The Path of Immortality: Starts With Creating Water Bear Gu-Chapter 456: Defying the Heavens with Painting Gu (Two-in-One)

“He’s here!”

Hua An looked down at the figure weaving through the forest below, carrying a young girl on his back. The corners of his mouth curled up as he said, “Wait on the ship. This matter does not require your involvement.”

With those words, Hua An leaped from the sky. As he landed, his body seemed weightless—like a feather—quietly touching the ground without making a sound.

Seeing the figure suddenly appear ahead, Long Xuan furrowed his brow slightly.

Judging from the mocking expression on the man's face, Long Xuan immediately knew this person meant trouble. What remained unclear was whether this man was targeting him or the one he carried. Slowly, Long Xuan came to a halt.

“Who stands in my path? What is your purpose in stopping me?” Long Xuan asked loudly, already on full alert and ready for combat.

“The surname is Hua, given name An. I am the number one Gu Cultivator of the Spiritual Sea Realm in Central Lands. You need not know my intent. Just leave the person on your back, and I will spare your life,” Hua An said arrogantly, casting a sideways glance at him.

Hearing this, Long Xuan was taken aback. This man boldly claimed to be the best Spirit Sea Realm Gu Cultivator in the entire Central Lands—such audacity!

The Central Lands were a place blessed with extraordinary talents, with geniuses as numerous as the carp crossing the river. For this man to claim the top spot in the Spiritual Sea Realm, he was either boasting or truly a terrifying opponent. Long Xuan was inclined to believe the latter and his expression grew solemn.

“What? Are you really willing to throw away your life for someone you haven’t even known for long?” Hua An didn’t immediately strike. With arms crossed, he mockingly looked at him.

“Spare your nonsense. Since you're targeting Zhu Jiuge, you’ll naturally want to silence any witnesses. There’s no way you’d let me go.”

“If word gets out that you killed Zhu Jiuge, not even your identity will save you from the Zhu Clan’s wrath!” Long Xuan said coldly.

Hua An looked at him with a bit of surprise, then sneered, “You are clever. But clever people rarely live long.”

Suddenly, his expression turned fierce. Without wasting another word, he reached into his insect pouch and threw a small black snake toward Long Xuan.

“Shadow Gu!” Long Xuan’s pupils shrank, his expression turning grave.

The Shadow Gu was one of the Zhu Clan’s strongest exclusive Gu insects. Its greatest trait was its speed—so fast that most Gu Masters of the same level couldn't react in time and would be killed instantly.

How could this man possibly possess one of the Zhu Clan’s exclusive Gu?

Long Xuan was deeply shocked, but there was no time to think further. He quickly threw out Little White—a Gu that could suppress speed.

This time, Little White didn’t fail. The moment it activated its Slowness Domain, the Shadow Gu’s speed dropped dramatically, and Little White excitedly lunged forward to engage it.

Ever since Long Xuan acquired the stronger Tribulation Gu, he had used it to deal with powerful enemies, rarely bringing Little White into battle. After such a long time without action, Little White's joints were almost rusting. Now, given a rare chance to fight, it was visibly thrilled.

“Oh?”

Hua An let out a surprised sound upon seeing Xiao Bai.

What kind of Gu was this? It could actually go head-to-head with the Zhu Clan’s most powerful exclusive Gu?

Hua An’s brow tightened. Seeing the Shadow Gu unable to quickly resolve the battle, he patted his insect pouch again. A crimson mantis leaped out, casting a bloodthirsty gaze at Long Xuan before charging at him with its scarlet scythes swinging.

Long Xuan frowned slightly—this was the Blood Moon Mantis, a peak-grade Gu.

Any wound inflicted by its scythes, no matter how small, would bleed endlessly until death. No medicine could stop the bleeding. It was one of the Xue Clan’s most terrifying exclusive Gu insects. Yet another top-tier, clan-exclusive Gu from a foreign bloodline. Had this man stolen from all the great clans? Did he not fear being hunted down once exposed?

There was no time to ponder. Long Xuan instinctively released his own Blade Gu of the same species to counter the Blood Moon Mantis.

Though Long Xuan favored his Tribulation Gu, the Blade Gu hadn’t seen combat in so long that it had also grown dull. Now, finally facing a worthy opponent, it gleamed with excitement and engaged in a fierce blade duel with the Blood Moon Mantis.

“What the…”

Upon seeing the mantis with ten arms, Hua An was stunned. When he realized that this mantis was not only able to go blow for blow with the Blood Moon Mantis, but even slightly outclassed it, he was completely shocked.

“Impossible! That’s the Xue Clan’s Blood Moon Mantis—there are few Gu that can rival it. Who exactly are you?”

