Longevity by Grinding Skills

Chapter 377: Chapter 377: An Enemy from the Heavens

"I—"

HISS!

Vast torrents of Circulation Water Element True Qi burst from the Pavilion Master’s meridians as if a dam had broken. Her well-maintained skin withered and cracked at a visible rate, and her full head of black hair turned gray in an instant.

When the last wisp of True Qi was drained away, this Pavilion Master, who once held sway over the East Sea Martial Arts world, had become a desiccated corpse with sunken eye sockets, her wide-open mouth frozen in an unfinished plea.

Xu Yunfan flicked his hand, shattering the desiccated corpse. Before the remains could even hit the ground, the sea breeze scattered them into dust.

He stood atop the ruins of Penglai Pavilion as the sea breeze, thick with a salty, briny mist, swept across his robes.

Xu Yunfan slowly closed his eyes, feeling the Ten Extremes True Qi surging within him.

Those streams of Exotic True Qi, plundered from the Penglai Pavilion Master, the Jiuyao Sect’s Supreme Elder, and the veteran Elder of the Sword Pavilion, were now rampaging through Xu Yunfan’s flesh and blood like a furious tide.

Though the Ten Extremes True Qi had already refined most of it, a vast amount of True Qi remained untamed. The True Qi from the five Supreme Elders of Penglai Pavilion was particularly potent—as deep as an abyss and as vast as the sea, purer and more profound than that of the Ninth Realm masters from the other Five Great Sects.

Penglai Pavilion occupied the East Sea’s Spirit Vein, possessing the natural fortune of the Penglai Earth Vein. Its disciples tempered their bodies year-round in the Ruishui River and nourished their Qi with their Primordial Spirits, so their True Qi had long since been refined until it was like liquid mercury or jade—dense and enduring.

At this moment, the Exotic True Qi was running rampant inside Xu Yunfan. Every wisp carried Penglai Pavilion’s unique "Circulation Water Element" characteristic, at times forming a furious tide that battered his qi and blood, and at others condensing into chilling needles that pierced his acupoints. It even faintly clashed with the Nine Luminaries True Flame and Mysterious Truth Dragon Tiger Qi he had previously devoured, erupting in a tearing pain.

Xu Yunfan’s expression didn’t change in the slightest. He knew this was the result of absorbing too much in such a short time.

The Ten Extremes True Qi spread out from the point where his flesh and blood converged, twining around the rampaging Exotic True Qi like vines.

This truly immense amount of True Qi flooded his body, giving him the distinct sensation of being stuffed, as if absorbing even a little more would make him burst.

Every wisp of True Qi carried the Martial Dao characteristics of its original owner: the searing heat of the Nine Luminaries Swallowing Qi Technique, the fierce power of the Profound Daoist Sect’s Dragon and Tiger True Qi, the purity of Mituo Temple’s Buddhist Pure Fire... They tore at each other, yet were forcibly fused together by the domineering, assimilating power of the Ten Extremes True Qi.

"It’s still missing something..."

He murmured, then suddenly spread his arms wide.

BOOM!

The surface of the sea caved in, forming a massive whirlpool a hundred zhang wide with him at its center.

Ten Extremes True Qi surfaced and coiled around his body.

As time passed, Xu Yunfan’s skin gradually took on a jade-like luster.

The rampaging Exotic True Qi inside his body began to collapse inward. Forcibly suppressed by the Ten Extremes True Qi, it was crushed and purified, ultimately transforming into a single, viscous drop of golden liquid that resembled mercury. It hovered in the center of the convergence point of his flesh and blood.

Then came a second drop, then a third... By the time the thousandth drop of liquefied True Qi had formed, his entire body gave a slight shudder. His vast, ocean-like True Qi began to converge like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, rapidly liquefying and gathering in that spot to form a resplendent golden lake.

Whether it was the Wansheng Sword Dao or the Heart Sutra of Nirvana Dust, the core principles of their cultivation all mentioned the method for opening the Dantian.

The point where the True Qi converged within Xu Yunfan was the nexus where his flesh, blood, and meridians met—a location that perfectly matched the description of the Dantian in the scriptures.

If he could open a Qi Sea here, he could further condense the liquefied True Qi into True Essence and even reach the threshold of Foundation Establishment.

However, although the Hundred Bone Profundity Technique could reshape his meridians and open all his body’s channels, it required the Meridian Opening Pill to be truly effective.

This pill was a secret of the Primordial Sect. Nether Spring had said that it was unique to another World Heaven and currently unobtainable; the only hope of finding it was to travel to the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm.

