The number one Daoist path in the world? That’s terrifying to hear! Why isn’t Homebound Cultivation or Wanderlust Cultivation the number one Daoist path instead?

Li Banfeng refused to accept it. “Wifey, what abilities does this Daoist Path have?”

“Heyaa, my dear, that question really stumps me. I do not know what abilities the Folly Cultivators possess. I have never seen a Folly Cultivator before. That Daoist path has been extinct for a very long time. There haven’t been any Folly Cultivators in the world for many years. All I know is that this Daoist path was incredibly formidable. Its members were extremely shrewd and used crafty and deceitful tactics. They had no rivals among those of the same cultivation level.”

No rivals?

With the exception of Gold Cultivators, all the Daoist paths of the world had a counterpart that they could overcome and be overcome by. That was what the Peddler had said.

“Is there no Daoist path that can overcome Folly Cultivators?”

The Gramophone replied, “It is said that under the heavens, there is only one Daoist path capable of overcoming Folly Cultivators. But cultivators of that Daoist path are powerless to fight them.”

“Wait,” Li Banfeng said with a frown. “I don’t understand. Which Daoist path can overcome Folly Cultivators? And why would they be unable to fight them?”

“I don’t know which Daoist Path it is, nor do I know why they are unable to fight them. If I had to guess, perhaps that Daoist path has too few cultivators, or their hearts are not united.”

“Are the Folly Cultivators united, then?”

“Not entirely united, but they were still able to fight together. They built a city together called Yuren City in Puluo. Because the Folly Cultivators were so powerful, people in Puluo trembled in fear whenever they heard the name Yuren City.”

“If they were that strong, how did they go extinct?”

“That is unclear. Some say they constantly tricked and toyed with one another until internal strife destroyed them. Others say that because they had grown too powerful and attracted too much attention, cultivators of the other Daoist paths joined forces to besiege them and eventually wiped them out. There are many different claims, and it is hard to know which is true. But I remember one thing. When I was cultivating, a senior once warned me that Yuren City still exists in the Old Lands. Even though there are no living cultivators there anymore, the spirits of the dead remain. Even as spirits, the Folly Cultivators remain extremely powerful. That senior warned me never to come to Yuren City. My dear… how did you end up here?”

Li Banfeng rubbed his forehead. His thoughts were in complete disarray.

How did I end up in Yuren City? Why did I even come to this place?

“Wifey, are the abilities of the Folly Cultivators simply about deceiving people?”

Pop… crackle… pop…~

“My dear, when I first heard my seniors mention Folly Cultivators, I thought the same. I even believed they should be called Deception Cultivators instead.

“But there was an elder who had actually seen Folly Cultivators. He warned me that folly is folly and deception is deception. The key to the Folly Cultivators lies in folly, not deception.”

What sort of elder was that? Why did he speak in such a roundabout way?

Li Banfeng thought for a moment and seemed to figure out something.

Folly is folly. Deception is deception. Their tricks might not actually be that clever. It was my intelligence that dropped. They turned me into a fool! That’s the true terror of the Folly Cultivators.

“No wonder I’ve been getting scammed ever since I entered the city. Even that herbal plaster seller on the street managed to swindle a dollar from me!”

Li Banfeng sprang to his feet. He wanted to leave Yuren City at once.

The Gramophone called out, “My dear, why not wait a little before leaving? Your thoughts still seem rather muddled. You might have already been affected by a Folly Cultivator’s abilities.”

Li Banfeng turned back to look at the Gramophone. “Wifey, do you have a way to counter the abilities of Folly Cultivators?”

“Well…”

The Gramophone did not have a solution. She had never even met a Folly Cultivator before. How could she possibly counter their abilities?

“My dear, rest inside the house for a while longer before going out.”

This was the only advice the Gramophone could give. After all, when a Homebound Cultivator was inside their dwelling, their recovery ability was unmatched by any other Daoist path.

However, Li Banfeng had another concern. “Wifey, I feel like my thoughts are getting more and more muddled. If I’ve been struck by a Folly Cultivator’s ability, will the effects worsen the longer I drag things out?”

“Well…”

The Gramophone could not explain that either.

Li Banfeng asked another question. “Since Yuren City is the territory of the Folly Cultivators, if I stay here too long, will I be influenced and become more and more foolish?”

