Fang Yuan walked out of the Danghun Palace.
The pink crystal mountain was riddled with craters and pockmarks, rubble strewn everywhere in utter devastation. Crimson blood, brownish mud, and the piled corpses of foxes and crabs lay tangled together.
The massive body of the desolate beast, the Marsh Crab, lay crushed against the slopes of Danghun Mountain. It resembled a protruding hillock, strikingly conspicuous.
A gentle breeze stirred Fang Yuan's long black hair as his deep, dark eyes slowly swept across the battlefield.
The pungent stench of blood irritated his nostrils.
Trailing closely behind him was the Earth Spirit, Little Fox Spirit, her eye rims reddened, tear tracks still glistening on her soft pink little face, hiccupping through her sobs.
"Master, our losses are devastating. We've lost over a million mu of land, and only seventy-one Immortal Essence remain. Of the four million seven hundred thousand foxes, only three hundred ten thousand are left. And the Gu Insects—over seven hundred thousand lost in one go."
She had labored for so many years to build this place up, yet after this single battle, the blessed land's development had regressed forty years.
But Fang Yuan did not see it that way.
His face was weary, yet the joy in his eyes was impossible to conceal.
He had ultimately withstood this earthly calamity. It was a critical juncture, and now that he had passed it, Fang Yuan finally had room to breathe.
When the seventh earthly calamity came, he would have far more time to prepare.
"Stop crying. The blessed land is preserved, and that means hope is preserved. Danghun Mountain hasn't collapsed either, which gives us a foundation to rebuild from. Yes, we lost a million mu of territory, but in the short term we won't need all that—it won't hinder our development."
Fang Yuan patted the Earth Spirit's little head and continued to comfort her. "Look—in no time, Danghun Mountain will be covered in Courage Stones. We've also brought the Stone Man Clan under our control. Most importantly, the Blue Enchanting Phantom has been driven away. From now on, we can develop without any reservations. The Fox Immortal's Blessed Land will flourish once more!"
In this utterly brutal battle, countless foxes and crabs had perished near Danghun Mountain. At the same time, the Marsh Crab's soul had been shaken into pure essence, which fell upon Danghun Mountain.
It was foreseeable that before long, vast quantities of Courage Stones would emerge on Danghun Mountain in rapid succession.
"What Master says… does make sense." Little Fox Spirit gradually stopped sobbing. Thinking it over, it really was the truth.
The earthly calamity was like a baptism. The Fox Immortal's Blessed Land had weathered it—not only suffering devastating losses, but also reaping substantial gains.
"It's such a shame—the Marsh Crab had a huge number of Gu Insects parasitizing its body, and they've all been killed by Danghun Mountain now." Little Fox Spirit pouted, glaring resentfully at the Marsh Crab's colossal shell.
"Be grateful. There was no Immortal Gu on this desolate beast—otherwise, we might not be standing here." Fang Yuan let out a long sigh.
That was where his luck lay this time.
A single crucial Immortal Gu possessed power formidable enough to easily overturn the entire battle.
Even if the Marsh Crab had harbored an Immortal Gu and Fang Yuan had managed to kill it, how to capture that Immortal Gu would still have been a tremendous problem.
For all they knew, that wild Immortal Gu might have replaced the Blue Enchanting Phantom, becoming a devastating internal threat to the Fox Immortal's Blessed Land.
Having survived this earthly calamity, Fang Yuan was thoroughly content.
After all, he was merely a Fourth Transformation High Stage mortal Gu Master, yet he had slain a desolate beast that even Immortal Gu Masters found troublesome.
"Earth Spirit, clean up the battlefield. Make sure to preserve the Marsh Crab's corpse. I'm going to rest." After completing his inspection, Fang Yuan allowed himself to relax, and a wave of intense exhaustion washed over him.
He had been commanding millions of foxes—his soul and spirit were thoroughly depleted. He desperately needed sleep.
"Alright!" Little Fox Spirit answered crisply. She gazed at the Marsh Crab's enormous shell, her eyes sparkling with bright light.
Every desolate beast was a mobile treasury.
Its blood, fur, bones, internal organs—all were excellent materials for refining Gu.
"You damn big crab—I'm going to strip you bare!" Little Fox Spirit scrunched up her dainty nose, her lips curling back to reveal her little fangs. Gritting her teeth, she muttered to herself as she strode toward the Marsh Crab.
……
Fang Yuan slept incredibly well.
Three days later, he woke up, lying in bed, and for a moment didn't even want to move.
This time, he had truly relaxed.
The sixth earthly calamity had just passed. Fang Yuan had bought himself considerable time and could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Since his first rebirth, he had been drifting and struggling, fighting to survive. Especially during his time at Three-Fork Mountain, he had racked his brains and exhausted every ounce of his strength.
Now, he had finally secured the blessed land. For Fang Yuan, this meant a stable rear base.
If the Fox Immortal's Blessed Land had been destroyed, he would have been in serious trouble.
He had already revealed too many things. Setting everything else aside, just consider the Fixed Immortal Travel Gu.
Fang Yuan was not yet an Immortal Gu Master, so this Immortal Gu could not be stored in his Empty Orifice. Its aura leaked out, easily detectable by any Immortal Gu Master who might then move to seize it.
Now, with the Fixed Immortal Travel Gu placed inside the Fox Immortal's Blessed Land, where there was Immortal Essence to sustain it, it could finally be maintained.