The Path of Immortality: Starts With Creating Water Bear Gu

Up until now, everyone was eager to gamble against the God of Gambling, hoping to win all his treasures. However, no one dared step forward anymore; it had been half a day, and not a single person tried to challenge him.

Who would have the courage to go up against him now? This God of Gambling was full of tricks; anyone who gambled with him was bound to lose.

After so many lessons from those who lost before them, no one was foolish enough to tempt fate.

Through the previous matches, everyone realized the level of skill this God of Gambling possessed.

Even if they were the ones to set the rules, it was evident that he was nearly invincible.

In that moment, everyone became clear-headed.

The God of Gambling, for his part, seemed helpless as well. He knew he’d gone too hard and scared everyone off.

But it couldn’t be helped. In a regular casino, people could deliberately lose, gradually leading others down a path of ruin.

However, he was not allowed to lose intentionally, bound by the restrictions of the 'God of Gambling Gu'.

After a few rounds, he would have to endure another five hundred years of solitude.

At this point, Long Xuan finally mustered his courage to step up as he saw no one else willing to take the stage.

The moment he stepped up, all eyes turned to him.

One by one, spectators gave cold smiles, already envisioning his inevitable defeat.

Even the ten or so crew members of the Shenlong showed signs of nervousness, except Di Xin, who looked on with interest.

Seeing someone else take the plunge, the God of Gambling smirked.

“So, what would you like to bet on?” he asked, smiling.

“I’m quite interested in your 'Repair Insect',” Long Xuan replied.

“After all, the puppets in the city seem to be restored by the Repair Insect, correct?”

Long Xuan suddenly continued, “So, if I took the Repair Insect, would that mean the whole Sky Island Ruins would be paralyzed?”

“Heh, it’s as if the Repair Insect were already yours, and you’re concerned about whether the Sky Island can keep functioning,” the God of Gambling responded with an amused expression.

“If the Repair Insect were really that important to me, I wouldn’t have included it among these three hundred items for trade.”

“Since I dared to put it up for grabs, I’m not afraid of someone taking it.”

“Do you really think the puppets in the Divine Mechanism City are all repaired by the Repair Insect?”

“Do you think it could even repair high-grade materials like Geng Metal Essence?”

“You’re overestimating its capabilities.”

“To be honest, I’ve been here for countless ages, so bored that I resorted to crafting puppets to pass the time.”

“In all this endless time, I’ve unwittingly amassed countless puppets.”

“I’ve hidden them underground, while those you’ve destroyed on the surface aren’t even a fraction of what lies below.”

“And those above are the weakest ones.”

“Since each generation of geniuses who land here has gotten weaker, I’ve even had to downgrade some well-made puppets to appear as junk.”

“Considering how long I’ve been here, you can imagine what level my puppet-making skills have reached.”

“If I set up my finest works to guard the city, none of you would even make it to the inner city.”

“Repair Insect can’t fix anything beyond a certain grade; they’re dispensable to me. Don’t go crediting them for my creations.”

Hearing this, everyone was visibly shaken.

There were hundreds of thousands of puppets on the surface, and not one had a combat ability below that of 'Marrow Cleansing Gu' masters.

But to think that such a massive force of high-quality puppets was just a small portion compared to the ones underground…

How many puppets could there be below? Millions, tens of millions, or possibly over a hundred million?

The crowd of Gu cultivators shivered, not doubting his words for a moment.

After all, he had lived far too long. Even if he only made one puppet a year, the current number would still be astronomical.

Whatever the actual number, one could imagine it as immense as possible.

If this terrifying individual were to be set free, he might just be able to conquer the world with his puppet army alone.

Everyone was stunned by this realization.

Hearing the God of Gambling’s explanation, Long Xuan felt reassured.

Since the Repair Insect was inconsequential to the God of Gambling, there was no fear in taking it.

Had it been critical to the Divine Mechanism City’s operation, he wouldn’t dare set his sights on it.

“Since you want to bet for my Repair Worm, do you have something of equivalent value to wager?” the God of Gambling asked.

Long Xuan nodded and, through spiritual transmission, replied, “I’ll bet Living Wood against your Repair Insect. This should be enough.”

After careful thought, Long Xuan decided to wager the Living Wood.

Thanks to the Eternal Life Sutra, he didn’t lack lifespan, and Living Wood was of little consequence to him.

Even if he lost, the loss of a piece of Living Wood wouldn’t trouble him.

At worst, he could plant another one, and with a medicinal Gu, it wouldn’t take long to mature.

Upon hearing that the wager was a piece of Living Wood, the God of Gambling remained expressionless.

Long Xuan wasn’t short on lifespan, but neither was he, and a miraculous item like Living Wood didn’t move him at all.

“There’s no need for spiritual transmission,” the God of Gambling said. “After all, everyone here will lose their memory upon leaving. Even if you reveal treasures, are you worried that forgetful people will hunt you down?”

“I’ll take the bet,” he continued, “So, tell me your game rules. I hope you can offer something novel.”

“My rules are simple,” Long Xuan said with a sly smile. “I want to Fight with Gu Insects with you.”

“Fighting Gu follows the same rules as outside, but this round is only for lower-grade Gu insects.”

“In other words, we can each bring a maximum of twenty lower-grade Gu insects to battle, and they must be spirit Gu from the Marrow Cleansing stage.”

