Beholding the Sacred Tree
The following matches were much easier. Perhaps everyone was intimidated, as every opponent he faced chose to concede defeat, saving him a lot of trouble.
However, no matter how relaxed he was, it was far less relaxed than Long Ziyan's. She won the first half by simply standing and took first place. Unexpectedly, she continued to stand in the second half without moving a single finger and still firmly held the first place.
Everyone who lined up with her would curse their bad luck and immediately admit defeat. She took first place so easily. But although it seemed easy, it was actually quite tiring, because she got tired of standing.
The Gu-Dueling Tournament proceeded quickly; before we knew it, it was getting dark and the sun was about to set. By then, the Gu-Dueling Tournament was coming to an end.
At this point, Long Xuan was still winning seven out of ten games in the second half, with a total score of 140 points, which was more than enough to get him into the top 20.
As for the matches he lost, he voluntarily conceded defeats. Without using supreme-grade Gu worm, it's impossible for him to sweep away all his opponents.
For example, Long Ziyan, who was still standing there motionless, was the first person Long Xuan chose to concede defeat, just like the others. Without using supreme-grade Gu worm, he was no match for her. It was a no-brainer. Who knew how many supreme-grade Gu worm this rich girl actually had?
Throughout the entire Gu-Dueling Tournament, she never made a move. No one could force her to reveal her trump card. All of her Gu Insect are still unknown, and Long Xuan dared not open this blind box.
As expected, by the time the Gu-Dueling Tournament came to a complete close, Long Ziyan, with 200 points and a perfect record of 20 wins, firmly held the top spot on the leaderboard and became the champion of this Gu-Dueling Tournament.
As for who came in second, Long Xuan didn't even need to think about it; it was naturally the perennial runner-up Long Qilin.
He only lost one game to Long Ziyan, winning a total of Nineteen games, for a total score of 190 points, placing him second.
He was born at the wrong time; meeting Long Ziyan was truly a tragedy. He would always be overshadowed, and he would never be able to shake off the label of being the eternal second-in-command.
However, he was already used to being hit hard, and stood there without changing his expression or showing any emotional fluctuation.
The sixteenth place was Long Panpan, who had left a deep impression on him. As for the others, he didn't pay much attention to them; they were just extras, and he couldn't be bothered to know their names.
As for himself, he deliberately lost several matches to hide his true strength, so he ranked eleventh, a position that is neither high nor low.
After the Gu-Dueling Tournament ended, in order to save time, there were no formalities or award ceremonies. Long Wanli called the top twenty winners to the high platform and then led them to the sacred land where the Sacred Tree grew.
All the winners were excited and followed closely behind him, walking past the crowd with their backs straight and their faces showing pride.
The Gu-Dueling Tournament is highly prestigious. Although there is an element of luck involved, those who can make it into the top twenty are basically among the strongest geniuses in their Lineage, and they have something to be proud of.
Long Xuan didn't walk to Long Ziyan's side, nor to Long Qilin's side; he lingered at the very back of the crowd, lost in thought.
Even now, he still hasn't figured out a way to secretly take the Divine Dragon Tree branch away.
He was completely helpless; he knew nothing about the situation in the Holy Land and had no intelligence whatsoever.
How could he possibly come up with any good ideas when he knew absolutely nothing about anything?
At this point, he could only play it by ear and see what kind of chaos Long Chen would create. If the Long Family fell into chaos, he might have a chance.
Before long, led by Long Wanli, the group arrived at the place with the most abundant Earth Spiritual Power the Lineage's residence.
The place with the most abundant spiritual energy in the Lineage is naturally the very center of the Lineage. The concentration of spiritual energy in the air is lowest the further away you go from the Long Family Lineage.
The concentration of spiritual energy in this world has never been uniform; some places have a high concentration of spiritual energy, while others have a low concentration.
The spiritual energy concentration in this mountain area is very high, far surpassing that of other mountain ranges. It is said that this area used to be the territory of Devil Cultivator, and a large Devil Cultivator firmly occupied this treasure land.
However, after the Long Family Lineage moved to the Far Western Lands, they had no place to settle down. They spent a long time investigating potential locations and finally set their sights on this place. Using the pretext of a missing child, they launched a war against the Devil Cultivator living there.
Although the Long Family were outsiders, their strength was not to be underestimated. The Devil Cultivator on the mountain fought against the Long Family's Gu cultivators for three days and three nights. In the end, the demonic cultivators were outmatched and the Long Family's Gu cultivators broke through the formation, and all the Devil Cultivator living there were slaughtered.
Then the Long Family, a group of Gu cultivators, seized control of this precious land and settled there, building extensively. This led to the Long Family, one of the seven major clans today.
This is the story of how the Long Family rose to power. It is said that their missing child has never been found.
The Long Family built their residence in the area with the highest concentration of spiritual energy in this mountain region, and at the center of the highest concentration of spiritual energy, they planted their Lineage's Sacred Tree, the Divine Dragon Tree.
The Divine Dragon Tree holds significant symbolic and spiritual importance for the Long Family. On the Eye-Washing Day, the entire clan gathers here to kneel and kowtow before the Sacred Tree. At the same time, the clan offers many sacrifices to the Sacred Tree and holds a grand sacrificial ceremony. The entire process is very complicated.
