The young lady insisted that Zhou Yan join her for a meal, and he agreed. In the end, she arranged for a car to take him home.
Upon returning, Zhou Yan communicated with the Lord's Heart and reappeared in his territory.
Having emerged from the novice trial grounds, his entire territory was now situated within a peculiar dimension, shrouded in a hazy, dreamlike aura, as if it were an illusory world.
This was the unique Lord's Space that each lord inhabited, confining their activities strictly within the boundaries of their domain.
"Lord," Li Shuang rushed forward upon seeing Zhou Yan, exclaiming, "The resources you brought back are enough for us to use for a long time, though there are many items I'm not sure how to utilize."
Being people of ancient times, they were unfamiliar with many modern conveniences.
A significant portion of the items purchased this time were related to the kitchen and were things they had never encountered before.
Zhou Yan then proceeded to the Five-Star Hotel, unpacking the various items he had bought, and began explaining their uses to Li Shuang and Liu Yue.
The two women possessed strong learning abilities and quickly grasped the information and methods for using these items.
Liu Yue, in particular, began experimenting with the seasonings.
As plate after plate of fragrant dishes were prepared, even Zhou Yan, who had already eaten, found his appetite whetted.
"So fragrant!"
He praised wholeheartedly. With S-grade culinary skills combined with these abundant and diverse seasonings, the resulting delicacies were exceptionally delicious.
He asked Liu Yue to prepare a table for Diao Chan and the others to sample.
Afterward, he returned to the Spiritual Bamboo House. Diao Chan and the others were all cultivating, so he didn't disturb them and instead retrieved the Lord's Heart.
The Lord's Heart manifested as a seven-colored radiant light. The moment it was brought out, a prompt appeared.
Territory Prompt: "Do you wish to use the special item [Lord's Heart]?"
In his mind, the Lord's Heart, transformed into an ancient scroll, shimmered with brilliant radiance, much like a charming beauty whispering, "I want it."
"Use it!"
The Lord's Heart floated into the air, transforming into a celestial halo of seven colors that enveloped the entire territory. The territory was bathed in a warm, comforting glow, akin to sunlight embracing everyone, bringing a sense of profound comfort. Subsequently, the territory underwent earth-shattering changes.
The territorial expanse began to expand at an incredibly rapid pace, and every building was bathed in the seven-colored light.
Territory Prompt: "Territory area increased to 350,000 square meters."
Territory Prompt: "[Lord's Heart] can now be constructed!"
Territory Prompt: "[Lord's Heart] can be activated, allowing the entire territory to move. The higher the level, the faster the movement speed. At max level, movement in the air is possible."
Territory Prompt: "[Lord's Heart] Spiritual Gathering Array can be activated, increasing the cultivation speed of territory residents. Cultivation speed increases with the territory's level."
Territory Prompt: "[Lord's Heart] Defense Array can be activated, allowing the consumption of spirit coins to upgrade the defense array's level. When the defense shield's spiritual energy is insufficient, spirit coins can be consumed for replenishment."
Territory Prompt: "[Lord's Heart] Spirit Vein can be activated. It grows by devouring spirit veins. The stronger the spirit vein, the denser the territory's spiritual energy."
Six consecutive prompts left him utterly astounded.
The territory's area had increased tenfold in one go, and so many potent attributes had been unlocked.
His previous territorial area had been insufficient, preventing him from constructing many buildings. With the Lord's Heart, the issue of territory size was immediately resolved.
Looking at the ten-fold expansion, building over a hundred more structures would be no problem at all.
He needed to construct the Lord's Heart to activate the other attributes.
Territory Prompt: "Do you wish to consume one million spirit coins to construct the Lord's Heart?"
"One million!" He was surprised, not expecting the Lord's Heart to cost such a sum to build.
However, this was an expenditure he had to make.
"Yes."
Territory Prompt: "Spirit Coins -1,000,000. Construction of [Lord's Heart] initiated."
The Lord's Heart did not evolve again. It seemed this structure could no longer evolve, as it had already transformed from the seven-colored light.
The Lord's Heart transformed into a building, resembling the style of a "Crystal Nexus" from a game, except that the Lord's Heart emanated a seven-colored radiance, appearing as a mere cluster of seven-colored light, and possessed no offensive capabilities.
However, its "indestructible" feature was truly remarkable.
Even during the day, a dreamlike, colorful glow emanated, extraordinarily brilliant and beautiful, as if one were immersed in a fantasy world.
After the Lord's Heart was constructed, the entire territory was immediately filled with spiritual energy. Although not abundant, this was merely the beginning; more would accumulate over time.
Shortly thereafter, the Lord's Heart emitted a beam of light that shot straight into the sky, forming a defensive shield that enveloped the entire territory.
He proceeded to examine the building's attributes.
[Building: Lord's Heart]
[Level: 1]
[Quality: Unknown]
[Defense: Indestructible]
[Upgrade Requirements: 2,000,000 spirit coins, 100 Five-Star Swift Stones, 100 Five-Star Spirit Stones, 100 Five-Star Jade Stones, 1 One-Star Spirit Vein (node)]
[Special Attribute 1: Movement (Allows the entire territory to move. Higher levels increase movement speed. Max level allows aerial movement.)]
[Special Attribute 2: Spiritual Gathering Array (Increases the cultivation speed of territory residents. Cultivation speed increases with territory level.)]
[Special Attribute 3: Defense Array (Allows consumption of spirit coins to upgrade the defense array level. Spirit coins can be consumed for replenishment when defense shield spiritual energy is insufficient. Current Defense: 9999/9999)]
[Special Attribute 4: Spirit Vein (Grows by devouring spirit veins. The stronger the spirit vein, the denser the territory's spiritual energy.)]
[Special Attribute 5: Unactivated]
[Description: Connected to the entire territory, possessing mysterious functions for the domain.]
The attributes of the Lord's Heart were exceptionally powerful, although the upgrade difficulty was considerable.
Apart from the spirit vein, the required materials were all Five-Star. Moreover, he had not yet discerned any direct benefits the Lord's Heart provided to other buildings.
This was understandable, as the Lord's Heart was only Level 1, and further attributes would be unlocked as its level increased.
He still had three buildings available for construction: the E-grade building [Bathhouse], the S-grade Barracks [Breaker Army], and the RRR-grade building [Lord's Mansion].
However, he decided against constructing the Breaker Army, intending to trade or sell it instead.
Despite possessing over a billion spirit coins, he knew that if he were to spend them, this amount would still fall far short.
After all, spirit coins served an additional purpose: cultivation.
Using spirit coins for cultivation, depending on individual talent, could accelerate cultivation speed by at least 5%.
If his cultivation technique weren't special and didn't require spirit coins, the amount needed solely for his personal cultivation would be substantial.
He himself didn't require spirit coins for cultivation, but the heroes and soldiers of his territory did.
He would undoubtedly distribute spirit coins to everyone in the territory as cultivation resources in the future, hence his perpetual need for funds.
Of the two buildings he could construct, he was most anticipating the RRR-grade [Lord's Mansion]. This building was already of maximum quality, and he wondered what it would transform into upon evolution.
First, he placed the previously stored [Cinema] within the territory.
Then, he began the construction of buildings.
Territory Prompt: "Constructing [Bathhouse]. [Bathhouse] has evolved into [Hot Spring Villa]."
[Hot Spring Villa]!
This was truly excellent; he could now enjoy hot spring baths every day.
He quickly headed towards the Hot Spring Villa. The building's area was quite substantial.
(Author: Starting explosive updates today!)