Qiu Luoye wanted to keep a few of his old subordinates, including a tiger that often stayed by his side and a stone placed in front of his door.
"When I fought Old Shui back then, that dog tricked me. Instead of engaging me directly, he brought his people straight to my home. Although many people were defending my home, they all panicked at the sight of Old Shui. Only the tiger, the stone, and a few others dared to put up a fight. They truly followed me, and now that my territory is becoming a Proper Territory, I don't want to abandon them."
Li Banfeng genuinely didn't know how to handle this matter.
Li Banfeng knew many local deities. As for Old Yao's situation, there were no anomalous beings following him. The current Yaowang Valley, formerly known as Kuyao Pass, was a territory Old Yao had steadfastly defended. It was likely he hadn't experienced the transition from a New Territory to a Proper Territory himself.
Li Banfeng didn't know if other Proper Territory local deities had anomalous beings by their side, nor did Qiu Luoye. Fortunately, Xiao Yeci found some books with similar records.
"For a New Territory to become a Proper Territory, if anomalous beings wish to follow, they must transform into Covenant Guardians."
Qiu Luoye nodded, seemingly understanding: "So, they need to change their names. That's not hard. Just tell me how to write the characters for 'Covenant Guardian,' and I'll definitely teach them within a month!"
Xiao Yeci was a little intimidated by Qiu Luoye. She secretly glanced at Li Banfeng, unsure if this local deity was joking.
Li Banfeng's expression was serious. He knew Brother Qiu was being earnest. "Miss Xiao," he said, "you really need to explain this in more detail. I don't think simply changing their names will be enough, right?"
Xiao Yeci nodded. "Just changing names definitely won't work. Covenant Guardians can only operate within a fixed territory, which the local deity must designate. Once a New Territory transforms into a Proper Territory, this designated area will be called a Secret Realm or a Forbidden Zone. There are similar places all over Puoluo Province. These places usually house the local deity's covenant, and Covenant Guardians only operate within these Secret Realms. Their sole task is to help the local deity protect the covenant."
Qiu Luoye pondered for a long time, then understood Xiao Yeci's meaning. "So, my covenant needs to be guarded. This task can be perfectly entrusted to my old companions. That's easy. I don't even need to pick a special spot. Tomorrow, I'll just designate a ten-li area right next to my house. My old companions can stay right at the doorstep, and I'll feel secure leaving the covenant with them."
Li Banfeng felt something was off about this situation, but he couldn't quite pinpoint what it was.
Xiao Yeci said to Qiu Luoye, "Many people probably know where your home is, don't they?"
Qiu Luoye's eyes widened. "What are you trying to do?"
Xiao Yeci shook her head repeatedly. "Please don't misunderstand, I'm not trying to do anything. After a New Territory transitions to a Proper Territory, according to the records, you can change the covenant's location once. That means digging it up and reburying it. Don't you want to move it to a different place?"
At that moment, both Li Banfeng and Qiu Luoye realized what the problem was. Far too many people knew Qiu Luoye's residence. In a New Territory, the land was vast and sparsely populated. Although anomalous beings possessed intelligence, their minds weren't as complex as humans', so few dared to plot against the covenant.
However, once it became a Proper Territory, the population would surge by dozens of times, from a small town to a large city. If Qiu Luoye's address became public, people would likely line up to dig for his covenant, so it really would need to be moved.
Where would be a suitable place to move it?
Qiu Luoye scratched his head. "I need to think carefully about this. What kind of place can serve as a Forbidden Zone?"
Xiao Yeci said, "I've read in books that there can be more than one Forbidden Zone. Some local deities have created over a dozen Forbidden Zones within their territory, so no one knows where they've hidden their covenant."
This made Qiu Luoye even more vexed. "This is too troublesome. I heard Old Yao lives deep in the mountains, and many people know his residence. I'll just follow his example, find a mountain, build a house, and guard it with my old brothers."
Xiao Yeci then added, "Once the location is chosen, you'll need to sign a covenant with the Covenant Guardians. After that, they will never be able to leave the Forbidden Zone."
