The blizzard did not weaken.
It only grew stronger.
By the time Hei Lou Lan led the alliance army to the entrance of Imperial Court blessed land, half of the original number had already been lost. Some died in battle, some died to beast groups, and many more fell silently into the snow during the final march.
The grassland had become white.
The wind was like a knife.
Carriages creaked forward. Horses lowered their heads against the storm. Blue farm slug Gu crawled with swollen stomachs filled with supplies, while Gu Masters walked beside them, constantly clearing frost and warming them with fire path Gu.
Mortals collapsed from time to time.
Most were not saved.
Fang Ming watched this from the back of a crown eagle, his expression calm beneath his disguise.
Northern Plains had always been cruel. The weak died in battle, died in the blizzard, or died because saving them cost more than abandoning them. The alliance army continued forward without slowing down.
At the front, Hei Lou Lan took out the item needed to open Imperial Court blessed land.
Golden light rose.
It first formed a ring in the air, then expanded into a magnificent city gate. Silver flower patterns decorated its surface, and copper buttons shone like stars. A deep rumbling sound spread across the sky as the gate slowly opened.
The smell of sandalwood flowed out.
The snow stopped in midair.
Under a mysterious force, snow gathered together and condensed into a grand ice ladder stretching from the ground to the gate.
"Imperial Court blessed land!" Hei Lou Lan laughed loudly, unable to hide his excitement.
He was the first to ascend.
After him came Fang Yuan, Tai Bai Yun Sheng, Fang Ming, Hao Ji Liu, Pan Ping, and the other experts.
Fang Ming stepped onto the ice ladder and looked once at the world behind him.
Snow.
Death.
Cold wind.
Then he turned and walked through the gate.
The world changed.
When Fang Ming opened his eyes again, he was alone.
The blizzard was gone.
Above him was a pale golden sky. Under his feet was soft green grass. Streams curved across the land, and low mounds rose in the distance. The air was gentle, warm, and filled with the fragrance of plants.
It was almost hard to believe that deathly snow still raged outside.
Imperial Court blessed land was truly worthy of being called Northern Plains' greatest refuge.
Fang Ming stood still for a moment, letting his senses spread.
No Hei Lou Lan.
No Fang Yuan.
No alliance army.
Everyone had entered through the same gate, but they had been scattered randomly across the blessed land.
This was expected.
Fang Ming raised his hand.
A storage Gu opened, and eagle cries rang out one after another.
He had not brought all ten thousand eagles.
That would have been too difficult to manage after random transportation, and too wasteful if accidents happened. Instead, he had selected the best thousand eagles from his force before entering.
The three rank five crown eagles emerged first, spreading their wings under the golden sky.
Then came the rank four wind chaser eagles.
After that, groups of lower-rank eagles flew out, forming circles above him.
Fang Ming looked up.
"One thousand is enough for the beginning."
The real danger would come later, around Sacred Palace and Eighty-Eight True Yang Building. If he wasted his eagles before reaching that stage, he would have to spend precious time replenishing them when everyone else was already moving toward opportunity.
So his first goal was clear.
Find more eagles.
Especially high-rank mutated eagles, hawks, or similar flying beasts.
He could not afford to enter the real competition with a thinning flock.
Fang Ming sent out his first command.
The eagle group split apart.
Lower-rank eagles spread in wide arcs.
Wind chaser eagles moved farther and faster.
The crown eagles remained near him at first, guarding and anchoring the formation.
Ordinary eagles could fly more than six hundred kilometers in a day. Rank four and rank five eagles could go far beyond that. Imperial Court blessed land was vast, but not endless. With enough aerial scouting, Fang Ming estimated he could map the surrounding inheritance sites, beast groups, Gu Master locations, and useful terrain within one or two days.
This was his advantage.
Others had to travel.
He could search.
Fang Ming activated his flying Gu and rose into the air, landing on the back of a crown eagle.
From above, the blessed land opened before him.
Every few kilometers, a tall tower stood on the ground.
The towers were straight and beautiful, decorated with gold, silver, and precious gems. Their surfaces shone under the golden sky, and inside each tower were countless Gu worms.
Fang Ming's eyes lingered on them.
Gu towers.
One every four kilometers.
Each was a treasure house.
But treasure that could not be touched was not treasure for him.
He knew the rules. Gu worms born in Imperial Court blessed land gathered inside these towers, but anyone who tried to steal from them would be punished by the blessed land's heavenly power.
Fang Ming had no intention of testing that.
He had Teleport Gu, and it could not be restricted by a blessed land, but that did not mean he should act recklessly. The five immortal essence beads in his possession were emergency reserves, not toys.
He guided the crown eagle lower, passing one of the towers from a safe distance.
Inside, Gu worms crawled and fluttered.
Some were common.
Some were rare.
Fang Ming looked once, then turned away.
A greedy person died quickly in places like this.
Imperial Court blessed land had many inheritances, but not every inheritance suited him. A fire path inheritance, an ice path inheritance, or a random mortal Gu Master's legacy might look valuable to others, but Fang Ming had no need to chase everything.
His priorities were clear.
First, replenish and strengthen the eagle force.
Second, search for food path, strength path, and enslavement path inheritances.
Especially anything touching immortal level.
Everything else could wait or be ignored.
Several hours passed.
Eagle reports began returning through signals, flight patterns, and Gu communication.
