Longevity by Grinding Skills

Chapter 460: Chapter 460: I’ll Just Hunker Down

Zhou Lu clenched his fists abruptly, his nails digging deep into his palms.

Using his Divine Sense for Introspection, he discovered a faint wisp of an Alien Divine Thought lingering in his Mud Ball Palace. It was wrapped around his greedy thoughts like a spider’s silk and was now slowly dissipating as he came to his senses.

’Someone used a Mind-Confusing Technique to stir my thoughts!’

A chill ran down his spine as he recalled the legendary methods of a Foundation Establishment Daoist Master.

They didn’t need direct control. A mere stir of causality, a fluctuation of Divine Sense, was enough to quietly amplify the greed in a person’s heart, causing them to walk right into a trap.

’Someone must have used my mouth to set a trap, trying to lure Xu Yunfan out of his seclusion!’

’I was almost used as a disposable pawn...’

Trembling, Zhou Lu took out a Communication Talisman, intending to apologize to Xu Yunfan at once. But the talisman paper burst into flames on its own.

A strange Talisman Seal faintly appeared in the ashes, scaring him so badly that he flung his hand away.

This was clearly a warning. If he dared to say a word, the next thing to have its "causality stirred" probably wouldn’t be just his greed.

Xu Yunfan definitely knew about this, yet he had given no indication.

Zhou Lu was drenched in a cold sweat. The back of his robes was soaked through, clinging stickily to his skin.

He shakily wiped the sweat from his forehead, only to find his palm was also so slick he could barely make a fist.

’It’s over...’

His legs grew weak, and he could barely stand. He had to brace himself against the cold stone wall. As a disciple of the Demon Sect, he was well aware of how ruthless a Foundation Establishment Daoist Master could be.

’Until I reach Foundation Establishment, I’m just a disposable resource.’

The strange look in Xu Yunfan’s eyes replayed in his mind. It was a gaze that had clearly seen through everything!

’I’ve been turned into bait...’

Zhou Lu’s face was deathly pale, his lips trembling uncontrollably.

He knew the rules of the Primordial Sect all too well. Once a minor character like him was caught in the games of Foundation Establishment Daoist Masters, the best possible outcome was a quick death.

’Daoist Master Xu is going to use me to draw out the person behind this...’

His throat tightened, as if he could already see himself being torn apart by the two powers.

On one side was the mysterious Foundation Establishment expert who could silently stir causality; on the other, the unfathomable Xu Yunfan...

’I’m dead either way...’

Zhou Lu closed his eyes in despair, suddenly feeling the urge to laugh out loud.

He had worked painstakingly for decades to finally establish a foothold in Cold Crow Pass, only to become a sacrificial pawn in the games of High-Tier Cultivators.

’If only I had known...’

He bit his lip hard, the taste of blood shocking him back to his senses.

’Now is not the time for regret. I have to find a way to save myself.’

But as he looked around, the deep night of Cold Crow Pass seemed more suffocating than ever before.

’What should I do...’

Zhou Lu mumbled to himself, wandering away in a daze.

-----------------

’Xu Yunfan didn’t take the bait.’

Meanwhile, on a hidden cliff outside Cold Crow Pass, a figure stood with his hands behind his back. His gaze was icy as he looked at the sprawling buildings within the pass.

’Cautious, are we... A pity. You can hide for a while, but you can’t hide forever.’

He raised his palm, his five fingers slightly spread. Spiritual Light flowed at his fingertips, tracing profound trajectories in the small space. Under his Spiritual Sense Reflection, countless threads of causality could be seen intertwining.

But just as he began the inference, his expression changed drastically.

The Spiritual Light at his fingertips suddenly grew chaotic, as if it had hit some invisible barrier. All the trajectories of the Celestial Secret became distorted.

’The Celestial Secret has been obscured?!’

His pupils shrank. Refusing to believe it, he channeled his Magical Power again.

But no matter how he pushed his Inference Skill, everything about Xu Yunfan remained as hazy as looking at flowers in a fog, utterly indistinct.

’The Celestial Secret has been concealed...’

He snorted coldly, a frigid glint flashing in his eyes.

There were only three possibilities for a method that could obscure the inference of a Foundation Establishment Daoist Master.

First, the person possessed a Celestial Secret Treasure. These treasures often contained the Heaven and Earth Laws and could naturally Disrupt Celestial Secret Calculation.

