Chu Yunlong's Gift

Looking at Chu Yunlong lying on the ground, Li Banfeng felt a pang of sadness.

This person was quite nice, and he even said he'd buy me a train ticket...

It was so desolate around here, and there might be wild beasts roaming. Li Banfeng couldn't bear to leave Chu Yunlong's body exposed in the wilderness, so he decided to bring him back to the Portable Abode and refine him into a pill using the Copper Lotus.

Entering the Portable Abode, Li Banfeng lit the candlestick and placed Chu Yunlong's body next to the Copper Lotus.

He was very curious. What kind of process was it to turn a corpse into a pill?

Hiss~

The Copper Lotus sensed Chu Yunlong's presence, and its petals slowly unfolded one by one.

Why did it sense Chu Yunlong?

Was it because Chu Yunlong had cultivation?

I also have cultivation, so why didn't the Copper Lotus turn me into a pill?

Was it because it recognized me as its master?

Or was it because it only recognized the dead, not the living?

Chirp~

What was that sound?

Li Banfeng turned his head to look at the Phonograph. It seemed to have just puffed out a little steam.

I didn't light a fire, did I?

Just as he was wondering, the candlelight flickered, and a whirlwind blew through the Portable Abode.

Chu Yunlong's gray suit and white shirt were torn to shreds, and even the Forward Hat on his head was ripped into strips of cloth.

A naked corpse twisted and deformed, finally turning into a lump of solidified paste-like substance that entered the heart of the Copper Lotus.

The petals of the Copper Lotus immediately closed, and its body was covered in a halo of light. It was refining a pill.

Shredded cloth scraps were scattered all over the floor. Among the scraps, Li Banfeng found a dagger, a very exquisite one with a sheath.

He drew the dagger from its sheath. A cold glint of light hit him, proving it was a rare and excellent weapon.

Quite a haul!

Just as Li Banfeng was about to examine the dagger carefully, another whirlwind blew through the Portable Abode.

The whirlwind still came from the lotus heart, and a powerful force snatched the dagger from Li Banfeng's hand.

Li Banfeng tried to snatch the dagger back, but he was a step too slow.

The dagger turned into paste and was swallowed into the lotus heart along with the body.

Was the fan from the Gold Rimmed Glasses also swallowed like this?

The fan was refined into a Rust Pill. What would this dagger be refined into?

Li Banfeng subconsciously clutched his sickle and shovel, but after thinking about it carefully, these two items had appeared near the Copper Lotus many times before, and the Copper Lotus didn't seem to be interested in them.

What exactly was the standard for the Copper Lotus to choose materials?

He couldn't save the dagger, and Li Banfeng felt a slight regret as he continued to search Chu Yunlong's belongings.

He found Chu Yunlong's wallet.

He carefully opened the wallet, afraid that the banknotes inside would be swallowed by the Copper Lotus.

He almost forgot, the Copper Lotus hadn't touched the more than 200,000 yuan he got back from Steward Feng yesterday.

It was a lotus that didn't love money.

In Chu Yunlong's wallet, there were 1,226 yuan and 82 cents in banknotes and six Ocean coins. Li Banfeng took the banknotes and casually threw the Ocean coins on the bed.

While the Copper Lotus was still refining pills, Li Banfeng thought about his current situation and future plans.

The first question: How to get back to Yue Province?

Li Banfeng didn't know what a Travel Permit was, and it would be very difficult to buy a train ticket through official channels.

The second question: After returning to Yue Province, how to deal with the Dark Star Bureau?

Even if he found a Travel Permit, bought a train ticket, and returned to Yue Province, could he get rid of the Dark Star Bureau's entanglement?

Obviously not.

As long as the Copper Lotus was still in Li Banfeng's hands, he couldn't escape Xiao Zhengong's pursuit.

The third question: Should he hand over the Copper Lotus to ensure his safety?

This idea was quickly rejected by Li Banfeng.

Because handing over the lotus wouldn't guarantee safety at all.

Besides, who should he hand this thing over to?

Hand it over to He Jiaqing?

He Jiaqing was lying in the hospital, probably not awake yet.

Even if he woke up, could he guard this Copper Lotus?

Hand it over to his Third Uncle?

Or hand it directly to Xiao Zhengong?

These two people definitely wanted the Copper Lotus, but they definitely didn't want others to know that the Copper Lotus was in their hands.

In other words, as soon as Li Banfeng handed the Copper Lotus to them, they would immediately kill Li Banfeng to silence him.

Xiao Zhengong had already proven Li Banfeng's speculation with his actions. The order he gave to the big-eyed man was to shoot Li Banfeng, and the order he gave to the Jiang Xiang Gang was to kill Li Banfeng and bring back the treasure.

From beginning to end, Xiao Zhengong never intended to leave Li Banfeng alive.

The Copper Lotus absolutely could not be handed over, but he still had to return to Yue Province.