“I enjoy low-level matches; I hope you don’t find that boring?”

His idea was simple: this God of Gambling had lived for countless millennia, mastering all forms of gambling to the highest level. No one could hope to defeat him using any known methods.

The only way to beat him was with the unknown.

This God of Gambling had been trapped here for five hundred years, cut off from the outside world. He was now completely out of touch with the current world.

He likely had no idea that new developments like Insect Armor and Insect Armor Masters had emerged within the last five hundred years.

Especially with the Long Clan’s Earth Masters, for whom Insect Armor served as the formation base. Once lined up, they could form a mobile mountain-protecting formation.

And the rules he set happened to specify that both sides could only use low-grade Gu.

What low-grade Gu could possibly stand against a mountain-protecting formation?

Deploying twenty Earth Masters equipped with formation bases would be pure bullying.

What low-grade Gu could the God of Gambling send out to defeat him? Even if the God of Gambling's low-grade Gu was boosted with potions, it couldn't win.

At this point, Long Xuan truly couldn't see how the God of Gambling could manage a win under such circumstances; even if he had some hidden trump, it wouldn’t be enough to turn the tide.

These twenty heavily armed Earth Masters were borrowed through He had just written a letter to Long Ziyan to borrow these twenty Earth Masters and were no ordinary one's. They were sent over in a insects-rearing bag via the Suo Gu.

Controlling them didn’t require a blood pact; he could simply possess them with a soul clone, with one clone controlling each.

His soul clones could control both puppets and living beings, so handling a group of low-grade Gu was a piece of cake.

Upon hearing the game rules set by Long Xuan, everyone around him who knew him started showing visible reactions, with twitching mouths and expressions that revealed his sly intent.

Everyone silently thought the game rules were devilishly clever.

At this point, Luo Hongchen’s eyes widened as he stared at Long Xuan, cursing in his heart, "Damn, is this even allowed?"

He knew well that this kid was from the Long Clan and had access to Earth Masters.

Can those Earth Masters even be called low-grade Gu?

Once these low-grade Gu bore the mountain-protecting formation, what other low-grade Gu could match them? Isn’t this outright bullying?

No matter what type of low-grade Gu the God of Gambling sent out, there was no chance it could overcome a team of Earth Masters carrying a mountain-protecting formation.

Luo Hongchen took a deep breath. The God of Gambling, trapped here for so long and unaware of the outside world, would likely fall victim to this kid's cunning scheme.

It looked like the God of Gambling might actually lose this match.

Di Xin also looked amused, silently admiring Long Xuan's cunning.

If the God of Gambling really believed those were just twenty low-grade Gu, he’d be in for a harsh defeat.

She couldn’t help but start to feel sympathy for the God of Gambling.

The God of Gambling now took out twenty stones from a storage ring.

Over the years, he had gambled for countless Gu, and his collection was extensive.

But Gu Insects did not share his longevity, so he could only preserve all of them in slumber, sealing them in stone for permanent storage.

He shattered these twenty stones, releasing the twenty Gu inside, then looked at Long Xuan, with a side glance at the crowd’s varied expressions.

He frowned slightly. Judging by the crowd's looks, it felt like there was a trap here.

He certainly wasn’t naive enough to believe his opponent would gamble with ordinary low-grade Gu.

If it were that simple, where would his opponent find the courage to bet against him? His opponent’s low-grade Gu was surely no ordinary kind.

However, if his opponent’s Gu wasn’t ordinary, neither were his own.

The Gambling God chuckled to himself; no matter how powerful his opponent’s Gu was, as long as it was low-grade, it would surely lose.

Even if he had mid-grade Gu, all twenty would still be doomed.

Long Xuan was now drawing circles at the center of the field.

Since he was the one setting the rules, the size of the Gu pit’s range would naturally be up to him.

He drew a large circle in the center, much bigger than a typical Gu pit.

After all, how could a standard-sized Gu pit contain twenty massive Earth Masters?

Long Xuan’s gaze didn’t miss the God of Gambling’s sneer. He could easily guess that this old schemer had something underhanded planned.

But this time, he was curious to see how much his schemes would matter in the face of absolute power.

“Be careful,” Di Xin’s voice transmitted to his soul. “His Gu are not from the Gu Realm; even the people of the Gu Realm probably wouldn’t recognize them, and you might not either.”

“He just pulled out ten low-grade Dark Night Mantis Gu from the stones.”

“Dark Night Mantis Gu are from the Divine Realm and are considered the bane of all Gu. This type of Gu’s ability is to kill all other Gu.”

“A low-grade Dark Night Mantis Gu can kill any low-grade Gu, and a mid-grade Dark Mantis Gu can kill any mid-grade Gu. This is practically a rule-based power.”

“Just like your Long Clan’s Blade Gu, which has the armor-piercing ability, able to kill any Gu it has previously devoured; these are all rule-based powers, which cannot be violated.”

“No matter how strong your Earth Masters are, as long as they are low-grade Gu, they can be killed by Dark Night Mantis Gu.”

“So don’t let those creatures near your Earth Masters. Use the formation barriers directly to isolate them.”

“Your Earth Masters might be able to break the rule of the Dark Night Mantis Gu’s power to kill all low-grade Gu by relying on formation trickery.”