Longevity by Grinding Skills

Chapter 525: Chapter 525: The Better Part of a Great Daoist Master’s Fortune

He couldn’t help but ask, "Senior Brother, what do you mean?"

Chu Chengnan lowered his head, his gaze sweeping over his own wrecked body as he carefully took stock of its condition.

"A Dao Foundation is merely the bedrock that holds Magical Power. Once shattered, one reverts to a mortal, losing their foundation entirely. The price of this pursuit was indeed agonizingly high, but it’s not an incurable disease. After all, I was once a Great Daoist Master at Foundation Establishment Perfection."

His tone held a barely perceptible note of pride.

"Even if my Grotto Heaven has withered and my meridians are severed, as long as my Divine Soul remains, the profound Daoist Cultivation I’ve accumulated through a hundred years of arduous training across five lifetimes is still intact."

"Daoist Cultivation is not the same as one’s cultivation level; it is the ’insight’ and ’accumulation’ of one’s understanding of the heavens, the earth, and the self. Even if the physical foundation is destroyed, how could my Daoist Cultivation simply dissipate?"

He paused, apparently circulating some Secret Technique to cling to his remaining Vitality. The Blood Qi seeping from his body slowed slightly before he continued, "I just need to find a place rich in Muddy Fiend or overflowing with Vitality to barely hang on. If I recuperate for a few years, supplemented with medicines for Strengthening the Root and Nourishing the Essence over the course of a decade or two, I can naturally restore some of my broken body. Given enough time, it’s not entirely impossible to forge a new Dao Foundation."

"At that time, I will have lost all my past cultivation and be reduced to the starting point of a mortal. But my century of insights will remain, and the foundation of my Daoist Cultivation will endure. Starting from scratch, I might even have the chance to advance further than before..."

For these words to come from a cultivator who had just suffered a shattered Dao Foundation, failed his breakthrough, been crippled, and been abandoned by his master, they were spoken with a calmness as if he were recounting someone else’s tale.

That resilience, etched into his very marrow, and his conviction that his ’Daoist Cultivation remains,’ filled Xu Yunfan with a profound sense of respect.

The mental fortitude of the Senior Brother before him far surpassed his imagination.

He had never really interacted with this Senior Brother Chu, Daoist Master Hundred Peaks, before.

Within the Primordial Sect, he truly couldn’t tell which of the Foundation Establishment Daoist Masters who had started their own Dharma Lineage and presided over their own peak were good people and which were bad.

Besides, there was a reason the Primordial Sect was also known as the Primordial Demon Sect. It wouldn’t be wrong to consider all these Foundation Establishment Daoist Masters as villains, so naturally, Xu Yunfan didn’t want too much contact with them.

Who knew when one of them might cause him to stumble?

Chu Chengnan slowly raised his head, his gaze piercing through the dust and haze of Muddy Fiend that permeated the valley, looking off in a certain direction.

"This is no place to linger. Junior Brother Xu, take care on your path. If, one day..."

He seemed to want to say more, but in the end, he just shook his head, leaving the words unspoken.

He pressed his hands to the ground, once again mustering all his strength to stand, only to collapse heavily from exhaustion, coughing up black blood laced with fragments of his internal organs.

Xu Yunfan took a step forward and reached out his hand. "Senior Brother, do you need..."

Chu Chengnan raised a hand covered in horrifying cracks and gave a firm yet feeble wave, refusing Xu Yunfan’s offered support.

His jaw was clenched, the muscles of his cheeks pulled taut, his eyes burning with a final, ferocious glint of defiance.

He said no more. Instead, he tried again. Little by little, with excruciating slowness but unwavering resolve, he used his remaining arm strength to drag his utterly useless lower body across the gravel and rubble, inch by agonizing inch, hauling himself toward the relatively calmer river of Muddy Fiend outside the valley.

Each movement left a horrifying trail on the ground—a smear of dirt, shredded flesh, and dark crimson blood.

Xu Yunfan stood rooted to the spot, silently watching the figure stubbornly crawling through the desolate ruins, his back as hunched as that of a frail, elderly mortal.

A fierce wind swept past, stirring up the residual Evil Qi and threatening to engulf the frail figure.

