Steam Era: The Lord of 'Puluo'

"Those bandits have spent years living in the Old Land; they know the paths, the people, and the rules. Attempting to storm their mountain stronghold in the Old Land is nothing short of a fairy tale."

"We must make the trip. Even if we can't defeat them, we at least need to know where they live, so we can find an opportunity to deal with them later." Li Banfeng was truly set on clashing with Iron Sheep Mountain.

"I genuinely don't know where Iron Sheep Mountain is. We should ask around."

Ma Wu went to gather information about Iron Sheep Mountain, while Li Banfeng, pushing the Phonograph, began to pull up hooks on the plot of land.

He first placed the record on the turntable, wound the spring fully, positioned the needle, flicked the switch, and then, pushing the Phonograph, began to sprint.

"Pretense, pretense, why must people live in pretense? You want to look, you're going to look, so look closely and see clearly..."

Li Banfeng sprinted past the warehouse. Chuanzi stood frozen, muttering to himself, "What is going on with Seventh Master?"

BOOM! Something exploded in the warehouse.

Amidst the singing, a hook was pulled out.

Xiao Genzi was mixing Golden Juice. The previous speculation was correct—the combination of an Aberration's Golden Juice with that of an ordinary person produced a very subtle change.

His cultivation practice was progressing rapidly. He was already preparing to buy a third bucket from the Peddler.

Ahead lay a superior quality clump, with sufficient heat and purity, untainted by too many impurities.

Just as Xiao Genzi was about to go over, Li Banfeng got there first.

The superior quality clump was flattened by Li Banfeng's foot.

Xiao Genzi felt quite regretful. Looking at the shoe print on it, he still reluctantly collected it.

"What's with Seventh Master today? Why is he so flashy?"

Indeed, he was flashy. A big windmill was attached to the back of the Phonograph, spinning continuously. How could it not be flashy?

Not only was the Phonograph flashy, but the song was as well.

"Pretense" was an essential track for every major dance hall. Its tune and lyrics were catchy, and more importantly, the wife's spirited and adorable singing resounded across the entire plot of land.

Li Banfeng used the duration of one song to run through most of the plot.

After playing one song, the Phonograph needed to rest for three days. Li Banfeng counted and realized he had pulled six hooks along the way.

These were probably left by Lu Xiaolan when she sneaked in before. She had invested quite a bit. Peeping Cultivation is too hard to defend against. I need to intensify the cleanup from now on.

After returning the Phonograph to the Portable Residence, Li Banfeng explored alone for half a day. Having accumulated enough cultivation level, he walked to Zuo Wugang's doorstep, pushed the door open, and entered.

Zuo Wugang was practicing martial arts intensely with a centipede girl. Their fight was fierce, with continuous offensive and defensive moves. It seemed like they had just started.

Li Banfeng stepped aside for a moment.

Less than a minute later, the centipede girl left.

Li Banfeng entered the room and asked, "Do you know where Iron Sheep Mountain is?"

Zuo Wugang was getting dressed. He knew the Iron Sheep Trio, so Li Banfeng thought he would know the location of Iron Sheep Mountain.

But he truly didn't know. "Seventh Master," he said, "the Lu Family conducted business with Iron Sheep Mountain several times in Proper Land. I was acting as the Support and met them a few times.

"Later, there was a dispute because the quality of the goods from Iron Sheep Mountain wasn't up to par; Ethereal Spirits were mixed with living beings, which led to a conflict. We fought several battles, and I crossed hands with the Iron Sheep Trio, so I recognize them."

"Did the Lu Family win in the end?"

"No, they didn't! Those bandits from Iron Sheep Mountain don't play by any rules. They fight ruthlessly when they have the upper hand and flee back to the Old Land if they're losing. The Lu Family members didn't want to get entangled with them in the Old Land, so the matter was eventually dropped. Seventh Master, that pack of scoundrels made trouble on our territory. I know you can't swallow this indignity, but you must not confront them in the Old Land. Their Big Dipper may be at the Sixth Layer, with a cultivation level comparable to mine, but they have all sorts of people and methods on their mountain. Anyone who goes there will suffer a great loss."

Both the He Family and the Lu Family had suffered losses at Iron Sheep Mountain.

Iron Sheep Mountain is indeed not simple! How did Lu Xiaolan manage to find such a strong backer?

