Longevity by Grinding Skills

Chapter 413: Chapter 413: Schemed Against, but Still Useful

At this, a smile touched the corner of Chu Chengnan’s lips. "I never thought the Wansheng Sword Sect, the supposed leader of the Righteous Path, would also slaughter the innocent so wantonly."

Li Qingling snorted, her Sword Heart Seal flaring to life as Sword Qi frosted the air around her. "Slaughter the innocent? This Flood Dragon was laden with sin in its past life. It was destined to die by my hand in this one. What crime is there in that? In fact, I am granting it deliverance."

Chu Chengnan shook his head and chuckled. Most cultivators from the Sword Sect were fanatical by nature. Once they condensed their so-called Sword Heart, they became nearly impossible to reason with.

He said no more. With a light flick of his sleeve, the icy plain beneath his feet trembled. Earth Vein Power surged, and it was as if an unseen mountain range erupted from the ground, suppressing Li Qingling’s Sword Intent completely.

Seeing this, Li Qingling’s elegant brows shot up. A longsword shot out three inches from her sleeve with a resonant HUM, the two characters for "Riding the Heavens" on its spine glowing with a piercing, cold light.

Ice crystals spread from her feet like a spiderweb. Her long, black hair floated in the windless air, each strand tipped with a sliver of Sword Gang.

But Chu Chengnan simply stood with his hands clasped behind his back, illusory shadows of Bai Yue flowing faintly beneath his black Python Robe.

His voice was like the clang of metal. "Fellow Daoist Li, the ink on the Cold Crow Agreement from three years ago is barely dry. A certain someone from your esteemed sect personally branded the treaty with a Sword Seal."

His words were a bucket of ice water poured over the tense atmosphere.

Li Qingling’s Sword Pointing faltered. Back then, the Righteous and Demon Daos had fought a bloody hundred-day war at Cold Crow Pass. The Wansheng Sword Sect had emerged with a narrow victory, managing to wrest a blessed land from the jaws of the Primordial Sect. The cost was high; a total of four Foundation Establishment Daoist Masters from both sides had been forced into Reincarnation. This sacrifice had brokered a temporary Peace Treaty, established by the True Monarchs of both sects.

"Demon Cultivators are bloodthirsty madmen. Why would they honor a treaty?"

She sneered, and though her words were scornful, the sharp aura emanating from her blade began to fade.

"I will settle this karmic debt with you during the next battle for the World Heaven."

She transformed into a rainbow of sword light and tore through the sky, the residual Sword Qi cleaving the clouds in two.

In the wind and snow, Chu Chengnan stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze profound.

"The True Martial Demon Suppressing Scripture..." he murmured, a meaningful smile gracing his lips. "Interesting."

...

「Three days later, at the bottom of the Northern Profound Ice Abyss in the Frozen Wilderness.」

Xu Yunfan stared intently at a pulsating strand of Celestial Spirit Qi before him.

He was well aware that someone had intercepted Li Qingling.

Yuu Congling’s voice, like a Cold Spring striking stone, was exceptionally clear in the dim Ice Abyss. "You’ve been played."

Xu Yunfan’s expression darkened. The golden light of the Martial Arts Celestial Eye at the center of his brow flared, his pupils reflecting countless streams of fine data.

Traces of the battle from three days ago flashed before his eyes like a revolving lantern.

Xu Yunfan’s knuckles cracked.

These clues, when pieced together, revealed a meticulously woven web.

From the moment he stepped out of the Divine Martial Realm, someone had laid out a chessboard that spanned both the Righteous and Demon Daos. He was the prey. The moment his Dao Foundation matured would likely be the time of harvest.

He suddenly sneered. "So, from the moment I left the Divine Martial Realm, I became someone’s pawn?"

"A Foundation Establishment Daoist Master can manipulate karma as easily as reading the lines on their palm. Once you reach Foundation Establishment and set foot on the true path, you’re in a completely different world from Qi Cultivation."

Yuu Congling’s voice drifted out from the Sumeru Bag.

"They only need to place a single, idle piece on the board over a thousand years... like a venomous spider spinning its web. When you finally walk to the cliff’s edge, someone will be there to give you a gentle push."

She paused, her voice growing colder. "When the Divine Martial Daoist Master reincarnated to cultivate anew, how many pairs of eyes do you think were watching? Which of those Foundation Establishment Daoist Masters isn’t as wily as they come? Who couldn’t have guessed he might reincarnate in the Divine Martial Realm?"

"Plenty of people covet this True Martial Format. Even if they can’t use it themselves, it’s highly beneficial once refined. Of course they knew the Divine Martial Daoist Master would want to reclaim his status in the Divine Martial Realm and reach Foundation Establishment again..."

