Li Banfeng opened the Seal Box; inside was a golden-yellow seal.
On the front of the seal, a silver-white ring was engraved, matching the pattern on the Seal Box exactly.
Li Banfeng put away both the seal and the Seal Box.
The soil beneath the Seal Box was relatively loose, probably to facilitate the seal’s absorption of cultivation level.
Li Banfeng dug over half a foot deep with his hand. He didn’t find any book; instead, he saw a shiny, arch-shaped iron tile.
Vertically engraved on the iron tile were eight large red characters: "Hundred Miles of Land, Let This Be the Proof."
Li Banfeng checked the back of the iron tile and saw two lines of small characters:
The first line read: "Mountain-Uprooting Master was granted this land."
The second line read: "Mountain-Uprooting Master was defeated by Bei Wushuang and ceded ten miles to the southeast."
The more Li Banfeng thought about it, the less he understood. He felt that the object in his hands was somewhat sinister.
He opened his Portable Residence and presented the Contract Book, the Land Seal, and the Seal Box to his wife.
His wife exclaimed, "My dear husband, your skill is admirable! You’ve acquired the Contract Book so quickly."
"This iron tile is the Contract Book?"
"This is indeed the Local Deity’s Contract Book, also known as the Privilege Seal. It’s the proof upon which a Local Deity establishes their existence."
Li Banfeng flipped the Contract Book over. "Then who wrote these words?"
"The Contract Book wrote them itself."
"The Contract Book can write on its own?"
"Yes. The first line was recorded by the Contract Book itself after Old Lady Wu was granted the land and sprinkled blood on the territory.
"The second line..." His wife paused, then continued, "That was after Old Lady Wu fought the Local Deity Bei Wushuang and lost, ceding ten miles of land to him. They established a contract, each sprinkling blood upon the ceded territory and burning that new contract. Then, both parties’ Privilege Seals would resonate and automatically inscribe the details of the ceded land."
Speaking of the second line, his wife’s tone became grave. "That old woman, managing to create such a mess! This is the most difficult issue to deal with."
Li Banfeng said, "I think this matter is quite easy to deal with. I’ll also write a contract claiming that old woman fought with me, lost, and ceded all her territory to me. Then I’ll sprinkle blood, burn it, and it will be recorded on the Privilege Seal, won’t it?"
"This is a major issue; it will alarm the Inner State! My dear husband, you mustn’t write recklessly," said his wife.
"When Local Deities fight, does it alarm the Inner State?"
"Local Deities fighting won’t alarm the Inner State. But my dearest husband, are you a Local Deity?"
"No."
"You are not a Local Deity, so what gives you the right to take over a Local Deity’s territory? If the Inner State learns of such a major event, they will definitely send people to find you. By then, you wouldn’t just lose the position of Local Deity; you’d probably lose your life as well."
Li Banfeng pondered for a moment. "The Contract Book has always been buried underground, invisible to anyone. How would the Inner State find out?"
"Oh, my dearest husband, any text that appears on a Privilege Seal can be seen by the Inner State! We have to find a way to keep them from seeing it."
"How can we prevent them from seeing it?"
"There are hundreds of Local Deities. The Inner State likely won’t even remember the Mountain-Uprooting Master exists. As long as they don’t notice you, we can pull off this grand deception."
"That’s easy. As long as my name doesn’t appear on the Privilege Seal, they won’t notice me. I’ll have Meng Yuchun draw up a contract saying she defeated the Mountain-Uprooting Master and seized all of her territory."
"My dearest husband, that’s useless. It’s like giving Meng Yuchun a piece of territory—what would that have to do with you? Your name must be on the Iron Token, and it must contain your blood."
As they spoke, the Phonograph spewed a cloud of steam that wafted back and forth over the Iron Token.
After a moment, the bloodstains on the Iron Token slowly disappeared.
"My dear husband, brace yourself for a little pain." The Phonograph pricked Li Banfeng’s finger with its needle, and Li Banfeng sprinkled his blood onto the Iron Token.
"My husband, now we’re halfway done. Next is your name; the Iron Token must bear your name."
"Won’t my name give us away? The people from the Inner State have never met me."
"Didn’t I already tell you? There are hundreds of Local Deities; the people from the Inner State can’t remember that many names. As long as you quietly change the name, they won’t notice, especially since this place is so remote. Unfortunately, that old woman lost a battle. On Bei Wushuang’s Iron Token, her name—the Mountain-Uprooting Master’s—must definitely be there, and I can’t change Bei Wushuang’s Iron Token. If the records on both sides don’t match, that’s a hidden danger, so this matter is tricky to handle."
After a moment of silence, the Phonograph asked, "My husband, your Little Servant cannot think of a comprehensive solution."
"If you can’t think of one, then don’t dwell on it," Li Banfeng said, shaking his head. "Just engrave my name directly. The Inner State won’t remember that much anyway; they probably won’t compare the records of two Local Deities’ battles."
"That’s easy for you to say, but your Little Servant is still uneasy. It would be best not to leave your true name on the Iron Token."
"Will it work if I don’t use my real name?"
While pondering, the Phonograph sang, "It’s no good to leave a name that’s entirely true, nor one that’s entirely false. We must use something that’s semi-true, semi-false. My husband, do you have a nickname?"
"A nickname? I have plenty of them!"
"A common nickname won’t do; it has to be special. You yourself must acknowledge this nickname, and not too many people should know it."
This left Li Banfeng utterly confused.
