"Two and a half years, Master," the Seven Rainbows Moth King replied.
That was not a long time, Fang Yuan thought. There was much that needed to be done, and he didn't have many of the tools that might be needed for such a matter.
Before that, though, was the matter of Xie Han Mo and his promise to her. The two of them spent most of their evenings together, wandering around the Blessed Land and admiring the places where it wasn't too dangerous for mortals to walk around.
They got married a month later, much as Fang Yuan had promised.
The wedding was arranged to be quite grand, worthy of being equivalent to an imperial wedding back on Earth.
The Apothecary Immortal's central laboratory was altered, with many of the poisonous plants, beakers, and other instruments being kept away to make room for the wedding decorations. Large, rainbow-colored banners hung everywhere, and gold, silver, and other gems lay scattered across the floor, superfluous and common in the Blessed Land compared to things like plants and other Pill Ingredients.
The only thing truly missing, Fang Yuan thought, was a large throng of people to celebrate their wedding. However, the Crimson Peacock had slaughtered the Mushroommen, and there weren't any other intelligent living creatures within the Blessed Land to celebrate with them.
But that didn't matter to him, nor to Xie Han Mo, so long as they could be together.
Fang Yuan, dressed up in one of the Apothecary Immortal's finest robes that had been left behind, walked out to see Xie Han Mo standing at the altar. His hair was tied up by a golden band, waving in the wind like a chivalric hero. His robes were deep green and would make most emperors back on Earth jealous.
She was dressed as mermaid princess might be during her wedding, looking as beautiful as ever. A net of pearls tied her long black locks together, gleaming against them like stars against the night sky. Her eyes shone with radiance, any trace of her prior poisoning having long since gone. She looked ten years younger, her face energetic like that of a young maiden's. Her collarbones were prominent, just a hint of them seen through the top of her dress, which was made of overlapping golden scales that trailed down and curved around her voluptuous figure. Her cherry-red lips curled into a smile, and her teeth sparkled like snow - an expression that was both demure and yet dauntless. Her skin was as flawless and smooth as white jade, enhanced by some of the pills present in the Blessed Land. A gentle fragrance of rose petals surrounded her. She seemed innocent yet at the same time inviting, beckoning to Fang Yuan. Her mermaid tail wagged eagerly like that of a dog's in anticipation. She looked like an open treasure chest filled with gold gems, beckoning Fang Yuan to plunder at will.
"All right then," the Seven Rainbows Moth King said, flying overhead above them. Since they didn't have an official priest, the Land Spirit was the one presiding over the ceremony. "We can start by exchanging gifts."
Fang Yuan gave her a Rank 4 Water Serpent Gu, a powerful mount-type gu useful in the Eastern Sea, though less so in the Blessed Land. Xie Han Mo, for her part, gave Fang Yuan a Yellow Golden Relic Gu.
Fang Yuan had managed to break through to Rank 4 using his new A-grade aptitude just a few days back, and he already owned the Yellow Golden Relic Gu, so this was basically just Xie Han Mo handing him something he had given her earlier. But then again, Xie Han Mo, as she had said earlier, had nothing else to give him other than her love. Not that the Fang Yuan within the dream realm minded.
"You look amazing, my husband," Xie Han Mo said.
"And you look...," Fang Yuan trailed off. Xie Han Mo waited for him to finish but he couldn't.
"Look like what?" she teased.
"Breathtaking."
"And so do you."
The two of them kissed, finalizing their wedding. The ceremony had been rather short; there was no need for unnecessary pomp and circumstance, as they had no one to impress. It was just the two of them after all.
The two of them sat gently in a small garden within the laboratory before Xie Han Mo dragged Fang Yuan to their bed chambers during the night.
Fang Yuan was surprised at how eager and excited she was, but then began to understand. Xie Han Mo had spent most of her life repressed by her identity as a Saintess, suppressing the deepest urges that existed within all living things. Who didn't have those feelings now and then? But for her role, she had put them aside. Now that the chance came to unleash them, she did not want to hold back at all!
She took off most of her wedding gown, leaving only a lacey dress that left very little to the imagination underneath as she latched onto Fang Yuan with surprising strength.
Xie Han Mo did not let Fang Yuan leave their marital bed for the next three days, using gu worms to replenish his strength while she experimented in all sorts of ways until she was finally satisfied.
Fang Yuan thought that might have been the end of it, but no - if anything, Xie Han Mo had just wet her appetite.
Once those three days were up, the two of them left the room, exhausted. Fang Yuan was so tired he did not even want to cultivate. Xie Han Mo cooked dinner for the two of them.
"It's okay, just lie there and enjoy the scenery," she said to Fang Yuan. "You don't need to lift a finger while I'm here."
Fang Yuan nodded, initially thinking that she was doing so simply out of the kindness of her heart. However, her true intentions were revealed as soon as he managed to recover later on in the day: she dragged him once again toward their marital bed, playing around with him to her heart's content for the next two nights.
Xie Han Mo was extremely fond of their nocturnal activities, wanting to try several different positions and experimenting to her heart's content now that she was free.
Fang Yuan soon found himself quite exhausted by it all. Were it the real Fang Yuan he would've put a stop to it, but this dream path Fang Yuan who was running on autopilot most of the time did not want to let his wife down.
"After all, if she really loves me that much, shouldn't I try to at least compromise a little?" It was, he had to admit, becoming a little bit too much though. Xie Han Mo was almost treating him like he was her plaything, engrossed with her own satisfaction nine out of ten times.
The Fang Yuan within the dream realm, however, still did not complain.
During the day, he spent his time trying to manage the aperture and learn the intricacies of the Pill Path, in addition to increasing his own cultivation and, lastly, preparing for the upcoming Earthly Calamity.
The Crimson Peacock corpse was surprisingly useful here. Although Fang Yuan could have tried to sell it in Yellow Treasure Heaven like the Seven Rainbows Moth King suggested, being a Blood Path desolate beast of Rank 6, he had a different use for it.
The Blessed Land consisted of mainly Wood Path and Pill Path Dao Marks, so Blood Path methods were somewhat suppressed, but the suppression was not significant enough to make a major difference.
Fang Yuan could direct the Land Spirit to refine several powerful Blood Path Gu worms from the corpse in addition to those which had been present on its bodies, arranging them into killer moves he had developed during his previous life. Some of these were powerful enough to be of quasi-Rank 6 strength. If the Immortal Apothecary had these methods, he would not have feared the Crimson Peacock.
Needless to say, doing all this work took quite a strain on him.
Fang Yuan spent his days working hard, and Xie Han Mo ensured that he spent his nights working even harder, milking him dry relentlessly until Fang Yuan felt like he was a dried up cow.