Lin Yan immersed himself completely in Gu refinement. Day after day, explosions echoed throughout Flame Sovereign Blessed Land. Some came from failures while processing immortal materials, while others erupted during the most critical stages of refining Immortal Gu. Failure was an unavoidable part of Gu refinement. Even with hundreds of refinements inside the Dream Realm and an increasingly profound Refinement Path foundation, it still often took seven or eight attempts before a single Immortal Gu was successfully refined. Amid the endless explosions and repeated failures, another year quietly passed within Flame Sovereign Blessed Land.
When Lin Yan finally emerged from seclusion, five Immortal Gu floated before him, each radiating a majestic aura with a completely distinct appearance. He slowly let out a long breath. Refining those five Immortal Gu had nearly exhausted every Flame Path, Dream Path, and Thunder Path immortal material accumulated over the previous two years. Even the immortal essence stones earned by Flame Sovereign Blessed Land during that time had been almost completely spent. Fortunately, every refinement had succeeded.
The first two Immortal Gu belonged to Dream Path, both shrouded in dreamlike, iridescent radiance. Dream Revelation Immortal Gu resembled a snow-white baby tortoise, its shell carrying a slowly revolving Bagua diagram, while Dream Awakening Immortal Gu resembled a golden-blue cicada whose translucent wings shimmered with rainbow-colored light, every gentle flap releasing a clear, dreamlike cry.
The next two belonged to Flame Path and possessed incomparably majestic auras. Scorching Heat Immortal Gu resembled a miniature blazing sun, radiating endless heat and brilliant golden light. Lead Fire Immortal Gu took the form of a crimson tortoise with a volcano upon its shell, continuously spewing streams of molten fire. The final Immortal Gu was Calculation Gu. It resembled a deep-blue crystalline brain as countless violet arcs of lightning coursed across its surface, branching apart and reconnecting without end, as though endless calculations were being completed every instant.
Looking at the five Immortal Gu floating before him, Lin Yan's eyes filled with satisfaction. With these five Immortal Gu in hand, not only would his battle strength rise dramatically, but the efficiency of his future cultivation, Gu refinement, and countless deductions would also reach an entirely new level.
However, a new problem immediately arose—the feeding requirements of his Immortal Gu.
Lin Yan now possessed sixteen Immortal Gu in total. Besides the eight Immortal Gu he had refined previously, there were the five newly refined Immortal Gu and the three obtained from Zhen Yuanzi's True Inheritance. Among them, Formation Flag Immortal Gu and Maze Formation Immortal Gu were Rank Seven, while the remaining fourteen were all Rank Six. Formation Spirit Immortal Gu was excluded, having already been consumed when the Formation Spirit was born.
Fortunately, feeding most of them was no longer a concern.The feeding requirements of his previous eight Immortal Gu had been resolved long ago. The newly refined Flame Path and Thunder Path Immortal Gu were also easy to feed. Scorching Heat Immortal Gu fed on Sun Flowers and large quantities of Sky Flame Flowers, while Lead Fire Immortal Gu consumed Sun Crystals and Lead Fire Mushrooms.
Calculation Gu was even easier to feed too, requiring only Thunder Light Paste. Despite being one of the finest Thunder Path Immortal Gu for imitating the profound effects of Wisdom Path, its food was surprisingly common. Flame Sovereign Blessed Land already produced an abundant supply of Thunder Light Paste, so Lin Yan would never need to worry about feeding it. It truly lived up to its reputation as one of Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable's greatest masterpieces.
With this, the feeding requirements of all his Flame Path and Thunder Path Immortal Gu could now be met entirely within Flame Sovereign Blessed Land, without relying on the outside world.
Only the Dream Path Immortal Gu remained troublesome.
Flame Sovereign Blessed Land fundamentally belonged to Flame Path. Although the feeding requirement of Dream Derivation Immortal Gu had already been resolved, the remaining Dream Path Immortal Gu still depended on Dream Path immortal materials that the blessed land could not yet produce.
Fortunately, Lin Yan had already planned for that as well. Once the Dao Without Conflict killer move was complete, he could begin developing Dream Path resource points and gradually increase the number of Dream Path dao marks within Flame Sovereign Blessed Land. Eventually, the blessed land would be able to produce Dream Path immortal materials on its own, forming a complete Dream Path ecosystem.
