of time. A House Cultivator cultivated inside their home; if things went badly, he might live in that valley for the rest of his life.

Li Banfeng looked at the Peddler and asked earnestly, "Won't the Vengeful Spirits in the valley harm me?"

"That's a good question," the Peddler answered with great seriousness. "Vengeful Spirits harming people is inevitable, but you'll have a Home Spirit. The Home Spirit will help you fend off the Vengeful Spirits' attacks."

"What if the Home Spirit can't fend them off?"

The Peddler's expression grew even more solemn. "You must have faith. You must believe in the Home Spirit's power, believe in your own will, and believe that there is no difficulty in this world that cannot be overcome. Whether you believe in yourself or not, I believe in you! You can do it!"

Li Banfeng thought about it and felt that the Peddler made some sense, but he had another question. "Before I cultivate a Home Spirit, who will help me fend them off?"

"This..." That question had struck straight at the vital point. The Peddler took out a stack of yellow paper covered in symbols of every kind. "These talismans will be enough to protect you for three to five months. By then, the Home Spirit should have been cultivated."

"And then? Even if I have a Home Spirit, I can't hide in the house every day. I have to go out and find food, don't I? Aren't I still a Travel Cultivator? Don't I still have to wander everywhere? How am I supposed to face Vengeful Spirits after leaving the house?"

"If you can run a little faster..." The Peddler could no longer keep the story going, so he changed the subject. "You don't necessarily have to live in Continuous Yin Valley. There are other places..."

"What difference would other places make? I'm a Travel Cultivator—I still have to go out and roam around. By your method, the moment I step outside, I'm delivering myself to death."

Once or twice would be one thing, but if I settled down in a perilous place, even going out to buy groceries would put my life at risk. How am I supposed to live like that?

The Peddler sighed softly. "Actually, tempering yourself in a perilous place would benefit a Travel Cultivator as well. But if you refuse, then forget it. There's another path."

The Peddler slapped his goods cabinet, and a drawer slid open, filled with all manner of miscellaneous objects, large and small.

After searching for quite a while, the Peddler took a key from the drawer—a brass key slightly shorter than an index finger, mottled with verdigris.

"Since you don't want to settle down in a perilous place, I'll give you another home."

"What kind of home?"

In Li Banfeng's view, no kind of home could resolve the conflict between being a House Cultivator and a Travel Cultivator.

"This home is very special. It is a priceless treasure in this world. If I didn't value rules and reputation so highly, I would never bear to give such a fine thing to you." The Peddler extended the key before him, turned it counterclockwise three times, and made the motion of opening a door.

He was opening a door in the air with a key.

His movements were extremely serious, as though a door truly stood before him.

He turned to Li Banfeng and beckoned. "Come. I'll take you inside to have a look at the house."

Inside?

Inside where?

There was nothing but air ahead.

"Come quickly!" The Peddler's expression was utterly serious.

Li Banfeng walked to the Peddler's side, but he still saw nothing.

The Peddler remained serious.

Li Banfeng looked at the Peddler. "I know an attending physician surnamed Wang in the psychiatric department at Yuezhou Third Hospital. He's quite a nice person. How about you go too..."

The Peddler gave Li Banfeng a push, and Li Banfeng took several more steps forward.

Suddenly, everything before him went pitch-black. The wilderness, the trees, the campfire, the goods cabinet, the straw mat—all of it vanished.

Sizzle!

The Peddler struck a match. By that faint glimmer, Li Banfeng finally saw his surroundings clearly.

It was a room, not a particularly large one. By eye, it was three meters wide and two meters long, roughly six square meters in area.

The room was empty. Aside from its mottled walls, there was nothing—not even a window.

The match was about to burn out. With one foot outside the door and one foot inside, the Peddler said to Li Banfeng, "The door will close very soon. What comes next is extremely important. Before it closes, you must throw the key outside, into a suitable place."

After saying that, the Peddler tossed the key out.

There was a mass of mist outside the door. Li Banfeng could not see where he had thrown the key.

Bang!

The door shut, and the match went out as well. The room fell into absolute darkness.

Sizzle~

The Peddler struck another match. This time, he lit a candle and held it in his hand.

