This teleportation array requires formations on both ends to function. A teleportation array cannot work with only one side prepared, so this time when returning to Earth, Fang Yuan had to rely on his own abilities.
Even without using the teleportation array, Fang Yuan could still rely on his mental powers to teleport. He could directly arrange spatial symbols in the void with his thoughts. However, this method was very slow, and he could only teleport in one direction, with the distance and destination being difficult to determine.
With a thought, spatial ripples appeared around him, spreading out like water waves rippling outward.
As time passed, the spatial ripples became more intense.
Finally, after a few minutes, the space rippled violently, and in the next moment, Fang Yuan vanished into thin air, leaving the surface of the Moon.
When he reappeared, Fang Yuan had already entered Earth's atmosphere, appearing high in the sky at an altitude of 10,000 meters.
Fang Yuan was both surprised and delighted. Earth and the Moon were more than 300,000 kilometers apart, and light itself took over a second to travel from the Moon to Earth.
He had just made a long-distance teleportation and entered Earth's atmosphere, which clearly meant he had achieved an extraordinarily vast range of teleportation.
Though it took a bit of time, as he became more skilled, the time would surely shorten, and the distance of the teleportation might even increase.
At the same time, the distance of teleportation was proportional to the strength of his mental power. As his mental power grew stronger, the effectiveness of the magic he wielded in the outside world also grew.
During the journey to Earth, Fang Yuan had been following the progress of the Magic Age in the Steel Ball World.
As some people obtained the light spheres and began to release magic, the whole world trembled.
Countless people started fighting over the scattered light spheres around the world. In an instant, wars broke out again, rivers of blood flowed, and corpses were everywhere.
In order to speed up the progress of the Magic Age, Fang Yuan knew that by absorbing those light spheres, one could instantly release the magic.
Those who received the magic inheritance could also pass it on to others. As long as the cultivation methods were written down, others could study and learn them.
However, aside from directly receiving the light sphere inheritance, others needed talent to become magicians.
As the Magic Age began, many oppressed and enslaved people, having received the magic light spheres, quickly rose to power and turned their lives around.
In an instant, wars ignited across the world, various organizations proliferated, and the era of mercenary groups arrived.
The former countries quickly collapsed, and new forces emerged like mushrooms after the rain.
...
Although only a year had passed since leaving Earth, Fang Yuan felt as though ten years had passed.
Upon returning, Fang Yuan felt a sense of detachment from the world.
In the small county's pedestrian street, Fang Yuan ate a long-missed pig's trotters noodle dish, his eyes complex as he watched a couple walk hand in hand in the distance.
The woman was none other than Chen Xiyun, who had once been introduced to him for an arranged marriage. Seeing the ring on her finger, it was easy to guess that she had already married someone else and seemed to be living quite well.
Though there was some regret, Fang Yuan didn't feel too sad. After all, nothing had really developed between him and Chen Xiyun. Meeting again, they were just strangers.
In fact, with his long lifespan now, he wasn't in a hurry to start a family. If he had a wife, watching her age slowly would likely cause him some discomfort.
After finishing the noodles and paying, Fang Yuan walked toward his home.
A year had passed, and the weeds had grown thick in front of the house. Occasionally, he could see places where footprints had been left, indicating someone had come by. It was easy to guess that someone had visited during the past year.
However, those footprints were gradually covered by the weeds, and the person who left them likely hadn't visited for months.
Fang Yuan took out his keys and opened the door. Dust rushed toward him, and the air was filled with a rotten smell.
With a wave of his hand, a gust of wind swept through, stirring up all the dust in the room, which then gathered into a ball and flew into the trash bin.
He then performed a hand seal, and water magic quickly formed, summoning a large amount of water to wash the room. The floors, windows, and other surfaces were thoroughly cleaned.
Even the sofa, tables, and tea table were all washed.
Afterward, he performed another hand seal, and the dirty water flew out the door, landing in a drain a hundred meters away.
Finally, he pointed his finger, and a flash of fire evaporated all the moisture. The items that had been soaked by the water, like the sofa, instantly dried.
Only then did Fang Yuan step inside the house. Everything looked the same as before, but he felt a sense of change, as if everything had transformed.
