The Path of Immortality: Starts With Creating Water Bear Gu

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. During this time, all the geniuses were actively preparing for the upcoming battles. Only Long Xuan remained confined to his room, lying on his bed all day, seemingly lazy and sleeping soundly.

In reality, his consciousness was immersed in the illusionary space, tirelessly studying the fist techniques stored in the Long Clan's library tower from the Western Lands. He secretly learned the top-grade techniques at the fastest possible pace.

Although half a month doesn't seem long, Long Xuan benefited immensely. Inspired by the knowledge he gained from the library, he quickly mastered the "Steel Fist" technique.

Of course, he was only able to use a portion of it, having completed just over 30% of the progress. He was still far from mastering it fully.

However, today was not a day for him to continue training, as the arena match against the Bai Clan was scheduled to begin today.

Long Xuan had no choice but to end his seclusion, get out of the Original Realm, wash up briefly, and head out to join the others.

The twelve candidates for this arena match had already been selected—six from the Far West Long Clan and six from the Western Lands Long Clan.

Long Xuan had already met Long Ruoxue and Long Dan, but the other four were unfamiliar faces he hadn't seen before.

As soon as Long Xuan arrived, he asked, "Why haven't I seen Long Biao?"

With an unnatural expression, Long Ruoxue replied, "I heard he accidentally stepped on and killed the patriarch’s pet ant. The patriarch was furious, beat him up, and put him in confinement."

Hearing this, Long Xuan couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth. Killing an ant? And someone kept an ant as a pet? He had never heard of such a thing before. Is that even something that can be a pet?

“He was supposed to go, but you, Long Bao, and Long Yan are all at the mid-stage of Marrow Cleansing."

"And there are only three slots for mid-stage Marrow Cleansing. If he doesn’t withdraw, one of you will have to give up your spot," Long Ruoxue quietly explained again.

With this, Long Xuan immediately understood.

The others also had odd expressions on their faces.

"So, does that mean we took his spot? I feel bad about that," Long Bao said.

"You seem to feel just fine!" Long Yan rolled his eyes at him.

"If he can't go, it only means he's not as strong as you. The Spirit Metal Mine is crucial, and the family can't afford any leniency. If there's anyone to blame, it's him for being too weak!" Long Dan said disdainfully, giving Long Bao a sidelong glance.

"Exactly, this isn't about taking anyone’s spot. Everyone competes fairly based on their own strength. You don’t need to feel guilty. Since everyone’s here, let’s head out!"

The Family Head arrived with a large group, not pausing, and directly headed for the gate.

There were quite a lot of people accompanying them, most likely just going to watch the spectacle or cheer them on. Not only were most of the higher-ups attending, but many Long Clan Gu cultivators of lower realms were also preparing to watch the event.

Watching a spectacle is in everyone’s nature, especially when this matter concerns the future of the Long Clan. The clan’s future cultivation resources would depend on the outcome of today’s battle. Winning meant a life of luxury from now on. Everyone was nervous and ready to witness this clan-defining event with their own eyes.

Since so many people from the Long Clan were going, it was safe to assume that members from other clans would also come to watch the excitement. The number of Gu cultivator families in Blackstone City was countless.

With such a major event between the Long and Bai Clans, it’s likely that every Gu cultivator family in the city, including the Ten Clans of the Western Lands, would send people to witness it. The venue would surely be packed.

The match between the two clans would take place in the city center’s main square. The ground there was flat and spacious, covered with sturdy stone tiles, and a temporary arena had already been set up in the middle.

The city lord would personally oversee the event to maintain order. He would act as both a witness and referee for the arena match, ensuring that both sides abided by the rules regardless of the outcome.

Once the group left the gates, they marched grandly toward the central square. The younger generation of geniuses walked at the back of the group, with Long Xuan, ever low-key, trailing behind all the geniuses, following Long Ziyan closely.

Every Long Clan Gu cultivator had a confident smile on their face, full of optimism about the upcoming match.

