The Overlord of Puluo

Chapter 235: Who Are You Calling Dust?

Li Banfeng walked forward, casually humming a tune. It was very loud, so Zhuo Yuling, along with the two experts from Iron Goat Mountain hiding in the shadows, heard it loud and clear.

The song made their heads spin, and their bodies twitched involuntarily. Even that slight movement didn’t escape the Threaded Earring.

”Sir, there’s movement in the forest. Three people.”

Three people.

Li Banfeng didn’t know their cultivation levels, but since Ling Miaoying had arranged the ambush, they definitely weren’t weak.

Facing three opponents alone would put him at a disadvantage. Should he retreat into his Pocket Dwelling for now and avoid them?

The thought passed through his mind, then faded just as quickly. There was simply no need.

Li Banfeng was extremely familiar with this territory. Back then, to advance his Wanderlust Cultivation, he had traversed Shui Yongquan and Qiu Luoye’s territories countless times. He didn’t mind having a little fun with them.

Li Banfeng didn’t move. He simply stood there and kept singing. The longer they listened, the worse their injuries became.

Using the hook, Lu Xiaolan sent a message to Zhuo Yuling. ”Mom, his singing is a cultivation ability.”

Li Banfeng made the first move.

Zhuo Yuling didn’t hesitate for even a moment. She burst out of the forest with the two experts at her side. At the same time, she flicked her hips, and her tail snapped forward before she even arrived.

Li Banfeng was prepared. His Tang saber flashed out of its sheath in a single, clean motion, faster than her advance. The blade cut through the air and sliced off a portion of Zhuo Yuling’s tail before she could get any closer.

Pain struck at once, forcing Zhuo Yuling to recoil and pull back for the moment. At the same time, the other two rushed forward.

One was Fan Baoxing, a level-five Poison Cultivator. The other was Cui Lisheng, a level-five Entomic Cultivator.

Cui Lisheng’s lips trembled as he let out a strange string of hissing, buzzing cries.

The grass rustled violently, and then they poured out.

Crickets. Grasshoppers. Katydids. Mantises.

They swarmed forward in writhing clusters, crawling, leaping, and surging as one, all rushing straight toward Li Banfeng.

These insects were not to be underestimated.

Each one had been strengthened by the ability of an Entomic Cultivator. A single bite could tear away a chunk of flesh, and if the swarm closed in, they could strip a person down to a skeleton in an instant.

flick, he struck a match, and a swath of insects burst into flames, turning to ash in an instant.

The slowest of the three, Fan Baoxing, was already closing in, and with him came a thick, fishy stench that clung to the air. This one would be far more troublesome.

A Homebound Cultivator could resist toxins to a certain extent, but they couldn’t withstand constant exposure for long. Li Banfeng turned and ran, with the three of them chasing close behind.

Zhuo Yuling knew Li Banfeng was a Wanderlust Cultivator. Once he started running, there was no way they could catch him. She had already been ready to give up when she suddenly noticed something was off. Li Banfeng wasn’t running very fast.

Is he poisoned? She wondered. If so, this is a rare chance!

The three of them went after Li Banfeng. At first, it seemed easy. The gap kept shrinking, step by step, breath by breath. Any moment now, they would catch him.

But just as they got close, Li Banfeng would slip ahead again.

The three felt torn. They didn’t know if they should continue chasing as it seemed like they would never catch him. And yet, Li Banfeng staggered as he ran, swaying as if he might collapse at any moment. He looked badly poisoned. If they stopped now, wouldn’t they lose a perfect chance?

This was the guy who possessed the Arcane Crimson Lotus, the very treasure Zhuo Yuling had long coveted.

We must chase him, Zhuo Yuling thought. No matter what, we must! .

They ran for more than ten kilometers, and gradually, the distance between the three of them began to stretch apart.

As a Physique Cultivator, Zhuo Yuling had the strongest body. She rushed ahead, but could no longer see Li Banfeng.

