Chapter 407

Qi Luoye agreed to the reclamation project, and Li Banfeng took the people to Qi Luoye's territory that same day.

With over a thousand people reclaiming land, if left unmanaged, chaos would erupt—just selecting plots could spark fights.

But Li Banfeng had already planned ahead: on the way, he gave everyone maps with pre-drawn plots, and used a projector to show them footage, granting three days to choose land—first come, first served if plots overlapped.

They had seen the maps, watched the footage, and been clearly instructed, yet upon reaching the territory, some still demanded to switch plots.

Could they switch?

Yes—choose any land outside Li Banfeng's designated plots, become your own landowner, no bonus money, and bear all reclamation costs yourself.

Once plots were chosen, prepare offerings that same day; Qi Luoye would respond to each, and testing would begin the next day.

These thousand-plus people could not reclaim a thousand-plus plots.

Some grouped in threes or fives to reclaim a square li; others gathered in threes or fives of dozens, even over a hundred, to reclaim three-li plots.

Team formation was entirely up to them; Li Banfeng rewarded based on land reclaimed, and how they split the earnings afterward was their own affair.

But he also had to guard against those without real ability who came merely to cause trouble.

Several had no cultivation base yet insisted on reclaiming a three-li plot alone—Li Banfeng sent all such people back en route, refusing to waste time on them.

Among them, some refused to leave and demanded to argue with Li Banfeng—he directly sent these people to the Small Yellow Springs, to feed the dead souls.

For this testing, Qi Luoye ordered his monstrous subordinates to hold back as much as possible, striving to ensure all reclamation attempts succeeded.

The first day went smoothly—all reclamation applicants passed.

By the second morning, over a hundred had failed reclamation and been driven off their plots.

Li Banfeng examined these hundred-plus failures, many of whom were skilled reclamation veterans.

These veterans weren't greedy: five of them formed a team to reclaim a square li, yet a single monstrous entity expelled them in under five minutes.

Li Banfeng summoned the team's leader, secretly gave him some reward money, and asked for details.

The leader, Zhao Yongtian, in his early forties, told Li Banfeng: "I have third-layer cultivation; my team includes one second-layer and three first-layer members—we could easily reclaim a square li.

We planned to secure the plot first, recoup our costs, and if Seventh Master approves us, we'd reclaim more land to earn more.

But this morning, a jujube tree entered our plot and swung its branches to attack—we couldn't withstand it at all.

I told you five minutes to avoid making you laugh—we were driven out in under half a minute."

What level was that jujube tree?

Surely more than fourth-layer?

Meng Yuchun once said that monstrous entities with barely fourth-layer cultivation could enter a one-li plot for testing—but only if the land deity particularly despised reclamation workers.

Entities above that level were forbidden from entering plots for testing—it would violate the contract.

What was Qi Luoye playing at? Deliberately sending fourth-layer or higher entities to test? Was he trying to sabotage this?

Li Banfeng frowned and went straight to Qi Daxiang. When he reached Qi Luoye's residence—at the foot of Elephant Mountain—he saw Qi Luoye gripping a jujube tree and cursing, surrounded by many monstrous subordinates.

"Big Brother Qi, what's going on?" Li Banfeng asked.

Qi Luoye gritted his teeth: "Old Seven, don't interfere—I'm going to chop this bastard to pieces."

The jujube tree retorted: "Go ahead, chop! Elder Qi, I've served you for years—don't go soft on me."

Qi Luoye was about to strike, but Li Banfeng stopped him: "First, explain what happened."

"No need!" Qi Luoye roared. "This damn tree has fifth-layer cultivation—it entered a one-li plot on purpose! Is it trying to ruin my reputation?"

Li Banfeng asked the jujube tree: "Why did you do this?"

"To survive!" the tree shouted. "They're taking all the land—how are we supposed to live?"

Nearby, watching the spectacle, Shui Yongquan sighed: "Too hasty."

He was right—this situation was directly caused by overly rapid reclamation.

If a territory underwent ten reclamation cycles per year, this problem wouldn't arise: a careful land deity would subtly control monster numbers, gradually relocating some to other territories, leaving others unaware of any change.

