The Path of Immortality: Starts With Creating Water Bear Gu

Chapter 126: Long Xuan's Devious Plan

"You know? How did you guess?" Long Wanli's expression froze as he looked at him in disbelief.

Years ago, the two of them competed for the position of family head. At the time, they were both the most outstanding geniuses in the family, each with many supporters. The previous family head feared that the competition would lead to internal strife, so he decided to use a lottery to determine who would become the family head.

Whoever drew the bamboo slip with the word "Long" written on it would become the head, and the loser would have to guard the sacred tree for fifty years, allowing time to cool off.

This was equivalent to house arrest, and it was a plan devised by the former family head to prevent internal conflict by separating the two for an extended period.

Long Wanli couldn't bear the thought of being trapped, so he resorted to trickery, replacing all the bamboo slips with blank ones.

He let Long Buhui draw first, knowing that no matter what, he would pick a blank slip.

With a blank slip in hand, everyone would assume the remaining slip had the character on it. So, when Long Buhui saw that his slip was blank, he didn’t even bother watching Long Wanli draw and directly went to the sacred ground to guard the sacred tree, where he remained for fifty years.

Using this dishonorable method, Long Wanli successfully claimed the position of family head. Although the family prospered under his leadership, he always felt guilty towards Long Buhui.

He originally thought that this secret would never be discovered, but to his surprise, Long Buhui had known all along, leaving him stunned.

"Hmph! If you hadn't done anything wrong, why would you always look at me with such guilt? Your obvious mistake made it easy to guess!"

...

Meanwhile, outside the Long family, a large group of Gu cultivators from the Hun clan were attacking the Long family's various mountain strongholds from four directions: east, west, north and south.

In no time, battles erupted on the outskirts of the Long family’s territory, and distress signals flew from all directions toward the family's central compound.

At the northernmost point of the Long clan's territory, six Hun clan Gu cultivators in the Marrow Cleansing stage stopped in their tracks, staring at the vast formation before them in surprise.

"This is such a large area. The person here must be extremely wealthy. There must be a vast herb garden inside, filled with high-grade spiritual herbs. Otherwise, there would be no need for such a large formation," one of them said, his eyes gleaming with greed.

"Hehe! It looks like we've found a big target. The wealth inside must be astonishing. If we don't go in and plunder it, when will we?" Another cultivator, also filled with greed, suggested to the others.

"Fourth Brother, don't be reckless. Although you are skilled in formations, this one is vast, so it’s likely not easy to break," cautioned the most cautious of the six.

"Hmph! Is it necessary to be so cautious? Even the Nine Dragons Formation guarding the Long family couldn’t stop me. What chance does this small outer formation have? I'll break it with ease!"

"Exactly! With Fourth Brother's expertise in formations, there’s no need to be so careful. Remember our mission—we must act swiftly. I've also heard that the Long clan has developed something called cement. Although formations made with this material cover a large area, they are fragile and easy to break. Don’t be fooled by this formation's appearance; it's just for show!"

"Hahaha... Exactly! Formations made with that trash material are nothing. Watch me break it with ease!"

The Gu cultivator, known as Fourth Brother, laughed loudly and flew straight into the formation.

The other Gu cultivators, upon hearing that the formation was made with cement, also showed disdain and, without hesitation, followed him inside.

The most cautious of the group sighed but eventually dismissed his concerns and entered last.

...

The distress signals coming from all directions finally broke the awkward silence between Long Wanli and Long Buhui. Long Wanli retrieved a small house from his insect-rearing bag, pulled out a stack of letters from inside, and casually glanced at their contents, his expression slowly changing.

In the past, he might have sent a large number of experts to support the defenses.

But now, knowing in advance that something would happen today, these incidents seemed too much like a ploy to lure him away.

After a moment of thought, he decided to send only a small portion of the family's forces to support the various mountain peaks, leaving most to stay and guard the central compound.

"What’s going on? What happened?" Long Buhui, noticing the change in Long Wanli's expression, immediately walked over, reached into the small house, pulled out a letter, and, after scanning its contents, flew into a rage.

"How bold! A demonic cultivator dares to raid the Long family? They must have forgotten how we made our fortune—by killing!"

"My term as guardian ends today. After all these years, my body is rusting. I've been wanting to stretch my muscles for a while now. I’ll go out and kill them all!"

Long Buhui rolled up his sleeves, ready to rush out.

"Wait! Be careful not to fall into their trap!" Long Wanli quickly called him back, giving him a meaningful look.

Long Buhui paused, showing a thoughtful expression before retreating.

Seeing that the family hadn’t taken the bait, Long Chao and Long Chen exchanged glances, their expressions slightly changing.

Long Chao shook his head, deciding to abandon the plan. But Long Chen, with a determined look, felt there was no turning back. The other attacks had already begun, and he couldn’t halt the plan now.

