This blessed land was quite peculiar.
The entire landscape was nothing more than an enormous shallows.
The water was jade-green, never more than ten feet deep at its deepest. Piles of stones formed sandbars that looked like a painting splashed with careless ink—streaks running horizontally, vertically, intersecting with one another.
Pools of green water dotted the landscape, some like lakes, some like small seas, scattered like stars across the sky.
"It does bear some resemblance to the Dongfang Clan's main base, the Jade Pool Blessed Land," Fang Yuan murmured.
But he knew this place was fundamentally different from the Jade Pool Blessed Land.
In the Jade Pool Blessed Land, there were deep pools of every size, green and blue, numbering in the thousands upon thousands—like stars scattered across the sky, breathtakingly beautiful. Each pool held water of a different quality, nurturing countless aquatic creatures.
But here, the water was all connected, constantly flowing together through the gaps between the stones that formed the shallows.
Fang Yuan swept his gaze across and found the water teemed with fish and shrimp, all manner of water insects, and countless mortal Gu insects. Beneath the stony shallows, nestled in the gaps between the stones, lay abundant snails, shells, waterweeds, and more.
But what there was most of was a type of snake.
These snakes were all pink in color, quite small in size—the longest was only as long as an adult's little finger, while the smaller ones were barely an inch long.
These were spirit snakes.
The transformation Han Dong the Gu Immortal had been most skilled in.
This was Han Dong's blessed land.
Han Dong had been one of the Three Heroes of Wanderers. Back when Dongfang Changfan had seized Dongfang Yuliang's body, attempting to resurrect himself, he had used the corpse of an Ancient Ruin Bat here at Taiqiu to construct a temporary camp.
When Fang Yuan and the others attacked this place, Han Dong of the Three Heroes of Wanderers had perished here.
The Three Heroes of Wanderers were Lu Qingming, Su Guang, and Han Dong.
They were fairly renowned among independent cultivators.
When the three immortals joined forces, they could execute an immortal killer move—their radiance connected into a single expanse, condensing into the shape of a war chariot, moving at tremendous speed.
In the world of Gu Immortals, some immortals who shared mutual respect would help and support one another, cultivating together. Over time, as they grew familiar with each other, if they possessed enough talent, they could comprehend and deduce immortal killer moves suited for joint combat.
The Three Heroes of Wanderers were such a group, and so were Hao Zhen and Chou Laowu's Wind Thunder Roar.
Among the three, Lu Qingming was a Wind Path Gu Immortal, and his signature immortal killer move was called Entangling Wind. It was immensely powerful and highly versatile.
Su Guang was a Light Path Gu Immortal. And Han Dong had cultivated the Transformation Path!
He had been a Sixth Transformation Gu Immortal of the Transformation Path, making this Han Dong's Blessed Land a Sixth Transformation Blessed Land.
Fang Yuan hovered in midair when a pink spirit snake slithered over and floated before him.
"Sssss!"
The spirit snake was translucent throughout, scaleless, its flesh a faint pink. It had no bones—only a single red line running from head to tail, connecting its entire body.
It flicked its tongue at Fang Yuan, radiating hostility. The hissing sound it made—
—was very different from the ordinary hiss of a snake.
To Fang Yuan's ears, the sssss translated into meaning he could understand: "Who are you? Why have you broken into my home? Leave, leave! You're not welcome here!"
Fang Yuan smiled faintly. "I've entered this blessed land, so naturally I wish to become its master. What are your requirements for acknowledgment?"
"Sssss."
The pink spirit snake let out another displeased chirp.
Fang Yuan nodded in understanding, feeling a surge of delight as he thought to himself, "So Han Dong's dying obsession was connected to Lu Qingming and Su Guang."
It turned out that the acknowledgment conditions for this Han Dong Blessed Land were both simple and demanding.
The spirit snake before Fang Yuan was the Blessed Land's land spirit—formed after Han Dong's death when his lingering obsession fused with the power of heaven and earth.
This land spirit would only acknowledge Lu Qingming or Su Guang.
Whichever one of them came here, this blessed land would belong to them.
From this perspective, the bond between the Three Heroes of Wanderers ran extraordinarily deep. Han Dong's dying obsession had been to leave the accumulation of his lifetime to his two closest friends.
"In that case, I'll bring Lu Qingming here. He and I are good friends too." Fang Yuan lied without missing a beat.
"Sssss."
The spirit snake said, "Really? Can you truly find Lu Qingming? That would be wonderful."
"Actually, he's nearby. Because your original body perished here, Lu Qingming and Su Guang have always been thinking about this matter. But Taiqiu is far too dangerous—they hired me to help, and it took great effort to make it here." Fang Yuan spun his tale without so much as a blush or a skip of his heartbeat.
The spirit snake slithered and swayed, its body showing signs of excitement.
Afterward, it and Fang Yuan made an agreement—they needed only to wait the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, and Lu Qingming would arrive.
"Thank you so much, you truly are a wonderful person!" The spirit snake's attitude shifted completely—it became very enthusiastic, proactively opening the gateway and sending Fang Yuan out.
"You must find Lu Qingming!" The spirit snake watched Fang Yuan leave before reluctantly closing the gateway.
Fang Yuan circled around outside, put away the Supreme Heavenly Eagle, and used Meet Familiarity to assume Lu Qingming's appearance.
He returned to the vicinity, waited a short while, and the blessed land's gateway opened.
"Lord Lu Qingming... wu wu wu." The spirit snake stood at the entrance, gazing at "Lu Qingming," and began sobbing with excitement.