Longevity by Grinding Skills

Chapter 404: Chapter 404: Slaying the Mind-Ape and Will-Horse, Capturing Celestial Spirits and Seizing Earth Evil

The Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi was incredibly dense here. Although it couldn’t compare to the rented Spiritual Qi Gathering Cave Mansion on Hundred Desires Peak, to the barren Divine Martial Realm, this place was no different from the Immortal Realm.

Xu Yunfan gently exhaled. A stream of Dirt Qi that had accumulated in his chest slowly escaped, condensing into an arrow of air that lingered long in the courtyard.

He rose and stretched, loosening his limbs.

According to the Foundation Establishment requirements of the True Martial Demon Suppressing Scripture, one had to reconstruct the three treasures of Essence, Qi, and Spirit; tame the wild mind; refine Celestial Spirits and seize Earthly Fiends. Only after pushing one’s will and body to the absolute limit, step by step, could one forge a Dao Foundation with a Martial Dao Profound Crystal.

Xu Yunfan had already completed the first stage: reconstructing the three treasures of Essence, Qi, and Spirit. He had done so long ago, when his Martial Dao broke through the shackles of the Ninth Realm and he achieved the Land Immortal Realm.

As for taming the wild mind, it was frankly a trivial matter for Xu Yunfan, who cultivated the Linn Character Technique. In his Linn Character State, any mental disturbance stirred up during Foundation Establishment could be extinguished in an instant.

The only truly difficult trial was refining the Celestial Spirits and seizing the Earthly Fiends.

The Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Qi were ethereal and elusive, impossible to find outside of a Grotto Heaven Blessed Land.

The Seventy-Two Earth Evil were profound and perilous, requiring one to venture deep into the Nine Netherworld just for a fateful glimpse.

The qi of the Celestial Spirits and Earthly Fiends were all forms of Innate Origin left over from the dawn of creation, and each type was a fortuitous opportunity for Foundation Establishment.

Celestial Spirit Qi was pure, ethereal, and sublime. For instance, the ’Purple Sky Thunder Gang’ had to be drawn from the core of a thunderstorm, while the ’Profound Ice Celestial Gang’ could only be harvested from beneath ten-thousand-year-old glaciers in the Far North.

Earth Evil Qi was yin, turbid, and violent. For example, the ’Nine Nether Yin Evil’ required delving deep into the Earth Veins, while the ’Heart-Burning Earth Fiend’ had to be tempered within volcanic lava.

With each one refined, the physical body would undergo a complete transformation. At a minimum, one had to prepare one Celestial Spirit and one Earth Evil to forge a flawless Dao Foundation.

What made it even more difficult was that Celestial Spirits and Earthly Fiends followed the principles of Mutual Generation and Mutual Inhibition.

Gathering the ’Cyan Nether Celestial Gang’ required pairing it with ’Profound Yin Earth Fiend’ to harmonize it. Obtaining the ’Red Flame Earth Fiend’ required neutralizing it with the ’Cold Marrow Celestial Spirit’.

The slightest misstep would, in a light case, result in the destruction of one’s meridians. In a severe case, it meant utter annihilation, body and soul.

Years ago, a genius from the Primordial Sect collected twenty-four Celestial Spirits without finding compatible Earthly Fiends. He ultimately exploded and died, and to this day, the ruins of his cave mansion are still filled with rampaging Gang Qi...

Closing the journal in his hands, Xu Yunfan’s eyes sparkled. The Divine Martial Dao Foundation cultivated through the True Martial Demon Suppressing Scripture naturally had its own most suitable Celestial Spirit and Earth Evil.

Back then, when the Divine Martial Daoist Master established his foundation, he had harvested the True Martial Celestial Spirit, which formed the Arctic Demon Vibration Qi. It had to be drawn out from the depths of the Northern Profound Ice Abyss on a night when the seven stars of the Big Dipper aligned. This spirit contained the Demon Suppression True Intent of the Black Tortoise Star Monarch. Its Gang Qi was marked with profound black and gilded gold patterns, and refining it would cause a Dharma Aspect of a Coiled Turtle and Snake to manifest around one’s body.

In Xu Yunfan’s view, the so-called Black Tortoise Star Monarch was simply determined by the celestial star systems. The positions of the stars were ever-changing, their endless transformations naturally giving rise to infinite power.

The second component was the Demon-Suppressing Earth Fiend. From the fragmented memories he had explored of the Divine Martial Daoist Master, Xu Yunfan learned that the man had once delved into the ninth level of the Earth Vein Melting Hell and subdued the spirit of the Karmic Fire with his Martial Dao Will.

’The True Martial Demon Suppressing Scripture...’

Xu Yunfan mulled it over and finally smiled to himself. ’So the True Martial path itself must have been forged from the True Martial Celestial Spirit and the Demon-Suppressing Earth Fiend.’

’I need to start preparing to find a Celestial Spirit and an Earth Evil...’

At this moment, the True Essence within Xu Yunfan’s body was already several times denser than that of an ordinary Qi Cultivation Great Perfection Cultivator.

Although his True Martial Demon Suppressing Scripture had not yet reached the realm of Great Success and Perfection, it was perfectly compatible with his Martial Dao foundation.

