Longevity by Grinding Skills

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After telling Rockman to lie low for the time being, Xu Yunfan sorted out the power structure of the Eternal Freeze Royal Court.

He would first lay low for a while and find an opportunity to stir things up in Aitira. Only then would he have a chance to make his move.

The Weak Gods of the Wilderness West Field had vanished without a trace. The Frosty North Plains belonged to the Natural Pantheon, and the Divine Spirits affiliated with it were all nodes in a complex web. Acting rashly would easily expose him.

Therefore, he had to stir this stagnant pool.

The best way to do that was to start a Divine War.

Returning to the Cloud Divine Country above Frost Thunder City, Xu Yunfan immediately began to address some lingering hidden dangers. After all, Frost Thunder City was now his base of operations, and as long as he wanted to maintain his cover, he naturally needed to manage it.

Although he couldn’t use the Incense Fire Wish Power for his own Magical Power, it was still quite useful, whether for nurturing a Magical Treasure or for being channeled through the Divine Format and used directly as Divine Power to exercise his authority.

He summoned the Divine Sky World Refining Cauldron and tossed the Thunderous Divine Format into it.

The Thunder Patterns on the small, ancient cauldron lit up, and the space within transformed into a miniature Thunder Prison. Pure Incense Fire Wish Power turned into milky-white flames, enveloping the Divine Format to burn and refine it.

Under the combined assault of Thunder Fire, the Deep Blue Ice Crystals imprint flickered faintly before being covered and isolated by layers of Purple Gold Thunder Patterns converted from Wish Power.

Meanwhile, a faint glow descended from the Star Spirit Banner. Inside the banner, the dozen or so Weak God Banner Spirits each exerted their power, helping to stabilize Frost Thunder City’s Earth Vein and water vapor, maintain the oasis’s Vitality, and perfectly smooth out the subtle fluctuations in the faith network.

Although the Divine Formats of these Weak Gods had been refined by Xu Yunfan, their individual strengths were still quite decent.

After all, anyone who became a Divine Spirit needed to ignite their Divine Fire.

And igniting Divine Fire, according to the system of the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm, was equivalent to reaching Qi Cultivation Great Perfection.

Down below in Frost Thunder City, the Barbarian Race’s High Priest, Balutu, stood on the central altar, presiding over a grand harvest festival.

Piled on the altar were newly harvested ice-moss wheat and hunted desolate beasts.

He raised his Thunder Pattern-inlaid Bone Staff high, chanting a hymn to the "Thunder God" in a loud and pious voice.

However, beneath his lowered eyelids, a trace of doubt lingered.

The divine oracle from several months ago, which called for promoting "crop rotation" and "new-style livestock pens," was a stark contrast to the crudeness of the previous Tatus, who had only known how to demand offerings of Blood Food.

What unsettled him even more was that while the aura of "his God" he sensed was still vast and majestic, it seemed to be missing its familiar brutality, replaced by an indescribable sense of order.

’Even though it’s a good thing, it’s a little hard for the Barbarian Race, who are used to a rougher way of life, to get accustomed to it.’

Even if Xu Yunfan knew of this, he wouldn’t bother with it.

’As a god, one must naturally possess a sense of mystery and majesty.’

’He had to commit to the act.’

"High Priest Balutu."

A young Priest leaned in and whispered, "The ’steam mill’ in the eastern district has been built according to the divine oracle. Can those iron wheels that turn on their own really grind wheat day and night without stopping?"

His voice was filled with awe and disbelief.

Balutu pulled back from his thoughts and said in a low voice, "It is a miracle bestowed by our God. We just need to follow the instructions."

He gazed at the never-dissipating thundercloud in the sky, burying the doubt in his heart even deeper.

’No matter how the god’s will changes, bringing abundance and stability is the highest grace.’

’The prosperity Frost Thunder City now enjoyed was tangible.’

Within the Cloud Divine Country, Xu Yunfan withdrew the Divine Thought he was using to observe the city below.

’Balutu’s doubts are growing, but it’s not a problem for now. He cares more about tangible benefits.’

This was one of the small pleasures he enjoyed outside of his Cultivation. After all, he’d always enjoyed the "builder" playstyle; in his previous life, he loved to pass the time with a game of Civilization 6.

It was a fitting parallel.

He looked at Zhang Ziyang, who was sitting to the side, cultivating.

"Sect Leader, how is your progress in comprehending the Incense Fire Divine Dao?"

