The Path of Immortality: Starts With Creating Water Bear Gu

Seeing his expression, Long Xuan knew there was a chance, so he immediately threw a pill bottle toward him and said, "Why don’t you just appraise it to see if it’s real?"

"Every Qian Clan merchant is the greatest treasure appraiser. I believe you have the ability to identify unknown treasures, right?"

The third young master quickly caught the pill bottle, immediately poured the pill into his palm, and sniffed it deeply. A look of surprise flashed across his face.

At that moment, his right eye suddenly emitted a golden light, scanning the pill in his palm.

This was another unique Gu technique of the Qian Clan, called the Golden Eye, which could parasitize the eyeballs of Qian Clan merchants.

The Golden Eye had powerful calculation abilities. No matter how many spirit stones were inside a storage bag, this eye could instantly calculate the total number.

Even if there was a mountain of treasures in front of it, the Golden Eye could estimate the total value with a glance.

That was only the basic ability of the Golden Eye. Its most terrifying feature was its ability to appraise treasures.

The Golden Eye could identify any treasure in the world, even unknown and newly born treasures. This eye could appraise them all and reveal their exact function.

Thus, the third young master didn’t need to experiment on someone to discover the effects of the Heaven Mending Pill; a glance with the Golden Eye would suffice.

Before long, the third young master’s face flushed, and his breathing became rapid. He abruptly lifted his head, staring at Long Xuan with fiery eyes, and said:

"This pill can truly repair a person’s dantian! I didn’t expect there really to be a pill that can mend a damaged dantian in this world. Truly, heaven does not cut off all paths! There is always a way!"

"Hahaha…"

"My dear brothers, you never expected this, did you? I actually found a divine pill that can restore my dantian! You’re bound to be disappointed. I’ll see how you dare fight me once my dantian is repaired!"

The third young master suddenly stood up, laughing wildly in excitement. Then he looked at Long Xuan with a serious expression and said, "I never imagined you would possess such a divine pill. You want the Three-legged Golden Toad Gu recipe? Let’s be clear then."

"I wasn’t going to give you the Three-legged Golden Toad Gu recipe no matter what."

"You must understand, Gu recipe of the Thief Clan poisoning arts, are not hard to obtain. There are countless ways to steal them."

"In this world, there are only perfect offenses, no perfect defenses. No method can completely prevent the leakage of exclusive Gu recipe."

"Stealing the Gu recipe is easy, but once you refine the Gu insect, they’ll sense it. The entire clan will then hunt you down."

"This is why so few people refine the unique Gu insects of various clans. It’s not that they can’t steal the recipe, it’s that they don’t dare to refine them."

"As soon as you dare to refine such a Gu insect, you will certainly be exposed. So under no circumstances would I have let you take the Three-legged Golden Toad Gu recipe."

"But, if you can truly promise never to refine the Three-legged Golden Toad Gu and never record its recipe on paper to pass it on, I will have no reservations about giving it to you!" ℞

Upon hearing this, Long Xuan was overjoyed. As expected, the crippled third young master couldn’t resist the temptation of a pill that could repair his dantian. The plan had worked, and his Heaven-Devouring World Toad was about to be obtained.

"Third young master, rest assured. I’ve never gone back on my word."

"I promise to memorize the Three-legged Golden Toad Gu recipe and destroy it afterward. I’ll never pass it on, and I swear I’ll never refine the Three-legged Golden Toad Gu." Long Xuan immediately vowed with conviction.

The third young master shook his head and stared straight into Long Xuan's eyes. "I don’t believe in vows, nor do I believe in anyone’s word. You must refine a Integrity Gu. Only by being bound by the Integrity Gu will I feel at ease."

"Otherwise, I won’t complete this transaction under any circumstances."

Hearing this, Long Xuan was taken aback. Was this a "buy one, get one free" deal?

Giving away one unique Gu recipe was not enough, but giving he's giving away two?

Well, it didn’t matter—one or two made no difference at this point. The third young master had nothing to lose anymore.

"You’re sure you want to give me another exclusive Qian Clan Gu recipe? And even let me refine it? If I refine the Integrity Gu, won’t the Qian Clan’s Gu cultivators sense it and expose my theft of the Qian Clan’s secret Gu recipe?" Long Xuan asked in surprise.

The third young master shook his head and said, "The Integrity Gu is different. This kind of Gu insect can be loaned out within our clan. Many families possess Integrity Gu."

"When the time comes, I’ll just say that you’re my sworn brother and that I lent you the Integrity Gu. Don’t worry, no Qian Clan Gu cultivators will come looking for you."

Hearing this, Long Xuan immediately recalled the time they went to the Empress's ancient tomb, when Long Lie borrowed a Integrity Gu to check if any of the Long Clan’s geniuses were hiding secrets. Long Bao had been caught on the spot because of it.

This showed that the Qian Clan’s merchant guild indeed allowed the Integrity Gu to be loaned out. This made Long Xuan feel more at ease.

