The Path of Immortality: Starts With Creating Water Bear Gu

"Alright, now that we have a method to counter the Mutated Domain, I'll explain the plan I've devised!"

Yan Pojun, after surveying the room with a commanding presence, continued, "My method is simple. As soon as Shi Haojun shows up, we won't waste any words. We'll immediately swallow the poison pills and then attack him all at once."

"All Gu Kings will activate their Spirit Armor with full power, charge through the Mutated Domain, and kill him as fast as possible!"

"But!" Yan Pojun's tone suddenly shifted, and he sternly addressed the crowd: "We must always prepare for the worst. We need to think about what happens if we can't defeat him!"

"Although I am confident in this battle, Blackstone City is behind us. This battle will decide the fate of everyone in the city. We simply cannot afford to gamble."

"So, we must make thorough preparations and consider every possibility. We cannot be blindly overconfident."

"Exactly!" Longyuan added, "Anything can happen. Any accident is possible. We must consider the possibility of defeat, even if we have a 99% chance of winning. We cannot take chances!"

Everyone nodded in agreement, acknowledging the wisdom in their words.

"City Lord, just say whatever plan you have in mind. As long as it’s reasonable, those of us from outside the city will follow," Cai Xuan chimed in.

Yan Pojun nodded and continued, "My plan is simple: we’ll move the battlefield to the edge of Blackstone City."

"If we truly can’t win, we can retreat into the city's defensive formation. Even in defeat, the majority of us will be able to escape unscathed."

"But there’s one detail you must pay close attention to!"

Yan Pojun looked seriously at the group of Gu Kings, "If we retreat into the city after defeat, our bodies will be covered in tiny, invisible insects. If we enter the city with them, we will bring a plague with us, which could destroy the entire city."

"So, the moment we re-enter the city, I will set you all on fire, burning the micro-insects on your Spirit Armor."

"For the safety of everyone in the city, I will use the largest fire possible, with all of my strength."

"Some of the Gu Kings with weaker defenses will inevitably die from the fire. This is unavoidable."

"I need everyone here to sign a life-and-death agreement. If anyone dies from my fire, no one from their faction is allowed to seek revenge."

The crowd nodded. The City Lord's reasoning was sound, and they had no grounds to argue. Moreover, it seemed that the Gu Kings had been thoroughly convinced by Yan Pojun, believing that Shi Haojun was no match for them and that the combined power of the Gu Kings would easily crush him. They thought there was no chance of defeat and, thus, no real chance of being burned alive.

Believing they wouldn’t face such a fate, everyone readily agreed to the proposal.

Just as all the Gu Kings began signing the life-and-death agreement and Yao Chen, with his usual lack of sophistication, was cheerfully distributing poison pills, a commotion broke out at the city gate.

The Gu Kings were startled and moved towards the gate.

"A bolt from the blue! Truly a bolt from the blue!"

Several elderly Gu Kings near the gate wailed loudly, their faces streaked with tears.

"Some villain with a heart of stone took advantage of our absence from Black Iron City and massacred the entire city! More than fifty thousand people, and not a single survivor!"

"What?" Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked.

The Gu Kings of Blackstone City exchanged glances, their faces pale. Just as they had feared, the worst had happened.

With people moving between cities, the citizens of Blackstone City had fled to surrounding areas. Unwilling to take the time to select his targets, Shi Haojun had carried out indiscriminate slaughter in the surrounding cities, preferring to kill a thousand wrongly than to let one slip through.

Yan Pojun clenched his fists, his eyes turning red with fury. "That wolf cub! How dare he!"

The surrounding cities were home to members of the Yan clan. Shi Haojun's indiscriminate slaughter would undoubtedly claim the lives of many of Yan’s kin. How could Yan Pojun not be enraged?

"City Lord, a large group of refugees has suddenly arrived from the south. There are at least fifty thousand of them. They claim a plague broke out in Black Tiger City, killing countless people in a single day. They’ve come seeking refuge."

A Gu cultivator in the Spiritual Sea realm suddenly rushed up to Yan Pojun and reported respectfully.

Upon hearing this, Yan Pojun's expression changed again. He immediately shouted, "Hear my order! From this moment, Blackstone City is officially under lockdown! Those inside can leave, but no one is allowed to enter! Not a single person!"

"If even one person from outside brings the plague into the city, all of us will die!"

Everyone present was visibly shaken. They fully understood what this decision meant.

It meant that the City Lord was abandoning the fifty thousand refugees. Once they were denied entry, their fate was sealed.

Immediately, a female Gu cultivator from the Dan clan voiced her objection, urgently speaking up: "City Lord, please reconsider. Since Shi Haojun wants to massacre the city, he’s probably using the most deadly plague possible."

"There’s at least a ten-day journey between Blackstone City and Black Tiger City. They’ve walked for ten days without showing any signs of illness, so it’s certain they aren’t carrying the plague. We shouldn’t leave them to die..."

“Enough!” Yan Pojun suddenly roared in anger, “Do you want to be the next Shi Rui?”

“So what if they aren’t carrying the plague? Do you understand that the Black River outside the city has already become a massive source of contamination? To be safe, no one should fetch water from there anymore. The water and food in the city are limited, so how can we let in fifty thousand people to eat and drink for free?”

“Furthermore, do you know how many cities and villages the Black River flows through downstream? How many more refugees will it create?”

