Lord of Puro

Chapter 710: Carrying Soil and Received the Title
Ai was blown far away. Looking at her flying trajectory, Qiu Luoye put down the washboard, thinking that she would never come back.

But at night, Ai came back.

She brought Ayun, Along and a group of villagers to pull several carts of coal and bricks from the mountains. Everyone who participated in the work was given two dollars.

Li Banfeng was quite curious: "Is there any place to spend money in this village?"

"Yes, there are many places to spend money!" Ah Yun introduced, "Villagers have to spend money to buy things from each other, and old villagers sometimes go out for a walk, which also costs money."

"Where can I go?"

“I go to both inland and out-of-state, but the place I go to most often is the Prosperity.”

While the two were talking, coal from the cart came down, picked up bricks and built a house for Ai.

Li Banfeng is a man who has seen the world. In Pro Province, he has seen many things like puppets and stone men being used as thugs and laborers. Li Banfeng has seen this kind of thing happen many times.

But he was a little confused about the situation of using coal to build a house directly with bricks.

Li Banfeng squatted beside the coal and saw smoke coming out of the coal. He carried the bricks upstairs. There was also a coal block next to him who was responsible for mixing the mud. They cooperated with each other and quickly repaired the wall that was blown up by Li Banfeng.

A piece of coal was very small. After moving several bricks, its body was completely burned, leaving a wisp of ash, and came to Ai.

Ayi took out a glass bottle, collected the ashes, and asked softly, "What do you want to do in your next life?"

Li Banfeng turned on the spiritual sound and heard the voice in the bottle.

The flying ash said, "I want to be a human being."

Ayi smiled and said, "It's not that easy. First be a bug for a lifetime, then see if you can become a beast, and then think about becoming a human. Do you think it's okay?"

Fei Hui was very stubborn. He kept saying, "I just want to be a human being."

Ayi sighed, "Well, I'll take you to the coal yard tomorrow, and you'll have to work as a coal miner for another lifetime before trying your luck again."

The soot in the bottle agreed.

Li Banfeng sat next to Ayi, looked at the bottle and asked, "If I spend another lifetime as a coal miner, will I be able to be a human being in the next life?"

Ayi shook his head and said, "It's hard to say. There are countless lumps of coal on the hill behind Hulu Village. It depends on what kind of coal he will be reborn into in his next life. If it's a good piece of coal, maybe it can really help him grow up."

Li Banfeng still didn't quite understand: "Whether the coal from Hulu Mountain can be grown into a human being, is it up to you to decide?"

Ayi shook his head and said, "It is not up to me to decide. It is up to their own spirituality. A piece of coal can gather a lot of spirituality, but it doesn't change much. Choosing to be a coal in the next life is a very risky thing. When you become a piece of coal, you may have 10,000 spirituality at the beginning, but you may cultivate for a lifetime, and in the end you may still only have 10,000 spirituality.
But it’s different when you’re a bug. You may only have 300 to 500 spiritual power at first, but that grows fast. By the end of your life, it may have grown to more than 1,000, or 30,000 or 20,000. Or it may not grow at all and die just after breaking the eggshell. No one can tell.”

"You really didn't explain it clearly. I don't understand at all," Li Banfeng asked Meihui, "Do you want to be a coal block in your next life to leave a higher starting point?"

The coal ash didn't respond. Ayi laughed at Li Banfeng: "Are you stupid? What are you talking to a pile of coal ash?"

The coal blocks burned out one by one, and when the last piece of coal turned into coal ash and flew into Ayi's bottle, Ayi's house was also repaired.

The method of using the coal blocks was a bit rough, and traces of repair were clearly visible on the wall that was damaged by Li Banfeng's blast.

Ayi wasn't picky, she called Qiu Luoye: "It's fine as long as it's habitable, why build it so beautifully? Wife, let's go home!"

Li Banfeng carefully inspected the house and said, "It is indeed well built. I will blow it up."

Ayi smiled at Qiu Luoye and said, "Look how good my brother is at telling jokes. He wanted to blow up the house I just repaired."

Qiu Luoye asked: "Why do you think he is joking?"

Ai was stunned for a moment and saw Li Banfeng had already gone upstairs with the explosives.

Ayi quickly rushed upstairs: "Brother, there is something I haven't taught you yet. We need to be able to control our skills. Please change the place where you want to fry!"

……

That night, Ayi carefully taught Li Banfeng the key points of how to control himself.

"The key to being able to control your energy lies in the order in which you do things. Regardless of big things, just take the small things like eating, drinking, defecating and urinating. As long as you do things in the right order, you can control your energy.

