012. Finally Entering the Stone Chamber Yields Rich Harvest; Demonic Path Gu Master Long Qingtian
As soon as Qitian entered the Blackwater Swamp, the Blackwater Poison Frogs attacked him immediately.
Large amounts of green liquid shot towards Qitian. Fortunately, the Blackwater Poison Frogs were relatively spread out, allowing Qitian to rely on his superb flying skills to dodge most of the venom.
After activating the Poison Swallowing Toad multiple times midway, Qitian finally passed through the Blackwater Swamp.
He landed on a small stone hill. The hill's surface was smooth, its greyish-green color inconspicuous in this swamp.
"This is the stone hill from memory!" Muttering softly, Qitian began to feel around the stone wall, tapping left and right.
Dong, dong, dong.
Qitian tapped his fingers, knocking on the stone wall again.
Hearing the sound, a hint of joy rose in his heart; he knew the stone wall was hollow.
"This is it!" Qitian retreated three steps and fully activated Qi Yuan Slash.
Boom! Boom! Boom...
Under Qitian's repeated attacks, the stone wall shattered, revealing a cave entrance.
Cautiously retreating a few steps, he felt a wave of heavy, stagnant air gradually dissipating from the cave entrance.
Once the stagnant air in the cave had dispersed, Qitian stepped inside.
The cave extended diagonally downwards, becoming wider, eventually reaching a stone chamber.
In the center of the stone chamber lay a corpse – tall, burly, with thick eyebrows and large eyes. Its whole body had a greenish hue, and wisps of poisonous gas occasionally emanated from it.
"Truly worthy of being a formidable figure of his generation. If this setup hadn't been disturbed, Liu Rulong could have recovered within ten years."
This person was a renowned demonic path giant from ten years ago, a Rank 4 peak stage Qi Path Gu Master named Liu Rulong, who was unfortunately afflicted with deadly poison while exploring Murky Cloud Swamp.
He stubbornly endured the poison, set up this hidden stone cave, used the One Breath Remaining Gu to cling to life, and employed Qi Expelling Gu and others to purge the toxins from his body. However, this process required twenty years to complete.
Before recovering, the poisoned person had no ability to resist. This stone hill was rarely visited anyway, and even if someone arrived, discovering the hidden cave was difficult.
In the previous life, Liu Rulong lay dormant for twenty years, broke through to Rank 5, re-emerged into the world, and caused a sensation for a time. This part of his life was recorded in the "Biography of Liu Rulong".
Unfortunately for him, in this life, he encountered Qitian, a reborn individual, who came here to end his life solely because Qitian coveted the Qi Path Gu worms on him. If Liu Rulong knew he died for this reason, who knows if he would wake up from rage and detonate his Gu worms.
Qitian stabbed Liu Rulong through the heart with his blade.
Liu Rulong was dying, unconscious, incapable of defense, only a faint breath remaining.
When Qitian killed him, his body didn't even twitch. There was no question of using consciousness to detonate his Gu worms.
Qitian extended his consciousness into Liu Rulong's aperture and immediately discovered several Turtle Breath Gu inside.
Turtle Breath Gu were storage Gu used to seal Gu worms.
Before falling into hibernation, Liu Rulong had sealed his Gu worms one by one within the Turtle Breath Gu to prevent them from starving to death.
These Rank 4 Gu resembled oval stones, slightly larger than a fist. The stone surface was covered in patterns reminiscent of a turtle shell.
After refining these Turtle Breath Gu, Qitian crushed them one by one, retrieving the Gu worms inside.
These Gu worms mostly belonged to Qi Path, many being rare Rank 4 Gu. More importantly, Ancient Qi Path Gu worms almost never appeared on the market; the value of these Gu worms was no less than ordinary Rank 5 Gu.
Liu Rulong had meticulously matched this set of Gu worms, relying on them to build his formidable reputation in Southern Border.
'Looks like I need to advance to Rank 4 as soon as possible! Otherwise, using these Gu worms is still somewhat difficult.' However, some of them could be used now.
With these Gu worms, he had enough Gu for after advancing to Rank 4. Once he reached Rank 4, he could start planning his trip to Central Continent to inherit the blessed land.
Having achieved his goal, Qitian planned to return.
