The Path of Immortality: Starts With Creating Water Bear Gu

Black Stone City.

It was now morning. All the clans in the city had stayed up through the night, unable to sleep. Too many things had happened overnight, leaving everyone wide awake. The leaders of the various major clans were gathered together, their faces etched with exhaustion and gravity.

"Just when one problem ends, another begins. The issue with the Great Yin Dynasty isn’t even resolved, and now we’ve got this mess to deal with."

"The Plague Demon Gu! Ha! Who would've thought I’d encounter a forbidden Gu that was supposedly lost to history? What terrible luck."

"Why does Black Stone City have to be dragged into the mess caused by Black Moon City? Do we have a grudge against them too?"

Yan Pojun had been running around frantically all night and was now visibly irritable.

Long Yuan sighed bitterly and said, "Maybe we've all been ignoring something important—people move around. People from Black Moon City can travel to other cities, and people from other cities can travel to Black Moon City."

"People from Black Moon City fifty years ago may no longer be in Black Moon City; they’ve scattered across the land."

"This auction held by Black Stone City attracted a massive number of Gu cultivators from Black Moon City, including more than half of Black Moon City's Gu Kings. They were the masterminds behind that incident."

Long Yuan continued, "If he doesn’t want to spare anyone involved in that event, then the cities he needs to slaughter won’t be limited to just Black Moon City."

"It’s difficult to distinguish people from Black Moon City who are mixed in with people from other cities. He might not bother sifting through them all. It’s very likely that his approach will be to slaughter entire cities, preferring to kill ten thousand innocents rather than let a single guilty person go."

"If that’s his mindset, then there will be many more cities to slaughter and countless more people who will die." Long Yuan’s expression was solemn, and his voice carried a chilling tone.

Hearing this, everyone present couldn’t help but feel a chill run down their spines, their eyes filled with fear.

"In other words, the number of major cities that have been wiped out recently may not be limited to Black Moon City. Many large cities may have already been annihilated, but the news hasn’t reached us yet," someone said, clearly unsettled.

"Have you forgotten what kind of Gu he’s refining? To refine a forbidden Gu, wiping out a single city won’t be enough."

"The auction’s distraction affected more than just Black Moon City. His targets likely extend beyond that city."

"In fact, before he even slaughtered Black Moon City, he might have already annihilated many other cities."

Cai Xuan approached at this moment, sneering.

This Gu King from a remote region hadn’t yet left the city.

Not just him—many Gu Kings from other regions were still in Black Stone City. After the auction ended late into the night, some foreign Gu Kings chose to travel immediately, while others decided to rest and leave in the morning. However, none had expected such a large-scale incident to occur.

By now, the news that a forbidden Gu had appeared was known throughout the entire city, and everyone was in shock, their faces pale with fear.

The revelation that there were invisible insects in the Black River caused even more panic. After learning about it, many people were astonished to discover that there were numerous species of insects so small that they couldn’t be seen with the naked eye. It shattered their worldview and left them in disbelief.

"You’re still here?"

"You might still have time to leave now, but if you wait any longer, I’m afraid you won’t be able to leave," Yan Pojun remarked as he glanced at him.

"It’s not that I don’t want to leave; I can’t. Have you forgotten about the Heaven and Earth Decree?"

"The Heaven and Earth Decree states that no one is allowed to refine a forbidden Gu. Anyone who violates the decree will be jointly hunted by all the world’s powerful individuals. Every strong practitioner is obligated to participate in the extermination of the demon. Anyone who avoids the fight is considered an accomplice and will be executed along with the demon."

"This decree, though invisible, has binding force and is enforced by Gu Emperor City. Demonic cultivators and rogue cultivators may flee, but I have a large clan and estate. We can’t run. Even if we could, the temple wouldn’t let me."

"Now, all the Gu Kings are banding together, which gives us a chance at survival. Those who’ve already fled the city, according to the Heaven and Earth Decree, will be hunted down and executed along with the demon."

"They may have escaped this calamity today, but soon they’ll be chased by everyone across the world, and even the enforcers from Gu Emperor City will pursue them. This will be a legitimate excuse for killing and robbing them of their treasures. Everyone will participate in the hunt."

Cai Xuan shook his head in resignation as he watched several Gu Kings fly out of Black Stone City.

The Plague Demon Gu was simply too ancient, and those who lacked knowledge might not understand it. The Gu Kings from smaller families and rogue cultivators didn’t grasp the severe consequences of not participating in the demon extermination. If they did, they wouldn’t dare to run, even if they had a hundred lives.

Hearing this, the Gu Kings of Black Stone City visibly relaxed.

This meant Black Stone City would receive a significant amount of reinforcement from other Gu Kings. With so many powerful Gu Kings from other regions lending their support, the pressure on Black Stone City would lessen considerably. This battle might not be so difficult after all.

The aid from numerous foreign Gu Kings bolstered their morale, making them feel more confident about the upcoming fight.

Cai Xuan looked at Yan Pojun and asked, "Even if Shi Haojun doesn’t attack Black Stone City directly, the city is still obligated to participate in the siege against him. With our help, how confident are you in taking down this demon?"

Yan Pojun gazed in the direction of Black Moon City, contemplating for a moment before responding, "If we have a method to counter his mutated domain, with so many Gu Kings joining forces, I’m over 80% confident we can eliminate him."

"But if we don’t have a way to counter his mutated domain, there’s no way we can win. With a swarm of insects gnawing away inside our bodies, how could we fight? No matter how many Gu Kings we gather, it won’t be enough to stop him."