After all, with the help of so many external experts, how could they not be confident? Their confidence was overflowing.

Long Xuan was the most confident. With the Ten Absolute Physique, defeating opponents of the same realm was a breeze, so easy that he felt uninterested. He even considered having his clone fight in his place, as he had done many times before.

A clone could easily handle someone of the same realm. It wasn’t necessary for his main body to take action personally.

Just as he was thinking this, his Insect Bag suddenly stirred.

Long Xuan’s face showed surprise. He left a clone behind and quietly walked off.

Even though he was walking at the very back of the group and was not very noticeable, Long Yuanshan still spotted his movements.

"Is the one that stayed behind the main body or a clone?" Long Yuanshan asked, turning his head hesitantly.

"Uh, it should be the main body. It looks like he sent a clone out to take care of something," Long Qian replied, unsure.

"Oh! I'm the main body. The one that just left was my clone. I gave him some tasks. He’ll be back soon," the Fire Clone said.

...

After walking far enough, Long Xuan found a secluded spot and pulled out a small, furry creature from his Insect Bag.

This small furry creature was none other than the Jade Rabbit. Since he was about to go on a long trip and his clone couldn’t be too far away, he had to bring all his clones with him.

Without his clones watching over it, he feared this rabbit might uproot all his spiritual herbs to refine into pills. He had always been skeptical of the rabbit’s character.

To be safe, he decided to bring the Jade Rabbit along as well.

"Did you really sense the aura of a Heavenly Grade Spiritual Herb?"

Long Xuan lowered his voice and asked excitedly, his heart racing a bit.

The reason he had separated from the crowd was that this rabbit claimed to have sensed the aura of a Heavenly Grade Spiritual Herb.

Since the rabbit itself was a spiritual herb, it wasn’t surprising that it could sense the presence of a Heavenly Grade one.

Upon hearing that there was a Heavenly Grade Spiritual Herb nearby, Long Xuan’s spirits were instantly lifted, and he hurriedly ran out of the crowd.

The rabbit quickly nodded, its eyes gleaming with excitement. Heavenly Grade Spiritual Herbs are peak-tier ingredients for refining pills, and since the rabbit loved alchemy, it was naturally excited. Its desire for the herb was even greater than Long Xuan’s.

The rabbit urgently pointed forward and squeaked anxiously.

Long Xuan had no doubts and, following the rabbit's guidance, swiftly pursued forward.

At the same time, he activated his "Eye of Heaven’s Secret," frantically searching for the shadow of that peak-grade spirit herb.

Under the Eye of Heaven’s Secret, if there was any peak-grade spirit herb nearby, it would be impossible to escape his gaze.

However, he was soon disappointed. He had scanned every inch ahead, but there was no trace of that peak-grade spirit herb.

The progress of a peak-grade spirit herb shows as "∞", a symbol so striking that it would be impossible to miss if it appeared.

Yet after searching around, he found nothing.

This could only mean one thing: the peak-grade spirit herb wasn’t kept in some room but was being carried by someone.

Moreover, the spirit herb was probably stored inside a storage bag, so it was normal that he couldn’t see its progress.

However, if the spirit herb was hidden inside a storage bag, the fact that this rabbit could still sense its aura was quite remarkable. Its sensitivity to spirit herbs was extraordinary.

Since he couldn’t locate it, he had to rely on the rabbit, whose keen perception of spirit herbs made it an expert in tracking them.

The rabbit didn't disappoint him. After scanning the crowd, it pointed at a distant figure, masked in black.

Long Xuan was overjoyed and quickly gazed toward the person the rabbit had indicated.

The rabbit urged him repeatedly, pressing him to seize the peak-grade spirit herb quickly.

But when Long Xuan looked at the individual, his expression instantly stiffened, and his smile froze on his face.

Good grief, the person was at the peak of the Gu King stage! The rabbit actually wanted him to rob someone at the Gu King peak. Wasn’t this just asking for death?

Long Xuan's face darkened.

