Li Banfeng opened his eyes to find an exceedingly beautiful woman tending to his wounds.
Midway through cleaning, the woman exclaid in admiration, "This little thing has quite so spirit!"
Li Banfeng hurriedly got up, put on his clothes, and asked the woman, "Do we know each other?"
The woman smiled. "You just reclaid new land on my territory, and now you turn around and say you don’t know ?"
"You’re a Local Deity?"
The woman nodded. "My na is ng Yuchun. What’s your na?"
"I’m Li Qi, and all this should be written in the Contract Book."
"I have the Contract Book prepared. Write down your na."
Li Banfeng wrote his na, 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."
ng Yuchun explained, "I am different from other Local Deities. For anyone who reclaid land here before, this was always the rule!"
"How many people have reclaid 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?"
ng Yuchun shook her head with a laugh. "It’s been over half a year since I beca 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 sothing Li Banfeng wanted to know. There was a frankness in ng 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 beco 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 soone else’s cultivation level."
ng 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 ntioned, what does it an?"
ng 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 seed to have heard this concept ntioned sowhere before.
That’s right, the Coachman had said it before.
The first ti he took the coach from the dicine 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?"
ng Yuchun said, "I am currently at the Cloud Top First Layer. Stop trying to get information out of . I’m not your master nor your wife; why should I teach you so much?"
Li Banfeng sat beside ng 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 a few pointers, I’ll be able to help you out a lot down the line."
ng 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 reclairs. I’ll bring them all here. With enough people, this place can slowly beco Proper Land."
ng Yuchun frowned. "Why should I believe you?"
"If you don’t believe , 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 mont of contemplation, ng Yuchun said, "Indeed, your cultivation level is not low, and sooner or later you would learn so 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-ford Tenth Layer of Earth Skin."
"What does a fully-ford Tenth Layer an?"
ng Yuchun patiently explained, "Ascending from the Ninth to the Tenth Layer, one must overco 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 beco troubleso. However, it depends on the extent.
So-called successful tribulation ans 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 ans. 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 becos 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 ti. 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 beco House Spirits.
Such House Spirits are rare. If a Ho 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 imnse fortune?
Li Banfeng then asked, "What if the Soul is completely damaged?"
ng Yuchun was startled. "You an 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 ans one has arrived at the Cloud Frontier. It’s like when a Cultivator first starts: they have no layer, and their lifespan is the sa as an ordinary person, unchanged."
"Lifespan remains the sa? Isn’t it supposed to triple?" This was different from the knowledge Li Banfeng possessed.
ng 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, ng 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 ?" Li Banfeng couldn’t understand.
ng Yuchun gave a bitter smile. "Perhaps I’ve grown old and have lost my sense of sha."
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.
ng Yuchun said, "Do you see? Boons are exchanged for like this.
I won’t be like other won, 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 beco a Local Deity."
Li Banfeng’s eyes trembled. He first asked ng 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," ng Yuchun paused for a mont, "they killed my House Spirit, right in front of . 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, ng 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 , and since arriving here, I haven’t seen a single living person."
Li Banfeng sighed. "So you’re a Ho Cultivator."
ng Yuchun nodded. "All Ho 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 sothing he could accept?
"After you reached the Cloud Top First Layer, did you return to Puluo State?"
ng Yuchun nodded. "I returned. They rewarded with a piece of New Land and made 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," ng 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 sowhat with Elixirs, but at most, it won’t exceed five hundred years. By the ti 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?"
ng 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 . In the Inner State, I was no different from livestock; no one wastes extra words on an animal."
Did all Local Deities co this way? Did those figures whose strength surpassed Local Deities also co this way? The Peddler, Grandpa Train, the Bitter Granny—could they all have had similar experiences? It shouldn’t be! With temperants 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 an you can’t ascend to Above the Clouds?"
"You can!"
ng 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 ans taking it from a Local Deity—seizing their position, status, and cultivation level."
Li Banfeng imdiately beca serious. "How does one rob?"
ng 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!
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