Chapter 459: Heaven-Defying Painting Gu (Part 1 & 2 Combined)

"Here they come!"

Hua An looked down at a figure darting through the forest with a young girl on his back, the corners of his mouth curling up: "Wait for me on the boat; there is no need for you to intervene in this matter!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Hua An leaped high from the air, and the moment he landed, his body seemed utterly weightless, light as a goose feather, drifting softly to the ground without making a single sound.

Gazing at the figure that had suddenly appeared before him, Long Xuan slightly furrowed his brows.

Seeing the mocking expression on this person's face, he knew the newcomer meant no good, though he did not know whether this person had come for him or for the one behind him; Long Xuan slowly came to a halt.

"Who is this blocker of the road, and for what purpose have you stopped me?" Long Xuan shouted loudly, his heart already on high alert as he prepared for battle.

"My surname is Hua, my name is An; I am the number one Spirit Sea Stage Gu Cultivator of Central Earth," Hua An said, glancing sideways at him with an air of immense arrogance. "You need not know my intentions; just leave the person behind you, and I will spare your life."

Hearing this, Long Xuan was surprised in his heart; this person casually claimed to be the number one figure of the Spirit Sea Stage in Central Earth—what tremendous audacity.

Central Earth was a place of such extraordinary talent and spiritual beauty that heavenly prides and monsters were as numerous as carp crossing the river; for this person to dare claim the title of number one in the Spirit Sea Stage meant he was either boasting or an extremely terrifying opponent, and Long Xuan leaned toward the latter, his expression turning grave.

"What, could it be that you intend to throw away your own life for someone you have not known long?" Hua An did not attack immediately; instead, he stood with his hands crossed over his chest, looking at him mockingly.

"Your Excellency need not waste words; since you intend to harm Zhu Jiuge, you will inevitably silence anyone who knows about it—how could you possibly let me go?"

"If the news that you killed Zhu Jiuge leaks out, then no matter what your identity is, you will hardly be able to bear the wrath of the Zhu Clan!" Long Xuan sneered coldly.

Hua An glanced at him unexpectedly and said mockingly, "You are indeed clever, alas, clever people do not live long."

Suddenly, Hua An's gaze turned fierce; ceasing his idle talk, he reached into his Insect Breeding Bag, pulled out a small black snake, and threw it at Long Xuan.

"Shadow Gu!" Upon seeing this Gu, Long Xuan's pupils contracted, and a grave expression appeared on his face.

The Shadow Gu was one of the Zhu Clan's strongest Solo Gu; its greatest characteristic was speed, so fast that the vast majority of Gu Cultivators of the same stage could not react before being instantly killed by it.

How could this person possibly possess the Zhu Clan's Solo Gu? Long Xuan was greatly shocked in his heart.

But at this moment, he had no time to ponder further; he hurriedly threw out Little White, who could restrict this Gu's speed.

This time, Little White did not drop the ball; as soon as the Slowing Domain opened, it reduced the Shadow Gu's speed and then excitedly rushed forward to engage it in a tangled fight.

Long Xuan, having found a new love, forgot his old one; ever since he acquired the more powerful Calamity Gu, he had always used the Calamity Gu to slay strong enemies, rarely employing the Wine Gu again, and after such a long time without battle, its bones were nearly rusting.

Finally having a chance to fight, Little White was exceptionally excited.

"Eh?"

Seeing this White Snake, Hua An let out a light sound of surprise.

What kind of Gu Worm was this, that it could actually fight on equal terms with the Zhu Clan's strongest Solo Gu?

Hua An frowned deeply; seeing that the Shadow Gu could not quickly resolve its opponent, he lightly patted his Insect Breeding Bag, and immediately a red mantis jumped out, cast a bloodthirsty glance at Long Xuan, and then waved its blood-colored scythes as it charged toward him.

Seeing this blood-red mantis, Long Xuan slightly furrowed his brows; it was actually the Extreme Grade Gu Worm, the Blood Moon Mantis.

If one was injured by this Gu's scythe, even the smallest wound would cause endless bleeding until death, with no hemostatic medicine able to cure it; it was one of the Blood Clan's most terrifying Solo Gu, and yet here was another powerful Solo Gu never transmitted outside their tribe—did this person not fear being hunted down once the theft of a strong clan's Unique Gu Formula was exposed?

With no time to ponder further, Long Xuan subconsciously threw out a Blade Gu of the same species from his Storage Bag to battle against this invading Blood Moon Mantis.

Long Xuan favored the Calamity Gu, so the Blade Gu's body had long since rusted; now that it finally had a chance to fight, its eyes also gleamed with excitement as it matched wits in Blade Technique with the invading Blood Moon Mantis.

"This is..."

Seeing this mantis that had grown ten arms, Hua An was stunned; when he saw that this mantis could actually clash with the Blood Moon Mantis and even faintly hold the upper hand, he was greatly shocked.

"How is this possible? This is the Blood Clan's Blood Moon Mantis; few Gu Worms can match it! Who exactly are you!"