Hua An stared at Long Xuan in disbelief, a sense of unease welling up in his heart. Those who harbored killing intent toward the Doom Gu often died from unexpected accidents. Was this boy’s Gu the very “accident” that would end him?

“No! I’m the number one genius of the Central Lands! The strongest in the Spiritual Sea Realm! I can’t lose to some no-name brat! DIE!”

Hua An’s face twisted with rage. He slapped his insect pouch again. This time, a toad covered in poisonous boils and a white centipede with bladed legs on both sides leapt out, heading to assist the two battlegrounds.

“Heavenly Poison Toad and Sky-Burrowing Centipede?”

Seeing these two Gu, Long Xuan’s expression turned even more serious.

The Heavenly Poison Toad was one of the Mu Clan’s strongest exclusive Gu, infamous for its potent toxins.

The Sky-Burrowing Centipede was known as the ultimate escape artist, mastering various escape techniques of different elements—elusive and ghost-like. It was the strongest exclusive Gu of the Bai Clan and notoriously difficult to handle.

How could this Hua An possess exclusive Gu from all the major clans? Did he truly not fear being hunted by them?

Long Xuan was now filled with fear and caution. He finally realized that Hua An’s title of “Central Lands’ number one in the Spiritual Sea Realm” was no empty boast—he truly had the strength to back it up.

To collect the strongest exclusive Gu from all major clans—what same-realm opponent could match him?

This man was a truly dangerous adversary, the strongest same-realm opponent Long Xuan had ever encountered.

Taking a deep breath, Long Xuan dared not be careless. He slapped his Insect pouch and summoned both his Dragon Gu and Disaster Poison Gu to reinforce the two battlegrounds.

The Dragon Gu had abilities similar to the Sky-Burrowing Centipede, and the two quickly clashed mid-air, moving so fast they became blurs, making it impossible to land a hit—no winner could be decided in a short time.

The Disaster Poison Gu countered the Heavenly Poison Toad. While the toad released toxic mists, the Disaster Poison Gu absorbed them all. But its own venom corroded the toad’s back, creating one hole after another and even diminishing its toxic lumps.

This battlefield was clearly tipping in favor of the Disaster Poison Gu.

However, the Heavenly Poison Toad was no ordinary Gu—it had formidable resilience. Defeating it quickly was still not feasible.

“What are these Gu?! I’ve never seen them before! How can they be this powerful?”

Watching the battles unfold, Hua An’s expression grew increasingly grim. The hands hidden beneath his sleeves trembled uncontrollably.

Whether it was the Sky-Burrowing Centipede or the Heavenly Poison Toad, both were the strongest exclusive Gu insects of powerful clans—rare and formidable even across the entire Gu Realm. Few peak-grade Gu could rival them. The fact that this opponent could fend them off again was something he had never anticipated.

The stronger this opponent performed, the more deeply unsettled he felt.

Up in the sky, the old man witnessed the scene below and felt a jolt in his heart.

“How is this possible? Even the Young Master's Gu has been blocked again? Each of the Young Master's Gu insects is unmatched in the world—how could this boy possess so many terrifying Gu?”

“This is a serious problem… This boy might be the variable created by the Doom Gu. I knew it—Zhu Jiuge should never be killed!”

Clenching his fists, the old man's expression grew dark and frightening.

“Young man! Your combat strength far exceeded my expectations. You're the first to fight me to such a degree. You truly deserve the title of the Second Greatest Genius of the Central Lands—perhaps even to replace me. I don’t understand why someone like you remains unknown!”

Hua An locked his eyes on him, a crazed expression in his gaze.

“But even if you possess more heaven-defying Gu, it’s impossible for you to defeat me!”

“My Painting Gu can manifest any Gu insect I draw with 100% accuracy, as long as I’ve seen it before.”

“Which means, I can possess the most powerful exclusive Gu of every great clan. How could you possibly be my match?!”

“Devouring Gu, come forth!”

“Heavenly Strength Ox, come forth!”

With a thunderous roar, a black Gu insect with a gaping mouth flew out of the Insect Pouch. Right after that, a colossal beetle clad in thick insect armor landed and immediately began to expand in size.

Long Xuan was shocked. "He can summon any Gu he paints? Is this guy some kind of divine brush immortal—like the legendary Shen Bi Ma Liang?"

If he perfectly painted the Ten Forbidden Gu, could he actually manifest them? Although he never had a chance to witness the Ten Forbidden Gu himself, this ability was truly heaven-defying.

Long Xuan couldn’t help but gasp. Now he finally understood why Hua An possessed the most powerful Gu of each clan—this “draw-to-manifest” power was utterly broken. Who knows what its limits were?

