Life-Stealing Clock Chimes

Li Banfeng suspected Luo Yuni was sitting right beside him, perhaps even closer, maybe even on top of him.

In this situation, Luo Yuni reaching out was an extremely dangerous move for Li Banfeng.

What was even more dangerous was that Li Banfeng didn't feel any danger.

If this Home Spirit had no ill intentions, everything would be fine.

If this Home Spirit had ill intentions and Li Banfeng couldn't sense it, it proved that the Home Spirit's cultivation was above his, and by more than two levels.

Seeing Li Banfeng retreat to a distance, Luo Yuni was quite disappointed. "What are you still hesitating for? Do you really not want me?"

"I told you, it's not that I don't want you," Li Banfeng shook his head again. "I don't want this house."

This was the truth.

Li Banfeng really wanted a Home Spirit, but in this house, he would never utter Luo Yuni's name.

Although he hadn't been in Pro State for long, having heard the descriptions from Ma Wu, the Peddler, and Xiao Yeci, and having witnessed the old woman's experience cultivating a Home Spirit, Li Banfeng had somewhat figured out some patterns.

In this set of patterns, there were three important roles: Shut-in Cultivator, Home Spirit, and house.

A Shut-in Cultivator could control a house, and a house could control a Home Spirit. Through this transmission, a Shut-in Cultivator could subdue a Home Spirit.

The key to subduing a Home Spirit lay in the Shut-in Cultivator's compatibility with the house.

The old woman's talent was indeed poor; it took her a long time to form a compatibility with this house.

Li Banfeng had not formed a compatibility with this house, at least he didn't sense it himself. In this situation, he didn't believe he could subdue this powerful Home Spirit.

If he failed to subdue her, the situation would be extremely dangerous.

He hadn't forgotten Lu Xiaolan, who was trapped by the Home Spirit in the He Family Old House.

Luo Yuni's brows relaxed, and her charming smile returned to her face.

"You don't want this house, and actually, I don't want it either. I've been trapped here for decades and I'm tired of it.

You want your special house, and I like that house very much too. Take me there, I'll go with you.

Once we're in your house, I'll be yours. My abilities will be yours, and my body will be yours."

Take her to the Portable Abode?

Would that work?

Li Banfeng decided to take a gamble!

The Portable Abode is my territory, and my compatibility with it is extremely high. According to the old woman's method, light a candle, gaze at the grandfather clock, sense the compatibility, and say her name, and I can successfully subdue her.

Moreover, I can enter and leave the Portable Abode whenever I want.

If she dares to play tricks, I'll trap her in the Portable Abode!

Keeping her locked up for a while should be enough to successfully tame her.

Li Banfeng took a deep breath, first taking off his Short Knife and placing it aside.

This knife cannot be brought into the Portable Abode for now, it's too dangerous.

Li Banfeng himself couldn't control this strange weapon, but Luo Yuni could. If it were brought into the Portable Abode and Luo Yuni suddenly turned hostile, it would pose a fatal threat to Li Banfeng.

Besides that, Li Banfeng also took some precautions. He touched the remaining Rust Pill.

Luo Yuni was a vengeful spirit. Li Banfeng didn't know how to deal with vengeful spirits. If something went wrong, Li Banfeng could only target her main body, the Old Grandfather Clock.

The Rust Pill couldn't damage the clock's wooden casing, but it was very effective against the clock's pendulum, dial, and the internal mainspring and gears.

Besides the Rust Pill, there were also the sickle and shovel. Li Banfeng hung them on his waist, adjusting them to the most convenient position for action.

Luo Yuni's figure disappeared from the pendulum, her soul returning to the Old Grandfather Clock.

Everything was ready. Li Banfeng took out the key, lifted the Old Grandfather Clock with one hand, and entered the Portable Abode as quickly as possible.

He temporarily placed the Old Grandfather Clock on the ground and turned back to look for candles.

That's strange, the candles aren't in their original place, and the matches are gone too.

Am I forgetful, or has someone been in the Portable Abode?

Li Banfeng frantically searched for candles. He needed light. Without light, he couldn't see the clock, let alone gaze at it.

On the pendulum of the Old Grandfather Clock, Luo Yuni's face reappeared.

This time it wasn't a reflection. Luo Yuni was inside the Old Grandfather Clock, and behind her were clear gears and mainsprings.