A silver Rune, condensed from pure Wish Power, floated before Zhang Ziyang, slowly rotating.

"It’s extraordinarily profound."

A light flashed in his eyes as he spoke thoughtfully.

"Incense Fire Wish Power, at its core, is an aggregation of the thoughts, desires, and prayers of hundreds of millions of believers. Tatus’s previous method was crude. He only absorbed the frenzied ’Faith Power’ within to support his Divine Power, allowing countless impure thoughts and resentments to settle and erode his mind. This ultimately made him paranoid and tyrannical."

"The Divine Sky World Refining Cauldron, on the other hand, uses the Thunderous Power of Evil-breaking as its fire and the Creation Cloud Qi as its furnace. It repeatedly refines the impure Wish Power, removing the dross to extract the essence, and ultimately produces a pure ’Divine Power Origin’."

"Although this method can’t expand the scope of one’s Divine Office and authority, it can purify one’s Origin, solidify one’s foundation, and more importantly..."

He pointed at the Divine Format enveloped in Thunder Fire inside the cauldron. "The efficiency of condensing Immortal Golden Nature with Divine Power refined by this method is more than ten times that of Tatus’s crude approach! At this rate, you should be able to condense a wisp of Immortal Golden Nature for you to refine in about three years."

’A bit slow.’

But Xu Yunfan didn’t say it out loud.

If he were to say it was a bit slow, and the Late-Stage Foundation Establishment or even Perfection Realm Cultivators of the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm found out, they would probably be ready to kill him for it.

Xu Yunfan nodded. Within his Dantian Cave Heaven, sixteen wisps of Immortal Golden Nature floated, exuding a resilient and immortal aura.

The three wisps of Golden Nature he had obtained from refining Tatus were far purer than any he had acquired before.

"The Aitira Heavenly Dao is primarily based on the Incense Fire Divine Dao. The faith-driven thoughts of this world’s living beings are the most efficient resource for condensing Immortal Golden Nature."

His gaze fell upon the Star Spirit Banner shimmering with a faint light in his hand, and a much grander plan began to take shape in his mind.

"What if, one day, there were hundreds of millions of Banner Spirits within the Star Spirit Banner, and all of them became my believers?"

Zhang Ziyang understood instantly, his eyes flaring with a brilliant light.

"Banner Spirits are not burdened by physical bodies, and their thoughts are pure. If hundreds of millions of Banner Spirits were to chant their master’s name day and night, the Wish Power they generate would surge like a river of stars."

"And after being purified by the Divine Sky World Refining Cauldron, the speed at which you could condense Immortal Golden Nature would be beyond imagination!"

But he quickly calmed down. "The method is feasible, but there are two key issues."

"First, the Star Spirit Banner must be refined to a state where it can withstand such a massive torrent of Wish Power. Otherwise, the banner itself will surely collapse."

"Second, you need an unparalleled scripture or technique to resolve and control the thoughts of hundreds of millions, to avoid a backlash from the Wish Power. Otherwise, your consciousness might be assimilated by it."

"That’s exactly what I plan to do next."

Xu Yunfan stroked the shaft of the banner.

The addition of Tatus as a Middle-Rank God Banner Spirit had already boosted the Star Spirit Banner’s Origin considerably.

He took out a World Void Stone covered in spatial Array Patterns that he had acquired from the ruins of the Celestial Realm, along with several rare Spiritual Materials, and once again circulated the Profound Capital Eight Sceneries Celestial Refining Creation Cloud Scripture.

Eight-Colored Clouds enveloped the materials, smelting them in Divine Fire. Wisps of Space Power were stripped away and merged into the banner’s shaft.

Next, he needed to strengthen the Star Spirit Banner’s internal spatial barriers to lay the foundation for accommodating hundreds of millions of Banner Spirit believers.

This was not something to be rushed; it had to be planned out gradually.

Time passed quietly amid Cultivation, Artifact Refining, and managing his faith network.

With the Thunderous Divine Format acting as his "green card," the Aitira World’s rejection of Xu Yunfan completely disappeared.

The Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi actively gathered around him, using the Profound Capital Eight Sceneries Celestial Refining Creation Cloud Scripture became smoother, and the connection between his Divine Sense and the world grew clearer.

He could even faintly perceive the Frost Winter Law that enveloped the entire Northern Plains, like a vast, invisible spiderweb, and his Thunderous Divine Format was an important node within that web.