Devouring Gu, the Wu Clan's most powerful exclusive Gu, could consume any Gu's attack. Its combat prowess was said to defy the heavens. Legend said it required over ten million rare materials to craft.

Heavenly Strength Ox, the Niu Clan's strongest exclusive Gu, possessed immense strength, could freely change its size, and wielded mountain-crushing power. Few Gu in the world could match its strength. With the added protection of its insect armor, it was essentially invincible among its peers.

These two Gu were absurdly overpowered. Long Xuan dared not underestimate them. Gritting his teeth, he decisively threw out his own trump card.

A Heaven-Devouring World Toad leapt out of his Insect Pouch. Its size rapidly expanded, surpassing that of the Heavenly Strength Ox in a blink, pouncing on it and pinning it hard to the ground.

The two colossal beasts wrestled violently, shaking the earth with deafening crashes. The ground gave way under their massive weight, causing large-scale collapses. Even a nearby mountain was shattered by the impact of their clash.

The Heaven-Devouring World Toad continued to grow, its sheer bulk compensating for any lack of strength. It soon grew to a size that blotted out the sun.

On the White Boat, the surrounding Gu Cultivators turned pale in terror, scrambling to evade being crushed by the massive toad’s enormous head.

“My heavens! What is that thing?!”

The entire crew stared wide-eyed at the monster on the ground, their faces filled with fear.

“Damn it! Even the two Gu released by the Young Master have been blocked again! Who is this boy? How could he have so many heaven-defying Gu?!”

The old man smashed his fist into the railing, his eyes full of fury as he glared toward the Devouring Gu’s direction.

The Devouring Gu was said to consume all Gu attacks, boasting a creation cost in the tens of millions. Yet this time, it faced an opponent that outrageously spat out heavenly tribulation lightning—blinding his eyes.

“What kind of monstrous Gu insect is this?! It can even control lightning tribulation? No matter how powerful the Devouring Gu is, how could it possibly devour a lightning tribulation?!”

Caught off guard, the Devouring Gu swallowed a bolt of lightning and immediately grew weak. When another bolt of lightning approached, it fled in panic—too afraid to take it head-on.

In this battlefield, it was clear that the Devouring Gu was losing. And this Gu was Hua An's strongest after his Painting Gu.

For such a powerful Gu to be subdued, the elder could barely believe his eyes.

By now, he understood—the boy was clearly the unexpected variable crafted by the Doom Gu. If the Young Master kept fighting, he might lose his life.

“Young Master! Retreat at once! This person is extremely abnormal! He could very well be the calamity meant to kill you! If you don’t leave now, your life is at risk!”

Realizing something was off, the old man shouted desperately from the ship.

But down below, Hua An was already in a frenzy and wouldn’t listen to reason.

“I am the Number One Genius of the Central Lands! No one within the Spiritual Sea Stage can rival me. How could I possibly lose?!”

“Don’t underestimate me! I haven’t even used my full power! Let’s continue!”

With a furious glare at Long Xuan, Hua An slapped his Insect Pouch again. Instantly, a swarm of golden ants burst forth, flying straight at Long Xuan with a fierce gleam in their eyes.

“These are Diamond Ants, ranked 73rd on the Peak-Grade Spiritual Insect Rankings! Their incredible strength can chew through anything in the Gu Realm—even Geng Metal!”

“I’ve bred ten thousand of them! Let’s see how you handle this!”

Seeing the swarm, Long Xuan let out a cold laugh. He sent a soul-command to his Heaven-Devouring World Toad, and in the air, a black vortex appeared. From it flew countless Gold-Eating Insects, charging aggressively toward the ants.

The two swarms clashed violently midair. A fierce battle ensued—biting, crashing, colliding.

Dead insects constantly rained down from the sky, soon covering the ground.

However, Long Xuan’s Gold-Eating Insects fed on alloy, making them as hard as alloy themselves. Though the Diamond Ants could bite through Geng Metal, they struggled to pierce through alloy.

Meanwhile, the Gold-Eating Insects could destroy anything not harder than themselves. How could the Diamond Ants’ exoskeletons compare to alloy?

The outcome of this swarm battle was obvious.

Hua An stared, stunned. To his horror, he saw that 90% of the fallen insect corpses were his own Diamond Ants, while his opponent’s casualties were negligible—and only included a few small larvae.

“How is this possible?! My swarm ranks 73rd on the Peak-Grade Spiritual Insect Rankings! How could they be no match?!”

His face turned ghostly pale.

“Young Master, leave now! That man isn’t normal! If you don’t leave, it’ll be too late!!”

The old man was still yelling desperately from the ship above...

TL- (Shen Bi Ma Liang) refers to the Chinese folktale character Ma Liang, whose magical brush brings paintings to life.