"Take a good look. This is the home I'm giving you."

Li Banfeng looked around. "If you say this is a room, I'll believe you. But if you say it's a home..."

This "home" was truly a little too small.

"This is a home—one of the most precious homes in this world."

"What makes it precious? Is it because it can turn invisible?"

Before the Peddler opened the door, Li Banfeng had not seen this "home" at all. Clearly, it had the ability to become invisible.

"It does far more than turn invisible." The Peddler smiled. "This home can move. Wherever the key goes, it follows. As long as you carry the key, it will keep following you."

Li Banfeng froze.

If what the Peddler said was true, if this was a mobile home, then the conflict between being a Travel Cultivator and a House Cultivator would be completely resolved.

But could such a home truly exist in this world?

"Don't believe me?" The Peddler smiled. "You can try it."

With that, the Peddler opened the door and led Li Banfeng outside.

The moment both feet crossed the threshold, dense fog covered his vision.

The instant the door closed, the fog dispersed. Li Banfeng found his feet standing amid a patch of tangled grass.

The Peddler crouched down, picked up the brass key from the grass, and handed it to Li Banfeng.

"Let's change locations." The Peddler led Li Banfeng several hundred meters away and into a forest.

"Stick the key out until you feel it enter the keyhole."

Li Banfeng did as he said.

He inserted the key into the air, but felt nothing.

The Peddler shook his head. "That's not right."

"I still don't understand the technique..."

"You don't need any technique. Just do it the same way you use a key to open a door. It's that simple. Be clean and decisive—don't hesitate."

Li Banfeng tried again. This time, he did it neatly and naturally.

Click, click, click~

Li Banfeng seemed to hear the sound of the key entering a keyhole, and he felt bursts of resistance against his fingers.

"You used the right method." The Peddler smiled. "Turn the key left. When you hear two sounds, the lock will open."

Li Banfeng pinched the key and turned it counterclockwise.

Click!

Click!

The Peddler said, "Push the door!"

Li Banfeng pushed forward. He felt the texture of a wooden door and even heard the sound of its hinges.

Creak~

Yet he saw neither a door nor the room from before.

"Take one step forward. Just one step."

Li Banfeng stepped forward, and thick fog swept over him, swiftly blocking his vision.

One more step forward, and he should be able to see the room.

The Peddler immediately warned him, "Don't move yet. Throw the key outside first.

"The home's exit is connected to the key. If you bring the key into the home, its exit will lead back into the home, and you'll be trapped in there forever."

Li Banfeng turned around to throw away the key, but the Peddler added another reminder. "Pick a good place to throw it. Don't make it too obvious, or someone else might pick it up. But don't hide it too well either, or you may not be able to find it yourself."

All Li Banfeng could see was fog. His vision was extremely blurred, making it very difficult to throw the key.

No wonder the Peddler had said that throwing the key was so important.

The Peddler urged him, "Hurry and throw the key out. The door will close soon."

Fortunately, Li Banfeng had a special skill. Half relying on his eyesight and half on his memory, he threw the key out and stepped through the door with his other foot.

Bang!

The door shut.

Li Banfeng entered the room.

Li Banfeng turned back and pushed open the door. He walked out of the room and found himself back in the forest.

He found the key on the ground. He had not thrown it far; it lay right beneath a tree.

Within five meters, even if he could not see clearly, he would not miss.

The Peddler smiled. "It's still a little obvious. Remember to choose a better place in the future."

Li Banfeng nodded, clutching the key tightly in his hand.

"Are you satisfied?" the Peddler asked.

Li Banfeng nodded again.

Satisfied? He was more than satisfied.

"With this home, I can travel everywhere from now on. When I'm tired, I can return home and rest. It won't delay my Travel Cultivation, nor will it delay my House Cultivation."

"Uh..." The Peddler's smile froze, and his expression gradually turned solemn. "Things are not quite that simple. Travel Cultivation is easy enough, but you'll need to think of another way for House Cultivation. This home has one small flaw."

Li Banfeng was startled. "What flaw?"

The Peddler sighed. "It can't produce a Home Spirit."

PS: Although there were only two updates today, that was still more than seven thousand characters! Esteemed readers, please give me a few more monthly tickets.