The charming smile gradually faded, a pair of arched eyebrows slowly rose, and her almond eyes followed suit.

With a slight curl of her lips, Luo Yuni licked them. The color drained from her face, and her skin was covered in a ghastly paleness.

Li Banfeng's idea wasn't wrong, and his method wasn't wrong either. Under normal circumstances, he could indeed subdue a Home Spirit.

But he underestimated one thing: the gap in strength between the two sides, a gap that couldn't be overcome even in Li Banfeng's home ground.

According to common sense, a first-level Shut-in Cultivator's corresponding Home Spirit wouldn't be too strong, likely also first-level, at most second-level.

But Li Banfeng was mistaken. Luo Yuni's talent was astonishingly good.

Before becoming a Home Spirit, she had already become a powerful evil spirit with her strong resentment.

After becoming a Home Spirit, through thirty years of cultivation, her strength reached the sixth level.

Sixth-level strength was an existence Li Banfeng couldn't imagine.

But a Home Spirit was a Home Spirit after all. Luo Yuni was bound by the house, and this house had a deep connection with the old lady, so Luo Yuni couldn't use many of her powers.

Luo Yuni saw that Li Banfeng didn't know much about Shut-in Cultivators. She wanted to use Li Banfeng to kill the old lady and then help her break free from her restraints.

Why didn't she kill the old lady herself?

Didn't Home Spirits have precedents of killing their masters?

Li Banfeng had also thought about this question and inferred from it that Luo Yuni hadn't told the truth in many places.

To gain Li Banfeng's trust, most of what Luo Yuni said was true, but this matter was Luo Yuni's weakness, so she naturally wouldn't reveal the truth.

In fact, the answer to this matter was already present in the descriptions of Ma Wu, the Peddler, and Xiao Yeci. Through analysis, Li Banfeng also had a rough conclusion.

A Home Spirit killing its master has a prerequisite: a problem with the Shut-in Cultivator's connection to the house.

If a Shut-in Cultivator doesn't cherish their house, the house will tolerate the Home Spirit's rebellion, giving the Home Spirit a chance to kill its master, just like the extremely slovenly Shut-in Cultivator Ma Wu mentioned.

If a Shut-in Cultivator abandons their house, the house will release some restraints, turning the Home Spirit into a malevolent spirit that harms people within the house at will.

The old woman and Luo Yuni didn't get along well, but the old woman had deep feelings for this house and was highly compatible with it.

Luo Yuni, on the other hand, was bound by the house. There was a contract between the Shut-in Cultivator and the Home Spirit. She could suppress the old woman's cultivation, but she couldn't kill her.

Moreover, even if the old woman died, as long as the house remained, the Home Spirit still couldn't break free from its restraints because the contract between the Shut-in Cultivator and the Home Spirit hadn't expired, unless another Shut-in Cultivator took over.

The house was the Home Spirit's shackles. There were only three ways for a Home Spirit to break free from its restraints.

One was to become strong enough.

A strong enough Home Spirit could forcibly break free from the house's restraints. Ma Wu had heard of similar precedents.

Could Luo Yuni's cultivation reaching the sixth layer allow her to break free from the house's restraints?

No, it was far from enough.

The second was for someone to take the Home Spirit away from the house.

A Home Spirit that left its house would turn into a malevolent spirit, and few people dared to do this.

The third was to break the contract.

This was simple. Another Shut-in Cultivator gazed at the Home Spirit and called out its name. If the original Shut-in Cultivator didn't object, the contract between the Shut-in Cultivator and the Home Spirit could be broken. As long as the Home Spirit agreed, this was the method for transferring a Home Spirit.

Luo Yuni chose the third method: breaking the contract.

In the old woman's courtyard, if Li Banfeng gazed at the grandfather clock and called out Luo Yuni's name, the old woman certainly wouldn't object because she was already dead.

The contract between Luo Yuni and the old woman would be broken, and Luo Yuni would be freed from her restraints.

However, Li Banfeng wasn't compatible with the courtyard, so Luo Yuni wouldn't become his Home Spirit. She would immediately kill Li Banfeng.

Luo Yuni had been sitting behind Li Banfeng. Although her power was limited, as long as she could grab Li Banfeng's vital points, she could force him to call out her name.

But she didn't expect him to run the moment she reached out.

