Longevity by Grinding Skills

A torrent of chaotic information fragments rushed in like an uncontrolled flood.

Desperate cries, the clang of colliding metal, the pungent stench of blood, a burning village, the roar of a giant beast, and finally, the corrosive toxic breath spewed from that enormous maw...

The information was fragmented and chaotic, laced with intense emotional turmoil.

Nevertheless, Xu Yunfan quickly grasped the main points.

This was indeed the Magic World from his previous life. And there were countless so-called Divine Spirits in the heavens: the God of Harvest, the Goddess of Fortune, the Light God...

Xu Yunfan quickly picked out several key pieces of information.

This realm was called Aitira, a land where Magic flourished.

Various giant beasts corrupted by the aura of chaos lurked deep within the forest, far more powerful than the Iron Armor Fierce Boar from before.

To the north, there seemed to be an extremely dangerous area called the Rotting Heart Swamp. It was the direction their party had been fleeing, but they had been ambushed by a terrifying giant beast known as a Poisonous Saliva Thorn-Back Dragon, leading to the annihilation of their entire troop.

The knight’s warning, it seemed, was about an indescribable, terrifying aura from the direction of the Rotting Heart Swamp—something far more sinister than a mere giant beast.

Then again...

Xu Yunfan invisibly spread his Divine Thought, sensing several auras lying dormant deep in the forest.

’They’re manageable. Just at the early Foundation Establishment level.’

Xu Yunfan pulled his hand back and glanced at the heavily injured knight. The Essence Qi from the surrounding flora gathered rapidly, forming a speck of green light on his fingertip before sinking into the space between the knight’s brows.

Given the knight’s earlier warning shout, Xu Yunfan had no intention of harming him.

As the green light entered his body, the knight shuddered. The sense that he was on the brink of death abruptly vanished, and his condition began to rapidly stabilize.

"Th-thank you. What did you do?"

The knight felt his energy rapidly returning and was overjoyed to find his injuries were healing.

’I thought I was going to die here.’

Xu Yunfan glanced at the surrounding, gradually withering plants and replied, "I just plundered the Vitality of these plants to heal you. No need to thank me."

The knight’s grateful expression stiffened, and he became visibly more reserved.

’Magic that plunders the life force of others to heal... that’s almost never a righteous technique.’

Xu Yunfan couldn’t be bothered to explain. Having gotten the information he wanted from the knight, he planned to find a place to heal his own injuries and then verify a certain conjecture.

He couldn’t linger here. He needed to find a hidden location at once to focus on healing and recovering his strength.

Watching Xu Yunfan’s rapidly receding figure, the knight inwardly sighed in relief.

’Although I’m grateful he saved me, it’s best to have as little contact as possible with someone of a chaotic alignment.’

’Heaven knows if his next whim will be to use me as an experiment.’

Xu Yunfan did not head deeper into the forest. He avoided the direction of the Rotting Heart Swamp to the north, which faintly exuded an ominous aura, and chose a spot deep in the mountain forest where the flow of energy was relatively stable.

Finally, he found a vine-covered cave on a cliff face and immediately began to set up multiple layers of wards.

He drew the Power of Stars from the Star Spirit Banner to create a Stealth Array Disc, laid down a Guardian Barrier with his Divine Sky Thunderbolt, and deployed the Illusion Demon Restriction from Hundred Desires Peak to cloud perceptions.

He stacked layer upon layer, striving to completely seal the area off from the outside world.

Only after doing all this did he finally sit down cross-legged and take out the Star Spirit Banner.

The banner’s surface billowed without any wind, making a sharp rustling sound.

Ye Xuan’s spectral form was forcibly summoned. The fear on her face had mostly subsided, replaced by a thick mixture of despair, rage, and disbelief.

"Xu Yunfan, you treacherous, shameless villain! You break your promises! You’re unworthy of the name Cultivator!

You’ve completely disgraced the Primordial Sect! True Monarch Qing Yuan will surely grind your bones to dust!"

She knew that having fallen into his hands, her fate was either complete annihilation or being reduced to a mindless tool.

