Longevity by Grinding Skills

Chapter 449: Chapter 449: Eight Sceneries of Profound Capital

At 3:00 AM that day, eight masses of multicolored Cloud Qi floated before Xu Yunfan, arranged according to the positions of the Eight Trigrams.

Xu Yunfan held his breath and focused his mind, the Spells at his fingertips shifting like dancing butterflies.

The eight masses of Cloud Qi floated and swirled before him. The Kan Water Cloud was an abyssal blue, like deep-sea ice, while the Li Fire Cloud was a crimson red, like boiling magma.

But as he used the "Water and Fire in Harmony" technique from the *Profound Capital Eight Sceneries Celestial Refining Creation Cloud Scripture* to simultaneously pierce two strands of his Divine Sense into the cloud cores, something went terribly wrong.

The Kan Water Cloud suddenly erupted with a frosty glare. The temperature in the cave plummeted, and a spiderweb of Ice Crystals instantly crept across the rock walls.

The Li Fire Cloud, in turn, exploded into a myriad of sparks, vaporizing the Ice Crystals into a white mist.

The two masses of Cloud Qi tore at each other violently within a ten-foot space, forming a hurricane of intertwining blue and red Spiritual Power.

CRACK!

The Basalt Platform supporting the Cloud Qi was the first to shatter, its fragments ground to dust before they could even hit the ground.

Xu Yunfan hastily formed a Body Protection Technique, only to see a blinding light erupt from the hurricane’s center.

His pupils contracted. As his Daoist robe billowed, he shot backward, but the explosive, murky-white shockwave still caught him.

Wherever the shockwave passed, the rosewood shelf displaying his books splintered into a shower of wood chips. The *True Martial Star Map* hanging on the wall was instantly torn to shreds. Even the Artifact Refining Furnace forged from Profound Iron was toppled, its lid clattering across the floor.

When the dust settled, Xu Yunfan was kneeling in a corner, his Hair-Binding Jade Crown nowhere to be seen.

A lock of hair hung over his brow, a strange crystal formed from the merging of ice and fire clinging to its tip.

He wiped the sweat and Spiritual Ashes from his face, his brow deeply furrowed. ’The clash between water and fire is this violent...’

’It requires an incredible amount of fine control.’

Xu Yunfan glanced at the interface in his vision.

You are practicing the Profound Capital Eight Sceneries Celestial Refining Creation Cloud Scripture. You seem to have grasped a few tricks. Skill Level has slightly increased.

Xu Yunfan stared at the fluctuating Skill Level notification, and his heart settled.

’This *Profound Capital Eight Sceneries Celestial Refining Creation Cloud Scripture* is profound and obscure,’ he thought, ’and I haven’t even scratched the surface. But now that I have Skill Level notifications, mastering the basics is only a matter of time. It’s as if I’ve pushed open the gate to the grand Dao of Artifact Refining.’

’With the unique advantage of my Attribute Panel, supplemented by the deductive power of the Linn Character Technique, as long as I persistently temper this Guardian Skill, I’ll one day be able to control the Eight Sceneries Cloud Qi at will.’

’At that point, forget basic transformations like Water and Fire Complement each other; even the supreme realm of "one cloud, one world" will be a natural achievement.’

At this thought, his fingertips unconsciously began forming a Spell, and the True Martial Magical Power in his body circulated in response. He had both the talent and the opportunity; the rest was just a matter of patient effort.

’All of this is thanks to my own diligent hard work!’

Xu Yunfan sighed, looking at the dazzling list of special effects in the Skill Bar on his Attribute Panel.

’He had earned every single one of them, step by step.’

He brushed the frost-fire crystals from his Daoist robe. As his True Martial Magical Power circulated, the spiritual dust embedded in the fabric rustled off.

His jade crown had shattered in the explosion, so he casually gathered his disheveled hair and secured it with a Thunderstruck Wood Hairpin—a Spiritual Material he had chanced upon two days ago while practicing the *Green Dragon Thunder Pearl Locking Tribulation and Calming Fortune Technique*.

It was a shame to waste, but of little actual use.

The cave was in utter disarray. The *True Martial Star Map* he had spent three hundred Spirit Stones on was now nothing but a floor of shimmering, star-like fragments.

Xu Yunfan performed the Clear Wind Technique, and the remains of the shattered rosewood shelf gathered themselves into a pile.

As he bent to pick up the lid of the Artifact Refining Furnace, the Profound Iron surface reflected his face, stained with Spiritual Ashes. A fine line, left by the clash of Ice and Fire Spiritual Power, was visible on his forehead.

