CHAPTER 434: 305

Li Banfeng opened his eyes to find an exceedingly beautiful woman tending to his wounds.

Midway through cleaning, the woman exclaimed in admiration, "This little thing has quite some spirit!"

Li Banfeng hurriedly got up, put on his clothes, and asked the woman, "Do we know each other?"

The woman smiled. "You just reclaimed new land on my territory, and now you turn around and say you don’t know me?"

"You’re a Local Deity?"

The woman nodded. "My name is Meng Yuchun. What’s your name?"

"I’m Li Qi, and all this should be written in the Contract Book."

"I have the Contract Book prepared. Write down your name."

Li Banfeng wrote his name, pressed his handprint, burned the Contract Book, and sprinkled blood on the soil of the plot.

"These are all things that should be done before reclaiming new land."

Meng Yuchun explained, "I am different from other Local Deities. For anyone who reclaimed land here before, this was always the rule!"

"How many people have reclaimed land here before?"

"Just you. So, as I said, this has always been the rule."

Li Banfeng looked at the woman before him. "Don’t you think this rule is a bit too careless?"

Meng Yuchun shook her head with a laugh. "It’s been over half a year since I became a Local Deity, and you are the first living person to enter my territory. This place is already so desolate. If I still insist on all those pointless rules, when will things ever improve?"

The place indeed was desolate. Li Banfeng looked around and asked, "Why did you choose such a location in the first place?"

"Was it my choice? I have to take whatever territory the Inner State assigns."

The origin of Local Deities was something Li Banfeng wanted to know. There was a frankness in Meng Yuchun’s speech, even more so than Qiu Luoye’s. If he treated her with sincerity, he should be able to learn a few things.

"Is going to the Inner State a must to become a Local Deity?"

"Yes. Otherwise, how can one ascend a layer?"

Ascend a layer?

Li Banfeng asked, "What is your current cultivation level? Don’t answer if you don’t want to. I know one shouldn’t casually ask about someone else’s cultivation level."

Meng Yuchun replied with a smile, "Even if I don’t tell you, you should be able to guess. I only have First Layer cultivation level. In this wretched place, how many layers do you think I could have ascended in just half a year?"

Li Banfeng hadn’t guessed. "The First Layer you mentioned, what does it mean?"

Meng Yuchun was taken aback. "Your cultivation level isn’t low, but your knowledge is lacking. I’m definitely not at the First Layer of Earth Skin."

Earth Skin First Layer?

He seemed to have heard this concept mentioned somewhere before.

That’s right, the Coachman had said it before.

The first time he took the coach from the Medicine King Valley Coachman, Monkey Qiu asked about the Coachman’s cultivation level. The Coachman had said he was a First Layer Earth Skin Cultivator. Li Banfeng was still a White Lamb back then and hadn’t paid much attention to his phrasing.

Looking back now, the term "Earth Skin" doesn’t refer to a specific layer but rather signifies a stage of cultivation.

In Puluo State, within the range of Li Banfeng’s familiarity, all layers of cultivation might be within the Earth Skin stage!

"So what is your current layer called?"

Meng Yuchun said, "I am currently at the Cloud Top First Layer. Stop trying to get information out of me. I’m not your master nor your wife; why should I teach you so much?"

Li Banfeng sat beside Meng Yuchun and earnestly asked, "I’m good at reclaiming new land, and I’ll be able to reclaim quite a bit more here in the future. If you give me a few pointers, I’ll be able to help you out a lot down the line."

Meng Yuchun glanced at Li Banfeng. "What’s the use of you reclaiming land by yourself? The human energy in my territory won’t increase!"

"It can increase. I know many skilled land reclaimers. I’ll bring them all here. With enough people, this place can slowly become Proper Land."

Meng Yuchun frowned. "Why should I believe you?"

"If you don’t believe me, we can draw up a Contract Book. I’ll bring more people to reclaim land within a month. Isn’t that much better than you waiting here for over half a year without seeing a soul?"

After a moment of contemplation, Meng Yuchun said, "Indeed, your cultivation level is not low, and sooner or later you would learn some things. I’ll tell you what I can, but don’t force the unspeakable."

