Chapter 96

For three whole days, everyone seemed to be in a dream, watching countless black shadows come and go, as various towering castles sprang up over an area of dozens of miles. These castles were not made of stone but were first constructed with a special steel framework, filled with a material harder than stone called "stone mud." Moreover, each house was equipped with large, sparkling glass windows that were curved and had the ability to focus light.

The entire castle covered nearly ten thousand acres, resembling a giant turtle crouching by the lake.

The lake itself was also transformed, its area expanded, and all the silt was cleared out. At the deepest point of the lake, a connection to an underground river was made, bringing in fresh, flowing water. Dozens of fountains spouted from the ground, creating a unique landscape on the lake's surface.

Huge bridges were built on the surrounding mountains, leading directly to the castle.

On the mountains, large turrets were constructed to provide a panoramic view, allowing for the detection of any movement and the sounding of alarms.

Guchen Sha was dazzled by what he saw.

Around the castle, a market and streets were also built.

These streets were very wide, with sewers for wastewater flowing underground, public baths, and waste disposal areas. All facilities were complete.

The houses around the market were also tall and spacious, elevated to prevent dampness from the wilderness.

Up to this point, this place had the layout of a true metropolis, a pearl in the wilderness.

Especially the castle that resembled a giant turtle, with many turrets that seemed to attack like snakes, exuding a fierce and ominous aura. Such a castle was unprecedented even in the capital, surpassing even the residence of the Seventh Prince, Gufasha.

Of course, this was because of the vast land in the wilderness, allowing for free construction.

If in the capital, the largest residence would only be a few hundred acres and would have to be outside the city, where would there be ten thousand acres of land for construction?

"Your Highness, the construction is complete. Although the wilderness is quite humid, we have embedded fire pearls in the dark corners of the castle to keep the storerooms dry. In addition, the preparation of moonstones and pipelines is also complete. Please inspect it. If you are satisfied, you can hand over the remaining Seven Saints Heart Cultivation Pill. The fire talisman gun, Jiaojiao armor, combat law wine, pills, and books you requested are all in the storeroom. Here is the blueprint. You can check according to the diagram. This castle can accommodate tens of thousands of people, and you should increase your manpower."

Xiang Shan Zhengxiong was eager for the second pill.

"There's no need for inspection. If I can't trust the Heavenly Craft Academy, who can I trust?" Guchen Sha was delighted. He had always wanted a good residence, and now he finally had one. This was truly his own home, even though it was in the wilderness, it was more peaceful and harmonious than the capital, and everything was under his control. He threw the bottle to Xiang Shan Zhengxiong.

Xiang Shan Zhengxiong carefully inspected the pill, found no issues, and immediately informed the higher-ups of the Heavenly Craft Academy that the deal was done.

"Your Highness, the roads are also being rapidly constructed, cutting through mountains and building bridges over water. They will soon connect to here. Additionally, the Heavenly Craft Academy will build relay stations along the roads, making this place not only your fief but also part of the imperial territory," Xiang Shan Zhengxiong said.

"I will use this place as the center to expand further into the wilderness," Guchen Sha ordered loudly. "Plant the Dragon Rain Cloud banners on all the high points!"

"Yes!"

Many warriors below responded in unison.

In these three days, Liu Yu and others had already integrated all of Long Yuyun's troops. They had already cultivated to the Dao realm and wielded divine swords, making them extremely powerful, and they were not afraid of any resistance, especially with Long Yuyun's orders.

In total, they had integrated about three thousand people from Long Yuyun's troops, temporarily alleviating the shortage of manpower in the fief.

However, these were all warriors, skilled in combat and killing, and their daily task was to train in martial arts. The residence still needed a large number of servants for cleaning, managing the storerooms, raising livestock, and even having maids for embroidery, clothing, and washing.

Even in the homes of wealthy gentry, besides the guards, there were dozens to hundreds of servants and laborers.

Fortunately, Long Yuyun had experience commanding millions of troops and civilians, and she was well-suited to the task. Additionally, there were many survivors from Dragon Sword Island who could be used to expand the population of the fief.

As for Bao Yu Kingdom, Guchen Sha could not yet trust them.

Long Yuyun already believed that he could rescue her family, and now she followed his orders without question.

"Your Highness, I will take my leave. If there are any matters, you can contact me through the Zhou Tian Box. I will send people to maintain and repair the castle in the future. Additionally, if you need to construct any other facilities, I can give you a twenty percent discount," Xiang Shan Zhengxiong said, bowing and flying away.

Guchen Sha looked at the blueprint in his hand and landed in the central tower of the castle, where he would reside.

In the center of the castle, his private residence was a seven-story tower. The first floor was a council hall, very spacious. The second floor was for weapons and swords. The third floor was for clothing. The fourth, fifth, and sixth floors were empty, to be arranged according to his wishes. The top floor was his bedroom and cultivation area.

It was the center of the entire residence and even the entire fief.

