The Path of Immortality: Starts With Creating Water Bear Gu

After the group had completely disappeared into the distance, Long Xuan finally mustered up the courage to approach the battlefield, hoping to scavenge anything that might have been left behind.

They had left in a hurry, so there was a possibility that some treasures had been overlooked and left behind.

As soon as he arrived at the battlefield, he was stunned by the terrifying aftermath of the battle. The ground was riddled with giant craters, stomped out by the fierce fighting.

Many Gu cultivators had been trampled to death, their bodies so mangled they were too gruesome to look at.

Had he not killed enough people himself already, Long Xuan might have thrown up upon witnessing such a scene for the first time.

Suppressing his discomfort, he stopped looking at the disfigured corpses and focused on his task—cleaning up the battlefield and looting whatever he could, intending to leave as soon as possible.

The fat man who had been addressed as Third Young Master was clearly the most promising target, so Long Xuan instinctively headed toward him first.

Looking at this blood-soaked, ragged figure, Long Xuan couldn't help but sigh.

Not long ago, this same man had been flaunting his wealth in Tianyue City, but now, had he ever imagined this would be the outcome of his arrogance? Had he foreseen that flaunting his riches would make him a target for those who despised him?

Shaking his head, Long Xuan inspected the body of the Third Young Master carefully from head to toe and soon spotted something hidden within his chest area.

His heart leaped with joy—there was indeed treasure left behind! He immediately reached out to claim it.

However, just as his hand slipped into the fat man's clothing, the man’s previously shut eyes suddenly opened wide, glaring at him.

At that moment, anyone would have been scared half to death.

Long Xuan, completely unprepared for the corpse to "come back to life," was caught off guard and jumped several steps back in shock.

His heart pounded wildly in his chest as he stared at the Third Young Master in disbelief. He was still alive!

How could this be possible? Those people were so thorough in their actions—how could they leave someone alive? Did they not know how to ensure the kill? How could they make such a rookie mistake?

“Cough, cough!”

The Third Young Master coughed up several mouthfuls of blood, his face pale as he weakly said, “Disappointed? I’m still alive. Don’t be fooled by the fact that my dantian has been destroyed—it’s not hard for me to take your life. If you’re smart, you’ll leave now, and I’ll pretend this never happened.”

After calming his startled heart, Long Xuan curiously asked, “You’re hiding a storage ring in your clothes, aren’t you? I didn’t expect you hadn’t stored all your valuables in the Three-Legged Golden Toad’s belly.”

“I believe a multi-treasure merchant like yourself must have some hidden trump cards—something that could threaten me.”

“But I’m really curious: how did you manage to fake your death and fool those people?”

“They didn’t finish you off, nor did they check your clothes for the storage ring. If it were me, I’d have burned the body to ashes after the kill. Even if you weren’t faking your death, the corpse might still have clues revealing my identity.”

“It’s easy to deduce the identity of the killer from the wounds on the body. How could they make such a rookie mistake?”

Long Xuan’s thoughts raced. Although he was wary of the treasure merchant, he didn’t leave immediately.

He needed the Three-Legged Golden Toad Gu Recipe, and with the merchant now weakened, and the strongest of the toads dead, this was the best opportunity to seize the recipe. How could he just walk away?

If he didn’t grasp this opportunity today, collecting the formula for the Three-Legged Golden Toad Gu would be nearly impossible in the future.

The strength of the Qian Clan’s merchant guild far surpassed that of the Long Clan. It would be no easy feat to get their hands on the recipe for such a powerful Gu.

“Heh,” the Third Young Master let out a bitter laugh, his face still pale as he spoke, “Do you really think they’re that stupid?”

“I’m telling you, in this world, there are no fools. Fools don’t survive in this world.”

“If they were really that stupid, could they have planned such a perfect assassination? They nearly killed me.”

“There aren’t many successful assassinations of multi-treasure merchants throughout history, but they pulled it off.”

The Third Young Master’s eyes flashed with fury, and a murderous intent surged as he said angrily, “The reason I’m still alive isn’t because they’re stupid—it’s because they purposely left me alive!”

“The Fake Death Pill I took was useless. Any smart person would have pulverized my body, leaving no chance for the Qian Clan to find the culprit.”

“Heh! They could have killed me, but they didn’t. They merely crippled my dantian. Did they really think I’d be so easily fooled?”

“My so-called brothers really took me for a fool. If it were outsiders who attacked me, they’d definitely kill me. Only members of my own clan would spare my life.”

“They didn’t do it out of kindness or brotherly love. They left me alive because they’re overly cautious and want to leave themselves an escape route, in case this ever gets exposed.”

“There’s no secret that doesn’t eventually come to light. Killing a fellow clan member is a capital crime, while merely injuring one carries a much lighter punishment.”

“Killing a clan member means paying with their life, no matter their talent or status. Injuring a clan member, however, is not a death sentence, and in time, it might even be forgotten.”

“They feared the risk of death, so they left me alive and simply crippled my dantian.”

“As long as I’m a cripple, I can no longer compete for the position of clan leader. Whether I live or die no longer matters to them, and that’s how I managed to keep my life.”

“Heh! My dear brothers, still not ruthless enough. They feared death too much to eliminate me completely.”

“Do they really think that just because I’m now a cripple, stripped of my power, that I can’t do anything to them? So naive!”

The Third Young Master clenched his fists, his teeth grinding in seething hatred as he roared.