In Yue Province, Xiao Zhengong did have some scruples, while the Medicine King Gully was clearly much wilder than Yue Province.

But to return to Yue Province, he first needed to obtain a travel permit. Where could he get such a thing?

Did Qin Xiaopang have connections?

Did Steward Feng have a way?

Li Banfeng peeled two greenish lotus seeds. The first one quickly burst open, revealing a rust-red iron bead, identical to the Rust Pill he had seen before.

Seeing the Rust Pill, Li Banfeng's scalp tingled, and he quickly threw the pill onto the ground.

Despite his swift action, Li Banfeng still felt a faint stinging sensation in his palm. The toxicity and corrosiveness of this thing were too strong. Li Banfeng still had the urge to personally test it.

The previous Rust Pill was refined by the fan; this time, the Rust Pill should have been refined by that dagger.

Li Banfeng carefully put the Rust Pill into the glasses case. The two Rust Pills lay quietly in the case, with no reaction to each other.

After a while, the second lotus seed burst open.

Li Banfeng peeled the lotus seed. After it burst, two entirely crimson pills appeared.

Two?

When he had refined the Gold Rimmed Glasses and Hu Gaozi, each person only yielded one pill.

This time, he refined Chu Yunlong, yet he got two pills?

Gold Rimmed Glasses and Hu Gaozi belonged to those who had entered the Dao Gate but had no cultivation level.

Did Chu Yunlong yield more pills because his cultivation was higher than theirs?

That is to say, Chu Yunlong was very likely a first-level cultivator.

But the strength of this first-level cultivator wasn't that great!

Was it because I didn't give him room to perform?

"Brother Yunlong, I'm sorry. Next time, next time I'll definitely let you perform well."

Li Banfeng swept the scattered cloth scraps into the corner of the room and lay on the bed, continuing to ponder countermeasures.

Since he couldn't return to Yue Province in a short time, he had to find a way to survive in Medicine King Gully for a while.

He wasn't short of money; at least food and drink weren't a problem.

He needed to improve his living conditions as much as possible and add more furniture.

He should try not to go out these two days. Chu Yunlong was dead, and the Jiang Xiang Gang people were definitely looking for him everywhere.

But not going out wasn't an option either.

How should I handle my cultivation?

He had to walk fifty li every day; this was a necessary condition for a first-level Travel Cultivator.

Should I just walk around in this small room?

Li Banfeng got up and paced back and forth in the room.

Pacing in such a confined space was very difficult for Li Banfeng. If he didn't control his strength properly, he would directly hit the wall at a speed of over twenty miles per hour.

According to Li Banfeng's estimation, he had walked back and forth in the Portable Abode for at least five hours, bumping himself black and blue.

He had basically gained control of his legs, but Li Banfeng could sense that his cultivation hadn't increased at all.

Constantly wandering around in a small room clearly wouldn't be recognized by himself; no matter how many steps he took, it wouldn't count as a Travel Cultivator's cultivation.

But now wasn't the time to go out!

How great it would have been if he could have been a pure Shut-in Cultivator back then!

There was nothing he could do; this house couldn't produce a Home Spirit, and a Shut-in Cultivator's cultivation was destined not to reach higher levels. In the future, Travel Cultivation would still be the main focus.

Of course, Li Banfeng also remembered the Peddler's instructions: the gap between Shut-in Cultivation and Travel Cultivation couldn't exceed three levels. After returning to Yue Province, he had to buy a house as soon as possible, even if it was small, to nurture a Home Spirit.

These were matters for later. For now, he had to get through the basic cultivation of a Travel Cultivator.

Li Banfeng left the Portable Abode and retrieved the key from the rubble of the abandoned farmhouse.

Wearing a beige suit and a black top hat, Li Banfeng pulled down the brim of his hat and hurried through the wilderness.

It was getting late, and the deserted village was empty. Li Banfeng initially tried his best to restrain his steps, but after leaving the deserted village and arriving in an open field, he no longer held back, running as fast as he could, sprinting freely.

Running, for a Travel Cultivator, was a very pleasant thing.

There were no roads in the wilderness, but for Li Banfeng, there were roads everywhere. Running wildly without restraint brought satisfaction and release from within.

After running for over an hour, passing through several villages, Li Banfeng's cultivation had a reaction; today's basic cultivation was sufficient.

He didn't stop but continued to sprint forward.

It wasn't because he hadn't run enough, but because he was hungry and needed to find something to eat.

This wasn't difficult for him because he remembered the roads; he remembered every place he had passed through.

Arriving at the entrance of a village, Li Banfeng looked at the stone tablet at the entrance. Three words were written on it: Changliu Village.

There was still a house in the village with lights on. Li Banfeng walked to the door, preparing to ask the owner for something to eat.

To be precise, it shouldn't be called asking; it should be called buying.

This was the method Qin Xiaopang had taught Li Banfeng.

Calming his mind, Li Banfeng carefully sensed around. He didn't detect any danger, so he knocked on the door.

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