Selecting a Land Block

Among the Four Great Families, the Ma family is the most fond of land acquisition and has done the most land reclamation in new areas. Ma Wu has also watched land reclamation and has some experience.

But while he had seen it, Ma Wu had never actually experienced land reclamation. With his Lineage's strength, there was no need for him to take risks; these kinds of things were done by hiring specialized land reclamation workers.

Even now, Ma Wu doesn't want to take any risks; he prefers to have Zuo Wugang take two assistants to explore the wasteland.

But Li Banfeng disagreed.

This new land, besides being conducive to cultivation, is also a refuge for Li Banfeng and Ma Wu. Before Zuo Wugang fully gains his trust, Li Banfeng doesn't want him to know the location of the new land.

Zhen Jincheng and Cao Zhida were also unable to go.

Seeing Li Banfeng's resolute attitude, Ma Wu had no choice but to agree.

In fact, the matter of reclaiming wasteland depends more on luck. Ma Wu felt that the risk was very high, which was an experience he had learned from the Ma family's experience in reclaiming wasteland. In extreme cases, there have been instances where a cultivator at the first level successfully reclaimed wasteland on his own.

Moreover, if danger arises, at most one must abandon the land reclamation and still have a chance to escape; however, land reclamation will no longer be permitted within a radius of a hundred miles.

"In Pro State, as far as I know, the most experienced pioneer is Private Detective Dabo Ensi. He once helped our family prepare offerings, and I still remember some of the types and quantities. These things are easy to prepare, but we need to choose a location first."

Li Banfeng has two options: one is the wasteland between Gourd Gulch and Iron Wire River, and the other is the wasteland between Little Underworld and Orange Garden.

The two ultimately chose the wasteland between Little Underworld and Orange Garden.

It's easy to get food here; the oranges in the Orange Garden are edible, and Ma Wu knows that too.

From Li Banfeng's perspective, the owner of the Orange Garden Li Banfeng had a good relationship, and he could help each other in critical moments.

With the location chosen, the remaining issue is Ma Wu's training.

Girls are not allowed to be brought along. Ma Wu also said that the Golden Essence Pill he had previously used were enough to last him for a while.

Li Banfeng also gave Ma Wu seven Mystic Blaze Pills, which would allow Ma Wu to survive a few more days should an accident occur.

With all the necessary supplies prepared, Ma Wu selected a pair of shoes with a special quality. The soles were thick and had deep treads, which could increase his speed by almost double. He then set off with Li Banfeng.

Before leaving, Ma Wu entrusted Blue Poplar Village to Little Chuanzi and Zuo Wugang.

Little Chuanzi was in charge of routine matters, while Zuo Wugang was in charge of handling special situations.

Little Chuanzi was a little worried. "Fifth Master, I can barely read or write. You want me to manage the business? Wouldn't that make me a laughing stock?"

"This is no joke," Ma Wu said confidently to Little Chuanzi. "It's almost the end of the year, and hunters are all at home celebrating the New Year, so business is already slow."

Besides, you've been helping me with buying and selling goods all this time, and you've learned a lot from that. It's time for you to put your skills to practice.

Ma Wu truly trusted Little Chuanzi, but he had some reservations about Zuo Wugang.

Through these days of contact, Ma Wu discovered that Zuo Wugang was a good assistant. Whenever there was trouble in the village, Zuo Wugang could immediately quell the situation with just one order from Ma Wu.

But if Ma Wu doesn't give the order, things will get a bit complicated. Zuo Wugang isn't very good at making decisions.

Upon reaching the village entrance, Li Banfeng saw Little Genzi searching for the golden juice.

It was freezing cold, and the golden juice was hard to find. Little Genzi carried two buckets on his back, sweating profusely, and searched all around.

Li Banfeng asked in a low voice, "Has he reached a higher level?"

Ma Wu nodded and said, "He told me yesterday that he felt he had advanced to the next level. Cultivation is something that can be sensed, so it must be true."

"Even if he goes up one floor, one bucket is enough for him. He only needs to carry two buckets to go up two floors. Didn't the Peddler himself say that?"

