The Path of Immortality: Starts With Creating Water Bear Gu

Another half month passed, and this particular evening, lightning flashed, and thunder roared. A torrential storm battered the sea.

The sky was shrouded in dark clouds, and heavy rain poured down. Deafening thunderbolts echoed through the air, resembling phantom-like beings dancing chaotically. The brilliant flashes of lightning illuminated the faces of the crew on the ship like bright snow.

The howling wind roared like a raging beast, continuing relentlessly. Hurricanes stirred the ocean, and the waves towered over the ship.

The ship rocked violently as the waves pushed it, making it nearly impossible for the crew to maintain their footing. It felt as though the ship could be overturned by the enormous waves at any moment, and everyone's faces were filled with anxiety.

The sailors on board quickly got busy, lowering all the sails as fast as they could. Only after that did the ship’s rocking reduce significantly.

“Damn it! What kind of cursed weather is this? Such fierce wind on the sea could cost us our lives!” Xiong Dali couldn’t help but curse.

“This is normal. Weather at sea is always unpredictable. We're nearing the Death Sea region. Once we enter that, you'll see that this is just a light drizzle. Worse conditions await us,” Leng Yan said grimly, gazing at the stormy, lightning-filled sky.

“Everyone, be careful! Don’t fall overboard!” Nie Qingcheng loudly warned.

Just at that moment, a sea beast covered in blue scales crawled onto the deck, darting its long tongue towards the loudest of the bunch, Xiong Dali, with alarming speed.

However, as a bolt of lightning brightened the deck like daytime, Xiong Dali instantly spotted the creature attempting to sneak up on him. Swiftly, he pulled out a large blade from his storage pouch and, with a quick slash, cut the sea beast in half. Blood splattered onto the deck, only to be quickly washed away by the rain.

“What the hell was that? How dare it try to ambush me! It’s courting death!” Xiong Dali shouted in anger.

But when Nie Qingcheng saw the halved sea beast, her expression quickly changed. She urgently yelled, “That’s a Blue-scaled Beast! Everyone, be on guard! These creatures travel in groups!”

No sooner had her words fallen when a swarm of Blue-scaled Beasts began climbing onto the ship from both sides, launching a frenzied attack on everyone onboard.

Fortunately, Nie Qingcheng’s warning came in time, and the ship's crew was already prepared for battle. They engaged in fierce combat with the invading sea beasts, and chaos erupted on the deck.

“What’s going on? What’s attacking us?”

Hearing the intense fighting outside, Long Xuan finally snapped out of his idleness. He quickly ran out of the cabin, grabbing his famed sword, which he hadn’t used before. Along his path, Blue-scaled Beasts fell one by one into pools of blood.

Even though the Blue-scaled Beasts were covered in tough scales, they stood no chance against the sharpness of his sword.

Seeing that the Blue-scaled Beasts were numerous but not particularly strong, Long Xuan let out a breath of relief.

These creatures shouldn’t pose too much danger to the crew.

After all, the crew on the Shenlong was carefully selected by him, and they were all at the peak of the Marrow Cleansing stage. Their combat strength wasn’t weak.

However, considering the dark and stormy night, poor visibility, and the difficulty of maintaining balance due to the violently rocking ship, prolonged combat in such harsh conditions could still result in casualties among the crew.

Long Xuan quickly shouted, “First Mate! Should we activate the barrier to block all the Blue-scaled Beasts from coming onboard?”

Hearing this, Nie Qingcheng’s expression changed, and she hurriedly shouted back, “Absolutely not!”

“These creatures attack when they see people. If they can’t reach the people, they’ll start attacking the hull and the bottom of the ship!”

“No matter what material the ship’s bottom is made of, it has a durability limit. We can’t afford to let them damage it! Repairing the ship’s bottom at sea is extremely difficult!”

“Besides, these creatures have strong grip with their claws, allowing them to cling tightly to the ship’s sides. It’s tough to shake them off.”

