Blood Centipede Gu! Cultivation Extends Lifespan

Forty-nine days later.

The myriad Blood Centipedes in the Blood Centipede Cave vanished without a trace, leaving only a few skeletons and several blades within the cavern, as if bearing witness that its former fearsome reputation was no empty boast.

Having successfully refined the Blood Centipede Gu, Chen Dengming had thoroughly settled all his mundane affairs in the Nanxun Kingdom.

He gathered everything he had prepared for the Ascension Convention, disguised himself, and set off in a carriage, traveling low-key.

Around the time of his departure, members of some reclusive great families in Nanxun Kingdom and old eccentrics who had long hidden themselves in deep mountains and forests also emerged from seclusion.

Even within the Imperial Palace, an Old Eunuch left with two Princes.

Though these people set out from various locations, they all headed for the same destination—Misty Cliff in the northern Ice Wind Forest.

The centennial Ascension Convention was approaching, and undercurrents surged in both the court and the Martial World, but this was ultimately a realm accessible only to a very few.

The masses continued their daily cycle of resting at sunset and rising at sunrise, unchanging as the ebb and flow of the tide.

Whoosh—

As a wave surged into the great river with the wind, a fleet of fishing boats raced like a hundred vessels vying for the lead, drifting along the current.

Chen Dengming wore a bamboo hat, a black cloak, and carried a large blade on his back. He was now aboard a merchant ship, mingling with the fishing boats as they set off leisurely.

Three months remained until the official start of the Ascension Convention.

But reaching the Ice Wind Forest would take him less than a month, so he was in no hurry.

He stood at the stern with his hands behind his back, facing the north wind, watching the distant dock fade away and the churning river waters. A flood of emotions surged within him, eventually settling into resolve.

Rustle—

A blood-red centipede, no larger than a baby's finger, poked its head out from his sleeve and crawled along his arm. Its pitch-black eyes faintly glowed with a sinister green light. Its back was dark red, with four wings as thin as cicada wings sprouting from it, while its abdomen was a pale red. Its hundred tiny jointed legs tickled as they moved across Chen Dengming's arm.

This was the Blood Centipede Gu that Chen Dengming had successfully refined in the Blood Centipede Cave.

At first glance, it seemed no different in size from an ordinary centipede, save for its four wings and more ferocious appearance. In truth, its carapace was impervious to blades and spears, immune to mortal weapons, resistant to fire and water, and possessed of tenacious vitality.

Beyond that, its sickle-like jaws held lethal venom, and the stinger at its tail, along with the venom sac within its body, could release toxins with devastating killing power.

Seeing the Blood Centipede Gu emerge, Chen Dengming smiled faintly. He took a piece of Flesh and Blood from the gu pouch at his waist and offered it to the creature.

The venomous beast clamped its sickle-like jaws around the flesh and scurried back into his sleeve in a flash.

"Forty years to refine one gu; the gu's completion marks the achievement.

Refining this Blood Centipede Gu has finally pushed my Gu Refining Chapter, which had long been stuck at proficiency, to mastery."

Chen Dengming sighed with emotion.

"Truly, Dao arts are far more profound than martial arts. Back when I cultivated the Innate Qi Skill and broke through to its final stage, my lifespan limit only increased by two years.

But with the Gu Refining Chapter, merely advancing from proficiency to mastery has raised my lifespan limit from 132 years to 135 years—another three years to live."

Chen Dengming felt quite pleased. He focused slightly, and a panel appeared in his mind.

Innate Seventh Heaven Martial Artist [Chen Dengming]
Lifespan: 82/135
Martial Arts: Chen Family Martial Arts General Outline (Mastery 89/100)
Dao Arts: Gu Refining Chapter (Mastery 0/100)

This panel in his mind was the Golden Finger he had obtained after transmigrating.

Before crossing into this world, he had been playing a small game called Health Cultivation.

By chance, he transmigrated and activated the special cultivation panel from that game.

But the panel was different from what he had imagined. He could not enjoy the pleasure of instant upgrades with a click; all techniques required his own diligent cultivation to improve. Learning a technique or advancing it would extend his lifespan.

However, while the panel could not directly add points to martial or Dao arts, every time he trained diligently, his proficiency increased by one point.

It was like a welfare system in a game—effort guaranteed returns. The panel naturally enhanced his comprehension, granting him many insights and realizations during cultivation. This allowed him to quickly master techniques while extending his lifespan. In other words, training extended life, all in pursuit of immortality.