Second, a True Monarch had personally acted to conceal it. A True Monarch who had refined a Golden Core and attained a Fruit Position could invert Yin and Yang with a casual flick of their hand.

Third, the person had cultivated a rare technique for obscuring the Celestial Secret. Such Dharma Gates were extremely rare in the Divine Martial Realm and could only be obtained through great fortuitous encounters.

’It seems...’

His gaze turned grim as he looked toward Cold Crow Pass.

’This boy either has an Exotic Treasure or has cultivated some kind of Secret Technique to obscure the Celestial Secret.’

Either possibility meant that Xu Yunfan’s foundation was far deeper than it appeared on the surface.

As for a True Monarch personally intervening, that would be breaking the rules.

-----------------

Xu Yunfan sat quietly in his cave residence, his fingertips gently stroking the True Martial Sword Blade. The cold light flowing from the blade reflected his stern face.

’Bastards...’

’Who the hell did I provoke? Why does everyone who sees me want to step on me?’

His gaze darkened as thoughts churned in his mind.

Zhou Lu’s abnormal behavior today was no accident.

He recalled the many anomalies of late: the sudden appearance of the Dragon-Subduing Arhat outside Cold Crow Pass, the strange movements of certain Cultivators within the pass, and those barely perceptible, prying gazes...

All signs indicated that an undercurrent was surging within the Primordial Demon Sect. News of his Divine Martial Dao Foundation had probably spread far and wide.

It wasn’t just the Puchen Pure Land; he feared that people from the Wansheng Sword Sect would be tempted as well.

’They’d be willing to fight to the death for a chance like this.’

’Trying to use the Buddhist Sect to get rid of me? Playing the fisherman to reap the rewards?’

A cold smile touched the corners of Xu Yunfan’s lips.

Those fellow sect members coveting his Divine Martial Dao Foundation were probably getting restless.

After all, in the Divine Martial Realm, opportunities to touch upon the Golden Nature were few and far between. The Dao Foundation he had revealed was nothing short of a grand creation for those Foundation Establishment Daoist Masters with no other hope for advancement.

’A pity...’

Xu Yunfan glanced at the Cultivation progress of his True Martial Demon Suppressing Scripture on the Attribute Panel.

Night deepened, and the wind moaned outside Cold Crow Pass.

Xu Yunfan closed his eyes, Concentrating Spirit. His aura gradually merged with that of the True Martial Sword.

’Dragon-Subduing Arhat...’

He repeated the name in his mind, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. ’Since they dare to block my door, they should be prepared to perish.’

’In this struggle for the Dao, a battle is inevitable...’

He thought no more, his Heart and Spirit sinking into a state of meditation to regulate his energy.

Inside the cave residence, only the cold glint of the True Martial Sword flickered in the darkness, lying in silent wait...

「Ten years in Cold Crow Pass passed by like sand slipping through fingers.」

Xu Yunfan never took a single step out of his cave residence, spending his days in the company of the True Martial Sword.

The Yin Evil Qi that perpetually lingered in Cold Crow Pass was refined into pure Spiritual Power by his meticulously arranged Gathering Yin Array, continuously nourishing his Cultivation.

’My Skill Level has increased again...’

He gazed at the jumping numbers on his Attribute Panel, a satisfied smile gracing his lips.

Over the past ten years, he had not only inferred the True Martial Demon Suppressing Scripture to a deeper Realm, but his Array Dao Mastery had also advanced by leaps and bounds. Furthermore, with the accumulation of resources from the Marketplace in Cold Crow Pass and the assistance of the Attribute Panel, his Profound Capital Eight Sceneries Celestial Refining Creation Cloud Scripture had reached the Minor Achievement Realm.

’I just need to refine one stream of Celestial Spirits and Earthly Fiends, and I can break through to the Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment...’

Feeling the increasingly profound Magical Power within him, a light flickered in Xu Yunfan’s eyes.

To break through to the Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment, one had to gather the purest Celestial Spirit and Earth Evil Qi from the world.

Here in the Northern Continent, pure Gang Evil could only be found in certain strange lands. Once he refined the Celestial Spirit and Earth Evil Qi, he would naturally gain another Divine Technique. At that time, with his two Great Divine Techniques, combined with the sheer power of his Martial Arts Celestial Eye Divine Technique, advancing to the Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment would be a natural progression.

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