However, this custom occurs after the eye-washing ritual, which takes place in the evening.
Therefore, the importance of the Sacred Tree to the Long Family is evident. Such an important thing is naturally heavily guarded and protected by experts, and it is by no means so easy to obtain.
Long Xuan glanced at the tall wall surrounding the Sacred Tree and once again marveled at the difficulty of this mission. He had absolutely no confidence in whether he could succeed.
"Listen up! I will personally prepare the Dragon's Tear's Dragon's Tear are left, the less effective they become. The sooner they are used, the better."
Everyone with the Evil Dragon Emperor Eye must wash their eyes on the spot. Those without the Evil Dragon Emperor Eye may not be able to withstand the potency of the Dragon's Tear; they can take the Dragon's Tear back and use it slowly.
Upon hearing this, Long Xuan's expression subtly changed.
He knew that Long Wanli was saying this to him. Everyone else in the room had the Evil Dragon Emperor Eye, but he was the only exception.
No one without the Evil Dragon Emperor Eye would participate in this Gu-Dueling Tournament. In previous years, everyone who participated in the Gu-Dueling Tournament must have had the Evil Dragon Emperor Eye.
Although his Eye of Heavenly Secrets looked very similar to the Evil Dragon Emperor Eye, it was clearly unable to deceive Long Wanli.
Long Wanli wouldn't have said that in previous years, but because there was a new person named Long Xuan this year, he mentioned it casually, and then walked towards the gate of the wall amidst the puzzled gazes of some people.
Two Gu cultivators at the Marrow Cleansing Peak stood on either side of the main gate of the wall. Upon seeing the patriarch arrive with his entourage, they respectfully bowed and then opened the gate to let everyone in.
As Long Xuan entered the walled area, a strangely shaped, towering tree immediately came into view.
The tree is deep red all over, with sparse leaves, but its trunk grows crookedly, like a coiled dragon, completely unlike the upright and straight trunks of other tree species.
Perhaps it is precisely because of its strange appearance that it was named the Divine Dragon Tree? Such a name is truly fitting; if you ignore the details, this tree really does look like a dragon from a distance.
A tree with such a peculiar appearance must be extraordinary. Just by looking at its appearance, one can tell that it is of high quality and must be a rare and peerless spirit medicine.
Long Xuan subconsciously activated his cheat ability, looking up at the sky above the tree. Soon, a striking number appeared in his field of vision.
[∞].
Upon seeing this strange number, Long Xuan gasped, a chill running down his spine.
Good heavens, the progress is infinite! He couldn't help but widen his eyes.
He knew all too well what that number represented: it meant the tree was immortal, possessing an endless lifespan.
In this world, there are only two types of spirit medicine that can break the lifespan limit: either Earth-grade Spirit Medicine or the legendary Heaven-grade Spirit Medicine.
Long Xuan's heart pounded wildly. No wonder this tree held such a high position in the Long Family, was protected so tightly, and even became Sacred Tree that the Lineage had guarded for generations, treasured immensely.
Now he finally understood that the tree's quality was incredibly high, enough to be a Lineage heirloom passed down through generations.
An old man sat under the tree, dressed somewhat shabbily, with a long beard, but his eyes were bright and piercing.
This person made no attempt to conceal his aura, revealing his Spirit Sea Peak realm without any attempt at concealment, inspiring awe in all who beheld him.
Good heavens, there are two experts at the Marrow Cleansing Peak guarding outside, and there's actually a powerful expert at the Spirit Sea Peak sitting inside.
Long Xuan was shocked to learn just how important this tree was to the Long Family that they would expend so much of their powerful resources to protect it.
Upon seeing someone enter, the old man immediately stopped meditating, looked up at the newcomer, and slowly stood up.
"Senior brother, it must have been so hard for you to be trapped in this place all these years."
Long Wanli spoke first, looking at the old man with an apologetic gaze.
"What's so bitter about it? Aren't we all meditating and practicing spiritual cultivation everywhere? Is spiritual cultivation really suffering?"
"I think this place is great. The spiritual energy is most abundant, and there's no one to disturb me. I can cultivate here without any distractions from the outside world, which is why my progress has been so rapid. I've already reached the threshold of becoming Gu King."
"And what about you? As the head of the family, you're burdened by too many trivial matters, which has delayed your cultivation time significantly."
"Among my fellow disciples, you clearly have the best talent and should have been the first to break through to the Gu King Gu King. However, after you became the head of the family, you had less and less time to cultivate. On the contrary, I, the slowest bird with the worst aptitude, took the lead and reached the bottleneck of the Gu King first."
"I'm feeling great right now. It may seem like this place is a cage, but in reality, you're the one trapped inside, without even realizing it."
"I've seen through the truth now, and I'm too lazy to fight you for the position of family head anymore. Whoever becomes the family head is a fool. They're exhausted every day, dealing with a bunch of trivial matters. I wouldn't even be a dog."
"Speaking of which, I should thank you. If you hadn't tampered with the lottery, I wouldn't have had the chance to live in this precious cultivation ground, nor would I have had the opportunity to reach the bottleneck of the Gu King so quickly."