Hua An looked at Long Xuan in disbelief, his heart skipping a beat; everyone who harbored murderous intent toward the Misfortune Gu would be killed by various accidents—could this youth's Gu Worm be the very accident destined to kill him? A bad premonition gradually arose in Hua An's heart.

"How is this possible? I am Central Earth's First Heaven's Chosen, the number one figure within the Spirit Sea Stage; how could I possibly lose to an unknown brat! Die for me!"

Hua An's face twisted into a ferocious expression; he patted his Insect Breeding Bag again, and immediately a toad covered in poisonous tumors on its back and a white centipede covered in blade-like spines on both sides jumped out, rushing separately to support the two battlefields.

"Heavenly Poison Toad and Sky-Dodging Centipede?"

Gazing at the two Gu Worms that had suddenly appeared, Long Xuan once again displayed a grave expression.

The Heavenly Poison Toad was one of the Mu Clan's strongest Solo Gu, possessing remarkable toxicity rarely seen under heaven.

The Sky-Dodging Centipede was hailed as the number one dodger under heaven, proficient in all kinds of attribute-based dodging methods, appearing and disappearing like a ghost; it was one of the Bai Clan's strongest Solo Gu and extremely difficult to deal with.

How did this Hua An possess the strongest Solo Gu of various surnames—did he truly not fear those powerful clans coming to his door?

Long Xuan felt extreme dread in his heart; only now did he finally understand that Hua An's claim to be the number one Spirit Sea Stage figure of Central Earth was absolutely no boast—he truly possessed that level of strength.

Gathering the strongest Solo Gu of all the great clans under heaven into one body, which opponent of the same stage could possibly match him?

This was a powerful opponent capable of posing a threat to him; among all the same-stage opponents he had encountered, this one was certainly ranked number one.

Long Xuan took a deep breath; facing such a formidable opponent, he dared not be careless, so he patted his Insect Breeding Bag and released the Dragon Gu and the Calamity Poison Gu to separately support the two battlefields.

The Dragon Gu's abilities were similar to those of the Sky-Dodging Centipede, and the two actively engaged each other in combat.

The Calamity Poison Gu's abilities were similar to those of the Heavenly Poison Toad, and these two also tacitly engaged each other in combat.

One could see the Sky-Dodging Centipede and the Dragon Gu weaving back and forth through the air, their speed so great they became afterimages, neither able to strike the other, making it difficult to determine a winner or loser in the short term.

Meanwhile, the poisonous mist spat out by the Heavenly Poison Toad was entirely sucked into the belly of the Calamity Poison Gu, while the venom spat out by the Calamity Poison Gu corroded hole after hole in the Heavenly Poison Toad's back, causing many of its poisonous bumps to disappear along with them.

In this battlefield, the Calamity Gambling Gu had clearly overwhelmed the Heavenly Poison Toad.

However, the Heavenly Poison Toad was, after all, no ordinary species; its combat power was extremely tenacious, making it impossible for the Calamity Poison Gu to resolve the battle in a short time.

"What kind of Gu Worms are these exactly? They are all ones I have never seen before; how can they be so strong!"

Seeing this scene, Hua An's complexion grew increasingly ugly, and the hand hidden beneath his sleeve began to tremble.

Both the Sky-Dodging Centipede and the Heavenly Poison Toad were the strongest Solo Gu of powerful clans, rare and powerful Gu Species throughout the entire Gu World, with few Extreme Grade Gu Worms able to contend against them; that this opponent could handle them again was something he had never expected, and the stronger this opponent performed, the more uneasy he felt in his heart.

In the sky, the old man, witnessing the scene below, felt his heart suddenly skip a beat.

"How is this possible? The young master's Gu Worms have been blocked again; every single one of the young master's Gu Worms is rarely matched by any Gu Worm under heaven—who exactly is this youth, to possess so many terrifying Gu Worms?"

"This has become a huge trouble; this youth is very likely the variable created by the Misfortune Gu—I knew all along that Zhu Jiuge absolutely must not be killed!"

The old man clenched his fists, his face terrifyingly gloomy.

"Brat! Your combat power has exceeded my expectations; you are the first to be able to fight me to this extent—the seat of Central Earth's Second Heavenly Pride should be yielded to you; truly, I do not know why you have remained an obscure figure until now!"

Hua An stared at him with unblinking eyes, speaking with a mad expression: "However, no matter how many Heaven-defying Gu Worms you possess, there is absolutely no possibility of you being my opponent."

"As long as my Painting Gu sees any Gu Worm, I only need to draw that Gu Worm with one hundred percent similarity, and I can materialize the Gu Worm from the painting paper."

"That means I can possess the strongest solo Gu worms of all major tribes—how could you possibly be my match!"

"Devouring Gu, come out!"

"Powerful Heaven Ox, come out!"

With a loud roar from Hua An, a black Gu worm with a huge mouth flew out of the Insect Breeding Bag, followed by a massive beetle clad in Insect Armor; upon landing, its body began swelling rapidly.

Long Xuan was stunned—what Gu worm did Hua An draw, and he could summon it out of thin air? Was this Hua An really the Divine Brush Ma Liang?

