The Path of Immortality: Starts With Creating Water Bear Gu-Chapter 482: Self-Created Form-Mimicking Art

At the center of Xuanyuan City, the place was now packed with a sea of people. The crowd was shoulder to shoulder with no space to move, yet most onlookers had their eyes fixed on Arena No. 1. Although the place was crowded, not many were paying attention to the other arenas.

That was because the person standing on Arena No. 1 was a hot favorite to win the championship. Compared to the other unknown contestants, the spectators naturally focused their attention on this contender.

Standing on Arena No. 1 was a tall, stout man with his arms crossed over his chest. His expression was arrogant as he stood with eyes closed, calmly waiting for his opponent to arrive.

At this moment, the crowd watching from afar was filled with murmurs and chatter.

“What’s going on? Why hasn’t Wu Gang’s opponent arrived yet? If he delays any further, he’ll be disqualified and considered to have forfeited the match.”

“Heh! I heard the one who drew Wu Gang is some no-name rogue cultivator called Zhou Bao. Talk about bad luck! Of all the people to draw, he had to pick Wu Gang. A mere small-time rogue cultivator going against Wu Gang? He’s probably scared out of his mind and didn’t dare show up!”

“What a pity! With Wu Gang standing here, I thought we were in for a spectacular fight. Now it looks like his opponent has chickened out. We might not get to see a match at all.”

Disappointed expressions spread across the crowd as the discussions grew louder.

The referee in charge of Arena No. 1 frowned slightly. Seeing that the matches in the other arenas had already begun while Wu Gang’s opponent still hadn’t appeared, he was growing impatient. Just as he was about to announce the result and declare Wu Gang the winner by default, a voice suddenly called out from the crowd:

“Zhou Bao is here! Sorry! So sorry! I really overslept just now. I hope I’m not too late!”

Long Xuan had finally arrived. Relying on brute strength, he forced his way through the crowd and leaped onto the arena in the blink of an eye. Looking down at the referee, he asked sheepishly:

“Did I make it in time?”

“Whether you’re late or not makes no difference to the result. Let’s begin,” the referee said dismissively.

Hearing this, Long Xuan breathed a sigh of relief and finally turned his gaze toward his opponent.

Before he could say a word, the tall and hefty Wu Gang curled his lips into a mocking smile, beckoned with a finger, and arrogantly said:

“I’ll let you strike three times first. I guarantee I won’t dodge or counterattack!”

Wu Gang wore a scornful grin, clearly not taking Long Xuan seriously at all.

As soon as he said this, the entire crowd erupted in an uproar. Standing still and allowing his opponent to strike three times? That was outrageously arrogant.

Excited at the prospect of some drama, all the spectators turned their attention toward Arena No. 1 with anticipation.

Obviously, none of them believed that Zhou Bao could break through Wu Gang’s defenses. Their expressions were filled with amusement and ridicule.

Only one person was an exception—Long Dan. He had been watching all along and, upon hearing Wu Gang’s boast, the corners of his mouth twitched involuntarily.

“Letting Long Xuan hit you three times without moving? That’s suicidal!”

With Wu Gang’s combat strength, even if he couldn't defeat Long Xuan, he should’ve lasted a few rounds—after all, he was the top genius of a Super Empire.

But now he was going to stand there and take three hits? If he didn’t get instantly defeated, it would be a miracle.

Wu Gang might become the first hot favorite to be instantly eliminated in this Western Region Genius Tournament. What a disgrace that would be.

Long Dan shook his head and looked away, unable to bear watching what came next.

“You’re really going to let me hit you three times without moving? Are you sure?”

Long Xuan looked at Wu Gang in disbelief. Was this guy really so eager to get taken out?

“Stop yapping. Just get on with it. You’ve got three chances—don’t say I bullied you!”

Wu Gang slapped his chest confidently. In an instant, his body was enveloped in spiritual energy. From afar, it looked like he was wearing a tortoise shell, clearly not an easy defense to penetrate.

“Alright then! That’s the most shameless request I’ve ever heard—but I’ll gladly oblige!”

Long Xuan stopped smiling. His expression turned serious, and without further ado, he charged at Wu Gang with explosive speed.

He knew that the Black Tortoise bloodline was known for its formidable defense, but he wasn’t exactly sure how tough it really was.

Facing such a golden opportunity, he didn’t dare hold back. Channeling his full strength, he extended one finger toward the spot Wu Gang had just patted on his chest.

This was his Steel Finger technique—concentrating all his strength into a single point for maximum impact. With Long Xuan’s monstrous physical strength, the explosive power of such a focused strike was immense.

But that wasn’t all. Not daring to underestimate the defense of the Black Tortoise bloodline, and wary by nature, Long Xuan activated the first four gates of the Life and Death Gate Technique, multiplying his attack power several times over.

It’s no exaggeration to say that this one finger strike now had enough destructive power to injure even a Gu King.

Since opening the first four gates instantly came with no side effects, Long Xuan had no hesitation in using the technique.

Seeing this ferocious strike coming his way, Wu Gang’s face lit up with glee. Laughing wildly, he shouted:

“Good! Bring it on!”

As soon as the words left his mouth, the finger landed squarely on his chest.

In that instant, the so-called Black Tortoise defense that covered his body shattered like paper upon contact.

The terrifying power erupted from Long Xuan’s finger like a flood through a broken dam, pouring into Wu Gang’s body from every direction.

Before Wu Gang could even react, he coughed up a mouthful of blood and was sent flying off the stage, landing heavily on the ground—unconscious.

At that moment, the entire arena fell dead silent.

Everyone stared in wide-eyed disbelief at what had just happened.

A championship favorite like Wu Gang, defeated in a single strike by an unknown nobody? Who would believe it?

The spectators were stunned speechless. After a long silence, the arena finally exploded in a deafening uproar.

“Holy crap! Wu Gang got one-shotted! That’s unbelievable!”

“Who is that guy?! Wu Gang’s defense is supposed to be unbreakable among his peers. Who could possibly break it so easily? That finger strike was unreal!”

“Tch tch! Wu Gang really overdid it with his arrogance. Now he’s the laughingstock. The so-called strongest shield just happened to run into the strongest spear. Talk about bad luck.”

“Serves him right. That guy specializes in attack—he’s bound to have weaknesses elsewhere. If it had been a fair fight, Wu Gang might not have lost. But he had to show off and stand there like an idiot... sigh.”

Ignoring the frenzied chatter of the crowd, Long Xuan casually dispatched his opponent and then walked down from the arena.

The Xuanwu (Black Tortoise) blood was already in hand—he no longer had a reason to stay here.

Things had gone unexpectedly smoothly. He hadn't anticipated that obtaining the Black Tortoise blood would be so easy. He had originally assumed that the top genius of the Black Tortoise Empire would possess terrifying combat strength, and that it would take an epic battle of three hundred rounds to decide the victor.

In hindsight, he had overthought it.

The moment Long Xuan stepped off the stage, the frenzied crowd swarmed toward him, excitedly trying to talk with him, making it difficult for him to leave.

His clean and decisive victory over the championship favorite Wu Gang not only stunned everyone present but also piqued the interest of many Gu Kings.

A genius with such extraordinary combat ability would naturally attract the attention of many powers planning to recruit talents during the tournament. One after another, they offered extremely generous terms, all inviting him to join their forces. Long Xuan, thoroughly annoyed, had no choice.

Seeing that the crowd refused to clear a path, he reluctantly chose a powerful faction called Wu Sect and agreed to join them.

After all, he wasn’t Zhou Bao—whatever decision he made had nothing to do with that man.

This Zhou Bao joined an impressive sect and even thanked him for it. But Long Xuan had always done good deeds without leaving his name. Whatever happened once Zhou Bao—this fake genius—was exposed had nothing to do with him.

The corners of Long Xuan’s lips curved up as he finally squeezed out of the crowd and departed…

Watching his departing figure, Long Dan revealed a deep wariness in his expression. Only he knew—that was merely a Clone of Long Xuan. Just a mere clone had instantly defeated a championship favorite. The shock in his heart was immeasurable.

If even a clone was this terrifying, just how powerful was Long Xuan’s true body?

His heart was in turmoil as he thought about it.

Sweeping his gaze across all the Gu Kings in the crowd, Long Dan grew even more terrified. A clone disguised as Zhou Bao had fooled the entire arena—not a single Gu King could see through it. What kind of power was this? This man was truly defying the heavens.

Among the crowd, Zhang Renshan clenched his fists, eyes blazing as he stared at Zhou Bao’s receding figure, his fighting spirit surging.

“To channel all one’s power into a single finger and release it in an instant… such a terrifying physical technique! I haven’t seen someone so powerful in the physical arts in a long time!”

“If I don’t spar with such a master of body arts, I’ll itch with impatience. Once my current match is over, I must find this Zhou Bao and challenge him!”

Meanwhile, in a nearby inn, Zhou Bao suddenly shivered involuntarily…

After the Fire Clone successfully extracted Wu Gang’s blood essence, it rushed toward the main body without delay. A few days later, it finally stopped at a pavilion.

At that moment, Long Xuan was carving formation patterns onto Di Xin’s bones, having completed about half the work. Both he and Di Xin needed a period of rest before continuing the process.

Sensing the Fire Clone approaching at high speed, Long Xuan quickly went to meet it.

As soon as they met, the Fire Clone tossed the small vial containing the Black Tortoise divine blood to Long Xuan.

Receiving the vial, Long Xuan inspected it carefully and, upon confirming it was indeed the blood of the Black Tortoise divine beast, he was overjoyed and shouted excitedly:

“Beautifully done!”

