He Yuxiu made it easy for herself by putting on a mask to cover her face and heading straight for the plot of land. She called out to the pioneers, "Are you the ones planning to reclaim the land?"

The twenty-five three-headed people stared at He Yuxiu, not daring to breathe heavily, just nodding repeatedly.

"Granted!" He Yuxiu stepped forward, took a fine bottle of wine from the table, poured half of it on the ground, and drank the remaining half clean.

Li Banfeng sneered; with her being so hasty, how could it be possible to illuminate the plot of land?

The laughter had barely died away when the crowd gasped in amazement, as the plot of land indeed lit up.

These three-headed people had never experienced reclamation before, and it was their first time seeing the boundary of the plot of land, which left them all astounded.

Li Banfeng was even more astonished than they were.

Could the plot of land really light up with just a few words from He Yuxiu?

After attempting so many times in the past, how should I account for this?

Li Banfeng pondered for a good while before coming up with a justification for himself.

He Yuxiu’s cultivation level was high; she was already above the Clouds, while Li Banfeng was still at the Earth’s Skin at the time, mainly due to the disparity in their cultivation levels.

The local deity approved of the reclamation, leaving preparations for the reclamation as the next step.

By the next day, the examination officially began. The twenty-five three-headed people were all on high alert, as it was their first time reclaiming land, and they dared not be careless.

He Yuxiu anticipated that no strange monsters would appear and stood by watching coldly.

Li Banfeng suddenly sensed an imminent danger, looked into the distance for a moment, and then saw a gigantic silhouette growing closer in the twilight.

What is that thing?

It looks so familiar!

"Old Five, did you summon Yanzi?"

Ma Wu took a look, shook his head, and said, "That’s not Yanzi; this isn’t our Straw Moth!"

"Then whose is this?" Li Banfeng approached and saw a giant Straw Moth Lady, gnawing on leaves while crawling toward the plot of land.

"Miss, what are you doing here?" Li Banfeng stepped forward to greet.

The Straw Moth Lady blushed: "Little Brother, you sure know how to talk; I came for the examination."

Li Banfeng pointed to the three-headed people on the plot of land, "You’re here to examine them?"

"Yes, isn’t there going to be a reclamation here?"

Li Banfeng thought for a moment and asked, "Are you a wandering monster? Wanderers shouldn’t be involved in examinations."

The Straw Moth nodded slightly, "By rights, I shouldn’t have come, but I have an invitation!"

"Who sent the invitation?"

"Chu Yaoxian, Lady Chu of course!"

Li Banfeng was puzzled, "Isn’t Chu Yaoxian the local deity of the new land?"

"Yes!"

"Why isn’t she minding her territory and instead causing trouble here?"

The Straw Moth Lady thought for a moment, shook her head, and said, "Little Brother, that’s not a question for me. I’m just here for the examination. Once it’s done, I’ll go to Lady Chu for cultivation rewards. I don’t know about anything else."

Indeed, her response made sense. It’s common for local deities to hire wandering monsters in the new land, as the Mountain-Uprooting Master used to employ them to attack Meng Yuchun’s territory. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

The Straw Moth Lady said no more and continued crawling toward the plot of land. Li Banfeng asked, "Miss, you have reached the eighth layer of cultivation, haven’t you?"

According to common knowledge in the new land, the Straw Moth Lady’s cultivation level and body size are proportional. As this lady is significantly larger than Yanzi, Li Banfeng suspected she might have reached the limits of a Straw Moth Lady.

The lady turned back and said, "Little Brother, with your keen observation, I’ll reach the ninth layer with this reward. After the ninth layer, I won’t be called a Straw Moth; I’ll emerge as a genuine beautiful lady."

So there is a transformation when a Straw Moth Lady advances to the ninth layer.

But that’s not the main point. The main point is that an eighth-layer strange monster examining a mile of land doesn’t make sense, does it?

Li Banfeng chased after the Straw Moth and shouted, "Miss, don’t head to the plot right now. Whatever cultivation reward Chu Yaoxian promised you, I’ll compensate you accordingly."

"Little Brother, maybe next time; I’ve already promised Lady Chu, and I’m a person of my word."

Li Banfeng frowned; they couldn’t let this Straw Moth ruin the first land reclamation in their territory.

He was about to intervene when He Yuxiu blocked his way: "Old Seven, don’t involve yourself in this; I’ll handle her."

The Straw Moth looked at He Yuxiu and questioned, "And who are you?"

He Yuxiu replied, "I’m the local deity here, and I won’t allow you to conduct the examination."

The Straw Moth Lady furrowed her brow: "Well, you arrange the examination but won’t allow me to participate; isn’t that against the rules?"

He Yuxiu sneered and said, "You’re an eighth-layer Straw Moth examining a mile of land; is that in line with the rules?"

"If there were locals here for the examination, I wouldn’t interfere, but since there are none, you shouldn’t stop me."

This Straw Moth Lady was actually quite reasonable, stating clearly that if there were local strange monsters, she wouldn’t disrupt, but since there were none, she, as a wandering monster, conducting the examination wasn’t out of line.

However, He Yuxiu wasn’t going to be reasonable today: "I am indeed going to stop you; I will not allow you to conduct the examination."

The Straw Moth Lady wasn’t intimidated: "If you’re willing to risk your reputation as a local deity, we can fight it out right here!"

Just as the two were about to engage, Ma Wu intervened to stop He Yuxiu: "Sister Xiu, it’s not worth it. Miss, how may I address you?"

Their eyes met sharply, and the lady seemed a bit shy, lowering her head as she replied, "I’m A Rou."

"A Rou, let’s step aside for a word." Ma Wu kept his gaze on A Rou.

"Make it quick." A Rou, feeling uneasy under his gaze, still followed Ma Wu.

After Ma Wu went to deal with A Rou, an old man soon arrived at the plot.

The old man greeted He Yuxiu with clasped hands: "Are you the local deity here?"

He Yuxiu nodded.

"Please have a seat; I have something to discuss with you." The old man used his sleeve to wipe a stone stump clean and invited He Yuxiu to sit down.