Cook before eating, boil water before drinking, and check if there is anyone else inside before going to the toilet. This is called order. Don’t underestimate these things. In fact, there is a lot of knowledge in every matter.”

Li Banfeng thought about it for a long time and felt that this process was still a bit abstract.

Ayi said impatiently: "Let me give you an example, how do you usually do things with your wife!"

Li Banfeng puffed out his chest and said, "Do it! And then it's done!"

Ayi spat at Li Banfeng: "Is this how you treat your wife? How will she live after marrying you? There is a lot of knowledge here. I will teach you step by step..."

The next morning, Li Banfeng learned the order of doing things and felt that his thinking was much clearer.

But after sorting out the order one by one, Li Banfeng discovered an important problem: "Sister, we are not really not crazy anymore, we are just pretending not to be crazy."

Ai Yi smiled and said, "If you are not crazy, you can't enter our door at all. And I tell you, there are always many crazy people in this world. They just pretend not to be crazy in front of others. When they are alone, they may be crazier than us!
You still have to continue learning the important things of the Crazy Monk Sect. If you have nothing to do in the next two days, come with me and walk around the village."

Li Banfeng followed Ayi around the village for a few days and discovered two things.

First, there is indeed a big difference between the state of the villagers of Hulu Village when they are alone and when they are in front of others.

Second, Hulu Village is very big, much bigger than Li Banfeng imagined.

In addition to the gourd head, gourd waist and gourd belly, Hulu Village also gave birth to many small gourds, which formed coal mountains, mines and countless woodlands and grasslands.

Ayi reminded: "Don't come to these woods casually. I got lost here before."

Li Banfeng shook his head and said, "You are worrying too much. I am also a traveler in the clouds. How could I get lost in the woods?"

"Is Lu Xiu so great?" Ayi snorted. "Lu Xiu can recognize the road because he can remember the direction and the road he has walked before. These forests change every day, and the direction of Hulu Village also changes every day. It is not uncommon for Lu Xiu to get lost here."

Ayi took Li Banfeng into a forest and wrote the word "Yi" on a pine tree.

This is a mark. Li Banfeng asked: "Are you afraid of getting lost?"

Ai shook her head. "This pine tree was originally the end of the forest, but it is no longer the end now. This proves that the location of the tree has changed. It may also be that the forest itself has grown."

"The forest has grown?" Li Banfeng looked into the depths of the forest. He seemed to hear some whispers in the heavy fog.

Ai said: "The land can grow, but this is not a technology I developed. It is a technology from Neizhou. I have studied it for a long time and have learned seven points, but there are still three points to learn."

Li Banfeng asked Ayi: "Which three points haven't you learned?"

Ayi grabbed a handful of soil and gave it to Li Banfeng: "The new soil stolen from Neizhou can also grow in Hulu Village.

But I really haven’t learned how to create new soil that can grow.”

Li Banfeng thought for a moment and said, "Then why not take some time to go to Neizhou to study?"

Ayi smiled and said, "You know what? I'm free these two days. Brother, there are many big figures in Pro Province who have been studying the boundary for many years. They all think that the boundary is the key to controlling Pro Province. What do you think?"

Li Banfeng had thought about this question many times: "In fact, there are two key points, and there is a bigger key point, which is more important than the boundary."

……

"The biggest threat is Sun Hung Kai Properties!" He Jiaqing was shuffling a deck of cards.

He played three games with Zuo Anna, and Zuo Anna didn't win a single game.

Zuo Anna watched He Jiaqing shuffling the cards carefully and asked, "Why do you think the biggest threat to Pro Province is the new land, not the boundary?" He Jiaqing drew a three of spades from the cards and said, "This is a Pro Province man who was a white lamb at first, and then became a land cultivator with the help of a peddler.
Under the peddler's special rule system, there are plenty of opportunities in Pro Province. No matter how humble a person's background is, as long as he seizes the opportunity, he may become a ninth-level cultivator."

As he spoke, the cards in He Jiaqing's hand changed from the three of spades to the nine of spades. The whole process was without any unnecessary movements, and the cards changed directly in front of Zuo Anna.

"When reaching the ninth level of the earth, a cultivator will face a problem that cannot be avoided. The cultivator must go to the inner state to be reborn, and both the body and mind must undergo tremendous changes."

The card in He Jiaqing's hand changed from the Nine of Spades to the Ten of Diamonds: "This change is fatal, it is fatal to the entire Pro Province. This cultivator cultivated by Pro Province not only failed to become the guardian of Pro Province, but was controlled by Neizhou and became the fighting force of Neizhou to invade Pro Province."