Thinking about it, he was rather tempted to refine a Integrity Gu. Not being deceived in future transactions was one benefit, but more importantly, with a Integrity Gu, no one would ever be able to lie to him.

Anyone plotting against him would have to think twice.

It could be said that having a Integrity Gu would allow him to avoid most plots and schemes, significantly increasing his safety. The Integrity Gu was definitely worth refining.

Long Xuan’s eyes lit up, but he suddenly thought of the drawback: the Integrity Gu couldn’t tolerate lies, even from its master.

This could be troublesome. Refining this Gu insect would restrict others but also himself.

Never being able to lie again in the Gu world was not necessarily a good thing.

It looks like after getting his hands on the Integrity Gu's recipe, Long Xuan planned to modify it. He would change it so that the Integrity Gu would only work on others, not on himself. Heh heh.

Immediately, Long Xuan said to the Third Young Master, "No problem, I can refine the Integrity Gu, and I promise in front of the Integrity Gu that I will never reveal the recipe for the Three-Legged Golden Toad Gu."

"But I grew up poor, and I've been plagued by bad luck. It might take a long time for me to refine the Integrity Gu," Long Xuan feigned poverty.

This was naturally a ploy to buy more time, so he could have enough time to modify the Integrity Gu's recipe.

"You don't need to worry about the materials. The ingredients for the Integrity Gu are cheap, I'll just give them to you."

"You'll refine the Gu right here, and I guarantee you’ll have enough materials until the Integrity Gu is complete."

"My own Integrity Gu was just killed in battle, so I need to refine one too. Let’s do it together."

With that, the Third Young Master reached into his shirt and pulled out a necklace hidden inside—it was a rare storage necklace.

This storage necklace could not only store inanimate objects but also living creatures.

Before long, the Third Young Master took out the materials needed to refine the Integrity Gu and laid them on the ground, piling up various bottles and jars into a small mound.

At the same time, he transmitted the Integrity Gu's recipe to Long Xuan through soul communication.

Clearly, the secret recipe wasn't something he would carry on his person; it could only be stored in his memory. Even if someone killed the Third Young Master, they wouldn’t find the recipe on his body.

After transmitting the recipe, the Third Young Master placed a Heaven-Mending Pill into a bottle and reluctantly tossed it to Long Xuan.

Merchants of the Qian Clan were known for their rules. Since the deal wasn't complete, he couldn’t just put the Heaven-Mending Pill into his storage necklace.

But in his mind, this Heaven-Mending Pill was already as good as his. He just had to wait for Long Xuan to refine the Integrity Gu, and then it would be time to collect it. There was no rush.

Long Xuan gathered all the materials and immediately went to a cave to refine the Gu.

The Third Young Master didn’t follow. He needed to tend to his injuries, handle the death of his clansmen, and refine another Integrity Gu for himself. According to the clan’s rules, any member of the Qian Clan who didn’t possess an Integrity Gu was not allowed to conduct business, so he had plenty of things to do.

This made Long Xuan breathe a sigh of relief. He was refining an irregular Integrity Gu, so the Third Young Master definitely couldn't be around.

With the Third Young Master occupied, Long Xuan was free to modify the recipe without holding back.

After entering the cave, Long Xuan immediately blocked the entrance with stones, released a clone to stand guard, and sat down with closed eyes. His spiritual form entered his Soul Library to study the Gu recipe.

Modifying a Gu recipe was much easier than creating one from scratch. In the Soul Library, Long Xuan only needed ten days to successfully design the irregular Integrity Gu.

Due to the inclusion of many new materials, it was fortunate that the Third Young Master was wealthy and well-stocked, almost having everything.

With the materials from the Third Young Master, Long Xuan quickly gathered the more than one thousand ingredients required for the recipe and immediately began refining the Gu.

Half a month later, Long Xuan held a gleaming, golden toad in his hands, stroking its back with an obsession he couldn’t hide.

At this moment, Long Xuan was so happy that he couldn't close his mouth. Thanks to his modifications, the current Integrity Gu was much more interesting.

The Integrity Gu now had two souls. One soul despised people who told the truth, while the other soul hated people who lied.

The two souls could be switched at will under Long Xuan’s control.

When he wanted to lie, he would release the soul that hated the truth. When he wanted to know if someone was lying, he would release the soul that despised liars.

It was simply perfect.

In this way, the Integrity Gu’s major drawback of controlling its owner was completely resolved.

At this moment, Long Xuan felt he was truly a genius for coming up with such a clever idea.

"Heh heh..."

With a sinister laugh, Long Xuan walked out of the cave holding the irregular Integrity Gu, ready to confront the Third Young Master with it.

The Third Young Master’s residence wasn’t far away. After so much time had passed, his injuries had mostly healed, except for the damage to his dantian.

The Third Young Master had been anxiously waiting, and when he saw Long Xuan finally emerge with a golden toad in his arms, his eyes lit up, and he hurried forward.

"Hahaha… You’ve finally succeeded! You’ve kept your brother waiting. Quick, let me see this honest little fellow!"