Fang Yuan was greatly perplexed by how this dream realm was progressing.
It had been extremely difficult to get through, likely why Heaven's Will had thrown it his way.
He had not even managed to solve the first part of it - and yet it had morphed into this.
He could not sense Dreams of Love and Happiness Gu anymore - was it an expendable Rank 6 gu worm? Or was it just somewhere he couldn't sense it, along with his other gu worms? It was hard to tell in the dream realm.
This strange scenario was definitely part of its effect, but he didn't know what was now expected from him to solve this dream realm.
And yet, the Fang Yuan in the dream realm continued talking on his own.
Fang Yuan smiled gently at Xie Han Mo's words, taking her into his arms. "Of course. From this moment onward, the two of us are husband and wife. Let us live in this tiny paradise within this Blessed Land together, for however long that will be."
Fang Yuan was not worried about being attacked by the Frost Tide tribe anymore. After all, their dispute was simply on the mortal front, and no Immortal would bother trying to seek out Fang Yuan for something as simple as this.
As for her being discriminated against because she was a mermaid, as if Fang Yuan would allow it.
"But now that I think about it, the two of us, I think, should have a grand and proper wedding. I can give you that at least, as your husband. After all, this place is filled with resources. Yes, a wedding worthy of a mermaid Saintess!"
"I don't need that, Fang Yuan. I just want you."
Fang Yuan spent more time in the Apothecary Immortal's Blessed Land within the dream realm, wandering around the central laboratory area along with the Seven Rainbows Moth King.
The Blessed Land was 6,000 square kilometers total in area, meaning it was at the upper edge of a large grade Blessed Land. This meant that the resources in it were abundant, though it would also mean that the upcoming calamities would be stronger. The Seven Rainbows Moth King showed Fang Yuan that they still had twenty-two beads of Immortal Essence left for him to work with.
Around the central laboratory, there was a lake filled with greenish water. "Master, this lake used to be filled with fresh water," the Seven Rainbows Moth King said. "However, the tribulation Poison Smog ended up polluting it. Now, the Four Fragrance Lotuses which used to grow here no longer do so. The Four Fragrance Lotuses were key ingredients in reducing the toxicity from most pills, so their loss degrades the quality of most pills that we can make."
It appeared that the Apothecary Immortal's Wood Path methods were not strong enough to counter this tribulation. As with many tribulations, however, damage was balanced with profit. Although the waters could no longer grow the Four Fragrance Lotuses because the waters had been contaminated, they could now grow other venomous plants like Serpent Seawood fields that grew at the depths of the lake. Poison Dart Frogs and Poison Dart Frog Gu of various ranks had begun to make the lake their habitat hopping around in bright colors, and their venomous skin could be used for various purposes to make poisonous pills or in small quantities, medicinal pills as well.
"Most medicines are just poisons, only varying in the dosage and intent of the one handling them," rang very true for the Pill Path.
As a matter of fact, as Fang Yuan began to consider things, he thought that the Pill Path might actually be a fusion of the Poison Path and Food Path rather than the Food Path and Wood Path.
Or he could be wrong, and this was just the incorrect insight from a newbie who didn't fully understand things.
This was just one of the Earthly Calamities that had struck the Immortal Apothecary's Blessed Land.
The second was a great hailstorm, which had ended up killing a large amount of vegetation toward the Southwest and covered it in ice which still hadn't melted. White rabbits had made it their habitat, and their hearts could be used as valuable ingredients - but considering the amount of area that had been buried under the frost and could not grow plants this was the equivalent of losing a pound and getting a penny. The rabbits could not compensate for the loss of this area. Of all of the things that Fang Yuan thought had to be 'fixed' regarding this Blessed Land, dealing with the frost would've been at the top of his list. It was just unacceptable.
There had been a third Earthly Calamity, but the Immortal Apothecary had dealt with it completely and nothing of it remained.
The fourth was a Crimson Peacock, a Desolate Beast whose corpse was still present. Fighting it had taken a massive toll upon the Apothecary Immortal, and it had been the cause of his death even as it had died form its wounds.
The Crimson Peacock was larger than a dragon. It was a Blood Path Desolate Beast, with its entire body being as red as a robin. The feathers on its back grew in various shades of crimson. The more blood that a Crimson Peacock had feasted upon, the brighter would these feathers be.
This meant that this had been a male Crimson Peacock - the females did not have as bright a plumage. It was a shame, Fang Yuan felt, that they hadn't been able to enslave this Desolate Beast. Crimson Peacocks were quite easy to raise compared to other Blood Path beasts. The male, once it had pranced around and attracted an appropriate mate, would let out a drop of blood from its mouth with the female would swallow. The female then, would use that drop of blood to nurture a new Crimson Peacock within itself. Their rate of reproduction was quite high for Desolate Beasts, particularly if reared by a powerful Blood Path Gu Immortal.
There had been quite a bit of destruction left behind in the Crimson Peacock's wake. About ten percent of the soil had been damaged, and even its death hadn't fully limited the damage it did. The blood within its body was not nurturing like ordinary blood would be, but seeded the soil and made it unsuitable for growing most plants.
"The Crimson Peacock was a terrible calamity, Master. It destroyed so much of this Blessed Land. Because of that, there aren't as many mushroommen as we would have liked," the Seven Rainbows Moth King said. "If we had a group of mushroommen, that would also help with the management of the aperture, but unfortunately, we don't."
Mushroommen were quite skillful apothecaries and good at taking care of many of the ingredients for pills, but it appeared that all of them had died because of the Crimson Peacock. If they had minimen, they too would've been somewhat useful, but it seemed the Immortal Apothecary's Blessed Land was rather bereft of intelligent life.
Unfortunately, the Immortal Apothecary did not have a single Immortal Gu to his name, though that was somewhat within Fang Yuan's expectations.
Other than these calamities, there was a large area of grassland which grew herbs and forests which grew various kinds of medicinal trees.
"Master, master, do you think that we should sell the Crimson Peacock's corpse on Yellow Treasure Heaven?" the Seven Rainbows Moth King asked. "I think we can get a good price for it - and then we can buy some mushroommen to fill up this place so that they can help us out."
Many of the ingredients needed could grow on their own if one spoke of Pill Path gu worms up to Rank 3, but beyond that they usually needed special care. Especially if one wanted to maximize their yield.
"I will think about it," Fang Yuan said, tapping his chin. "When is the next Earthly Calamity?" Perhaps that was what he needed to solve in order to pass this dream realm?