The Path of Immortality: Starts With Creating Water Bear Gu-Chapter 389: Long Xuan’s Scheme

However, it didn’t matter that the Enlightenment Tea Tree had been stripped of all its leaves. With the Medicinal Gu’s help, it wouldn’t take long for the tree to regrow them.

After admiring the Enlightenment Tea Tree for a moment, Long Xuan finally took out the Heaven-Devouring World Toad from his Insect Bag.

Casually, he picked up a massive boulder from the ground and tossed it into the toad’s mouth, then commanded it to spit the boulder back out.

As expected, the Heaven-Devouring World Toad was capable of both consuming and expelling objects within the Medicine Realm. Its fundamental abilities as a living creature were not restricted.

With this in mind, having the Devouring World Toad regurgitate a Spirit Mountain to destroy the formation array seemed entirely feasible.

However, the Spirit Mountain was enormous. If it were to fall, it might crush the Enlightenment Tea Tree along with it, and the commotion would be too significant.

Long Xuan pondered another approach—he wondered whether the weight of the treasures inside the Heaven-Devouring World Toad could affect its own body, granting it an ability akin to "Mount Tai’s Crushing Descent." If so, this method would be much quieter and more precise.

Yet, he did not act immediately.

This matter could not be handled recklessly. Simply stealing the Enlightenment Tea Tree outright was not an option. He had to take it with cunning.

Otherwise, with only two hundred people in this area, the Feng Clan would easily track down the thief. He needed a scapegoat for the theft, and he already had someone in mind...

...

Two hours later, a bizarre-looking toad hopped onto the barrier. Though its body was not large, the ground beneath its feet was visibly cracking at a rapid pace.

Before long, the section of the barrier beneath it collapsed entirely, leaving a gaping hole in the dome-shaped protective formation.

The Heaven-Devouring World Toad plummeted through.

"It really works!"

Long Xuan’s eyes gleamed with excitement as he clapped his hands together.

The weight of the treasures inside the Heaven-Devouring World Toad could indeed be applied to its own body. The Gu insect he had cultivated was truly defying the heavens!

Without wasting another moment, Long Xuan leaped into the pit and sprinted toward the Heaven-Devouring Tea Tree at full speed. He broke off a branch, then pressed a wisp of Sunset Divine Flame into the tree trunk. Finally, he grabbed the Heaven-Devouring World Toad, preventing it from devouring the entire tree, and made his escape.

His plan was simple—taking the entire Enlightenment Tea Tree was too risky. He wasn’t confident he could evade the Feng Clan’s investigation perfectly.

Instead, he would take only a single branch and let Four Evildoers steal the entire tree, drawing all the Feng Clan’s attention.

At that point, Four Evildoers would be branded as the thief, and no one would suspect Long Xuan.

As for the Sunset Divine Flame he had just embedded into the trunk, it was timed to detonate. Once triggered, the flames would instantly reduce the Enlightenment Tea Tree to ashes.

The Enlightenment Tea Tree was unique in this world. Only after its destruction would a second one be born somewhere else in the realm.

By then, with the original tree incinerated by heavenly fire, Long Xuan’s single branch would grow into a towering new Enlightenment Tea Tree.

The plan was flawless.

Given the time constraints, Four Evildoers wouldn’t have the luxury to inspect the tree thoroughly.

Once the Enlightenment Tea Tree was destroyed, the Feng Clan would naturally assume Four Evildoers were responsible. With all evidence erased, they would never know that a single branch had gone missing.

"Heh heh..."

Long Xuan let out a sinister grin as he ran farther and farther away.

...

Not long after, an ordinary-looking middle-aged man arrived at the scene.

He had just been chasing someone who ambushed him. But after following his target here, the assailant had vanished without a trace.

At this moment, however, he had no mind to keep searching.

His gaze locked onto the Enlightenment Tea Tree inside the barrier, and his eyes burned with fervor. Overcome with excitement, he completely forgot about his attacker.

"Hahaha... I searched high and low, only to find it effortlessly! I never imagined I would locate the Enlightenment Tea Tree so quickly. Heaven truly favors me!"

Outside the city, a hundred-zhang-tall black Giant Demon slowly approached from beyond the walls.

Its entire body radiated dense corpse energy. With each step it took, the earth trembled, leaving deep footprints in its wake.

The ground quaked wildly under the demon’s advance, as though an earthquake had struck.

"Rumble..."

The black Giant Demon reached the skies above Phoenix Heaven Empire’s capital, Pheonix Heaven City.

Then, with a single stomp—

Boom!

The city’s protective grand formation shattered instantly.

The city was filled with screams of terror. A few unfortunate souls were trampled under the colossal feet, their survival clearly impossible.

