Chapter 304: The Land God's Cultivation Level

As Li Banfeng opened his eyes, a beautiful woman was cleaning his wounds.

Halfway through, the woman exclaimed, "This little thing is quite spirited!"

Li Banfeng hastily sat up, put on his clothes, and asked the woman, "Do we know each other?"

The woman chuckled, "You just cleared land in my territory, and now you claim not to know me?"

"Are you a local deity?"

The woman nodded, "My name is Meng Yuchun. What's yours?"

"I'm Li Qi. All of this should be written in a contract."

"I've prepared the contract. Just write your name down."

Li Banfeng wrote his name, pressed his handprint, burned the contract, and sprinkled blood on the ground.

"These are all things that should be done before clearing new land."

Meng Yuchun explained, "I'm different from other local deities. This has always been the rule for clearing land in my territory!"

"How many people have cleared land here before?"

"Just you. So, as I said, this has always been the rule."

Li Banfeng looked at the woman before him. "Don't you think this rule is a bit too casual?"

Meng Yuchun shook her head and chuckled, "It's been over half a year since I became a local deity, and you're the first living person to enter my territory. This place is so desolate; why would I bother with so many useless rules and regulations, only to wonder when I'll ever get ahead?"

The place was indeed desolate. Li Banfeng looked around and asked, "Why did you have to choose a place like this in the first place?"

"Was it my choice? Whatever place Inner Province gave me, I had to take."

The origin of local deities was precisely what Li Banfeng wanted to know.

Meng Yuchun spoke with a directness that surpassed even Qiu Luoye. If he treated her sincerely, he should be able to learn some things.

"Do you have to go to Inner Province to become a local deity?"

"Yes. How else would you advance a level?"

"Advance a level?"

Li Banfeng asked, "What level is your cultivation now? If you don't want to say, that's fine; I know I shouldn't casually ask about others' cultivation levels."

Meng Yuchun chuckled, "Even if I don't say, you should be able to guess. I'm only at the first level of cultivation. I've only been in this new territory for half a year; how many levels could I possibly advance in this wretched place?"

Li Banfeng hadn't guessed. "What do you mean by 'first level'?"

Meng Yuchun paused, surprised. "Your cultivation isn't low, but your knowledge is lacking. I'm certainly not at the first level of the Ground Realm."

"First level of the Ground Realm?"

He seemed to have heard this concept somewhere before. Ah, yes, the cart driver had mentioned it.

The first time he rode in the Medicine King Ditch cart driver's vehicle, Monkey Qiu had asked about the driver's cultivation, and the driver had said he was a cultivator at the first level of the Ground Realm. At the time, Li Banfeng was still a novice and hadn't paid much attention to how he phrased it.

Now, thinking back, "Ground Realm" didn't refer to a specific level, but rather a stage of cultivation.

In Puro Province, within the range familiar to Li Banfeng, all cultivation levels might just be within the Ground Realm stage!

"So what is your 'first level' called?"

Meng Yuchun said, "I'm currently at the first level of the Cloud Realm. Stop trying to extract information from me. I'm not your master or your wife; why should I teach you so much?"

Li Banfeng sat beside Meng Yuchun and asked sincerely, "I'm skilled at clearing land, and I can clear a lot more barren land here in the future. If you guide me a bit, I can be of great help to you later."

Meng Yuchun shot Li Banfeng a look. "What good is just you clearing land? The human presence in my territory won't increase that way!"

"It can increase. I know many skilled land clearers. I'll bring them all here, and bit by bit, this place will gradually become proper land."

Meng Yuchun frowned. "Why should I believe you?"

"If you don't believe me, we can sign a contract. Within a month, I'll bring more people to clear land. Isn't that much better than you waiting here for over half a year without seeing anyone?"

Meng Yuchun pondered for a moment. "Your cultivation is indeed not low. You'll find out some things sooner or later. I'll tell you what I can, but don't force me to say what I can't."

Li Banfeng nodded. "Let's start with the Cloud Realm's first level. Do you have to cultivate to the tenth level of the Ground Realm to ascend to the first level of the Cloud Realm?"

"Of course, and it must be a fully formed tenth level of the Ground Realm."

"What does 'fully formed tenth level' mean?"

Meng Yuchun patiently explained, "From the ninth level to the tenth, you must pass the Tribulation of Life and Death. Successfully passing the tribulation allows you to ascend to the Cloud Summit. Only after reaching the Cloud Summit can you go to Inner Province, and only in Inner Province can you attain the first level of Cloud Realm cultivation."

"What if one fails the tribulation?"

"Then things get complicated, but it also depends on the degree of failure. What is called a successful tribulation means the destruction of the physical body and the advancement of the soul, perfectly intact. If the soul is damaged, there is still room for recovery. If the damage is less than 20%, it can still be repaired through various means until it is completely intact, after which there's still a chance to go to Inner Province. If the soul damage exceeds 20% but is less than 50%, it becomes difficult to repair. These souls will wander Puro Province, known as 'Wounded Fiends.' They are among the most formidable evil spirits in Puro Province and can survive for a long time, which can be considered a kind of destination. If the soul damage exceeds 50%, they will slumber in the earth until they slowly dissipate. A small number of souls, however, are nourished by residences and become House Spirits. Such House Spirits are rare. If one encounters them, it's a blessing for a House Cultivator."

Li Banfeng nodded repeatedly.

His wife's level must certainly be beyond the tenth. Who could possibly compare to her level of good fortune?

Li Banfeng then asked, "What if the soul is completely damaged?"

Meng Yuchun paused, surprised. "Are you talking about a soul that's damaged, but the physical body remains intact?"

Li Banfeng nodded.

"That's a 'Broken Cocoon,' the most tragic type. These people used the wrong sequence when undergoing tribulation and became walking corpses—unable to die, unable to live, and sometimes even raised as livestock."

