The Path of Immortality: Starts With Creating Water Bear Gu-Chapter 271: Heart of the Earth

“Fire the cannons!”

With the bald man’s furious roar, all the cannons on the ships fired simultaneously. The deafening sound of explosions filled the air, and fire erupted across the pirate ships.

“Boom…”

“Boom…”

“Boom…”

...

The dense barrage of cannonballs rained down across the island. When they struck the ground, they sent sand flying dozens of meters high. Houses were blown apart, and in the crowded areas, flesh and blood flew everywhere as the shells detonated.

One round of cannon fire wasn’t the end—there was a second, a third, and then a fourth round.

As the continuous blasts of cannon fire echoed, countless cannonballs fell like they cost nothing, pounding Big Lonely Island with relentless bombardment. Buildings across the island were instantly leveled to the ground, engulfed in flames. The number of dead and wounded was too high to count, with many bodies charred beyond recognition amidst the wails of the injured.

Everyone on the island was stunned by the sudden barrage.

The Windstorm hadn’t even passed, and no one expected the Black Dragon Pirate Crew to attack at this moment. The various clans on the island were caught completely off guard.

The island lord, Leng Qianqiu, scowled as he looked toward the direction from which the cannonballs were coming and roared, “Return fire! Sink those pirate ships! Whoever sinks a pirate ship will be heavily rewarded!”

Following the island lord's command, the Gu cultivators on the island rushed into the fortifications. Some ran to the cannon batteries, while others headed to the walls lined with cannons, aiming the black cannon muzzles toward the Black Dragon Pirate Crew.

A fierce exchange of fire followed as both sides engaged in a cannon battle. The continuous volleys of cannonballs lit up the sky, with explosions as dense as firecrackers and the sound leaving no gaps.

Big Lonely Island was pouring everything into this battle, having invested heavily in cannons and fortifications. They had newly constructed many cannon towers, and there were no fewer than 3,000 cannons in this direction alone. The firepower was no small matter.

The barrage of cannonballs splashed wildly across the sea, sending water plumes into the air and creating turbulent waves. Some cannonballs landed on the pirate ships, causing the ships to shake violently.

The cannon fire crisscrossed in the sky, the explosions ringing without pause, with fire and smoke everywhere—on both the island and the sea. The continuous blasts were deafening.

Long Xuan was jolted awake from his sleep by the incessant cannon fire.

“Who’s firing cannons?”

He rushed outside, not even bothering to put on his clothes. When he saw the scene outside, it was as if fireworks were lighting up the sky with constant flashes of firepower, and he was completely stunned. 𝔯ä𐌽𝙤𝔟Ěş

“What kind of firepower is this?"

The rest of the Shenlong crew were also alarmed by the intense fire. They hurried out of their rooms and froze when they saw the fierce battle raging outside.

Nie Qingcheng looked up at the fiery sky, her face dark, and said, “Damn! The Black Dragon Pirate Crew is attacking the island! How did they get here so quickly?”

“I was planning to leave as soon as the Windstorm ended, but the Black Dragon Pirate Crew couldn’t even wait for the storm to finish before attacking. Now, we’re completely trapped on the island.”

Upon hearing this, everyone’s faces grew grim, and their moods turned sour.

Whether Big Lonely Island could fend off the Black Dragon Pirate Crew remained unknown. If the island fell and the pirates broke through, they would be in serious trouble.

They hadn’t forgotten that they were in possession of the Ocean's Heart, the primary target of the Black Dragon Pirates pursuit. If the pirates managed to land on the island, they would be doomed.

Long Xuan frowned slightly but wasn’t too worried about the pirates breaking through. He had a way out.

Worst case scenario, he could retreat into the Sou Gu Hut and escape thousands of miles away. However, if he did that, he would end up being transported inland, rendering the last six months of his voyage useless.

Then, he’d have to make his way back from the mainland toward Sky Island, and by that time, it would clearly be too late.

If he used the Sou Gu Hut to escape, it would mean giving up on the opportunities at Sky Island, including the Golden Toad and the Repair Insect, both of which he was determined to obtain.

How could he make that decision?

“Di Xin, can you instantly fix the broken teleportation formation on the island? You’ve got many hands; I trust in your speed,” Long Xuan immediately looked to Di Xin, pinning his hopes on her.

The rest of the crew also turned their eyes to her.

Di Xin rolled her eyes and said helplessly, “Fix it? There’s nothing to fix! That teleportation formation isn’t broken at all. The island lord has been fooling everyone on the island.”

“He simply lacks the courage! He’s afraid of the cost of the teleportation formation and doesn’t want to destroy it.”

“Or maybe he’s just too scared of dying. If they lose this battle, destroying the teleportation formation would cut off his escape route. He probably wants to keep it as a backup plan.”

“Of course, this secret is known only to the island lord. He needs everyone else to believe the teleportation formation is destroyed, leaving them no choice but to fight the Black Dragon Pirate Crew to survive. Desperate soldiers fight with the strength of the doomed.”

"This kind of desperate strategy would increase the army’s combat strength by threefold out of nowhere. The odds of defeating the Black Dragon Pirate Group would also rise considerably. This island lord’s strategy is brilliant, achieving multiple objectives with one move."

"The Black Dragon Pirate Crew will surely suffer a great loss when facing such a shrewd island lord."

Leng Yan nodded and said, "He intends to drag everyone on the island into this war to increase his chances of victory."