Xu Yunfan watched her spectral form struggle and roar, his face impassive, as if he were watching a pathetic clown.

Only when her tirade paused did he speak, his voice calm and devoid of any emotion.

"You’re right, I am treacherous. But it’s hardly a disgrace. In fact, if the other Daoist Masters from the Primordial Sect knew about this, they’d probably give me a thumbs-up. This is standard operating procedure for our sect."

"Besides, when did I ever promise to let you go? I only gave you a choice, a chance to live. You’re the one who chose this path."

’Honestly, that woman Ye Xuan is unbelievably vicious. If I didn’t have the Exotic Treasure, the Void Crossing Boat, her Chaos Birth and Death Profound Light would have killed me back in the Boundary Sea.’

’Ye Xuan would have died as well, of course, but if we had been close to the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm, her Divine Soul True Spirit would likely have been drawn into the Sea of Suffering Reincarnation.’

’And with the power and resources of the Wansheng Sword Sect’s Ye Family, they would’ve undoubtedly been able to find and guide her back after she reincarnated.’

’That woman... she’s ruthless and vicious, alright.’

’But thank goodness the coordinates were correct.’

He paused, his eyes turning ice-cold.

"As for Qingyuan? Don’t worry. Before he grinds my bones to dust, I’ll first make you experience what it means to live a life worse than death."

Before his words faded, the Star Spirit Banner erupted with a sinister light, instantly swallowing her spectral form.

As the banner’s master, he was the absolute ruler of the space within.

Immediately, a bloodcurdling shriek, barely human, echoed faintly from within the banner—the sound of a soul’s terrible agony as it was forcibly refined into a Banner Spirit.

The process lasted for a few moments. The screams gradually grew fainter, eventually fading into dead silence.

The Soul Refining was complete.

The banner now housed the new Banner Spirit of Ye Xuan.

In truth, refining a Banner Spirit didn’t have to be such an agonizing process.

Xu Yunfan had done it deliberately, wanting to break her arrogant spirit.

The Ye Family was a major cultivation clan with deep roots; the previous Sect Leader of the Wansheng Sword Sect had even come from their family. The consequences of letting someone like Ye Xuan go were obvious.

Then, Xu Yunfan used an Evil Technique from Hundred Desires Peak to crudely plunder the remnants of her Origin essence, using it to forcibly replenish his own depleted reserves.

The pure Power of Divine Soul from a Sword Cultivator transformed into a torrent of scorching energy that flooded his Dao Foundation. It briefly clashed with his own Divine Sky Thunderbolt Magical Power and even his Fury Killing Sword Intent, bringing with it a searing, tearing pain.

Xu Yunfan grunted, forcibly refining the energy.

He quickly absorbed it, and as he integrated a minuscule trace of Gold Attribute Sword Dao Insights from it, the cracks covering his Divine Soul healed just a little.

With that done, Xu Yunfan finally had time to inspect his own condition.

His Magical Power was nearly ninety percent depleted. His Divine Sky Dao Body was grievously wounded and riddled with cracks.

The three life-saving Sword Intents he possessed were completely spent.

Having absorbed the two Foundation Establishment Sword Cultivator Banner Spirits, Ye Yuan and Ye Xuan, the Star Spirit Banner’s quality had slightly improved, but it also now consumed more energy to wield.

Ye Yuan in particular, with his Divine Soul as a Foundation Establishment Perfection Sword Cultivator, was enough to boost the Star Spirit Banner’s power by five percent.

It was incredibly difficult to increase the power of a top-tier Magical Treasure by even the slightest amount.

This growth potential was why soul banners like the Ten Thousand Souls Banner were hailed as essential Magical Treasures in the Primordial Sect.

Its main feature was its potential for growth, becoming more powerful as the Banner Spirits within it strengthened.

His biggest hidden danger now was the Taiyin Profound Mirror Dao Fruit—the trump card he had wanted to use in the end, but dared not.

Just thinking about it now made Xu Yunfan rub the bridge of his nose in frustration.

The aura of this item was immense. If he used its core power in battle, even if he could temporarily gain some of the Power of the Golden Core Position...