The tiger seemed displeased. "Not allowed to go out for our entire lives? Can't a few of us take turns on watch and rotate going down the mountain to live our lives?"
Xiao Yeci shook her head. "That might be difficult. You never see tigers roaming freely in any Proper Territory."
Indeed, anomalous beings did not freely roam the territories of a Proper Territory.
Qiu Luoye nodded. "This young lady is right. Once this becomes a Proper Territory, you won't be able to wander around aimlessly. Just stay home with me. With me around, you won't get bored."
The tiger agreed quite readily. "I'm willing to follow Master Qiu; not going down the mountain is fine too."
Xiao Yeci whispered, "You must think this through. Once you become a Covenant Guardian, you'll be one for life. You won't even be able to become a roaming anomaly."
The tiger wagged its tail. "What's so great about being a roaming anomaly? I'm sticking with Master Qiu."
The stone remained silent.
Qiu Luoye looked at the stone. "What's wrong? You don't want to follow me anymore?"
The stone replied honestly, "In the past, following Master Qiu would have been great. But after that young lady sat on me just now, my heart feels a bit unsettled."
As it spoke, a blush spread across the stone's surface.
Qiu Luoye kicked the stone. "Your face got sat on by a peach, and that's what unsettled your heart? Get lost! I'm not keeping you. Come get some cultivation from me later, and then go find your own way!"
Besides handling the covenant and the Covenant Guardians, Qiu Luoye also had to meticulously measure the land to ensure his territory measured a full hundred li. Some anomalous beings with no intelligence also needed to be sent away quickly. After becoming a Proper Territory, these types of anomalies might mutate and cause harm.
Li Banfeng looked at Xiao Yeci and asked, "Where did you learn all this from?"
Xiao Yeci replied, "Both the Lu family's library and the He family's library have these books. Sister Yuxiu is very kind; I can read all the books in their home. The information in these books is very useful, though a bit fragmented. You have to read and make notes to piece things together."
Li Banfeng secretly admired Xiao Yeci, an diligent cultivation scholar who, unfortunately, hadn't had good opportunities before.
Qiu Luoye asked, "Old Seven, is this one your sweetheart too?"
Xiao Yeci's face instantly turned red.
Qiu Luoye burst out laughing. "Why are you shy? Following our Old Seven, you won't suffer any losses. Old Seven, this sweetheart is much better than the previous one."
The previous sweetheart? Was he talking about Chu Er?
Thinking of Chu Er, Qiu Luoye shook his head. "That one wasn't good. She acted all proper in front of others, but with Old Seven, she just threw tantrums. This one is better; she's pretty, speaks softly, and can read books. Old Seven, you probably don't know this, but people who read books know a lot of characters. You really should cherish this one."
The stone agreed. "Young lady, come sit on me."
"Get lost!" Qiu Luoye kicked the stone away and quickly went back to important business.
With the help of various families, the land reclamation sped up. There wasn't much uncultivated wasteland left. Qiu Luoye wasn't good with numbers, so He Yuxiu found a numerologist to help him. After repeated measurements, using one square li as the unit of measurement, they discovered that Qiu Luoye's territory fell short of ten thousand units.
"Over the years, I fought with the surrounding local deities and gained a lot, but I lost it all in the battle with Old Shui," Qiu Luoye said, looking at the ledger with a headache. He had indeed won many battles back then, but he wasn't good with calculations. The territories he won weren't particularly large, but the nine hundred units of land he lost to Shui Yongquan were a concrete loss.
"If it's less than ten thousand units, can it still become a Proper Territory?" Qiu Luoye asked Li Banfeng.
Li Banfeng looked at Xiao Yeci.
Xiao Yeci shook her head. "I wouldn't dare to speak carelessly about this. The books say it requires ten thousand units of land."
Li Banfeng returned to his portable residence. He had previously confirmed with his wife that everything Xiao Yeci said was accurate. This time, his wife wasn't certain either. "Oh, husband, the transition from New Territory to Proper Territory is very rare. Your humble servant doesn't know too much about it. I've heard of territories transforming with eight thousand units, and also of territories failing to transform with nine thousand. It's best to be cautious about this. Since we can't gather ten thousand people right now anyway, let's use this time to have Qiu Luoye acquire a few more land units."
