On the twelfth day, Li Banfeng led everyone to Meng Yuchun’s territory.
It had rained heavily the previous night, and Cao Zhida’s tent had leaked. He seemed to have caught a cold and said to Li Banfeng with a heavy nasal voice, "I don’t think those hunters gained anything. Who would want to be the landlord of this lousy place?"
Li Banfeng said, "I’m telling you, after successfully reclaiming this wasteland, you must come and manage it often. You can’t let the land become derelict. This is the rule of the Local Deity, and it will be written in the Contract Book."
Cao Zhida made a sour face. "Seventh Master, isn’t this making things difficult for us? Why don’t we just surrender and admit failure in reclaiming the wasteland?"
"You can’t surrender when reclaiming wasteland here. You have to fight to the death."
The hunters panicked. "That won’t do! If we can’t beat them, we can’t beat them. We can’t risk our lives!"
Li Banfeng nodded. "I’ll discuss it with the Local Deity. This rule is a bit too unreasonable."
Upon reaching Li Banfeng’s plot of land, the Big Toad was inspecting the posts of the Mountain Wolves and Golden Eagles. Li Banfeng was very satisfied and gave the Big Toad five Elixirs. "As long as you’re diligent, you’ll receive one every month. This is a down payment."
The Big Toad puffed out its chest. "With Seventh Master’s word, not even a mosquito will get into your territory!"
BUZZ.
As they were speaking, a mosquito actually flew near.
With a flick of its tongue, the Big Toad immediately ate the mosquito.
Dozens of people suddenly arrived at the territory, and it wasn’t long before Meng Yuchun hurried over.
Unlike the other Local Deities, she didn’t arrive as a Ghost Fire. Instead, she revealed her true form before everyone.
A group of hunters was stunned.
Meng Yuchun wanted to say she was the Local Deity, but a Local Deity wouldn’t easily reveal themselves before people.
Li Banfeng, fearing it would startle the hunters, introduced her. "This young lady is an envoy sent by the Local Deity."
Since Seventh Master called her an envoy, the hunters naturally didn’t question it. They crowded around to introduce themselves.
"Young Lady, I might not be good at other things, but I’m an absolute expert at reclaiming wasteland! In Blue Poplar Village, if I claim to be second best at it, no one dares say they’re first!"
"Don’t listen to his blather! In Blue Poplar Village, the best at reclaiming wasteland is our Master Wu. After Master Wu, it has to be me!"
"They’re all talk. Let me say something serious: I’ve been in this reclamation business for over a decade, and I’ve never once failed."
Cao Zhida shouted, "What do you think you’re doing? Bragging about skills you don’t have, exaggerating wildly! Aren’t you ashamed?"
The hunters were unconvinced in their hearts, but none dared to contradict Cao Zhida.
Cao Zhida stepped forward, clasping his fist. "Miss, I’m quite the expert when it comes to reclaiming wasteland. Just tell me how large a plot you desire; you can count on me."
Meng Yuchun said joyfully, "Would ten miles be alright?"
Cao Zhida slapped his chest. "Consider it done!"
The group of hunters was scared witless, all retreating to a safe distance.
Even Li Banfeng was stunned.
"What do you mean, ’consider it done’?" Li Banfeng grabbed Cao Zhida and said to Meng Yuchun, "We can’t reclaim ten miles. At most, we can manage a one-mile plot."
"Only one mile?" Meng Yuchun was very disappointed.
Cao Zhida said to Li Banfeng, "Seventh Master, the Local Deity’s envoy is here. We should follow her arrangements. As they say, when in Rome, do as the Romans do."
Li Banfeng stared at Cao Zhida, furrowing his brow.
Li Banfeng pulled Meng Yuchun aside and lowered his voice. "These people are with me, so they follow my arrangements. The most they can reclaim is a one-mile plot."
After pondering for a moment, Meng YCHun said, "Fine, one mile per person..."
"Not one mile per person, a total of one mile!"
