The Path of Immortality: Starts With Creating Water Bear Gu-Chapter 481: Meeting Long Dan

On this day, inside a private room of a restaurant in Xuanyuan City, the crisp sound of Go pieces being placed on the board echoed from time to time — “pa pa”.

“Hehe! Brother Long Xuan, it's been many years. I didn’t expect you to be close to touching the bottleneck of the Gu King realm.”

“You came to Xuanyuan City this time — are you planning to participate in the Western Region Genius Tournament?”

Long Dan placed a piece on the board, then looked up seriously at him.

Long Xuan shook his head with a smile and said, “Forget it, that’s a game for kids. I have no time to play with that bunch of little brats.”

Long Xuan then repeated exactly what Di Xin had once told him.

Long Dan’s mouth twitched, that statement clearly disregarded every genius in the Western Region, including himself.

Calling all the geniuses of the Western Region “little brats” that was pure, unrestrained arrogance.

But indeed, the man had the qualifications to be arrogant.

Upon hearing that Long Xuan didn’t plan to participate in the tournament, Long Dan breathed a long sigh of relief.

It was good that this monster wouldn’t compete. Facing this kind of freak, he had no confidence whatsoever in standing against him.

“Then, Brother Long Xuan, when do you plan to return home? You’ve been away for so many years — it’s about time.”

Long Dan put away his smile and said seriously, “To be honest, since the Long Clan seized half of the Feng Clan's clan fortune, the clan has grown rapidly. Geniuses have been emerging one after another, and the number of strong cultivators has increased dramatically.”

“These past years, the success rate of our Long Clan’s Gu cultivators breaking through to the Gu King realm has risen significantly.”

“With the clan’s rising power, the Dragon Emperor has grown ambitious. He plans to lead the army to invade the Central Region, to seize territory and leave behind the legacy of expanding our dominion before stepping down.”

“This is a great opportunity for us — the time to build merit and establish careers has arrived. Whether we can gain higher status, more wealth, or even be granted the Hidden Dragon Tattoo, depends entirely on this battle.”

Long Dan placed the Go piece with force, his gaze burning with ambition.

Long Xuan was shocked to hear this, he hadn’t expected the Long Clan to make such a bold move.

The Central Region was the heart of the world, rich in spiritual energy and abundant in resources. Whether in terms of the number of geniuses or powerful cultivators, it far surpassed the other four regions.

And yet the Long Clan dared to set its sights on seizing land there?

Had the boost in clan fortune truly given the Long Clan enough strength to claim a wider domain?

He never used to think clan fortune could have such a profound effect, but now it was clear: it could utterly transform a clan’s destiny.

The Dragon Soaring Empire had risen swiftly after stealing fortune. Meanwhile, the Phoenix Heaven Empire and Radiant Moon Empire fell into decline after losing theirs — the effect of clan fortune was immediate and stark.

“No, I’ve still got important matters to attend to. I won’t return for now. I’ll wait until the Long Clan carves out territory in the Central Region, then return to enjoy the fruits of victory.”

Long Xuan chuckled, half-jokingly.

Now that the clan was preparing for war, it would be foolish of him to return. War was dangerous, going back now was not in line with his temperament.

At the very least, he should wait until he raids the Cangyue Imperial Tomb, breaks through to the Gu King realm, and returns in glory. By then, he would finally be able to meet that woman — Long Ziyan.

“What a shame. The war in the Central Region will be a battle of armies and kings alike. Without you, Brother Long Xuan, our Spiritual Sea-stage Gu cultivators won’t have much of an edge.”

Long Dan shook his head with a smile and dropped another Go piece.

“Enough about that. Actually, I came to see you today for another reason. Since you're planning to participate in the Western Region Genius Tournament, you must’ve collected intel on your competitors, right?”

“Give me a copy of all the genius profiles you’ve gathered.” Long Xuan stared at him seriously.

Although he had met several geniuses in the market square, there were definitely more out there. He needed intel on every participant — not a single one left out.

Only by seeing all the profiles could he decide who was the most suitable person to “play Go” with. That way, he wouldn’t have to blindly open “mystery boxes”.

“I thought you weren’t planning to participate in the tournament. What do you need the data for?” Long Dan asked, surprised.

But despite his words, he still took out a thick stack of documents from his storage ring and placed it on the table.

“This information was collected by the Dragon Soaring Empire’s intelligence division. It’s complete and detailed. If it comes from them, you can rest assured.”

Long Xuan took the stack and quickly flipped through it. Soon, he found the portraits of the three people he had seen in the market square.

All three were marked as top-level threats in the intel and among this thick stack, only about a dozen individuals were listed at that level.

Long Xuan’s lips curled upward. He couldn’t help but admire his own judgment — he had known they were exceptional, and they truly were.

He flipped rapidly through the profiles until his eyes froze on one.

It was the portrait of a burly, stout man, instantly eye-catching.

What caught Long Xuan’s attention wasn’t the unusual appearance or powerful combat strength — it was the phrase he saw on the page:

Xuanwu (Black Tortoise) Bloodline.

His eyes lit up immediately.

This person actually possessed the Black Tortoise bloodline — a heaven-sent opportunity!

Long Xuan clenched his fists, excitement surging in his gaze.

He had already mastered the third layer of his cultivation technique, Purgatory True Demon Technique.

