The Path of Immortality: Starts With Creating Water Bear Gu-Chapter 489: Breaking the Deadlock

Upon witnessing the scene, Xuanyuan Zhi, who was engaged in battle with the eight clan heads, instantly went bloodshot with rage.

The Fifth Prince was the number one genius of the Xuanyuan Imperial Clan, and the next heir to the throne. If he died here, Xuanyuan Zhi wouldn't just fail in his mission—he’d also be held responsible. He’d have no way to explain himself to the Xuanyuan Emperor.

"You're courting death!"

With eyes blazing red, Xuanyuan Zhi could no longer be bothered with the rule that Gu Kings couldn’t attack juniors. After knocking one opponent away, he charged madly toward Long Xuan.

"Heh heh! Where do you think you're going? The so-called number one expert of the Xuanyuan Empire, and you're actually going to strike a junior? Aren’t you ashamed of that old face of yours?"

The Patriarch of the Jiang Clan stepped in just in time to block him, laughing loudly.

"Hahaha... The Fifth Prince is dead? Good! Marvelous! With him dying at your hands, let’s see how you explain this when you return!"

The Han Clan Patriarch laughed heartily, immensely satisfied to see the prince slain.

"You're all looking to die! Die! All of you!"

Xuanyuan Zhi, overwhelmed with rage, completely lost his rationality. His attacks grew even fiercer, forcing the eight clan heads onto the back foot.

Though they had strength in numbers, the Xuanyuan Grand Formation had weakened them. Under such conditions, they were no match for Xuanyuan Zhi.

If Xuanyuan Zhi hadn’t been confident of defeating them, he wouldn’t have dared to declare he’d take all eight of them on alone.

In his berserk state, Xuanyuan Zhi soon broke through a gap in the encirclement. However, instead of charging out himself, he suddenly calmed down and released a Clone.

The Clone broke through the siege and charged at Long Xuan, while his main body stayed behind to fend off the eight clan heads.

Perhaps in his mind, defeating a Spiritual Sea Realm junior didn’t require his true self.

"Sh*t!"

Seeing Xuanyuan Zhi’s Clone rushing at him, Long Xuan’s eyes widened in disbelief. He cursed instinctively, no longer able to remain calm.

This was a Clone of a peak Gu King! How could he possibly stand against that?

"Just killed one guy, and I’ve got a peak Gu King after me?!" Long Xuan cursed internally.

There was no time to think. Acting on instinct, he pulled out Little White from his insect bag, using its Slow Domain to hinder the Gu King's speed, and its Acceleration Domain to boost his own. He fled at top speed.

Running was the only viable option. Facing a peak Gu King, there was no way he could fight back.

Xuanyuan Zhi paused in shock when he suddenly felt his speed drop dramatically.

Typically, Gu abilities didn’t affect cultivators of higher realms. Yet this one clearly did, and it genuinely startled him.

Then, greed crept into his eyes. A Gu insect that could greatly hinder an opponent’s speed? This was practically a divine skill!

Speed is everything in this world—without it, one couldn’t even touch a single hair on their opponent’s body. He understood the value of speed better than anyone.

Now, he was highly interested in the refinement method of this Gu insect and was determined to seize it.

"Kid, your Gu insect can both slow down enemies and speed yourself up. With that advantage, even most Gu Kings can’t catch you!"

"But too bad for you—you’ve run into me. And speed happens to be my specialty. Today, your luck’s run out!"

With a cold laugh, a pair of Thunder Wings suddenly unfurled behind Xuanyuan Zhi. Empowered by the wings, he shot forward, closing the distance rapidly.

Long Xuan looked back and frowned, panic rising in his heart.

He hadn’t expected Xuanyuan Zhi to be a speed-type Gu King. That was disastrous.

If the peak Gu King caught up, it would spell certain death.

Long Xuan looked at the Hundred-Mile Talisman in his hand with hesitation.

If he tore it now, he could escape—but he’d lose the chance to seize the opportunities within the Cangyue Imperial Tomb. He couldn’t accept that.

Unless it was absolutely necessary, he didn’t want to waste this talisman—or miss out on the tomb’s fortune.

Should I use the Gate of Life and Death again? A terrifying idea popped into his mind, but he quickly shook his head.