"Over fifty people, and they can only reclaim one mile total?" Meng Yuchun wasn’t convinced. "Li Qi, are you messing with me?"
Li Banfeng wasn’t messing with Meng Yuchun. These hunters had been recruited and weren’t familiar with each other. He was unsure of their cultivation levels, so he wanted to start with a one-mile plot to gauge their abilities.
Meng Yuchun asked, "With your reclamation method, who will be the landlord?"
Li Banfeng said, "That depends on who is most capable and can take responsibility for this land. The others won’t have come for nothing; I won’t be stingy with the payment for the reclamation. If someone truly has the ability to reclaim their own plot, we can arrange that."
Meng Yuchun reluctantly agreed, but Cao Zhida refused. He insisted on reclaiming his own plot, no matter what.
Since Meng Yuchun was willing, and Cao Zhida was eager, Li Banfeng couldn’t say much more.
As before, the rules were kept simple. Meng Yuchun drew the boundaries, and the examination began on the spot.
After three days of fighting, both plots of land were successfully reclaimed.
The fifty-odd hunters mostly had experience with reclaiming wasteland, so clearing one mile wasn’t difficult for them.
It wasn’t easy for Cao Zhida, though. He fought alone for three days and suffered many injuries.
Meng Yuchun admired Cao Zhida greatly and praised him, "Among this group, your abilities are the greatest."
That comment caused trouble.
Cao Zhida pounded his chest. "Miss, give me another three miles, and I’ll show you my true abilities!"
Li Banfeng grabbed Cao Zhida. "Are you out of your mind?"
Cao Zhida looked calmly at Li Banfeng. "Seventh Master, I always listen to you. But just this once, do me a favor and let me gain some face in front of Miss Meng!"
Li Banfeng said, "You want to gain face at the cost of your life?"
"I don’t care about my life anymore," Cao Zhida shook his head. "As long as I can be with Miss Meng in the future, I’m willing to lay down my life right here!"
Cao Zhida was determined to reclaim the land, and no one could dissuade him.
The Big Toad hopped over to Li Banfeng. "Seventh Master, he must have eaten Sweet Snot."
Li Banfeng said angrily, "Nonsense! Snot is clearly salty!"
"I’m not talking about *that* snot, but a type of Wandering Monster. According to the books, they’re called Love Sorrow Slugs."
"Wandering Monsters? The kind that don’t obey the Local Deity?"
CROAK!
The toad’s cheeks puffed. "Seventh Master is correct. Wandering Monsters are not subject to a Local Deity’s control, and their cultivation levels are generally not low. The Love Sorrow Slug is formed from the conjoined Souls of several Emotion Cultivators. Over many years in the New Land, these Souls lose their ghostly appearance and develop a slug-like physique. They specialize in crawling into the nostrils of those in love. Brother Cao genuinely has feelings for Miss Meng. Now that he’s been affected by Sweet Snot, the situation is out of control."
Li Banfeng looked at Meng Yuchun. "She doesn’t know about this type of Wandering Monster?"
CROAK! "As far as I know, she rarely visited the New Land when she was human and has been a Local Deity for less than a year. Sweet Snot is rarely encountered, so she might not recognize it. Moreover, apart from causing deep infatuation, being affected by Sweet Snot has no other symptoms, making it difficult for ordinary people to identify. I only suspected he was afflicted when I heard Brother Cao speaking with such a nasal tone."
"Is this thing deadly?"
"It depends on the individuals involved. If Brother Cao is smitten and Miss Meng remains indifferent, then even if you prevent him from reclaiming the land now, he’s likely to die of Love Sickness eventually."
Cao Zhida’s gaze never left Meng Yuchun. Li Banfeng asked the toad, "Is there any way to save him?"
"Since Seventh Master has asked, I’m willing to give it a try. Whether it works or not will depend on his own luck. Seventh Master, can you think of a way to put him to sleep first?"
Making Old Cao fall asleep was not going to be easy. He’d been fighting in the New Land for three days without closing his eyes, yet he was still unnervingly alert.
