The Path of Immortality: Starts With Creating Water Bear Gu

"Let's go inside. As long as we pass through this last challenge, all the opportunities in there will be ours," Qin Kai said, a look of greed flashing in his eyes. He waved his hand, leading his followers deeper into the palace.

The others took deep breaths, following closely behind, moving slowly into the palace's depths.

However, to everyone's surprise, as they neared the palace, neither the puppets outside nor those within showed any hostility toward them.

It seemed as though all the puppets had fallen into a deep sleep, standing motionless. Even as the Gu cultivators approached, these puppets showed no reaction.

The lack of resistance from the puppets left all the Gu cultivators momentarily stunned, as they had been anxiously anticipating an attack.

With the puppets unmoving, the group of Gu cultivators finally let out a sigh of relief. Since the puppets weren’t attacking intruders, no one dared to disturb them.

Since the puppets were in a dormant state, attacking them might accidentally awaken them, and no one was willing to take that risk.

At this moment, everyone walked in silence, not daring to utter a single word for fear of waking the nearby puppets.

Long Xuan had anticipated this scene, knowing that no matter how much noise they made, these puppets would not awaken.

The palace was magnificently decorated, with carvings of strange insects, birds, and beasts in various sizes, large ones exuding a suffocating pressure, as if alive, instilling fear in all who looked upon them.

No one dared to touch these objects out of curiosity, knowing these were merely decorations with no monetary value. But given the uncertainty of whether these carvings might be traps, no one dared risk touching them.

Ignoring the various statues in front of the palace, the Gu cultivators proceeded to the open palace gate and entered one by one.

The palace corridor was adorned with large murals, and Long Xuan turned his head to carefully examine them.

Murals often contain important information, and each time he entered an ancient tomb, he always examined the murals on the walls.

The information hidden within these murals could hold the key to passing through. The tomb owner wouldn't carve meaningless images on the walls.

Most of the murals depicted various gambling scenes, with different gambling tools displayed. In each gambling scene, there was always one consistent figure.

This person wore a green robe with the character "Gamble" on it, making him very eye-catching and easy to identify.

The murals documented this person’s turbulent life—from youth to middle age, then to old age—each stage marked by endless gambling.

Throughout his long life, he engaged in countless gambling matches, trying every type of game, and never suffering a single loss.

In every mural, he wore a smile, while his opponents looked utterly despairing.

From the murals, Long Xuan could tell how ambitious and confident he was at the time.

Yet, as the saying goes, "He who treads the riverbanks often eventually gets wet." No one is undefeated; no one can win every single time. After thousands of games, one is bound to lose eventually.

In the final mural, his smile was gone, replaced by a look of anger, while his opponent wore a smug, triumphant smile.

The background of this mural was identical to the palace they were in.

Long Xuan boldly guessed that what he lost in his last gamble might have been his freedom, as he was forever trapped here.

And it was his own God of Gambling Gu that trapped him, its powerful binding power unbreakable.

With the God of Gambling Gu, one could gamble everything with others—if they won, they would gain everything; if they lost, they could lose everything.

The God of Gambling Gu is a double-edged sword. It has a powerful binding force on its master, and anyone who gambles with the God of Gambling Gu will one day be harmed by it.

At this moment, the others were also examining the murals curiously. Seeing that each mural depicted gambling scenes, any Gu cultivator with some sense had already deduced that the palace's owner had a penchant for gambling.

At this moment, Di Xin stopped in front of four murals, her brows slightly furrowed, and a strange expression in her eyes.

Seeing her pause, Long Xuan also stopped beside her, his gaze curiously shifting to the four murals before Di Xin. These four murals depicted four types of Gu insects.

The shapes of these four types of Gu were strange and unrecognizable, and he couldn't name them.

Strangely, everyone who passed by these four murals showed puzzled expressions, as if they did not recognize these Gu insects.

Even the likes of Ninth Young Master, Cai Shao, Qin Kai, Zhu Yue, and Shui Juanyun lingered before these murals, appearing unable to identify these Gu insects.

Given these people's extraordinary backgrounds and vast knowledge, the fact that even they did not recognize these Gu insects indicated that these four types of Gu insects likely came from an era long before Gu cultivation as they knew it—a time before their civilization's recorded history.

At that moment, Di Xin transmitted her voice into his mind: "I seem to know the origin of these four Gu insects."

"One of them is the famous God of Gambling Gu, which allows its user to wager anything."

"The other three Gu insects are equally renowned: the Eating God Gu, Pleasure God Gu, and Drinking God Gu."

"The Eating God Gu allows its user to acquire the powers of whatever they consume. Any spiritual beast meat, once prepared and consumed by the host of the Eating God Gu, will grant them all the powers of that beast."

"Those who possess the Eating God Gu have a bottomless stomach and can keep eating to continually increase their spiritual power."

"As long as the food consumed is rich in spiritual power, the possessor of the Eating God Gu can rapidly reach levels sufficient to attain eternal life."

"This type of individual can cultivate at speeds a hundred times faster than normal people."

"The potential of the Eating God Gu rivals that of the Gambling God Gu, and the materials required to craft it are similarly rare."

"The Pleasure God Gu and Drinking God Gu share similar abilities with the first two, acquiring various abilities through different means, amassing numerous powers, and ultimately achieving unmatched strength in the world."

