Longevity by Grinding Skills

Chapter 464: Chapter 464: Discovery

’I have to enter the Divine Martial Realm again...’

His mind raced.

The *True Martial Demon Suppressing Scripture* and the Martial Arts Celestial Eye Divine Technique, both of which he had acquired in the Divine Martial Realm, remained the very foundation of his power.

’Now that the opportunity has presented itself again, could there truly be a thread of cause and effect tying me to this place?’

Xu Yunfan’s heart stirred. He walked to the window and gazed at the fading remnants of Buddha Light outside the pass.

With the Dragon-Subduing Arhat gone, there would be no major threats for the time being. The time was ripe to explore the Divine Martial Realm.

Less than a century had passed since the end of the war between the Three Great Sects. For twenty years, Xu Yunfan had managed Cold Crow Pass with a light touch.

The Marketplace inside the pass had expanded to more than three times the size it was when he first arrived, and the monthly tax revenue had skyrocketed from an initial 100,000 to over 230,000.

The Loose Cultivators had even spontaneously established a "Ghost Market" outside the pass walls, a place dedicated to trading the Rare Treasures they had scrounged from all over the Northern Continent.

Xu Yunfan didn’t stop this. He simply had Zhou Lu send men to collect taxes from it.

Though the Loose Cultivators gnashed their teeth and cursed "Xu Bapi" behind his back, none of them ever left Cold Crow Pass.

This border fortress was situated at the very edge of the Primordial Sect’s territory, forming a tripartite balance of power with the Southern Continent’s Wansheng Sword Sect and the Western Continent’s Puchen Pure Land.

Its uniquely advantageous geographical location made it a crucial hub for the flow of goods between the three continents.

Every day, caravans from all directions traded here, transporting the specialties of the Northern Continent south and bringing the treasures of the Southern Continent back north.

Even after being "skinned" by Xu Yunfan, they could still turn a profit.

What was even more remarkable was how the tax revenue had climbed steadily over the years.

From the initial 100,000 Spirit Stones per month to its current stable rate of over 230,000, this performance report had earned a rare look of approval from True Monarch Qing Yuan himself.

Rarer still, the Three Great Sects had coexisted peacefully for these past two decades.

The Primordial Demon Sect was busy assimilating its new territory in the Northern Continent, Xuankong Mountain. The Puchen Pure Land seemed to have shifted its focus to proselytizing in the Eastern Wilderness. As for the Wansheng Sword Sect, it naturally needed a breather after its recent war with the Primordial Sect.

This delicate balance, in turn, gave Xu Yunfan a rare moment of respite.

He performed a quick calculation with his fingers. There were still twenty to thirty years until the eruption of the Innate Pure and Muddy Qi prophesied by Daoist Master Hundred Peaks.

This period of time was neither long nor short.

To a mortal, it was almost half a lifetime, but to a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, it was just enough time for a moderately long seclusion.

’There’s no need to rush...’

Xu Yunfan’s gaze swept over the dense rows of buildings inside the pass.

In the shops flying the flags of the Primordial Demon Sect, Shopkeepers were busy tallying the day’s profits.

This peaceful scene was a world apart from the grim atmosphere of twenty years ago when he had first arrived.

Suddenly, his Divine Sense sank into his Storage Bag. Six Magical Treasures he had refined over the last two decades floated quietly within. Among them, the Cyan Nether Chain Sword trembled faintly, resonating with the aura of the Divine Martial Realm he had been contemplating.

"So that’s it!"

A sharp light burst from Xu Yunfan’s eyes.

When he had combined the Celestial Craft Forging Technique from the Divine Martial Realm with the *Profound Capital Eight Sceneries Celestial Refining Creation Cloud Scripture*, it had unexpectedly aligned with that realm’s Artifact Refining Dao.

The Gang Evil Qi he was now seeking could probably only be found in the Divine Martial Realm.

After returning from his last trip across realms, he had discovered the time difference was approximately one to three.

If he went again, he wouldn’t need to worry about the situation in the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm changing suddenly. Still, to be safe, he needed to leave a backup plan in his cave abode.

Xu Yunfan held his fingers together like a sword, drawing seven Talisman Seals in the void. Then, he retrieved a pile of Spiritual Materials from his Sumeru Mustard Seed.

As the Eight Sceneries Cloud Qi churned, it extracted the Spirit Marrow from the Spiritual Materials. Amidst the surging Cloud Qi, an incarnation with an aura identical to his own gradually took shape.

