Li Banfeng’s lapels were caught on the Judge’s Pen as he flapped his arms, flying proudly through the air.
He was convinced that he was the Local Deity, a flying Local Deity.
The Judge’s Pen wanted to scold him but couldn’t be bothered to speak. Carrying him through the air was tiresome enough.
Shielded by the Projector, Li Banfeng silently flew to the side of the offering table.
He picked up a bottle of Peach Blossom Wine from the table and guzzled it down.
Oil Peach couldn’t see Li Banfeng, but she saw the wine being drunk and was overjoyed.
Next was the blood-letting.
Oil Peach said to Xiao Feng, "This is your refuge plot. You should be the one to sprinkle the blood."
Xiao Feng nodded and took up the knife to pierce her palm, but suddenly felt an imposing aura press down, making them unable to lift their heads.
"YAAAAAARGH!" Li Banfeng roared, causing the two to shiver in fright.
Oil Peach spoke in a hushed tone, "The Local Deity doesn’t seem to want you to sprinkle the blood."
Xiao Feng looked bewildered. "Is there such a thing?"
"Let me do it. Anyway, we’re usually inseparable." Oil Peach pierced her palm and sprinkled the blood, causing Li Banfeng to feel a twinge of heart palpitations again.
This time, the heart palpitations did not strike fear into Li Banfeng. On the contrary, they excited him even more, further convincing him that he was indeed the master of this land.
There was one more day left—the assessment would soon begin.
Li Banfeng planned to summon all the creatures of the territory, then select appropriate Strange Monsters to assess Oil Peach and Xiao Feng.
This moment was very important for Li Banfeng. If Oil Peach passed the assessment, his land would welcome its first ray of heavenly light.
He picked up an earthworm from the ground and earnestly said, "This is a big deal, do you understand? We’re about to be Pioneers, do you understand? We’re going to have a bright future, do you understand?"
The earthworm struggled non-stop in Li Banfeng’s hand.
The Judge’s Pen snorted. "Give me back my capital."
Li Banfeng looked at the earthworm in his hand and suddenly couldn’t be bothered to talk to it anymore.
As his laziness set in, the Foolish Cultivation Technique dissolved, and Li Banfeng sobered up quite a bit.
He couldn’t go find Strange Monsters to assess the Pioneers. If he really did that, his identity would be immediately exposed.
He needed Meng Yuchun to do this for him.
Li Banfeng found Meng Yuchun, who said with a troubled expression, "Your territory... I’m not too familiar with it. I’m afraid those Strange Monsters won’t listen to me..."
"Not acknowledging our deal, huh?" Li Banfeng yawned. "We signed a Contract Book, did you forget? I saved your life, did you forget? Ungratefulness leads to retribution, do you know that?"
Meng Yuchun’s face reddened. "I’ll go..."
Upon reaching Li Banfeng’s territory, Meng Yuchun summoned her two best sisters, Red Butterfly and Yellow Butterfly, to send a message. She told the Strange Monsters of the territory that someone was coming to be a Pioneer, and those interested in assessing them should leave their names with her to receive a reward after the deed was done.
Li Banfeng rubbed his eyes, struggling to stay awake. "What about Xiao Die?"
Xiao Die had been seduced by the Playful Matron and revealed some of Meng Yuchun’s secrets. Taking advantage of Xiao Die’s metamorphosis, the Playful Matron disguised herself as Xiao Die and found Meng Yuchun’s residence.
Meng Yuchun sighed. "She was still young and naïve, having just transformed into a butterfly. After all, we were sisters. I left her with an intact corpse."
Li Banfeng looked at Meng Yuchun. "Did you hang her in your house?"
"Not in the house. I hung her at the cave entrance. It’s windier and drier there."
Li Banfeng sighed. He wanted to say something but then couldn’t be bothered to speak.
Home Cultivators have few friends, and they are sincere with them. But one should never trample on that sincerity, for the wrath of a Home Cultivator is something a person might experience only once in a lifetime.
Soon after, Yellow Butterfly and Red Butterfly returned, their expressions awkward. The Strange Monsters here showed them little respect.
They had spread the news. In Meng Yuchun’s territory, regardless of whether the Strange Monsters intended to go or not, they would have had to give the two sisters a serious reply.
