Eight-star authority only allows for the exchange of eight-star and below items.
However, eight-star exchange items cannot form an Immortal Gu.
In the Gu World, standing on the dreamlike blue surface of the Illusionary Wave Sea, Zhou Ming felt a pang of melancholy.
This time, he had exchanged many items from the Main God Space and brought them to the Gu World. Since he had a Blessed Land, he no longer had any reservations. Even if an Immortal Gu was formed, he could immediately return to the Blessed Land, without worrying about being targeted by other Gu Immortals.
Unfortunately, his dream of obtaining an Immortal Gu was shattered.
Exchange items valued at four to five thousand reward points could already form Rank Five Gu. However, exchange items valued at around ten thousand reward points, with an exchange Rank as high as eight stars, still formed Rank Five Gu, or… Immortal Rank Materials.
That's right, not all exchange items would form Gu. Many exchange items maintained their original state to the greatest extent possible, as if… they were meant to be that way.
'It seems that in the past, when I brought exchange items from the Main God Space to the Gu World, there truly was Star Constellation Immortal Venerable's intervention in the transformation process. But this time, Star Constellation Immortal Venerable held back.'
'Why? Is it because she realized I already knew of her existence, and thus became more restrained?'
'Tsk, it seems my acquisition of Gu Immortal Guo Nan's Blessed Land wasn't a coincidence either. It might even have been Shadow Sect's arrangement, using that Food Path Legacy to make me aware of Star Constellation Immortal Venerable's existence.'
'Unknowingly, I've already experienced the covert struggles between two massive forces.'
Pondering this, Zhou Ming turned and returned to Water Ripple Blessed Land.
The gap between Immortal Gu and Mortal Gu was simply too vast, like an unbridgeable chasm. Zhou Ming estimated that only exchange items of ten stars or above might be able to form an Immortal Gu.
To verify this theory, he would have to wait for Feng Yuanzheng to provide him with the items he requested.
"Master!"
As soon as he returned to Water Ripple Blessed Land, the Land Spirit greeted him.
His master had inexplicably vanished from the Blessed Land, and no matter how he searched, he couldn't find him. After a while of panic, his master suddenly reappeared, but after taking out some random items from his body, he looked surprised and asked him to open the Blessed Land's portal to the outside world.
Then, the Land Spirit witnessed an incredibly dazzling Gu Refinement feast.
Brand new Gu were formed one after another before his master. He had never even seen those Gu, let alone understood how his master refined them.
That incredibly miraculous scene stunned the Land Spirit and elevated the Land Spirit's reverence for his master to an even higher Rank.
"Hmm, Land Spirit, why are you so happy?" Zhou Ming asked, stroking the Land Spirit's small head.
"Master is truly amazing! I've seen many Hairy Men refine Gu, and I've seen Gu Immortals refine Gu. Neither the Hairy Men's Heaven and Earth Flow Gu Refinement method nor the Human Race's Isolation Flow Gu Refinement method is as miraculous as Master's Gu Refinement!"
The Land Spirit's large eyes sparkled with stars, and he looked up at Zhou Ming with a face full of reverence.
The Hairy Men's Heaven and Earth Flow Gu Refinement method refers to the Hairy Men's skill in utilizing the dao marks between heaven and earth to create the optimal environment for Gu Refinement, thereby increasing the chances of successful Gu Refinement.
Therefore, Hairy Men prefer to refine Gu in open natural environments, where the surrounding heaven and earth can assist their Gu Refinement.
The Human Race's Isolation Flow, on the other hand, involves focusing wholeheartedly on refining Gu with one's own power in an undisturbed environment. The advantage of this is that it reduces interfering factors, but it demands a higher Refinement Path standard from the Gu Master.
In reality, Zhou Ming's recent formation of so many Gu outside the Blessed Land could also be considered a type of Heaven and Earth Flow. It's just that the one refining the Gu wasn't Zhou Ming, but Heaven's Will.
'I just didn't expect that within the Blessed Land, Heaven's Will's intervention could be blocked. Only after leaving the Blessed Land could Heaven's Will distort and assimilate the exchange items.'
'It seems that although Heaven's Will is omnipresent, its power still varies. A Gu Immortal Blessed Land and grotto-heaven can still very effectively block most of Heaven's Will's power.'
Zhou Ming smiled, took out all the Materials and Gu, and instructed the Land Spirit to store them properly.
"I had planned to leave the Blessed Land and head to Southern Border after making a fortune in reward points from the Main God Space this time. Now, the plan can only be changed again."
"I'll stay in the Blessed Land for a while longer, exchange for Gu a few more times, and strive to submit Gu from most factions to their limits before Feng Yuanzheng completes the preparations for our collaboration!"
"During this time, I'll first raise my own cultivation."
Zhou Ming's current state was one of having a treasure mountain but being unable to fully utilize it, with a vast disparity between his own strength and financial resources.
In the Gu World, he possessed an entire Gu Immortal Blessed Land, and in the Main God Space, he had a massive amount of reward points. In terms of resources, he was extremely rich.
However, his own cultivation was only a mere Rank Four, and his authority in the Main God Space couldn't exchange for high-Rank items. To fully utilize these resources, he could only raise his cultivation and authority.
Authority advancement could only wait for the next plot world, and strength advancement was limited by the suppression of the Eastern Sea's heaven and earth. Even now, he hadn't fully recovered to Rank Four Peak, which was extremely frustrating.
Originally, Zhou Ming's plan was to set off for Southern Border after returning from the Main God Space this time, without rushing to improve his strength.