“When faced with Blue-scaled Beasts, the best option is to kill them all, leaving them no chance to damage the ship’s hull!”

Long Xuan never liked giving orders without understanding the situation. Nie Qingcheng had once served as a captain and had a wealth of experience at sea, so her advice was likely correct. Thus, Long Xuan chose to trust her judgment.

“Alright! Everyone, muster your strength and kill all the creatures onboard! Once we get through this, drinks are on me!”

At these words, all the crew’s eyes lit up, and some couldn’t help but swallow with anticipation.

The captain’s wine wasn’t just ordinary alcohol; it was practically a celestial elixir. The strength of that wine was unmatched in their lifetimes.

If it were any other wine, they might have had no reaction, but the captain’s wine was enough to excite everyone.

Because of that one promise, everyone’s eyes gleamed with determination, their morale surged, and their combat power instantly increased by a third. The Blue-scaled Beasts were pushed back, falling off the deck in droves.

At this moment, Long Xuan also took the opportunity to assess the combat capabilities of the crew.

The strongest among them was Yang Zhan. After all, he was once a Spiritual Sea-stage powerhouse, and although his cultivation had fallen, his combat ability was far beyond that of a typical Marrow Cleansing-stage Gu cultivator.

His extensive combat experience alone set him apart from ordinary cultivators at the Marrow Cleansing stage.

Judging by his physique, it was clear that Yang Zhan excelled in close combat. His eyes were crimson, seemingly parasitized by a pair of Eye Gu. Under his gaze, all Blue-scaled Beasts attacking him missed their target and were swiftly slain by Yang Zhan.

No Blue-scaled Beast, regardless of size, could survive more than a single move from him. His combat power was terrifying, and his background must be extraordinary.

Long Xuan glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, his expression turning solemn.

It was well known that Gu insect repel each other, and cultivators can only form a blood pact with one of each type. Yet Yang Zhan had parasitized his left and right eyes with two Eye Gu of the same kind. How could this not shock Long Xuan?

He couldn’t fathom how Yang Zhan managed to suppress both Eye Gu at the same time. Forming a blood pact with two of the same Gu was a reckless and insane idea.

However, if successful, the benefits would certainly not be small. The effect of two Eye Gu stacked together is definitely not as simple as one plus one equals two.

The illusionary effects will surely undergo a tremendous change due to the stacking, significantly boosting Yang Zhan’s combat power.

After his initial shock, Long Xuan looked again at the second most important person on the ship, who was none other than Di Xin.

It wouldn’t be fair to say she’s merely the second; her real combat strength might not be lower than Yang Zhan's. After all, she often flirts with danger yet survives, provoking all the major forces and still managing to escape calmly. This clearly shows that her combat power is no simple matter.

But at this moment, Di Xin was clearly holding back, which led to her killing fewer Blue Scale Beasts compared to Yang Zhan.

Even so, Di Xin’s performance on the ship was already quite impressive.

Behind her, over a dozen arms appeared in a phantom form, each capable of throwing out lightning, wind blades, fireballs, and other attacks. The dense bombardment of attacks rained down on the beast horde, causing Blue-Scaled Beasts to die in large numbers.

At this moment, she resembled a mobile turret, leaving behind nothing but the shattered remains of the Blue-Scaled Beasts wherever she passed.

But don't think her combat strength is fully revealed here. Long Xuan was certain that she was definitely holding back, using less than ten percent of her full power.

The arms behind her absolutely couldn’t be limited to just over a dozen. That move was obviously inspired by the Thousand-Armed Guanyin. It wouldn’t be surprising if she could manifest over a thousand arms, and in the future, perhaps even tens of thousands.

Long Xuan felt a chill run down his spine. If each of those thousand arms unleashed an attack, what kind of scene would that be? Who could possibly withstand such an assault?

It finally dawned on him why Di Xin claimed that her shipbuilding speed could surpass all the major shipyards combined.

Because she had enough hands, and she could clearly multitask with ease.

