Stiff wooden wings several meters long unfurled behind Fang Tian, then slammed against the ground with tremendous force. Slowly, he rose into the air until the land lay more than a thousand feet beneath him. After that, he tilted his body gradually until he was perfectly horizontal.
Then he shot forward in a straight line at incredible speed, covering three or four kilometers every second. Violent winds crashed against his body, but he endured them patiently while watching the scenery below shift rapidly. Hills, valleys, and roaming beast groups looked like nothing more than tiny dots from Fang Tian's perspective.
Before long, Fang Tian reached the middle region of the western area of the blessed land. The surroundings were nothing but completely barren stone ground. Fang Tian was not bothered by the western region's lack of development or by the fact that its vast expanse had not been used to establish new resource points.
On the contrary, he praised the wisdom of the Land Spirit for leaving this area devoid of life and resources in order to minimize losses during calamities and tribulations.
After all, the blessed land only spanned about 3,800 square kilometers. If the Land Spirit fought an earthly calamity in the center of the blessed land, the damage to the entire territory would be severe. But if the calamity occurred in the western region, the losses would be moderate—or minimal at best.
"Land Spirit, how many beads of Green Grape Immortal Essence do we have?"
The muscular, small-statured Land Spirit appeared beside Fang Tian. Hundreds of Gu worms flew around her, along with the Immortal Gu Strength Extraction.
"Master, after saving a considerable amount of money, we now possess a large reserve of Green Grape Immortal Essence—about 1,180 beads. However, the upcoming earthly calamity will certainly be fierce, so the consumption of immortal essence will also be substantial."
The Land Spirit of the Ancient Strength Blessed Land felt nervous about the coming earthly calamity. After the previous heavenly tribulation, the blessed land had suffered heavy losses. She had been forced to reorganize the entire territory and spend a great deal of time healing the damage inflicted upon it.
Although she had barely survived that tribulation, the experience left her anxious—even in the face of an earthly calamity.
"Don't worry, Land Spirit. Earthly calamities are indeed terrifying, but their power will never exceed rank six. We have already prepared several methods to face the calamity and reduce our losses. Moreover, the resource points have been protected with Gu worm formations to shield them from the aftermath of the calamity."
Fang Tian certainly would not participate directly in confronting the earthly calamity. Facing such a disaster while still a mortal Gu Master was nothing but courting death. Even if he were at rank five peak stage, rather than rank five middle stage, he still would not be capable of opposing an earthly calamity.
Yes, he possessed one of the Ten Extreme Physiques, and he was vastly stronger than Gu Masters of the same rank—but he was still mortal.
"Land Spirit, open the entrance of the blessed land to draw in Heaven and Earth Qi."
The muscular Land Spirit nodded and opened the entrance of the blessed land. Enormous torrents of Heaven and Earth Qi surged inward like raging winds, and the blessed land greedily absorbed them. After a short time, the intake stopped and the blessed land stabilized.
At that moment, several Gu worms flew in through the entrance of the blessed land. The Land Spirit noticed them immediately, suppressed them, and delivered them to Fang Tian.
Fang Tian recognized them as Information Path Gu worms. Instead of reading them, he simply stored them inside his aperture and suppressed them.
"So these super forces think I'm that weak…?"
"Most Immortal Gu Masters certainly look down on mortals. But only those with truly rational minds think logically, without bias."
Although Fang Tian was merely a mortal Gu Master, he possessed considerable knowledge about the world of Immortal Gu Masters. Several Immortal Gu Masters belonging to powerful factions had just sent him messages—but he did not read them because he already knew what they would say.
The logic was simple.
The blessed land's earthly calamity was about to arrive. Why would Immortal Gu Masters appear now and send Information Path Gu worms precisely when the entrance of the blessed land had been opened?
Without doubt, they would demand that he submit to the super forces they represented. In return, they would offer assistance in overcoming the earthly calamity.
"But would I do that?"
"Living within a super clan is certainly a safe path for development. But in exchange, you must submit to the clan. You must sacrifice your own interests for the clan. You must restrain your growth for the clan. And you must work for the clan."
Fang Tian had spent several months within Wu Clan. The benefits had been excellent—but the obligations and restrictions had matched them equally.
Therefore, if possible, Fang Tian would never submit to a super clan.
"Master! The earthly calamity is coming!"
The Land Spirit's tense voice interrupted Fang Tian's thoughts. At the same time, a thunderous rumbling echoed through the land.
The sound struck Fang Tian's ears so violently that they began to ache. The Land Spirit quickly suppressed the noise, then waited for the calamity with dwindling patience.
"Amazing… the mere sound of the earthly calamity's arrival causes pain—what about its actual power?"
Fang Tian sighed with both awe and fear as he waited.
The rumbling continued for hours before the earthly calamity finally appeared.
A massive crack suddenly tore through space—then another, and another.
Fractures spread across the sky and the ground of the blessed land, causing the Land Spirit to cry out:
"Earthly Calamity—Ten Thousand Fracture War! Oh no! This calamity severely distorts the concept of distance—the near becomes far, and the far becomes near!"
Fang Tian's heart clenched when he heard those words.
He almost wanted to cry tears of blood.