The Path of Immortality: Starts With Creating Water Bear Gu

"Everyone, be careful. You've all seen what happened to that plank – no one should fall into the water, or no one will be able to save you."

Nie Qingcheng looked at the crew, issuing a warning.

Everyone nodded. Truthfully, they didn’t need the reminder; they weren't foolish and could clearly see the dangers of these waters.

"Ye Qingluan, where’s your dolphin?"

At this moment, Long Xuan looked over at Ye Qingluan, curious.@@novelbin@@

He wasn’t sure if the treasure-seeking dolphin could survive in the Infinite Sea.

Ye Qingluan shook her head and replied, "It’s been scouting ahead of the Shenlong ship, and it was actually the first to notice the Endless Sea."

"When we reached this point, it simply refused to go any further, so I put it back into the fish-bag."

"If it’s so afraid of entering the Endless Sea, I don’t think it could survive in these waters."

Ye Qingluan shot him a look and said helplessly, "All you think about is treasure. Even if my dolphin could survive here and found an underwater treasure, would you dare to dive into these waters with such intense gravity to retrieve it?"

"Why not? Doesn’t the Shenlong ship have diving capabilities? Besides, we also have the Black Dragon Seizer to haul it up," Mo Dashao argued.

Long Xuan shook his head, a look of gravity crossing his face. "Underwater is out of the question. Who knows how terrifying the water pressure down there is? I wouldn't take the risk."

"If the Shenlong’s barrier can’t withstand the water pressure of the Endless Sea, we’ll be crushed into pulp the moment we enter."

"Along the way, there’s no need for us to risk seeking treasures. We’ll head straight for Sky Island; it’s our main objective. Full speed ahead!"

As Long Xuan’s words fell, the Shenlong ship picked up speed, surging forward.

However, the immense gravity here forced the Shenlong deeper into the water, significantly slowing its pace and consuming large amounts of energy to maintain speed.

Thankfully, the Shenlong was equipped with the Ocean's Heart, which allowed it to harness the power of the sea, making it an energy source that would never run dry.

If it were any other ship, its speed here would be as slow as a snail.

…

Meanwhile, at the edge of the Endless Sea.

Seven battered pirate ships were anchored at the boundary.

The ships were scarred with cannon blast marks; some parts were riddled with holes, and even the Black Dragon pirate flag was torn, now resembling a broken dragon.

The crew was exhausted and dejected, injured and defeated, sitting on the deck with faces full of despair.

On the Black Dragon ship.

A bald man with one blind eye spoke up, "Captain, that ship carried an entire crew of Marrow Cleansing Gu cultivators, and ships carrying only Marrow Cleansing Gu cultivators are usually heading to Sky Island for treasure. They’ve probably already entered the Endless Sea by now." R𝔞ℕÔＢĘ𝙎

"However, we lack experience handling the many dangers of the Endless Sea. Charging in without caution would likely lead to heavy losses."

"Furthermore, there’s a sea prohibition – no Spiritual Sea-stage Gu cultivators or Gu Kings are allowed to enter the Endless Sea."

"If we were at full strength, breaking this rule would be one thing, but now…"

The bald man glanced at the ship full of wounded, sighing heavily.

He hadn’t expected things to turn out this way. What had seemed like a certain victory was derailed by unexpected developments.

Five months ago, they had bombarded Big Lonely Island with cannons for an entire night, exhausting all their ammunition before landing onshore and advancing towards the island.

They had expected that, under the relentless barrage of thousands of ship cannons, most of the island’s formations would be destroyed. Even if some remained functional, their numbers would be low and pose no serious threat.

But they were wrong. The island’s formations had not been damaged in the slightest.

Under an array of previously unheard-of formations, they suffered heavy losses. Before even reaching the walls of Big Lonely City, they had left a trail of corpses and endured immense casualties.

Just as they were struggling with the relentless attacks from the formations, Island Lord Leng led a massive number of Gu cultivators into the formation and ambushed them.

Strangely, the formations only attacked their side, sparing the Gu cultivators from Big Lonely Island.

Moreover, Big Lonely Island not only had more Gu Kings but also more lower-level Gu cultivators.

From the start of the battle, they faced both the mysterious formation attacks and the overwhelming number disadvantage.

With neither time, place, nor manpower on their side, it was inevitable that they would lose.

The final outcome went without saying. They were forced to retreat in a crushing defeat, leaving behind numerous casualties.

The Gu cultivators from Big Lonely Island pursued them relentlessly, sinking countless of their ships.

Especially for the Gu cultivators who weren’t from Big Lonely Island, they had lost their boats thanks to Lord Leng's trap and were stranded without a way to return. As a result, they set their sights on capturing the pirate ships, leading to them fighting with even greater ferocity.