Cui Lisheng, the Entomic Cultivator, still had decent stamina. He crouched in the grass to catch his breath, using his connection with the insects to track Li Banfeng.

Fan Baoxing, however, could not keep up. As a Poison Cultivator, his physique was the weakest of the three.

In the end, he scrambled up a tree and stopped there, clinging to the trunk. He bent forward, hands braced on his knees, gasping for air.

Suddenly, the Tang saber dropped from above, stabbing straight toward the back of his head.

Fan Baoxing never saw it coming. A fifth-level Poison Cultivator was no weakling. In a direct fight, he could have held his own against Li Banfeng for quite some time.

Even while catching his breath, he had set up poisons around him as a precaution. Unfortunately, Tang saber was an enchanted artifact and was not affected by poison.

The blade drove through the back of his head and burst out through his face. Fan Baoxing died just like that, without a sound.

Crouched on the tree, Li Banfeng pulled his Tang saber free. Using Seeking Fortune and Avoiding Calamity, he avoided the poisons scattered across the ground and slipped quietly toward Cui Lisheng.

This time, Li Banfeng still planned to strike from the shadows, but things did not go as smoothly.

Hundreds of insects circled around Cui Lisheng, keeping constant watch. A level-five Homebound Cultivator might be easy to overlook, but he could not slip past the senses of those insects.

Buzz, buzz, buzz~

A cricket shrilled a warning to Cui Lisheng. He reacted instantly, darting away from his spot as he rubbed his hands together, letting out a series of sharp, piercing screeches.

He was neither a Physique Cultivator nor some half-transformed insect. An Entomic Cultivator was just best at controlling insects.

Li Banfeng had seen the head of an Insect Overlord before and had assumed cultivators of this type fought like insects. This was a miscalculated move.

An Entomic Cultivator would not have to fight personally. After rubbing his hands for a moment, Cui Lisheng summoned a centipede.

What was there to fear about a centipede? Under normal circumstances, nothing. But a three-meter-long one was an entirely different matter.

The centipede lunged at Li Banfeng with its fangs raised. Li Banfeng dodged twice, then stomped hard, crushing a stone beneath his foot. The shattered fragments blasted into the centipede, punching holes through its body.

The centipede collapsed with a heavy thud and stopped moving. But right after that, two grasshoppers closed in around Li Banfeng.

An Entomic Cultivator really has an advantage when it comes to fighting in the New Land!

Dealing with two grasshoppers wasn’t difficult. Creatures like these had little intelligence. But behind them, countless more insects stood ready, one after another, as if they would never run out. If this went on, Cui Lisheng would grind Li Banfeng down bit by bit until he was finished.

Seeing the tide turn against him, Li Banfeng made a swift decision and climbed a tree.

Cui Lisheng smiled. There were plenty of insects that could climb trees.

”Woo~”

He let out a long, drawn-out howl. Dozens of bowl-sized ladybugs swarmed up and surrounded the treetop.

He chuckled softly. As his lips trembled, waves of dragonflies came rushing in from the distance.

Li Banfeng could burn them with fire or cut them down with his blade, but it wouldn’t solve the real problem. If this dragged on, how long could he last?

The answer was simple. Not long at all. Five minutes would be enough.

Li Banfeng dodged the ladybugs at the treetop and pulled the old teapot from his robes. Glancing down at Cui Lisheng, he said, ”Do you really enjoy smiling that much?”

Cui Lisheng froze. In the next instant, a surge of heat rose beneath his feet as tea burst up from the ground.

Scalding liquid flooded over his shoes, and pain tore through him.

He tried to run, but invisible barriers closed in from every side. He tried to climb the tree, but Li Banfeng kicked him straight back down.

He darted to another tree and climbed again.

Li Banfeng leapt after him, moving from treetop to treetop in pursuit. Each time Cui Lisheng tried to climb up, Li Banfeng was already there, meeting him head-on with a kick and sending him crashing back down.

