Chapter 21: Two Critical Paths

"Why can't this house nurture a dwelling spirit?"

"Because it doesn't have a foundation," the Peddler explained. "For a house to cultivate a dwelling spirit, it must stay anchored in one place and draw in spirit energy. This house follows wherever the key goes, so it can't be rooted in one place."

"If it doesn't have a dwelling spirit, can it still be used for cultivation?"

The Peddler stroked his chin. "It won't allow anyone to ascend to the higher levels of Homebound Cultivation, but it's good enough for beginners and for maintaining the daily foundational cultivation requirement. All you need to do is recognize this house as your own."

Li Banfeng frowned. "Recognize it as my own?"

"That's right. As long as you treat this house as your home, that counts as recognition. But remember, acceptance must come from the heart."

Treat this place like home? That's going to be difficult!

Li Banfeng struggled to grasp what kind of house this really was. "You can't see it, you can't touch it, and it can move around. What kind of house is this?"

"Didn’t I already tell you? It follows the key. Wherever the key goes, the house will appear. As for how it moves, I don't even know," the Peddler said with a faint smile. "This shelter was crafted by a Grandmaster Traveler. When his cultivation reached greater heights, he no longer needed it, so he sold it to me. If you find it suitable, I'll give you this house. It may not ever have a dwelling spirit, and it won't let you advance in Homebound Cultivation, but staying inside each day still counts as cultivating in accordance with the proper order of the path. At the very least, your life will be kept safe for now."

Li Banfeng asked, "So you mean I can focus on advancing in Wanderlust Cultivation, while just keeping my Homebound Cultivation as it is?"

"Of course not," the Peddler said as he shook his head. "When cultivating both paths, the gap between their levels can never exceed three. Without a dwelling spirit, your Homebound Cultivation will never reach level one. If your Wanderlust Cultivation rises to level one, you will still be fine. However, once it reaches level two, the imbalance will result in backlash from the Homebound Cultivation. If your Wanderlust Cultivation reaches level three, your Homebound Cultivation will already endanger your life. And if it rises to level four while Homebound Cultivation is still below level one, death will be certain. Remember this well! The gap between the two must never exceed three levels."

Li Banfeng rubbed his chin. "So the conflict between Homebound and Wanderlust Cultivation still can't be resolved."

"That depends on how you look at it," the Peddler said with a grin. "You're from the Outer Provinces, so you have seen cars before, haven't you?"

Li Banfeng nodded. "I have."

"If a car runs someone over and they die, compensation must be paid, right?"

"Of course."

"And after paying compensation, does the dead person come back to life?"

"Definitely not."

"If they can't be revived, then why pay compensation?"

Li Banfeng was stumped by the question.

The Peddler chuckled. "That's the logic of this whole conversation. When you make a mistake, you have to give fair compensation. You are cultivating two paths that are as incompatible as fire and water, and since that's partly my fault, I naturally owe you fair compensation. This is my rule, and it is fair and reasonable.

"The compensation I am giving you is also fair and reasonable. However, whether it can truly save your life will depend on the fate that heaven has bestowed on you. You have two paths ahead of you. You can either settle down in a region of peril or accept this house that follows you wherever you go. The choice is yours."

Both paths looked like they might solve the problem, but in truth, neither really could.

Li Banfeng first weighed the first option. "If I cultivate a dwelling spirit while living in a house set in a region of peril, and later decide I no longer want that house, can I move?"

After all, no one wanted to spend their whole life in a dangerous place.

The Peddler nodded. "A Homebound Cultivator can relocate to a new home, but they must deal with the dwelling spirit properly. If a dwelling spirit is abandoned, it will become a vengeful spirit. It will lure others to move in, and the moment someone spends a single night inside, they'll become the spirit's prisoner."

"Unless someone comes to take the prisoner's place, the dwelling spirit will keep them trapped until they die. After that, it will continue preying on others. The more people a dwelling spirit harms, the stronger it becomes. If it ever gains the ability to leave the house, it will surely seek revenge on its previous master. Many Homebound Cultivators have died at the hands of their own dwelling spirit. So when relocating to another home, you should be very careful. Ideally, you should find another Homebound Cultivator to take over the house, and you must get the dwelling spirit's consent."

Hearing this, Li Banfeng thought,

This makes things a lot harder! Where can I find someone to take over the house?

Homebound Cultivators usually stayed inside their own homes, which made them hard to find in the first place. Even if he managed to locate one, they might refuse to take over. If they had already nurtured a dwelling spirit of their own, why would they accept one that carried risk? And why would anyone want to take over a house in such a dangerous place?