Zuo Anna took the Ten of Diamonds from He Jiaqing and examined it carefully: "You are being a little absolute. As far as I know, not every ninth-level cultivator has to go to Inner Province to advance to the tenth level. Many people skip this step, including you.
The peddler should know how to skip ten floors. If he is generous enough, he should be able to popularize this method, which will solve this key problem. "

He Jiaqing smiled and said, "You are not from Prozhou. The main enemy you face is not Shang State, but Tufang State, so you have never thought deeply about this issue.

There are many ways to cross the ten levels, but each method cannot escape the problem that after being promoted to the cloud, you need the earth to maintain your status and gather popularity.
This means that all those who have passed the tenth level must seize land from the existing local gods, or accidentally discover unowned land. The latter is a low-probability event and is not under discussion. Seizing land from the existing local gods is not something that ordinary cultivators can do. "

Zuo Anna stroked the cards in her hand and nodded slightly, "You are right. Xindi is a restriction that Pro Province cannot get around. But as far as I know, many local gods who returned from Neizhou still maintain their hostility towards Shangguo and their loyalty to Pro Province."

He Jiaqing shook his head and said, "That's just an emotional expression. They have been abused in Shangguo, so it must be difficult to make them always remember the good things about Neizhou.
But if the Shang Kingdom changed its strategy, and they took out all the deeds of the new land, threatened the local gods with their lives, and asked them to carry out a mission together, do you think they would refuse?"

He Jiaqing waved his hand, and the poker in Zuo Anna's hand changed from the ten of diamonds to the ten of hearts: "At this time they will not refuse, they will become Shang people from head to toe,

However, these people are the real elites of Prosperity State. It is because Prosperity State cannot provide these elites with the necessary conditions for growth that today’s result has occurred.”

Zuo Anna placed the playing cards on the table and nodded slightly, "Is this why you want to go to Chaoge again to steal the contract?"

He Jiaqing put away the playing cards: "You can understand it as my personal ambition, but this is indeed to fight for opportunities in Provo."

Zuo Anna nodded and said, "I can take you to Chaoge."

"That's far from enough. The situation in Chaoge is different from before. Wenyuan Pavilion must have stepped up its guard. It's even possible that the contract is no longer in Wenyuan Pavilion and has been moved to another place. I need your cooperation and help. I need news about Chaoge, not just a ride."

Zuo Anna thought for a long time: "If this is the case, we need to take more risks and devote more resources. I'm afraid this help is not free."

He Jiaqing spread out the cards and showed them to Zuo Anna: "Pick a few cards and make a list for me, and I can give you some of the deeds of the local gods."

Zuo Anna calculated for a long time and pulled out three poker cards: "This is the price I offer. I will inform you of the specific list after consulting my superiors."

……

Shang State, Bocheng.

Bocheng, originally named Bodu, is the oldest capital of the Shang Dynasty. Although its buildings are old and its population is not large, the city is larger than Chaoge.

The city still retains the layout of the nine-gate capital of the Shang Dynasty. Inside the ninth gate is a huge circular altar where Qiao Yi is presiding over a ceremony.

This sacrifice was different from previous ones, which usually only lasted three days, but this time it would last for a full ten days, without any interruption in between. At this moment, Qiao Yi remained awake, while Xie Gong and Zhu Jin were sleeping. The three of them took turns back and forth, allowing the sacrifice to proceed smoothly for seven days.

In the center of the altar, soil gushed out from time to time. The priest led his men, chanted blessings, offered sacrifices, and then performed singing and dancing, and rewarded the sacrifices to the ministers who participated in the ceremony.

The same process has to be repeated continuously. The priest also has three heads, but his workload is much greater than Qiao Yi's, and he can't hold on any longer.

The soil in the center of the altar piled up into a small hill. The priest didn't know what Qiao Yi wanted to do with so much soil. He relied on elixirs to struggle for three days. The ceremony was finally over. The priest led his men and handed the soil on the altar to Qiao Yi.

Qiao Yi checked the quality of the soil and ordered people to send the soil to the pastoral garden at the eight city gates.

The Pastoral Garden was originally a place for royal grazing and hunting. The Pastoral Garden in Bocheng is quite special. It is connected to the entrance to Prozhou, a random entrance.

The new soil from the altar is called seed soil. It needs to be processed and treated to a certain extent in the pasture before it can be directly put into Prozhou through the entrance.

These seeds will grow rapidly in the Prostate, and this is how the new land is born.

In the past, Luo Yanjun was in charge of processing and handling the soil, but now the Luo family was in a special situation, so Qiao Yi handed this critical task over to his confidant Yang Yueze.

This must be done quickly. Once the seeds leave the altar, they must be placed in Pro Province within five hours, otherwise the seeds will lose their activity.