Li Banfeng nodded. "Let’s talk about the matters of the Cloud Top First Layer first. Does one have to cultivate to the Tenth Layer of Earth Skin to ascend to the Cloud Top First Layer?"

"Of course, and it must be a fully-formed Tenth Layer of Earth Skin."

"What does a fully-formed Tenth Layer mean?"

Meng Yuchun patiently explained, "Ascending from the Ninth to the Tenth Layer, one must overcome the Life and Death Tribulation. Succeeding in the tribulation allows one to reach the Cloud Frontier. Only after reaching the Cloud Frontier can one go to the Inner State, and there gain the cultivation level of Cloud Top First Layer."

"What if the tribulation is not successful?"

"Then matters become troublesome. However, it depends on the extent.

So-called successful tribulation means the physique is destroyed, but the Soul ascends, intact and undamaged.

If the Soul is damaged, it’s not without a chance of recovery.

If the damage is less than twenty percent, it can be repaired through various means. Once fully restored, there’s still a chance to go to the Inner State.

If the Soul’s damage exceeds twenty percent but is less than fifty percent, it becomes difficult to repair.

These Souls will drift to Puluo State and are called Wounded Demon Fiends. They are the most formidable type of Evil Spirit in Puluo State and can survive in the world for a long time. This can be considered a kind of fate for them.

If the Soul’s damage exceeds fifty percent, it will fall into a deep sleep within the earth until it gradually dissipates. However, a few Souls, nourished by a residence, may become House Spirits.

Such House Spirits are rare. If a Home Cultivator encounters one, it’s a great blessing."

Li Banfeng nodded repeatedly.

My wife’s cultivation level is surely beyond the Tenth Layer. Who could compare to such immense fortune?

Li Banfeng then asked, "What if the Soul is completely damaged?"

Meng Yuchun was startled. "You mean the Soul is injured but the physique remains?"

Li Banfeng nodded.

"That’s a Break Cocoon Chrysalis, the most miserable kind. These people used the wrong sequence during their tribulation, becoming living dead—unable to truly live or die. They might even be raised like livestock by others."

Li Banfeng had seen Break Cocoon Chrysalis before; the Eldest Senior Brother from Cheap Person Ridge, in the Saint’s eyes, was probably just a piece of livestock skilled in warfare.

Li Banfeng continued, "If one successfully transcends the tribulation and reaches the Inner State, do they then achieve the Cloud Top First Layer?"

"Not yet. Reaching the Inner State only means one has arrived at the Cloud Frontier. It’s like when a Cultivator first starts: they have no layer, and their lifespan is the same as an ordinary person, unchanged."

"Lifespan remains the same? Isn’t it supposed to triple?" This was different from the knowledge Li Banfeng possessed.

Meng Yuchun shook her head. "That’s a common misconception. To gain a threefold lifespan, one must have the cultivation level of Cloud Top First Layer. And to reach that layer, one needs a boon from the Inner State."

They even need a boon?

"How can one obtain this boon?"

At this point, Meng Yuchun hesitated slightly, not wanting to bring up matters concerning the Inner State directly.

"I don’t want to say it—would showing you be alright?"

"How will you show me?" Li Banfeng couldn’t understand.

Meng Yuchun gave a bitter smile. "Perhaps I’ve grown old and have lost my sense of shame."

She turned her body and began to undo her robe.

The robe slid down slowly, stopping below her knees.

Li Banfeng saw her pale skin and the scars that densely dotted it.

Meng Yuchun said, "Do you see? Boons are exchanged for like this.

I won’t be like other women, offering their bodies to serve them. I’d rather be an enforcer, or even a Servant.

Whether as a Servant or an enforcer, you’re essentially treated like livestock.

I can’t count how many beatings I’ve endured, nor can I recall for how many years I was beaten, just to exchange it all for the Cloud Top First Layer of cultivation and the qualification to become a Local Deity."

Li Banfeng’s eyes trembled. He first asked Meng Yuchun to put her clothes back on, then asked, "How did you endure it all?"