Of the two options, the first at least allowed him to cultivate a dwelling spirit, which would benefit him in the long run. The second only solved his immediate problem and offered no lasting future

After weighing the pros and cons, Li Banfeng chose the second path. The logic was simple. He didn't have the luxury of planning for the long term. Since boarding the train, he had run into one reality-shattering situation after another. If not for his extraordinary luck, he probably wouldn't have survived this far.

And this was only daily life in Medicine King Gully. If he really moved into a region of peril, he might not last even a single day. How could he dream of nurturing a dwelling spirit within six months? It was more likely that he would end up as a wandering ghost before the end of six months and become nothing more than nourishment for someone else's spirit.

With the matter settled, the Peddler handed Li Banfeng the brass key on the spot. Li Banfeng tested it a few times to make sure it worked, and the deal was sealed.

"Profit or loss, we owe each other nothing. I am taking a loss on this deal because I value my reputation. Since you have accepted my item, you mustn't spread bad words about me. This matter is not to be mentioned to anyone. Can you promise me that?"

Li Banfeng nodded. "I promise."

"Then it is settled. Do you have any relatives here in Medicine King Gully?"

Li Banfeng frowned slightly. "Why are you asking this?"

The Peddler raised his brows. "There was once a man who practiced fire cultivation. Later, he regretted it and tried to switch to water cultivation. Nothing happened on the first day. On the second day, he turned into ashes.

Li Banfeng's cheek twitched. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, you might not live through this. Long-term matters are not my concern. But if you cannot even survive the night, I can at least compensate your family," the Peddler said earnestly. He was, after all, a man of his word.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Li Banfeng shook his head. "I have no relatives."

It was the truth. Whether in Medicine King Gully or anywhere else, he had no family.

"Then I cannot be blamed. I have given you the house, and what happens next is up to fate." The Peddler smacked his lips before offering one final warning. "Remember this: if you spend a night in the house and feel energy stirring in your body, it means you have truly accepted it, and your cultivation will begin to align with it. That will be your first hurdle passed.

"Within the house, a Homebound Cultivator wields strength far beyond that of ordinary people. Once they step outside, their power gradually wanes, but the moment they return, it recovers swiftly. That is the defining trait of Homebound Cultivation.

"Wanderlust Cultivators gain the greatest advantage in the remote wilderness. The harsher the terrain, the stronger they become. However, if they are trapped in the house, their lives would be endangered at any moment. That is the defining trait of Wanderlust Cultivation.

"Every day, you must spend at least two hours inside the house and walk no fewer than ten kilometers. This is the basic requirement for daily cultivation. If you meet this daily requirement, you will sense it. If you fail to meet even this basic requirement, a backlash will be triggered. Qiao Yuesheng is an example. If things get tough, then at the very least, you must return home once a day and walk one and a half to two and a half kilometers. If you can't even manage that, you're just waiting to drop dead.

"A Wanderlust Cultivator can gain a level by spending one night in a region of peril. A Homebound Cultivator can also gain a level by pleasing their dwelling spirit. Keep this in mind. You will sense it when you advance a level in your cultivation paths."

With that, the Peddler tied the mat containing the corpse onto his cart and began pushing it away.

Li Banfeng asked, "Do you have a power bank?"

The Peddler shook his head. "A power bank? I don't have that. I don't have anything that uses electricity."

Li Banfeng glanced around at the pitch-black wilderness, thought back on everything he had seen along the way, and asked, "Has electricity been set up here?"

"Electricity?" For a moment, the Peddler seemed unsure of how to answer. "Some people do use things that need electricity, but there's no supply of electricity here. It's hard to bring power all the way to Puluo because of the distance. As you folks from the Outer Provinces would say, the transmission losses would be too high.

"I am guessing you want a power bank for your phone. But I would advise you not to use phones in Puluo Province. There is no signal here anyway. Whatever your phone is picking up might not come from anywhere normal. It could bring disasters that were never meant to happen, or draw in people who were never supposed to find you. Especially those Spycraft Cultivators! They love using phones as baited hooks."

"What do you mean by hooks?"

"Hooks, like the kind used for fishing. Spycraft Cultivators often hang their clairaudient ears on phones," the Peddler said, waving off the question without further explanation. "That wraps up this deal. There were a few minor hiccups, but my reputation remains intact, and I remain as sincere as ever. Take care, good customer. I hope we'll do business again someday."