Chapter 374: Laziness Holds Great Wisdom

Li Banfeng's robe hung from the Judge's Pen, flailing his arms as he flew triumphantly.

He firmly believed he was the land god—a flying land god.

The Judge's Pen wanted to curse him, but was too lazy to speak; carrying him through the air was already exhausting enough.

Under the cover of 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 drank it down in gulps.

You Tao couldn't see Li Banfeng, but she saw the wine being consumed and was overjoyed.

Next came the blood offering.

You Tao said to Xiao Feng: "This is the plot you used for refuge—you should be the one to shed the blood."

Xiao Feng nodded, raised her knife to pierce her palm, when suddenly a crushing aura pressed down, forcing both girls to lower their heads.

"Huuuuyaaaaa~" Li Banfeng roared, making the two tremble in fear.

You Tao whispered low: "The land god doesn't seem to want you to shed blood."

Xiao Feng looked stunned: "Can that even happen?"

"I'll do it then—after all, we never separate anyway." You Tao pierced her palm, spilled the blood, and Li Banfeng felt another surge of heart-pounding Jidong.

This Jidong didn't frighten Li Banfeng; instead, it thrilled him further, strengthening his conviction that he was the true master of this land.

One day remained before the trial began.

Li Banfeng planned to summon all living beings on his territory and select suitable anomalies to test You Tao and Xiao Feng.

This moment was crucial for Li Banfeng—if You Tao passed the trial, the first ray of heavenly light would shine upon his land.

He picked up a worm from the ground and said seriously: "This is important—do you understand? We're going to clear the land—do you understand? We're about to have a bright future—do you understand?"

The worm wriggled frantically in Li Banfeng's hand.

The Judge's Pen snorted: "Give me back my capital."

Li Banfeng looked at the worm in his hand and suddenly lost the will to speak to it.

Once he relaxed, the Foolish Cultivation Technique dissolved, and Li Banfeng became noticeably clearer-headed.

He couldn't seek out anomalies to test the Kaihuangzhe —if he did, his identity would be exposed immediately.

This task needed Meng Yuchun to handle for him.

Li Banfeng found Meng Yuchun, who frowned: "I'm not very familiar with your territory—I'm afraid the anomalies won't listen to me…"

"You're denying the contract, are you?" Li Banfeng yawned. "We signed the deed—did you forget? I saved your life—did you forget? Betraying gratitude invites retribution—do you know that?"

Meng Yuchun's face flushed red: "I'll go…"

Upon arriving at Li Banfeng's territory, Meng Yuchun summoned her two closest sisters, Red Butterfly and Yellow Butterfly, to spread word: anomalies wishing to test the Kaihuangzhe should come to her and leave their names—they'd be rewarded upon success.

Li Banfeng rubbed his eyes, fighting sleep: "Where's Little Butterfly?"

Earlier, Little Butterfly had been lured by Xi Zhao Fu and revealed some of Meng Yuchun's secrets. While Little Butterfly was cocooning and transforming, Xi Zhao Fu impersonated her and discovered Meng Yuchun's residence.

Meng Yuchun sighed: "She was young, naive—just transformed into a butterfly. We were sisters, so I left her a whole corpse."

Li Banfeng stared at Meng Yuchun: "You hung her in the house?"

"Not in the house—I hung her at the cave entrance. It's windy there, drier."

Li Banfeng sighed, wanting to say something, but too lazy to speak.

Zhaixiu have few friends, but they are utterly sincere with them.

But never trample on that sincerity—the wrath of a Zhaixiu is something one might experience only once in a lifetime.

Soon after, Yellow Butterfly and Red Butterfly returned.

Their expressions were awkward—the anomalies here didn't respect them much.

They'd spread the word: on Meng Yuchun's territory, every anomaly, whether going or not, had to give them a proper reply.

They were friends of the land god—face and propriety couldn't be neglected.

But on Li Banfeng's territory, the anomalies barely paid them any attention.

Most anomalies didn't recognize them.

A few who did recognize them ignored Meng Yuchun entirely.

Some anomalies didn't know the previous events and still believed the land god was Ba Shan Zhu.

Others knew Ba Shan Zhu was gone but treated the land as unclaimed territory, refusing to acknowledge Meng Yuchun as their land god.

Li Banfeng yawned again, seemingly unconcerned: "Don't worry—anyone who thinks they can break even will come to try their luck."

For anomalies, testing a Kaihuangzhe means fighting if they can win, fleeing if they can't.

Win, and gain cultivation; lose, and suffer little—as long as they're not reckless, they won't get hurt, let alone die. The only real risk is encountering someone like Ma Wu or Genzi.

So Li Banfeng wasn't worried about a lack of anomalies showing up—he was worried about something else.

That night, You Tao went to sleep early in her tent, preparing for the coming trial.

Deep into the night, half-asleep, she didn't know what time it was when she heard Xiao Feng whisper: "It's real—I'm not lying, there really is one here…"

You Tao opened her eyes: "What is?"

Xiao Feng pointed shakily to the tent's corner: "There's a snake here—is it here to test us?"

You Tao gasped and looked—the tent did hold a snake, two fingers thick, over two feet long, entirely blood-red, with a black band wrapped around its middle.

This was the Black-Finned Snake, unique to this new land, and highly venomous.

The snake was clearly red—why was it called Black-Finned Snake?

Because the red body was a puppet; the black band was the snake's true form. If you attacked the body without knowing this, the snake wouldn't be harmed—it might even strike back.

You Tao had some knowledge—her eyes locked onto the black band.