But on Qi Luoye's territory, reclamation occurred over a thousand times per year—and now another thousand-plus people arrived, crowding his land with dense monster populations, drastically shrinking their living space—these monsters had no choice but to rebel.

Qi Luoye didn't care—he wanted to chop down the jujube tree to make an example.

But the other monsters weren't intimidated: "Elder Qi, if you kill him, kill us too!"

Words escalated, Qi Luoye roared: "Fine! Today I'll grant you all your wish—I'll send you all to your deaths!"

Li Banfeng stopped him again: "If the entire territory is successfully reclaimed, what will become of the monsters here?"

This had always concerned Li Banfeng—he'd face the same issue himself someday.

When an entire territory becomes reclaimed, new land turns into proper land—and proper land has no monsters.

Qi Luoye said: "I'll find them new homes!"

Shui Yongquan shook his head: "How? If you slowly relocated them over decades, that'd be manageable—but you've reclaimed over thirty percent of your territory in one year—where will you send them? To me? I can't feed them!"

Qi Luoye spat: "Who said I'd send them to you? I have plenty of friends—wherever I send them, they'll take them."

Shui Yongquan smiled: "Try it. See who dares accept them? You arrive with hundreds or thousands of followers—what's your real intent? When the day comes they turn on you, who won't fear you as an inside traitor?"

Shui Yongquan chuckled: "Try giving it to them—see if they dare accept? You show up with hundreds or even thousands of troops on their territory—who knows what scheme you're hatching? Once the day comes they turn on you, who won't fear you opening the gates from within?"

Whenever he grew angry, his mind stopped working—he gripped the jujube tree, ready to kill it, when Li Banfeng leaned in and whispered a few words.

Qi Luoye froze: "Old Seven, does such a place really exist?"

"Yes. Leave it to me."

Qi Luoye snorted: "Fine. Tell them yourself."

Li Banfeng addressed the monsters: "Listen to me. I'll find you new homes—you won't be mistreated. Those willing to follow me will depart in three days; those who stay won't be shortchanged by Elder Qi."

This was a win-win for both Li Banfeng and Qi Luoye—he desperately needed monsters, and now he gained a fortune.

It now depended on how the monsters weighed their options.

Judging by Qi Luoye's actions, he clearly aimed for proper land—if these monsters planned ahead, they should've followed Li Banfeng to a better place.

But staying wasn't impossible: though their living space was squeezed, testing opportunities increased, and so did chances to earn cultivation—so long as they followed the rules, Qi Luoye never stinted on cultivation rewards.

With a path forward, the monsters dispersed, returning home to consider their futures.

Two days later, testing ended—over a hundred plots were reclaimed. Li Banfeng immediately paid the rewards and invited those eager to earn more to stay and continue reclamation.

Nearly twenty percent of the reclamation workers left; over eighty percent stayed.

Reclamation money was hard-earned—life on the blade's edge.

But Li Qi paid well—they'd come this far, and wanted to earn more!

Qi Luoye asked Li Banfeng: "Old Seven, can you handle it? Though I've long ignored worldly affairs, your methods are costing a fortune."

"No problem—I can handle it!" As he spoke, Li Banfeng's jaw trembled.

This was truly burning money—silver taels shipped in cartloads to the territory. Only because business was booming could Li Banfeng afford this.

The remaining workers continued reclamation; Li Banfeng took over a hundred monsters to his own territory.

These monsters were used to idleness—they didn't seek cultivation through testing, only wanted quiet places to drift through life, so they'd already made plans.

But Li Banfeng's territory was remote—the monsters complained endlessly along the way.

"Seventh Master, where are you taking us? Not some unclaimed land, right?

If it's unclaimed, we won't go—no one gives cultivation there."

Li Banfeng smiled: "It's claimed—the land deity there is kind and generous!"

Upon reaching the territory, Li Banfeng told the monsters to find their own homes.

The monsters didn't move.

"Seventh Master, where's the land deity? Please summon him—we need to sign a contract first."

That was simple enough—but how should the contract be written?

Li Banfeng had never written one—he feared exposing his ignorance, so he went to Meng Yuchun's home and learned the format.

The contract was complex: Part One detailed the backstory—on what date, why a certain entity came to this territory.