Yuu Congling let out a rare, cold laugh. "He might even be able to use the World Heaven’s destiny to advance further, breaking into the Late-Stage Foundation Establishment. A temptation like that is more than enough for them to scheme so meticulously."

"So you’re saying..."

His voice was calm, devoid of any fluctuation. "...no matter who it is, as long as they obtain the True Martial Demon Suppressing Scripture and walk out of the Divine Martial Realm..."

With every word he spoke, another fissure cracked open in the Ice Abyss. "...whether it’s an accident like me, or the intended target, the Divine Martial Daoist Master..."

"They become a live piece on the board."

Yuu Congling finished his thought, her voice carrying a rare gravity. "The only difference is whether you’re a pawn that stumbled onto the board by accident, or the millennium-awaited... king-rook exchange."

’Damn it,’ he thought. ’These guys aren’t even human. They’re completely deranged.’

"The Divine Martial Realm..."

Yuu Congling’s voice suddenly grew ethereal. "Perhaps it holds secrets that even Foundation Establishment Daoist Masters covet. The contest for the World Heaven back then was presided over by True Monarchs from three factions: the Primordial Demon Sect, the Wansheng Sword Sect, and the Puchen Pure Land... In the end, the Primordial Demon Sect came out on top. They captured the great bearer of destiny who embodied the spiritual essence of the Divine Martial Realm at that time, and thus claimed this World Heaven."

"If the will of the World Heaven didn’t reject beings at Foundation Establishment and above, Daoist Masters would have likely forced their way in long ago, sparing no expense to seize its opportunities."

The Ice Abyss suddenly trembled. Xu Yunfan’s eyes flickered as he quickly reined in the chaotic thoughts in his mind. He stomped his foot, shattering the Ten Thousand Years Profound Ice beneath him.

Black Qi seeped from the cracked ice, quickly coalescing into a strand of Celestial Spirit Qi that began to resonate with the True Martial Demon Suppressing Scripture inside him.

This was indeed the True Martial Celestial Spirit.

In this world, the Celestial Spirits and Earthly Fiends were divided into Thirty-Six Celestial Spirits and Seventy-Two Earth Evil. They were manifestations of the world’s Origin and served as the foundation for a Cultivator’s path to the Dao.

The Celestial Spirits were born of pure, ethereal energy, corresponding to the Stars of the Celestial Sphere above and harmonizing with the mountains, rivers, and Dragon Veins below.

Each of the Thirty-Six Celestial Spirits had its own unique properties. For example, the Arctic Celestial Spirits governed slaughter, and refining them would make one’s True Qi as sharp as a Frost Blade.

The Ziwei Celestial Spirit governed fortune, allowing one to alter their fate and avoid calamities.

The True Martial Celestial Spirit contained the Demon Suppression True Intent of the Black Tortoise and was the ultimate counter to all things evil.

Legend had it that if one could gather nine different types of Celestial Spirits, they could trigger the Nine Luminaries Linked Beads Anomaly. The stars themselves would pour into the cultivator’s body, allowing them to attain sainthood through their physical form—a feat highly sought after by Body Refining Cultivators.

The Earthly Fiends, in contrast, were turbid, heavy, and sinister, often found hidden in places like the Earth Vein Melting Hell or the ruins of an Ancient Battlefield.

Among the Seventy-Two Earth Evil, the Karmic Fire Earth Fiend could incinerate the soul and corrode the bone; the Profound Nether Earth Fiend could freeze all Vitality; and the Demon-Suppressing Earth Fiend specialized in destroying a Cultivator’s foundation.

There were even rarer types, like the Blood River Earth Fiend, which could only be condensed from a Sea of Blood after the slaughter of one hundred thousand living beings.

Beyond these, there were many other special types of Celestial Spirits and Earthly Fiends.

The Starfall Celestial Spirit was carried by meteors from the Outer Realm and could be used to forge Divine Weapons.

The Nine Nether Earth Fiend had to be gathered at the entrance to the Yellow Springs and could bridge the realms of Yin and Yang.

Cultivators often chose which to refine based on the characteristics of their Cultivation Technique. The True Martial Demon Suppressing Scripture, for example, required both the True Martial Celestial Spirit and the Demon-Suppressing Earth Fiend. Only when these two forces of Yin and Yang Complement Each Other could the Divine Martial Dao Foundation be condensed in the Dantian.

’Since they don’t dare to face me directly, and even went so far as to send someone to stop Li Qingling...’

He reached out and seized the strand of black Celestial Spirit Qi with its gilded patterns, letting it coil around his arm like a living snake. ’...it means this pawn isn’t ready to be sacrificed just yet.’

Xu Yunfan understood. They were encouraging his Cultivation. This was not the final move.

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