Activating the Gate of Life and Death would leave him half-crippled. Even if it hurt Xuanyuan Zhi, how could a half-crippled person face the tomb’s dangers? He might as well just use the talisman and flee.

As Xuanyuan Zhi’s fierce face got closer and closer, Long Xuan’s expression became strangely calm.

At this moment, a bold idea surfaced in his mind—an idea that could break the deadlock, but was so dangerous that he hesitated.

The idea came from a novel he had read in his past life: while opposing elements naturally repelled each other, it didn’t mean they couldn’t be fused.

Elements like Water and Fire, Light and Darkness, Earth and Wind—these rarely coexisted. But if they were fused, they could produce immense destructive power.

These elements were dangerous not because fusion was impossible, but because the resulting power was too massive to control. Hence, few dared to try.

And now the idea struck him: What if I fused Heavenly Fire and Heavenly Water?

Once the idea took root, it couldn't be suppressed. His heart pounded wildly.

His soul trembled, and even he was frightened by his own thoughts, turning pale.

Would trying this get him blown up on the spot? Undoubtedly, this was forbidden magic, extremely dangerous to cast.

But with death imminent, Long Xuan gritted his teeth, casting aside caution.

He stuffed the Hundred-Mile Talisman into his mouth—ready to bite down and escape the moment the experiment failed. If he failed, he’d give up on the treasures within the tomb.

He wasn’t even sure if this world allowed the fusion of these opposing forces, nor whether he could do it. The talisman was his safety net.

Steeling himself, he raised his right hand and summoned a fierce Heavenly Flame; his left hand followed with a spray of Heavenly Water, radiating terrifying energy.

Taking a deep breath, he slowly brought the two closer together.

"Heavenly Fire and Heavenly Water! You… you actually possess both?! Impossible!"

Xuanyuan Zhi’s pupils shrank as he cried out in disbelief.

Both Heavenly Fire and Heavenly Water were rare and powerful forces in the Gu World. Most people wouldn’t see even one in a lifetime.

Heavenly Fire repelled other Heavenly Fires. Aside from the Flame Ancestor, no one could control two types. If that was the case for fire and fire, then fire and water, natural opposites, were even more incompatible.

Yet this man possessed both? Xuanyuan Zhi was shocked.

Before he could even think of stealing them, he saw Long Xuan trying to fuse them, and his expression turned horrified.

His body trembled uncontrollably.

"What the hell are you doing?! Those things can't be fused! Stop right now!"

"You’re insane! Completely insane!"

He cursed in panic, his face going ghostly pale.

He didn’t need to imagine—the fusion of Heavenly Fire and Water, whether successful or not, would unleash destruction on an unimaginable scale.

Even he couldn’t guarantee he’d survive it.

Seeing the volatile energies begin to resonate and spiral out of control, Xuanyuan Zhi gritted his teeth and accelerated again. He had to stop this, no matter what.

The entire area was enclosed by the Xuanyuan Grand Formation, with no room to escape. If this exploded, everyone would be caught in it.

The Xuanyuan Royal Family had deployed 10,000 elite soldiers in the tomb. If most of them died from this explosion, the royal family would be devastated.

And Xuanyuan Zhi—he wouldn’t be able to face the emperor again.

Panic took over his rage. He raced ahead with a contorted face, sparing no effort.

Meanwhile, Long Xuan's face twisted into a madman's grin.

As the Heavenly Fire and Water were about to collide, he saw a progress bar appear.

That meant it could be done. It meant that in this world, fusion was possible.

Though difficult, now he had a reference point.

If the bar disappeared, he’d know he failed. He could immediately adjust and experiment with energy ratios.

With this advantage—like cheating in a game—he might just succeed on the first try.

"BOOM!"

Heavenly Fire and Heavenly Water collided, causing a muffled thunderclap. His hands burst open, blood splattering.

The opposing forces saw each other as mortal enemies, instantly going out of control.

Their energies surged rapidly, escalating toward complete instability, teetering on the brink of disaster.

Even with his strong defenses, Long Xuan couldn't endure it—his hands were instantly destroyed.

He gritted his teeth through the pain and relied on the progress indicator to stabilize the fusion.

Before long, the space around him began to distort.

Xuanyuan Zhi’s face turned ghostly pale, and terror filled his eyes.

Heavenly Fire and Heavenly Water were actually fusing, and the resulting power distorted space.

