Chapter 509: Upgrade Gu

"It is of no consequence; the Long Teng Empire is currently at war with the Great Jin Empire. As a powerhouse at Gu King Peak, you are crucial to this conflict and naturally cannot easily extricate yourself."

"However, from what I know, the number of puppets in this Gambler God's possession could possibly exceed ten million; facing such a vast Puppet Army, does the Long Teng Empire have any chance of victory in this battle?" Long Xuan asked curiously, a look of apprehension in his eyes.

"It is not a major issue; the existence of the Gambler God has already disrupted the balance of this world. That massive quantity of puppets is sufficient to bulldoze any force in this world, including Gu Emperor City."

"No force would fail to fear such terrifying power. Under the tacit approval of Gu Emperor City, many powers in the Central Region will make their move against this Gambler God. No matter how strong this Gambler God is, he cannot stir up any waves." Long Kun sneered coldly, clearly brimming with confidence regarding the outcome of this battle.

Hearing this, Long Xuan was slightly startled in his heart; he had not expected that powers in the Central Region would also act against the Gambler God, meaning the outcome of this battle was now truly unpredictable.

With so many forces involved, the Central Earth is destined to become a massive meat grinder; it is unknown how many people will be dragged into this war, nor how many Gu King powerhouses will perish here, leaving not a trace of their bones behind.

Long Xuan secretly frowned; the Central Earth was about to become extremely dangerous and was no longer a place to linger. If he did not wish to be dragged into this war, he must leave this trouble spot as quickly as possible.

He immediately formed the idea in his heart to head to the Central Region as soon as possible; he could absolutely not stay here any longer.

"I wonder where one can find a Cross-domain Teleportation Array leading to the Central Region," Long Xuan asked immediately.

He only knew that Phoenix City had a Cross-domain Teleportation Array leading to the Central Region, but it had already been destroyed, so he could only seek another.

"There are not many Cross-domain Teleportation Arrays connecting to the Central Region; during the war, many arrays were destroyed or are difficult to utilize, and some are located within the territory of the Great Jin Empire, making travel there very dangerous."

"All usable arrays are marked on this map; please choose one!"

Speaking thus, Long Kun tossed a map toward Long Xuan.

Catching the flying map, Long Xuan scanned it at maximum speed.

The map was comprehensive, encompassing not only the few existing Cross-domain Teleportation Arrays but also all known Small Teleportation Arrays.

The arrays marked with an 'X' were obviously unusable; this marking was not difficult to understand.

However, upon locating the Cross-domain Teleportation Array closest to him, Long Xuan suddenly frowned slightly.

Even the array closest to him on the map was far too distant; traveling at maximum speed, it would take at least four months.

The Cross-domain Teleportation Array in Xuan Yuan Imperial City was indeed the closest to him, reachable in a few days' journey, but unfortunately, this array had already been marked with an 'X', having been destroyed long ago along with Xuan Yuan City.

Under these circumstances, the fastest he could reach the Central Region would still require four months.

"So be it! I will use this Cross-domain Teleportation Array to depart; it will save time compared to walking there."

At this moment, in the Central Region, Jin Chuan.

Inside a imperial palace decorated with resplendent gold and jade, a man clad in dragon robes sitting upon the dragon throne set down the letter in his hand and exclaimed with emotion: "To fight across two cultivation realms, and moreover to crush the opponent; is he truly human?"

Beside the Dragon Emperor, a young woman of breathtaking beauty gazed at the letter on the table; after reading it quickly, she lightly furrowed her brows: "A Gu King Early Stage defeating a Gu King Late Stage, and winning so easily? What kind of joke is this?"

"I do not believe it; even I cannot fight across two realms, so how could he possibly achieve it?"

She shook her head, her eyes filled with disbelief.

The Dragon Emperor glanced at her and said earnestly: "Yuyao, you must understand that there are always people beyond people and skies beyond skies; just because you cannot do something does not mean others cannot."

"This person possesses a Ten Absolute Body, which inherently grants the ability to fight across realms; if one adds a Curse Seal Gu capable of instantly raising one's realm by a level, then theoretically, he is fully capable of achieving the feat of fighting across two realms."

"If you were in his place with identical conditions, you could also accomplish it."

The Dragon Emperor withdrew his gaze, looked out the window, and smiled lightly: "Heh! A Ten Absolute Body? If Long Kun's judgment is correct, then I know who this person is."

The corner of the Dragon Emperor's mouth curled into a slight smile, wisdom shining in his eyes.

"Who?" Long Yuyao asked subconsciously.

"He is the heaven-defying genius who researched and created the Straw Gu, Earth Master, Dragon Blood Battle Gu, Cement, Longevity Gu, and Cockroach Gu."

"Because of his inventions, the Long Clan developed rapidly, its tribal strength soared, and the magnificent state the Long Teng Empire enjoys today is all thanks to him."