“These fifty thousand refugees are just a small portion of the start. We don’t even know how many more refugees will follow. Can we save them all?”

“With so many people, can you guarantee not a single one is carrying the plague?”

Once those words were spoken, the crowd fell silent. Indeed, not only did they need to guard against the possibility of someone carrying the plague, but they also had to consider the scarcity of water and food. Given the situation, no matter what, the people outside couldn’t be allowed in.

Most people are selfish. In such circumstances, when their own food isn’t even enough, who would be willing to share it with outsiders? And who would dare gamble that no one entering the city carries the plague?

At that moment, the young girl was also silenced by her own clan, who covered her mouth and dragged her to the back of the crowd.

Seeing that no one opposed him anymore, Yan Pojun scanned the surroundings and shouted again, “Now, follow my orders. Shut the four city gates in the east, south, west, and north. No one is allowed to enter or leave.”

“Also, activate the City Protection Formation and keep it running nonstop. Don’t save on spirit stones; this is not the time to be frugal!”

As the city lord’s orders were passed down, the entire city immediately sprang into action. The atmosphere was solemn, with a foreboding sense of impending disaster.

The four city gates of Blackstone City suddenly closed, blocking anyone who wanted to enter.

Those locked outside included not only people from the outer city but also Blackstone City residents who had been outside and just returned today. Unaware of what had happened, they found themselves barred from their own city, their shouts falling on deaf ears as the gates remained shut.

Countless people frantically pounded on the gates, with cries of cursing, pleading, and wailing filling the air, but the gates didn’t budge.

Inside the city, the people coldly watched, hearts hardened like stone. Under the oppressive gaze of the city lord, no one dared open the gate to let their kin inside.

At this moment, the City Protection Formation was also activated. Three layers of barriers tightly enclosed Blackstone City.

The innermost barrier sealed off the four city walls, preventing the Gu practitioners trying to scale the walls from entering.

With this barrier in place, it was impossible for them to fly into the city. Despair clouded the eyes of everyone outside.

They realized that the people in the city had completely abandoned them. What awaited them, no one knew.

Coincidentally, just after the barrier was activated, the sky was suddenly engulfed by a red light.

The red light swiftly swallowed the entire Blackstone City.

Within the range of the red light, the air seemed to be in upheaval, and countless cracking sounds came from the barrier, as if something was gnawing on it, making people’s scalps tingle.

But the strange phenomena outside didn’t penetrate the barrier, and the unknown danger was isolated outside, leaving the inside peaceful.

At the same time, the countless people outside who hadn’t entered the city began to frantically pound on the gates and walls, letting out chilling screams.

The screaming people wore expressions of extreme pain, frantically clawing at their own faces and skin, ripping open their flesh until blood flowed, as if something was crawling underneath, driving them to mutilate themselves in an attempt to dig it out.

Their bloodstained hands left smears all over the gates and walls, painting a horrifying scene, turning the area below the city walls into a living hell.

Those standing atop the city walls were pale with fear, retreating frantically, their eyes filled with terror.

Everyone was terrified by this sight. The Gu Kings at the wall gazed solemnly at the chaos below. Some wore grim expressions, while others showed hints of pity.

“So this is the Domain of Mutation? How terrifying!” Many people murmured softly.

Inside the city, a wave of fear spread through everyone’s hearts. They narrowly escaped disaster; the Domain of Mutation had descended just moments after the barrier was raised.

Had they been just a little slower, they couldn’t imagine what might have happened.

No doubt, the city would have turned into a hellish nightmare just like the area outside. Everyone thought with lingering dread.

Long Xuan shot a fearful glance at Yan Pojun, standing on the city walls, and secretly sighed. It’s good to have someone ruthless as the city lord.

If he had listened to that saintly woman earlier and let those people into the city, delaying the activation of the barrier by even a second, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

The city had come perilously close to disaster, and it all rested on the city lord’s decision. If Yan Pojun hadn’t been so resolute in activating the City Protection Formation and hadn’t spared any spirit stones, even a moment of hesitation would have doomed Blackstone City.

Suddenly, an eerie sound came from the sky. It was not human—more like the shrill cry of a ghost, piercing and terrifying.

The sound grew louder, more distinct, as if some unspeakable horror was approaching.

Everyone in the city turned pale, their eyes filled with tension.

“Is that the sound of the Plague Demon Gu? Is Shi Haojun approaching?” Someone in the crowd murmured softly.

On the wall, Yan Pojun clenched his fists, staring in the direction of Black Moon City as a figure drew closer. His expression grew increasingly dark as he decisively shouted to the Gu Kings behind him, “Everyone, get down from the wall immediately. Do not speak to him, and don’t let him overhear our thoughts.”

With that, he was the first to leap down from the wall, clearly unwilling to engage in any conversation with Shi Haojun.

The others, recalling that Shi Haojun had the Seven Aperture Exquisite Heart and could hear their thoughts, paled and quickly followed, not even bothering to take the stairs.

By this time, most of the people had already fled from the walls, as the scene below was too horrifying for them to bear. Many had long since retreated to safety.

At this moment, only the Gu Kings and some Spiritual Sea Realm Gu practitioners remained atop the wall.

No! One more—Long Xuan, the brazen one, was still hiding on a distant tower, secretly watching.

But fear finally overwhelmed him, and he quickly jumped down from the tower as well.

Shi Haojun’s ability to overhear thoughts was terrifying, and Long Xuan had long resolved to stay as far away from him as possible.