The Path of Immortality: Starts With Creating Water Bear Gu

Chapter 76: (2): The Imagination of the Little Medicine Boy

A day later, Long Xuan arrived as agreed at the same inn from last time, in the same private room on the second floor. He pushed the door open and went in.

As soon as he entered, he saw many old acquaintances. Li Laodao, Di Xin, and Little Medicine Boy were all there.

The only unfamiliar face was a sturdy man he had never seen before.

Long Xuan instinctively became wary of him. He knew and trusted everyone else in the room.

This man was the only unknown, and Long Xuan didn't know his character or combat style, presenting too many variables.

As if sensing Long Xuan's gaze, Li Laodao smiled and introduced, "Don't worry, this person's character is completely trustworthy. His name is Li Dashan, but you can call him Dashan. He is a well-known good man from our Li village, often helping his neighbors."

"Kindness is repaid with kindness. It was because he often accumulated good deeds that he accidentally saw the corpse of a Gu cultivator and embarked on the path of cultivation."

Hearing this, Long Xuan's face relaxed, but his inner vigilance towards this man did not lessen.

It wasn't that he suspected anything specific about this person, but he preferred to be cautious. Meeting strangers always warranted some caution; being careful never hurt.

Since there were familiar faces in the room, it was time to greet them. Long Xuan ignored the Little Medicine Boy and waved to the beautiful woman in the room.

"Didn't expect Sister Xin to be here. With your talent, you must have already reached the Marrow Cleansing stage by now," Long Xuan said with a smile.

Di Xin pursed her lips and laughed lightly, "Don't tease me. I'm the least talented here, how could I have broken through to the Marrow Cleansing stage so quickly?"

"But you, with your Ten Absolute Body, have cultivated so fast. You're already at the peak of Spirit Gathering at such a young age."

"In my opinion, you should be the first to break through to the Marrow Cleansing stage."

Long Xuan's expression froze. He hadn't expected her to easily see through his cultivation level. He had intended to hide his strength and play the pig to eat the tiger, but now that she had exposed him, it was clear he couldn't hide it anymore.

Hearing that he had broken through to the peak of Spirit Gathering, everyone's expressions changed slightly.

Hearing that he had the Ten Absolute Body, known for its slow cultivation speed, Li Dashan's expression became indescribable, his gaze deep, as if pondering something.

Li Laodao had the biggest reaction, his expression turning bitter, his heart full of bitterness. He had only reached the peak of Spirit Gathering at his age, and now a junior had easily caught up to him, and this junior was recognized as having the slowest cultivation speed in the Gu world, the Ten Absolute Body.

This was a significant blow to him, making him feel very depressed. He felt as if he had lived his life in vain.

Having been caught off guard by Di Xin, Long Xuan quickly considered whether he should expose her hidden cultivation level as well.

What he had said earlier was not just casual talk. Di Xin's progress was suspiciously fast, far beyond what a mortal should achieve in a hundred years. She was likely already at the Marrow cleansing stage.

The excessive part was that she had used a little trick, hiding her true cultivation level and only showing the aura of the peak of Spirit Gathering in front of everyone, pretending to be weak and cute.

In other words, she was the only one among them at the Marrow Cleansing stage, making her the strongest in the team and disrupting the team's balance.

Once she harbors any ulterior motives, it becomes a very troublesome matter.

If Li Laodao knew she was already a Cultivator at the Marrow Cleansing stage, he would never have invited her.

When there is a significant power disparity between the two parties, it can no longer be considered a fair and equal transaction. The cooperation would be too unpredictable and fraught with danger.

This woman is also an unpredictable factor. At this moment, Long Xuan had to be wary of her and take precautions.

Even though he was familiar with her, he still needed to be on guard. What if she, relying on her highest realm, decided to act arbitrarily? No one can be fully trusted in the face of interests.

However, after thinking it over, Long Xuan decided to back down and felt it was best not to expose her secrets.

What if he angered her and she targeted his herb garden? If she plundered his herb garden, how would he survive?

Don't doubt it; she absolutely has the ability to do so. She is renowned for her formation-breaking skills, known far and wide as a master of formations.

He only knew the basics of formations for now. Although his Ice formation was strong, he wasn't confident enough to fend off this "hacker's" invasion.

He was also fortunate that Di Xin had a rule against stealing from rogue cultivators. Otherwise, his conspicuous herb garden might have been visited by this formation master long ago.

Most importantly, Long Xuan seriously suspected that this Di Xin was the girl of destiny, and anyone who provoked her would be unlucky.

Defying the heavens with the Ten Absolute Body was one thing, but doing so with a mortal body was even harder.

Di Xin was exactly this kind of fierce person. She had a mortal body without the qualification for Gu cultivation and not even any attributes.

Everyone could imagine how difficult it was to cultivate with a mortal body. The fact that she could become a Gu cultivator was an absolute miracle. Cultivating with mortal abilities was practically defying the heavens. No one knew how she managed to achieve it.

Long Xuan was already surprised that she could become a Gu cultivator. He never expected her cultivation speed to be so fast, reaching the Marrow Cleansing stage at such a young age. Who knew how she did it? It was simply incomprehensible and baffling.

Although Di Xin was a mortal, she was a rare genius of extraordinary talent, seldom seen throughout history.

Long Xuan often wondered if she might actually be the protagonist of this world, and if he had somehow ended up in a female-oriented world.

In any case, this woman was ferocious and should never be provoked.

"Is it just us now?" Long Xuan turned to Li Laodao and asked.