"What else could I have done? But enduring that wasn’t the hardest part. The hardest thing was," Meng Yuchun paused for a moment, "they killed my House Spirit, right in front of me. Skinned it and devoured it alive. I was such a coward; I didn’t dare make a sound."

After a long silence from both sides, Meng Yuchun lowered her head. "I shouldn’t tell you this. They don’t allow us to speak of their matters. I haven’t spoken to anyone for so long. In the Inner State, no one was willing to talk to me, and since arriving here, I haven’t seen a single living person."

Li Banfeng sighed. "So you’re a Home Cultivator."

Meng Yuchun nodded. "All Home Cultivators in the world detest Traveling Cultivators, so I was quite harsh with you."

Li Banfeng bowed his head and pressed his temples.

He had been working hard to improve his cultivation level, dreaming of the day he could ascend to the Tenth Layer and obtain a triple lifespan. But what was the price behind a triple lifespan? To be treated like a beast of burden? Was that something he could accept?

"After you reached the Cloud Top First Layer, did you return to Puluo State?"

Meng Yuchun nodded. "I returned. They rewarded me with a piece of New Land and made me a Local Deity.

I could have chosen not to return. If I had gained their favor, I could have continued as a Servant in the Inner State and pursued my cultivation."

"You’d still be a Servant?"

"Many people wish to be Servants; it all depends on whether they are willing to bestow such a position."

"What’s so good about being a Servant?" Li Banfeng didn’t understand.

"Staying in the Inner State allows one to continue increasing their cultivation level."

"Can’t you increase your cultivation level outside of the Inner State?"

"You can, but you need human energy," Meng Yuchun said, pointing to the barren lands around them. "A Local Deity’s cultivation level relies on human energy for support. The more abundant the human energy, the faster their cultivation level increases.

But look around, does this place seem like it has any human energy?

Cultivators at the Cloud Top First Layer usually have a lifespan of around three hundred years. It can be extended somewhat with Elixirs, but at most, it won’t exceed five hundred years. By the time I die of old age, I’m afraid I still won’t reach the Cloud Top Second Layer."

Li Banfeng asked, "If you advance to the Cloud Top Second Layer, does your lifespan increase? Or is it only when reaching the Cloud Top Tenth Layer that lifespan changes?"

Meng Yuchun shook her head. "I don’t know. I don’t know if there’s a Cloud Top Tenth Layer. I don’t even know what the Cloud Top Second Layer is like. No one ever told me. In the Inner State, I was no different from livestock; no one wastes extra words on an animal."

Did all Local Deities come this way? Did those figures whose strength surpassed Local Deities also come this way? The Peddler, Grandpa Train, the Bitter Granny—could they all have had similar experiences? It shouldn’t be! With temperaments like theirs, how could they possibly go to the Inner State to be Servants?

Li Banfeng asked, "Does refusing to go to the Inner State mean you can’t ascend to Above the Clouds?"

"You can!"

Meng Yuchun said just two words, but they revived Li Banfeng’s spirits.

"How?"

"Through theft and robbery."

Li Banfeng shook his head. "I’m an upright man. Let’s talk about robbery first."

"Robbing means taking it from a Local Deity—seizing their position, status, and cultivation level."

Li Banfeng immediately became serious. "How does one rob?"

Meng Yuchun explained, "The Local Deity of Greenwater Bay, Greenwater Beggar—do you know him?"

"I don’t know him personally, but I’ve heard of him."

"His cultivation level was stolen. He stole it when he was at the Ninth Layer.

Greenwater Bay was originally called Beggar Bay. It wasn’t his territory but the domain of the Begging Cultivator, Yuan Showu.

When Greenwater Beggar was at the Ninth Layer, he defeated Yuan Showu, who was at the Cloud Top Second Layer. He seized the Local Deity’s position and forcefully devoured Yuan Showu’s cultivation level and status. Greenwater Beggar himself then ascended to the Cloud Top Second Layer, preserving both his Soul and physique, becoming the most formidable Local Deity!"

Li Banfeng rubbed his chin, unable to grasp the process.

Ninth Layer fighting Cloud Top Second Layer? How many layers did he cross? How could he possibly have won that fight?

PS: No matter how you swing it, you can’t win that fight!