Cui Lisheng lay soaked in the scalding tea. Though badly injured, he had no intention of waiting for death. As a level-five cultivator, even in such a state, he still had ways to escape.

From the tree, he summoned a massive spider. It shot out a bundle of webbing, which latched onto him and hauled him out of the tea.

Li Banfeng stared at the spider for a long moment. In the beginning, he was worried because he thought this spider was Daboinsky.

After confirming it was just a mindless spider, Li Banfeng raised his sickle.

Even then, Cui Lisheng showed no concern. He knew his strength as an Entomic Cultivator. Even if Li Banfeng killed the spider, the web would still leave him hanging from the branch. That spider would protect him with its life until the very end.

However, Li Banfeng swung once and sliced clean through the branch. In that instant, despair flashed across Cui Lisheng’s face as he and the spider plunged together into the boiling tea.

It had to be said. The old teapot was indeed an excellent enchanted artifact.

However, getting Cui Lisheng out of the boiling tea was not easy. He was not an Ascetic Cultivator, and his body was not that resilient. By the time the tea receded, he had already been thoroughly cooked and no longer fit to be served as food for the Gramophone.

Should I sing a song and summon his soul? Never mind. Better to deal with what matters first.

Zhuo Yuling was about to arrive.

At the sight of Cui Lisheng’s corpse, she dropped to all fours and pressed herself flat against the ground, sensing Li Banfeng’s position through the faintest vibrations.

Her severed tail had already grown back. The recovery speed of a level-five Physique Cultivator was astonishingly fast.

Li Banfeng crouched in the tree, silently watching Zhuo Yuling’s every move.

By his ear, the Tang saber gave a soft whisper. ”My lord, let this subordinate give it a try.”

Li Banfeng shook his head slightly without explaining.

Zhuo Yuling was a ruthless survivor of the jianghu. It would be difficult for the Tang saber to catch her off guard twice.. But should they just keep stalling like this? Indeed! This had been Li Banfeng’s plan.

Before Li Banfeng could act on it, Zhuo Yuling suddenly leapt up and lashed out with her long tail. The tip brushed past his cheek, nearly hurting him.

Strange, Li Banfeng thought. Why didn’t I sense any malicious intent when she made her move? Is Seeking Fortune and Avoiding Calamity not working?

Zhuo Yuling held a green worm in her mouth and this worm could consume her malicious intent. That was how she had deceived Lu Dongliang.

Zhuo Yuling climbed onto the tree, moving closer to Li Banfeng step by step.

As a level-four Wanderlust Cultivator, Li Banfeng had no real advantage in a head-on fight against a level-five Physique Cultivator.

Her gecko-like fighting style was just too strange. Her claws could slash, and her tail could strike, whip, or stab. Even her limbs moved in spirals, and the way she moved made it impossible for Li Banfeng to predict her next move.

Most troublesome of all, Zhuo Yuling was extremely familiar with Wanderlust Cultivators. Every move she made was already guarded against him.

She could tell exactly when Li Banfeng used Traceless Quick Steps and when he used Treading Through Ten Thousand Rivers.

Whenever he tried to pass through a tree with Path of Unhindered Steps, Zhuo Yuling was already waiting for him on the other side.

During the fight, the Tang saber struck at Zhuo Yuling, but the attack missed. The pendulum seized the chance to launch a sneak attack. She managed to hit her, but Zhuo Yuling’s hide was too thick and she was not hurt at all.

As Li Banfeng began to fall behind, a beautiful young woman suddenly appeared and struck Zhuo Yuling with a pair of mandarin-duck battle axes.

The axes failed to break her skin, but they still made her wary.

Dealing with Li Banfeng alone had already been difficult. And now, another woman appeared. If she was being attacked from both the front and back, she would have no chance of winning.

Should I leave? Zhuo Yuling thought. Should I really let such a good opportunity slip away?