Chu Chengnan’s words, ’My Daoist Cultivation remains,’ coupled with the sight of him struggling to survive and the sentiment that ’one must rely on oneself, as not even a True Monarch can be trusted,’ echoed in Xu Yunfan’s mind like the tolling of a great temple bell.

As Chu Chengnan’s silhouette finally vanished behind the jagged rocks and into the dense fog of Muddy Fiend, an indescribably complex feeling churned in Xu Yunfan’s chest.

It was a mixture of admiration, pity, and the chilling sorrow one feels for a fallen comrade. More than that, it was a profound tremor, a shock at witnessing that near-maniacal obsession with finding a sliver of Vitality in the depths of despair.

But more importantly.

He looked at the Storage Bracelet in his hand. The contents—seventy percent of Chu Chengnan’s savings from five lifetimes—were enough to make his head spin.

There were mountains of Spiritual Materials, all sorts of Treasure Medicines, and countless rare Refining Materials.

The sheer wealth amassed by a Foundation Establishment Great Daoist Master who had cultivated for five lifetimes was so extravagant that it took a long while for Xu Yunfan’s placid heart to calm down.

’This is a massive windfall.’

Chu Chengnan had kept only thirty percent for himself, which was more than enough for his needs.

’Now *that* is a true seeker of Immortality.’

Having received such a generous gift, Xu Yunfan let out a long sigh, his heart filled with nothing but praise for Chu Chengnan.

Barring any unforeseen mishaps, Chu Chengnan would definitely make a comeback.

The man naturally understood that he could no longer stay in the Primordial Sect. Without the True Monarch’s protection and with his Dao Foundation shattered, some other Foundation Establishment Daoist Master was bound to get ideas.

Just as Xu Yunfan withdrew his gaze, preparing to return to Cold Crow Pass and enter seclusion, a burst of information formed from Magical Power—emotionless, yet containing immense Spiritual Pressure—was abruptly imprinted upon his mind.

It carried the aura of True Monarch Qing Yuan.

Xu Yunfan raised an eyebrow.

The message was brief, direct, and utterly cold. "Xu Yunfan, Foundation Establishment Daoist Master of True Martial Peak. Within three days, take this decree, leave Cold Crow Pass, and return to True Martial Peak of the Sect to await assignment."

Immediately, a sigil sketched from Magical Power—a mark symbolizing True Monarch Qing Yuan’s authority—materialized before Xu Yunfan, solidifying into a Token that fell into his hand.

These were his transfer orders.

"A Decree from True Monarch Qingyuan..."

Xu Yunfan muttered to himself, the corner of his mouth curling into a knowing, sarcastic smirk.

’The battle at Cold Crow Pass is over.’

’Chu Chengnan, the chess piece, is a complete write-off. There’s no longer any need to guard this place. Or perhaps, the resources traded with other True Monarchs to control this area are no longer a worthwhile deal for True Monarch Qingyuan.’

’And as for me, the Foundation Establishment disciple who the True Monarch finds somewhat peculiar and who has just "witnessed an important lesson firsthand," it’s time to be recalled and repurposed.’

He raised his eyes, looking toward the distant Cold Crow Pass. The smoke of battle still billowed from it, but the core conflict seemed to have subsided.

The magnificent fortress wall, having endured the assault of a Great Daoist Master wielding a Spiritual Treasure, was now riddled with cracks. Its frigid aura was in disarray, and the entire pass was shrouded in an atmosphere of decay and chaos.

’But that has nothing to do with me now. I’ll just leave it for the next Guardian Envoy of Cold Crow Pass to clean up this mess.’

’A pity about Cold Crow Pass. I thought I could stay a while longer and make a killing. Looks like there’s no more profit to be squeezed out of this place.’

Xu Yunfan grumbled to himself with no small amount of regret.

As an important outpost where the Primordial Sect made contact with two other major sects, Cold Crow Pass was a hub for all kinds of resources. The concentrated essence of Muddy Fiend, the mineral deposits, and even the potential spoils left behind by cultivators who had fallen in battle—all represented enormous potential wealth.

Leaving now meant giving up on all the potential profits to be had in the aftermath.

However, this sliver of regret was quickly replaced by new calculations brewing in his mind.

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