Upon hearing this, Yao Chen's eyes lit up, and he was the first to speak. "If we have a way to counter the mutated domain, you’re over 80% confident in taking him down? Could you tell us where your confidence comes from?"

Yan Po Jun sneered, brimming with confidence. "Do you really think I’m afraid of Shi Hao Jun?"

"I might not be able to beat him, but even if I can’t defeat him, I can certainly escape."

"I fear his ability. His speed in massacring a city is simply too fast; he can easily wipe out my entire clan. That is what truly terrifies me."

"Actually, the difficult part isn't eliminating Shi Haojun. The real challenge is how to defend Blackstone City and protect my entire clan."

"This immovable Blackstone City is the Achilles' heel of all Gu Kings. Once the battle starts, we will be severely restricted."

"If it weren’t for this city weighing us down, Shi Haojun wouldn't be hard to deal with."

"You are all frightened by the Forbidden Gu. The Plague Demon Gu is far less terrifying than you imagine."

"Perhaps the Plague Demon Gu was powerful in the age of the gods, but in today’s world, most of the materials have gone extinct. The Plague Demon Gu formula calls for tens of millions of ingredients, and surely a significant portion of those materials are now extinct."

"So, the Plague Demon Gu in Shi Haojun's hands must be a downgraded version. Its power has been reduced who knows how many times—it’s not that hard to deal with."

"That's why I said, if we have a method to counter the Mutation Domain, I have over an 80% chance of taking him down."

"An 80% chance is still a conservative estimate. After all, following the auction, there are over a hundred Gu Kings still in the city. How could we possibly lose with so many Gu Kings working together?"

After hearing the city lord's explanation, everyone began to show confident expressions.

The city lord’s reasoning was sound. Indeed, most of the world's spirit insects have long since gone extinct, and the Plague Demon Gu requires so many materials—how could parts of it not have been lost?

That Plague Demon Gu must be incomplete, with limited power, far from as terrifying as the records describe. They realized they didn’t need to be so afraid after all.

What’s more, there were so many foreign Gu Kings in the city to help, so the odds of victory in this battle increased even further.

Because of the city lord’s speech, everyone present was now brimming with confidence and high morale. Many were no longer pessimistic, and a confident smile began to spread across their faces.

"Since the city lord says so, then I'm relieved."

Yao Chen smiled and said, "When it comes to countering the Mutation Domain, my Yao clan actually has a method."

"The method is simple. Our clan has a poisonous pill that works wonders on any living organism in the world. My idea is for everyone to take this poison pill and, just as they are about to be poisoned to death, immediately take the antidote to neutralize the poison."

"In doing so, all micro insects in the body will be killed, but the person will survive."

"Once the body is free of micro insects, there’s no need to fear the Mutation Field of the Plague Demon Gu," Yao Chen said with a confident smile.

From a distance, Long Xuan was dumbfounded when he heard the old guy’s ridiculous idea.

This was his solution? Brilliant—feeding people poison. How did he even come up with that?

Long Xuan was genuinely shocked by this crazy operation. He knew that the human body contains many beneficial microorganisms, like E. coli, lactic acid bacteria, and yeast…

There are countless beneficial microorganisms that greatly help the body. The human body can’t do without them, and losing even one type would cause serious problems.

But this old man planned to kill them all off. How terrifying ignorance can be—what kind of thought process is this?

It's certain that the human body cannot survive without microorganisms. If someone had absolutely none in their body, they would definitely experience severe issues, even if it didn’t kill them immediately.

This old man had no knowledge and came up with such a terrible idea.

Yet, just as Long Xuan was thinking this, a large group of Gu Kings nodded in agreement.

"Great idea, let's do it! Very thoughtful."

"This is an excellent idea. Let’s go with it!"

...

Seeing all the Gu Kings nodding and smiling in agreement, Long Xuan was left speechless.

Still, he ultimately didn't step forward to voice his objections.

After all, his status was low, and his cultivation level was even lower. He was just a nameless nobody—how could he interrupt here? Did he even have the right to speak?

If he were to oppose the Gu Kings’ proposal, wouldn’t that embarrass them?

Maybe this really was the only option left.

The Plague Demon Gu can control any creature smaller than itself, including beneficial bacteria.

If they didn’t wipe out all the microorganisms in their bodies, this battle probably couldn’t even be fought.

Moreover, the harm caused by the lack of microorganisms in the human body wouldn’t show up immediately. It wouldn’t manifest right away, giving them enough time to fight Shi Haojun at full strength.

So there was no need for him to interfere. He should quickly take the poison pill and eliminate that great demon Shi Haojun. As for the problems the Gu Kings’ bodies would face later—that wasn’t his concern. Once Shi Haojun was dead, it wouldn’t matter to him!

He figured the Gu Kings were tough enough that they wouldn’t die just from lacking microorganisms.

Long Xuan thought carelessly.

At that moment, the unreliable old man spoke again: "But this trick only makes the Mutation Domain ineffective against the micro insect in our bodies. It won’t work on the micro insect in the air."

"So, when we surround Shi Haojun, everyone must use their full strength to activate their Spirit Armor and defend themselves against the invisible, tiny spirit insects in the air."

"This will definitely be very draining, so we must finish the battle quickly—there’s no time for delay."

"Of course!" Yan Pojun laughed confidently. "With so many of us ganging up on one person, if we can't finish the fight quickly, we might as well find a piece of tofu and smash ourselves with it. I can’t afford to lose face like that."

"Exactly! If we can't win quickly with this many people, we should just commit suicide together. I can't afford that kind of embarrassment either," the others echoed loudly and confidently.