"Where can I get them?" Qiu Luoye was at a loss. "The families around here haven't provoked me. Why should I go and seize their land?"
Despite his temper, Qiu Luoye didn't bully others.
Li Banfeng suggested, "How about we talk to Brother Shui and see if he can spare some land for us?"
Qiu Luoye shook his head. "How can I even ask? I lost the battle back then. He let me off by not digging up my covenant. How could I have the nerve to ask for the territory back?"
"You're too sensitive, too easily embarrassed—how admirable!" A ball of ghostly fire floated close to Qiu Luoye, and Shui Yongquan's figure emerged within it.
Qiu Luoye was startled. "Why are you here?"
"If I didn't come, where would you get the territory from?" Shui Yongquan pulled a map from his sleeve; it was already marked. Shui Yongquan said, "Qiu Daxing, I took thirty li of territory from you. Now I'm returning thirty li, but not the original plots. The original territory has Zhengjing Village and many cultivated areas, which I can't all give back to you. These territories I can return, do you think they're suitable?"
Qiu Luoye didn't look at the map. He looked at Shui Yongquan and asked, "Old Shui, why are you helping me?"
Shui Yongquan smiled. "Old Elephant, you have guts, you truly dare to do things. You're about to become a Proper Territory's local deity. If I said I wasn't envious, that would be a lie. But envy aside, I hope you succeed. One day, when someone asks me if I've ever seen a New Territory become a Proper Territory, I'll say I have, right next to my home, and the local deity was my brother, Qiu Daxing!"
Qiu Luoye stammered, "Old... Old Shui, I don't know what... what to say..."
"Then don't say anything!" Shui Yongquan took out a covenant, cut his palm, and sprinkled blood. "Come on, brother."
A month later, Shui Yongquan's final land transfer to Qiu Luoye, which was also the last piece of uncultivated land in Qiu Luoye's territory, was reclaimed. Originally, this piece of land was to be given to Ma Wu, but Qiu Luoye thought carefully. Since all the territories were being opened up today, many people would surely come to watch. Ma Wu's method of reclamation was too unique and not suitable for public viewing, so this land was assigned to He Yuxiu for development.
A one-li square territory posed no difficulty for He Yuxiu. By noon, the reclamation was successful, and a faint celestial light shone down.
He Yuxiu stepped out of the plot and stood beside Li Qi, saying, "Old Seven, I've experienced land reclamation many times, but this is the first time I've seen such beautiful celestial light."
This celestial light was indeed beautiful, not like a single lamp in the night sky, but more like a new dawn, as the surrounding sky was also bright.
Li Banfeng's face was full of joy. Now, the urgent matter was the ten thousand people.
"This is difficult," Li Banfeng sighed softly. "Even with Old Wu offering high prices to recruit people, not many are willing to settle here. We've only gathered just over two thousand so far, and with Juanzi and her group, it's just over five thousand—only half of what we need."
He Yuxiu made a subtle joke. "I'm in good shape. How about we just have them tonight and give birth to the rest?"
Li Banfeng was stunned. "Give birth to five thousand?"
He Yuxiu laughed. "No rush, we can take our time. Youmao is also in good shape, and Yeci knows how to take care of children. We sisters can all bear them for you together."
Li Banfeng looked up at the bright sky and chuckled.
Shui Yongquan stood beside Qiu Luoye, both smiling.
Ma Wu was smiling, Lu Chunying was smiling, Chu Er was smiling. Everyone looking at the sky was smiling.
Juanzi led all the three-headed people in looking at the sky. Xiaoshan whispered, "Sister, our home is lit up."
Xiao Yeci nodded from the side. "Yes, it's so bright."
Youmao touched Xiao Yeci's hand. "Yes, why is it so bright?"
Qiu Luoye blinked his eyes. "Is it perhaps a little too bright?"
A strong light struck, illuminating Qiu Luoye's territory as if it were midday.
Shui Yongquan exclaimed, "No! Celestial light! Duck!"
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