He hoped that this was everyone. The more people there were, the more people he had to guard against, which was exhausting.

"It's just us. Let's set off now. If there's anything left unsaid, we can talk on the way," Elder Li said, taking the lead and pushing the door open. The other familiar faces nodded to each other and followed him out.

Once they left the marketplace, they gathered their spiritual power in their legs and sped off, starting to compete in speed.

The little medicine boy, with his remarkable imagination, often practiced self-harm body training using the self-healing ability of the Little Strong Gu, making his physical strength far superior to that of ordinary people, leading the way.

Li Dashan was second, and Li Laodao was third.

As for Long Xuan, he lagged behind, not interested in competing. If he used his full power, who could catch up with him? They wouldn't even catch his dust.

But now was not the time to stand out. He kept a low profile. Bullying a few rogue cultivators wasn't meaningful. If he went full speed, it would be like bullying.

However, what surprised Long Xuan was that Di Xin, this Marrow Cleansing stage Gu cultivator, didn't rush ahead. Instead, she too stayed back, even lagging half a body length behind him, pretending to be slower.

While others competed for the fastest, these two were competing for the slowest. It was a competition for the last place.

Long Xuan's face darkened. This big Marrow Cleansing stage Gu master had the nerve to lag behind and pretend to be weak. Did she have no shame? Didn't her conscience hurt?

Helpless, he had to speed up, letting her take the last position.

He had never seen such a shameless person.

Finally, after running for half a day, the oldest, Li Laodao, couldn't hold on and stopped, leaning against a tree and vomiting out everything he ate.

The group had to stop and end this marathon.

"Are you alright?" Li Dashan walked over, patting his back.

Li Laodao shook his head, looking forlorn. "I'm fine. I'm just old. My lungs and stomach have problems. I can't keep up with you young folks anymore."

Li Laodao smiled bitterly. This was the decline of physical functions. Even the Little Strong Gu couldn't help, and life span was one of the few things that could kill the Little Strong Gu.

"If you had a Spirit Gathering Pill to break through, would your lifespan be extended and your condition improve?" Long Xuan walked over and asked.

He had a Spirit Gathering Pill. For the sake of their relationship, if Li Laodao offered something acceptable, he didn't mind helping. At worst, he could take more treasures from the cave mansion, and it wouldn't be a loss.

Li Laodao shook his head and sighed. "If I were younger, I could try breaking through with the Spirit Gathering Pill."

"But I'm too old now. All my bodily functions have severely declined, and my realm isn't even perfect. Even with the Spirit Gathering Pill, the hope of breaking through is slim."

"If I had the Spirit Gathering Pill, I would give it to my grandson. There's no point wasting it on these old bones of mine."

The little medicine boy looked at him with complex emotions, frowning, wanting to speak but hesitating, his face full of entanglement.

He actually wanted to say, "Your imagination isn't wild enough. The Litter Strong Gu hasn't been fully developed."

What if your lungs don't work anymore? You can replace them with someone else's. While others can't transplant organs, but people with Litter Strong Gu may not die if they replace their organs.

He could completely remove his aging organs and replace them with young ones, thus solving his aging body issue. With a young body, breaking through would be easier.

Not only organs but also others' spiritual seas could be transplanted. The rare Seven-Orifice Exquisite Heart could be transplanted, as could the legendary legendary double pupils...

With the Litter Strong Gu's powerful undying ability, he could piece himself into a monster. Although he wasn't sure if it was possible to merge powerful organs, he was confident in merging ordinary ones.

If it worked, replacing all parts with rare and powerful organs would create a terrifying monster with unparalleled combat power.

But he couldn't say this idea, as it implied killing many people, which he couldn't do.

However, the hearts of spirit beasts were far stronger than humans', and some other races' body parts were hundreds of times stronger. He had no problem piecing those together.

He even considered what combination would be the strongest, complementing each other to maximize the original effect.

His only worry was if he would still be considered human after such modifications. This filled him with fear and indecision about developing such forbidden techniques.

A path to power lay before him, filled with endless temptation, but he didn't dare to take it, filled with fear and unease, hesitant to take that step.

He had nightmares of becoming a monster because of this terrifying forbidden method.

Ultimately, he decided not to tell Li Laodao about this idea because he didn't want to create a monster.

...

Li Laodao's old age wasn't causing any immediate issues, but the journey would be slower because of him.

After confirming his condition wasn't critical, everyone rested and ate some dry food to replenish their energy.

Long Xuan took out the honey-roasted meat he had prepared, heated it with his Fiery Palm, and started enjoying it. The rich aroma of the meat spread instantly.

The others looked at their dry food, then at his honey-roasted meat, and suddenly lost their appetite for their own food.

While others brought simple dry food for long trips, he brought delicious food, including Beast King meat. It seemed like he was on a vacation picnic.

How could they eat now? They looked at their tasteless dry food and gave Long Xuan a resentful look.

"Honey-roasted meat? It's my first time seeing this. Is it good?" Di Xin asked softly, glancing at him.

"It's a human delicacy, indescribably delicious. Honey-roasted meat is the best way to eat it. It's a perfect match. Want some?" Long Xuan smiled and offered the meat to her.

Unexpectedly, Di Xin rudely grabbed it and took a big bite.

Long Xuan was stunned. He was just being polite and didn't expect her to actually eat it. Weren't women in this world supposed to be conservative and not accept food from unfamiliar men?

How could she do this without any shame? Where was her modesty?

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