People nearby began fleeing frantically, plunging the city into utter chaos.

"That's a Giant Demon—thought to be extinct! Where did the Black Mountain Elder find a Giant Demon’s corpse, and how has it remained uncorrupted until now?"

Long Xiaoyao gazed at the towering figure entering the city, his expression grave.

"How dare you, Black Mountain Elder! Who gave you the audacity to act so recklessly in Phoenix Heaven City?"

Feng Tiancheng’s face was ashen as he glared at the Four Evildoers who had already flown into the city, his rage uncontrollable.

For demonic cultivators to cause trouble on such an important day was a blatant sign of their disregard for the Phoenix Heaven Empire’s royal family. If this situation wasn't handled properly, the royal family's dignity would be completely trampled.

"Heh… You must be Feng Tiancheng. We, the Four Great Evil, have come today to borrow something from the Phoenix Heaven Empire’s royal family. I hope you won’t be too stingy!"

The Black Mountain Elder sneered, taking out a transparent pearl and tossing it into the sky.

In the next instant, the space itself was forcibly torn open by the pearl.

Seeing this, Feng Tiancheng’s pupils shrank abruptly as he roared, "This is the Innate Spirit Treasure—Boundary-Breaking Pearl! He’s using the Boundary-Breaking Pearl to open the Medicine Realm!"

"They’re trying to seize the Enlightenment Tea Tree! All Feng Clan Gu Kings, protect the treasure!"

As his voice fell, waves of powerful auras soared into the sky, charging toward the Giant Demon.

However, they were still one step too late. The Giant Demon had already reached its massive hand into the Medicine Realm. With a heavy slap, it shattered the barrier and uprooted the Enlightenment Tea Tree, soil and all—though one of its branches had already been taken.

Yet, at that moment, no one noticed that an inconspicuous branch was missing from the Enlightenment Tea Tree.

The Black Mountain Elder had no time to inspect the tree’s condition. He immediately threw it into his storage ring before turning back and shouting, "We got it! Retreat!"

The other three evildoers were overjoyed. They hadn’t expected their mission to go so smoothly—it was as if heaven itself was aiding them.

The three of them followed closely behind the Giant Demon, breaking through the encirclement.

"You courting death! Leave the Enlightenment Tea Tree behind!"

Feng Tiancheng’s eyes were bloodshot with rage. He charged forward like a madman, while the city’s army and countless Feng Clan Gu Masters surged toward the four fiends like a tidal wave.

At this moment, the Four Evildoers were completely surrounded. Feng Clan members filled every direction, yet there wasn’t a trace of fear on the fiends' faces—they didn’t take the Feng Clan’s Gu Masters seriously at all.

"Hmph! Just a bunch of ants! Since you wish to die, I’ll grant your wish!"

The Black Mountain Elder removed the Corpse-Nurturing Bag from his waist and released ten different zombies, each with a terrifying appearance, which charged into the crowd.

The other three fiends also displayed their unique abilities.

The Burial Demon Ghost unleashed a horde of vicious ghosts from his Ghost-Nurturing Bag.

The White-Faced Scholar released a swarm of spirit beasts from his Beast-Taming Bag.

The Jade-Faced Rakshasa unleashed a tide of Gu insects from her Insect-Breeding Bag.

Meanwhile, the Giant Demon led the charge at the front. The attacks from the Feng Clan’s Gu Masters barely left a scratch on its body—it was as if they were merely tickling it.

With each step it took, countless imperial guards were crushed beneath its feet. The city resounded with agonizing screams, and numerous buildings crumbled into ruins under its trampling.

Amid the chaos, the Feng Clan held an overwhelming numerical advantage, yet they were still at a disadvantage against the Four Evildoers.

Feng Clan powerhouses were being slaughtered one after another. Under the evils' relentless assault, the Feng Clan’s forces suffered heavy casualties, and the battle quickly shifted toward the city gates. The fiends were on the verge of breaking out.

The sheer combat prowess of the Four Evildoers left all the onlooking clans utterly stunned.

At that moment, an enraged voice boomed from deep within the imperial palace.

"Insolence! How dare you commit such slaughter in my Phoenix Heaven City! If I let you four escape today, what dignity would my royal family have left?"

"I will annihilate you at all costs!"

A frail yet imposing elder, clad in a phoenix robe, flew out from the depths of the palace, charging straight at the Black Mountain Elder.

"Hahaha…Emperor Feng, you’ve finally decided to show yourself? I’ve been waiting for you! Let’s see how powerful the legendary Emperor Feng truly is!"

The Black Mountain Elder’s expression turned sharp as he forced Feng Tiancheng back and boldly rushed toward the Emperor Feng…