The Path of Immortality: Starts With Creating Water Bear Gu-Chapter 473: The Great Battle Begins (Two-in-One)

“We should head down now. The sooner, the better.”

As Zhu Jiuge spoke, she leapt directly into the bottomless black abyss. Long Xuan raised his brows—was the method of entering the sealed place truly this simple?

Suppressing the fear of the unknown depths, he immediately followed suit and jumped in.

The other four clones followed closely behind, while another clone opened the door and walked out of the room, heading to refine the Go Gu, just as Long Xuan had instructed.

Restoring the seal required drawing a vast number of array patterns—it wasn’t something that could be completed in a short time. He hoped that by the time the seal was fully repaired, the Go Gu would also be fully refined.

At this moment, inside the Demon Suppressing Pagoda, the number of people present was sparse—far fewer than two years ago. The top few floors of the tower didn’t even have enough occupants to fill the rooms.

Due to a certain someone, the spiritual energy inside the Demon Suppressing Pagoda had greatly diminished. Although there were still cultivators training within, most were unwilling to waste their limited opportunities to enter the tower for such thin spiritual energy.

As a result, few people came to cultivate in the tower each day. Most stood by waiting. What they didn’t expect, however, was that this wait would last two entire years.

Everyone was on the verge of going mad. That monster had actually cultivated inside the Demon Suppressing Pagoda for two full years. Such a length of time had far exceeded everyone’s expectations.

But today—that person finally emerged from the Demon Suppressing Pagoda. Seeing that long-awaited figure walk out, many were moved to the verge of tears.

“He’s out! He’s finally out!”

“The spiritual energy inside the Demon Suppressing Pagoda has been restored—haha, charge!”

“Oh my god, he finally came out. Do you even know how I lived through these two years?”

The crowd went wild, rushing madly toward the Demon Suppressing Pagoda.

Beneath the Demon Suppressing Pagoda, in the endless abyss, not a single glimmer of light could be found. In this pitch-black darkness, Long Xuan groped around blindly.

It was far too dark under the tower—those who entered saw absolutely nothing.

Long Xuan tried to illuminate the space with lamps and Heavenly Flame, but bizarrely, all light mysteriously vanished here. Though the Heavenly Flame still emitted heat, it produced no light at all.

Even the light of Heavenly Flame disappeared—let alone any other illumination method.

In this realm, everyone was effectively blind. The darkness bred fear. This place was simply not somewhere a normal human could survive.

What made it even worse was that the raging spiritual energy here far surpassed even Room One on the ninth floor of the Demon Suppressing Pagoda—and it was highly corrosive. If an ordinary person entered, they would be killed by the spiritual energy in no time.

Too much of a good thing becomes poison. Though this energy was extremely nourishing to cultivators, if the amount became too much, it would become fatally toxic.

Long Xuan took a deep breath and said solemnly,

“This world actually absorbs light. Even soul-sense is severely suppressed here.

Anyone who enters becomes completely blind. If danger strikes… it could be fatal.”

At this moment, Zhu Jiuge’s voice came from beside him:

“That’s why this creature’s name is ‘Yuan’—the Abyss.”

“Yuan’s power is to manifest endless abysses. A terrifying abyss with no end. Any living being swallowed into it can never escape. Because the abyss is boundless… and in this infinite space, it contains an unimaginable amount of spiritual energy.”

Long Xuan was visibly shaken. He reached toward the source of the voice beside him and grabbed a soft, delicate hand—which trembled twice in his palm.

It was so dark here that anyone would become blind. He feared getting separated from Zhu Jiuge and never finding her again, so he decisively held onto her hand.

If he got lost in this world, Zhu Jiuge might be able to find her way out by sheer luck. He, however, might never return.

“What exactly is this creature? Do you know its origin?” Long Xuan asked curiously, inhaling deeply.

Zhu Jiuge gave him a side-eye but patiently explained:

“Yuan’s origin is ancient—so ancient it dates back to the very beginning of this world.”

“That was the most primordial era. Humans hadn’t even appeared yet. The heavens and earth birthed the first living beings, later called True Spirits by ancient humans.”

“True Spirits had bizarre appearances, enormous sizes, and limitless lifespans.”

“A True Spirit might be a sea… a towering mountain… a drifting cloud. They could take on any form beyond your imagination.”

“But they shared one trait: vast size—so vast you could not see their end.”

“The larger the body, the more spiritual energy it could contain. Their bodies were countless times larger than humans’, so naturally their spiritual energy reserves were also countless times greater.”