If he could perfectly draw the Ten Great Forbidden Gu, could he actually manifest them? Yet he had never seen the Ten Great Forbidden Gu with his own eyes—this ability was truly Heaven-defying.

Long Xuan couldn't help but draw a sharp breath; now he finally understood why Hua An possessed the strongest solo Gu worms of every tribe—this ability to turn anything drawn into reality was like cheating, though he didn't know its limits.

Devouring Gu was the Wu Clan's strongest solo Gu, capable of swallowing attacks from other Gu worms, its combat power utterly Heaven-defying; rumors claimed its material count exceeded ten million.

Powerful Heaven Ox was the Niu Clan's strongest solo Gu, possessing boundless strength, able to change size at will, and wielding the power to shatter mountains; in the domain of strength, few Gu worms in the world could rival it, and with its formidable Insect Armor, it was virtually invincible at its own stage.

These two Gu worms were too Heaven-defying—Long Xuan dared not underestimate them; gritting his teeth, he decisively threw out his strongest trump card.

The Heaven-Devouring World Toad leapt from the Insect Breeding Bag, its volume rapidly expanding; in the blink of an eye, it surpassed the size of the Powerful Heaven Ox and lunged to pin it heavily to the ground.

The two colossal beasts wrestled on the ground, shaking the earth with deafening roars; the land buckled under the strain, large sections collapsing, and one nearby mountain was crushed by the collision of the titans.

The Heaven-Devouring World Toad's volume continued swelling rapidly—when strength was insufficient, volume would compensate; soon it grew large enough to blot out the sky and sun.

All the Gu Cultivators aboard the White Boat were horrified, frantically dodging, barely avoiding being struck by the giant head of the Heaven-Devouring World Toad.

"My god! What is this thing?!"

The people on the boat stared in terror at the colossal creature on the ground, their faces pale with fear.

"Damn it! Both Gu worms released by the young master have been blocked again—who is this kid, how does he possess so many Heaven-defying Gu worms?!"

The old man slammed his fist hard against the railing, glaring fiercely toward the Devouring Gu.

Devouring Gu is made from materials numbering in the millions, hailed as capable of swallowing any Gu worm's attack.

But this time, his opponent could absurdly spit out Thunder Tribulation—it nearly blinded him! What kind of Monster Gu worm was this, able to control Thunder Tribulation? Even if Devouring Gu was the most powerful, how could it possibly swallow Thunder Tribulation?

Unaware, Devouring Gu swallowed one Thunder Tribulation—and immediately became listless; facing the next incoming Thunder Tribulation, it fled in panic, daring not to meet it head-on.

In this battlefield, Devouring Gu was clearly losing ground—and this Devouring Gu was Hua An's strongest Gu worm, second only to Painting Gu.

If even such a powerful Gu worm could be blocked by this kid's Gu worms, he could hardly believe his eyes.

At this moment, he could no longer deny it—this kid was the Misfortune Gu's planned accident; if the young master continued fighting him, he might lose his life.

"Young master! Retreat immediately! This kid is abnormal—he's very likely the Misfortune Gu's designed accident meant to kill you! If you don't leave now, your life is in danger!"

Sensing something was wrong, the old man shouted desperately from the boat down to the ground.

But Hua An, already enraged, paid no heed to his warnings.

"I am the First Heaven's Chosen of Central Earth—no one in the Spirit Sea Stage can match me! How could I possibly lose to him?"

"Don't underestimate me! I haven't even revealed all my cards—let's continue!"

Hua An glared fiercely at Long Xuan and tapped his Insect Breeding Bag again; instantly, a vast swarm of golden ants flew out, their eyes fierce as they charged toward Long Xuan.

"These are Diamond Ants—ranked seventy-third on the Top-Grade Spirit Worm List; their immense strength can bite through anything in the Gu World, including Geng Metal!"

"I've bred ten thousand Diamond Ants! Let's see how you handle this!"

Seeing the swarm of insects, Long Xuan sneered and transmitted a command via Soul Power to the Heaven-Devouring World Toad; instantly, a black hole appeared in the air, and a vast swarm of Gold-Eating Worms flew out, their eyes fierce as they surged toward the ant colony.

The two insect swarms collided violently, engaging in fierce combat—biting, clashing, tearing at each other.

Insect corpses rained from the sky; soon the ground was covered thickly with them.

Yet Long Xuan's Gold-Eating Worms fed on alloy, which possessed the hardness of alloy, and while Diamond Ants could bite through Geng Metal, they could not bite through alloy.

The Gold-Eating Worms' ability was to bite through anything less hard than themselves—how could the armor of these Diamond Ants possibly be harder than alloy? The outcome of this insect battle was obvious.

Hua An stared hard—and saw that nine-tenths of the corpses were his own Diamond Ants; his opponent's fallen insects were extremely few, and all were tiny larvae.

"How is this possible? My swarm is ranked seventy-third on the Top-Grade Spirit Worm List—how could it possibly lose?!"

Hua An stared in disbelief at the ground littered with Diamond Ant corpses, his face ashen.

"Young master, hurry and flee! This man is abnormal—if you don't leave now, it'll be too late!"

On the boat, the old man kept shouting desperately... (End of Chapter)