"That’s a Gu King at the peak! You’re actually suggesting I rob a Gu King! Are you trying to get me killed so you can quickly find another owner?"

He flicked the rabbit's forehead sharply.

The rabbit cried out in pain, covering its head and letting out a squeak.

Long Xuan looked again at the Gu King and noticed he was walking toward the Qian Clan Auction House.

Seeing this, Long Xuan frowned slightly.

Then, something shocking happened. The Gu King, in front of everyone, took out a strange tree that resembled a human from his storage bag and casually placed it in front of the auction manager.

As soon as the item appeared, the auction house was thrown into chaos, with gasps of surprise echoing throughout.

"It's the Living Wood!"

Not only did the manager exclaim this name, but Long Xuan also immediately thought of it.

Wood clone had once seen this spirit herb in an illustrated book. Due to its peculiar appearance resembling a human, it had left a lasting impression on him.

Peak-grade spirit herbs are exceedingly rare, and few know their exact uses. However, even if you didn’t know how to use Living Wood, just eating a piece of its bark could extend your life by 500 years.

Who could resist the temptation of gaining 500 years of life? Even a Gu King couldn’t remain calm in the face of such a treasure.

This item was enough to incite the greed of all Gu Kings and even spark a massive war among them to seize it. Such a conflict would be entirely expected.

Once this appeared at auction, there was no need to imagine; soon, Blackstone City would be flooded with Gu Kings from all around.

With so many powerful individuals gathering in one place, who knew what kind of disaster this might trigger?

Blackstone City was likely on the brink of chaos!

Long Xuan's pupils contracted as he sensed the whiff of a conspiracy.

This person had openly taken out the peak-grade spirit herb, the Living Wood, without hiding it. His actions were so blatant, yet his face remained hidden behind a black mask.

Such contradictory behavior—high profile in action but low profile in appearance—made it hard for Long Xuan to believe there wasn't something fishy going on.

It was obvious this person wanted the news of the Living Wood to spread as quickly as possible, while he remained hidden. But what was his true goal?

What was his purpose in gathering so many Gu Kings in Blackstone City by using the Living Wood as bait? Long Xuan squinted his eyes, his thoughts drifting toward a larger conspiracy, perhaps a major one.

No sane person would ever bring the Living Wood to auction. The bark alone could extend life by 500 years. No matter how many spirit stones it could fetch, selling it at an auction would never be worthwhile.

Spirit stones in this world were only useful for purchasing cheap items, not for obtaining priceless treasures. In such a situation, no matter how many spirit stones you acquired, what use would they be?

And don’t tell him that the peak Gu King expert was short on spirit stones. A peak Gu King was among the highest-ranking experts here—how could they lack spirit stones?

If Long Xuan were in his place, even if there was an unavoidable reason to auction the Living Wood, he would sell only the bark, not the entire tree.

The value of such an invaluable treasure didn’t lie in its price but in how much the buyer was willing to spend.

The buyer would exhaust all their resources to buy the Living Wood, just as they would for its bark. Whether the auction sold the bark or the entire Living Wood, the final price would be similar.

If Long Xuan were in his shoes, he would peel off the bark, divide it into countless pieces, auction them at different places, and then keep the Living Wood in a Herb garden to let the bark regenerate infinitely. That way, it would provide him with a continuous flow of wealth.

This would be the way to maximize profits.

Selling the entire Living Wood at once would be like killing the goose that laid the golden eggs. It was a fool's move.

Long Xuan didn’t believe that someone capable of reaching the peak of the Gu King realm would be so foolish. Using such a treasure to gather Gu Kings here must have ulterior motives.

Dark currents were bound to surge in Blackstone City soon, and Long Xuan knew he had to be extra cautious.

After giving the mysterious figure one last deep glance, he ignored the anxious rabbit and quickly left.

It was a joke—this item was no longer something he could easily obtain. With countless Gu Kings already eyeing it, he would be crazy to try to snatch it from under their noses.

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