“Especially during that era, when the spiritual energy in heaven and earth was so dense it nearly condensed into liquid. These True Spirits, with eternal life spans, absorbed that energy for countless ages. Who knows just how terrifying the reserves within their bodies became.”

“The Yuan beneath our feet is one of the most powerful of those True Spirits. Its form is the abyss. It rules over abyssal laws and is nearly impossible to kill.”

“It’s said that Yuan was severely wounded by a human expert, reducing its strength to less than one percent. Under the suppression of an enormous formation, its injuries have never healed. Otherwise, in its prime, this ‘Sealed Abyss Formation’ might not be enough to imprison it.”

Hearing this, Long Xuan was completely shaken. Such a terrifying being—was it something the future version of himself could truly defeat? Even with its strength diminished to one percent, the thought left him uneasy.

Meanwhile, in the Holy Gu Academy, within the Headmaster’s chamber of one of the four great inner halls—

“Headmaster, the emergency call has been sent. Former students of the Holy Gu Academy are now rushing back from all over the world.”

“Some who are nearby have already reached Holy Gu City.”

The Headmaster nodded and sighed.

“Although Holy Gu Academy has nurtured countless Gu Kings for the Gu Realm, not all of them are sentimental. Not all of them have time to spare either.”

“Based on your estimation—how many alumni will return to aid the academy?”

The elderly woman hesitated for a moment, then replied cautiously:

“If not a thousand, there should be at least eight hundred.”

“With so many Gu Kings, we should be able to stand against Ancestor Soaring Heaven and the forces behind him.”

The Headmaster shook his head and walked to the window, hands behind his back, looking out at the students walking across the campus. He said somberly:

“Ancestor Soaring Heaven has already discovered the secret of the Holy Gu Academy. This battle is unavoidable.

And who knows… how many innocent students will perish in it?”

“Even if we’re lucky enough to kill Soaring Heaven, we will undoubtedly suffer heavy losses. There will be no shortage of death.”

The old woman furrowed her brows and walked over, saying,

"Is this Ancestor Soaring Heaven truly so terrifying? Our Holy Gu Academy can recall so many Gu King disciples to defend, yet we can only defeat him by a stroke of luck?"

The Headmaster shook his head and gave a bitter smile:

"The Central Region is the core of this world, and also the place with the most powerful cultivators. Does the Feng Clan—one of the Ten Great Clans of the Central Region—have few Gu Kings? And yet, they were annihilated single-handedly by Feng Wuhen."

"This Feng Wuhen is a once-in-a-million-years prodigy of the Feng Clan. The most talented among his peers could only see up to the sixth layer of Virtual Insects, yet he could directly perceive the ninth layer—where the deepest hidden virtual Gu reside."

"He surpassed the second most talented member of his clan by three whole layers. It’s truly terrifying."

"In other words, he can see through all the Virtual Gu in the hands of his clanmates, while none of them can see his. He slaughtered his kin as easily as killing dogs."

"As for Gu cultivators from other clans who don’t understand Virtual Gu, killing them is like slicing melons and chopping vegetables."

"No matter how many Gu King disciples we recall, if no one can perceive the Virtual Gu he releases, all we can do is passively take the beating. The odds of victory are slim to none."

Upon hearing this, the old woman seemed relaxed and unconcerned.

"No matter how powerful his ninth-layer Virtual Gu may be, their quantity is still limited. We have numbers on our side. Even if he kills freely, so what?"

"As long as we have enough Gu Kings, capturing the leader ends the chaos. Feng Wuhen could never stand against us."

The Headmaster shook his head and sighed, then said gravely:

"It’s not that simple."

"Ancient texts recorded a distant era when Virtual Insects spread unchecked, nearly exterminating the human race."

"Eventually, a peerless genius named Feng Jie created a Gu insect known as the Eye of Revelation, which was forged from over ten million materials."

"The Eye of Revelation perfectly countered Virtual Insects. Any Virtual Insect seen by it could be unconditionally controlled."

"Relying on the Eye of Revelation, Feng Jie sealed all Virtual Insects inside the Sealing Spirit Pagoda, bringing order to the chaotic world."

"From then on, the Feng Clan became the Guardians of Virtual Insects, stationed by the Sealing Spirit Pagoda for generations, even sacrificing clan members to reinforce the seals within."

"Even during eras of thin spiritual energy, the Feng Clan never gave up on recreating the Eye of Revelation in the Gu world."

