CHAPTER 449: CHAPTER 315 LOCAL DEITY’S CONTRACT BOOK_2

Li Banfeng sighed inwardly. I am fortunate to be a righteous person, and my home, a righteous place.

If it were someone else’s home, there would be bloodshed everywhere, bodies strewn across the floor, and an old woman’s marrow sucked from her while she still lived—that surely would have turned the place into a den of demons.

"My dear, leave her with a breath, I have questions for her," he said.

The Phonograph said, "Husband, ask quickly. Hong Ying, you also be on guard. This person’s cultivation level isn’t just on the Earth Skin."

Hong Ying said, "Since it’s not on the Earth Skin, we should kill her quickly to prevent any trouble!"

"You wretch, who asked you to blabber? When the husband has questions, you listen to the husband!"

Not on the Earth Skin? Then it must be Above the Clouds.

Li Banfeng asked, "Are you a Local Deity?"

The Mountain-Uprooting Master didn’t want to speak, but the phonograph needle suddenly heated up, making the master tremble violently until she finally spoke: "I am the Local Deity from the eastern territory, the Mountain-Uprooting Master."

"Meng Yuchun’s neighbor?"

"Yes."

"Why did you want to kill her?"

"I wanted her Contract Book. If she had not resisted or sought revenge, I could have spared her life."

"What use is her Contract Book to you?" Li Banfeng had been eager to find out, as he pondered the true value of a Contract Book to a Local Deity.

"With her Contract Book, one could exchange it in Inner State for a hundred years of life," was the reply.

Li Banfeng was startled. "Is this a promise made by Inner State?"

"It’s not a promise; it’s a rule, known to all the Local Deities."

Li Banfeng was dumbfounded and speechless.

Could Inner State actually create such a rule? And in hindsight, Shui Yongquan was truly noble; although he could have plucked Qiu Luoye’s Contract Book, he did not do so.

"What happens to a Local Deity whose Contract Book has been taken?"

"They would lose their status."

"And what happens when they lose their status?"

"They would lose cultivation level. It could take three to five days, or as long as one or two years, for the Local Deity who lost their Contract Book. Their cultivation level would drop from Above the Clouds to the Earth Skin."

So, dropping from Above the Clouds to Earth Skin is equivalent to a failed promotion?

"Does that mean they would turn into a Wounded Demon Fiend?"

"They can’t turn into Wounded Demon Fiends. Losing cultivation level is a great injury. Those with a deep foundation can retain some Spirit Attribute and manage to survive, but those without a deep foundation would simply disintegrate."

No wonder Local Deities fight to the death over Contract Books; the consequences of losing one are too severe.

Li Banfeng continued to inquire of the Mountain-Uprooting Master, "You’re ready to take such a risk for a hundred years of life?"

"I had no choice. I am over four hundred and eighty years old. Among Local Deities, that’s considered long-lived. One cannot live past five hundred years in the Cloud Top First Layer. If I don’t find a way to prolong my life, I likely won’t survive much longer."

The Phonograph commented from the side, "Husband, the old crone didn’t lie; such a rule does exist in Inner State."

Thinking of Inner State sent shivers down Li Banfeng’s spine; he thought his wife was going to go mad again. But today, she seemed quite normal. It appeared his wife had recovered a good deal. These days of nurturing haven’t been in vain!

Li Banfeng pressed on with his questions: "Why did you specifically target Meng Yuchun?"

"She practices Home Cultivation, has little experience, and had only recently become a Local Deity. She was unaware of many rules and was the easiest one to deal with among the neighboring Local Deities. None of the nearby Local Deities had encountered a Pioneer. Everyone saw no hope, except for her. She was lucky, encountering a Pioneer in less than a year. The nearby Local Deities were all envious of her. By killing her, none would blame me. If she didn’t die by my hands, she would have eventually died by someone else’s."

Is this the relationship between Local Deities?

"Weng Fangqu, Sweet Snot, Scrivener, Playful Matron, are these Wandering Monsters your hirelings?"

"Yes."

"What did you use as payment?"

"Cultivation level, the cultivation level from the Earth Skin."

"Where did the cultivation level on your hand come from?"

The old woman’s expression became increasingly confused, murmuring unclearly for a long time without making any sense.

