Fang Yuan stood silently, gazing at the massive bronze main hall before him. A flicker of nostalgia crossed his eyes."So… it's here."
Stretching out behind him was a sea of dog beasts—nearly three hundred thousand strong—lined up in perfect formation, an obedient army made entirely of canines.
"It's already been six months," Fang Yuan murmured, eyes still fixed on the grand structure ahead.
Behind him sat three untouched Gu Worms—Rank 5 Enslavement Gu and Slavery Gu—placed deliberately, making it appear as though King Quan's inheritance remained undisturbed.
But Fang Yuan knew better. The moment he took those Gu Worms, the yellow pillar standing outside San Cha Mountain would vanish—an undeniable signal to the world that King Quan's inheritance had been claimed.
"But that's not what I want." His voice was quiet, thoughtful, as he stepped forward toward the bronze hall.
Six months had passed within the Blessed Land, though only two had passed in the outside world.
In his previous life, he was still tangled within the affairs of the Shang Clan at this time. But now, in this second life, he had already uncovered and nearly claimed the King Quan inheritance—just one step away from completion.
All he had to do was take those Gu Worms.
Walking calmly into the hall, Fang Yuan made his way to its side.
The structure was made of dark blue bronze blocks—large, plain, ancient. Moss crept along the seams, a testament to the countless years they had withstood the passage of time.
A rumbling voice echoed suddenly."I didn't expect someone to arrive so soon."
From within the shadows, a massive tortoise slowly opened its aged eyes and stared at Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan returned the gaze, his lips curling ever so slightly in an inward smirk.
The creature was the size of a small house, with a thin, jade-green shell on its back. Its legs were thick like tree trunks, almost elephantine, and two dragon-like whiskers extended from either side of its face.
'Stubborn beast,' Fang Yuan thought.
He faced the huge tortoise calmly, "Land spirit Ba Gui, you finally awakened from your slumber."
"You know me?" The huge tortoise's voice created vibrations as there was some suspicion in its eyes.
"That's right, I know you, and I also know the secret of this blessed land." Fang Yuan nodded, walking in the hall with his hands behind his back.
"This blessed land originated from an ancient strength path Gu Immortal. The Gu Immortal protected the blessed land, resisting calamities and tribulations, but eventually, he died in one of the tribulations. His dying wish gathered with this blessed land's heavenly power, formed the land spirit. That is you, Ba Gui. As long as I complete his wish before he died, I can become the new owner of this blessed land, am I right about that?"
Fang Yuan spoke openly, not beating about the bush.
Although the land spirit is formed from the Gu Immortal, it is no longer human, but merely the immortal's will.
The huge tortoise nodded: "That's right, his final wish before dying is also the blessed land's test. As long as you can complete it, you can become my master."
"And the contents of this wish, is to refine the second aperture Gu right?" Fang Yuan followed.
This blessed land's original master, was a strength path Gu Immortal, he created the recipe for second aperture Gu. But right before the crucial step, he died in a tribulation.
After he died, this final obsession became the land spirit.
That is, the huge tortoise before Fang Yuan now.
To complete this wish, the huge tortoise had been waiting aimlessly. But time passed, and no one that fulfilled the criteria showed up.
This fated person, had to be a strength path Gu Master, owned beast phantoms, and also strong to a degree.
Next, this strength path Gu Master had to be on the brink of death to receive this opportunity.
This is because, the blessed land's previous owner had a lot of lingering grudge and hatred, refusing to let others gain his fortune so easily.
But time passed, and the calamities and tribulations continued to occur.
The land spirit Ba Gui could not find a suitable strength path Gu Master.
To preserve its immortal essence, it could only choose to slumber helplessly.
The wide and huge blessed land, after many calamities and tribulations, had shrunk to less than one percent of its original size.
One calamity was enough to puncture a thousand holes in the blessed land.
Thus, there was a hole created, and a path to the outside world was connected to the blessed land.
Three roaming kids came here and relied on the blessed land's resources to cultivate to fruition. These were the three kings of the demonic path.
After the three kings got their revenge, they returned to the blessed land to live.
As time passed, they got more familiar with the blessed land and were a step away from rank six.
But in the end, none of them broke through and before dying, they remodelled the place into the three kings inheritance ground.
The three kings walked on the refinement, fire, and enslavement path, none was a strength path Gu Master.
The moment the remodelling began, the land spirit was woken up.
It watched silently without stopping them. It wanted to use this inheritance to attract qualified strength path Gu Masters as well.
When the three kings inheritance opened, countless Gu Masters entered, and increased the blessed land's immortal essence expenditure. As the blessed land faced the risk of destruction, the huge tortoise awakened from its slumber.
After waking up, the first thing the land spirit sought was the fated person it was destined to find.
In the entire blessed land, there were many strength path Gu Masters. But those who fulfilled its requirements were none.
In ancient times, strength path was mainstream. But now that times have changed, strength path was eliminated, on the brink of extinction. Those who truly cultivated strength path to a high level, were even rarer.
But the land spirit never expected that, before it could find the fated person, someone would come searching for it instead.
Standing before the spirit was a young man, flanked by nearly three hundred thousand canines.
This young man might have met the spirit's criteria—if only he were near death. Yet, here he was, seeking out the land spirit of his own accord. Even more surprising, he had already completed King Quan's inheritance, though he hadn't claimed its final rewards.