Part Two outlined the monsters' duties: first, obey the plot's rules and never leave without permission; second, obey the land deity's commands and fight when needed.

Part Three outlined their rights—under what conditions they'd receive cultivation rewards.

In Meng Yuchun's contracts for other monsters, Li Banfeng saw one clause: "Those who fight well before the mirror, heavy reward."

Li Banfeng asked Meng Yuchun: "What does 'fight well before the mirror' mean?"

Meng Yuchun shook his head: "Don't write that."

Li Banfeng copied the template, wrote one contract, returned home, and had others help transcribe it.

Hong Ying couldn't see, but her calligraphy was excellent—her wife read aloud, Hong Ying wrote, producing over a dozen contracts in moments—each character strong yet graceful, pleasing to the eye.

The Glove wrote quickly too—though messy, he could produce thirty to fifty contracts in moments.

Li Banfeng wanted to see the Judge's Pen's calligraphy; the Judge's Pen wanted to show off.

It struggled to rise, flew to the table, unrolled a contract, dipped its tip in ink—and just as it prepared to write, the Glove and Hong Ying had finished all contracts.

Li Banfeng looked at the Judge's Pen: "Don't rush—you can write slowly."

"Hmph~" The Judge's Pen wiped off its ink and rested.

Li Banfeng couldn't let it rest—he still had to meet his new subordinates.

First, he used the projector to set the scene—the projector knew this well.

Then, he borrowed some aura from Hong Ying—she had no objections if warned ahead.

Li Banfeng summoned a group of monsters to a designated location.

Then, leveraging his Traveling Cultivator advantage, he arrived first, concealed his form, and let the wine gourd slowly spray wine, creating a green flame to impersonate the land deity.

All prepared, Li Banfeng ordered the Judge's Pen: "Fly."

Half an hour later, Li Banfeng finally rose—less than a foot above the ground.

Half an hour later, Li Banfeng finally rose into the air, less than a foot above the ground.

Flying close to the crowd, Li Banfeng said nothing—he knew too many words invited doubt.

He pulled a contract from his sleeve and tossed it precisely at the troublesome jujube tree; within five meters, he never missed—this one landed perfectly.

As he finished distributing all the contracts, no one objected—except one ox-headed man who shook his head and said, "This contract is wrong—it's not the same as Master Qiu's!"

Li Banfeng had no intention of speaking, but Pianpian ran into this troublemaker.

A slight difference between contracts isn't normal? Why must this man insist on nitpicking?

Li Banfeng asked the ox-headed man in a hoarse voice, "Where exactly is it different?"

"The quality is far inferior!" The ox-headed man pulled out a contract from his sleeve—it was the one Qiu Luoye had returned to him.

Li Banfeng took the contract. It was rolled, made of carefully selected material, and exquisitely crafted.

He hadn't expected the rugged Qiu Luoye to put such care into his contract—its content must be vastly richer than his own.

Li Banfeng unrolled the scroll and saw only eight large characters: "From now on, follow me, Qiu Luoye!"

Below the eight characters was a blood-stained hoofprint left by the ox-headed man.

The ox-headed man shouted, "On Master Qiu's contract, I recognize that character 'ye'—on yours, I don't recognize a single one. Your contract's quality is clearly inferior. Are you trying to cheat us?"

Recognizing one character—that's impressive?

Li Banfeng glanced at the jujube tree and asked, "Who else here can read?"

The jujube tree snorted, "Old Ox still has his strengths—I don't recognize that 'ye' character either."

Everyone nodded in agreement, praising Old Ox's prowess.

Li Banfeng sighed and read the contract aloud.

…

After all contracts were signed, Li Banfeng brought them back to his personal dwelling.

His wife glanced at the contracts and said to Li Banfeng, "Husband, these spirit-beings who signed the contracts are both the local qi and the local combat strength. Once we reach the Clouds, they'll be your foundation—but over a hundred is still too few. You must find more."

Find more?

Fine by me!

After all, Qiu Luoye has nowhere to go—might as well take them all.

PS: Grateful to patron Hejian_Shouhu, and to the patron's tremendous support.

(End of Chapter)