Li Banfeng asked, "How did the Greenwater Beggar manage to beat Yuan Showu?"
Meng Yuchun shook her head. "I don’t know about that. I heard about it, and to this day I can’t figure out how someone from the Ninth Layer could beat a Local Deity from the Cloud Top Second Layer."
The Greenwater Beggar had stolen the Local Deity’s cultivation level and status. The other path was theft.
"How should one walk the path of theft?"
"Theft is of two kinds: one is clandestine plundering, and the other is clandestine crossing. Clandestine plundering is similar to robbery; you stealthily steal status from the Local Deity, but cultivation level is hard to steal. You first need to use a low-level cultivation level to occupy a high-level status, and then find a way to quickly advance. The biggest danger of this method isn’t stealing the status itself, but that a low-level cultivation occupying a high-level status can result in backlash from that status. The other kind is more akin to deceiving: stealing human energy from someone else’s territory, allowing oneself to bypass the tribulation and directly advance to the Cloud Top First Layer."
Li Banfeng didn’t quite understand. "You can just skip over the tribulation?"
"To put it simply, while at the Ninth Layer, you steal human energy, deceive the heavens and cross the sea, and use Above the Clouds cultivation methods to get through the Tenth Layer."
"How can human energy be stolen?"
"That I don’t know," said Meng Yuchun, shaking her head. "Whether theft or robbery, it’s not something ordinary people can do. If I really had that ability, I wouldn’t need to suffer in the Inner State. I’ve told you everything I can. You can’t go back on your word now. You need to find someone else to pioneer the land!"
"I’ll find the people, but your rules need to change!"
Meng Yuchun was displeased. "Now you’re stating conditions? These are my rules, and I absolutely will not change them. If you dare to renege, don’t expect to take a step out of here!"
Li Banfeng looked over at the boundaries of the plot of land and asked, "This Boundary of yours... it’s almost as extensive as the Proper Land’s Border Line."
"Does Proper Land even have a Border Line?" Meng Yuchun looked confused.
"Yes, the Border Lines set by the Border Defense Envoy."
Meng Yuchun looked at Li Banfeng. "What’s a Border Defense Envoy?"
Li Banfeng stared at Meng Yuchun in amazement. "Sister, how many years have you been in the Inner State?"
Meng Yuchun frowned. "Didn’t I tell you? I can’t remember clearly. Let’s settle the matter of pioneering New Land first!"
"It’s exactly pioneering New Land that we’re discussing. How big a plot to pioneer can’t be up to you alone; you must let the Pioneers themselves choose."
Meng Yuchun shook her head. "That won’t do. If you bring a bunch of people, and they only start a one-li square plot, I’ve got 10,000 blocks. How many years would that take? I think even a three-li plot is not fast enough. By my calculations, it would take more than 1,000 times!"
Li Banfeng shook his head. "Not just anyone has the ability to clear a three-li plot."
Meng Yuchun laughed. "Don’t worry about that. You saw how many people I’ve sent these past few days. If someone doesn’t have the ability, they’ll surely die here."
"You want people to pioneer land, yet you set such high thresholds. If the Pioneers lose their lives, your human energy won’t increase either. In the end, nobody gains an advantage, and both sides suffer losses for nothing."
"A peach, you call it? And then we both just end up with nothing?" Meng Yuchun was a bit unconvinced, but she understood Li Banfeng’s point. "Alright then. You choose capable people to come. As for how large a plot they will clear, we can discuss that further."
They drew up a Contract Book, and with a wave of her hand, Meng Yuchun made the Boundary around the plot disappear.
Li Banfeng asked, "Is that one of your Techniques?"
Meng Yuchun glared at him. "What does a Traveling Cultivator like you need my Technique for?"
Li Banfeng strolled around his plot of land, feeling quite satisfied with the whole place. "When I’m not around, someone needs to manage my home. How about it, Brother Toad, will you be my housekeeper?"
The Literature Cultivator toad, having sustained some minor injuries and still holding a grudge against Li Banfeng, puffed up his cheeks. "CROAK! Why should I be your housekeeper?"
Li Banfeng pulled out two Mysterious Red Pills and placed them in the toad’s hand. "I definitely won’t make you work for nothing."
The toad looked down at the Elixirs in his hand, then haughtily raised his head, shouting to a group of Strange Monsters, "Keep away from here! Don’t you know this is Seventh Master’s territory?"
The Strange Monsters looked at each other in confusion, and a grey-furred wolf stepped forward. "Seventh Master, just having a housekeeper won’t do. Don’t you think you need a Support as well?"
A golden eagle flew over. "Seventh Master, I’m good for the Support job. I have sharp eyes."
The grey-furred wolf was annoyed. "What good are sharp eyes? My nose is even more sensitive!"
The golden eagle sneered. "What can you do with a sensitive nose? Are you going to watch the house with your nose?"
The two of them started to argue, and Li Banfeng gave each of them two Elixir Pills and hired them both.
In addition to a housekeeper and a Support, Li Banfeng also hired a den of aardvarks as workers to help him construct two houses. With everything properly arranged, he inquired about the direction and immediately set off for Greenwater City.
Meng Yuchun’s place was remote. With Li Banfeng’s cultivation level, he ran from morning until night and only reached Blue Poplar Village, a distance even greater than that from Black Stone Slope to Greenwater Bay.
On the way, Li Banfeng was calculating time.