Sitting idly on the sofa, he stretched lazily, gazing at the spacious living room. A sense of loneliness unexpectedly filled him.
Suddenly, Fang Yuan noticed a photo album on the sofa, and some distant memories surged from the depths of his heart.
He picked up the album and flipped through it. It contained photos of Wang Yuanyuan, each one displaying her youthful beauty and charm.
At the end of the album, there was a phone number and QQ number. Fang Yuan could vaguely guess Wang Yuanyuan's intentions.
"Ah..."
He sighed slightly, then looked at the phone on the nearby sofa. With a thought, the phone flew up, connected to its charger, and automatically plugged into the socket to charge.
Then, Fang Yuan once again made a hand seal, and without chanting any incantations, a flash of fire appeared. The flames spread across the yard, burning all the weeds to ash.
Next, he used water magic again. A torrent of water appeared in the yard, sweeping away the ashes and flowing into the drain.
Finally, another flash of fire evaporated all the moisture in the yard.
With that, everything in the house was restored to its original state.
Suddenly, Fang Yuan released his mental energy, covering a radius of one kilometer. He realized that the small county had already developed close to his house.
Previously, his house had been on the outskirts of the city, but now it was almost incorporated into the city. A street was just over 200 meters away, and there were many newly built residential houses in the area.
Fang Yuan's mind stirred. "Life must go on. Since I'm free, I might as well start a small business."
So, he left the house. Making sure no one was passing by, he walked toward the unfinished airplane frame he had crafted earlier.
Placing his hand on the frame, gold magic was activated, and the white airplane frame began to melt at a visible speed.
The seven- to eight-meter-high frame eventually melted into a pool of liquid metal.
Under Fang Yuan's control, the massive liquid metal quickly deformed, turning into metal plates one centimeter thick.
He manipulated the plates with his mind, quickly assembling them into a two-meter-high shelf.
The shelf was eight meters long, divided into two layers, each with individual one-cubic-meter compartments.
The compartments were surrounded by white metal plates on all sides, leaving the front open.
Then, Fang Yuan used gold magic again to melt the metal and create a metal mesh, sealing the back of the compartments. The holes in the mesh were just big enough for a finger to pass through.
Finally, Fang Yuan created sixteen small metal doors for the compartments, welding them with gold magic and adding metal locks.
He dismantled the old fence around the yard and used earth magic to solidify the ground. He placed the large shelf where the fence used to be and solidified it with the ground.
Then, he raised stone pillars four meters high, and placed two thin metal plates as a roof to provide shade from the sun and rain.
Fang Yuan thought for a moment, then decided to use the world's resources from the Steel Ball World to create some transparent materials as toughened glass. He assembled them to form walls and a door.
These materials, which looked like toughened glass, were even stronger than toughened glass and could withstand the impact of bombs.
After completing everything, Fang Yuan scanned the Steel Ball World with his mental energy and quickly targeted a fierce beast.
This beast looked like a spotted tiger, but with two long fangs like a saber-toothed tiger. It had very low intelligence, resembling an animal, and was incredibly ferocious. It was about four meters long and two meters tall.
This creature had evolved naturally in the Steel Ball World over thousands of years, seemingly returning to its ancestral form.
Fang Yuan immediately captured one, used the world's power to modify it, extracted some of its cells, and compressed it.
The once fierce saber-toothed tiger, now only two meters tall, was compressed to the size of a palm. It now looked rather cute.
Fang Yuan smiled in satisfaction, bringing the creature out of the Steel Ball World and placing it in the first compartment of the shelf, closing the metal door behind it.
The saber-toothed tiger was confused and panicked, jumping around and showing its teeth, growling softly. But when Fang Yuan released his aura, it immediately cowered, too scared to make a sound.
Then Fang Yuan took a small sign, writing on it: "Miniature Saber-toothed Tiger, Imported Species, Price: 100,000 RMB!"
"Tsk tsk, this miniature saber-toothed tiger should be popular," Fang Yuan chuckled, thinking for a moment before writing another sign in red characters:
"Hiring Salesperson: Gender: Female; Age: 18–30; Education: At least middle school; Requirements: Good appearance, good manners, polite; No meals or lodging provided; Monthly salary: 10,000 RMB; Contact: xxxxxxxxxx."