She activated Joyful Cultivation Technique—the snake's blood surged to its head. Sensing the threat, it swiftly slithered out of the tent.

You Tao exhaled in relief and said to Xiao Feng: "Next time you see a snake, tell me right away. You have cultivation too—why can't you even shout?"

Xiao Feng lowered her head, eyes reddening: "I'm useless—I've always been a burden to you."

You Tao sighed, pulling Xiao Feng into her arms: "Stop crying—I was just scolding you. It's my fault for spoiling you. Sleep now—we've got tough battles ahead for the next three days."

By noon the next day, the first anomaly arrived at the boundary.

It was a bamboo stalk—with stalk and leaves, hopping and bouncing into the plot.

Li Banfeng had seen such anomalies during his own Kaihuang —he hadn't taken them seriously. Bamboo is hollow; as long as there's a passage, Ma Wu could easily overcome it.

But You Tao held no advantage against it.

After over an hour of fighting, both were evenly matched.

Meng Yuchun flew above with Li Banfeng, hidden from view, watching silently.

You Tao's cultivation hadn't advanced—still at Level One. The bamboo was roughly the same level.

Two novices brawling held no interest for Meng Yuchun—but the longer she watched, the stranger it became.

"Is this woman a Zhaixiu?" Meng Yuchun pointed to Xiao Feng.

Li Banfeng didn't answer—only nodded.

Meng Yuchun frowned: "This girl should be higher level—perhaps her combat ability has weakened from being away from home too long."

The explanation made sense—but the unfolding battle confused Meng Yuchun further.

Xiao Feng offered no help, only added burdens; multiple times, You Tao had to rush to save her, plunging into desperate fights.

If she can't fight, can't she at least dodge?

After three full hours, the bamboo was finally driven off by You Tao.

You Tao panted heavily, collapsed on the ground, unable to stand.

Meng Yuchun shook her head: "With this level of strength, how dare they attempt Kaihuang? They won't last until tomorrow."

Li Banfeng asked Meng Yuchun: "Can a land god interfere with Kaihuang?"

Meng Yuchun froze: "You want to help them? You could—either hard or soft."

Hard means secretly striking down the testing anomalies—must be done discreetly, or no future Kaihuang ers will find willing challengers.

Soft means offering incentives to anomalies, letting them go through the motions without real combat.

But the incentives are hard to balance—anomalies care most about cultivation. Give too much, and you cheat those who truly fight; give too little, and they won't yield—it affects their reputation."

Li Banfeng nodded—Meng Yuchun had improved.

Under Li Banfeng's influence, many Kaihuang ers came to Meng Yuchun's territory; she accumulated experience and learned much from seasoned anomalies on her land.

Li Banfeng asked again: "What if I don't fight the anomalies?"

Meng Yuchun blinked: "Then who are you going to fight? These two girls?"

Li Banfeng didn't answer, but asked another question: "Can you cast auguries?"

Meng Yuchun shook her head: "I can't."

"Have you ever met a Zhaixiu who can?"

"I have—I know a Zhaixing who excels at divination. She taught her Zhaixiu the technique, but how far the Zhaixiu progresses depends on their own cultivation level."

Li Banfeng pointed to Xiao Feng: "How many levels do you think she has?"

"Clumsy and awkward—I'd guess at most Level One."

"Could a Level One Zhaixiu, using only divination, evade enemies, avoid danger, and flee hundreds of miles away?"

"That's too hard," Meng Yuchun said, startled, then asked: "You shouldn't be asking me—divination is a Traveler's technique, isn't it?"

Li Banfeng shook his head: "It's difficult—alone, even with divination, I doubt I could do it.

The one chasing Xiao Feng is her Zhaixing—her Zhaixing must be even better at divination and can surely predict where they're fleeing.

Neither Zhaixiu nor Joyful Cultivators are good at escaping—how did they make it here?"

Meng Yuchun exclaimed: "You suspect they're faking?"

"Not two—one. I trust You Tao," Li Banfeng said. "So I ask you: can a Land Spirit strike at a Reclamation Cultivator?"

Meng Yu shook her head. "That's forbidden. Land Spirits and Reclamation Cultivators are bound by contract. To strike at them is to break that contract."

"What happens if you break the contract?"

"I can't say exactly what the consequence would be, but you'd best not do it. And if word gets out, no one will ever come to reclaim land from you again."

Li Banfeng frowned slightly. "This seems complicated. Could I find a compliant Strange to act for me?"

"That's possible. But the Strange's level mustn't be too high. They only want a one-li plot, and the Stranges we send are usually first- or second-level."

"Some Land Spirits particularly despise a certain Reclamation Cultivator and send a third-level Strange to test them. A few Mianqiang reaching fourth-level Stranges may also be sent."

"Third- or fourth-level Stranges won't be enough."

Meng Yu shook her head vigorously. "A Strange of higher level entering the plot is itself a violation of the contract."

Li Banfeng kept his gaze fixed on Xiao Feng.

Seeing Li Banfeng's grave expression, Meng Yu realized the situation was extraordinary: "If this woman can truly conceal her cultivation so deeply, you'll need someone ruthless to deal with her."

"I have two Wanderer Stranges under my command. They've signed a contract with me—they can't act recklessly within my territory, but beyond it, they're not bound by Reclamation rules."

Li Banfeng smiled. "I think I know those two."

PS: When dealing with the Mountain Puller, Li Banfeng helped Meng Yu subdue two Wanderer Stranges. See Chapter 319.

(End of Chapter)