Longevity by Grinding Skills

Chapter 473: Chapter 473: Clone Han Stone

Whether it was feigning death to escape, forcing a breakthrough, or pulling off some grand deception, all simulations pointed to a dead end.

Every path with a karmic connection to the Divine Martial Realm ended with the all-seeing eyes of True Monarch Qing Yuan, which pierced through the Ten Thousand Realms.

After three days and nights, he slowly exited the Linn Character State. For a long time, his eyes remained utterly cold and indifferent. Only after a good while did the light of humanity begin to seep back from their depths.

Xu Yunfan took a long, deep breath.

The Skill Bar classified the Linn Character Technique as one of the Divine Techniques. However, this Secret Technique was a top secret of the Wansheng Sword Sect, and very few Cultivators practiced it.

This was because once a person entered the Linn Character State, the slightest misstep could lead to the complete annihilation of their humanity, allowing Supreme Forgetting Emotions to take absolute control.

With a mind that had become perfectly rational, devoid of emotion or desire, how could one even practice Cultivation?

Ultimately, one would just become an unfeeling stone.

I have to admit, the Wansheng Sword Sect was a rather perverse bunch.

Fortunately, he had the Attribute Panel, which kept him from falling completely into that state.

In any case, after three days and nights of simulations under the influence of Supreme Forgetting Emotions, he had found a potential solution.

’Unless... I muddy these waters completely.’

There was True Monarch Dong Ming of the Primordial Sect, who was at odds with True Monarch Qing Yuan. He could perceive the heavens and the underworld and delighted in manipulating the hearts of mortals.

Then there was Pure Yang True Monarch of the Wansheng Sword Sect, who watched from above the clouds, his Sword Intent capable of severing karma and destiny.

Both of these figures had long-standing disputes with True Monarch Qing Yuan. If he could draw them into this mess...

Xu Yunfan’s thoughts raced, and he ultimately ruled out True Monarch Dong Ming of the Nine Nether Profound Evil.

He and True Monarch Qing Yuan had a murky relationship. To the disciples of the Primordial Sect, the idea of love turning to hate was utterly laughable.

The only one who could possibly help was Pure Yang True Monarch.

With a plan solidifying in his mind, Xu Yunfan felt a measure of calm. Now that he had made a decision, he would not hesitate.

’But how do I draw out Pure Yang True Monarch?’

An idea sparked in Xu Yunfan’s mind.

’Since I haven’t cultivated my Grotto Heaven Inner Realm yet, I can put collecting the Divine Martial Realm’s Root Origin Qi on hold for now.’

He immediately slapped the Realm Talisman and departed the Divine Martial Realm.

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「Divine Martial Realm, within a mortal city.」

The clone stroked his chest, sneering as he felt the Sword Embryo gestating within.

’Since he’s just raising me as bait, when the time comes, I’ll seize control of the world and usurp my master’s place!’

The heavy twilight washed over the city like a turbid, gray-black wave, slowly devouring the mortal city of Qixia.

Xu Yunfan’s clone, currently going by the coarse, earthy name of Han Shi, was curled up in the gloomy corner of an inn’s back alley.

The rough brick wall was cold and damp, saturated with years of moisture and the stench of mildew. It felt like the rotting skin of some enormous creature.

The heavy smell of cooking fumes, the sour stench of dumped slop, and the cloying fragrance of cheap cosmetics all mingled in the narrow space, creating a suffocatingly thick miasma.

Gritting his teeth, he struggled to his feet.

His Sword Embryo had yet to fully form, and he had dissipated all his Magical Power, leaving him no different from a mortal.

Though his mind was filled with countless Martial Arts, he had yet to stimulate his Blood Qi, rendering them nothing more than empty posturing.

He shifted slightly, and his thin linen shirt scraped against the hard, cold bricks, making a rustling sound like an insect crawling past.

Just as he was about to leave the alley and find a place to stay...

The clone felt a jolt. The invisible pressure on his heart and the connection to his main body, thousands of miles away, had vanished. He knew instantly that Xu Yunfan had returned to the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm.

Han Shi trembled, his body instantly going taut, as if he’d been abruptly hurled from the suffocating depths of the sea to break the surface.

The heavy shackles that had followed him like a shadow for so long were gone.

An unprecedented sense of emptiness, a lightness so profound it bordered on nonexistence, suddenly swept over him.

"He... he’s gone?"

Han Shi muttered, his voice as rough as sandpaper. His chapped lips moved soundlessly. "To leave the Divine Martial Realm... did he really go back?"

A grin split his face.

Then, a searing torrent of emotion shattered all his restraints, crashing and churning in the depths of his cold consciousness!

’Freedom!’

The thought was a bolt of blood-red lightning tearing across the sky, instantly setting his numb, torpid soul ablaze!

’A chance! A once-in-a-lifetime chance!’

In that split second, an unprecedented greed was born, savagely battering his thoughts.

’I’m no longer just following cold commands! No longer a marionette pieced together from fragments of my master’s consciousness!’

’He was Xu Yunfan, no, he was Han Shi—a name he had chosen for himself!’

’A living, independent being, desperate to break free from all restraints.’

’Who wants to be someone’s puppet forever? Who’s willing to be a broken-backed dog, groveling at his master’s feet, ready to be thrown away at a moment’s notice?’

Han Shi roared inwardly, a wild joy coursing through him.

After all, Xu Yunfan had left the realm. He had plenty of time to practice the Wansheng Sword Transformation Technique.

’With my now-unrivaled aptitude and supreme talent, when Xu Yunfan enters the Divine Martial Realm again, I’ll give him a backstabbing he’ll never see coming!’

The noisy clamor of people drifted faintly from the mouth of the alley—the sweet-smelling calls of steamed cake vendors, the coarse shouts of quarreling porters.

The mundane trifles of the mortal world now served only as a backdrop to the storm raging in Han Shi’s mind.

His breathing grew heavier. He leaned forward, his gaze burning like two clusters of Ghost Fire in the night, piercing through the greasy smoke and damp gloom to stare intently at the sullied, twilight-soaked sky beyond the alley.

At the very instant this thought reached its zenith—

"Han Shi!"

The two words, devoid of any emotional inflection, were like shards of ice from the depths of the coldest Hell, and they exploded deep within his skull.

It was Xu Yunfan’s voice!

Han Shi convulsed! The blood that had been boiling with greedy fantasies just a moment ago was instantly extinguished, as if doused with ice water.

Every fierce thought, every trace of boiling killing intent, his roaring desire to rebel—all of it froze solid, like a fly trapped in amber.

’It’s over!’

Extreme terror seized his heart like an invisible iron claw.

’How could the main body have sensed that?’

’That chasm between realms, that boundless void... couldn’t it block the ripple of a single thought?’

The shadow of death coiled around him like tangible, icy vines.

’If my thoughts were detected, the main body could kill me with a single whim.’

’To die before I even get started?!’

Han Shi despaired.

After a moment, realizing Xu Yunfan wasn’t making another move, Han Shi’s heart trembled as he instantly understood.

A profound sense of relief washed over his nearly frozen body like warm water.

’He doesn’t know what treasonous, vicious thoughts were just roiling through my mind!’

’Here!’

With almost no hesitation, Han Shi instinctively suppressed the taste of blood rising in his throat and his frantic heartbeat. In a posture of near-abject submission, he responded to the oracle-like command, screaming silently into the void with his entire Heart and Spirit.

’Your subordinate is here! Please give your command, Master!’

Xu Yunfan’s voice was utterly indifferent, as if he hadn’t noticed anything amiss with Han Shi at all.

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