"Baa!" After two hours, Yang Yueze let out a long cry and shook his horns, indicating that his mission had been completed and the seeds had been planted in Pro Province.

The ministers all felt that Yang Yueze was efficient and decisive in his work, and they all praised him.

In fact, Yang Yueze only did half of the job. He had prepared the planting soil, but did not put it into Pro Province. He distributed the planting soil to thirteen local gods who were ready to take office and were waiting for Qiao Yi's orders.

When the ministers left the hunting garden and prepared to return to Chaoge, Qiao Yi came to the attic and assigned tasks to the thirteen local gods.

"When the Shang Dynasty enfeoffed the heads of the 100 li, the enfeoffment had always been for the land. Today, I will risk my life to make an exception and allow you to bring the land to be enfeoffed."

When Qiao Yi said this, Yang Yueze was scared.

To be granted a title to a new land means to first develop the land, and then let the local gods take the deeds and then take up their posts on the new land. This was the custom in the Shang Dynasty.

To be enthroned with soil means that the local god is required to bring soil to Puro State and spread the soil himself. After the new land is formed, he will directly become the local god.

For the Shang State, carrying land to receive a fief was very risky, because no one could guarantee where these local gods would take the land or to whom they would give it.

But it is not without precedent that someone was granted a title by carrying soil with him. Qixiu Gouweicao was a local god in Xindi who was granted a title by carrying soil with him. The reason why he was allowed to be granted a title by carrying soil with him was to monitor the Green Water Beggar.

After Cheng Tu was granted a title, the seed soil was directly dumped into Purozhou. The entrance to the pastoral garden was very special. After the soil was taken out, the location where it was dumped was random. In other words, the Shang State had no idea where the new land would be formed.

But when receiving a title, the person could choose the spot to spread the soil himself. Dogtail Grass arranged his new land next to Green Water Bay, so that he could complete the task of monitoring the Green Water Beggar well.

This was what he had envisioned at first, but the result was not satisfactory. Around Green Water Beggar, the new land of Foxtail Grass was eaten up, and he almost lost his status. Under the coercion of Green Water Beggar, he became a thug and eventually died at the hands of Li Banfeng.

Now Qiao Yi asked the thirteen local gods to receive the title together with their lands. There was only one reason for this: he wanted to connect these thirteen pieces of land.

After experiencing the theft of the deed, Qiao Yi came to a conclusion that He Jiaqing's idea was feasible. If the thirteen new pieces of land were connected together and eventually handed over to one person to command and reclaim them into legitimate land, an empire could be established in Pro Province.

Of course, this cannot be said openly, and these thirteen local gods must be carefully selected.

The thirteen people selected by Qiao Yi have suffered all kinds of torture in Shang State and no longer consider themselves as human beings. Normally, as long as the Shang people smile at them, they will be grateful and even willing to die for them.

Now Qiao Yi allowed them to receive the title with their land, which was a great favor to them that they could not even imagine in their lifetime.

Time was running out, so Qiao Yi called out the most loyal person among the thirteen people: "Liu Bufei, today you are appointed as General Fenwu, leading the twelve leaders of Baili to suppress the rebellion and protect the mountains and rivers!"

Liu Bufei knelt on the ground and kowtowed.

The other twelve local gods were also given the title of general. They followed Liu Bufei in kowtowing. They couldn't stop until their heads were covered in blood.

Qiao Yi ordered his people to prepare wine to see them off. After sending these thirteen local gods away, Qiao Yi, who was extremely sleepy, returned to his mansion and fell into a deep sleep.

As soon as he fell asleep, Xie Gong woke up quickly. This was a unique connection between the three of them; they could not fall asleep at the same time.

Xie Gong carefully sensed the condition of Qiao Yi and Zhu Jin, and they were both sleeping soundly.

After resting for a while, Xie Gong walked out of the mansion and took people for a walk around. He learned that the ministers who participated in the sacrifice were already on their way back to Chaoge. Xie Gong felt that this was unusual.

The sacrifice has lasted for ten whole days, but Qiao Yi has not left yet. Did he do something?
Xie Gong looked at Qiao Yi's face in the mirror. The sleeping Qiao Yi made him feel more and more unfamiliar.

A spider crawled quickly past the mirror.

Xie Gong originally wanted to crush the spider to death, but suddenly someone came to report that the car and boat were ready, and asked Xie Gong whether he wanted to set off back to Chaoge.

Should I go or not?
Xie Gong wanted to stay in Bocheng to continue his investigation, but was afraid of arousing Qiao Yi's suspicion.

While I was struggling, the spider had already run away.

(End of this chapter)