This was the "Cloud Scripture Incarnation Technique" recorded in the *Profound Capital Eight Sceneries Celestial Refining Creation Cloud Scripture*. Though only an Artifact Refining Dharma Body, it was enough to fool the senses of an Early-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

Seeing the Dharma Body, identical to him in every way, right down to its aura, Xu Yunfan couldn’t help but marvel internally.

’These Eight Sceneries of Profound Capital are truly wondrous. I have no idea where that Li Baichuan got this scripture, but he was sitting on a mountain of gold and didn’t even know it!’

"Fellow Daoist!"

The Dharma Body bowed to Xu Yunfan.

Xu Yunfan returned the bow. "I must ask you to watch over Cold Crow Pass, Fellow Daoist."

The Dharma Body replied solemnly, "It is my duty."

’It’s time to go.’

He took one last look at the darkening sky outside Cold Crow Pass, then turned and walked toward the Boundary Space Array Platform deep within his cave abode.

Cold Crow Pass was a major stronghold, so it was naturally equipped with a Teleportation Array Platform. He only needed to make a few adjustments with a Realm Talisman to enable its cross-boundary function. It would simply consume more Magical Power to connect to the Primordial Sect’s Boundary Gate.

As his True Martial Magical Power surged into the platform, the cross-boundary runes engraved upon it lit up in sequence.

Xu Yunfan could feel it: the Cause and Effect Line of his Martial Dao, residing in the Divine Martial Realm, was now exerting a powerful pull.

Xu Yunfan felt space and time twist before him as eight-colored streams of light flowed rapidly past his body.

When his vision cleared, he found himself standing in a gray, hazy world.

He instinctively activated his Martial Arts Celestial Eye. As the vertical mark between his brows opened, the true appearance of the entire Divine Martial Realm was revealed in perfect detail.

This world was like a Glazed Cup, suspended in chaos, its edges covered in a spiderweb of cracks.

The flow of its Earth Veins was as shallow as a drawing, and its Spiritual Qi was so thin it was nearly depleted. Only in a few places where Martial Artists gathered was there any surging Blood Qi.

What shocked him most was the structure of the heavens. The boundary membrane, which should have been thick, was as thin as a cicada’s wing. He could vaguely see the Clear and Muddy Qi from the outside world continuously seeping through.

’I see...’

Xu Yunfan touched the void with a fingertip. The Spiritual Sense Reflection unique to Foundation Establishment Cultivators brought him instant enlightenment.

He hadn’t seen it last time, but now, with his deeper Daoist Cultivation, he finally had a different perspective.

’This isn’t a complete world at all. It’s clearly a subordinate Small World Heaven attached to the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm.’

’No wonder the Primordial Sect could use it as a secret trial ground.’

’This realm’s Celestial Dao is incomplete; it can’t even withstand a full-powered attack from a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.’

’Looking back now from the perspective of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, I can see that this realm’s Rules bear the marks of extensive man-made modifications.’

’What Martial Artists call "refining the false into the true" is just a crude Dharma Gate that simulates the Energy Introduction process of the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm.’

’As for those Martial Arts Grandmasters who claim to be at the Land Immortal Realm, they are, at best, equivalent to Qi Cultivation Great Perfection Cultivators.’

"Huh?"

Xu Yunfan’s pupils suddenly shrank.

Reflected in his Martial Arts Celestial Eye, dozens of golden chains coiled around the core of the Divine Martial Realm, each one extending into the unknowable depths of the void.

These chains were not physical objects, but rather a form of restraint made of Rules that only High-Tier Cultivators could perceive.

’This is absolutely a Sealing technique that only a True Monarch could have deployed!’

’Deployed by a True Monarch from the Primordial Sect!’

A chill ran down his spine.

Back when he obtained the *True Martial Demon Suppressing Scripture*, he had used the Linn Character Technique to enter the Linn Character State, his spirit ascending to the Supreme. At that time, he had sensed a pair of eyes watching him from the void.

’Thinking back on it now, it likely wasn’t an illusion.’

’Some unknown True Monarch has long since treated this place as their personal nursery. The so-called "Innate Golden Nature" is nothing but bait they intentionally left behind.’

After all, according to the Primordial Sect’s records, the Divine Martial Realm opens once every 60 years. Disciples find opportunities every time, yet no one has ever truly uncovered its core secrets.

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