Upon hearing this, Long Xuan finally understood.

So this was all a power struggle for the position of clan leader, a case of siblings turning against each other.

Such scenarios were all too common in large clans. Even within the Long Clan, such events occurred frequently. For example, Long Buhui had been imprisoned in the Holy Tree Grounds for a long time, forced to guard the sacred tree.

The Qian Chamber Of Commerce was vast and powerful, and the competition for the position of clan leader must have been even fiercer.

The current leader of the Qian Clan had fathered over a dozen talented offspring, all potential candidates for the leadership. Their internal strife was far more chaotic.

The head of the Qian Clan, in his wisdom, granted each of the clan leader candidates authority over a region, with the understanding that the one who earned the most wealth would become the next clan leader.

While this method certainly ensures that the most capable leader will be chosen, its drawbacks are equally clear.

Each candidate is given too much power, and each one controls wealth comparable to a nation. They all possess the potential for immense destruction.

If these ten or so candidates fail to handle matters properly, it could lead to internal strife within the Qian Clan, or even deal a significant blow to it.

Currently, the Qian Clan is already beginning to show signs of disorder, and it is unclear what kind of crisis might arise in the end. Whether Qian Jinjin, one of the candidates, will survive this crisis unscathed is also uncertain.

Long Xuan started to let his imagination run wild. He was contemplating whether he could forcefully seize the recipe for the Three-Legged Golden Toad Gu from the Third Young Master.

Despite being in a weakened state and unable to act personally, Long Xuan’s five clones had terrifying combat power.

Right now, the Third Young Master had suffered serious injuries, and the most powerful Three-Legged Golden Toad was dead, making this an extremely rare opportunity.

Although the Third Young Master, as a wealthy merchant, surely had many powerful cards up his sleeve, Long Xuan was confident that his own chances of success were still greater.

However, this thought didn’t last long before he quickly abandoned it.

It wasn’t that he feared losing to the Third Young Master. Instead, it was because he shared the same concern as the mastermind behind the assassination attempt on the Third Young Master—the fear of being discovered and then hunted down by the Qian Clan’s business association.

This potential consequence had to be carefully considered. Long Xuan had always been cautious by nature and never willing to take unnecessary risks.

The Qian Clan’s business association spanned across various regions and controlled vast, incalculable wealth. Its ranks were filled with powerful individuals, and there were likely countless Gu Kings among them—definitely not a force Long Xuan could afford to offend in his current state.

He could never guarantee that after killing someone, the Qian Clan’s business association wouldn’t trace it back to him.

If even the other clan leader candidates who targeted the Third Young Master couldn’t be sure of avoiding detection, how could he? He wasn’t that arrogant.

In this world, Gu insects come in countless strange and unpredictable forms, with abilities more bizarre and astonishing than the next.

So one should never assume they’ve covered their tracks completely.

For instance, there are Gu insects with divination or prophetic abilities in this world, which could directly reveal the identity of the perpetrator. What good is it to act discreetly then?

Thus, out of caution, Long Xuan ultimately abandoned the idea of killing and robbing. Instead, he planned to acquire the recipe for the Three-Legged Golden Toad Gu through a trade.

No clan would easily trade a secret Gu recipe, but nothing is ever absolute.

Under normal circumstances, even if Long Xuan offered a fortune, the Third Young Master would never trade away the clan’s secret Gu recipe.

But now, things were different. The Third Young Master's dantian was destroyed, and his cultivation path was ruined for life. No Gu cultivator could accept becoming a cripple.

But what if something could repair his dantian at this moment? To regain his life and seek revenge, would he betray his clan and trade the secret Gu recipe?

Long Xuan believed the Third Young Master would likely choose to make the trade. In fact, most people in this world would probably make the same decision in such a situation.

Humans are selfish. When their own survival is at stake, who would care about anything else? Who could endure being a cripple for the rest of their life?

Since he wasn’t planning to kill and seize the treasure, Long Xuan had only one option left—offering the Heaven Mending Pill. He took a deep breath and said, "How about we make a trade?"

"I have something that can repair your dantian, but you must trade me the recipe for the Three-Legged Golden Toad Gu."

"I assure you, I only need the recipe for reference and will never actually refine the Three-Legged Golden Toad Gu."

"As long as I don't refine it, no one will ever know you leaked your clan's secret Gu recipe. You can safely make this trade with me."

As expected, Long Xuan’s words immediately caused the Third Young Master’s eyes to widen in disbelief. His breathing quickened, and he looked at Long Xuan as if he wanted to devour him, his emotions highly agitated. "Is that true? Do you really have something that can repair my dantian?"

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! You’re lying! As a head of the Qian Clan’s business in this region, I’ve handled countless treasures and am the most knowledgeable person around, yet I have never seen any pill that can repair a dantian."

"Forget seeing it, I’ve never even heard of such a thing! A pill that can repair a dantian? That’s unheard of. You must be trying to deceive me!"

The Third Young Master shook his head frantically, unable to believe that such a pill existed in this world. It was too coincidental that right after he was crippled, someone would conveniently show up with something that could repair his dantian.

If such a pill truly existed, he would have been dead long ago. His enemies would never have just crippled his dantian.

It was precisely because a destroyed dantian couldn’t be repaired in this world that he had lost the ability to rise again, and his enemies spared his life.

Though he was convinced the news was false, the Third Young Master still looked at Long Xuan with hopeful eyes, wanting to believe but afraid to, trapped in deep internal conflict.