Chapter 306: Chapter 209: Puluo Divides into Three
The Fourth Level Technique of the Traveling Cultivator: Unobstructed Technique.
The key to the technique is to have no distractions in your eyes, no obstacles in your heart, and to focus your thoughts on moving freely.
The key points are not difficult; the challenge lies in speed and decisiveness.
After initiating the Short Step, one must immediately follow with the Fourth Layer Technique; otherwise, it will not be successful.
How quick is "immediately"?
Li Banfeng went to the open space outside Xiaoyao Lodge and found an abandoned work shed.
The work shed consisted of three rooms with thin separating walls—just a single layer of bricks, slightly over ten centimeters thick.
Li Banfeng first tried the technique.
After the Short Step, with nothing in his eyes, no obstacles in his heart, focusing his thoughts...
BANG!
Li Banfeng smashed into the wall.
He tried again.
BANG!
The wall shook a little, and Li Banfeng felt slightly dizzy.
The rapid launch of the Short Step left Li Banfeng too little time to perform the Fourth Layer Technique.
He practiced again.
BANG!
Who invented this damn technique that requires a Short Step before you can perform it?
「An hour later...」
The technique was half-successful.
What did "half-successful" mean?
It meant Li Banfeng’s lower half had passed through, but his upper half remained outside the wall.
So this is what it feels like to be stuck in a wall.
The pressure is intense; it’s completely different from the sensation of the Big Horn.
"Tang Sword, it’s up to you now."
"My Lord, demolishing walls isn’t really my forte."
"I am the lord, and you are the subject. You constantly address me as ’My Lord,’ yet you refuse to even break open a wall. Where then does your professed loyalty lie?"
After some internal struggle, Tang Sword made a choice that favored Li Banfeng.
It couldn’t be helped. When Li Banfeng left Fool’s City, he had been too lazy to bring any Magical Treasures. Moreover, no one knew he had learned the Foolish Cultivation Technique.
「After the ceremony...」
Ma Wu saw off the guests and was about to find Li Qi to celebrate when Xiao Chuanzi reported, "Seventh Master tore down the work shed. I don’t know why."
Ma Wu hurried to check and saw Li Banfeng covered in dust, still standing next to the demolished work shed.
"Old Qi, what happened to you?"
"The work shed was an eyesore," Li Banfeng couldn’t find a better excuse. "We’re destined for great things. Aren’t you planning to expand Xiaoyao Lodge? You should get started right away."
Ma Wu looked at the ruined remains, a wave of surprise washing over him.
Old Qi really is impatient.
But he’s right. To achieve great things, one needs a bit of boldness.
However, there isn’t much money left in the accounts now, and the business with Blue Poplar Village and Zhengjing Village also needs to be expedited.
「This technique is not easy to practice...」
It not only wore out the body but also wore out walls.
After wandering around Greenwater City and finding no suitable place, Li Banfeng went to the suburbs and bought a group of abandoned residential buildings to practice slowly.
「He Jiaqing sat half-upright on the sickbed...」
He was pondering his next move.
After much thought, he still couldn’t come up with a strategy.
Has Ma Wu’s disposition really changed? Does he truly no longer wish to return to the Ma Family?
Ling Miaoying replied, "Ma Wu’s disposition may not have changed. My guess is that he’s been influenced by your friend. In the New Land, they have a ten-mile territory. In the distant outskirts, they have Blue Poplar Village. And now, in Greenwater City, they have Xiaoyao Lodge.
At this rate, Puluo State will have another power, nominally called the ’Little Ma Family,’ but in reality, it’s the Li Family."
He Jiaqing sighed with a wry smile, Ban Feng isn’t insane. Let’s hold off on acting against him for now and just observe how things develop. He has been in Puluo State for less than a year. There are things he doesn’t understand, and there will be times when he makes erroneous decisions.
「After three days...」
Li Banfeng had completely mastered the Unobstructed Technique. It had to be said, the technique possessed a certain difficulty, but it was still much easier than Trample Over Thousands of Rivers.
Back at Xiaoyao Lodge, Li Banfeng found a private room to rest. Suddenly, Ma Wu burst in, "Old Qi, I finally found you! I have good news."
"What’s the good news?"
"The Lu Family referred a Border Defense Envoy to Xiaoyao Lodge, who discussed a deal with us. As long as we pay a monthly fee, we’ll have Middle Third Division Trading Rights."
