"Why can't it produce a House Spirit?"
"Because it lacks a foundation," the Peddler explained. "To give birth to a House Spirit, a house needs to be rooted in a place, absorbing Spiritual Energy. This house is ever-shifting. It goes wherever the Brass Key goes, so naturally, it can't take root."
"Without a House Spirit, can it still be used for cultivation?"
The Peddler, pinching his chin, said, "It definitely won't work for advanced levels, but it's no problem for beginners. Maintaining daily foundational cultivation is also not an issue, as long as you're willing to recognize this house."
"Willing to recognize it?" Li Banfeng was puzzled.
"Yes. As long as you consider this house your home, then you've recognized it. But remember, recognizing a house must come from the heart."
Consider this as home? That's a bit difficult!
Li Banfeng found it hard to understand the situation of this house. "Invisible, intangible, and still able to move, what kind of existence is this house exactly?"
"Didn't I say? It follows the key—wherever the key is, that's where it will be. But as for how it actually moves, I don't know. It was a shelter built by a Traveler Grandmaster himself. As his cultivation level progressively deepened, he no longer needed it, so he sold it to me. If you think it's suitable, I'll gift this house to you. Although without a House Spirit, you won't be able to advance in Home Cultivation, by living in the house every day, you'd at least be cultivating on the orthodox path, temporarily without fear for your life."
Li Banfeng asked, "So you're saying, I can fully engage in Traveling Cultivation, and for Home Cultivation, I just need to maintain the status quo?"
"Of course not," the Peddler shook his head. "When practicing Dual Cultivation of both paths, the levels can't differ by more than three layers. Without a House Spirit, your Home Cultivation won't advance in level, not even reaching the First Layer. If your Traveling Cultivation reaches the First Layer, the situation may still be manageable. However, if it gets to the Second Layer, Home Cultivation will backlash against you. If Traveling Cultivation reaches the Third Layer, Home Cultivation will endanger your life. Furthermore, if Traveling Cultivation gets to the Fourth Layer while Home Cultivation hasn't even reached the First Layer, the Cultivator will certainly die. Remember, the difference between the two can never exceed three layers."
Li Banfeng pinched his chin. "From what you're saying, the conflict between Home Cultivation and Traveling Cultivation remains unresolved."
"How should I put this?" the Peddler smiled. "You come from the Outside Provinces, so you must have seen automobiles, right?"
Li Banfeng nodded. "I have."
"If a car kills someone, doesn't compensation have to be paid?"
"Of course."
"After compensation is paid, can the dead come back to life?"
"Definitely not."
"So why must compensation be paid?"
Li Banfeng was suddenly at a loss for words.
The Peddler smiled and said, "That's the principle here. When you've done wrong, you must offer appropriate compensation. You've taken on the task of Dual Cultivation of two incompatible Taoist Sects; there's my mistake in this, and naturally, I must give you equivalent compensation. This is my rule, a fair and reasonable rule. I've given you compensation—fair and reasonable compensation—but whether this compensation can save your life, that's up to your fate. There are two paths: one is to cultivate a House Spirit in a dangerous location, and the other is to take this moving house. Choose one for yourself."
Both paths seemed to solve the problem, yet on closer inspection, neither really did.
Li Banfeng first considered the first path. "If I manage to cultivate a House Spirit in a house at a dangerous location, can I move if I no longer want the house?"
Nobody wants to live in a dangerous place forever.
The Peddler nodded. "Home Cultivation can change houses, but the House Spirit must be handled properly. If a House Spirit is abandoned, it will become a Resentful Spirit. It will lure others to live in the house. Anyone who spends a night there will become the prisoner of the House Spirit. Unless someone comes to replace the imprisoned person, the House Spirit will hold that person captive until death and then will continue to harm others. The more people a House Spirit harms, the higher its Mana becomes. If it cultivates the means to leave the house, it will undoubtedly seek revenge on its master. Many Home Cultivators have died at the hands of a House Spirit. Changing houses must be done with caution. It's best to find another Home Cultivator to take over the old house, and it must be done with the House Spirit's consent."
This is difficult! Where to find someone to take over? Home Cultivators hunker down at home, making them hard to find. Even if you find one, they might not be willing to take it. They have their own House Spirits, so why would they want to take in a house from a dangerous place?