When the Black Dragon Pirate Crew initially arrived, they were full of vigor and pride. But by the time they retreated, they were a shattered force. Out of nearly a hundred warships that set sail, only seven made it back, and each was severely damaged.

This wasn’t just a loss; they had been utterly crippled. Of the eighteen divisions, nearly all were wiped out, and most of the division leaders failed to escape. Those who barely managed to return were all injured.

After this battle, the Black Dragon Pirates retained less than a tenth of its former strength.

Baldy’s expression grew solemn. Since its founding, the Black Dragon Pirate Crew had been invincible, dominating the seas and claiming unrivaled supremacy in no time. Back then, their glory was unmatched.

The Black Dragon Pirate Crew had never once tasted defeat; they controlled everything, getting wind and rain as they wished. Never before had they suffered such a devastating setback.

Black Dragon clenched his remaining right fist, and after a moment of silence, finally spoke in a low voice: “We suffered heavy losses in this battle. We shouldn’t tread on established rules anymore.”

“Otherwise, we’ll give other forces a reason to hunt us down, and we’ve already lost the power to intimidate the surrounding factions.”

“Now, not only do other forces not fear us, but they may actually be interested in learning how we access the Death Sea, likely leading them to provoke us.”

“If we recklessly enter the Endless Sea, it will give them the perfect excuse to target us.”

Black Dragon paused and then sighed deeply: “I was too hasty this time. I didn’t do enough intel work, and it cost us dearly.”

“We rose to power once with unmatched speed; we can rise again just as quickly. We will make a comeback.”

Suddenly, Black Dragon’s gaze sharpened, and he said coldly, “But before our resurgence, we must obtain the Ocean's Heart, as it is key to our growth and power.”

“With the Ocean's Heart, we could build the most advanced ships in this world and reach any forbidden sea.”

“The Ocean's Heart vast interior could not only allow us to grow food for self-sustenance, but we could also repair ships and store large amounts of supplies within it.”

“It would become a mobile supply station, allowing us to avoid wasting time docking for resupply.”

“Even if all factions surrounded us, we could always retreat to the forbidden seas and remain undefeated.”

“Therefore, we must get the Ocean's Heart at all costs.”

“We may not enter the Endless Sea ourselves, but we can have Marrow Cleansing stage Gu cultivators go in without violating any rules.”

“How many Marrow Cleansing stage Gu cultivators do we have left?” Black Dragon asked, looking over.

Bald man, having clearly prepared, immediately replied, “We have around six hundred who can still fight.”

“This is the last of our fighting force.”

“However, they destroyed four of our ships effortlessly last time. From searching the remnants, I found out they have a massive cannon that can easily obliterate a ship, as well as a master who slaughters others at the same stage as if it were nothing.”

“If we don’t use high-level Gu cultivators, we may not be able to handle them, and we risk complete annihilation,” Baldy said worriedly.

“No need to worry,” Black Dragon waved him off. “They’ll have to disembark at some point, and once they’re on land, their ship’s cannon will be useless.”

“As for that mysterious master, there’s no need to fear him either. No matter how strong he is, he’s only a Marrow Cleansing stage Gu cultivator; he can’t be that powerful.”

“Could he possibly defeat a Spiritual Sea stage Gu cultivator?”

“We have three Spiritual Sea stage Gu cultivators whose ranks were weakened in this battle. I’ll have them enter the Endless Sea together. Let’s see if that person can survive!”

“I refuse to believe he can defeat three weakened Spiritual Sea stage Gu cultivators at once. Even if he could fight one, three would crush him.”

“This time, we’ll send out six hundred Marrow Cleansing stage Gu cultivators, along with three weakened Spiritual Sea stage Gu cultivators. In both numbers and strength, we will overpower them. With this force, we can’t fail.” Black Dragon grinned maliciously.

Hearing this, Bald man’s worry finally lifted, and he too broke into a sinister smile.

“Haha, Captain, you’re truly crafty. By sending in three weakened Spiritual Sea stage Gu cultivators, not only can we easily wipe out that group, but we could also sweep through all competitors on Sky Island as if cheating.”

“While they’re at it, we might as well let them take a tour of Sky Island.”

“If they’re passing through, there’s no harm in grabbing any treasures there, and if they can clear out the relics on Sky Island, who knows? They might return with some phenomenal treasures.”

“If they harvest plenty from Sky Island, it might just help our Black Dragon Pirates recover.”

Bald man chuckled again, then finally left to organize the team.

Soon, all the wounded were transferred to the Black Dragon, and the remaining six ships, each carrying one hundred Marrow Cleansing stage Gu cultivators, slowly set sail for the Endless Sea.

This left only the Black Dragon itself, isolated, a lone flag without an army.