In the Portable Residence, Li Banfeng opened his eyes. He felt groggy from sleep and heard his wife muttering in his ear, "Oh, my dear husband, running two businesses at once is truly no easy task."
Hong Ying put down her eyebrow pencil and said, "What exactly are these two businesses? Are their operations combined? Does Qi Lang even know how to handle *that*?"
"You shameless hussy!" His wife, using a phonograph needle, picked up a rag and smacked it on the barrel of Hong Ying’s gun. "You spend all day letting your imagination run wild, utterly shameless!"
After washing up, Li Banfeng cradled the Phonograph affectionately for a good while, sensing that her form had grown slightly slimmer.
The Phonograph consoled Li Banfeng, "My dear husband, in these past days, your Little Servant has been studying the Craftsmanship Method, swinging the hammer daily. This has increased my exertion, causing me to slim down a bit, but I’m not hungry at all, really not in the slightest."
The more his wife said this, the worse Li Banfeng felt.
A cloud of steam enveloped Li Banfeng. His wife said softly, "My dear husband, there’s truly no need to worry about your Little Servant. Today marks the third day; you should go and check on the land. If the land has been successfully cultivated, ask Meng Yuchun for some good seeds to plant herbs that can accumulate Taoist Fate. If the land hasn’t been successfully cultivated, don’t be upset. But remember to reward the Strange Monsters with some cultivation level. More human energy is certainly good, but having more Strange Monsters is also beneficial, as it can also help increase your cultivation level."
"More Strange Monsters can also increase cultivation level?"
"Yes. Living people bring human energy, and Strange Monsters resembling humans can also bring human energy. However, the human energy brought by Strange Monsters is much less than that from living people. Some Local Deities, knowing they can’t generate enough human energy on their own, deliberately recruit Strange Monsters from all quarters. They slowly accumulate it until their cultivation level advances. You’re still far from Above the Clouds, so it’s better to gradually build your foundation. Even if you don’t rely on the slight human energy brought by the Strange Monsters, they are still your battle force. If you were to wage war against other Local Deities in the future, you would rely on these Strange Monsters to lead the charge. So, you must treat them well."
After leaving the Portable Residence and making a round of his own territory, Li Banfeng realized a practical issue.
Compared to Shui Yongquan’s territory, the number of Strange Monsters in Meng Yuchun’s territory might not even be two-tenths.
Oil Peach was gnawing on a lamb leg on the land; she had made it through these three days.
The incident with Xiao Feng had hit her hard, but the Cook’s culinary skills were also highly tempting. The Cook’s words made sense: as long as your belly is full, there’s truly no problem you can’t resolve.
But aspirations are one thing, and strength is another. Oil Peach lacked the power to clear the Wilderness; only with the Cook’s help had she managed to hold on until now.
After midday, the assessment ended.
Li Banfeng felt a palpitation.
Oil Peach looked up at the sky and saw a faint Heavenly Light shining through.
"Is that Heavenly Light?" Oil Peach could hardly believe it.
Li Banfeng handed Oil Peach a shovel, "Dig and see if you can find water."
With undiminished enthusiasm, Oil Peach dug for an hour and saw water gushing forth.
Success!
Oil Peach was thrilled. "Brother Bai Sha, Brother Cook, it’s done! I’ve successfully cultivated the land! I have my own land now!"
Li Banfeng smiled approvingly.
The Cook nodded repeatedly, "In a bit, I’ll make a couple of dishes, and we’ll have a good drink."
With tears in her eyes, Oil Peach said, "From now on, this is my land, right? If anyone bullies me, I’ll shed blood, and the Local Deity will protect me, won’t they?"
The Cook nodded, "That’s the rule in the New Land."
Li Banfeng did not know how to respond.
While Li Banfeng was still pondering, Oil Peach, overwhelmed with emotion, drew a knife and aimed it at her palm. "I’m going to test it now!"
"No!" Li Banfeng quickly stopped Oil Peach.
"You can’t test it now. If you summon the Local Deity, wouldn’t the Cook and I become invaders?" Li Banfeng offered a plausible explanation.
Oil Peach thought about it, realized he was right, and put away the knife.
Li Banfeng had wanted to ask Meng Yuchun for some seeds, but the Cook had already prepared them.
"Now that we have Heavenly Light, we should sow some good seeds that can yield Taoist Fate."
The Cook had been a great help this time. Li Banfeng gave him three Mysterious Red Pills. After planting the seeds, Li Banfeng and Oil Peach watched in silence.
"Having your own land is really great," Oil Peach’s eyes brimmed with hope. "If I could have a few more plots of land, that would be even better."
The territory spanned a hundred miles and contained ten thousand plots of land, each a square mile.