The Path of Immortality: Starts With Creating Water Bear Gu

Chapter 196: The Evolution of the Image-Record Gu

At that moment, Long Xuan suddenly sensed a cold gaze staring at him from behind, making him feel uneasy. Instinctively, he turned his head to look.

He discovered that the person looking at him was a Gu cultivator at the peak-grade of the Spiritual Sea realm. When he noticed Long Xuan's gaze, he didn't even look away, blatantly staring back at him.

Long Xuan frowned slightly. This person was dressed in white, clearly a Gu cultivator from the Bai Clan.

He suddenly remembered that this Geng Metal mine vein was jointly managed by the Long Clan and the Bai Clan, so it was natural that there would be many Gu cultivators from the Bai Clan present.

Previously, the Long and Bai Clans had fought over control of this Geng Metal mine vein through a series of talent battles, with the Long Clan winning seven out of twelve matches. As a result, the Long Clan claimed the majority of the mine, and most of the tunnels here belonged to them.

Being watched with such a venomous gaze by a Gu cultivator at the Spiritual Sea stage, Long Xuan felt a bit uneasy. He wondered if this Gu cultivator was planning to harm him secretly.

“That person’s gaze is a bit strange,” Long Xuan said to Long Qian, frowning.

Upon hearing this, all the geniuses turned their eyes toward that person.

Long Qian patted Long Xuan's shoulder and laughed heartily, “We crippled all their geniuses; of course they won’t look at us kindly.”

“Don’t worry about it. A gaze can't kill. If he wants to look, let him look. I like it when they can only look at us helplessly, unable to do anything, hahaha…”

Long Qian laughed loudly and glared back at him.

“Let’s go in. As long as you don’t cross into the Bai Clan’s territory, I guarantee nothing will happen to you.”

Ignoring that person, Long Qian led a group of geniuses toward one of the mine tunnels, and the others followed suit, paying no further attention to the matter.

Only Long Xuan remained wary, frowning deeply. He took this person’s gaze seriously.

Being resented by a Gu cultivator at the Spiritual Sea stage was not something to be taken lightly. Life is precious and there’s no room for negligence. It seemed he needed to send a clone to keep a close eye on that person.

Resolving his plan, Long Xuan finally caught up with the group and entered the mine tunnel.

At this moment, Long Qian was distributing maps of the mine and special storage bags to the geniuses, along with various mining tools.

“This is the map of this mine. It marks areas of low-grade and high-grade ore. The tunnels marked with crosses are dangerous and should never be entered.”

“Of course, you can also open new tunnels on your own, but newly opened tunnels need to be reported and the map updated accordingly.”

“In this area, you can only use the small, low-cost storage bags specially designed for the mining zone. Due to the influence of the formation, although you can still use your own storage bags and insects-rearing bags, you can’t store any metal items in them.”

“The Sou Gu House will also lose its function here due to the no-fly formation. This is all to prevent the miners from hiding any materials. I hope you understand.”

The geniuses nodded in unison, indicating their understanding.

Long Xuan opened the map and noticed that, despite the Geng Metal mine being newly developed, there were already an unexpected number of mine tunnels.

The countless tunnels were intricate and intertwined, forming a chaotic maze.

This place was like a massive labyrinth. Without the guidance of the map, anyone entering such a vast labyrinth would surely get lost.

It was impossible for these tunnels to be man-made. There must be a huge natural cavern here, Long Xuan speculated inwardly.

“Remember! Never enter those crossed-off passages, understand? They are extremely dangerous. Even a Spiritual Sea stage Gu cultivator could lose their life in there. There are too many unknowns and perils in those areas.” ??

Long Qian, still uneasy, reminded them once more. After all the geniuses shouted “Understood” in unison, he finally felt relieved and left.

The geniuses then dispersed excitedly, clutching their maps as they rushed toward the high-grade ore areas.

“How about we go together? Where do you plan to mine?” At this moment, Long Qilin approached, wrapping his arm around Long Xuan’s shoulder enthusiastically.

“Do you think we’re hunting spirit beasts? We don’t need help for this. If two people dig in the same place, the yield will definitely decrease. It’s more profitable to mine separately, so no thanks,” Long Xuan refused.

He was joking. What he needed to mine wasn’t just Geng Metal ore but Geng Metal essence. How could he possibly have someone else with him?

He had to act alone, so he could only decline Long Qilin’s offer.

“You’re right. I’m planning to use Geng Metal to build a big house, so I need a large quantity of Geng Metal. In that case, let’s split up and see who can mine more.”

“A small bet to liven things up, a big one will hurt. Let’s bet ten pieces of Geng Metal,” Long Qilin said with a smile.

Long Xuan’s smile widened. To think that he dared to challenge him on who could mine more Gengjin. Wasn’t this asking for trouble?

How could he be so foolish to bet against him? The amount of Gengjin he would dig up would probably not even match Long Xuan’s smallest yield.

Since he was so eager to be a benefactor, how could Long Xuan refuse?

“Alright, let’s bet ten pieces of Geng Metal. You better be ready to give me ten pieces of Geng Metal. Don’t end up with nothing by then,” Long Xuan said with a smile.

“Hmph! Who are you looking down on? I’m skilled in body cultivation and full of strength. Mining is swift and easy for me. Ten pieces of Geng Metal won’t be enough. Just wait and see, you’re going to lose.”

Upon finishing his words, Long Qilin wasted no time in idle chatter and quickly made his way deeper into the mine.

Behind him, Long Xuan revealed a sinister smile.