“Well…”

Of course, the Gramophone could not explain this either.

“I should leave as soon as possible!” Li Banfeng exclaimed. He headed for the door again, without even taking his enchanted artifacts.

The Gramophone called out, “My dear, bring your enchanted artifacts with you.

Little Sister Gourd, if anyone tries to cheat our man again, you must give him a warning.”

The Liquor Gourd replied, “When the man was selling herbal plaster, I didn’t think Little Brodie would fall for it. After he bought it, I figured the money wasn’t much anyway, so it was fine.”

The Gramophone tensed with worry. Had the Liquor Gourd also fallen under the effect of a Folly Cultivator’s ability?

The Gramophone continued, “Hanxue, you can deal with wandering souls. Go with him. Threaded, stay by my husband’s ear and give him reminders from time to time. Old Teapot, you’ve woken up as well. You’ve seen much in your time, so go along too. Second Saber, stay by your master’s side and protect him.

“My dear, no need to bring the Judge’s Brush. That thing is useless. But bring the Illustrated Calendar as well. That shameless woman is quite clever.”

Li Banfeng took the four mentioned enchanted artifacts with him and tucked the Illustrated Calendar under his arm as he walked to the door.

After thinking for a moment, he put the Illustrated Calendar back.

“I’m trying to make a getaway. Walking down the street with this illustrated calendar tucked under my arm would make me stand out far too much,” Li Banfeng said. Then he left.

The Gramophone felt uneasy. “There’s something off about him today.”

The Crimson Lotus spoke up. “Let me go out and take a look. I’ve seen Folly Cultivators before. I might be able to help.”

“Let you go out?” The Gramophone considered it seriously. “Wait a little longer.”

“Wait until when? Until that madman loses his life?”

The Gramophone released a burst of steam, scorching the Crimson Lotus until she glowed red. “Sister, don’t say such inauspicious things. Be patient and wait. Perhaps in your next life, I’ll let you out.”

“Wicked woman!”

The Crimson Lotus spat at the Gramophone, who then responded by blasting her with more steam.

After a brief scuffle, the Crimson Lotus fell silent.

The Gramophone looked at the Illustrated Calendar and said, “He should have taken Dream Virtue with him. Moralism Cultivators and Dream Cultivators can both stir the mind. They would certainly be useful against Folly Cultivators.”

Dream Virtue voiced his agreement. “Madam is correct. I am indeed useful.”

The Judge’s Brush laughed coldly. “Too many.”

Taken aback, the Gramophone asked the Judge’s Brush, “What did you mean by ‘too many’?”

“Hmph…”

The Judge’s Brush could not be bothered to repeat himself.

***

Li Banfeng returned to his room at the inn and found the place completely ransacked.

This inn is not normal. It’s very likely a trap, a scam inn that kills and robs the guests. Why did I walk into a scam inn?

Since the innkeeper could not find me, he must have assumed I had already escaped. Should I simply take advantage of the situation and slip away? Or should I strike back now that they’re unguarded and unprepared and launch a sudden counterattack?

If this had happened in the past, Li Banfeng’s first reaction would certainly have been revenge.

The inn was full of wandering souls, but with the Blood-Drinking Pendulum in his possession, Li Banfeng truly was not afraid of them.

But would I really have an advantage if I fight Folly Cultivators in Yuren City? Besides, there might be others inside the inn. If I get surrounded, how would I escape?

The more he thought about it, the more Li Banfeng’s head began to ache.

Forget it. I’ll settle this score later. Escaping comes first.

Li Banfeng jumped out of the window, landed on the street, and headed toward the city gates.

After walking for a short while, Li Banfeng began to consider an important question. Should he go left or right? Where exactly were the city gates? Had he not entered through the city gates earlier?

Li Banfeng remembered the route from the city gates to the inn’s front entrance.

However, he had just jumped out through his room’s window and was in a narrow alley instead of on the main street. For some reason, he could not figure out how to reach the city gates from here.

Was it really possible that simply exiting from a different place had left him unable to tell which direction he should go? A Wanderlust Cultivator like him had actually lost his bearings?

Li Banfeng kept rubbing his head, growing increasingly agitated as he walked.