"True Qi liquefies, and the Martial Dao soars to the heavens..."

Xu Yunfan opened his eyes, and it was as if Red Flood Dragons were swimming within his pupils.

He raised his hand and made a light swiping motion. The True Qi that flowed from his fingertip solidified in the air, forming a three-inch miniature sword. Though the blade remained still, it silently sliced a reef ten zhang away in two.

「Half a day later, on the peak of Qingwei Mountain.」

Xu Yunfan arrived by walking on air. With a light tap of his toes, the very Cloud Qi formed a staircase for him.

The Daoist Child at the mountain gate hadn’t even announced his arrival when he saw a streak of crimson-gold light shoot straight toward the main peak, startling him so much that the duster in his hand nearly fell to the ground.

"Master."

Xu Yunfan landed before Wenda Cliff and bowed respectfully to the green-robed Daoist who was boiling tea in the stone pavilion.

Bi Yuan set down the teapot, his fingertips trembling slightly. And yet, the ripples in the teacup beside him strangely froze in place.

He gazed at the anomalous, radiant glow produced by the True Qi circulating around Xu Yunfan, his voice hoarse and distant. "Two thousand years ago, back when the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi had not yet faded, Ancestral Master Chunyang produced a similar Anomaly when he shattered the shackles of the Ninth Realm... a phenomenon described as ’True Qi condensing into a radiant haze, the entire cycle of circulation in resonance.’ It’s a shame the old records are incomplete. Later generations just assumed it was a legend."

He suddenly let out a low laugh, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes crinkling. "To think that I, in my lifetime, would be able to witness the Land Immortal Realm... My life has not been wasted!"

Xu Yunfan’s gaze flickered. "Ancestral Master Chunyang?"

He lightly lifted a fingertip, and a wisp of solidified True Qi formed in his palm. He shaped it into a three-inch miniature sword using the Pure Yang Three Forms, a Sword Technique left behind by the Ancestral Master. Though the blade remained still, it silently sliced off an icicle hanging from the eaves of the stone pavilion.

"When I was reading through the Daoist Canon, I only learned that the Ancestral Master ultimately achieved apotheosis on the peak of Qingwei Mountain, but I found no record of what happened after he broke through the realm."

Bi Yuan let out a long sigh and looked up toward the horizon.

After this battle, the Taoist Sect’s Destiny was blazing with unprecedented prosperity. Under the light of the Tier Eight Divine Weapon, the [Profound Celestial Mirror], its aura soared to the heavens, overwhelming the combined Destiny of the other Five Great Sects.

The mirror’s surface rippled, manifesting an Anomaly: all seventy-two peaks of Qingwei Mountain were resonating in unison. This was a sign of prosperity unseen in a thousand years.

"Destiny may be like a dragon, but that also makes you a target for everyone..."

He stroked the ten words engraved on the mirror’s rim—"Observe the Way of Heaven, Carry out the Will of Heaven"—a trace of worry flashing in his eyes.

Bi Yuan gazed at the disciple before him. Held aloft by Profound Yellow Qi and surrounded by a flowing, crimson-gold radiance, Xu Yunfan radiated an aura of power. The Ten Extremes True Qi moved like a dragon beneath his skin, and the sheer pressure of the Land Immortal Realm made even the pines and cypresses on Wenda Cliff bow and tremble.

Though he was shocked and overjoyed, he looked up at the roiling sea of Profound Yellow clouds above the Taoist Sect and knew in his heart that this time, the Taoist Sect had thoroughly offended all Five Great Sects.

"If we can’t sweep through their strongholds and wipe them out, I’m afraid..."

Xu Yunfan laughed lightly. "Master, you worry too much. Now that I have reached the Land Immortal Realm, even if my strength never advances another step, I still have at least three hundred years to live. Within those three hundred years, the Taoist Sect will be the greatest power in the world. Besides, as a disciple of our Sect, Li Haomiao has already seen to it that the Taoist Sect is honored as the National Religion. Our fates are intertwined. He has already built his power base; everything else will simply fall into place."

"And besides..."

Xu Yunfan said nonchalantly, "I was bored these past two days, so I killed all the Ninth Realm cultivators from the other sects and wiped out their Sects completely. I find Penglai Pavilion to be a land of remarkable beauty and spiritual grace."

He said it nonchalantly, as if he were merely brushing dust from his clothes.

Bi Yuan’s pupils contracted violently. Xu Yunfan had moved so quickly these past two days that the Taoist Sect hadn’t received any news at all.