Even though there was a Gu Immortal inheritance deeper in the swamp, it wasn't something Qitian could obtain. No matter how tempting, Qitian didn't intend to try.
As a reborn individual, Qitian knew of many Gu Immortal inheritances.
But these inheritances were not so easily obtained.
Firstly, obtaining an inheritance required the right timing. Blessed lands left by Gu Immortals often sealed themselves, only opening when the time was right. This timing could be when the blessed land was nearing collapse and seeking a successor, like the Three Kings Inheritance. Or it could be due to poor management or needing to deal with calamities, actively seeking a successor, such as Hu Immortal Blessed Land.
Secondly, inheritances often had specific requirements for the successor, such as the Three Kings Inheritance requiring a Strength Path Gu Master, or the White Bone Inheritance needing twin Gu Masters.
Besides, affinity was also very important. Those who obtained inheritances in the previous life were often the fated ones for that inheritance. Of course, this wasn't absolute; with proper planning or sufficient strength, seizing someone else's opportunity was possible. Fang Yuan did this often after rebirth, and Qitian, also a reborn individual, would do the same.
Qitian was also extremely cautious when leaving the swamp.
"Hmm... A Gu Master approaching ahead!"
From the image scouted by the Mist Sparrow Gu, a Rank 4 Gu Master was flying in this direction.
The Gu Master in the image wore a dark cyan robe, had long black hair, a gaunt face, a cyan complexion, and a gloomy gaze.
"Not good! It's the Poison Path Gu Master Long Qingtian!"
Qitian was startled and quickly concealed his aura, hiding himself.
Long Qingtian, Rank 4 peak stage cultivation, roamed Southern Border relying on his Rank 5 poison Gu, Bì Kōng, having poisoned countless figures to death, his evil reputation renowned.
Once dyed the azure sky green!
Bì Kōng Gu, Long Qingtian's core trump card, a Gu worm from the Immemorial Era, now basically extinct.
Relying on this Gu, Long Qingtian's strength was incomparable to ordinary Rank 4 peak Gu Masters.
With Qitian's current strength, he could deal with ordinary Rank 4 initial stage Gu Masters. Against Rank 4 middle stage, he could only ensure his survival.
Facing a renowned expert like Long Qingtian, retreating was the only option.
This was the fourth time Qitian encountered a Gu Master after entering Murky Cloud Swamp. Most who came here were demonic path Gu Masters. The previous three encountered had cultivation up to Rank 3 upper stage at most; Qitian killed them all.
This was the reality of survival for demonic path Gu Masters. Once met, they often killed the other party for their own safety. This world was ruthless; being soft-hearted meant being unable to survive. Qitian understood this principle deeply.
Encountering Long Qingtian this time, Qitian only hoped to evade him.
Half a quarter-hour later, Long Qingtian arrived at Qitian's previous location.
"No one here? Was my perception wrong?" Long Qingtian muttered to himself. After investigating again, he left the area.
After Long Qingtian left, Qitian didn't immediately reveal himself.
Half a quarter-hour later, Long Qingtian returned to the spot again.
"Could it really be no one? My perception shouldn't be wrong. Since you won't come out, don't blame me for being ruthless."
A moment later, the cyan-green poison of the Bì Kōng Gu spread out. The ground and sky around him were dyed a cyan-green color.
"Damn it! This Long Qingtian is truly worthy of being a demonic overlord, so ruthless and vicious. Looks like fleeing is the only option."
Qitian immediately revealed himself, activated the Eagle Wing Gu, and flew high into the sky. Danger lurked in the murky clouds, but only such an environment could better showcase the advantage of flying skills.
Long Qingtian also had a flight Gu worm and gave chase for a while before being shaken off by Qitian.
After all, flying ability required a large amount of time to practice. Long Qingtian couldn't compare in this aspect to Qitian, who was a flight master.
"When did such a figure appear in Southern Border? Probably already a flight master. No wonder he could penetrate deep into the swamp's interior."
"I obtained the Bì Kōng Gu in Murky Cloud Swamp. My strength has continuously increased over the years entirely thanks to that inheritance location; it absolutely cannot be revealed. This place isn't far from that inheritance; I can't afford any mistakes. However, he's been poisoned by the Bì Kōng Gu. Before he can leave the swamp, he'll dissolve into azure light, unless he can find one of the Four Great Doctors within a short time (within two hours)."