"What are Middle Third Division Trading Rights?"
"It’s the Middle Third Division of Puluo State!"
Li Banfeng really wished he could find an encyclopedia to properly understand all these Puluo State terms.
"What does Middle Third Division mean?"
Ma Wu explained, "The Middle Third Division refers to the most normal territories of Puluo State, and it’s where most of the people are. It includes places like Greenwater City, Medicine King Valley, Clear Stream Wu, Loess Bridge, and Black Stone Slope... In total, there are eighty-one territories, large and small. This is called the Middle Third Division Territory."
Li Banfeng asked, "What about Hai Chi Ridge?"
Ma Wu shook his head, "Hai Chi Ridge isn’t part of the Middle Third Division because that territory isn’t normal. You’ve never been to Hai Chi Ridge, so you might not be quite aware of the situation. If you stay there for long, you’ll find yourself wanting to eat in less than three hours."
Of course, I’ve been there, but you didn’t know. You were too busy having fun with Feng Daiku at the time.
Ma Wu continued, "Hai Chi Ridge, Pants Belt Pit, Pillow City, White Falcon County, Sleepless Town... including Three-Head Fork—these places are all called the Front Third Division because their territories are special.
We don’t have business in the Front Third Division for now. However, if we maintain contact with the Border Defense Envoy, we might have a chance to get involved in the future."
Front Third Division, Middle Third Division.
"What about the remaining four-tenths of the territory?"
"There’s also the Rear Third Division," Ma Wu continued to explain. "Cheap Person Ridge, Iron Gate Fort, Ink Shop, Wuqin Village... these places are called the Rear Third Division."
"Are they also special because of their territory?"
Ma Wu shook his head, "It’s not that the territory of these places is special; it’s the people who are special. Their business is generally challenging. You’ll understand more as you have more contact with them."
The Front Third Division, Middle Third Division, and Rear Third Division, all added up, equal nine parts. What about the remaining part?
Ma Wu said, "The remaining part is called the Indefinable Land."
"Indefinable? Is it because it has no name?"
"It’s not that it doesn’t have a name. It’s because it can’t be clearly explained. Bitter Vegetable Manor is one such place."
Li Banfeng thought for a moment and shook his head, "Bitter Vegetable Manor can be clearly described. I’ve heard others say it’s extremely desolate and is the domain of Bitter Cultivation. Those who go there must endure hardship."
Actually, it wasn’t something he had heard from others; Li Banfeng had experienced it himself.
Ma Wu nodded, "The situation can be explained, but the place itself cannot. Puluo State has many routes leading to Bitter Vegetable Manor, yet nobody can clearly say where exactly it is. If you don’t believe me, try buying a map. There isn’t a single map that can depict the location of Bitter Vegetable Manor. Some people stayed there for a while, attempting to draw a map, but they couldn’t even measure its size. Others even took a hot air balloon to observe from overhead, but the balloon never returned."
Li Banfeng agreed with this point; he had roamed all over Bitter Vegetable Manor without ever finding its boundaries.
But on Elder Yao’s map, the location of Bitter Vegetable Manor was marked, albeit just as a dot, which revealed how invaluable this map was.
Ma Wu continued, "Let’s not go to the Indefinable Land; there’s really no business to be done there."
"How can you say there’s no business to be done? Can’t we do business with Bitter Vegetable Manor?"
Ma Wu shook his head, "What kind of business? They only occasionally buy some grain and nothing else. Grain can be bought anywhere. For such little business, it’s not worth going to that place.
This time, we got the trade rights for the Middle Third Division, so there are many things we can sell elsewhere. The place I’m eyeing this time is Black Stone Slope. It’s rich in stone materials, and anything related to them has a market there. However, this trade route has been controlled by the Lu Family for years, so it’s not easy to get a foothold."
Li Banfeng frowned slightly, "Going to Black Stone Slope to do business, wouldn’t that be considered stepping on the Lu Family’s toes?"
"It would, but Monkey Qiu took the initiative to let me do it."
"Monkey Qiu is letting you step on the Lu Family’s toes?" Li Banfeng was puzzled.
"All the business at Black Stone Slope is held tightly in Lu Maoxian’s hands. He buys stone materials and tools there, then sells grains and treasures elsewhere, making the profit margins substantial. Uncle Qiu wants us to extend our reach there to constrain Lu Maoxian.