The impact of a full explosion? He dared not even think.

"You lunatic! Stop it now!" he roared in terror.

"Throw that thing away—it's going to explode!" shouted Qin Mingyue, pale-faced with panic.

"Hahaha… Brilliant! Heavenly Fire and Water can really be fused. The result—what a masterpiece!"

Long Xuan laughed like a true madman, no longer paying attention to their cries.

Ignoring the agony in his hands, he poured all his strength into stabilizing the fusion.

Finally, the two forces completely fused, forming a purple energy sphere, radiating a soul-shaking aura.

As it continued absorbing the fused powers, the sphere began to grow rapidly, visible to the naked eye…

The purple energy orb became increasingly unstable, as if on the verge of losing control. Long Xuan felt like he was holding a bomb that could explode at any moment. His face went pale—this lunatic finally knew fear.

“Did I succeed? The fusion of Heavenly Fire and Heavenly Water can actually distort space... Then let this move be called Distorted Jade!”

Long Xuan broke into a maniacal grin—but suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood, pain contorting his expression. It was clear that creating such a terrifying entity had cost him dearly.

By now, the Distorted Jade in his hand had expanded to the size of a millstone, and he could no longer suppress the surging, uncontrollable power.

At this size, it had reached the limit of its volume and teetered on the brink of instability. If it grew any further, it would explode right in his hand.

Everyone’s gaze had already shifted toward him and the massive energy sphere. Fear filled their eyes, and fighting had ceased in many parts of the battlefield.

Xuanyuan Zhi's face was deathly pale, his lips trembling, eyes full of terror.

He understood now—this youth had miraculously fused Heavenly Fire and Heavenly Water, an unprecedented feat. Who knew how much destruction this creation would bring? There was no longer any way to stop it.

“Young friend! I’ll let you leave, just disperse that terrifying thing in your hand!” Xuanyuan Zhi shouted urgently, his face still ashen.

But something like Distorted Jade wasn’t something Long Xuan could just dispel on command. It had completely gone out of control, and even if he wanted to stop, he was powerless to do so.

Sensing the impending explosion, Long Xuan panicked, utterly terrified. Without time to think, he turned and hurled the millstone-sized Twisting Jade behind him.

The Twisting Jade drew a beautiful arc through the air, heading straight for Xuanyuan Zhi.

At that moment, the world fell eerily silent—even the wind ceased.

A soul-shaking force began to spread across space.

Xuanyuan Zhi’s expression turned even paler, his body bristling with goosebumps.

He had chased too aggressively—now the distance between them was too short to escape the range of the explosion.

“You madman! Once that thing explodes, you won’t survive either!”

Xuanyuan Zhi locked his eyes on Long Xuan, yelling in rage. With no time to think, he instinctively crossed his arms over his head in defense.

“Die with me!”

Long Xuan roared, finally detonating the Twisting Jade. At the same time, he bit down on the Hundred-Mile Talisman in his mouth.

He wasn’t sure how powerful the explosion would be—nor did he have confidence he could endure the blast of the Distorted Jade.

Thinking of survival, he gritted his teeth and chose to abandon the treasures of the Cangyue Imperial Tomb, including the legendary Heavenly Spirit Tree.

As the saying goes, “Where there's life, there's hope.” He decided to toss the bomb and make his escape.

But fate was not kind. The moment he bit through the Hundred-Mile Talisman, he realized he hadn’t moved an inch.

Dumbfounded, his expression twisted as he realized something.

It dawned on him: anything that interferes with space can nullify the Hundred-Mile Talisman.

He had named this technique Distorted Jade because it could distort space itself.

Now, with space distorted all around, the Hundred-Mile Talisman couldn’t teleport him away.

“Damn it! I’m in big trouble!”

BOOM!

The next moment, the Distorted Jade exploded, shaking the heavens with an earth-shattering roar.

In that instant, Long Xuan went deaf, his vision overwhelmed by blinding light—he could see nothing. He roared, “Water Bear Gu, shield me!”

The Water Bear Gu surged to its full strength in his body, activating to the limit. His Heavenly Dream Soul Armor on the surface of his body emitted dazzling radiance, resisting the explosion with all its might.

Pfft!

Long Xuan spat out a mouthful of blood. His Soul Armor was instantly shattered by the blast.