His wife explained, "Oh, my dearest husband, the Iron Token can only resonate with you and lead you to the position of Local Deity if you acknowledge the nickname. But you’re not truly a Local Deity, after all. We’re using this method as a grand deception. If someone links the nickname back to you, there will be complications, so not too many people should know this nickname."
"Then I’ll just make up a nickname now. Besides us, no one else will know it."
"Oh, my dearest husband, a made-up nickname definitely won’t work! This nickname must have been used by others and be familiar to you. Otherwise, you yourself won’t be able to resonate with it."
"Li Furong," Li Banfeng said, thinking of a nickname.
No sooner had he finished speaking than Hong Ying burst into loud laughter, "Li Furong? What kind of man’s name is that!"
The other Magical Treasures also laughed.
The Phonograph didn’t laugh. "My dearest husband, as Little Servant mentioned earlier, this cannot be made up on the spot. It’s a matter of utmost importance. You must be very careful."
"It’s not made up. This is my nickname."
Seeing Li Banfeng so sure of himself, the Phonograph no longer doubted him.
She heated the Privilege Seal red-hot with steam and, using the stylus, painstakingly rewrote the name on the Iron Token. After half an hour, the name was changed.
The first line of small characters now read: "Li Furong is conferred this territory."
The second line of small characters read: "Li Furong defeated by Bei Wushuang, cedes ten miles to the southeast."
"Dearest husband, the Iron Token is changed."
"My dear wife, am I a Local Deity now?"
"Oh, my dearest husband, as long as the Inner State doesn’t find out, you are the Local Deity!"
"If my territory gains human energy, will my cultivation level also increase?"
"Not yet, my dearest husband. Your cultivation level is still on the Earth Skin. The cultivation level that comes from human energy belongs to Above the Clouds. Once you reach the Cloud Top First Layer, you will be able to benefit from it. Then, even if the Inner State discovers you, you’ll have the power to deal with them!"
"Great, my dear wife!" Li Banfeng was full of confidence for the future.
"Dearest husband, first find a place to bury the Contract Book. Make sure it’s hidden well, and place the Land Seal with it. Then we can consider the matter settled."
Li Banfeng nodded. "I’ll bury it back where it was."
"Was the original place hidden enough?"
Li Banfeng nodded. "Extremely hidden. Ordinary people can’t find it, and even if they do, they can’t enter."
After leaving the Portable Residence, Li Banfeng buried the Privilege Seal back in its original place, doing his best to restore the soil to its former state.
Taking the Land Seal, he used the Unobstructed Technique to pass through the cellar. There, Li Banfeng saw the Blind Wolf.
The Mountain Wolf came forward, sniffed Li Banfeng, and asked, "Master, have you found the Contract Book?"
"I found it, and I’m going to take the Contract Book away now."
"Then... then you’ll stop caring for us?" The Mountain Wolf sounded nervous.
Li Banfeng asked, "Can’t you get out?"
"How could we get out? This mansion has no exit! Besides, we’re all without eyes. How would we survive if we went out?"
"What do you usually eat?"
"The creatures of the territory offer Incense Candles and other tribute to the Local Deity. These offerings are delivered to the mansion’s granary with the smoke from the incense. The Mountain-Uprooting Master shared her leftovers with us."
Seeing how gaunt the Mountain Wolf was, Li Banfeng figured he hadn’t been well-fed.
"From now on, everything in the granary is yours. You seem like a sensible creature. Come with me in a moment to divide the food. From now on, we’ll do it according to my rules."
The Mountain Wolf said joyfully, "Really?"
"Really!" Li Banfeng said, picking up the Land Seal. "And I’m going to grant you some cultivation level as a reward."
The Mountain Wolf howled with joy.
Li Banfeng asked in a low voice, "How do I use the Land Seal?"
The Mountain Wolf said, "Just stamp it on my head... lightly..."
Before he could finish speaking, Li Banfeng stamped the Land Seal on the Mountain Wolf’s head.
Blue smoke rose from the Mountain Wolf’s head, and he convulsed on the ground.
"Master, a light press would have sufficed! This much cultivation level... it’s a bit too much for me to handle."
Li Banfeng looked at the Land Seal with a slight frown. "Did I give too much?"
"Master, that was double what the Mountain-Uprooting Master used to give," the Mountain Wolf’s voice trembled.
Li Banfeng patted the wolf’s head. "My fault. I’ll be more careful next time."
"I don’t blame you," the Mountain Wolf’s voice trembled even more. "You’re a good person. As long as you don’t reject me, I’ll follow you for my whole life. Can you tell me your name?"
Li Banfeng said, "I am the Local Deity. My name is Local Deity."
「Yuezhou, Garden Stadium」
A soccer game had just ended, and tens of thousands of spectators were leaving.
Two spectators talked as they walked.
"First time watching a game live, feels different, right?"
"Different, definitely different! I nearly lost my voice cheering."
"That’s the atmosphere we want!"
A poster for a popular boy band’s concert tomorrow hung at the stadium entrance.
He Jiaqing stood under the poster, quietly watching the passing crowd with a slight smile on his face.
「At two in the morning」
He Jiaqing snuck into the deserted stadium. His body transformed into a clear stream of water and flowed down the drainage system, deep underground.
Once in the sewers, He Jiaqing returned to his human form. Beside a sluice gate, he opened a hidden door.
Behind the hidden door was a small space, less than three square meters. Inside was a yellow wooden box engraved with a white circle.
He Jiaqing opened the box and took out a golden-yellow seal.
Looking at the seal, He Jiaqing sighed softly. "If this continues, am I going to go bald?"
Gritting his teeth, he stamped the seal on the top of his head. His body convulsed.