"Come to think of it, you have dealt with this person before; the genius who crushed you to win the championship at the Alchemy Competition was him. Long Xuan, Long Xuan—do you not find these two names very similar?"

The Dragon Emperor hooked the corner of his mouth, looking at her with an ambiguous smile.

"It is him?" Long Yuyao's pupils contracted slightly, revealing an expression of extreme shock.

"If it is him, then such combat power is not surprising; this child was once a freak capable of forcefully killing a Spirit Sea Stage cultivator while only at the Essence Refining stage. He could already fight across one major realm back then, so what difficulty is there in fighting across two minor realms now? He likely held back during this battle."

Long Yuyao took a deep breath, speaking with an expression that was far from calm.

"Heh! It seems you still remember this person; he mysteriously vanished after that battle where he forcefully killed a Spirit Sea Stage cultivator while crossing a major realm. Who would have thought that upon reappearing, he would already be a Gu King? How many years have passed?"

The Dragon Emperor sighed with emotion: "Since ancient times, those possessing a Ten Absolute Body have had slow cultivation speeds, inevitably becoming good-for-nothings."

"Despite the hindrance of the Ten Absolute Body, this person has achieved such an exaggerated cultivation speed; he truly deserves the title of 'heaven-defying genius'."

"Let alone fighting a Gu King Late Stage as a Gu King Early Stage; once he employs that forbidden technique capable of crossing major realms, killing a Gu King Peak would not be difficult. This person is a deadly weapon capable of claiming the life of any powerhouse."

"However, this forbidden technique must have extremely severe side effects; I fear only after he becomes a Gu King Mid Stage will he possess the strength to contend against a Gu King Peak."

"Once he breaks through to Gu King Mid Stage, he will be at the peak of this world. After he breaks through to Gu King Mid Stage, what do you think if I appoint him as a War Order Clan Elder?"

The Dragon Emperor looked at Long Yuyao with a beaming smile, appearing not to be joking.

"What? Father King wants to appoint him as a War Order Clan Elder? Are you serious? How old is he? When has the Long Clan ever produced such a young War Order Clan Elder?"

Long Yuyao looked at him in astonishment, her face a mask of disbelief.

The War Order Clan Elder is not an official position of a nation, but an ancient post within the Long Clan itself, usually held by the most virtuous and respected elders of the clan, with combat strength ranking at least within the top five of the entire clan.

The duty of the War Order Clan Elder is to coordinate all military affairs for the entire clan; such authority is truly immense.

She found it hard to imagine that the Dragon Emperor would entrust such an important position to a young person; such a young War Order Clan Elder was unheard of throughout the entire history of the Long Clan.

Long Xuan was likely to become the youngest War Order Clan Elder in the history of the Long Clan.

"All positions within the Long Clan have always gone to the capable, regardless of age. If he grows to Gu King Mid Stage and truly possesses the ability to sweep away all Gu King Peak experts of the Long Clan, then what harm is there in giving him the position of War Order Clan Elder? Who would dare to be unconvinced? If anyone is unconvinced, let them step onto the Arena and defeat him; if anyone can beat him, I will have nothing to say."

The Dragon Emperor curled the corner of his mouth, revealing a mischievous smile.

At this moment, he could already imagine the expressions on the faces of those Long Clan Gu King Peak experts when they get thoroughly beaten by a young man at Gu King Mid Stage.

To be crushed by someone two realms lower is such a humiliating matter that those old fellows' faces simply could not bear it; no matter how high their self-cultivation, they would surely suffer a massive mental breakdown.

Thinking of this scene, the Dragon Emperor could not help but burst into loud laughter, then looked into Long Yuyao's eyes and said: "Yuyao, you are no longer young; it is time to find you a Princess Consort. What do you think of this person?"

"Ah-choo!"

At this moment, a thousand li away, Long Xuan sneezed heavily, rubbed his nose, and thought secretly, "Who on earth is talking about me? Could it be that little girl Qin Mingyue?"

A smile slowly spread across Long Xuan's face; coincidentally, Qin Mingyue's location was not far from that Teleportation Array, and he wondered if he could persuade her to accompany him to the Central Region.

After letting his mind wander for a while, Long Xuan focused his attention and continued grinding away at the Pill Formula.

The task of traveling had always been handled by the Heaven-Devouring World Toad; the Heaven-Devouring World Toad was hopping toward the Cross-domain Teleportation Array, while he hid inside the Heaven-Devouring World Toad's stomach to slack off.

That Teleportation Array was simply too far from him, requiring a journey of at least four months; naturally, he would not waste those four months, and after much deliberation, he decided to use this time to upgrade his Calamity Gu.

The Calamity Gu was one of the strongest Gu Worms on his person and absolutely had to be upgraded first.

The advancement material for the Calamity Gu was Thunder Tribulation; at this stage, only the eighth-ranked Life-Transforming Thunder could cause the Calamity Gu to advance.