The two were friends of the Local Deity, so matters concerning face and propriety could not be taken lightly.
In Li Banfeng’s territory, however, the Strange Monsters paid them little heed.
Most of the Strange Monsters didn’t recognize them.
The few that did know them paid Meng Yuchun no attention.
Some Strange Monsters, unaware of recent events, still believed the Local Deity of this territory was the Mountain-Uprooting Master.
Others knew the Mountain-Uprooting Master was gone but considered this an ownerless land, not acknowledging Meng Yuchun as their Local Deity.
Li Banfeng yawned again, seemingly unconcerned. "Don’t worry. It’s a risk-free business, and there will always be people willing to try their luck."
For Strange Monsters, assessing Pioneers was a straightforward matter: fight if you can, flee if you can’t.
If they won, they earned a bounty of cultivation levels. If they lost, there was no need to fear, as long as they weren’t too reckless. Avoiding injury, let alone losing their lives, meant there was basically no loss—unless they encountered special types like Ma Wu and Root.
So Li Banfeng wasn’t worried about a lack of Strange Monsters; he was concerned about something else.
「That night, Oil Peach went to bed early in the tent, preparing for the upcoming pioneering work.」
Deep into the night, in a daze and not knowing what time it was, she heard Xiao Feng muttering softly, "It’s true. I’m not lying to you. There really is something..."
Oil Peach opened her eyes. "What is it?"
Xiao Feng pointed to a corner of the tent, shivering. "There really is a snake here. Is it here to assess us?"
Oil Peach was startled and looked towards the corner. Indeed, there was a snake, two fingers thick, over two feet long, with a blood-red body and a black stripe winding along its middle.
This was the Black Fin Snake, unique to the New Land and highly venomous.
The snake was clearly red, so why was it called the Black Fin Snake?
That was because the red body of the snake was a puppet, and the black-striped part was its real body. If one didn’t know this and attacked the body directly, the snake would not be injured. Instead, it might seize the opportunity to strike back.
Oil Peach stared closely at the black stripe, her eyes showing understanding.
She employed her Lust Cultivation Technique. The Black Fin Snake’s blood rushed to its head. Feeling threatened, it swiftly left the tent.
Taking a breath of relief, Oil Peach said to Xiao Feng, "Next time you encounter a snake, tell me sooner. You have a cultivation level too, so why didn’t you even dare to call out?"
With her head lowered and eyes welling up with tears, Xiao Feng said grievously, "I’m just useless, always a burden to you."
Oil Peach sighed and pulled Xiao Feng into her embrace. "Why are you crying? Can’t I even say a few words to you? It’s my fault for spoiling you. Get some sleep. For the next three days, we have quite a few tough battles to fight."
「By noon the next day, the first Strange Monster to test them arrived at the Boundary.」
It was a bamboo, complete with a pole and leaves, hopping and jumping into the plot of land.
Li Banfeng had encountered such Strange Monsters while pioneering and hadn’t paid them much mind at the time. Since bamboo is hollow, Ma Wu could take it down smoothly as long as there was a passage.
But Oil Peach didn’t have an advantage against the bamboo.
After more than an hour of fighting, Oil Peach and the bamboo were evenly matched.
Meng Yuchun, with Li Banfeng flying beside her, concealed their figures and watched the battle in silence.
Oil Peach had made no significant improvement in her cultivation level; she was still at the First Layer, and this bamboo was roughly at the same level.
To Meng Yuchun, two "weaklings pecking at each other" wasn’t much of a spectacle, but the longer she watched, the stranger she found it.
"Is that woman a Home Cultivator?" Meng Yuchun pointed at Xiao Feng.
Li Banfeng, too lazy to answer, merely nodded.
Frowning, Meng Yuchun said, "This child should be at a higher level. Perhaps her combat capability has declined from being away from home for too long."
The explanation made sense. However, the subsequent flow of the battle perplexed Meng Yuchun even more.
Xiao Feng was unable to help and was instead an added burden. Several times, Oil Peach was drawn into difficult fights just to save her.
After a full three hours, Oil Peach finally drove off the bamboo.
Panting heavily, Oil Peach sat on the ground, unable to stand.