Thus, over the past eighty-plus years, Chen Dengming could honestly boast that his current achievements were entirely the result of his own hard work.

The only pity was that learning multiple martial arts of the same level only extended his lifespan once—at the initial learning stage and at each breakthrough. The effect could not stack by mastering more techniques of the same tier.

So over the years, Chen Dengming had started from crude martial arts and relentlessly pursued higher, more profound martial arts texts and even ultimate skills, all to extend his life through ever-deeper martial arts.

This aligned with the profound realm of martial arts: It is not the wind or the banner that moves; the heart alone travels a long road without cease. The white cloud leaves no trace of itself, yet falls into the ravine, deeper and deeper.

Between intention and non-intention, his state of mind was like that white cloud—naturally leaving no trace, yet drifting down into the ravine, seeking a depth even greater than the cliff.

By now, he had mastered all mortal martial arts—fist, palm, finger, leg, claw, blade, sword, and spear—to mastery, integrating them into a unified Chen Family Martial Arts General Outline.

At this point, any mortal martial art, even the legendary supreme texts of Nine Yin and Nine Yang, was useless to him, unable to extend his life through cultivation.

This was because his Chen Family Martial Arts General Outline already included techniques of the same caliber, such as Pure Yang Limitless Skill, Innate Qi Skill, and Indestructible Vajra Zen Skill.

It could be said that among the eight Innate Realm martial artists in the world, Chen Dengming might not be the strongest in terms of strength, but he undoubtedly had the most numerous and profound martial arts. A three-foot qi wall, plucking leaves to kill, and the Buddha casting an elephant—he excelled in all.

Yet now, with true immortals approaching, martial arts could not rival divine powers. No matter how strong an Innate master was, they might still be but an ant. Chen Dengming dared not be careless.

Just then, the faint sound of footsteps approached from behind.

The newcomer was an expert.

Even Chen Dengming could only hear the faintest footsteps, meaning that in all the world, aside from a Xiantian Grandmaster, no one else could detect the approach.

Chen Dengming did not turn around.

Because with a soft thud, the man had already knelt on one knee and reported respectfully.

"Master, the first wave of the Shadow Eighteen Guards arrived at Ice Wind Forest a month ago. They searched for over a month but found no trace of any immortal or divine presence, not even Misty Cliff. We subordinates are incompetent; please punish us, Master."

"Still hasn't appeared?"

Chen Dengming pondered, already forming thoughts.

He had visited Ice Wind Forest many times in his early years, yet never found any clues to immortal or divine traces.

Back then, he had already suspected that the area might be obscured by formations set by cultivators, impossible for anyone but a true cultivator to see through.

As for so-called Misty Cliff, it likely described a place so ethereal and elusive, with a mocking sense of cultivators looking down on mortals.

Chen Dengming had thought that with the Ascension Convention imminent, Ice Wind Forest would show some unusual phenomena by now, but there was still no activity.

"Any other findings?"

"Reporting to Master, your foresight is keen. As you expected, over a dozen other factions have sent people near Ice Wind Forest, also investigating Misty Cliff's whereabouts.

The Eighteen Guards followed your orders, kept a low profile, and avoided conflict. When experts tried to tail them to uncover your identity, they were dealt with using the Snake Gu you granted."

"Hmm." Chen Dengming mused, then said flatly, "Have you identified their affiliations?"

"So far, only a few: the Nangong Family, the Shaoyu Family, the Wu Family, and one group suspected to be from the Imperial Palace."

"Oh?"

A gleam of unprecedented interest flickered in Chen Dengming's tiger-like eyes, and he chuckled softly. "Those old foxes, just as I expected. They hold invitations too. Go tell the Eighteen Guards to stay out of sight for now, lie low, and await my next orders."

With a wave of his hand, Chen Dengming dismissed his subordinate, then quietly returned to the merchant ship's cabin. He familiarized himself with the Blood Centipede Gu, silently cultivating and traveling in seclusion.

He knew well that this was a dangerous time; he could not rashly reveal that he held an invitation, lest he invite unnecessary trouble.

Because the invitations were unregistered.

Once the Ascension Convention began, anyone holding an invitation could enter, regardless of status. Without one, even the emperor himself would be turned away.

Thus, the invitation was paramount, and as the eighth to step into the Xiantian Grandmaster realm, Chen Dengming appeared quite weak.

Though he possessed Gu arts and feared no battle with any Xiantian Grandmaster, there was no need to court trouble by standing out. The higher you jump, the harder you fall; lying low was the true path.

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