Dropping Qiu Hongyan's head, the expressionless Zhou Ming looked up at the Land Spirit, who also had an indifferent expression.
"Land Spirit, how is it?"
The Land Spirit descended from mid-air and respectfully bowed to Zhou Ming, saying, "Master."
Zhou Ming placed his hand on the Land Spirit's head, gently stroking his small head, and finally couldn't help but burst into hearty laughter, feeling extremely joyful.
After all the meticulous planning, he finally possessed a Blessed Land of his own!
"Land Spirit, take me on a tour of the Blessed Land. I need to fully understand everything about this Blessed Land," Zhou Ming commanded.
"Yes, Master."
After recognizing Zhou Ming as its master, Water Ripple Land Spirit still looked like a five or six-year-old boy, delicate and adorable.
What was entirely different from before was his attitude towards Zhou Ming, which was now filled with reverence and admiration, a stark contrast to before he recognized his master.
Following Zhou Ming's command, Water Ripple Land Spirit led Zhou Ming to the top floor of the palace.
"This is the center of the entire Blessed Land, and also where my previous master cultivated during his lifetime. It contains Immortal Essence and the Immortal Gu—Water Ripple—that my previous master left behind."
Zhou Ming looked up and saw a jade platform in the center of this high pavilion. On the jade platform was a large jade bowl, filled with greenish Immortal Essence liquid, and individual Green Grape Immortal Essence like green grapes.
This was the Immortal Essence that only a Rank Six Gu Immortal could possess—Green Grape Immortal Essence.
After a Gu Master becomes a Gu Immortal, Immortal Essence is automatically produced within his body, but the amount produced each year is limited. Therefore, every Gu Immortal must be meticulous in calculating his Immortal Essence usage to avoid running out all at once.
"Currently, there are still thirty-eight Green Grape Immortal Essence in the Blessed Land. Since my previous master has been dead for thirty years, it has been two hundred and forty years in the Blessed Land. Although I have diligently managed it and earned immortal essence stones during these years, there were always times when I was unable to cope, and I could only consume Green Grape Immortal Essence to overcome difficulties."
After a Gu Immortal dies, the Blessed Land formed loses the ability to continue producing Immortal Essence. If there are no other means of replenishment, it can only consume its reserves until the Blessed Land is destroyed.
The common method for Gu Immortals to replace Immortal Essence is immortal essence stones.
Immortal Essence cannot circulate and cannot be used by other Gu Immortals, but immortal essence stones are universally used by all Gu Immortals. One Immortal Essence stone is equivalent to one Green Grape Immortal Essence and is the primary circulating currency for Gu Immortals.
"To have endured two hundred and forty years, managed the Blessed Land well, and still have thirty-eight Green Grape Immortal Essence left, you've done very well."
Zhou Ming stroked the Land Spirit's small head and praised him.
A Gu Immortal's Immortal Aperture Blessed Land has an independent tributary of time, and its flow rate is different from the Gu World.
The time flow rate of Water Ripple Blessed Land is eight times that of the outside world, so thirty years outside means two hundred and forty years in the Blessed Land.
Zhou Ming had spent many days in the Blessed Land, but the time in the Gu World was very short. If the Main God Space was also considered, the time difference would be ridiculously huge!
The interval between missions this time was a full 180 days, but it was still only ten days in the Main God Space. So, the time ratio between the Gu World and the Main God Space is eighteen to one, and Water Ripple Blessed Land and the Gu World is eight to one, expanding the time flow ratio with the Main God Space to one hundred and forty-four to one!
One day in the Main God Space is equivalent to spending a full one hundred and forty-four days in Water Ripple Blessed Land!
Suddenly, Zhou Ming had much more abundant time.
The Land Spirit was greatly pleased by Zhou Ming's praise and joyfully said, "Master, look up. That on the ceiling is Water Ripple Immortal Gu."
Zhou Ming looked up and saw a giant crystal glass lamp above the jade platform, hanging like a chandelier in the center of the ceiling, emitting a soft blue light.
He hadn't noticed it before, but now looking closely, he realized that the blue light emanating from the glass lamp was actually a fist-sized jellyfish, suspended in the glass lamp as if in the sea, its skirt-like edges fluctuating, and the blue light swaying, creating a very dreamlike scene.
"The function of Water Ripple Immortal Gu is to stir up water waves, but my previous master generally did not use this Immortal Gu. Instead, he developed an Immortal Aperture Gu formation, using it as the core of the Gu formation to regulate the Immortal Aperture and increase the production of resources cultivated within it."
Water Ripple Land Spirit explained, "When my previous master was alive, he could increase overall resource output by thirty percent. After he died, I couldn't perfectly control the Gu formation like him, so I can only increase resource output by one and a half percent."
"My business methods are also not as good as my previous master's. In recent years, transactions in Treasure Yellow Heaven have only barely maintained a balance of payments, and sometimes I was even deceived by Gu Immortals, suffering a great loss."
"But now that I have you, Master, there's nothing to worry about. You will surely be able to manage the Blessed Land as well as before!"
After blaming himself, Water Ripple Land Spirit became very happy again, speaking to Zhou Ming with a look of reverence.
Zhou Ming gazed at the Water Ripple Immortal Gu for a while, not acting rashly. He couldn't use this Immortal Gu right now, so there was no need to move it. It was better to leave it here, maintain its original state, and continue to increase the Blessed Land's production.
"How many immortal essence stones are there in the Blessed Land now?" Zhou Ming asked.
"Master, there are eighty-eight in total."
"That many?" Zhou Ming was startled.