Shaking her head, Meng Yuchun sighed. "With such poor strength, they dare to pioneer. I’m afraid they won’t last until tomorrow."
Li Banfeng asked Meng Yuchun, "Can a Local Deity intervene in pioneering?"
Meng Yuchun was taken aback. "You want to help them? It’s possible. One could take a hard approach by secretly striking and driving off the Strange Monsters coming to test them, but this action must be stealthy. Otherwise, the next time someone comes to pioneer, no Strange Monsters will be willing to help.
"The softer approach is to give some benefits to the Strange Monsters, allowing them to just go through the motions and be done with it.
"But it’s hard to calculate those benefits. The Strange Monsters care most about their cultivation level. If you give too much, it’s unfair to those who genuinely exert themselves. If you give too little, the Strange Monsters won’t easily concede, as it affects their reputation, after all."
Li Banfeng nodded.
Under Li Banfeng’s influence, Meng Yuchun’s territory had attracted many Pioneers. She had accumulated much experience and learned a lot from the experienced Strange Monsters in her territory.
Li Banfeng then asked, "What if I don’t fight the Strange Monsters?"
Meng Yuchun was startled. "Then who are you planning to fight? Surely not these two girls?"
Li Banfeng did not respond and instead asked another question, "Can you perform Divination?"
Meng Yuchun shook her head. "I cannot."
"Have you seen a Home Cultivator who can?"
"I have. I know a House Spirit who’s particularly adept at Divination. She taught the Divination Technique to her Home Cultivator, but how much they learn depends on their own cultivation level."
Pointing at Xiao Feng, Li Banfeng asked, "What cultivation level do you think she has?"
"With her clumsy appearance, I’d say she’s at the First Layer at most," Meng Yuchun replied.
"Can a First Layer Home Cultivator, relying solely on the art of Divination, Seek Fortune and Avoid Disaster, evade strong enemies, and flee hundreds of miles away?"
"That’s rather difficult," Meng Yuchun said, startled for a moment before asking, "But shouldn’t that be a question for you Traveling Cultivators? Seek Fortune and Avoid Disaster is your Technique, isn’t it?"
Li Banfeng shook his head. "Difficult indeed, truly difficult. Solely relying on Seek Fortune and Avoid Disaster, I’m afraid it’s impossible to do so.
"The one pursuing Xiao Feng is her House Spirit, who is certainly more skilled at Divination and could definitely predict where they would flee.
"Neither Home Cultivators nor Lust Cultivators specialize in escape. How could they have managed to flee all the way here?"
Surprised, Meng Yuchun said, "You suspect the two of them are deceiving us?"
"Not both, just one. I trust Oil Peach," Li Banfeng said. "That’s why I’m asking you if a Local Deity can act against Pioneers."
Meng Yuchun shook her head. "That won’t do. Local Deities have contracts with Pioneers. If you act against them, it would be equivalent to breaking the contract."
"What happens if the contract is broken?"
"I can’t be sure of the specific consequences, but it’s best you don’t do such a thing. Moreover, if word gets out, no one will come to your territory to pioneer in the future."
Li Banfeng frowned slightly. "This issue seems difficult to handle. Is it possible to find an obedient Strange Monster to act on my behalf?"
"That’s feasible, but the Strange Monster’s cultivation level can’t be too high. They only want a territory of one li, and the Strange Monsters we dispatch generally also have cultivation levels of one or two layers.
"Some Local Deities particularly dislike a certain Pioneer and will send a Third Layer Strange Monster to test them; even those barely reaching the Fourth Layer can try their hand."
"Third and Fourth Layer Strange Monsters might not be enough."
Meng Yuchun shook her head earnestly. "Higher-level Strange Monsters entering the land would be breaching the contract."
Li Banfeng kept his gaze on Xiao Feng.
Seeing Li Banfeng’s grave expression, Meng Yuchun also realized the seriousness of the situation. "If this woman can hide her cultivation level so well, then we’d indeed need a formidable opponent to deal with her.
"I have two Wandering Monsters under contract with me. In my territory, they must not cause trouble, but elsewhere, they are not bound by pioneering rules."
Li Banfeng smiled. "I think I know those two."