The only thing missing was completing his Dharma Aspect.

Purgatory True Demon Technique, third layer, allows the cultivation of a third Dharma Aspect. However, it requires the blood of a powerful divine beast as a medium.

In order to cultivate this third Dharma Aspect, he had been searching for divine beast blood for a long time.

Unfortunately, divine beasts had long since gone extinct, and their blood was extremely rare. Despite years of searching, even after reaching the peak of the Spiritual Sea-stage, he still had not found a single drop.

But today, his luck had finally arrived. The one possessing the Black Tortoise bloodline carried essence blood within him that was equivalent to the blood of a Black Tortoise divine beast—more than sufficient to forge a Black Tortoise Dharma Aspect.

Long Xuan was overjoyed, clenching his fists in excitement.

“It seems I must step onto the arena. That boy’s essence blood—I must have it,” a gleam of determination flashed in Long Xuan’s eyes as he made up his mind.

Of course, he didn’t intend to formally register as a contestant. He wasn’t going to waste time playing around with a bunch of kids.

Long Xuan planned to secretly knock out the boy’s scheduled opponent before the match and disguise himself as that opponent. Then, once on stage, he would injure the target and extract his essence blood.

It was now time to test his mastery of the Seventy-Two Transformations disguise technique. The judges and referees overseeing the tournament’s order were undoubtedly all peak-rank Gu Kings, each famous and powerful. Fooling them would not be easy.

Noticing that Long Xuan had been staring at the intelligence file for too long, Long Dan spoke up:

“This person is the number one prodigy of the Black Tortoise Empire, possessing the terrifying Black Tortoise bloodline and an abnormally strong defense. Few geniuses of the same realm can even break through his shell.”

“It’s no exaggeration to say that among all the contestants in this Genius Tournament, the number who could break through that turtle shell could be counted on one hand—if any at all.”

“Even if he encounters an opponent he cannot defeat, he can still rely on his outrageous defense to easily draw the match.”

At this point, Long Dan’s eyes grew solemn. It was clear he held this genius in deep caution.

“But I believe, to you, sir, his defense is absolutely useless. Wu Gang’s turtle shell may block all other geniuses, but it absolutely cannot block you!”

Long Dan’s gaze turned toward Long Xuan again, filled with wariness.

Compared to Long Xuan, the so-called genius was nothing. No matter how tough Wu Gang’s shell was, how could it possibly resist Long Xuan’s attacks?

If Long Xuan unleashed that forbidden technique once more, even a Gu King would struggle to defend against it—how could Wu Gang stand a chance?

Long Dan looked at Long Xuan with deep awe.

That ultimate move Long Xuan had unleashed on that day was still etched in his memory.

“You’ve lost!”

Just as Long Dan was lost in thought, Long Xuan placed a stone on the board, ending the game in his favor.

Long Dan, a cultivation fanatic, clearly didn’t play Go often. At best, his skill level was barely above beginner—how could he possibly win against the battle-hardened Long Xuan?

Soon, one of the stones on the board emitted a brilliant light, and Long Xuan’s lips curled slightly into a smile.

Three days later, the Genius Tournament that had shocked the entire Western Region officially began. Countless young talents woke up early and gathered toward the city center.

At the very heart of Xuanyuan City, thirty newly constructed high arenas stood tall. On this day, all registered contestants would face off in elimination rounds across these thirty stages.

Because of the overwhelming number of participants, each round was followed by a long period of rest and recovery for the contestants. Thus, the tournament was expected to last at least two months.

At this moment, Xuanyuan City was bustling with excitement. The entire city was lively and loud, not only because it had gathered renowned prodigies from every region—who were hot topics among the crowds—but also because of the vast number of Gu Kings present.

Such a grand event naturally attracted a large number of Gu Kings, many of whom had come purely to spectate. Numerous powerful forces also came seeking to recruit promising talents. At this time, Xuanyuan City was not only a gathering place for geniuses, but also a convergence point for Gu Kings.

In a certain inn, a plain-looking youth slammed the table and cursed loudly:

“Damn it! How the hell did I get so unlucky!”

“Out of all the people I could’ve drawn, I had to draw that Wu Gang freak!”

“That guy’s the top genius of the Black Tortoise Empire, and he has the once-in-a-millennium Black Tortoise bloodline. His defense is so strong that few in our realm can even scratch him. I’m just a common rogue cultivator, how the hell can I beat him?!”

“This is just the first round, and I already drew such a monster? Damn it to hell—there’s no point fighting, I’ll just surrender!”

The youth’s face twisted in frustration as he roared within the room.

“Sigh! So what if you drew a tough opponent? You’re already ready to give up? That’s the behavior of a coward!”

A soft sigh echoed from within the room. The youth’s hair stood on end, and he quickly turned around, shouting:

“Who? Who’s there?! Show yourself!”

But as soon as he turned, everything went black, and he collapsed to the floor—unconscious.

At that moment, a youth identical to him appeared behind him. Even the patched-up clothes were exactly the same, as if they were carved from the same mold.

“Well, since you can’t beat that guy, I’ll give you a hand! No need to thank me—I never leave my name when I do good deeds.”

The lookalike curled his lips into a grin, bound the unconscious youth, stuffed him under the bed, and calmly walked out of the inn...