Chapter 303: The Gates Wide Open

Half of a roasted chicken disappeared, and the plot of land suddenly lit up.

A woman announced that the assessment had begun.

What did this mean?

Was she the local deity?

Did she want him to reclaim the land?

Li Banfeng shouted, "I didn't intend to make a sacrifice, and I didn't set up an altar!"

"The offering has been received," the woman replied, gnawing on a chicken leg.

"If there's an assessment, we need to sign a contract first!"

"Signing after the assessment is fine," she said. "I don't care for formalities!"

Sign after the assessment?

What if she didn't honor it after the assessment?

Li Banfeng couldn't be bothered with her; this local deity was clearly unhinged.

He walked straight toward the edge of the plot; at worst, it would be considered a failed reclamation.

This place was so remote, he would simply never come here again.

Just as he reached the boundary of the plot, a leaf fell onto the glowing line and instantly turned to ash.

What was happening?

Li Banfeng had only seen this kind of phenomenon on the borders between different territories.

"You think you can leave after coming here?" the local deity snorted. "I've already accepted your offering; you must reclaim this land. Don't you understand the rules?"

Li Banfeng couldn't understand this local deity. He used his Golden Eyes to scan for a long time but couldn't locate her.

"Let's be reasonable," Li Banfeng said. "Putting the contract aside for now, if you want me to reclaim the land, you'll have to wait until this time tomorrow. Give me a day to prepare, and then we can start."

"As for whether I find someone else to reclaim the land or do it myself, I should be allowed to decide that then. Surely that's a reasonable rule?"

"There are no such rules!" she declared. "Once the offering is received, we begin. Everything else can wait!"

"Then I won't reclaim this land," Li Banfeng retorted. "I don't want it. Consider it a failed reclamation!"

"No!" she countered. "As long as you're alive, it's not a failure. The assessment for the three-li plot begins now!"

"How can I reclaim three li of land by myself..." Li Banfeng didn't finish his sentence before roars echoed from all around him.

Monsters were coming!

He had never reclaimed a three-li plot and didn't understand its rules.

Would the monsters come one by one, like in a one-li plot, or could they attack all at once?

Crucially, even understanding the rules would be useless, as this local deity herself didn't follow any.

For Li Banfeng, reclamation was originally a simple matter: if the local deity just gave him a day to prepare, he could get the key, rush back, and hide in his Portable Abode for three days.

But this local deity was unreasonable!

Unable to cross the boundary, Li Banfeng had no other choice but to take out all his magic treasures and prepare for battle.

Before he had even set out his magic treasures, a giant tiger, five or six meters tall, charged into the plot.

Li Banfeng dodged the giant tiger; behind him, a large tree, wide enough for two people to embrace, was knocked down by the beast.

The fallen tree slowly stood up, yawned, and directly struck Li Banfeng with its branches.

Li Banfeng pointed at the tiger and said to the tree, "He's the one who knocked you down! Why are you hitting me?"

The tiger bit onto a branch and thrust it toward Li Banfeng's chest. Its movements were swift, its aim precise, and its timing excellent, making it difficult for Li Banfeng to dodge.

Such skillful use of a branch. Was this tiger a martial cultivator?

Li Banfeng dodged the tiger's attack and, with a single strike of his Tang blade, severed the tree's main trunk.

From the broken trunk, a toad jumped out, shouting loudly, "Croak! Croak! Countless leaves fall with a mournful sigh!"

As its words fell, numerous sharp branches rapidly fell from the tree, like a rain of sharp blades.

Its words came true?

This toad was actually a literary cultivator!

Li Banfeng dodged among the branches while also having to guard against the giant tiger's sneak attacks.

As he contended, the local deity's voice reached his ears: "Your movements are so agile, are you a travel cultivator? I can't let you off easy for this!"

Did this woman also have a grudge against travel cultivators?

Was she a homebody cultivator?

As he pondered, the ground trembled.

An earthworm, over a meter in diameter and ten meters long, drilled out from underground. Coiling its body, it wrapped around Li Banfeng.

This earthworm's tactic was simple: it restrained Li Banfeng, allowing the tree, the toad, and the giant tiger to attack.

It had strong regenerative abilities and wasn't afraid of being harmed by Li Banfeng.

Trapped by the earthworm, Li Banfeng found himself in a difficult situation. He shouted towards the projector, "Send someone out to help me!"

The projector had been adjusting its angle and, with great effort, finally projected an image.

A beautiful young woman appeared beside Li Banfeng. She first prepared for battle, then turned her back to him, and unfastened the knot buttons of her qipao.

"What are you doing taking off your clothes?" Li Banfeng demanded angrily. "Fight first!"

Inside the Portable Abode, the Phonograph was drenched in sweat.

"That madman hasn't come home for so many days again," she muttered. "Let's see how he explains it to the Abode this time!"

"What the hell is there to explain?" Hong Ying struggled in the corner. "Wicked woman, let me go! I'll fight this Abode to the death!"

"Can you even fight it?" the Phonograph said with a hint of mockery. "Look at yourself now, a blind old hag. What can you fight him with?"

"Even that bitch Hong Lian, who has hidden who knows how much strength, just wants to get out of this place. Even she wouldn't dare act rashly, would she?"

Hong Ying was startled. "What strength has Hong Lian hidden?"

Hong Lian, far away in the seventh room, shouted, "You two bitches, stop gossiping behind my back!"

Just as the three were about to start bickering, they suddenly felt the Abode tremble, and an ancient laugh reached their ears: "Hehehe."