Because once he reached Southern Border, he would again be suppressed by the Southern Border's heaven and earth, and his cultivation would fall back to Rank Three Peak. He would need to re-adapt to the Southern Border's heaven and earth before he could slowly improve.
Therefore, Zhou Ming originally had no intention of staying in the Eastern Sea for too long, only wanting to pass through quickly.
Who would have thought that accidents would constantly occur along the way, forcing his plans to change again and again, and his stay in the Eastern Sea could only be prolonged.
Given this, Zhou Ming had to consider the issue of cultivation advancement.
"Since I've decided to advance my cultivation in the Eastern Sea, I might as well integrate into the Eastern Sea's heaven and earth faster and restore my cultivation first."
Zhou Ming's heart stirred, and a Three Watch Gu flew out of his Aperture.
This was a Rank Five Time Path Gu, whose effect was to accelerate time threefold. It was a one-time consumable Gu.
It could be used on a person, on a Gu, on a non-living object, or even on an event in progress.
When it acted on a Gu Master, it would form a silver triangular tattoo on the chest, simultaneously causing the Gu Master's personal time flow to become three times the normal rate.
The River of Time flowed ceaselessly, its current always constant. For a normal person, one day was one day.
But for someone affected by the Three Watch Gu, one day was equivalent to three days condensed.
Both cultivation speed and recovery speed were three times that of a normal person, but at the same time, the speed of life's passing was also three times that of a normal person, and lifespan was consumed too quickly, becoming one-third of the original.
The Three Watch Gu condensed the Gu Master's life, gathering and unleashing the brilliance of a lifetime, like scattered cherry blossoms, easily extinguished fireworks, brief yet magnificent.
And after Zhou Ming used the Three Watch Gu, he could also accelerate his adaptation to the Eastern Sea's heaven and earth threefold, needing only one-third of the original time to restore his cultivation.
"The effect of one Three Watch Gu isn't enough. If I'm going to do it, I'll do it thoroughly. What's the harm in adding another?"
Zhou Ming laughed heartily, and another Three Watch Gu flew out of his Aperture. At Zhou Ming's thought, the two Three Watch Gu simultaneously burst open, transforming into shimmering silver light that enveloped Zhou Ming entirely.
An indescribable, profound meaning emanated from Zhou Ming's body. The silver light gradually contracted, gathering at his chest, forming two silver triangular patterns. The two triangles intersected and overlapped, exuding a profound aura.
Instantly, Zhou Ming felt that the speed of true essence nourishment and recovery in his Aperture greatly increased, his thoughts became incredibly agile, and his reactions were as swift as lightning. Everything around him seemed to slow down.
With two Three Watch Gu used simultaneously, Zhou Ming's time flow was accelerated to nine times that of a normal person!
Correspondingly, his lifespan, which originally had over eighty years remaining, would now only last less than nine years!
"Not enough!"
Zhou Ming's eyes narrowed, and a third Three Watch Gu flew out, transforming into silver light and acting upon Zhou Ming.
The silver triangular pattern on Zhou Ming's chest transformed into a shape of three intersecting and overlapping triangles. The pattern looked complex and mysterious.
At this point, Zhou Ming's time flow was accelerated to twenty-seven times the normal rate, and his lifespan was condensed and unleashed to its extreme, leaving him with less than three years!
"Lifespan? Haha!"
Zhou Ming reached out, and one Longevity Gu after another, shaped like ginseng roots, continuously appeared in his palm.
These Longevity Gu were all Rank Three Hundred Year Longevity Gu, capable of extending a Gu Master's lifespan by a hundred years. In Treasure Yellow Heaven, one such Gu could potentially be exchanged for an Immortal Gu.
And in Zhou Ming's hand, there were now exactly ten Hundred Year Longevity Gu!
The Hundred Year Longevity Gu were obtained by Zhou Ming from Lang Ya Land Spirit. After submitting them to the Main God, the exchange price for one was only a mere one thousand reward points.
This price was so cheap it made Zhou Ming want to laugh, and before returning to the Main God Space this time, he conveniently exchanged for a full twenty of them.
Twenty thousand reward points was nothing to Zhou Ming, who had a net worth in the tens of millions.
Ten Hundred Year Longevity Gu were used consecutively, and Zhou Ming's lifespan instantly broke through its limit, increasing by a full thousand years.
Even with twenty-seven times time acceleration, Zhou Ming still had over forty years to live!
"That's enough. In reality, even without the Three Watch Gu, two years would be enough for me to accomplish what I want to do. I just wanted to be done with it once and for all, to have an extra layer of insurance."
"Within two years, I will achieve Immortal Ascension!"
"At the time of Immortal Ascension, the washing of Heaven and Earth Qi will lead to a complete transformation, and the effects of the Three Watch Gu will very likely be washed away, allowing my time flow to return to normal. At that time, my lifespan will revert to a normal thousand years, and these ten Hundred Year Longevity Gu won't have been wasted."
Having completed all this, Zhou Ming left Water Ripple Blessed Land and set up a sea Gu house, commonly used by Eastern Sea Gu Masters, near the Blessed Land's portal in the outside world.
A Blessed Land is an independent Small World, and the Blessed Land's wall is the wall of heaven and earth, separating inside from outside. Therefore, Zhou Ming, while inside Water Ripple Blessed Land, was actually isolated from the Eastern Sea's heaven and earth.
That's why he stayed in Water Ripple Blessed Land for three months and still hadn't recovered much cultivation, still being suppressed by the Eastern Sea's heaven and earth.
To adapt to the Eastern Sea's heaven and earth as quickly as possible, he had to leave the Blessed Land and truly stand within this Eastern Sea realm.