Not only could she build ships faster, but she could also craft anything else at a much faster speed. In combat, she could overwhelm opponents with more hands. Who could possibly defeat her? This was essentially invincible.

At this point, Long Xuan had a profound realization of his old friend's combat power, and his expression turned serious.

The combat power just below these two belonged to the other key crew members on the ship.

Even Shangguan Wuo, the cook, and the old ship doctor, Shi jiefue, were quite formidable, both being top-tier experts within their respective levels.

These crucial crew members were all on par in strength, making it hard to tell in a short time who was stronger or weaker.

Even Miao Peipei, a seemingly delicate female Gu cultivator, didn’t fall short in combat power compared to the male Gu cultivators.

In the third tier of combat power were the remaining regular sailors. Although they had been carefully selected and had decent combat abilities, they were clearly much weaker than the key crew members.

At this moment, some careless sailors had already been injured by the attacks of the Blue-Scaled Beasts, but fortunately, they were rescued by other crew members, so the situation wasn't too serious.

As for the fourth tier of combat power, it consisted of Young Master Mo and the two followers beside him.

The two followers might be skilled in land battles, but at sea, they seemed to suffer from a deep-sea phobia. Even before the Blue-Scaled Beasts reached the ship, they had already been scared stiff by the giant waves outside the ship. Their faces were pale with fear, and they could barely move.

When the Blue-Scaled Beasts boarded the ship, they hardly had any combat power left.

In contrast to them, Young Master Mo seemed particularly excited in such an extremely dangerous environment. Amid the storm, he was shouting excitedly, even hoping for the storm to become fiercer. The more dangerous the situation, the more exhilarated he seemed.

Young Master Mo certainly had combat power, equipped with a set of peak-grade Gu insects. A person’s wealth is directly related to the quality of their Gu insects.

However, it seemed that he had grown up in a constantly sheltered environment, as his combat experience was pitifully inadequate. When he saw the Blue-Scaled Beasts, he charged forward excitedly, only to quickly have his thigh bitten, becoming the first injured crew member.

Still, Long Xuan believed that once Young Master Mo gained more combat experience, with his set of peak-grade Gu insects, his combat power would likely make it into the top ten on the ship.

For now, though, his combat power could only be placed in the fourth tier.

As for his two followers, once this incident was over, Young Master Mo was sure to throw them into the deep sea to overcome their fear of the ocean. Once they no longer feared the sea, their combat power would definitely be significant, and they might even have some kind of combined attack technique.

If their combat power were truly weak, how could they have been sent to protect Young Master Mo?

The battle raged on into the night. When the rain subsided, the wind calmed, and the thunder ceased, the Blue-Scaled Beasts finally stopped attacking, retreating slowly from the deck and leaping into the water like a tide.

Once the Blue-Scaled Beasts had moved away, the crew collapsed onto the deck, panting heavily, unsure whether they were soaked in rain or sweat. It was obvious that everyone was exhausted.

Although many on the ship were injured, fortunately, there were no fatalities.

"Hahaha… how satisfying! I haven't had such an exhilarating battle in a long time!"

“Captain! Don’t forget your promise about the drinks! We made it through!” Qiu Tiandao laughed loudly, not forgetting the captain’s earlier promise.

Laughter echoed from all around.

Long Xuan glanced at the crowd and laughed as well, saying, "Don't worry! There's plenty of alcohol! But everyone is exhausted tonight, and many are injured, so let's rest for the night."

"Get a good night's sleep. Once you're fully rested, we'll have a good drink tomorrow at noon! Drinks are on me; they're not worth much!"

With that, the ship erupted in cheers.

Following Long Xuan's orders, the crew finally retired to their rooms to rest.

The injured crew members were carried to the first floor, where the old ship doctor, treated them through the night. He would have to endure a long, exhausting night.

As for the night watch, Long Xuan assigned it to one of his clones, as he rarely took on the responsibility of standing guard.