Half a roast chicken had disappeared, and the plot of land suddenly lit up.
A woman announced that the test was beginning.
Li Banfeng cried out, "I didn’t intend to offer a sacrifice, I didn’t set up an altar!"
"The offering has been received," replied the woman as she gnawed on a chicken leg.
"If there’s a test, we should sign a Contract Book first!"
"It’s the same if we sign after the test, I don’t care about formalities!"
Li Banfeng decided to ignore her; this Local Deity was not in her right mind.
He headed straight for the edge of the plot, ready to accept failure in clearing the land.
This territory was so remote; he resolved never to return.
Just as he reached the border of the plot, a leaf fell on the glowing boundary line and instantly turned to ashes.
Li Banfeng had only seen this kind of phenomenon on the Border Line between territories.
"Thinking of leaving my territory?" the Local Deity snorted. "I’ve taken your tribute; now you must clear the land. Don’t you know the rules?"
Li Banfeng couldn’t understand this Local Deity. He used his Golden Gaze Autumn Hair for a long time but couldn’t see where the other party was.
"Let’s be reasonable," he argued. "We’ll put aside the issue of the Contract Book for now. If you want me to clear the land, you’ll have to wait until this time tomorrow. Give me a day to prepare, and then we can start. Whether I find someone to clear the land or do it myself should be my decision then. There should be at least this much of a rule."
"There are no such rules! The test starts once the offering is received; other matters can be discussed later!"
"Then I won’t clear this land; I don’t want it anymore. Just consider it a failure in clearing the land!"
"No! As long as you’re alive, it’s not a failure. The three-li plot test begins now!"
"How can I clear three li of land by myself..." Li Banfeng hadn’t finished his sentence when roars echoed from all around.
Strange Monsters were coming!
He had never cleared three li of land and wasn’t familiar with the rules of a three-li plot.
Knowing the rules was useless anyway, as the Local Deity herself did not follow them.
For Li Banfeng, clearing the land was a simple matter. If the Local Deity had given him a day to prepare and let him take the key, he could have run back to his Portable Residence and hidden for three days.
But this Local Deity was unreasonable!
Unable to leave the border, Li Banfeng had no choice but to take out all his Magical Treasures and prepare for battle.
Before he could arrange the Magical Treasures, a gigantic Old Hu, five or six meters tall, charged into the plot.
Li Banfeng dodged the giant Old Hu, and a large tree behind him that took two people to hug was knocked down by the beast.
The fallen tree slowly rose to its feet, yawned, and directly smashed its branches towards Li Banfeng.
Li Banfeng pointed at Old Hu and said to the tree, "He’s the one who knocked you down, why are you hitting me?"
Old Hu bit down on a branch and jabbed it toward Li Banfeng’s chest with swift, precise, and well-timed stabs, making it difficult for Li Banfeng to dodge.
Li Banfeng avoided Old Hu’s attack and chopped down the main trunk of the tree with his Tang Sword.
A toad leaped out from the broken trunk, loudly croaking, "CROAK! CROAK! The boundless fallen leaves descend!"
No sooner had the words fallen than numerous sharp branches swiftly plummeted from the tree, raining down like blades.
Li Banfeng dodged among the branches while also guarding against the giant Old Hu’s sneak attacks.
As he was maneuvering, the voice of the Local Deity reached his ears, "You’re so nimble, are you a Traveling Cultivator? I can’t let you off too easily then!"
While pondering, the earth trembled.
A massive earthworm, over a meter in diameter and more than ten meters in length, burrowed out from the ground, coiling around Li Banfeng.
The earthworm’s tactic was simple: it held Li Banfeng captive to let the tree, the toad, and the giant Old Hu attack.
With strong regenerative abilities, it wasn’t worried about collateral damage from Li Banfeng.
Entwined by the earthworm, Li Banfeng found himself in a difficult situation and shouted at the Projector, "Get someone out here to back me up!"
The Projector had been adjusting its angle and finally projected an image.
A beautiful girl appeared next to Li Banfeng, getting ready to fight, then turned her body to face her back to Li Banfeng and began to undo the buttons of her cheongsam.
"Why are you taking your clothes off?" Li Banfeng snapped. "Fight first!"
「...」
Inside the Portable Residence, the Phonograph was intensely hot, giving off layers of Steam.
"This madman hasn’t been home in so many days. I want to see how he’s going to explain this to the Residence!"
"Why the hell explain?" Hong Ying struggled in the corner. "You evil woman, let me go! I’ll fight it out with this Residence!"
"Can you win?" The Phonograph spoke with a hint of mockery. "Look at you now, a blind old hag. What can you use to fight him? Red Lotus has stashed away so much strength, and she’s just dying to get out of here. Even she wouldn’t act rashly, would she?"
Hong Ying was startled. "What strength has Red Lotus stashed away?"
From the Seventh Room, Red Lotus shouted, "You two bitches, stop backbiting!"
As the three of them were about to tear each other apart, the Residence trembled, and an old, laughing voice reached their ears, "HEH HEH HEH~"
The Residence was laughing. The Phonograph, Red Lotus, and Hong Ying—all three of high enough status—had heard this laughter before. All three were considered to have backbone, yet each time they heard it, shivers ran down their spines.
Hong Ying’s body trembled as she screamed, "Damn woman, let me go! I’m going to fight him! I can’t take it anymore!"