Since force didn't work, she tried persuasion. She repeatedly tempted Li Banfeng to call out her name, thinking she would succeed easily. She didn't expect Li Banfeng to be extremely wary and refuse to call out her name.

If one path didn't work, she would take another.

Luo Yuni demanded that Li Banfeng take her into the Portable Abode.

This time, she succeeded.

Having left the original courtyard, she was free.

But the Portable Abode was now very compatible with Li Banfeng. What would happen if Li Banfeng gazed at the grandfather clock in the Portable Abode and called out Luo Yuni's name?

As long as he gazed at the Home Spirit, sensed his compatibility with the house, and called out the Home Spirit's name, the Home Spirit would belong to Li Banfeng.

The idea was correct, but in reality, Li Banfeng couldn't succeed.

Because Luo Yuni wouldn't give Li Banfeng another chance to call out her name. She now wanted to kill Li Banfeng immediately and take the Portable Abode for herself.

A six-layered Home Spirit, attacking without restraint, Li Banfeng had no chance of survival.

The pendulum swung rapidly.

The minute hand on the clock face drove the hour hand to rotate, quickly reaching the twelve o'clock position.

As long as the clock chimed twelve times in a row, she could cut Li Banfeng into thirteen pieces!

Click, click, click~

The gears of the grandfather clock ground against each other.

The minute hand was about to overlap with the hour hand, the clock was about to chime, Li Banfeng was still looking for a candle, and Luo Yuni's smile became even more sinister.

Hiss, hiss, hiss~

A beam of firelight lit up, and the sound of steam hissing erupted first.

Li Banfeng was startled, the phonograph had started.

How could the phonograph start by itself?

Luo Yuni completely ignored the phonograph.

Clang!

A clock chime!

An invisible sharp blade rushed towards Li Banfeng's back.

Li Banfeng felt a chill, instinctively dodging with all his might, but it was futile, he couldn't dodge it at all, this was a speed he couldn't comprehend.

Hiss!

A beam of white steam shot out from the phonograph, easily dispersing the invisible sharp blade!

Luo Yuni stared at the phonograph with blood-red eyes.

What is this thing?

Does this thing have sentience?

Something with sentience dares to stop me?

Who gave it the guts?

Clang!

The second clock chime!

The enraged Luo Yuni launched a second attack, targeting not only Li Banfeng but also the phonograph, she wanted to cut the phonograph into pieces as well.

Whoosh~

The steam rapidly approached, surrounding the old grandfather clock, the invisible blades failed to launch and directly dissipated within the body of the old grandfather clock.

Click, click, click~

Luo Yuni was a little surprised, but still unwilling to give up, and attacked again.

The gears strained to turn, attempting to produce a third chime.

The third chime failed to appear; the Old Grandfather Clock's mainspring was jammed by an invisible force within the steam.

Luo Yuni roared repeatedly, still desperately exerting her power.

Click, click, click~

The mainspring quickly reached its limit.

Hiss~

The Phonograph let out a hiss, a mocking hiss.

Snap!

The Old Grandfather Clock's mainspring snapped within the steam.

"Ah~~"

Luo Yuni was terrified, then let out a mournful shriek, as if her bones had broken.

Whoosh!

Another burst of steam struck.

The Old Grandfather Clock's glass cover shattered, and the pendulum broke!

The dial was ripped off, and the minute and hour hands bent and melted under the high temperature.

The copper internal frame collapsed, and the large and small gears scattered.

Crack! Crack!

The Old Grandfather Clock's wooden casing turned into a pile of splinters in a few seconds.

Everything happened too quickly; Li Banfeng didn't react at all.

Luo Yuni's screams lingered for a long time, as if she were enduring unimaginable pain.

From within the Old Grandfather Clock, a cloud of red dust was drawn into the Phonograph's horn along with the steam.

Looking at the remnants of the Old Grandfather Clock by the light of the Phonograph, Li Banfeng was covered in sweat, speechless with terror.

Hiss, hiss, hiss~

The Phonograph's needle automatically settled onto the record.

First came cheerful gongs and drums.

Next was cheerful flute music.

Then the Phonograph began to sing a sweet song:

"Seeing you off outside the small village,

There's something I need to tell you,

Although a hundred flowers have already bloomed,

Rumble rumble rumble~ Rumble rumble~

Wildflowers by the roadside~~~

Don't you pick them!"

PS: Come on, let's get high with the phonograph!