Li Banfeng sent everyone away and took out Ling Miaoying’s Music Box.
He wound up the Music Box and moved the little figurine on the turntable to face Cao Zhida.
This was how his wife had taught him to use it.
Li Banfeng flipped the switch. The little figurine paused for a moment before Cao Zhida, selected its target, and began to rotate slowly on the turntable.
The soothing piano music drifted towards Cao Zhida, and after a short while, he fell asleep.
Li Banfeng put away the Music Box. The toad hopped next to Cao Zhida, sticking out its tongue toward Cao Zhida’s nose.
A long tongue wriggled on Old Cao’s nose, its tip gradually forking like two antennae springing upright.
The antennae caressed the openings of his nostrils for a moment, and then another pair of antennae emerged from inside his nose.
The slug slowly squirmed outwards. Throughout the process, the Big Toad didn’t make a sound.
Only when the slug had wriggled most of the way out did the Big Toad’s tongue dart out, coiling around the slug and pulling it from Cao Zhida’s nose.
The Love Sorrow Slug was extremely proficient at parasitizing and could, in the blink of an eye, burrow into the Big Toad’s nose.
The Big Toad, well-prepared, flicked its tongue and flung the slug onto the ground.
If Li Banfeng hadn’t learned about the Love Sorrow Slug’s characteristics from the Big Toad, he might have reflexively used Trample Over Thousands of Rivers to stomp it flat.
However, if he had indeed stomped on it, the slug might not have died. Being a collective of Emotion Cultivator Souls, it could have fragmented into several smaller slugs, which would then go on to plague other living beings.
For this reason, Li Banfeng had made special preparations.
No sooner had the slug hit the ground than it sensed a woman standing before it.
The woman’s eyes rippled with affection, her face full of tender love as she gazed at the slug on the ground.
Without hesitation, the slug charged towards the woman and leaped up into her nostrils.
Li Banfeng gave the Big Toad an Elixir as thanks and signaled for it to leave quickly.
The toad immediately hopped far away. Li Banfeng, holding the Projector, returned to his Portable Residence.
The woman was an image generated by the Projector.
He turned off the lens, the image vanished, and the slug fell to the ground with a plop.
His wife used phonograph needles to pin the Love Sorrow Slug, subduing it with Steam, and sang joyfully, "A Love Sorrow Slug! This is excellent material!"
The phonograph needles moved up and down, swiftly dismembering the Love Sorrow Slug. The six Emotion Cultivator Souls—male and female—emitted shrieks of varying pitches as they were drawn into the horn of the device.
When the Steam dissipated, only a clump of mucus remained on the ground. Li Banfeng brought it over to Red Lotus. "Eat."
Red Lotus was not finicky and cleaned up the mucus thoroughly.
Li Banfeng commented, "You really aren’t picky."
HUFF.
His wife sang, "Of course, she isn’t picky; this material is quite rare. Husband, you can’t let her consume it all. I’ve preserved some of its Spirit Attribute within it. We must have her use it to refine a Spiritual Object!"
Li Banfeng took stock of his arsenal.
Li Banfeng scanned the room. Gloves, clutching the Tang Sword, trembled.
Li Banfeng wouldn’t reforge a Magical Treasure for a mere bit of mucus.
There was one pair of weapons that Li Banfeng had always found awkward to use.
The Mandarin Duck Axes. This pair of weapons was too complex for him. Li Banfeng placed them before the Copper Lotus Flower. The Copper Lotus Flower sulked for a long time but eventually accepted the axes.
When the Lotus Heart bloomed, Li Banfeng noticed that Ling Miaoying’s Lotus Seed had fully ripened.
He peeled the Lotus Seed and, after a short wait, six Gold Yuan Pills emerged.
The previous exchange had been effective; at least this time, they were indeed Gold Yuan Pills.
"Ah Lian, this quantity... isn’t it a bit too little?"
PS: Ban Feng always knew what he was doing.