In actuality, this woman was not as powerful as Zhuo Yuling believed. She was one of Li Banfeng’s paper beauties, lying in ambush on the tree for a long time and waiting for the right moment to strike.

Zhuo Yuling would only need to exert a little effort to destroy the paper beauty.

In fact, she didn’t even need to attack it. If she held on for a few minutes, the paper maiden would fall apart on its own. But in her hesitation, Zhuo Yuling made a terrible decision.

She flicked her long tail, forcing the paper beauty back, then spun around and ran. In doing so, she exposed her back to Li Banfeng.

This was a very stupid choice to make when fighting against a Wanderlust Cultivator. No matter how fast she ran, she simply could not outrun him.

After only a few steps, Zhuo Yuling suddenly came back to her senses. Even she could not understand how she had made such a foolish move.

She swung her long tail, trying to stop Li Banfeng from closing in. However, it was too late. Li Banfeng was already in front of her, and stabbed an iron ruler right at the center of her forehead.

Choo choo! Choo choo!

At that moment, Zhuo Yuling began to hallucinate. She heard the distant whistle of a train.

She remembered how she had looked, all dressed up on the Lu family’s private train.

She remembered dancing with Lu Dongliang to the music.

She remembered every word she had said to him that night.

”You don’t need to remember his name, darling. It’s not important. Once Xiaolan gets the Crimson Lotus’ whereabouts out of him, he’ll be gone from this world.”

”Mediocre person? He doesn’t even count as a person.”

”He’s even worse than a cockroach.”

”He’s as insignificant as this bit of ash. No parents, no relatives... He has nothing.

”He grew up in an orphanage and had to work various jobs so that he could go to university—moving bricks, hauling sacks, and even running a street stall. When someone like that dies... that’s all there is to it. It’s just like blowing away this bit of ash. No one would care.”

That was such a beautiful night, Zhuo Yuling thought. Dongliang, hold me tight and close. How I wish I could remain in that night forever. Will I see him again? When we meet again, will he forgive me?

Li Banfeng had no idea what Zhuo Yuling was thinking, but he was destined to be her benefactor.

She wanted to reunite with Lu Dongliang, and Li Banfeng granted that wish. He brought Zhuo Yuling into the Pocket Dwelling.

When Zhuo Yuling saw that very special Gramophone, she thought it looked very familiar.

Where is this? The Lu family’s private train? The train that once belonged to me?

Once again, she felt the warmth she had shared with Lu Dongliang that night.

Looking at Li Banfeng, Zhuo Yuling spoke with difficulty. ”Why are you here? You are as lowly as dust, a bastard with no parents.”

Pop, crackle, pop.

Her words enraged the Gramophone.

”You vile woman, who are you calling dust? Who are you saying has no parents? Are you talking about my husband?”

”Husband? What are you?” Zhuo Yuling stared at the Gramophone in confusion.

Pop, crackle, pop.

”I meant to let you die quickly,” she said, ”but today, don’t expect it to end anytime soon. Not for at least two hours.”

Steam curled and swirled all around as wifey began to devour her soul. A terrible pain struck Zhuo Yuling at once, and she trembled from head to toe.

***

Three hours later, Li Banfeng arrived at the edge of Lu Xiaolan’s domain and calmly looked at her standing within it.

Lu Xiaolan’s ears were still bleeding. She clenched her fists and glared at him. ”Come on! Come closer! You want to kill me? Then try it!”

The moment Li Banfeng stepped into her domain, she would scatter her blood across the domain and summon Qiu Luoye.

There was no need to explain the relationship between Qiu Luoye and Li Banfeng. And so, Li Banfeng had no intention of going any closer.

Instead, he took a bundle from behind his back and placed it on the ground before her.

When it was opened, Lu Xiaolan was stunned.

Zhuo Yuling’s head lay inside the bundle.

Li Banfeng smiled and beckoned to her. ”Come on. Step out. Avenge your mother.”

Author’s Note:

P.S. Was Banfeng too cruel?