The Phonograph said, "Husband, the territory of New Land can generate cultivation level. The Contract Book of a Local Deity can gather these cultivation levels to reward the Strange Monsters under their command. If one can afford a high price, one can even buy off Wandering Monsters. However, to buy off so many Wandering Monsters at once... I’m afraid this old crone will be ruined. In the future, she’ll no longer have the means to control the Strange Monsters in her territory."

The old woman murmured to herself, "Can’t care about that, can’t care about that, I want to live..."

Li Banfeng didn’t catch what the Mountain-Uprooting Master said; his mind was now filled with thoughts of cultivation level.

"Husband, if there’s anything you want to ask, ask quickly. This person can’t stay long."

Li Banfeng hurriedly asked, "Where is your Contract Book?"

"At my residence."

Isn’t that obvious!

"Where is your residence?"

"You want my Contract Book?" the Mountain-Uprooting Master gasped. "Spare my life, and I’ll take you to get it."

The phonograph needle’s heat intensified again, and the lady warned the Mountain-Uprooting Master, "Stop talking so much. Just answer honestly to what you’re asked."

Unable to endure the torture, the Mountain-Uprooting Master told the truth: "Go find the Playful Matron; she knows where I live."

"Good, good!" Li Banfeng nodded, signaling to his wife that she could proceed.

The phonograph needle suddenly elongated, piercing through the Mountain-Uprooting Master’s head and all the way down to the ground.

As the Mountain-Uprooting Master convulsed, she kept whispering, "I want to live, let me live..."

After a long murmur, the Mountain-Uprooting Master fell silent, her soul consumed by the lady.

Steam burst out in puffs, and the Phonograph slowly sang, "Husband, even if you brought dragon liver and phoenix marrow today, I couldn’t eat anymore."

Li Banfeng laughed. "My lady, rest for a while; I’ll go out for a spin and will be back shortly."

"Hey, my husband, don’t tell me you’re going to look for that old crone’s Contract Book?"

Li Banfeng sniffed and said, "Just curious. I want to take a look."

"Hey, my husband, you’re not thinking about the cultivation level inside the Contract Book, are you?"

Li Banfeng grinned and said, "It’s good to save up some extra cultivation level, isn’t it? My lady also said, the cultivation level of the territory is all stored in the Contract Book."

"Hey, my husband, the cultivation level was given by your little servant. What do you need the Contract Book for?"

Li Banfeng, wiping sweat from his brow, said, "I don’t need it; it can be used for my lady as well!"

"Hey, my husband, your little servant doesn’t need that kind of cultivation level. The cultivation level of New Land is different from genuine cultivation level. You have seen the Straw Moth Lady, my husband. Do you want to turn into something like that?"

Li Banfeng hesitated. "Using the cultivation level of New Land will turn me into the Straw Moth Lady?"

"Not necessarily. The Straw Moth Lady became that way through Bitter Cultivation. What Home Cultivation can turn into is also hard to say. The Strange Monsters of New Land, some are humans, some are close kin to humans; it’s only because of the cultivation level of New Land that they turned into such appearances. My husband, think it over carefully. Do you really want to turn into something like that?"

Li Banfeng pursed his lips. "Changing appearance isn’t a big deal."

Hong Ying brought the mirror in front of Li Banfeng. "First look at yourself now. Would you not despise yourself if you truly turned into a monster?"

As a Long Spear, you look in the mirror every day and don’t despise yourself. Why would I despise myself?

"I don’t despise it. I wonder if my lady despises me?"

"Hey, my husband, your little servant doesn’t despise you either. If you want to go, then go."

"Alright, I’ll go now." Li Banfeng squatted down and opened the case.

"Hey, my husband, what are you doing?"

"I’m going to add some machine oil now."

The Phonograph trembled. "My husband, your little servant is giving well-intentioned advice. Why do you need to add machine oil?"

CREAK!

Li Banfeng had already opened up the back cover.

The Phonograph trembled even more violently. "My husband, I ate so much today! Please, don’t apply the oil to the wrong place. Be careful, my husband... watch... careful... No, don’t! My husband, that’s not the right place! My husband! My husband! That... that Local Deity’s Contract Book... it has other uses too! Don’t... don’t rush! Please, listen to your little servant. Let me explain slowly..."