A group of Gu Masters had appeared far to the west.
A herd of horned deer moved near a stream.
A small inheritance site was found near a stone ridge, but judging from the outer arrangement, it was likely earth path.
Fang Ming marked it but did not move.
A rank four wild beast group occupied a valley to the south.
Not useful.
More eagles flew back.
One wind chaser eagle cried sharply from above.
Fang Ming raised his eyes.
It had found something.
He urged the crown eagle forward.
The wind rushed past him as the land blurred below. Streams, hills, and towers passed beneath. After a while, he reached a tall cliff range where the rock face had been carved by wind into sharp layers.
Above the cliffs circled several large birds.
Fang Ming's eyes sharpened.
Hawks.
Not many.
But among them was a rank four hawk king, and behind the cliff, hidden near a cave mouth, he sensed the aura of a stronger beast.
The crown eagle beneath him gave a low cry.
A challenge.
Fang Ming restrained it with a thought.
"Not yet."
He studied the terrain.
The hawk group was not large, but it occupied a good nesting ground. There were eggs, young birds, and several adult hawks. More importantly, the hidden aura inside the cave was unusual.
Possibly injured.
Possibly old.
Possibly mutated.
Fang Ming did not rush.
Dong Fang Yu Liang's assassination had taught him nothing new, but it had confirmed an old rule: a rare beast appearing conveniently could be bait.
Inside Imperial Court blessed land, traps were also possible. Some inheritances used beasts as guards. Some Gu Masters might already be nearby. Some wild beasts had strange Gu worms.
Fang Ming sent lower-rank eagles outward to sweep the surroundings.
Then he sent two wind chaser eagles to circle behind the cliff.
Only after confirming there were no nearby Gu Masters did he move closer.
The hawks reacted immediately.
They rose from the cliff, screeching angrily.
Fang Ming did not use the crown eagles at full force. He first let the lower-rank eagles surround the area, then used the wind chaser eagles to split the hawks into smaller groups.
The rank four hawk king tried to break through.
A crown eagle descended.
The difference was immediate.
The hawk king was fast, but the crown eagle was rank five. Its wings cut through the air, forcing the hawk king downward with pure pressure.
Fang Ming activated enslavement Gu.
The first attempt failed.
He was not surprised.
The hawk king resisted fiercely, its eyes burning with wild intelligence.
Fang Ming sent another command.
The crown eagle struck it down but did not kill it.
The hawk king crashed into the cliffside, feathers scattering.
Second enslavement attempt.
This time, the Gu light entered.
The hawk king struggled for a few breaths, then slowly lowered its head.
Fang Ming exhaled softly.
Good.
A rank four hawk king was not enough to change his strength, but it was useful for rebuilding numbers and controlling the local bird group.
The remaining hawks faltered once their king submitted.
Fang Ming spent the next hour subduing the group.
Then he entered the cave.
Inside, the air was hot and dry.
Claw marks covered the stone.
At the deepest point lay a large hawk with dark bronze feathers and a broken wing. Its aura was unstable, but powerful.
A mutated beast.
Rank five battle strength.
Fang Ming's eyes lit faintly.
This was worth taking.
The mutated hawk opened its eyes and stared at him. Even injured, it gave off a fierce pressure. If Fang Ming had come alone as an ordinary enslavement path Gu Master, this would have been dangerous.
But he had three crown eagles.
He had strength path hidden in his body.
He had no need to take foolish risks.
The three crown eagles entered the cave one by one, blocking every route.
The mutated hawk let out a furious cry.
The cave shook.
Fang Ming stood behind the crown eagles and calmly activated his Gu.
The struggle lasted longer than the hawk king.
The mutated hawk's will was strong, and its injuries made it even more violent.
Several lower-rank eagles died in the cave.
One wind chaser eagle had its wing torn.
Fang Ming's expression did not change.
Losses were expected.
After repeated suppression, the mutated hawk finally weakened.
The enslavement Gu entered.
The connection formed.
Fang Ming's gaze softened slightly.
A mutated flying beast was exactly what he needed.
He had avoided bringing mutated eagles into Northern Plains openly because they attracted attention, but inside Imperial Court blessed land, the rules were different. Everyone hunted opportunities here. A gain obtained inside was easier to explain.
He placed the mutated hawk under the watch of a crown eagle and began organizing the cliff nest.
Eggs.
Young hawks.
Adult hawks.
A small aerial beast group.
This was only the beginning, but it confirmed his plan.
The blessed land was full of resources for those who could search quickly.
As evening approached, another eagle returned with a different report.
A possible inheritance site.
Not far.
The outer marks looked like beast-control patterns.
Fang Ming's eyes narrowed.
Enslavement path.
That was worth inspecting.
He gave orders for half the eagle group to remain and absorb the hawk nest, while he took the crown eagles and several wind chaser eagles toward the inheritance site.
The sun under the golden sky began to lower.
Fang Ming flew above the plains, looking over the gentle streams and scattered towers.
Imperial Court blessed land was peaceful on the surface.
But beneath that peace were beasts, inheritances, rivals, and Giant Sun's arrangements.
Fang Ming had no intention of wasting time.
Others would stumble through the land, hoping fortune guided them.
He would search from the sky.
One day.
Two days.
He would know where the opportunities were.
And when Sacred Palace opened, he would not enter with only hope.
He would enter prepared.