"Yes, it has been seven years since the last Earthly Calamity, and these are all what I have accumulated again in these past few years."
"Generally speaking, before an Earthly Calamity, the immortal essence stones in the Blessed Land are at their most abundant, because when an Earthly Calamity is imminent, I will sell off a large amount of resources in the Blessed Land to exchange for a large number of immortal essence stones to pass the Earthly Calamity. And immediately after passing an Earthly Calamity, it is when immortal essence stones are at their lowest, and the Blessed Land's foundation is at its worst."
The Land Spirit slowly explained.
"So you reduce the power of the Earthly Calamity by depleting the Blessed Land's foundation. To have endured so many Earthly Calamities and still maintain its current level, it seems Guo Nan truly had a knack for managing a Blessed Land during his lifetime."
Earthly Calamities and Heavenly Tribulations are problems that every Gu Immortal must face.
Gu Immortals open their Immortal Apertures, bearing immense fortune, and Heavenly Dao's balance reduces this fortune through Heavenly Tribulations and Earthly Calamities.
A Rank Six Gu Immortal's Immortal Aperture must undergo an Earthly Calamity every ten years and a Heavenly Tribulation every hundred years. Successfully passing three Heavenly Tribulations allows him to become a Rank Seven Gu Immortal.
After a Gu Immortal dies, his Immortal Aperture transforms into a Blessed Land, which still suffers Heavenly Tribulations and Earthly Calamities, but can no longer advance. It can only endure one calamity after another until the day it is completely destroyed.
The power of each Heavenly Tribulation and Earthly Calamity is different. The deeper the Blessed Land's foundation, the more Immortal Essence, Immortal Gu, and resources it has, the greater the power of the Heavenly Tribulation and Earthly Calamity it suffers. Conversely, the smaller the power.
Some Blessed Lands, riddled with wounds from calamities, might experience calamity power less than half of normal, yet still survive round after round of calamities, barely clinging to existence.
After Guo Nan's death, Water Ripple Blessed Land endured for a full two hundred and forty years, which means it very likely passed two Heavenly Tribulations and over twenty Earthly Calamities solely through the power of the Land Spirit!
The most commendable thing is that it still operates normally to this day, without any hidden dangers, and its resources are still very abundant. For a Blessed Land left by a Rank Six Gu Immortal, this is truly not easy.
"Master, these are the Immortal Dao Legacies left by my previous master. One is his own Water Path Legacy, and another is a Food Path Legacy he obtained by chance early in his life. There are also miscellaneous items such as Dream Path research and Aperture management. Please take a look, Master."
The Land Spirit then presented the Legacies to Zhou Ming, all carried by various Information Path Gu worms. The content was extensive. After a quick scan, Zhou Ming joyfully instructed the Land Spirit to put them away and preserve them well.
To inherit these Legacies, Zhou Ming would need to spend a significant amount of time studying.
"Take me to see the resources in the Blessed Land," Zhou Ming said.
"Yes, Master."
The Land Spirit again teleported Zhou Ming, bringing him above a vast sea.
"In this sea area, Dragonfish groups are primarily raised. The Desolate Beast Dragonfish you saw earlier lives here, and it is also the only Desolate Beast in the Blessed Land."
"That Desolate Beast Dragonfish was indeed intentionally placed there by you," Zhou Ming asked. "But I noticed that Desolate Beast Dragonfish seemed a bit off, overly sluggish. Was it specifically bred that way?"
"Yes, Master. Although Dragonfish are inherently docile and not very aggressive, they are still Desolate Beasts. Once they go wild, they can still cause some damage to the Blessed Land."
"My previous master worried that I wouldn't be able to control the Desolate Beast Dragonfish after his death, so he made that Desolate Beast Dragonfish appear foolish and dazed before he died. Although its intelligence decreased somewhat, it is obedient, and it hasn't caused any problems over the years. Several times, it was even relied upon to pass calamities."
The Land Spirit whistled into the sea, and the enormous Desolate Beast Dragonfish quickly surfaced, slowly swimming and stirring up waves.
"Very good, take me to the next place," Zhou Ming nodded in satisfaction.
The Land Spirit obeyed and led Zhou Ming to another sea area. Here, the main inhabitants were pearl fish, azure jade crucian carp, and bubble fish. These three types of fish were raised together, so this sea area was much larger than the area dedicated to Dragonfish farming.
"Pearl fish feed on pearls, azure jade crucian carp feed on jade, and bubble fish can increase the production of Gu worms. These three fish groups complement each other well."
"However, how to make them coexist peacefully and maintain an ecological harmony requires rich breeding experience. Guo Nan's Immortal Aperture management truly has its own unique system."
Besides these two large-scale aquaculture sea areas, there were many other types of fish that were not specially cultivated in designated sea areas but were allowed to grow naturally, forming a complete ecological food chain.
Various fish, shrimp, and shellfish, along with other marine life, often gave birth to wild Gu worms. All things considered, this was a considerable resource.
Additionally, there were Hairy Men tribes in the Blessed Land, totaling over twelve thousand Hairy Men residing there. These Hairy Men lived in small groups of a few hundred or a few thousand, scattered across various small islands, forming dozens of different villages and towns.
"My previous master said that Hairy Men should not be too united, otherwise they would become disobedient. So, they must be dispersed, forming individual villages and towns, each confined to a small circle. This allows for communication and competition among them, preventing them from uniting, which better maintains our rule."
The Land Spirit introduced to Zhou Ming.
"He's right; he truly understood this system very well," Zhou Ming said, stroking the Land Spirit's head, his tone leisurely.