It was the Abode laughing.

The Phonograph, Hong Lian, and Hong Ying, all three of high standing, had all heard this laugh before.

They were all considered to have backbone, yet every time they heard it, everyone felt their hair stand on end.

Hong Ying's body trembled as she shrieked, "Wicked woman, let me go! I'll fight him! I can't take it anymore!"

"Bitch! Shut up! Do you want a beating?" the Phonograph scolded, and Hong Ying temporarily quieted down.

A few minutes later, Hong Ying lost control again. "No, I'll fight him! I'll kill this old scoundrel!"

She suddenly developed a strange strength. Taking advantage of the Phonograph's inattention, she broke free from the steam's restraints and stabbed the wall of the Portable Abode with her spearhead.

"Woo-aow!"

A train whistle sounded inside the Portable Abode.

The long spear danced, appearing to struggle fiercely in battle amidst the whistle's sound, though no one knew who she was fighting.

Five minutes later, Hong Ying lay motionless on the ground.

Panting heavily.

The Phonograph cautiously asked, "Bitch, are you still alive?"

Hong Ying supported herself and stood up.

The Phonograph was stunned for a long time. She couldn't understand what Hong Ying was using to support herself, nor what she was using to stand up.

Hong Ying had grown hands and feet!

"Bitch! What happened to you?" the Phonograph asked, very nervous.

Hong Ying touched her spear shaft with her hand and said in a low voice, "I'm fine. This battle was a draw."

After speaking, Hong Ying strode swiftly to the corner of the wall and stood there properly.

In the Phonograph's impression, Hong Ying was a woman who didn't know fear.

No one knew what methods the Abode had used to beat Hong Ying into such a state, even making her grow hands and feet.

"Bitch, you didn't wet yourself, did you?"

"Hmph!" Hong Ying sneered. "What kind of talk is that? How could I wet myself? Do I even have pants?"

"Now that you mention it, I really should find some pants. Don't I have legs now? With legs, I should have pants. What if someone sees me otherwise?"

Hong Ying's words were incoherent; this battle had deeply shaken her.

The Phonograph lowered her voice. "This Abode is probably more powerful than the person who built him."

Hong Ying asked, "Who built him?"

"It should be a Daoist Grandmaster, even above the chief."

"The one who built him is above the chief, and he's even more powerful than the one who built him. Hehehe..." Hong Ying suddenly laughed, gasping for breath.

The Phonograph asked, "What are you laughing at? What's so funny? Don't laugh yourself out of breath."

"I'm not laughing at you, I'm laughing at myself," Hong Ying replied. "My chest feels uncomfortably stuffy; it's like I've grown a conscience."

"A conscience..." The Phonograph turned her speaker towards Hong Ying and noticed a slight bulge a quarter of the way down her spear body.

"It really can grow out..." The Phonograph was very excited. "If you can grow it, can I too?"

"It seems like it's not just a conscience..." Hong Ying's words were still slurred. "It seems like there's something else..."

"What else? A portal?" The Phonograph grew even more excited!

"It seems there really is!" Hong Ying exclaimed. "I know why this Abode is so powerful now: he has many Daoist sect techniques."

"Where did these techniques come from? How can he cultivate so many Daoist sects at once?"

The mistress wrapped her long spear in steam and asked softly, "Sister, let's not talk about the Daoist techniques for now. Let's talk about the 'portal.' Did it truly grow out?"

"They grew out, both of them did," Hong Ying replied. "If you can grow a portal, both of them must grow out too. Don't let that madman find the wrong place again; I even feel pain for you."

"Pah! What are you in pain about?" the Phonograph spat.

"Wicked woman, stop talking about portals!" Hong Ying said anxiously. "Do you know where the Abode's Daoist techniques came from? Will we also turn into Daoist techniques? Will we never be able to leave again?"

"Bitch, I told you not to provoke him, do you understand now?" The Phonograph then looked at the calendar and said to Meng De, "Not a single word about what happened here to Master, understood?"

Meng De nodded repeatedly.

Hong Ying asked, "I really don't understand why you always hide things from that madman."

Hong Lian shouted from the seventh room, "You also know he's mad! Aren't you afraid he'll fight the Abode? If something happens to him, we're all finished!"

"Bullshit! You're the one who's mad!" the Phonograph cursed at Hong Lian, then turned to Hong Ying. "Master isn't mad; he just doesn't act according to common sense. We have to tell him about this slowly; we absolutely cannot push him too hard."

"I'm anxious too," Hong Ying said. "Find me some pants! I really have a portal now!"

Li Banfeng was very anxious.

He had run for three days and three nights in an obscure place, fighting with half his life.

Now with only half his life left, he was fighting for his life on this new land.

The ground was littered with corpses.

Wounded monsters stood in several rows at the edge of the plot.

Li Banfeng kicked a leopard away and stepped on a wild boar, his eyes bloodshot from killing.

Suddenly, he heard the local deity call out, "The assessment is over."

The monsters quickly retreated from the plot.

Li Banfeng collapsed onto the ground, exhausted, his vision blurring intermittently.

He wanted to sleep.

The local deity appeared before Li Banfeng, sat beside him, and said, "Brave man, I admire you."

Li Banfeng's gaze drifted towards the sky.

A flickering light in the air signaled successful reclamation.

Li Banfeng nodded slightly, and before he could even clearly see the local deity's appearance, his eyelids closed, and he fell asleep.