The Path of Immortality: Starts With Creating Water Bear Gu-Chapter 467: Giving You a Nine-Handicap

The next day, as expected, when Long Xuan posted the new rules outside the shop, it immediately caused quite a stir. Passersby gathered around, pointing and discussing animatedly.

Increasing the number of grid squares on the Go board was undoubtedly a major innovation in this world, and many people found this novel way of playing very intriguing.

Of course, there were also those who considered it nonsense, showing indifferent expressions, causing the noise outside the shop to rise continuously.

“Interesting! Very interesting! Truly interesting! To change the rules of Go — in this world, apart from you, no one would even dare to think of such a thing.”

“I really want to see whether your improvement is well-reasoned or just pure foolishness.”

A burly man pushed through the crowd and walked straight towards Long Xuan.

Seeing this man, Long Xuan immediately became alert. Although a large crowd had gathered outside, only those qualified to trade for a peak-grade Coffee Gu were eligible to play Go against the Go Insect. There were not many whose wealth could afford such a precious Gu.

“Are you here to trade for the shop’s peak-grade Coffee Gu?” Long Xuan asked straightforwardly, looking at the man.

Xiong Zhan nodded and took out a black card from his storage ring, handing it over as he said:

“Your Sleepless Gu is excellent. For a genius, time spent cultivating is invaluable. If the time needed for sleep could instead be used for cultivation, it would be priceless."

"I don’t have many items that match its value, but how about trading for this black card? It grants three opportunities to enter the Nine-Layer Demon Suppressing Pagoda for cultivation, enough to exchange for your Sleepless Gu."

After speaking, Xiong Zhan’s face revealed a painful expression.

"Nine-Layer Demon Suppressing Pagoda?"

Hearing this, Long Xuan thought of the monster sealed beneath the Black Tower and showed a serious look.

At the same time, he became genuinely interested in this black card that allowed entry into the Nine-Layer Demon Suppressing Pagoda.

The concentration of spiritual energy inside the Nine-Layer Demon Suppressing Pagoda was extraordinarily high; cultivation within it would advance one's realm by leaps and bounds.

Most crucially, the quality of spiritual energy inside was extremely pure. Once absorbed and refined, it would yield immeasurable benefits.

Long Xuan indeed wanted to enter the Nine-Layer Demon Suppressing Pagoda to break through the bottleneck at the peak of the Spiritual Sea Realm — he vowed not to come out until he broke through.

However, could three entries into the tower really match the value of a peak-grade Gu?

Uncertain about the actual cultivation results inside the tower, he showed some hesitation and slowly turned his gaze towards Zhu Jiuge.

Zhu Jiugē, understanding his thoughts without needing words, spoke up:

“Cultivating inside the Nine-Layer Demon Suppressing Pagoda tempers the quality of spiritual power. Higher quality spiritual power leads to stronger attacks, and major realm breakthroughs become easier. For you, it’s worth it.”

Xiong Zhan shot her a glance, inwardly sneering.

Zhu Jiuge was an exceptional genius; she could easily reach the ninth floor and cultivate there for extended periods. For her, it was definitely worthwhile — but only for her.

She seemed to have forgotten: for most ordinary geniuses, reaching even the second floor of the Nine-Layer Demon Suppressing Pagoda was already a formidable task. Even if a genius could reach the ninth floor, they could barely endure there for long.

As with everything, there were pros and cons.

Although the spiritual energy inside the tower was of high quality, it was also extremely violent and hard to refine — not something ordinary cultivators could easily absorb.

Those with insufficient talent could easily be severely injured by the berserk spiritual energy if they stayed too long inside.

The higher the floor, the worse this phenomenon became — and the harder it was to endure.

This shopkeeper, a complete rookie who had never cultivated inside the Nine-Layer Demon Suppressing Pagoda — how long could he possibly last after entering?

These three chances to enter would be exhausted quickly.

Exchanging a peak-grade Gu for just three chances?

It wasn’t just a loss — it was a disastrous loss.

Xiong Zhan originally intended to try and fool the shopkeeper but hadn’t dared hope for success. To his delight, Zhu Jiuge unintentionally gave him a hand.

Long Xuan, however, had absolute trust in Zhu Jiuge’s words.

Whatever this pure-hearted young lady said, he believed unconditionally.

Since she said it was worthwhile, Long Xuan felt reassured.

He took the black card and accepted the deal.

“Alright, we have a deal. According to my shop’s rules, you must play a game of Go against my Go Insect. You have no objections, right?” Long Xuan added.

“Of course not! I actually want to experience what it feels like to play on a large Go board! Such innovation is truly interesting.”

Xiong Zhan replied with high spirits and immediately sat down at the table where the nineteen-line board was placed.

Opposite him, the Go Insect had been sitting upright for some time.

Seeing someone approach, it finally opened its eyes, sizing Xiong Zhan up.

Then, nine black stones floated into the air, arranging themselves into a nine-grid pattern on the board.

Seeing this scene, Long Xuan’s expression turned strange. He coughed lightly and, looking somewhat awkward, explained:

“It says — you are unfamiliar with the new Go rules and are playing on the large board for the first time.”

“Therefore, it doesn’t want to bully you... and will give you a nine-stone handicap.”

At these words, Xiong Zhan’s face immediately darkened, and he roared in fury:

“Outrageous! You little bug, you dare to disrespect your Lord Xiong?!”

“I am from the Go Branch! Acting cocky in front of me — you’re asking for it!”

“Let’s begin! I’ll see exactly how capable you are, daring to act so arrogant!”

As soon as he finished, the Go Insect, wielding the white stones, made its first move.

Although Xiong Zhan looked angry, he was very cautious.

After thinking carefully for a moment, he finally placed his black stone.

This match concerned his dignity — he absolutely couldn’t lose.

If he still lost despite receiving a nine-stone handicap, he might as well smash his head against a wall out of shame — the entire academy would laugh at him, and he couldn’t afford to lose face like that.

Thus, he treated this match as extremely important and committed his full effort without the slightest carelessness.

At the same time, the crowd outside the shop swarmed inside, surrounding the board in tight layers, eagerly watching the game.

Everyone was curious about how Go would be played on such a large board — and the Go Insect’s arrogant act of giving a nine-stone handicap made the match even more fascinating.

However, as they watched, everyone’s expressions gradually became solemn.

In Holy Gu City, the traditions of zither, Go, calligraphy, and painting were deeply ingrained.

As a result, almost everyone in the city could play Go — and at a very high level.

Experts could immediately recognize true skill the moment the first moves were made.

At first, they didn’t notice much difference.

But once the game progressed, they quickly realized the complexity of playing Go on a nineteen-line board.

Undoubtedly, nineteen-line Go was far more intricate and fascinating than seventeen-line Go.

The larger board introduced far more variations — demanding far more mental effort.

The rules for nineteen-line Go were also much more refined and balanced compared to seventeen-line Go.

There was no doubt about it — nineteen-line Go completely outclassed seventeen-line Go in every aspect.

What did this mean?

Everyone present drew sharp breaths of cold air, afraid to think further.

Once nineteen-line Go spread, Go enthusiasts would inevitably prefer it.

Over time, seventeen-line Go would vanish from the world.

This was the conclusion in everyone’s hearts:

The Go world was about to change drastically.