The Path of Immortality: Starts With Creating Water Bear Gu

Chapter 174: One Wave Has Yet to Settle, Another Rises

With this thought in mind, Long Xuan eagerly began his research on the recipe for the Longevity Gu. His enthusiasm surpassed anyone else's.

This time, he didn’t even need to search for materials; the secret chamber was stocked with everything he required. He had never fought a battle with such abundant resources before.

On the day the Gu recipe was finalized, it would also be the day he started refining the Gu.

This time, he could refine the Gu for free, without the hassle of gathering materials as before. Long Xuan smiled with satisfaction.

However, just as he was getting into the zone, someone suddenly interrupted him.

His pen paused mid-air, and he frowned. Who would disturb him in the middle of the night?

But when Long Xuan sensed with his spiritual power that it was Long Ziyan who had entered, he immediately perked up.

It seemed that his senior sister had come for dual cultivation. At that moment, how could he continue to focus on researching the Gu recipe? The Gu recipe could wait; there was no rush to study it. This matter at hand was far more urgent and important than anything else.

Long Xuan's thoughts quickly shifted, and he slapped his pen on the table, rushing out of the secret chamber.

As soon as he stepped out, he noticed that, at some point, a large wooden tub had appeared in the room, filled with steaming hot water with flower petals floating on the surface.

Without turning her head, Long Ziyan said, "Take a bath first."

Bath? Long Xuan was taken aback, and half of his burning desire was extinguished by the thought. But since Long Ziyan loved cleanliness, he had no choice but to comply, reluctantly removing his clothes.

At that moment, Long Ziyan turned her back and slowly walked out the door.

Long Xuan smirked mischievously. They were already like an old married couple—what was there to be shy about? They had already seen everything there was to see!

He cast his gaze towards the petal-filled water, the air thick with floral fragrance. It was his first time bathing with such things. Only girls from this world would throw flower petals into their bathwater.

Long Xuan chuckled, but just as he was about to jump into the water to clean himself up, his face suddenly changed.

His Eye of Heavenly Secret revealed that there were countless grotesque little worms swimming in the water with bloodthirsty glints in their eyes. From their appearance, it was clear that these worms were harmful to the human body. If they entered his body, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Long Xuan broke out in a cold sweat instantly. Someone had placed a Gu on him! Who could it be? A chill ran down his spine, and all his previous excitement vanished.

Thankfully, Long Xuan completely trusted Long Ziyan. The only reason he activated the Eye of Heavenly Secret just now was due to a habit he had formed over the years.

It was a reflex, a subconscious response to scan the water with his Eye of Heavenly Secret, without ever intending to check the bathwater.

Unexpectedly, this habit once again helped him avoid a crisis.

Long Xuan took a deep breath, calming himself as he observed the worms floating in the water.

There was no way this could have been Long Ziyan's doing. She slept beside him every night and had countless opportunities to act. There was no reason for her to use such a risky method that could expose her.

So who wanted to harm him? Long Xuan pondered, his face showing deep thought. After carefully studying the worms in the water, his expression suddenly changed, growing more serious.

He realized something terrifying—Long Ziyan couldn't see the worms in the water, which was why she had brought it to him. These worms were so small they were invisible to the naked eye.

Only because of his Eye of Heavenly Secret, which acted like a microscope, could he detect the worms in the water.

For most people, it would be impossible to see these microscopic worms, making it almost certain they would fall victim to them.

That’s right, these worms were part of the microscopic Gu species, and their numbers were staggering.

Long Xuan hadn’t expected that, besides himself, there were others in this world who could manipulate microscopic Gu species. He was truly astonished.

Clearly, the people of this world couldn’t be underestimated. Even if they couldn’t see the atomic level of the microscopic world, it didn’t mean they couldn’t harness its power.

Long Xuan had underestimated the world. Besides himself, there was another group of Gu Masters capable of utilizing microscopic Gu species.

Taking a deep breath to suppress his shock, Long Xuan quickly dressed and hurried to the family head's residence. This was a major issue, and he suspected it wasn’t just aimed at him. It could be part of a larger conspiracy targeting the entire Long family or even the entire Black Stone City.

He had to inform the family head as soon as possible so the family could prepare in advance. Otherwise, the consequences could be dire.

...

Meanwhile, outside the city.

Yan Pojun shattered his storage ring in front of the crowd, scattering its contents everywhere, but the Living Wood was nowhere to be found. Everyone frowned.

"It’s not here? How many smokescreens did Luo Yu set up? He’s already dead, yet we still haven’t found that Living Wood! Where in the world did he hide it?" Yan Pojun said, his face dark with frustration.

"Are all his people dead? I can’t imagine who else he could have given the Living Wood to." Among the crowd, a Hun Clan Gu King remarked.

"That's right, those two young men were his last subordinates. However, their cultivation level was far too low, and they were killed by the residual power from the battle of the Gu King. Judging by their appearances, these two seemed to hold significant status, possibly even being princes. Their deaths here won’t cause too much trouble, will it?"