Xu Yunfan was surprised. With his current physique, even a direct blow from a Superior Magical Artifact wouldn’t have left a scratch.

’So, "Kan and Li Mutual Aid" is this dangerous...’

After cleaning up, Xu Yunfan sat cross-legged on the newly leveled Basalt Platform, and the eight masses of Cloud Qi once again materialized before him.

This time, he deliberately separated the Kan Water Cloud and Li Fire Cloud by a distance of three feet. He also used the Profound Capital Eight Sceneries Secret Technique to adjust the True Martial Magical Power gathered at his fingertips, imbuing it with the more neutral Earth Attribute.

The recent failure made him understand that he couldn’t master the *Profound Capital Eight Sceneries Celestial Refining Creation Cloud Scripture*, famed for creating "one cloud, one world," through brute force alone.

If he continued on this path, given the slow increase in his Skill Level, mastering it quickly would be a pipe dream.

This Artifact Refining Secret Skill required deducing thousands of combinations for every single breakthrough.

Li Baichuan had carried this Artifact Refining Secret Skill with him for many years; he must have intended to study it day and night.

’Unfortunately, his talent was lacking, and he never grasped its true essence.’

’The wonders of the *Profound Capital Eight Sceneries Celestial Refining Creation Cloud Scripture* extended far beyond the Dao of Artifact Refining.’

’If one could master the Eight Sceneries Cloud Qi, they could even form the Eight Scenes Refining Sky Array, using the Cloud Qi as a foundation and turning heaven and earth into a furnace. In battle, its might would be enough to make any Cultivator of the same realm shrink in fear.’

’I have no idea what kind of dumb luck that Li Baichuan had to get his hands on such a Superior Secret Technique.’

In between his Cultivation sessions, Xu Yunfan also regularly practiced with his Divine Martial Dao Foundation.

With a turn of his thoughts, his Divine Martial Dao Foundation boomed to life, transforming into a ferocious, three-headed, six-armed Dharma Aspect that rose from the ground.

Its left pair of arms brandished a weapon resembling the Shaking Mountain Sea-Suppressing Hammer, which drew upon Star Power, its head wreathed in the Starlight of the Big Dipper.

Its right pair of arms held a Cyan Dragon Crescent Saber in a reverse grip, its blade emanating a biting, cold glint.

The central Dharma Aspect held a weapon in each of its two hands: its left held a Profound Iron Heavy Sword angled toward the sky, and its right held an Eight-footed Serpent Spear wreathed in lightning. Behind its back floated a Heaven-Piercing Halberd interwoven with Thunder and Fire.

The final pair of arms formed the True Martial Demon Suppression Hand Seal, a Dao Rhyme that could suppress the Ten Thousand Laws and vanquish all demons flowing between its fingers.

Most astonishingly, whenever this Dao Foundation of formidable might manifested, the Spiritual Qi at the mountain’s peak would surge toward it like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, forming a violent vortex of Spiritual Qi around the Dharma Aspect.

When the Heavy Hammer struck, the Earth Veins trembled; when the Long Spear thrusted, the very sky seemed to change. Each of the six Divine Weapons, casually manifested by the Divine Martial Dao Foundation, drew upon the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi of a different attribute.

Sensing this commotion, every Cultivator within a hundred-li radius of True Martial Peak was shaken to the core.

Halfway up True Martial Peak, Bi Sheng and Xuezhen were in silent meditation within their cave. Suddenly, Bi Sheng’s eyes snapped open, a trace of shock flashing in their cloudy depths. "To be able to trigger an Earth Vein Resonance... in the Foundation Establishment Realm?"

Celestial Qingming was tempering her Lifebound Flying Sword in a sword-cleansing pond when she felt its blade hum. It began to tilt uncontrollably, ever so slightly, in the direction of True Martial Peak.

She gently pressed her pale hand against the sword, her cool, aloof face turning grave. "A Divine Weapon attracting spiritual energy, causing the very sky to change... This is the pinnacle of the Martial Dao. A Martial Dao Dharma Aspect of this caliber can already channel the divine might of heaven and earth!"

Her gaze burned with intensity. Although Xu Yunfan was a disciple of the Taoist Sect, his Cultivation was, in her eyes, nothing short of world-shaking.

Elder Ni was hidden deep within the earth when he suddenly felt the subterranean Wu Earth Spiritual Qi draining away at a frantic pace.

He poked his head out and saw that the Spiritual Qi had formed a vortex, draining like a funnel into the summit of True Martial Peak. He couldn’t help but mutter, "A Divine Martial Dao Foundation! That’s unique to the Divine Martial Realm!"

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