Li Banfeng became even more interested in Iron Sheep Mountain.

He returned to the Portable Residence and asked the Phonograph, "Wife, where is Iron Sheep Mountain?"

"Beloved Husband, what do you wish to do at Iron Sheep Mountain?"

To ease my mind, Li Banfeng thought, pleased with his excuse.

CHUCKLE.

The wife fell silent for a moment before saying, "Well, Husband, your Little Servant remembers there's a place called Iron Sheep Mountain, but I only recall it's in the Old Land. As for how to get there specifically, your Little Servant truly can't remember. Beloved Husband, listen to your Little Servant. If you want to go to the Old Land to clear your mind, you'll need to improve your cultivation level a bit more."

It was uncertain whether the wife truly didn't remember. In any case, nothing could be gleaned from her.

Li Banfeng returned to the council hall and continued rehearsing with the band.

The band, having learned that Li Banfeng liked the piece "Pretense," practiced it in the council hall for an entire afternoon.

Now everyone was hooked; the entire territory was hooked.

The storekeeper sang while weighing goods.

The accountant sang while counting money.

Yanzi and Ah Qin sang while fighting each other.

Ma Wu returned, humming the tune, and said to Li Banfeng, "Old Qi, there's a hunter on our land who claims to know where Iron Sheep Mountain is."

Li Banfeng was pleasantly surprised. "Where is he? Take me to see him."

"I don't know if he's telling the truth or not, Old Qi. You really can't be reckless about this."

"No problem. Let's have a look first."

Ma Wu ordered someone to bring the hunter to a plot of land one li away, where it was relatively safe.

On the way, Ma Wu asked Li Banfeng, "Should we give a name to our Ten-Li Territory?"

Li Banfeng nodded. "I've thought of one. Let's call it Zhengjing Village."

Ma Wu pondered for a moment and then nodded repeatedly in approval. "That's a good name."

The hunter was named Sun Tiecheng. He was over fifty years old, dressed simply, and had an honest-looking face.

Upon seeing Li Banfeng and Ma Wu, the hunter quickly paid his respects. Li Banfeng directly asked about the location of Iron Sheep Mountain, to which the old hunter replied, "That depends on whether you two masters want to travel via the outside or the inside."

Li Banfeng frowned. "What do you mean, outside and inside?"

Ma Wu explained, "He means the New Land and the Proper Land."

Sun Tiecheng said, "If you go from the Proper Land, the journey to the Old Land will be mostly peaceful. With my legs, it would take half a month. But if you go from the New Land, you can reach your destination in just one day."

The hunter could get there in one day. If I went, could I get there in just an hour?

"Old brother, which Taoist Sect do you belong to?"

"Traveling Cultivator, Third Layer."

What a coincidence? Li Banfeng thought.

Ma Wu said to the hunter, "Draw us a map and tell us how to get there."

The hunter drew a map. After he finished, Li Banfeng couldn't understand it.

The hunter looked troubled. "Masters, I can't draw maps or write. I've hardly even held a pen."

"This will have to do. Make do with it," Ma Wu said, taking the map. He gave Sun Tiecheng two Ocean Dollars. "Hurry and sell your goods, and as soon as you're done, leave."

Ma Wu sincerely didn't want Li Banfeng to go to the Old Land. He didn't even want to bring this hunter here. But if he hadn't brought the man, it would have seemed like he didn't take Li Banfeng's concerns seriously. If Li Banfeng found this hunter later, it would also make Ma Wu appear untrustworthy.

This approach was perfect. He had a map, barely understandable, and it was in his possession. They could discuss going to Iron Sheep Mountain later.

The hunter returned to Zhengjing Village, sold his goods there without lingering, and then headed deeper into the New Land.

Half an hour and five or six miles later, Sun Tiecheng suddenly felt someone following him. He turned around and saw Li Banfeng behind him.

"Sir, what are you...?" Sun Tiecheng was very nervous.

Li Banfeng frowned slightly. "Aren't you a Third Layer Traveling Cultivator? You don't walk very fast, do you?"

The hunter wiped the sweat from his brow. "Master, with you following behind, I didn't dare to walk too fast."

Li Banfeng pulled out thirty Ocean Dollars and stuffed them into the hunter's hand. "I want to go to Iron Sheep Village. Can you guide me there?"

PS: The Old Land is more interesting than the New Land!