The Liquor Gourd reminded him, “Little Brodie, don’t panic. Let’s check the wind direction first and then determine which way to go.”

Wind direction?

Li Banfeng could not remember what the wind direction had been when he entered the city.

The Threaded Earring suggested, “Master, how about we return to the inn’s main entrance and retrace our steps?”

The Blood-Drinking Pendulum cursed angrily at the Threaded Earring. “You fool. If we go back to the inn’s main entrance, we’d just be waiting for the innkeeper to spot us. How is that any different from walking straight into a trap?”

The Threaded Earring shot back, “Then what good idea do you have?”

Li Banfeng did not bother listening to their argument. These enchanted artifacts had clearly been affected by Yuren City as well; their intelligence had dropped.

At a critical moment like this, he would have to make the decision himself.

Li Banfeng was stuck in a narrow alley where his view was blocked. There was no way he could find the road out of the city from here. If he found a place with an open view, would he not be able to locate the road?

Spotting a bell tower nearby, he ran through the alley and then the main street until he arrived at the base of the bell tower. Then he climbed all the way to the top.

The view here sure is wide open! This bell tower is probably the tallest structure in all of Yuren City, right?

Li Banfeng looked out over the city and quickly located the city gates. There wasn’t just one pair of gates; there were four, one in each of the north, east, south, and west directions. He was excited, delighted.

More than a dozen people from Kindred Wayfarers Inn rushed out and joined Li Banfeng in the celebration.

“Look! He’s on top of the bell tower!”

“Quick! Don’t let him escape!”

“Pin him down and chop him to pieces!”

The group of people rushed toward the bell tower, and Li Banfeng hurriedly ran for his life.

“How did they see me? How did they know I was here?” he muttered.

After running a few steps, Li Banfeng frowned and realized the problem. He was the only living person in the entire city. Everyone else was a ghost. And that single living person had just climbed to the highest point in the city.

What the hell was I thinking? Why did I climb up there? For the people from the inn, it would have been harder for them not to find me.

Li Banfeng sprinted through the city, and after running himself ragged, he finally managed to shake off his pursuers.

When he stopped for a moment to catch his breath, he heard someone speak.

“Young man, I advised you earlier, yet you refused to heed my advice. You still want to leave the city?”

Li Banfeng turned around and saw that it was the same gold-gate picker from before, that fortune teller. Earlier, Li Banfeng had even given him a hundred dollars.

“How did you find me?” Li Banfeng asked.

“You exude a murderous aura. I can see it from far away.”

“How did you know I wanted to leave the city?”

The fortune teller smiled. “Your fate is written all over your face. How could it escape my eyes? Young man, you must not leave the city. A bloody disaster lies right before you.”

Li Banfeng stepped away without saying a word more to the fortune teller.

Staying in this city is what will really lead to a bloody disaster. My mind is failing me more and more. If I stay any longer, someone could swing a blade at me, and I might not even know I should dodge.

As he walked through the alley, Li Banfeng kept repeating a sentence in his mind. Up ahead is the main street. It has to be the main street…

However, when he stepped out of the alley, there was only another alley. Li Banfeng was lost again.

What should I do now? Ask someone for directions? Would anyone here even tell the truth?

Seeing Li Banfeng growing irritable, the Old Teapot advised him, “Little Brodie, go home and rest for a while. Take a nap first. You are a Homebound Cultivator. Once you recover your energy, you’ll be fine.”

The Old Teapot’s suggestion was much like the other artifacts’, not particularly useful. Nevertheless, returning to the Pocket Dwelling was his only option at the moment.

His head throbbed painfully. Whether it was from exhaustion or anger, he could not tell. His thoughts were becoming increasingly muddled. Even considering something simple required a great deal of mental effort.

After returning to the Pocket Dwelling, Li Banfeng collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep.

The Gramophone asked what had happened, but the enchanted artifacts explained it in such a tangled way that nothing made sense.

The Gramophone began to panic. “What is going on? Have you all become fools?”

She was afraid and worried that Li Banfeng might never get out of Yuren City.

“My darling husband, sleep. Once you wake up and your mind clears, everything will be fine.”

“Hmph!” the Judge’s Brush snorted coldly. He went to sleep first.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep