The Path of Immortality: Starts With Creating Water Bear Gu-Chapter 483: The Arrogant Quartet

Time flew by, and another month had passed.

That day, over the Nameless Mountain Range, the sky had been clear just moments ago, the sun shining brightly in a tranquil and beautiful scene. Suddenly, dark clouds rolled in, thunder rumbled in the sky.

A wild wind swept across the mountains, kicking up dust and sand. Pebbles flew, stones scattered—the entire range now looked like it was facing an apocalypse.

Seeing this sudden celestial phenomenon, Long Xuan furrowed his brow, a grave look in his eyes as he turned toward the cave, sighing inwardly.

He had underestimated the defiance of heaven contained within the Bone Tempering Technique. Never had he imagined that Di Xin, by cultivating the Bone Tempering Technique, could trigger such a terrifying anomaly.

This abrupt change caught both him and Di Xin off guard.

Long Xuan’s head throbbed immediately. The commotion Di Xin had stirred up was far too great—it was bound to draw nearby Gu cultivators over and invite unnecessary trouble.

As fate would have it, trouble came knocking. Long Xuan suddenly turned toward a certain direction. His eyes narrowed as he spotted several figures rapidly approaching.

From the southeast, a green flying vessel changed course and sped swiftly toward the anomaly.

Onboard the vessel sat four Gu cultivator prodigies, all exuding arrogance. Their gazes burned toward the direction of the anomaly. If anyone had recognized these four individuals, they would have been stunned.

These four had just placed within the top ten in the recently concluded Western Region Genius Tournament.

Mu Qing, the number one prodigy of the Azure Dragon Empire, ranked sixth in the tournament.

Bai Mo, the top talent of the White Tiger Empire, ranked seventh.

Zhu Hang, the strongest of the Vermilion Bird Empire, ranked eighth.

Huo Lin, the leading prodigy of the Kirin Empire, ranked ninth.

The Western Region Genius Tournament was a gathering of all the elite young cultivators of the West, with exceptional prestige and credibility.

Each of these four was considered invincible within the Spiritual Sea-stage. Now, all four stood together on the same vessel—a rare sight.

"An anomaly from the heavens... Could it be that a rare treasure is about to emerge?" Mu Qing narrowed his eyes, a flash of greed glinting within them.

"Not necessarily a treasure. It could be someone cultivating a forbidden art so heaven-defying that it incited this phenomenon," Bai Mo said, furrowing his brow in contemplation.

"Hmph! Isn’t a forbidden art capable of causing an anomaly itself a rare treasure?" Zhu Hang scanned the expressions of the others. Seeing the flickers of desire in their eyes, he sneered inwardly.

"Haha! Looks like Brother Zhu’s already thinking about stealing that forbidden art. A technique that stirs up celestial signs is almost unheard of. Even I’ve never seen one—it’s no wonder it tempts you." Huo Lin chuckled, though his own eyes flickered with greed.

"I hadn't expected this. I came out to relax after failing to win the championship, and now it seems fortune has smiled upon me."

"Too bad for Wu Gang. He was eliminated early in the preliminaries—otherwise, he'd have at least made the top ten and might have been here with us now, partaking in this opportunity."

Mu Qing smirked and glanced around. "Since we’re all interested in that forbidden art triggering the anomaly, let’s go take a look."

With that, the green vessel accelerated toward the center of the disturbance. Before long, it hovered above a section of the mountain range—only to be stopped abruptly by a figure who appeared out of nowhere.

"Turn back, gentlemen! My companion is currently in seclusion here. If you wish to avoid conflict, do not disturb him!" said Long Xuan, standing before the vessel, eyes full of vigilance as he stared at the four.

Seeing that their path was blocked by a mere Spiritual Sea-stage Gu cultivator, the four exchanged glances and chuckled disdainfully.

Each of them was an invincible figure within their realm, and among the prodigies, only those ranked in the top five of the tournament could even pose a threat to them.

Together, the four of them were confident they could even suppress the number one ranked genius.

This man before them was neither a known figure nor among the top five. How could he possibly stop them?

"Boy, do you even know who we are? You’ve got some nerve blocking our way," said Mu Qing, crossing his arms with a look of scorn.

"I don’t know who you are, and I don’t want to know. I’ll say this one more time: leave, or don’t blame me, Long, for being rude!" Long Xuan's eyes grew sharp. Since they had no manners, he returned the tone.

The moment they heard this, the four’s expressions darkened. Who were they? They were top-ten finishers in the Western Region Genius Tournament—famous across the entire region. And this nobody dared to say he didn’t recognize them?

That was nothing less than a direct insult.

At that moment, Di Xin's voice echoed into Long Xuan’s soul:

"Do not underestimate these four. In the Central Plains, there are the Five Supreme Sacred Beast Empires: East Azure Dragon, West White Tiger, South Vermilion Bird, North Black Tortoise, and Central Kirin."

"These five are among the ten greatest powers of the Western Region. Their strength is on par with the Dragon Soaring Empire."

"These four are the foremost prodigies of those empires. They are the very pinnacle of combat prowess among the younger generation. Be careful. The Sacred Beast Empires produce prodigies with extremely tough bodies—experts in physical combat."

Long Xuan took the warning to heart. Gu cultivators who specialized in body refinement were rare, but those who succeeded in the dual path of Gu and physique were always formidable.

Still, as long as they were in the same realm, Long Xuan was confident he could hold his own.

"Boy, do you really think we’ll just leave because you said so? Wouldn’t that be a huge loss of face?"

"You clearly don’t know who we are. Here’s your chance—hand over the forbidden art that caused the anomaly, let us copy it, and we’ll spare you. Otherwise, suffer the consequences!" Bai Mo laughed angrily.

Long Xuan shook his head with a cold smile. "And what if I refuse?"

"Refuse a toast, and you'll be forced to drink a forfeit!" Zhu Hang lost his patience and leaped from the vessel, throwing a fierce punch toward Long Xuan.

"So it's true—they excel in physical strength?" Long Xuan smirked. Rather than dodging, he met the punch head-on. Against physical combat specialists, the best way to win was to overwhelm them in physical power. And Long Xuan had never lost in a direct contest of raw strength.

Wishing to end the battle quickly before the anomaly drew more attention, he immediately summoned his three great Aspects: Divine Dragon, Golden Crow, and Black Tortoise.

With their combined power, he unleashed a punch with full strength, clashing head-on with Zhu Hang’s fist.

Boom!

The two fists collided with an explosive, thunderous roar.

"Pff!"

Bai Mo violently coughed up a mouthful of blood. Under the overwhelming force, he was sent flying sideways, crashing heavily into the side of the boat behind him. The impact overturned the green boat, sending all four people plummeting down together.

The other three landed on the ground unscathed, though looking slightly disheveled. Their expressions grew solemn as they looked up at the figure in the sky, all traces of contempt vanishing from their eyes.

Bai Mo was renowned for his physical cultivation—his raw strength was unmatched among those of the same realm. In the entire Western Region, aside from the rogue cultivator Zhang Renshan, no one had ever managed to overpower him in terms of brute force.

Yet today, in a direct confrontation, Bai Mo was actually one-punched into defeat by someone in the same realm. They could hardly believe their eyes.

“Damn it! This guy’s tricky! Everyone, attack together!”

With a furious roar, Huo Lin led the charge. They had clearly abandoned any idea of one-on-one duels and decided to throw honor aside and attack as a group.

Bai Mo wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes burning with fury as he watched Long Xuan being surrounded by the other three. With a loud shout, he joined the fray once more.

As one of the Ten Great Geniuses of the Western Region, Bai Mo specialized in physical refinement. Yet today, in a head-on clash, he was defeated by an unknown nobody. This was a humiliation beyond words, and his rage clouded his reason.

Facing these four supreme prodigies, Long Xuan was unafraid in one-on-one situations. But with all four attacking at once, the pressure was immense. For a brief time, he found himself unable to take down even one of them.

The chaotic melee quickly reached a stalemate. Neither side gained the upper hand. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Long Xuan was inwardly shocked. He thought to himself: No wonder they're the top geniuses from the five Sacred Beast Kingdoms. Even four together can push me this far.

Yet as astonished as he was, the four opponents were even more so. These were cultivators who had all ranked in the top ten of the Western Region Genius Tournament—absolute elite talents. Yet even working together, they couldn’t suppress one fellow Gu cultivator of the same realm. Their pride took a hard hit, and their faces flushed with embarrassment.

If word of this spread, they would become laughingstocks among their peers.

“Damn it! Where did this freak come from? He’s crushing all four of us and we’ve never even heard of him before!” Zhu Hang roared with an ugly expression.

“We can’t drag this out any longer! Use your trump cards now! If we don’t take this brat down today, we might as well disappear from the Gu world!” Mu Qing shouted.

At that moment, Di Xin’s soul voice once again echoed in Long Xuan’s ears:

“Don’t delay anymore. Use your hidden techniques now. A Gu King is approaching, and the phenomenon has attracted more than just these four.”

Hearing this, Long Xuan furrowed his brow and knew he couldn't afford to waste another second. After sending one of them flying with a punch, he quickly pulled back.

Seizing the brief opening, he began to form a series of strange hand seals.

Suddenly, the sky echoed with dragon roars. One after another, golden dragons emerged from Long Xuan’s seals. In the blink of an eye, the sky filled with swirling, dancing dragons. Each golden dragon looked alive, soaring and gliding through the air. Their deafening roars shook the heavens, exuding immense Dragon Might.

Twenty golden dragons circled overhead before suddenly turning to face the four with terrifying momentum—then they charged!

Watching twenty golden dragons hurtling toward them, the four turned pale instantly.

“What is this?! How can it carry such terrifying power?!”

“Damn! This is a True Dharma Aspect Projection! He can actually manifest living battle forms—how is that even possible?!”

“This is bad—really bad!”

“Rooaar!”

The golden dragons thundered past, violently smashing into the four cultivators. They all vomited blood on impact, their bodies blasted into the distant mountain wall with terrifying force. The entire mountain trembled.

Though the four were still breathing when they hit the ground, their bodies were battered beyond recognition—no intact spot remained. Their clothes were shredded, blood covering every inch.

Clearly, though they had survived, they were severely wounded.

After vomiting blood again, the four lifted their heads, eyes full of fear and shock.

“Run! Scatter!”

No one knew who screamed it, but the four immediately fled in different directions, completely abandoning their earlier arrogance. Now, all that remained was terror.

As Long Xuan watched their retreating backs, he sighed inwardly. After all, his Form-Mimicking Art was still incomplete and lacked full power—otherwise, they wouldn't have escaped.

The technique, though usable, was still a prototype. Right now, he could only summon the Divine Dragon Aspect. The Golden Crow Aspect and Black Tortoise Aspect were still beyond his reach.

To fully master the Form-Mimicking Art, he still had a long road ahead.

Long Xuan didn’t give chase. With his Eye of Heavenly Secret, he sensed that a Gu King was approaching at terrifying speed. Every second counted—he didn’t dare waste even a moment.

So after defeating the four, he dashed into the cave, picked up Di Xin, and ran.

Soon after, an aged Gu King arrived. He first glanced at the ruined pavilion, then the cave, a contemplative look on his face.

“This is the aftermath of a battle between Spiritual Sea-stage Gu cultivators. I recognize the auras of four of them—Mu Qing, Bai Mo, Huo Lin, and Zhu Hang—top-ten ranked in the Western Region Genius Tournament.”

“I wonder what kind of formidable opponent they encountered to be defeated so quickly even when working together. Interesting. Truly interesting.”

A faint smirk tugged at the elder’s lips, and his eyes narrowed as he sighed.

“I thought the Western Region Genius Tournament would bring out every talent in the West...”

“It seems many true geniuses care nothing for fame or glory. The real prodigies didn’t even show up.”

“This one who fought four alone, and the one who triggered a phenomenon by cultivating a forbidden technique... both have the strength to seize the championship. It’s a pity they weren’t part of the tournament.”

The old man squinted, then quietly turned and left, having found no trace of the person he sought.

Meanwhile, far away, the four who had fled regrouped at the foot of a mountain. They exchanged glances and all gave bitter smiles.

“Four against one, and we still lost. What a disgrace,” Mu Qing muttered bitterly.

“No one speaks a word of this, understood? Take this secret to your graves!” Bai Mo said sternly, scanning the group.

“You don’t have to tell me! We still have pride, don’t we? If this gets out, we’ll be mocked for life!” Huo Lin sighed.

“Who is that guy? Where did he come from? How can someone be that strong?! Someone like that didn’t even bother to join the Western Region Genius Tournament? He was playing dumb the whole time. We totally kicked an iron wall this time,” Zhu Hang said, eyes narrowed, voice grim.

“No idea... maybe he just disdains the competition. His strength far surpasses ours—maybe he doesn’t see any of us as worthy rivals,” Mu Qing replied, shaking his head with a bitter smile.