But Lu Maoxian is not to be trifled with. I plan to take Old Zuo and Ah Qin to Black Stone Slope first to scout the situation. If Lu Maoxian plays hardball, we wouldn’t dare act rashly."
"Ah Qin? Can she leave the New Land?"
"She can’t," Ma Wu was also troubled by this. "I’m planning to discuss it with Qiu Daxiang to see if we can relax the terms of Ah Qin’s Contract Book a bit."
Li Banfeng waved his hand, "Is Qiu Daxiang that easy to negotiate with? He’s someone who gets worked up over the smallest things. Why would you want to provoke him?
Besides, there’s a boundary between the New Land and the Proper Land. Ah Qin is an anomaly; even if Qiu Daxiang agreed, she couldn’t just enter the Proper Land."
Ma Wu said, "I found a book with some records... it seems like there might be a way..."
"Don’t be ridiculous. Even if there is a way, it’s not one we can use."
My wife once said that anomalies should not freely enter the Proper Land, or they would anger the Local Deities. The Local Deities of the Proper Land are not to be trifled with. Bringing Ah Qin to Blue Poplar Village would likely attract Green Flower.
"Besides, if you leave, what about Xiaoyao Lodge?"
Ma Wu smacked his lips, "I’ll have to rely on you for this, Old Qi. You’ll have to manage it for me in the meantime..."
"How would I know how to manage that?"
"Actually, it’s not difficult; there’s a knack to it..."
"Even with a knack, it won’t work!" The key issue wasn’t Xiaoyao Lodge; it was that Li Banfeng didn’t want to stay in Greenwater City any longer. The incident at Fool’s City had taught him a lesson. His reputation in Greenwater City had grown considerably, and he was known in the New Land, the Old Land, and even the Proper Land. It was time for a change of scenery.
"I’ll go to Black Stone Slope. I don’t need any support; I’ll go alone."
Ma Wu shook his head repeatedly, "That’s pure folly! You, going to Black Stone Slope alone? Isn’t that courting death?"
Li Banfeng shook his head, "Old Five, you’re not thinking this through. We’re going to scout, not to fight a war.
If it were a war, we’d need to bring more people. But for scouting, I alone am perfect. I can gather information quietly."
After thinking for a long time, Ma Wu shook his head, "No, it definitely won’t work if you go alone."
Li Banfeng lit a cigarette and said, "Just listen to me. It’s settled. Can you get a Guide Token to Black Stone Slope?"
"That’s easily arranged. We’re different now; a Guide Token is just a word away."
"Can you get a Guide Token to the Outside Provinces?"
Ma Wu was startled and looked at Li Banfeng, "Old Qi, are you still thinking of returning to the Outside Provinces?"
"No worries, just asking," Li Banfeng said, taking a drag from his cigarette. "It’s not the right time yet. We’ll talk about it later if the opportunity arises."
「"Ma Wu got a Guide Token to go to Black Stone Slope?"」
He Jiaqing received the news from Ling Miaoying and pondered for a moment before asking, "How many people is he taking?"
"Based on the information I have right now, he only bought one train ticket."
One train ticket? Ma Wu is going to Black Stone Slope alone? Is he seeking death? He Jiaqing shook his head. The one going is probably not him, but my friend. He prefers to do things solo. What time is the train?
"Tomorrow night."
"Are you confident you can capture him alive on the train?"
"If he takes a real train, I’m not confident. If he takes my train, I’m eighty percent confident. The remaining twenty percent depends on your friend’s cultivation level."
He Jiaqing calculated carefully, "Although he has that item, he started cultivating late. I estimate his cultivation level won’t exceed the Third Layer."
"Then it’ll be easy. As long as he doesn’t know the Fourth Layer Technique, I’m one hundred percent confident I can capture him alive."
He Jiaqing was somewhat worried, "Can’t we wait until he reaches Black Stone Slope to make a move? The situation in Greenwater City is too complex; I’m afraid of accidents."
"I’m not familiar with Black Stone Slope, so making all sorts of preparations would be difficult. If the setup isn’t thorough, the plan might have flaws."
"Then let’s do it at Greenwater City Station!"
"What if Ma Wu goes to see him off?"
"Kill him! We don’t need to capture Ma Wu alive."
PS: Lu Dongjun was killed by Ling Miaoying at the train station, lured into a trap with a fake train, which is one of Ling Miaoying’s specialties.