Clearly, the Long Teng Empire was unable to obtain Life-Transforming Thunder for him, so the task of collecting Life-Transforming Thunder could only rely on himself.

Following the old rule, he prepared to create a heaven-defying Pill Formula on his own to summon the legendary Life-Transforming Thunder.

Previously, he had obtained the Reincarnation Tree, one of the Ten Great Divine Trees, within the Cang Yue Imperial Tomb.

The heaven-defying degree of a Spirit Pill was positively correlated with the materials used; the higher the grade of materials used, the more likely it was to refine a heaven-defying Pill, so the first thing that came to his mind was to use the Reincarnation Tree as a material to create a heaven-defying Pill Formula.

Since this Divine Tree was named the Reincarnation Tree, the name could not have been chosen at random; the medicinal power of this Divine Tree must be related to Reincarnation, so Long Xuan immediately had a direction for his research.

His brainstorming was simple: to research a heaven-defying Pill that, when consumed, would allow one to undergo Reincarnation once while retaining all memories.

No one could resist the temptation of rebirth; being reborn made one the protagonist of a world, and memories from a previous life were the greatest Golden Finger.

He believed such a heaven-defying Pill would surely drive everyone mad.

Especially those Gu King Peak experts whose Lifespan was nearing its end; unable to find methods to extend their lives, if they learned of a treasure that allowed them to be reborn once with their memories intact, they would definitely pay any price to seize such a treasure.

Rebirth was equivalent to extending Lifespan; compared to treasures that increased Lifespan, the temptation of being reborn once was undoubtedly greater, a point beyond doubt.

Once this Pill appeared in the world, it would inevitably stir up a storm of blood and wind in the Gu World, causing countless Gu Kings to fight and snatch at each other.

Long Xuan had complete confidence in the power of this treasure.

"Let us name this Pill the Reincarnation Pill; with the heaven-defying degree of this Pill, the day it is formed will absolutely summon Life-Transforming Thunder."

"Come to think of it, I still owe Zhu Jiuge a heaven-defying Pill capable of summoning Life-Transforming Thunder."

"I wonder if the power of the Reincarnation Pill can free that poor girl Zhu Jiuge from her Misfortune Gu."

After muttering to himself for a moment, Long Xuan resumed grinding away at the Reincarnation Pill Formula, and silence once again fell within the space.

Three months later.

After writing the three characters "Long Xuan Zhe" with his brush, Long Xuan put the brush down, raised the Pill Formula covered in writing, and a slight smile appeared on his face.

After three months of effort, this heaven-defying Pill that could enable a person to undergo Reincarnation once while retaining their memories had finally been successfully researched by him.

Such a brainstormed Pill had likely never appeared before in this world, and its effect was completely heaven-defying enough to summon Life-Transforming Thunder.

For such a heaven-defying Pill, the difficulty of creation was naturally not low; in order to research a Pill with such effects, Long Xuan did not know how many brain cells he had killed, racking his brains until he was nearly worried white-haired.

Fortunately, hard work pays off; after his countless days and nights of effort, this Pill that could enable a person to undergo Reincarnation with their memories had finally been successfully researched by him.

Long Xuan took a deep breath, his eyes sparkling, his heart filled with a sense of accomplishment.

Even at this moment, he felt that being able to research such a brainstormed Pill made him nothing short of a genius.

Holding the Pill Formula with great affection, Long Xuan admired it for quite a while before finally storing the Formula back into the Small Box and placing it carefully.

Since the Pill Formula had been successfully researched, the next thing to do was to collect the materials.

He prepared to collect all the materials on the Reincarnation Pill Formula as quickly as possible, then immediately refine the Pill to summon Life-Transforming Thunder and complete the upgrade of his Calamity Gu.

The Calamity Gu counted as his strongest Outer Gu; once the Calamity Gu was upgraded into an exotic Gu, his combat power would rise substantially, giving him even more confidence for his journey to the Central Region.

With no time to lose, Long Xuan had no leisure to rest; he immediately walked out from the internal space of the Heaven-Devouring World Toad, glanced at the map in his hand, and headed toward the nearest City.

Two months later, on a desolate mountain.

Long Xuan carefully threw stalk after stalk of Spirit Medicine into the Alchemy Furnace, daring not to be the slightest bit careless.

The materials for this cauldron of Pills were truly too expensive and too rare; ever since successfully grinding out the Reincarnation Pill Formula, he had searched bitterly in the vicinity for two months before finally gathering all the materials on the Formula.

But this was merely enough for one set of materials, meaning he only had one chance to refine the Pill.

If this Alchemy attempt failed, he might need to spend several more months to collect a second set of materials; he simply could not afford the delay.

This Gu Refining must succeed in one attempt; only success was allowed, failure was not permitted! Long Xuan gritted his teeth, his eyes staring fixedly at this cauldron of Pills; by observing the changes in Progress on the Alchemy Furnace, he controlled the Fire Control in a timely manner, not daring to shift his gaze for an instant. (End of Chapter)