The Path of Immortality: Starts With Creating Water Bear Gu-Chapter 435: Causing Trouble

The Tea Competition event only rewarded the top 100 participants. It didn’t take long for the winners to claim their prizes, and soon, all the treasures on the table were swept away.

Following the conclusion of the Tea Competition, the next event—the Tea Offering Ceremony—began.

Even though Long Xuan's Shadow Tea raised the entry threshold, there were still hundreds of people who qualified for the Tea Offering.

If one included those on the opposite side of the river who qualified for the Wine Offering, the total number of participants entering the River God’s Secret Realm was close to a thousand—a significant figure.

Under the guidance of Cha Shan and Jiu Kang, nearly a thousand participants gathered along the riverbanks. Beautiful women poured cup after cup of fine tea and exquisite wine into the river under the hosts’ supervision.

Surprisingly, the tea and wine poured into the river did not get diluted by the water. Instead, under the influence of a mysterious force, they remained distinct and quickly sank into the depths of the river.

All the tea flowed to one location, while all the wine flowed to another before mysteriously vanishing. Throughout the entire process, even the spiritual senses of the many Gu Kings present could not detect where the tea and wine disappeared.

Perhaps it was precisely because of this mysterious consumption that the unknown entity was revered as the "River God."

Only that which remains shrouded in mystery and the unknown can inspire true fear.

Long Xuan carefully observed the river for a long time but saw no progress in detecting the enigmatic presence. He frowned slightly.

If there was no sign of movement, it meant that there might not actually be a River God in the river.

He recalled that beneath the river lay a hidden space known as the River God’s Secret Realm, as referred to by the people of Wine City. Could it be that all the offered tea and wine were flowing into this secret space?

Were the two River Gods also hiding within it?

Long Xuan quickly suppressed his curiosity. It didn’t matter what the River Gods were; even if he knew, what could he do? The important thing now was to focus on the real objective.

Seeing that everyone's attention was fixed on the sacrificial offerings sinking into the river, Long Xuan discreetly extended his hand into the water, pretending to wash his hands.

However, no one noticed that from his storage ring, a sealed tea cup and a sealed wine cup silently dropped into the river’s depths.

Like the other vanished offerings, these two cups disappeared into the abyss as if entering a mysterious world.

Long Xuan withdrew his hand and dried the water droplets on it.

The items he secretly placed in the river were none other than Distilled Grand Thousand Wine and Roasted Enlightenment Tea.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that Roasted Enlightenment Tea was leagues ahead of Shadow Tea, far surpassing all the tea offerings present.

Likewise, the Distilled Grand Thousand Wine exceeded all the wine offerings at the ceremony.

Both the tea and wine were made from unparalleled, one-of-a-kind, world-defying ingredients. None of the other offerings could compare.

Long Xuan did this because he had heard that the higher the quality of the sacrifices, the more abundant the treasures in the River God’s Secret Realm.

To maximize his gains in the secret realm, he decided to offer these peerless items. It didn’t matter if others benefited from it—he wasn’t seeking gratitude.

On the Other Side.

"Heh! I heard that the River God only opens the River God’s Secret Realm when the offerings meet a certain standard. I wonder if our tea and wine offerings are up to par. It would be unfortunate if we failed because of that," said Shui Wuqing with a serious expression.

Cha Shan turned to him and smiled. "It’s true that the River God’s Secret Realm has failed to open in the past due to inadequate offerings."

"The two River Gods at the bottom of the river have become increasingly picky. Even our Cha Clan’s exclusive teas and the Jiu Clan’s signature wines have started to bore them. This has caused the secret realm to remain closed several times, wasting fine tea and wine."

"I can’t say I’m 100% certain this time, but I’d say we have at least a 70% chance."

"This time, the quality of the offerings far surpasses previous years—especially the tea from that young friend and the Ten-Thousand-Year Monkey Wine from the Artifact Fanatic. I believe the River Gods will be pleased, and we might see even more treasures in the secret realm."

He Jiong chuckled, "This year is special. Too many Gu Kings have gathered to hunt the Artifact Fanatic, and it just so happens to coincide with the opening of the River God’s Secret Realm."

"Gu Kings are incredibly wealthy, so naturally, the quality of this year’s offerings is higher than ever."

"You’re being too conservative. I’d say the chance of the River God’s Secret Realm opening is 100%, and the number of treasures inside will far exceed previous years!"

However, across the river, Jiu Kang furrowed his brows, his face devoid of joy. Instead, he looked deeply worried.

"It’s true that the overall quality of the offerings is extraordinarily high this year. But don’t assume that’s a good thing."

"Extremes lead to reversal. A higher quality of offerings will indeed bring more treasures to the secret realm, but at the same time, it will also increase the difficulty of the trials inside."

"The harder the secret realm becomes, the more people will die. Many who enter the River God’s Secret Realm will never return."

"It is said that at its highest difficulty, even a Gu King faces an extremely high risk of death in the secret realm."

"But… such a level of difficulty hasn’t been triggered for hundreds of thousands of years."

"As the world’s spiritual energy continues to decline, I doubt that the highest difficulty will ever be triggered again."

"After all, the tea and wine of that level have long since disappeared from this world."

Cha Shan laughed, "If you’re so sure the highest difficulty won’t activate, what are you worried about?"

"This time, the difficulty of the River God’s Secret Realm will increase, no doubt about that. But true geniuses overcome challenges."

"Yes, the death rate will rise. But those who are weak will simply perish. Everyone chooses their own path. No one is forcing them to enter the secret realm. If they die, they bear the consequences."

Cha Shan suddenly scanned the crowd and spoke loudly:

"Everyone, let me make this clear—this year’s offerings far surpass those of previous years."

"Especially the Ten-Thousand-Year Monkey Wine, which can be considered the greatest wine of the last ten thousand years."

"Because of this, the difficulty of the River God’s Secret Realm will be much higher than before. It’s almost certain that many will die inside."

"If you lack the strength, you still have time to withdraw. No treasure is worth dying for!"

As Cha Shan words fell, the entire crowd fell silent for a moment.

Yet, no one left.

Some faces showed hesitation, but in the presence of so many others, withdrawing now would be admitting weakness and cowardice.

If they backed out, they would be ridiculed endlessly afterward.

No one could afford such humiliation.

And so, driven by pride and fear of mockery, not a single person withdrew.