"Slut! Shut up! Want to get spanked?" the Phonograph reprimanded her a few times, and Hong Ying temporarily calmed down.
A few minutes later, Hong Ying lost control again. "I can’t do it, I’m going to fight him! I’m going to kill that old thief!"
She suddenly burst with strange strength. While the Phonograph wasn’t paying attention, she broke free of the Steam’s restraint and stabbed her spear towards the wall of the Portable Residence.
WOO-OO~~~
The sound of a train whistle rang out within the Portable Residence.
The Long Spear danced in the sound of the whistle, appearing to fight fiercely though it was unclear who she was battling.
Five minutes later, Hong Ying lay on the ground, motionless. GASP. GASP.
The Phonograph cautiously asked, "Slut, you’re still alive, aren’t you?"
Hong Ying propped herself up and stood.
The Phonograph was stunned for a long while, not understanding what Hong Ying had used to support her body or how she had stood up.
Hong Ying had grown hands and feet!
"Slut! What happened to you?" The Phonograph was nervous.
Hong Ying touched the shaft of her spear and said in a deep voice, "I’m fine. This battle, it’s a draw."
After speaking, Hong Ying strode to the corner of the room and stood there in an orderly manner.
In the Phonograph’s memory, Hong Ying was a woman who knew no fear.
It was unclear what method the Residence used to reduce Hong Ying to this state, even sprouting hands and feet.
"Slut, you didn’t wet your pants, did you?"
"Hmph!" Hong Ying snorted coldly. "What kind of question is that? How would I wet my pants? Do I even have pants? Since you mentioned it, now I really need to find some pants. I have legs now, don’t I? If I have legs, I need pants; otherwise, what if someone sees?"
Hong Ying spoke nonsensically, greatly shaken by the battle.
The Phonograph whispered, "This Residence is probably more formidable than the person who built it."
Hong Ying asked, "Who built it?"
"It must be a Taoist Sect Grandmaster, even above the Chief Leader."
"The one who built it is above the Chief Leader, and yet the Residence is more formidable than its Builder, HEH HEH HEH..." Hong Ying suddenly laughed, panting with laughter.
The Phonograph asked, "What are you laughing at? What’s so funny? Don’t laugh yourself into a fit."
"I’m not laughing at you; I’m laughing at myself. My chest feels tight, it’s like I’m growing a Conscience."
"Conscience..." The Phonograph turned her horn towards Hong Ying and saw a slight bulge at one-quarter the length of the Long Spear.
"It really can grow..." The Phonograph was excited. "If you can grow one, can I grow one too?"
"It seems like it’s not just a Conscience..." Hong Ying’s speech was still halting. "It seems like there’s something else too..."
"What else, a door?" The Phonograph got even more excited!
"It does seem like it!" Exclaimed Hong Ying. "I know why this Residence is so formidable now! It possesses many Taoist Spells from the Taoist Sects. Where do these spells come from? How could it possibly practice Dual Cultivation across so many Taoist Sects?"
The Phonograph used Steam to encircle the Long Spear and asked gently, "Sister, let’s not talk about the Taoist Spells for the moment. Tell me about the door—did it really grow?"
"It grew, both of them grew. And if you’re going to grow a door, both need to come out, so that madman doesn’t touch the wrong spot again. I feel pain just thinking about it for you."
"PAH! What pain are you feeling?" The Phonograph spat.
Hong Ying panicked. "Damn woman, stop talking about the door! Do you know where the Residence’s Taoist Spells come from? Could we turn into Taoist Spells too? Could we never leave?!"
"Slut, I told you not to provoke him, do you understand now?" The Phonograph glanced at the Month Plate and said to Meng De, "Not a word of what happened here to the husband, got it?"
Meng De nodded repeatedly.
Hong Ying asked, "I really don’t understand why you always keep things from that madman."
Red Lotus shouted from the Seventh Room, "You know he’s crazy too! Aren’t you afraid he’ll get into a fight with the Residence? If something happens to him, we’re all done for!"
"Cut the crap, you’re the real crazy one," the Phonograph cursed Red Lotus twice, then turned to Hong Ying. "The husband isn’t crazy; he’s just unconventional. We need to tell him slowly. We mustn’t push him into a corner."
Hong Ying said, "I’m anxious too! Find me a pair of pants! I really have grown a door!"
「...」
Li Banfeng was frantic.
He had run for three days and nights in Lian Bud, fighting desperately and risking half his life.
Now, with half a life left, he was risking it again on the New Land.
Corpses covered the ground.
Injured Strange Monsters were standing in several rows along the edge of the territory.
Li Banfeng kicked a Hua Bao away and trod on a wild pig, his eyes bloodshot from killing.
Suddenly, the Local Deity called out, "The examination is over."
The Strange Monsters withdrew from the territory.
Li Banfeng sat on the ground, exhausted, his vision blurring with each passing moment.
He wanted to sleep.
The Local Deity appeared in front of Li Banfeng and sat next to him, saying, "Good warrior, I admire you."
Li Banfeng’s gaze drifted toward the sky.
There were flashes of light in the sky, signaling that the land had been successfully claimed.
Li Banfeng nodded slightly and, before he could see the Local Deity’s face clearly, his eyelids closed, and he fell asleep.
PS: The strength of the Portable Residence is above its Builder? What could be the reason for this?