Seeing that Long Wanli was unlikely to send more experts, Long Chen hesitated no longer. He had to create chaos to draw more Long clan experts to his location.

He immediately took off his insect-rearing bag from his waist and scattered its contents on the ground. Suddenly, twenty Gu cultivators appeared in the center of the courtyard, four of whom exuded the aura of the Spiritual Sea stage.

Upon seeing twenty people suddenly appear in the middle of the courtyard, all the Long clan Gu cultivators were stunned.

"Can the insect-rearing bag even hold people?" This was the first time they had ever seen such a thing.

Long Xuan was also startled by the sudden appearance of these people. "Is this some kind of grand illusion? How did they manage to fit people into an insect-rearing bag and bring them here?"

"Not good!"

The Long clan Gu cultivators quickly realized the situation and immediately distanced themselves from these unexpected guests.

However, Long Chao reacted a moment too late and was pierced through the heart by Long Chen's sword, collapsing to the ground.

"Long Chen! What on earth are you doing?"

Many were shocked by the sudden turn of events. None of the Long clan Gu cultivators in the Marrow Cleansing stage had received any prior information, so they were completely confused by what was happening.

Only Long Wanli's expression remained unchanged, as if he had anticipated this all along. He watched their actions with a calm demeanor, showing no signs of alarm.

"Kill them! Make it quick!"

Long Chen didn't waste time with unnecessary words. After shaking off the blood from his sword, he led a group of experts to attack in all directions.

But just then, another unexpected event occurred.

Suddenly, from all directions, five elders of the Long clan in the Spiritual Sea stage emerged with ferocious smiles and charged at the invading Hun clan Gu cultivators.

Seeing these fierce faces, Long Chen's expression changed drastically, and a chill ran through his heart.

"Damn it!"

Realizing that a large number of strong opponents had been lying in wait, Long Chen knew he had fallen into a trap. The information had likely been leaked in advance, and since he wasn't the one who leaked it, it could only have been Long Chao.

"Damn it! I knew you were unreliable! You've completely screwed me over! Die!"

Long Chen kicked Long Chao's body hard, sending him flying.

"Retreat! Whoever can escape, do it!"

Long Chen shouted as he turned and began to break through to the outside.

"Hahaha..." Long Buhui laughed heartily. "You think you can escape? You’re all staying right here!"

After being confined here for fifty years, his body had grown rusty, and he was eager for a fight to loosen up his muscles. So, when the chance for a battle arose, he was the most excited.

Cracking his knuckles, he charged forward enthusiastically.

Family head Long Wanli also put away his insect-rearing bag's small house, then sneered and joined the fight.

With the addition of these two powerful allies, the Long clan now had seven Spiritual Sea stage Gu cultivators, making it seven against four, an overwhelming advantage with no chance of losing.

At this moment, the Long clan Gu cultivators in the Marrow Cleansing stage finally snapped out of their shock. Their faces filled with anger, they released their Gu insects and charged at the enemy Marrow Cleansing stage cultivators.

The Long clan's Marrow Cleansing stage Gu cultivators outnumbered the enemies and were also the best of their level, making it impossible for their battlefield to suffer a disadvantage.

The chaotic battle erupted instantly, turning the scene into complete disorder. Hearing the commotion inside, the two peak Marrow Cleansing stage guards outside also rushed in angrily to join the fray, further worsening the situation for the Hun clan Gu cultivators.

Seeing this, Long Xuan's eyes flickered with a cunning idea. He quickly shouted, "Move the battle farther away, don’t let them get desperate and destroy the sacred tree!"

At his reminder, Long Lie, who was blocking the doorway, suddenly changed his expression. He then deliberately left an opening for the enemy to escape.

The Spiritual Sea stage Gu cultivators from the Hun clan wouldn’t miss such a rare opportunity, so they all fled through the opening.

"Stop them!"

"Quick, chase them!"

"Don’t let them escape!"

All the Long clan Gu cultivators also ran through the doorway in pursuit. Soon, only a few corpses were left on the ground, with no one alive in sight.

Even Long Xuan, with a look of anger, ran out in pursuit, leaving no one behind.

The previously lively sacred ground suddenly became quiet, so quiet that you could hear a pin drop, as if nothing had just happened.

But the silence didn’t last long. Soon, a furry rabbit jumped out of the ground, looking excitedly at the tall Divine Dragon Tree before it. 'This is excellent material for alchemy!'

The rabbit eagerly leapt onto the tree, bit off four thick branches with its sharp teeth, stored them in a storage pouch, and then jumped back into the ground, fleeing quickly.

With that, the sacred ground fell silent once more. However, the majestic Divine Dragon Tree was now in a terrible state, with milky white sap continuously dripping from the broken branches, creating a soft, rhythmic sound as it hit the ground.