Longevity by Grinding Skills

Chapter 451: Chapter 451: Inside Cold Crow Pass

As his Escape Light neared Cold Crow Pass, dozens of blood-red patterns suddenly lit up on the city walls. They interwove and spread like a spiderweb, instantly outlining a massive warning Array.

The Array Patterns were as scarlet as blood, shimmering with a faint glow in the dark night. They appeared calm, but they concealed a murderous intent.

Xu Yunfan’s gaze narrowed. His proficiency in the *Initial Understanding of Array Dao* was on the verge of reaching Great Success, and with his current Array Dao Cultivation, he saw through the Array’s secrets with a single glance. It was no mere warning Array—it concealed three deadly transformations.

If one were to rush in recklessly, the first transformation would activate the Blood Evil Spirit Lock. The Array Patterns would coil around them like living things, sealing off the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi around the Cultivator and turning the area into a spirit-void zone.

If one tried to break free by force, the second transformation, Bone-Eroding Yin Thunder, would erupt from the heart of the Array. Myriad bolts of Yin Thunder would strike like venomous snakes, specifically designed to shatter Protective Gang Qi.

And if the intruder still managed to press on, the third transformation, Nine Nether Soul Refining, would activate. The blood-red light within the Array would transform into thousands of vicious spirits, tearing at the intruder’s Divine Soul until it was utterly annihilated.

Such a malevolent Array was certainly not for ordinary border defense. It seemed designed specifically to guard against certain unspeakable existences.

’This Guardian Envoy post at Cold Crow Pass won’t be a walk in the park,’ Xu Yunfan thought to himself.

But with great danger came great opportunity.

The red light reflected on Xu Yunfan’s face, making his already pale complexion appear even more chillingly cold.

He was already prepared. Calmly, he took a Cyan Jade Talisman from his robes.

With a flick of his fingertip, he injected a wisp of True Martial Magical Power into it. The Jade Talisman immediately bloomed with a soft, clear glow.

The defensive Array sensed the Guardian Envoy’s token. The menacing blood-red patterns receded like a tide, finally opening a Light Sect in the massive Profound Iron City Gate, just wide enough for one person to pass through.

"What a unique welcoming ceremony," Xu Yunfan muttered to himself, stepping into the pass.

A gust of yin wind carrying a bone-chilling cold assaulted him, making even someone of his Cultivation level twitch an eyebrow.

A Foundation Establishment Daoist Master had long since transcended the mortal form. Their physical body, tempered by Spiritual Qi, was impervious to heat and cold and resistant to fire and water. They could stroll leisurely even if placed in a sea of molten lava.

But the chilling wind that assailed him now was exceptionally insidious. It felt like thousands of fine needles piercing through his Protective Spiritual Light and stabbing deep into his bone marrow.

The cold was not like ordinary frost or snow. Instead, it felt like Death Qi seeping out from the depths of the Nine Nether Yellow Springs. Wisps of it coiled around his body, causing even the True Essence in his Dantian to feel faintly sluggish.

Xu Yunfan frowned slightly, inwardly alarmed.

’This chilling wind is definitely not natural. It must be formed from the resentful qi of the Nether River below the pass.’

He formed a quick spell with his fingers, circulating his True Martial Magical Power through his body, which managed to slightly disperse the chill.

But even so, the yin coldness clung to him like a disease in his very bones, impossible to shake off.

"Even a Foundation Establishment Body has difficulty resisting it... No wonder the previous Guardian Envoys were unwilling to stay for long."

He muttered to himself, his gaze heavy as he looked down at the long, pitch-black river below the pass, his heart growing even more solemn.

One had to understand that Xu Yunfan had entered the path of cultivation through the Martial Dao. His muscles, bones, and skin had been tempered a thousand times over. In terms of sheer physical toughness, he was in no way inferior to Body Cultivators who specialized in strengthening their bodies.

Ordinary Yin Evil Qi could not even dream of invading his body; if it came within three feet of him, it would be dispersed by the potent True Martial Gang Qi within him.

And yet, this yin wind surging up from the Nether River was able to make even him feel a trace of cold seeping into his marrow, which showed just how extraordinarily dangerous it was.

Xu Yunfan’s gaze, sharp as lightning, slowly swept over the Cultivators stationed within the pass.

He saw that most of these Cultivators had pale, ashen faces, with wisps of a cold, yin aura lingering around them. They had clearly been dealing with Nether Qi for many years.