There are two paths—the first path allows for the cultivation of a House Spirit, which is beneficial in the long run. The second path can only solve the immediate problems and is not a long-term solution.
Weighing the pros and cons, Li Banfeng chose the second path. The reason was simple: he didn't have the means to choose a long-term solution at the moment.
Since boarding the train until now, Li Banfeng had encountered too many situations that had turned his understanding on its head. If not for incredibly good luck, he would probably not be alive at this moment.
And this was just daily life in Medicine King Valley. If he really went to a dangerous place, he might not survive even a day, let alone entertain the fantasy of having a House Spirit after half a year. By then, he'd likely have become a Wronged Soul, serving as nourishment for someone else's House Spirit.
Once the deal was set, the Peddler handed the Brass Key over to Li Banfeng right then and there. Li Banfeng tried it a few times and confirmed it was correct—the trade was thus completed.
"A loss here, a gain there; we owe each other nothing. I took a loss on this deal, but I care about my reputation. Since you've taken my item, you can't go around ruining my good name. You can't mention this to anyone, do you agree?"
Li Banfeng nodded and said, "Agreed."
"Then it's settled. Do you have any relatives in Medicine King Valley?"
Li Banfeng furrowed his brows slightly. "Why do you ask that?"
The Peddler raised his eyebrows. "There was someone before, originally a Fire Cultivator, who then regretted it and changed Taoist Sects, becoming a Water Cultivator. Nothing happened on the first day, but by the second day, he had turned to ashes."
Li Banfeng's cheeks twitched. "What are you suggesting?"
"What I'm suggesting is that you might not survive. I don't concern myself with long-term matters, but if you don't make it through tonight, I can give this compensation to your relatives." The Peddler indeed was a man of his word.
Li Banfeng shook his head. "I have no relatives."
This was the truth. Whether in Medicine King Valley or elsewhere, Li Banfeng had no relatives.
"Well then, that's not on me. I gave you the house; the rest is up to your fate," the Peddler smacked his lips and advised, "Remember to spend a night in the house. If you feel a surge of strength in your body, it means you truly accept the house, and your cultivation level will then be able to match it. You'll have passed the first challenge. In the house, a Home Cultivator's combat power is at its highest, far superior to ordinary people. Once you leave the house, your combat power will gradually decline, but upon returning, it will quickly recover. This is a crucial point for Home Cultivation. A Traveling Cultivator has the most advantages in the wilderness; the more treacherous the territory, the stronger their combat power. If they get trapped in a building, a Traveler is in constant danger of losing their life. This is a crucial point for Traveling Cultivation. You must spend at least two hours in the house every day and walk at least twenty li. That's the foundation of daily exercises. If you meet this foundation, you'll have a reaction. Fail to complete it, and you'll suffer backlash, just like what happened to Qiao Yuesheng. If you really run into trouble, at the very least you must return home once a day and somehow manage to walk three to five li. If you can't even do that much, you're just waiting for a violent death. A Traveler who stays a night in a perilous place can go up one level, and a Home Cultivator who pleases the House Spirit can also go up one level. Once you advance a level, you'll have a reaction. Remember this, remember this."
The Peddler tied the mat wrapped around the corpse onto his cargo container and prepared to push his cart away.
Li Banfeng asked, "Do you have a power bank?"
"Power bank? No," the Peddler shook his head. "I don't have any electric items."
Li Banfeng looked at the pitch-black wilderness, thought about what he had seen and heard all the way, and asked, "Is there electricity in this place?"
"Electricity?" The Peddler wasn't sure how to respond. "Some households might use electricity, but there's no common power supply. Electricity is hard to transmit over long distances in Puluo State. To use the terms from the Outside Provinces, there's too much 'line loss'. The power bank you're talking about is probably for mobile phones. In Puluo State, it's best to use mobile phones less. There shouldn't be any signals here, and the signals you do receive might not be coming from any recognizable place. They could attract disasters that shouldn't come or even bring people who shouldn't arrive. Especially Peeping Cultivators; they love to use mobile phones as hooks in the Outside Provinces."
"What's a hook?"
"It's like the hook used for fishing. The Peeping Cultivators often hang their Favorable Wind Ear on mobile phones." The Peddler didn't explain further. He waved his hand to Li Banfeng and said, "Our deal is done. Even though there was a slight hiccup, my brand doesn't change, my sincerity remains. Have a safe journey, customer. I hope you will consider my services again for future trades."