"All the outsider Gu cultivators who sought refuge on the island will become cannon fodder in this war, so we must leave as soon as possible. We can’t afford to delay."

"We absolutely have to leave before the Black Dragon Pirate Crew storms the island, or we’ll be in big trouble."

Long Xuan dared not hesitate and hurriedly said, "There’s no time to waste. Let’s head towards the teleportation array now. I’ll figure out how to get us through it."

Di Xin glanced at the hundred or so people and frowned, saying, "There are too many of us. Moving such a large group will surely attract the island lord's attention."

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"You all must hide in a space. The Ocean's Heart cannot be used in the middle of the island, and the city is already sealed off. You will have to hide inside my Earth Heart."

"My Earth Heart can also hold living beings."

In order to leave discreetly, Di Xin was willing to expose the secret of her possessing the Earth Heart.

The Earth Heart is an innate spiritual treasure, as famous as the Ocean Heart.

However, the abilities of the Earth Heart and Ocean Heart are entirely opposite.

The Earth Heart’s power can only be used on land and becomes ineffective at sea.

Conversely, the Ocean Heart’s power can only be used at sea and becomes ineffective on land.

The Earth Heart can mobilize the power of the earth and contains a vast land space within it.

Meanwhile, the Ocean Heart can mobilize the power of the ocean, and its interior holds a vast oceanic space.

In terms of practicality, the Earth Heart is superior to the Ocean Heart, as humans are land creatures and spend most of their time on land. As a result, the Earth Heart ranks higher than the Ocean Heart among innate spiritual treasures and is more valuable.

Long Xuan never expected Di Xin to possess such a precious treasure. No wonder she had mentioned that there was no need to dispose of useless items on him; no matter how many things there were, her space could hold them all.

With such a vast space inside her Earth Heart, of course, she could carry as much as she wanted.

She’s truly a little rich lady. She has every treasure imaginable. Long Xuan couldn’t help but feel envious.

Di Xin quickly took out a mysterious brown sphere, the same size as Long Xuan’s Ocean Heart.

The crew didn’t have time to be shocked as they rushed into the space inside the Earth Heart.

"Wait! Don’t leave me behind! You can’t leave me on this island to be killed by the pirates!"

Just at that moment, something seemed to slip into the Earth Heart and then disappeared.

Long Xuan rubbed his eyes. What was that just now?

---

Meanwhile, chaos reigned at the entrance to the hall where the teleportation formation was located.

"Let us in quickly! The Black Dragon Pirate Crew is about to attack! Do you really want us to die here with you?"

"Why hasn’t your teleportation formation been fixed yet? How much longer do you need to repair it?"

"I think the claim that the teleportation formation is broken is a lie! You’re doing this on purpose! I believe you deliberately sabotaged the teleportation formation to use us as cannon fodder!"

Under someone’s incitement, everyone was furious. A riot was about to break out when suddenly, the aura of a Gu King descended, suppressing the crowd. Everyone instantly fell silent, no longer daring to speak.

However, their gazes were still filled with anger, glaring at the figure in the sky with fiery eyes.

The person was the island lord’s wife, renowned for her beauty and kindness. She was known as the number one saintess of Big Lonely Island and was currently pregnant.

She never participated in the island's affairs, but she was still a genuine Gu King. Even though she was a pregnant woman, her presence alone was enough to silence the crowd.

After slowly descending from the sky, she held a Integrity Gu in her hands and spoke apologetically to the people around her: "I’m truly sorry, but the teleportation formation has indeed been broken, and it was destroyed by the Black Dragon Pirate Crew."

"According to our informants, a group of people stole the Black Dragon Pirate Crew’s Ocean Heart, and that group is on this island."

"The Black Dragon Pirate Crew is afraid that those people will escape through the teleportation formation, so they destroyed it as soon as possible."

"This is also why the Black Dragon Pirate Crew couldn’t wait for the Heavenly Wind to end completely before launching an attack on Big Lonely Island."

"Otherwise, they could have waited until you all left to attack the island. Why would they be in such a hurry? The Black Dragon Pirate Crew isn’t foolish. Why would they increase their own casualties needlessly?"

---

In the crowd, Di Xin was astonished as she looked at this pregnant woman, who was lying through her teeth. Unable to hold back, she turned to Long Xuan and asked via soul transmission, "She’s lying so blatantly, yet that Integrity Gu isn’t reacting. How is she doing this?"

Long Xuan was unsurprised. He was the ancestor of deceiving Integrity Gu and was highly skilled at tricking them. He knew many ways to fool a Integrity Gu.

For instance, during the incident at the Empress’s Ancient Tomb, Long Lie had easily tricked the Integrity Gu in his hands with a word game.

However, word games don’t apply to all lies. This pregnant woman had spoken at length, and it was obviously not a word game.

At that moment, Long Xuan thought of another possibility: the pregnant woman was telling the truth.

Since she was telling the truth, the Integrity Gu naturally wouldn’t glow.

But whether what she said was actually true was beyond the Integrity Gu’s ability to judge.

That’s one of the limitations of the Integrity Gu. It can only tell if someone is lying, but if the person has false information, the Integrity Gu is powerless.

Even if someone said that one plus one equals three and truly believed it, the Integrity Gu wouldn’t react.

So Long Xuan was almost certain that the pregnant woman was telling the truth, but this innocent woman had been deceived by the crafty island lord, making her believe false information, thereby fooling the Integrity Gu.