Li Banfeng held the peach with one hand just as He Yuxiu was about to sit down, preventing her from touching the stone block.

He Yuxiu blushed: "Brother Seven, in front of so many people, what are you doing?"

Li Banfeng said to the old man: "You’re Weng Fangqu, right?"

The old man nodded: "You have a good eye."

"Are you here for the examination too?"

"I have an invitation, given by Rong Si Jiao!"

Rong Si Jiao, also a local deity of the new land.

Weng Fangqu’s cultivation level is generally around the Seventh Layer, Li Banfeng once dealt with a Weng Fangqu, these wandering monsters are very troublesome.

Just like He Yuxiu, if she had sat on that stone block earlier, it would have meant receiving the service of Weng Fangqu; once served three times, she’d have to wait for Weng Fangqu to settle the score.

Li Banfeng definitely wouldn’t let Weng Fangqu into the territory, if he did get in, those sincere three-headed people would be toyed with to death.

"Old man, don’t rush the examination, I have something to discuss with you..." Li Banfeng hadn’t persuaded Weng Fangqu yet when a cook appeared behind him.

Li Banfeng knew this cook, he was under Meng Yuchun.

"Brother, you’re here too?" Li Banfeng was at a loss for words.

Upon seeing Li Banfeng, the cook promptly saluted: "Seventh Master, is this your territory? Then I won’t stay."

"Don’t rush," Li Banfeng asked, "Did you come for the examination too on invitation?"

The cook nodded: "I have a friendship with the local deity Sha Dingzhong, he invited me, and I’ve discussed it with Miss Meng, she granted permission."

"Sha Dingzhong was sent by Inner State’s orders to deliberately stir things up, right?" Li Banfeng remembered He Haiqin mentioned that some local deities were coming to seize territory, Sha Dingzhong, Chu Yaoxian, and Rong Si Jiao among them.

"I really don’t know about that," the cook dared not speak rashly, saluting again: "Seventh Master, I won’t disturb you further."

"Brother, don’t go yet, there are some things I don’t fully understand, I need your guidance," Li Banfeng stopped the cook, "If no suitable person arrives for examination on a piece of territory, can we simply skip the examination, and the local deity acknowledges it, considering the pioneer succeeded?"

Li Banfeng asked the right person, the cook was well-informed, and having roamed the new land for years, he knew a lot: "Seventh Master, pioneering must have an examination, bypass the examination, it surely won’t succeed."

"The local deity acknowledges, didn’t the pioneering succeed then?"

The cook shook his head repeatedly: "People misunderstand pioneering a lot, they think when the local deity nods, the pioneering succeeds,

but if the territory doesn’t acknowledge it, the pioneering of that territory won’t succeed, the illuminated boundary won’t extinguish,

the pioneers within the boundary can’t come out, coming out counts as a pioneering failure, outside pioneers can’t go in, even if they do, their participation in pioneering won’t count."

"The territory must have a response." Li Banfeng dissected the concept carefully.

"Seventh Master, I’m only half-informed on this matter, I’ll tell you what I know," the cook explained earnestly, "The local deity is a master of the land; to be a local deity, one must first be familiar with the territory."

Li Banfeng knew this.

Ascending above the clouds, becoming a local deity, requires extreme familiarity with the territory, stabilizing one’s position through it.

The cook continued: "Becoming familiar with the territory is the process of mutual contact with it, mutual response between the territory and oneself; only when the territory responds, does it acknowledge this master."

Listening to the cook’s explanation, Li Banfeng gained some understanding.

The cook further stated: "Pioneering is the same, selecting a small plot for the territory, establishing a small landlord,

this small landlord needs the local deity’s acknowledgment, also the territory’s acknowledgment, the examination is the process by which pioneers gain recognition from both the deity and the territory,

Seventh Master, consider if you were the territory, I were the local deity, I invite a friend, carve out a land, declaring it his, I nod approval, ignoring whether you agree or not, would you be at ease?

If you’re not at ease, the pioneering surely fails, a rift may even form between the territory and the deity, to be blunt, it’s the territory’s anger,

such occurrences lead to deeper rifts between territory and deity, over time the territory ceases to recognize this deity. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

I once encountered such, a local deity near Black Stone Slope, annually many opened land there, he was quite amiable, approachable, many Puluo State families were willing to send their people for pioneering,

but this person was impatient for success, hastily making his territory a proper land, examinations were perfunctory, some plots even lacked examinations, given straight away,

at the time, over three thousand plots of wilderness were opened in his territory, many believed his territory could truly become proper land, to their surprise, one day, his contract book emerged from the earth,

that local deity was unaware at first, later feeling unwell, but it was too late, the contract book surfaced, his cultivation level dropped, and due to untimely response, his soul got damaged, turning into a wounded demon fiend, a promising territory lost like that,

it’s an example of territory retaliating against the local deity, hence, Seventh Master, take examination seriously."

Li Banfeng asked: "If encountering territory without strange monsters, truly unable to examine, does that wilderness remain forever unopened?"

The cook shook his head: "Seventh Master, I’ve explained much, but mainly want to say – the territory possesses spirit attributes, you must treat the territory like a living person,