He suddenly summoned a group of his clones. Could one person's mining speed really compete with six? Competing with him in mining speed was simply overestimating oneself.

If Long Qilin had seen this scene, who knows what expression he would have shown? He'd probably be as black-faced as a lump of coal, Long Xuan couldn't help but laugh.

It should be noted that the Long Clan of the Western Lands had given them one month to mine. No matter how much they mined in this month, the minerals would be theirs.

Using his clones to mine was a tremendous advantage; it was practically cheating.

The amount of minerals mined by the other geniuses, even combined, would likely not exceed what he alone could mine. Long Xuan's eyes could pinpoint locations; it wasn’t enough to open one cheat, he even opened a double cheat.

How could Long Qilin possibly beat this cheater? He’d probably lose so badly that he wouldn't even have his underwear left.

Long Xuan quickly distributed storage bags and pickaxes to his clones. These items were abundant in the mine, and he had just gathered a bunch of them in front of Long Qian.

The other geniuses had also taken quite a few pickaxes as spares since pickaxes could wear out over time.

But none of them had been as crazy as Long Xuan, grabbing so many storage bags as if he could fill them all.

Watching this, Long Qian's mouth twitched, but he said nothing in the end. After all, the storage bags here were not worth much, and saying anything would just make him seem petty.

After distributing the mining equipment, Long Xuan ordered his clones to start mining in different locations.

The mining vein was too vast, and as long as his clones spread out enough, no one would notice that there were two Long Xuans mining at the same time. Naturally, no one would know he was using clones to mine.

However, Long Xuan suddenly thought of something and hastily called back his Fire Clone. After a moment of contemplation, he finally said, "You don't need to go deep into the mine. Just hide on the outer edges."

"Keep an eye on that Bai Clan Spiritual Sea stage Gu cultivator. If he sneaks in, use the communication talisman to notify me immediately. The Suo Gu can't be used here."

After thinking it over, he still didn’t trust that look directed at him earlier. He had a feeling that sinister look would bring trouble.

What if that Bai Clan Spiritual Sea stage Gu cultivator came in to kill him?

Although the likelihood seemed low, Long Xuan, being naturally cautious, still wanted to take precautions.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong with that look. What if he had crippled that man's grandson? This hypothesis was theoretically possible, so he had to be on guard.

Long Xuan thought for a moment and then took out a Image-Record Gu from his Insect rearing bag. The Image-Record Gu was part of his secondary team of Gu insects and had long been a part of his arsenal, stored in his pouch and having already completed its metamorphosis.

He took out the Image-Record Gu as a precaution. He knew he couldn’t handle a Spiritual Sea stage Gu cultivator. Even if he noticed that person entering the mine, there wouldn’t be much he could do.

So it was best to use the Image-Record Gu to gather evidence and rely on his clan’s strength to resolve any trouble for him.

"A Spiritual Sea stage Gu cultivator has an extremely wide sensory range. You can use the Eye Of Heavenly Secret to monitor from a distance. This Image-Record Gu has already acquired the ability to record from afar after my unique evolution method. You don’t have to worry about being too far away for the recording."

The Fire Clone nodded, took the Image-Record Gu, and then secretly left the cave, using the Eye Of Heaven's farsight ability to strictly monitor every move of that Bai Clan Spiritual Sea stage Gu cultivator.

With this safety measure in place, Long Xuan finally felt secure enough to venture deeper into the mine.

Although leaving a clone outside as a lookout meant one less laborer, reducing his Geng Metal yield, he didn’t care. In the face of absolute safety, any profit had to take a back seat.

Long Xuan activated his Eye Of Heaven's and used his ability to see the mining progress, quickly scanning the mine.

In the next moment, dense clusters of progress indicators appeared in his sight.

Some indicators were stationary, while others were moving, possibly miners at work or hidden dangers lurking in the mine.

He hadn’t forgotten Long Qian’s repeated warnings earlier: never enter a tunnel marked with an X, as there might be unknown creatures hidden inside.

In this world filled with spiritual power, many creatures could become sentient.

The progress indicators with stationary four decimal point, Long Xuan guessed, were Geng Metal.

The ones with five decimal points he assumed to be Geng Metal Essence.

And now, in his sight, there was an indicator with five decimal places.

Long Xuan’s eyes lit up, and he quickly made his way to that location.

His clones didn’t have the ability to see progress, so they could only mine ordinary Geng Metal. His true body, on the other hand, had to focus on extracting Geng Metal Essence.

Allowing him into the mine was the worst decision the Long Clan had ever made. Not only could he summon a horde of clones, but he could also precisely locate all the Geng Metal Essence and strip the place bare.

It could be foreseen that after Long Xuan left, it would be nearly impossible for the Long Clan to extract any more Geng Metal Essence. Letting him in was like suffering the worst kind of bad luck.

Not long after, Long Xuan arrived in a rich mineral tunnel. The mine was quite dim; although there were lamps on the cave walls, the flickering lights did not illuminate the cave clearly.

Because it was a rich mineral vein, there were quite a few miners here, most of whom were Spirit Gathering stage Gu cultivators, with a few at the Marrow Cleansing stage. Spiritual Sea stage cultivators acted as overseers and did not enter the cave.

As soon as Long Xuan arrived, he heard the constant clanging of pickaxes hitting rock, creating a deafening noise that irritated him, as he preferred quiet.

It wasn’t just the noise; there were also too many people here, making it hard to secretly extract the Geng Metal Essence in front of everyone.

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