For the time being, Lin Yan did not consider it a serious problem.
Since the Huang Family moved into Flame Sovereign Blessed Land, its population had already exceeded ten million. Through Dream Derivation Immortal Gu, every one of them could enter the Dream Realm and create countless dreams. This provided Lin Yan with a vast and continuous supply of Dream Path Gu materials. Once enough of them accumulated, Dream Path immortal materials would naturally begin to emerge.
Although the Great Dream Immortal Realm had yet to truly take shape, it already showed the first signs of becoming a Dream Path immortal resource point.
Dream Revelation Immortal Gu was the easiest to feed. It only consumed tens of thousands of Dreams Come True Gu at a time. Before the Dream Realm was established, meeting such a requirement would have been an enormous burden. Now, with the Hairy Man Stone Nests mass-producing Gu worms and an inexhaustible supply of dreams, it was no longer a problem.
Dream Awakening Immortal Gu fed on Awakening Dream Wood. Lin Yan could produce it by deliberately making the Gu Masters and mortals exploring the Dream Realm experience nightmares before abruptly awakening them.
With Dream Derivation Immortal Gu and a population of over ten million, Lin Yan already possessed the foundation needed to support both Dream Path Immortal Gu. All he needed was time.
The true burden came from the three Immortal Gu inherited from Zhen Yuanzi.
Unlike Flame Path or Dream Path, Formation Path had no exclusive immortal materials of its own. Grand formations were built using immortal materials from many different paths; only the Gu worms controlling them belonged to the Formation Path.
Five Elements Grandmaster of Northern Plains was the perfect example. Despite his title, he did not cultivate Metal Path, Wood Path, Water Path, Fire Path, or Earth Path. He was a genuine Formation Path Gu Immortal whose formations borrowed the profound effects of all five paths.
Even the Four Elements Gu Formation Lin Yan had created as a Rank One Gu Master followed the same principle. Consequently, Formation Path Immortal Gu also fed on immortal materials belonging to other paths.
Formation Flag Immortal Gu fed on the Rank Seven Space Path immortal material Dust Teleportation Grass, while Maze Formation Immortal Gu consumed the Rank Seven Wisdom Path immortal material Spirit-Confusing Immortal Mist. As for Soul Bind Immortal Gu, it fed on the Soul Path immortal material Soul Manipulating Hanging Silk, which was produced by the Soul Manipulating Spider, an Immemorial Desolate Beast.
Together with Soul Bind Immortal Gu, all three required Rank Seven immortal materials. If Lin Yan relied entirely on Treasure Yellow Heaven to feed them, the annual cost alone would consume a staggering number of immortal essence stones.
As Lin Yan considered how to feed the three Immortal Gu, a thought suddenly struck him.
"Wait. Zhen Yuanzi's Soul Devouring Demon Subduing Formation has existed for countless years, yet no one has fed these Immortal Gu during that time. How are they still alive?"
He immediately summoned the Formation Spirit and asked for an explanation.
The Formation Spirit burst into laughter. "Haha! My master was a heaven-sent genius. The Soul Devouring Demon Subduing Formation contains not only the profound mysteries of Formation Path, but also of Food Path and Soul Path. It continuously devours the flesh and blood of the Green Claw Ghost Winged Lion and transforms them into the food required by its core Immortal Gu."
"This not only weakens the lion's resistance, but also feeds every Immortal Gu within the formation. Two birds with one stone!"
Lin Yan's eyes lit up. He immediately searched through Zhen Yuanzi's inheritance and, sure enough, found numerous Food Path Gu recipes hidden among the formation records.
The Soul Devouring Demon Subduing Formation was far more profound than he had imagined. It was not merely a Formation Path grand formation, but a perfect fusion of Formation Path, Food Path, and Soul Path. Without Formation Path Grandmaster attainment, he could never hope to comprehend all of its mysteries.
This discovery swept away his final concern. As long as he supplied the grand formation with immortal essence and kept the Green Claw Ghost Winged Lion alive, it would continue producing food for Formation Flag Immortal Gu, Maze Formation Immortal Gu, and Soul Bind Immortal Gu.
With this, the feeding requirements of all sixteen Immortal Gu had finally been resolved.