"But the required materials were too vast, success rate too low, and the cost astronomical. Even after generations of exhausting their resources, the Feng Clan never succeeded."

"At long last, in this generation, after tens of thousands of years, they finally forged the Eye of Revelation, and the entire clan rejoiced."

"Yet for reasons unknown, after deliberation among the clan’s elders, they decided to gift the Eye of Revelation to the second most talented member, Feng Wulei, rather than the clearly more gifted Feng Wuhen."

"In a fit of rage, Feng Wuhen slaughtered the entire clan, seized the Eye of Revelation, and even took away the Sealing Spirit Pagoda."

"The Eye of Revelation, once used to bring peace, can also bring chaos. Whoever possesses it can control the endless swarm of Virtual Insects within the pagoda—equivalent to holding the power to destroy the world."

"If Feng Wuhen recklessly opens the Sealing Spirit Pagoda and releases the Virtual Insects inside, the world will face doomsday."

"This is my greatest concern—we must defeat him without pushing him too far. A fight with such high stakes will only result in greater casualties. It’s a dire dilemma."

The old woman’s brows knitted tightly. Her expression finally turned solemn. After a long silence, she said:

"He won't release the Sealing Spirit Pagoda so easily."

"Though the Eye of Revelation can control all Virtual Insects, it's not without limits. Feng Jie died because he exhausted his eye power controlling too many Virtual Insects."

"Feng Wuhen's cultivation level is still too low. For the most terrifying Virtual Insects inside the Sealing Spirit Pagoda, he may be able to release them—but unable to re-seal them."

"Those Virtual Insects, having been suppressed for ages, would break free. If they can’t be controlled by the Eye of Revelation, they might kill him first."

"If he overuses the power within the Sealing Spirit Pagoda, he will definitely perish by his own hand."

The Headmaster nodded and said:

"You're right. He has his fears. As long as we don’t push him too hard, he won’t recklessly unleash the most dangerous Virtual Insects."

Narrowing his eyes, the Headmaster continued,

"The key to defeating Feng Wuhen may lie in Zhu Jiuge."

"Anyone who dares touch Zhu Jiuge always meets disaster. As long as Feng Wuhen attacks while Zhu Jiuge is still inside Holy Gu Academy, we may survive this tribulation."

Meanwhile, in the Central Region—Soaring Heaven Sect.

Feng Wuhen tossed an ancient jade slip onto the table, a smirk forming on his lips.

"This must be it."

"Who would’ve thought the founder of Holy Gu Academy sealed a True Spirit and used its spiritual power to mass-produce cultivators? What a genius idea… bold too."

"This True Spirit named Yuan possesses universal spiritual power—not only of exceptional quality, but also absorbable by anyone. It's practically priceless." A look of extreme greed flashed in Feng Wuhen's eyes.

"Ancestor, do you plan to seize this True Spirit?" asked the elder beside him.

Feng Wuhen shot him a glance and sneered:

"Seize it? You think it's that simple?"

"I accidentally wandered into that place and was lost for two whole years—barely escaped. Even in its wounded state, that terrifying being is not someone we can contend with."

Retracting his gaze, Feng Wuhen’s expression turned extremely solemn:

"That place must not be acted upon rashly. If that thing is accidentally released, we’re all dead."

"For now, we can only slaughter everyone in Holy Gu Academy and completely take over the place. I want to make that tower the cradle for nurturing experts of my Soaring Heaven Sect."

He slammed the table with force, eyes sharp and voice fierce.

The elder jumped in fright and quickly said:

"Please reconsider, Ancestor. That place is Holy Gu Academy. Over countless years, it has nurtured many Gu Kings."

"Many renowned powerhouses of the Gu world originated from there. Numerous major forces are also tied to Holy Gu Academy by blood or relationship."

"The Academy's network is vast. If endangered, they could summon graduates from all over the world for reinforcements. We'd be kicking a hornet’s nest!" the elder warned, panicked.

"Hmph! You think I’m a fool? Destroying Holy Gu Academy is easy—the hard part is how to hold it."

"We must instill enough fear to prevent the countless graduates from even thinking about revenge."

Feng Wuhen stood up, walked to the window, and looked into the distance with deep eyes.

"Looks like the strength of my Soaring Heaven Sect alone won’t be enough to take that place. We’ll need to join hands with the other demonic sects."

"Pass down my order—send letters immediately to the Blood God Sect, Demon God Sect, Bone God Sect... and other sect leaders. I want to host a banquet for all the demonic powers in the vicinity."