An unimaginably terrifying force ravaged his body without mercy.

The shockwave hurled him violently into the air.

Fortunately, his body had been tempered by Heavenly Fire, reaching an inhuman level of durability. Combined with the Water Bear Gu’s undying vitality, though severely injured, his body wasn’t obliterated on the spot.

He was lucky—but others weren’t.

The closest one to him was Xuanyuan Zhi, who bore the brunt of the explosion.

Long Xuan had intentionally directed the blast backward, so he only suffered residual force.

But even just that much had nearly crippled him. As for Xuanyuan Zhi, who took the full force—

A blood-curdling scream rang out as Xuanyuan Zhi was instantly vaporized, not even ashes remained.

However, this was merely one of Xuanyuan Zhi’s Clones. His true body was farther from the center, so the explosion’s power had diminished significantly by the time it reached him.

Even so, the blast sent him and the eight major Clan Leaders surrounding him flying, vomiting blood as they were heavily injured.

Even these top-tier cultivators fared so poorly, let alone the lower-ranked minions nearby.

Everyone within the Xuanyuan Grand Formation, regardless of distance, was struck by the Distorted Jade’s overwhelming shockwave. The earth trembled violently, and countless lives were lost in the blink of an eye.

Those farther away were still blasted into the air, vomiting blood, crashing hard against the Barrier Formation.

The barrier flickered wildly under the impact, covered in cracks, on the verge of shattering.

Yet the Xuanyuan Grand Array ultimately held strong, barely stopping the invasion of the Distorted Jade’s force.

As the energy inside the formation gradually calmed, and the smoke cleared, a massive crater was left in the earth. Several layers of ground had been blown apart.

Both the Xuanyuan Royal Army and the Gu cultivators of the major clans suffered catastrophic losses. Fewer than 20% survived—the entire battlefield was filled with cries of pain and mourning.

Long Xuan crawled up from the ground in a wretched state. Ignoring his injuries, he quickly scanned the area. Seeing the barrier still intact, albeit cracked, his heart sank.

“Damn it... as expected, a barrier strong enough to trap all the Gu Kings isn’t so easy to break.”

He cursed inwardly, deeply disappointed. With the barrier unbroken and the Hundred-Mile Talisman used up, his situation had turned dire—his trump card was gone.

Escaping by breaking the barrier was clearly out of the question. Even if he had the strength—which he didn’t in his current injured state—he couldn’t hope to evade the Xuanyuan royal family's Gu Kings.

He had unintentionally wiped out so many of their elites. The Xuanyuan royal family would surely pursue him to the ends of the earth—there would be no peaceful end to this.

Now, only one path remained.

Long Xuan looked toward the few surviving grave-robbing tunnels—his only remaining way out was to descend into the tomb.

The explosion had collapsed most of the tunnels, but a few were still usable.

He had just sensed that the barrier protecting the core area of the tomb had been broken—clearly by Di Xin.

She had arrived just in time to disable the formation protecting the core. The dangers inside the Cangyue Imperial Tomb’s core had yet to be cleared.

If he could reach it, the tomb’s extreme danger might give him cover. Even the Xuanyuan royal family would have to think twice before chasing him further.

If they sent large forces in, Long Xuan was certain—none would leave alive.

Having made up his mind, Long Xuan wasted no time and dove into one of the tunnels, disappearing from sight.

Qin Mingyue, pale-faced, followed closely behind and jumped into the same tunnel after him.

She was among the few Spiritual Sea-stage Gu cultivators who survived the blast.

She had been behind Long Xuan, and at some distance, so the impact she suffered was much weaker.

In fact, with Long Xuan acting as a human shield, her injuries were lighter than his.

Everyone else was still stunned by the sudden explosion. The chaotic battlefield fell silent. The surviving Gu cultivators from the major clans snapped back to reality, scrambled to their feet with shocked expressions.

There was no time to be amazed. Realizing their precarious situation, they made quick decisions—just like Long Xuan, they all dove into the remaining tunnels and vanished.

Clearly, they had also sensed that the core barrier of the Cangyue Imperial Tomb had been opened.

Now, heading underground was no longer a death sentence. With the tomb’s unparalleled dangers, the Xuanyuan royal family, no matter how many people they had, would struggle to hunt them there.