As soon as he entered his bedroom, he felt the abundant spiritual energy, as if a spirit-gathering array was in place. Looking down from the tower, the entire castle resembled a giant tortoise breathing, absorbing the essence of heaven and earth, and all the essence gathered in this bedroom.

In the bedroom, one could cultivate or even stay for ten days and nights, and it would cleanse the flesh and eliminate all illnesses.

Guchen Sha originally wanted to see if there were any changes to be made, but he found that the ten-thousand-acre castle, the tortoise emerging from the sea, the surrounding mountains with towers, and the bridges like rainbows, all utilized the magnetic fields of the surrounding mountains. He could not make any changes, as any additional modifications would be superfluous.

"Amazing, amazing!" Guchen Sha thought. "I have recently gained some insights into array formations, feng shui, and architecture, but I still fall short compared to the Heavenly Craft Academy."

The bedroom was very large, with bookshelves on all four sides, filled with many books.

In the center of the bedroom, there was not a bed but a structure similar to an altar, which was empty.

"This is the core of the entire residence and even the entire fief. It needs a powerful treasure to guard it. Clearly, the Heavenly Craft Academy would not leave me a powerful magical treasure, so I need to find one myself." Guchen Sha took out the bone and placed it on the core.

Buzz...

The entire bedroom seemed to receive a surge of spiritual energy, becoming much stronger.

"Not enough. This bone is a good thing, sufficient to suppress a general spirit-gathering array, but it falls short for the main core of the entire fief. I'll try the stone." Guchen Sha took out the stone he had obtained from the Chaos World Monkey God Temple. This stone was excellent for suppressing the core of a medicinal treasure storeroom, far superior to the bone.

When he placed the stone on the core, he noticed an unexpected change.

Crack, crack!

A faint sound came from the stone.

Countless spiritual energies surged into the stone, and the castle, shaped like a tortoise, gained a mysterious aura, as if it had come to life.

The more than three thousand soldiers who had just entered the castle immediately felt an indescribable sensation, as if the castle had come to life, like a real tortoise, and they were inside its body, feeling a great sense of security, as if protected by an ancient divine beast. Additionally, everyone seemed to receive some kind of power enhancement.

Guchen Sha felt it most strongly.

He felt that the stone and the castle were resonating, as if merging into one.

"Could it be that this stone contains the egg of an ancient divine tortoise? Only the egg of an ancient divine tortoise would resonate with the feng shui of the tortoise emerging from the sea, making the feng shui come to life and enhancing its effects several times, even tenfold!" Guchen Sha realized.

The feng shui of the entire castle was "tortoise emerging from the sea," so any treasure used to suppress the core would not be as effective as a tortoise egg.

"Will I be able to hatch this tortoise egg from the fossil? But since it has become a fossil, hatching it will be difficult, with only its spiritual essence remaining. However, where there's a will, there's a way." Guchen Sha thought. "The divine tortoise is naturally powerful, born with immense strength and mysterious abilities. If I can hatch it and make it the secret divine beast of my fief, it will be far more powerful than the sword whale of Dragon Sword Island."

He then exerted his strength, causing blood to seep from his fingers, and he drew symbols on the egg using the Sun and Moon Cultivation technique.

"Sun and Moon Cultivation, the Son of Heaven's divine power, nurturing all things, I use my blood to sprinkle the earth, allowing all beings to grow..." Guchen Sha's mind immersed in the vast realm of the Son of Heaven's divine power. After reaching the Dao realm, this divine technique had made great progress, far surpassing its previous state.

The Son of Heaven nurtures the people, and the Son of Heaven's blood is the best treasure, capable of transforming everything and nurturing all life.

He drew symbols all over the egg and then gently touched it.

The egg absorbed all his blood and began to tremble.

The trembling egg seemed like a child playing, with emotional fluctuations, expressing joy.

In Guchen Sha's mind, he seemed to see a small tortoise in the egg, celebrating, and a sense of gratitude was transmitted to him.

"Amazing, it still has spiritual essence." Guchen Sha was overjoyed but also knew that he could not hatch the egg so quickly. The egg had become a fossil, losing its vitality, and even soaking it in spiritual liquid would be of no use. Only by dripping heavenly dew or using his "Sun and Moon Dragon Blood" prototype could it possibly be restored.

Even so, it was still uncertain.

However, if he used heavenly dew to nourish it, the tortoise would have no connection to him and would not recognize him. Using his own blood to refine it would make it more intimate than a pet he had raised for years, allowing for mental communication.

Moreover, with Guchen Sha's cultivation improving, the Sun and Moon Dragon Blood in his body might not be inferior to heavenly dew, and it could even become stronger in the future. Besides, he had consumed a large amount of heavenly dew himself.

He then forced more blood out and inscribed more symbols on the egg.

Before reaching the Dao realm, he could not easily expend his essence blood, but after reaching the Dao realm, the situation improved significantly because he could absorb spiritual energy and restore his essence blood.

This was one aspect. Another aspect was the Way of the Son of Heaven, which was not about taking but about nurturing and giving. In ancient times, the Son of Heaven used his own blood to save the people, which was also a form of cultivation.