Ma Wu said, "Little Genzi said that carrying an extra bucket means saving more time."

Li Banfeng praised repeatedly, "This child is promising."

Because we were traveling with Ma Wu, we were a bit slower, but we were well prepared beforehand and encountered almost no obstacles in Gourd Gulch.

Red Mud Ridge was alright. Li Banfeng had been there once and found a basically safe route. Relying on Travel Cultivator's memory of the direction, he led Ma Wu through the swamp smoothly.

Iron Wire River is a bit troublesome; Ma Wu doesn't have any flying equipment.

Li Banfeng had it; he had the Judge's Brush that the two thugs had given him.

Li Banfeng and Ma Wu drew a circle on the spot with the Judge's Brush, and waited inside the circle for the Judge's Brush to respond.

After waiting for more than half an hour, the tip of the Judge's Brush's pen trembled slightly.

For an ordinary person, this would be considered a response. However, Li Banfeng possessed the Discern Spiritual Sounds Technique, allowing him to not only see the pen tip trembling but also hear the Judge's Brush speaking.

"Where to?"

It was just two words, spoken so softly that they were almost indistinguishable unless you listened very carefully.

Is this the secret weapon for Lazy Cultivator?

Li Banfeng pointed the pen tip towards the opposite bank of the river, but the Judge's Brush remained still.

After another half hour, the tip of the Judge's Brush's pen trembled again. "Stand firm."

It's still just two words.

After waiting for a while, a cloud of dust slowly rose from the ground beneath their feet, carrying Li Banfeng and Ma Wu into the air.

How high did it fly?

Less than two feet.

It flew almost touching the ground.

The entire Iron Wire River is infested with Iron Wire Worm.

Each strand twists and turns, wriggling beneath your feet.

Ma Wu's hair stood on end. "Brother Li, is your magic weapon reliable? We can't fall down, or we'll be finished."

Li Banfeng didn't dare say that the Judge's Brush was reliable. They slowly flew to the other side. In the dead of winter, both of them were covered in sweat.

Still shaken, Ma Wu asked, "Which Daoist sect's magic weapon is this?"

Li Banfeng was just about to bring up this matter. "Brother Ma, do you know about the Lazy Cultivator sect of Daoism?"

Ma Wu nodded. "I know. This sect is special. The secret to cultivation lies in the word 'laziness.' They have three maxims that they often recite."

Which three sentences?

"First, lie down if you can; second, sit if you can't stand; third, stand if you can't walk!"

Li Banfeng paused for a moment, put away his Judge's Brush, and pondered for a long time before asking, "Can we fight this Daoist sect?"

"I can't say he can fight, nor can I say he can't..." Ma Wu didn't know how to describe it. "Lazy Cultivator are rare. I saw one once when I was fifteen."

Back then, at Sea Eat Ridge, a Lazy Cultivator challenged a Food Cultivator to Decide Life and Death. They agreed on a meeting place, but the Lazy Cultivator was an hour late, which infuriated the Food Cultivator, who then cursed and swore.

As the two prepared to fight, Lazy Cultivator kept staring at Food Cultivator, yawning incessantly.

"Then what?"

"Lazy Cultivator said he didn't want to fight anymore, and Food Cultivator yawned along with him, his eyes barely open. After cursing a few times, he also said he wouldn't fight anymore. The two of them went to find a place to sleep, and that was the end of it."

Li Banfeng stopped and turned to look at Ma Wu: "You rich people call this Decide Life and Death?"

"This isn't my saying; it's what they said: the two of them must Decide Life and Death."

There are still such Daoist sects in this world!

Li Banfeng knew the way well, Ma Wu barely followed. It took them six whole days to reach Little Underworld.

Ma Wu's shoes did improve his speed, but Joy Cultivator was too weak and needed to rest enough every day.

Li Banfeng wasn't in a hurry. He set up two tents, and the two of them rested separately. He took a Golden Essence Pill every day and needed time to recover. In addition, he also had to stay overnight at his Portable Abode every night.

When they passed through the Little Underworld, Li Banfeng was very cautious and carefully explained the rules to Ma Wu.