"The four Gu insects of Gambling, Eating, Pleasure, and Drinking are of the same origin. It is said that whoever collects all four Gu insects can use them as materials to synthesize an even more extraordinary Gu insect.

"One who succeeds in creating this ultimate Gu insect will obtain power unmatched across the three realms."

Upon hearing this, Long Xuan looked curiously at Di Xin and couldn’t help but ask, “How do you know about these four types of Gu insect in such detail? Even the five clan leaders know nothing about their origins.”

Di Xin furrowed his brows, remained silent for a moment, and finally replied, “I don’t know how I know about them either."

“I’ve never read about these four types of Gu insect in any book.”

“Yet, as soon as I see them, they feel strangely familiar, and I somehow know all their information.”

“Could you be the reincarnation of some ancient powerful master?” Long Xuan joked, looking at her.

As the two engaged in this mysterious conversation through spiritual communication, the group passed through countless corridors and finally entered the grand hall at the center of the palace.

This hall was immense, decorated with stunning golden and jade inlays. In the center stood a mysterious silver altar inscribed with countless bizarre runes.

Atop the altar lay a crystal coffin, through which one could faintly make out a skeletal figure dressed in green robes.

Floating above the crystal coffin were 300 treasures, each encased in a transparent bubble.

These treasures were of incredible value, far surpassing the effects of the Youth-Preserving Fruit.

Seeing these miraculous treasures, everyone’s breathing became heavy, their eyes burning with desire as they gazed at the treasures hovering in the air, each wanting to rush forward and seize them.

But everyone remained rational, suppressing their greed and refraining from making any reckless moves.

Nearly every place that conceals treasures also harbors unknown dangers; otherwise, the treasures would have been taken long ago, not waiting for them.

As everyone pondered how to obtain these treasures, an abrupt voice echoed in the air.

“Five hundred years... Has it finally come time for visitors again? Although, it seems there are fewer people this time!”

The sudden voice startled everyone. All Gu cultivators looked around, alarmed, searching for the source of the voice.

Their gazes eventually focused on the coffin, their expressions tense.

The voice had come from within the coffin, and it was hard for them to believe that this ancient relic of the Sky Island, countless millennia old, still harbored a mysterious soul. Just how many millennia had this soul lived?

For a soul that has lived for countless millennia, it could hardly be ordinary. All the Gu cultivators wore solemn expressions, showing deep apprehension.

The hall fell into silence for a long time. Seeing no one spoke, the mysterious voice continued:

“Who I am, what my name is, or how long I've lived doesn’t concern you. You may call me the God of Gambling.”

“Since you've come here, you must follow my rules.”

“The treasures here cannot be taken by force. If you don't believe me, you’re welcome to try.”

“I’ve spent my life gambling and relish nothing more than betting against all kinds of people. So, the only way for you to take a treasure from here is by gambling with me.”

“You must win against me to claim any of the treasures above.”

“And my stakes far exceed what you see above. Anything that exists in this world, aside from unique treasures, I possess.”

“My abilities are unique; I can gamble with you for not only physical items but also non-physical ones.”

“If anyone wants to improve their aptitude, they can gamble for it with me.”

“If anyone wants to increase their lifespan, they can gamble their lifespan with me.”

“If anyone desires a special physique, they can gamble for that special physique.”

“If anyone wishes to be more intelligent, they can even bet their wisdom against mine.”

“In short, my abilities cover all things imaginable. As long as you can name it, you can bet for it with me.”

“As long as what you offer holds enough value, you could gain anything—even a life span of 100,000 years,” the God of Gambling said in a beguiling tone.

“Now, if anyone wants to gamble with me, take ten steps forward.”

“If anyone does not wish to gamble, I won’t force you. You may turn back now; it’s entirely voluntary.”

“However, those who leave will lose all memories of what they’ve experienced after entering the inner city. None of this information will go out with you.”

“Well, who will be the first to step up? I’ve waited long enough.”

With those words, a mysterious elderly figure appeared in the air. This elder wore the same robes as the bones within the coffin and was transparent, clearly a soul. He must be the spirit of the bones within the coffin.

But for this soul to have persisted here for countless millennia without dissipating was truly an extraordinary feat.

At this moment, this aged soul smiled, evidently in a good mood. Trapped here for such a long time, he had likely come close to losing his mind from the isolation.

The fact that he hadn’t lost his mind despite being trapped here for so many millennia was a miracle in itself.

Finally, with so many people entering to keep him company, his mood was naturally lifted. He only had one month every 500 years to come out and interact with others; it was truly a pitiful existence.

Long Xuan couldn’t help but feel a sense of admiration for this God of Gambling. The endurance to withstand such extended solitude without breaking down mentally would have driven most people to insanity or even suicide.

Just how strong was his will to endure an eternity of isolation?

At this moment, everyone below exchanged glances, all looking stunned, and feeling disbelief. They were all shocked by the God of Gambling’s claims.

An ability to gamble anything—this was almost inconceivable.

The ability was so miraculous that everyone understood how terrifying it would be if a true gambling master wielded it.

This ability was so overpowering that none of them had ever heard of anything like it before.

Realizing the terror such a power could bring, no one dared to make any rash moves toward the altar.

Not a single person in the hall dared to rush forward to seize the treasures from the altar.