Many of them had a cold, eerie green light in their eyes. When they breathed, they weren’t circulating ordinary Spiritual Qi, but a Yin Cold True Essence mixed with the Evil Qi from the Nether River.

They moved without a sound, like wandering souls, having clearly cultivated their Yin Attribute Techniques to an extremely high Realm.

Near the city wall, several Cultivators in black Magic Robes were meditating and regulating their breathing.

A bone-chilling white mist swirled around them, so cold it condensed into a thin layer of frost on the ground.

Xu Yunfan recognized it at a glance. This was the sign of having cultivated the Nine Nether Profound Mysterious Skill to the stage of Minor Achievement.

This type of Cultivation Technique required one to draw Netherworld Cold Qi into the body. An ordinary Cultivator would have their meridians freeze and die from the slightest mistake. Those who succeeded in cultivating it were invariably ruthless and vicious individuals.

What concerned him most was that this Nine Nether Profound Mysterious Skill was a Cultivation Method belonging to the subordinates of True Monarch Nine Abyss Profound Evil Dongming.

Logically, with their Cultivation at the Qi Refining Stage, they should have found it impossible to even take a single step in a Yin Evil Land like this.

And yet, every one of these disciples looked perfectly normal. Some were even holding Yin Soul Banners, absorbing the resentful qi drifting from the Nether River to use in their Cultivation.

One skinny youth was particularly eye-catching. He was only at the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer, yet he dared to directly touch the Blood Evil Array Patterns on the city wall, allowing the Yin Evil Qi to corrode his arm without a change in his expression.

’Interesting...’

As expected of Demon Sect disciples. They were ruthless to others, but even more ruthless to themselves.

Xu Yunfan mused to himself.

For these Cultivators to be like fish in water in such a treacherous environment, they were either exceptionally talented or had been forced to develop a resilience far beyond their peers.

Whatever the case, it proved that the garrison at Cold Crow Pass was far stronger than it appeared on the surface.

As these thoughts turned over in his mind, the corners of Xu Yunfan’s mouth couldn’t help but lift in a slight smile.

Although Cold Crow Pass was suffused with overwhelming Yin Evil and located on the border of the Three Sects, under constant threat of invasion, it also had its advantages.

Right now, he was the only Foundation Establishment Daoist Master overseeing the pass. To a Foundation Establishment Daoist Master of the Primordial Sect, those Qi Refining Stage disciples were nothing more than walking consumables.

The rules of the Primordial Sect had always been strict, with a hierarchy so clearly defined it was almost cruel.

Those who had not yet begun Qi Cultivation were not even worthy of the word "Cultivator"; they were merely refining materials raised by the Sect.

And even after stepping into Qi Refining, they were little more than slightly larger ants in the eyes of a Foundation Establishment Daoist Master.

Those Qi Cultivation Disciples who spent their days consorting with Yin Evil probably didn’t even have the courage to look him directly in the eye.

’This will make things convenient...’

He narrowed his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the trembling Qi Refining Cultivators below the wall.

Some of them did not cultivate Yin Cold Techniques, and under the corrosion of the Nether River’s Yin Qi, they were already emaciated to the point of being skin and bones. Yet they still had to force themselves to maintain the Array’s operation.

Xu Yunfan’s gaze swept over the pale, ashen-faced Qi Cultivation Disciples.

These Cultivators, nine times out of ten, were poor souls who had been trapped by the Primordial Sect’s "cultivation loan" system.

Within the Primordial Sect, a Low-Tier Cultivator with no backing who wanted to advance?

It was nothing but a fool’s dream.

Those high-and-mighty Stewards from the various peaks had already calculated every last angle.

Want Elixirs?

Sure. Just sign a "Spirit Elixir Loan."

Want to learn a Cultivation Technique?

No problem. A "Secret Manual Loan" is waiting for you.

Even if you just wanted to rent a decent cave residence for your Cultivation, you would have to take on a "Blessed Land Loan."

Which one of these Qi Cultivation Disciples wasn’t being crushed under the weight of compounding debt, struggling to breathe?

Xu Yunfan could even tell at a glance which peak they were indebted to. That one with the deathly pale face? He must have taken a loan for Yin Evil Pills from Cold Marrow Peak.

The one with the vacant gaze had most likely signed a Heart-Eroding Contract with Soul Refining Peak.

And those few who were trembling all over? They had an eighty percent chance of having taken a high-interest loan from Blood Evil Peak, failed to repay it, and been sent to this godforsaken place to work off their debt.

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