When they reached the path, Ma Wu was terrified, his hair standing on end. Li Banfeng, however, walked calmly with Feather Duster in hand, and the wind was always blowing south, proving that everything was alright.

After walking more than 100 li (approximately 50 kilometers) for over five hours, overwhelmed by fear and exhaustion, Ma Wu lay down on the ground in the wilderness, unable to get up for a long time.

After resting for two hours, the two continued their journey and chose a site to clear land next to a Pine Forest more than 30 miles away from the Orange Garden.

Being near Pine Forest will make it easier to find building materials, so there won't be a shortage of timber if we build a log cabin in the future.

Being close to the Orange Garden makes it convenient for food supplies, but it can't be too close either. Li Banfeng doesn't want to offend the grove owner, nor does he want hunters going to the orange grove to notice this new spot.

Ma Wu took out a small table from his bag and began to calculate the location of the altar.

This is a crucial step, and it must be operated personally by Ma Wu.

A Local Earth God governs a hundred-mile radius of land, whose territories are interconnected, yet their boundaries are invisible.

If the altar is placed in the wrong location, on the boundary of the territory of the two Local Earth God, it will attract their attention, which will cause trouble. Ma Wu can't even imagine what kind of trouble it will bring.

Ma Wu had helped his father select Land Block several times and knew the key points.

He picked up a clod of soil, tested its texture, moved ten steps to the left, picked up another clod of soil, and carefully kneaded it in his hand.

After testing the soil in dozens of places like this, Ma Wu got a general idea of what to expect.

"Brother Li, the soil in these places is soft and sticky, so it should belong to the same Local Earth God. Let's choose this Land Block."

Li Banfeng nodded, and together with Ma Wu, they set up the offering table and the offerings, and lit the incense and candles.

The quantity of offerings came from Ma Wu's previous observations. When the Ma family opened a new plot of land within a mile radius, they only used a pot of top-quality old wine. Ma Wu prepared the offerings as usual, without daring to increase or decrease them in the slightest.

Ma Wu took out the contract and read it aloud. There was only one fixed version of this contract, which stated that he wanted to establish a dwelling here and begged the gods for permission.

The contract was burned to ashes, and soon after, it was swept up by a whirlwind.

Li Banfeng looked around with Golden Eyes Autumn Down, trying to figure out the origin of the Local Earth God that Ma Wu had mentioned.

After watching for a while, a ball of greenish-blue flame suddenly appeared around the offering table. The wine pot shook twice, and the wine inside was quickly emptied.

Ma Wu smiled and said, "Brother Li, it's done."

Li Banfeng didn't laugh.

Are Local Earth God of the dead?

Not long after, a blurry halo appeared on the ground in the distance. Ma Wu said to Li Banfeng, "Brother Li, look carefully. This is the boundary of the Land Block. The gods have responded to our contract. Brother Li, it's your turn to shed blood."

The person who sheds blood on the Land Block will become the owner of that land.

Before they left, the two had discussed that the first piece of new land they cleared would belong to Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng took out a short knife, cut his palm, and splattered the blood on the ground beneath his feet.

"Brother Li, the contract has been signed. The land reclamation will officially begin at this time tomorrow. We can guard this land ourselves or ask others for help, but once the reclamation begins, no one can step out of the boundary. As long as we hold out for three days, this land will be ours!"

Li Banfeng pondered for a moment and said, "You just said that no one can cross the boundary?"

"Yes, not a single one will do. We must find trustworthy people to start a new area. The number of people doesn't matter, but they must be reliable. If we find a hundred people to start a new area and even one person crosses the line, the start of the new area will fail. This is what I said before: sometimes having too many people can be a problem."

"As long as you don't cross the line, it'll be fine..." Li Banfeng found a loophole in the rules.

If I go into my Portable Abode and don't come out, does that mean I haven't crossed the line?

I slept in my Portable Abode for three days, wouldn't that count as a successful land reclamation?

As he thought about it, Li Banfeng suddenly smiled.

P. S.: Is it really possible for something this cheap to exist?