“After searching for divine beast blood for so many years, I finally have it! Now, I can cultivate my third Dharma Aspect!”

“Once the Black Tortoise Aspect is formed, my physical strength will grow to an even more terrifying level!”

“Back in the River God Mysterious Realm, even with only two Aspects, I easily crushed all the incapacitated Gu Kings. Once I master a third Aspect, just imagine what I’ll be capable of!”

Long Xuan clenched his fists, his eyes burning with anticipation.

“That’s blood essence from a genius—carrying a trace of divine beast bloodline. Human blood can’t be preserved for long. Take it now for the best effect. You can put off my matter,” said Di Xin, dragging her exhausted body out from the cave. Her face was pale, devoid of blood.

“It’s fine! Your matter is more urgent. Carving formation patterns onto human bones must be done in one go—it’s best not to delay.”

“My Clone can cultivate as well. It won’t affect your progress,” Long Xuan replied.

As he spoke, Long Xuan tossed the vial back to the Fire Clone—clearly planning to slack off and let the Clone handle the cultivation again.

He had done this countless times and was already used to it.

The Fire Clone caught the vial without complaint and left obediently. He was used to it as well.

“You’re seriously shameless. Does your Clone even have human rights anymore?” Di Xin said with an eye-roll, unable to help herself.

A month passed in the blink of an eye.

Another month of work later, Long Xuan had completely engraved formation patterns onto Di Xin’s bones, completing the first stage of cultivating the Bone Tempering Technique.

Di Xin was now in seclusion, attempting to control this new skeletal structure with her physical body. Only once she mastered it completely would the Bone Tempering Technique be considered successfully cultivated.

This step was by no means simple. What Di Xin was attempting was defying the heavens. Carving microscopic formation patterns onto bones was unprecedented in history. Di Xin was a trailblazer—and no one knew what unforeseen changes this innovation might bring.

After leaving the cave, Long Xuan immediately rushed off to check the Clone’s cultivation progress.

As if synchronized, just as he finished the formation patterns, the Fire Clone had successfully cultivated the third Dharma Aspect.

Under the blazing sun, three massive illusory figures appeared in the sky: a Divine Dragon, a Golden Crow, and a Black Tortoise. The combined pressure of the three Aspects caused birds and beasts in the forest to flee in terror.

Staring at the Black Tortoise phantom in the sky, Long Xuan nodded in satisfaction.

“As expected of the legendary Black Tortoise. Just its appearance is intimidating. It’s a pity it’s only a phantom, a mere visual illusion with no combat power.”

Just as this thought occurred, Long Xuan’s mind stirred.

It had been a long time since he had created custom spells or body arts to complement his cultivation techniques. A sudden flash of inspiration gave him an idea.

Without question, Dharma Aspects can be used to attack. The final move of the Life-and-Death Gate, Dark Night, was proof.

He planned to develop a powerful attack that utilized the force of his Dharma Aspects—but it had to come with minimal cost.

Since his number of Aspects far exceeded that of ordinary cultivators, such a technique would be a perfect enhancement to his arsenal.

After all, including those summoned by his Clones, he possessed eighteen Dharma Aspects.

Ever since cultivating the Purgatory True Demon Technique, his Three Souls and Seven Spirits had separated. Long Xuan discovered that he could use them to simultaneously operate his technique and manifest ten Divine Dragon Aspects.

With his two lifetimes, he had a total of two sets of Three Souls and Seven Spirits, enabling him to summon twenty Divine Dragon Aspects.

If he unleashed twenty Divine Dragons in a single strike—wouldn’t that be a variant of the Dragon Subduing Eighteen Palms?

Long Xuan’s eyes lit up, but then he shook his head. The technique wouldn’t just summon twenty dragons—it could also unleash twenty Golden Crows and twenty Black Tortoise, each capable of attacking independently.

So, calling it "Dragon Subduing Eighteen Palms" would be inaccurate.

He preferred to name this move "Form-Mimicking Art".

The Form-Mimicking Art would bring Aspects to life and send them crashing into the enemy with overwhelming power—just imagining its potential sent a shiver down the spine.

Excited by the concept, Long Xuan didn’t even bother to rest. He rushed into the Soul Library, eager to start the project of self-creating the Form-Mimicking Art.

When it came to developing original techniques, he always had to rely partially on blind trial and error—luck played a huge role. With good fortune, he could figure it out quickly; with bad luck, he could be stuck on a detail for a year.

But ever since he created the Go Gu, he had shared in the fortune of many supreme geniuses. His luck had skyrocketed. Under this influence, the time required for developing new techniques was drastically shortened.

One of the reasons he was so eager to create this new combat technique was precisely to test the impact of the Go Gu on his luck.

Just how long would it take to develop the Form-Mimicking Art?

He was looking forward to the answer…