Li Banfeng had seen a Broken Cocoon before: the Senior Disciple on Scoundrel Ridge. With the Sage, he was likely just a piece of livestock used for fighting.

Li Banfeng continued, "So, if one successfully passes the tribulation and arrives in Inner Province, does that mean they automatically become a first-level Cloud Realm cultivator?"

"No. Arriving in Inner Province only means you've reached the Cloud Summit. It's like a cultivator just beginning their journey—they have no defined level, and their lifespan remains the same as an ordinary person; there's no change."

"No change in lifespan? Isn't it supposed to triple?" This was different from the knowledge Li Banfeng had acquired.

Meng Yuchun shook her head. "That's a popular misconception. To gain triple lifespan, you need to have reached the first level of the Cloud Realm, and to reach that level, you need a reward from Inner Province."

"A reward is needed?"

"How does one obtain this reward?"

At this point, Meng Yuchun hesitated. She didn't want to directly mention matters concerning Inner Province.

"I don't want to talk about it. May I show you instead?"

"Show me how?" Li Banfeng couldn't understand.

Meng Yuchun gave a wry smile. "Perhaps it's old age, but I've lost my sense of shame."

She turned around and unfastened her long robe.

The robe slowly slid down to her knees.

Li Banfeng saw her fair skin, covered in dense scars.

Meng Yuchun said, "Do you see? That's how blessings are earned. I wouldn't offer my body to serve them like other women. I was willing to be a fighter, or even a servant. Whether as a servant or a fighter, it was essentially like being livestock. I can't count how many beatings I endured, or for how many years I was beaten, to earn the first level of Cloud Realm cultivation and the qualification to be a local deity."

Li Banfeng's eyelids twitched. He first asked Meng Yuchun to put her clothes back on, then immediately asked, "How did you endure all that?"

"What else could I do but endure? That wasn't even the hardest part to bear. The hardest part was…" Meng Yuchun paused, then said, "They killed my House Spirit, devouring it alive right in front of me. I was such a coward; I didn't dare make a sound."

Both fell silent for a long time. Meng Yuchun lowered her head and said, "I shouldn't be telling you this. They don't allow us to speak about their affairs. I haven't spoken to anyone in so long. In Inner Province, no one would talk to me, and here, I haven't seen a living soul."

Li Banfeng sighed, "So you're a House Cultivator."

Meng Yuchun nodded. "House Cultivators throughout the world hate Traveling Cultivators, which is why I was so hard on you."

Li Banfeng lowered his head and pressed his fingers against his forehead.

He had always striven to improve his cultivation, fantasizing that one day he could reach the tenth level and gain triple his lifespan.

But what was the cost behind triple lifespan?

Being treated as livestock?

Was that something he could accept?

"Once you reached the first level of the Cloud Realm, you returned to Puro Province?"

Meng Yuchun nodded. "I came back. They rewarded me with a new territory and made me a local deity. I also could have chosen not to return. If they had appreciated me, I could have continued as a servant in Inner Province, continuing my cultivation."

"Still as a servant?"

"Many people want to be servants; it depends on whether they're willing to grant that favor."

"What's good about being a servant?" Li Banfeng didn't understand.

"Staying in Inner Province allows you to continue increasing your cultivation."

"If you're not in Inner Province, can't you increase your cultivation then?"

"You can, but you need human presence," Meng Yuchun said, pointing to the desolate land around them. "A local deity's cultivation relies on human presence. The stronger the presence, the faster your cultivation grows. But look around, does this place seem like it has any human presence? Cultivators at the first level of the Cloud Realm typically live around three hundred years. They can extend their lifespan somewhat with elixirs, but at most, it won't exceed five hundred years. By the time I die of old age, I'm afraid I won't even reach the second level of the Cloud Realm."

Li Banfeng asked, "Will your lifespan increase upon advancing to the second level of the Cloud Realm? Or does lifespan only change once you reach the tenth level of the Cloud Realm?"

Meng Yuchun shook her head. "I don't know. I don't even know if there's a tenth level in the Cloud Realm, or what the second level is like. No one ever told me anything. In Inner Province, I was no different from livestock; no one speaks unnecessary words to livestock."

Did all local deities come through this path?

Did those individuals whose strength surpassed local deities also come through this path?

The Peddler, Grandfather Train, and Old Woman Ku—did they all have similar experiences?

That can't be right! With their temperaments, how could they possibly serve as servants in Inner Province?

Li Banfeng asked, "So, is it impossible to reach the Cloud Realm without going to Inner Province?"

"It is possible!"

Meng Yuchun only spoke two words, but they invigorated Li Banfeng.

"How?"

"By stealing and seizing."

Li Banfeng shook his head. "I'm an upright person, so let's talk about seizing first."

"Seizing means taking from other local deities: seizing their status, their identity, and their cultivation."

Li Banfeng immediately grew serious. "How do you seize them?"

Meng Yuchun asked, "Do you know Greenwater Beggar, the local deity of Greenwater Bay?"

"No, but I've heard of him."

"His cultivation was seized, taken when he was at the ninth level. Greenwater Bay was originally called Beggar's Bay, and it wasn't his territory, but rather the domain of Beggar Cultivator Yuan Shoulou. When Greenwater Beggar was at the ninth level, he defeated Yuan Shoulou, who was at the second level of the Cloud Realm. He seized the position of local deity and forcibly absorbed Yuan Shoulou's cultivation and status. He himself then advanced to the second level of the Cloud Realm, preserving both his soul and his physical body, becoming the most formidable local deity!"

Li Banfeng rubbed his chin, unable to fully grasp the process.

Ninth level defeating a second-level Cloud Realm cultivator?

How many levels did that span?

How was that battle won?