At this moment, the Gu King of the Dan Clan wore a worried expression and furrowed his brow as he spoke.

Upon hearing this, the rest of the group also fell into deep thought, their frowns growing more intense.

Would the Great Yin Dynasty launch a retaliatory strike for the deaths of two princes? Maybe even mobilize their army to invade? Who could say for sure?

However, this possibility couldn't be entirely ruled out. Everyone's faces darkened, and their moods sank to rock bottom.

“Damn! What were they thinking, sending two novices in the Marrow Cleansing stage to carry out such an important mission? And to top it off, they're royalty! Were they deliberately trying to stir up trouble?” one Gu King angrily cursed.

“Damn it, what bad luck. Not only did we fail to find the Living Wood, but now we're caught up in this mess. What a stroke of misfortune. But now that things have come to this, we can’t worry about that anymore. If the Great Yin Dynasty dares to invade, we’ll just fight back. After all, all ten of our clans took part in this, so no one’s getting away unscathed,” the Gu King of the Hun Clan shouted furiously.

Yan Pojun had a contemplative look on his face and calmly said, “From now on, all clans must set aside their differences. No matter how deep your grudges are, do not cause trouble in the next few years.”

“Remember, if the Great Yin Dynasty plans to invade the Western Territories in full force, their smartest move would be to first incite conflicts between our clans and deplete our strength through civil wars.”

“We must guard against such tactics. If any disputes arise in the next few years, it will most certainly be a scheme by the Great Yin Dynasty. Control your people well and leave such matters for me to handle. No one is allowed to act recklessly, or don’t blame me for being ruthless!”

Yan Pojun’s expression hardened as his sharp gaze swept over the Long and Bai Clans.

He then glanced at the Dan and Yao Clans, and finally at the Hun and Gui Clans, before moving on…

…

At this time, in the family head's pavilion, Long Yuanshan was smiling kindly at Long Xuan.

“It’s so late—what do you need? Speak freely.”

Faced with this outstanding junior, Long Yuanshan didn’t dare to be negligent. Upon learning that Long Xuan wanted to meet him, he had immediately set aside everything to come see him.

Long Xuan nodded and got straight to the point, “Someone is trying to harm me. They put Gu in my bathwater. Take a look.”

As he finished speaking, Long Xuan took out a tub of bathwater from his storage bag and placed it on the ground.

Upon hearing this, Long Yuanshan’s expression instantly changed, and a terrifying killing intent flashed in his eyes.

Long Xuan was currently a key figure in researching the Dragon Blood Battle Gu—he couldn’t afford to be harmed.

Someone dared to plot against Long Xuan, potentially causing the Dragon Blood Battle Gu research project to fail, which was a direct attack on his reverse scale.

Long Yuanshan slammed the table hard in anger and roared, “Who is it? The only ones who could place Gu on you are insiders—it’s very likely one of our own! How dare they attempt to destroy our clan’s future hope.”

“Don’t worry, no matter who it is, I will punish them severely. Even if it’s one of the elders, I will show no mercy!” Long Yuanshan’s eyes flashed with fierce killing intent.

He dared not delay and rushed to the tub, staring intently at the water.

However, no matter how hard he looked, he couldn’t see any of the insects Long Xuan had mentioned.

But he knew Long Xuan wouldn’t joke about something like this—no one would be that bored.

He didn’t doubt Long Xuan’s words at all. Since his eyes couldn’t detect the insects, he directly reached into the bathwater.

However, he did so cautiously, his entire arm wrapped in spiritual energy, forming a thick spiritual armor.

As soon as his hand touched the water, he immediately felt something ferociously biting at his spiritual armor.

Moreover, the thing’s teeth were incredibly sharp, and within an instant, a small hole had been gnawed into his spiritual armor.

Long Yuanshan’s expression changed dramatically. Frightened, he quickly withdrew his hand, cold sweat running down his back. Thankfully, he reacted quickly—had he been even a moment slower, the thing would have broken through his armor and burrowed into his body.

What kind of creature was this? It was so small that it was invisible to the naked eye, yet it possessed such terrifying power.

He was, after all, a peak Spiritual Sea stage expert, and this thing had managed to breach his defenses in an instant? Was this a joke?!

Long Yuanshan’s face turned ashen, and he quickly backed away from the tub, retreating several large steps as if it contained something immensely dangerous. At this moment, he was no longer calm.

This insect was so small it couldn’t be seen with the naked eye. Against such a thing, anyone would fall victim—there was simply no defense. The ability to kill without leaving a trace made this method of assassination truly terrifying. His face even paled slightly.

“The one who placed the Gu wasn’t just targeting you—they were targeting our entire Long Clan. This insect can even threaten Gu Kings, and they wouldn’t detect it at all.”

A devouring look appeared in Long Yuanshan’s eyes, and his face grew sinister. Suddenly, he shouted toward the door, “Someone, notify all the clan elders to come for an emergency meeting, and wake up all the clansmen. The entire clan is to enter Level 1 alert immediately!”