This martial physique, tempered through countless trials, was one that even the Divine Martial Daoist Master would have coveted. Aided by his Attribute Panel, every stage of his Martial Dao cultivation had been incomparably solid.

From the ’Golden Marrow and Jade Bone’ of the Bone Marrow Cleansing Realm to the ’Ten Extremes Return to Origin’ of the Nine Realms Qi Cultivation, every step he took was in perfect harmony with the path of True Martial Demon Suppression.

Even more remarkably, the ’Circulation Grinding Disc’ evolved from his Ten Extremes True Qi was in perfect accord with the ’Turtle and Snake Coiled’ Dharma Aspect mentioned in the True Scripture.

Each time the vortex of True Essence in his Dantian pulsed, mysterious Cloud Patterns would surface on his skin, and even his Dragon Scale Armor Leaves would emit a clear, resonant hum.

Such a perfectly harmonious state of cultivation was rare even among the historical True Inheritors of the Primordial Sect.

Even the dormant Muddy Fiend Qi within the Earth Veins of Hundred Desires Peak spontaneously condensed into Profound Nether Ice Crystals upon coming within ten yards of his body. This was a sign that his True Martial Demon Suppressing Scripture was on the verge of breaking through to Minor Achievement.

Xu Yunfan could clearly sense that he was only the fusion of two final streams of Innate Qi away from the Foundation Establishment threshold of ’Celestial Spirit Body Tempering and Earth Demon Soul Refining’.

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"What? Junior Brother, you want to go to the Far North to find the Celestial Heart Snow Lotus?"

Before the Cyan Jade Table in the Hundred Affairs Hall, Xu Yunfan’s smile appeared exceptionally gentle under the light of the Jue Candle.

Across from him, however, the female disciple in a lotus-colored gauze skirt felt her pupils constrict.

’This new junior brother appears to be at the Fourth-Layer Qi Cultivation, just having entered the Mid-Stage of Qi Cultivation, but his aura is as deep and steady as an abyss. Most disciples of the Primordial Sect have a habit of hiding their true strength.’

’But with my vast experience in judging people, I can naturally tell he’s hiding something. It’s just... no matter what subtle tricks I try, I can’t see through him at all.’

The more this proved true, the graver her expression became. She even started to regret striking up a conversation with Xu Yunfan.

"You have a discerning eye, Senior Sister."

Xu Yunfan pointed to the mission Jade Scroll he had just accepted from the Hundred Affairs Hall. "I heard that Snow Lotus Seeds can increase the success rate of concocting the ’Heart-cutting Pill’ by twenty percent, and as it happens..."

"Do you have any idea about the Profound Nether Gang Wind of the Extreme North Icefield?"

The female disciple suddenly cut him off, her mind racing. Gazing at Xu Yunfan’s powerful physique, she ultimately failed to suppress the stirring desire in her heart. She shot him a sultry look, her eyes like silk threads, and pointed a slender, pale finger just inches from the spot between his eyebrows.

"With such a meager cultivation, you won’t even make it past Cold Crow Pass."

A faint fragrance drifted from her sleeve as the unique mind-bewitching art of Hundred Desires Peak silently enveloped Xu Yunfan.

The other disciples in the hall saw this and sneered inwardly.

’Newcomers always have to learn their lesson, and this Senior Sister Liu Ruyan especially loves toying with fresh faces.’

’Last year, some reckless fool was tricked by her into taking the Netherworld Cave mission. His bones have barely gone cold.’

"Senior Sister’s Thousand Emotions Threads are quite exquisite."

Xu Yunfan suddenly raised his eyes, a glint of gold flashing deep within his pupils before vanishing.

As if struck by lightning, Liu Ruyan stumbled back three steps. The Jade Hairpin in her topknot let out a CRACK as a thin fissure appeared on its surface.

’My Thousand Emotions Threads, which I painstakingly cultivated for ten years, were just shattered by the backlash!’

Amid the hall’s uproar, everyone realized Liu Ruyan had picked a fight with the wrong person. No disciple of the Primordial Sect would ever easily reveal their trump cards. The aura this man was exuding suggested he was a crouching tiger.

Xu Yunfan still wore a harmless smile. "I just so happened to come across half of an ’Ice Soul Heart-Condensing Art,’ so I have a slight resistance to cold energy."

Liu Ruyan’s expression flickered, uncertain.

’To break my charm art so silently... he has to be at least at the peak of the Mid-Stage of Qi Cultivation, at least the Sixth-Layer Qi Cultivation.’

’And yet this guy shattered my Thousand Emotions Threads so casually...’

"I just remembered I have a potion brewing in the alchemy room. I’ll be taking my leave."

She forced herself to turn calmly. As her embroidered shoes stepped forward, an invisible aura quietly spread out. This Late Stage disciple at the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer was considered quite a figure on Hundred Desires Peak.

Seeing this, the few disciples who had wanted to watch the spectacle all lowered their heads and pretended to study their missions.

Xu Yunfan paid her departure no mind. ’I did that on purpose, of course. A cultivator who reaches the Late Stage is still considered a talent and is valued by the sect. If I had accidentally killed her, it would have brought me a mountain of trouble.’

(Please allow me to take today off, my family is visiting. I managed to squeeze in some time to write this Chapter. Thank you all for your support, and thanks to ’Solitude of Tomorrow’ for the tip!)