Longevity by Grinding Skills

After all, Cultivators followed the path of "swallowing a Golden Core into the belly, my fate is in my own hands, not the heavens’." The core principle was to gather all great power unto oneself. Cultivation in this realm, however, relied on Divine Formats and Faith Desire Force, tying it inextricably to this Great World Heaven.

This made it clear that the Celestial Lord’s control over the Transcendents of this realm was an extreme opposite to the situation in the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm, where the Cultivators were a flock concerned only with shearing the World Heaven for its bounty.

The Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm, having produced Nascent Soul Daoist Lords, was fundamentally unable to control them; its relationship with its Cultivators was more akin to a partnership. Aitira, this Great World Heaven, instead controlled its Transcendent Divine Spirits through the system of Divine Formats, a framework bestowed by the Celestial Dao.

Here, the Celestial Dao was the one and only boss.

Delis was curled up on the ground, the excruciating pain of her Divine Soul being torn from her Divine Format yet to fully subside. The residual, tearing sensation made every shred of her consciousness tremble, sending her muscles into intermittent spasms.

Then, Xu Yunfan extended his hand toward Delis. She could only watch, wide-eyed, as he pinched a wisp of something between his fingertips—the very thing he had just extracted from the core of her Divine Format.

It was a strand of golden light, translucent and pure, that radiated an aura of eternal immortality.

That was the foundation she had spent nearly a thousand years forging, bit by bit, by gathering and refining the pious Faith Desire Force of the town’s believers. It was the Origin essence of her immortal divinity.

’My divinity is being stripped away!’

Xu Yunfan’s eyes were focused, full of delight as he stared at the wisp of light coiling around his fingertip. It was a pure and translucent thread of Golden Nature, radiating an aura of eternal immortality.

’This is some incredible stuff. Back in the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm, Foundation Establishment Cultivators would beat each other’s brains out for it. Even the most affectionate Primordial Sect disciples would instantly turn on one another.’

The value of this wisp of Immortal Golden Nature, stripped from the core of Delis’s Divine Format, far surpassed the total sum of the Faith Desire Force she had accumulated over a millennium.

It was pure and condensed, free of any imprint from the Aitila Celestial Realm. It was the ideal resource for building a Grotto Heaven and breaking through to Foundation Establishment Perfection.

An attribute-less Immortal Golden Nature like this, bearing no consciousness, was the perfect fuel. Using it to condense one’s own Immortal Golden Nature would be a process without the slightest obstacle.

’A new Great World Heaven truly is a treasure trove.’

"My divinity!"

Delis collapsed limply to the floor, the rapidly depleting Divine Power within her filling her with despair. Her wretched cry echoed through the empty church, yet it failed to move Xu Yunfan in the slightest.

She could clearly feel the core origin of her power being brutally torn away. The wellspring of power that supported her divine status felt as if its foundations had been ripped out, causing it to instantly teeter on the brink of collapse as her divine light dimmed.

Xu Yunfan’s gaze remained fixed on the strand of Golden Nature, his tone perfectly flat.

"What are you wailing about? I haven’t touched the foundation of your Divine Format. I merely extracted this bit of ’immortal interest’ that it’s been cultivating.

We still haven’t settled the score for you attacking me earlier. Consider this a small compensation."

With a flick of his finger, he enveloped the strand of Golden Nature with Magical Power, imprisoning it as if it were a living creature before tucking it into his sleeve.

When Delis heard this, an indescribable bitterness choked her, yet she couldn’t even muster the courage to object.

The being before her was powerful far beyond her comprehension.

’He has to be an Upper-Rank God.’

She had only sensed a fraction of such an oppressive aura—one as deep as the sea, which regarded Divine Spirits as nothing more than weeds—from the Upper-Rank Gods who ruled over their own Divine Realms. His might even surpass theirs.

She huddled in the corner as best she could, able only to watch helplessly as Xu Yunfan stripped her of the Immortal Golden Nature she had spent nearly a millennium accumulating—the very thing she considered her lifeline. Icy despair filled her heart.

It was a foundation built from the Faith Desire Force of her believers, a reward for the countless good deeds she had performed and the endless effort she had poured into them. Now, it was all for naught, like drawing water with a bamboo basket—all her hard work had gone to benefit another.

Before she could recover from the immense shock and humiliation, and without giving her any chance to plead or beg for mercy, Xu Yunfan acted.

Xu Yunfan placed a hand on Delis’s golden hair. Immediately, his Divine Thought shot forward like a cold steel needle, piercing deep into her Divine Soul.

Her consciousness was instantly plunged into chaos.

Finally, the gloomy surface of the Star Spirit Banner unfurled. Delis’s residual Divine Soul and consciousness were forcefully extracted like a puff of smoke. Along with her Divine Format—which had lost its core divinity, its light now significantly dimmed and its interior filled with mottled, chaotic Faith Desire Force—she was cast into the banner, becoming a new Banner Spirit within it.

Thus, the Divine Format that Delis had obtained by igniting her Divine Fire—a gift from this world’s Celestial Dao—was completely stripped from her by the Star Spirit Banner.

Xu Yunfan’s Divine Thought swept through the Star Spirit Banner, carefully examining the Divine Format that had been extracted.

Just as he had anticipated, while the Divine Format itself bore the mark of a Divine Spirit’s authority, its core was composed of a vast and chaotic mass of impure Incense Fire Wish Power.

This Wish Power was saturated with the mortal world’s passions and desires, prayers and stray thoughts. For Xu Yunfan’s own Cultivation, it would be more harmful than helpful; forcibly absorbing it would only defile his Dao Foundation and corrupt his Magical Power and Daoist Cultivation.

However, it was not without its uses. On the contrary, it could serve as excellent fuel.

This Wish Power, derived from a divine source, was an exceptionally high-grade material for Artifact Refining.

’As I thought, useless to me directly. But for strengthening a Magical Treasure—especially one like the Star Spirit Banner, which needs to contain thousands of souls and spirits—it’s quite suitable.’

After all, the Star Spirit Banner wasn’t a picky eater, especially when it came to this Incense Fire Wish Power.

A thought stirred in Xu Yunfan’s mind. ’This might even be enough to forge a physical body for Zhang Ziyang.’

Ignoring the mournful gaze of the Star Spirit Delis from within the banner, Xu Yunfan offered her a small smile.

’He’d never had a chance to get his hands on a foreign beauty like this in his past life. This time, he was determined to have a... ’thorough exchange’.’

The Celestial Empress, who had been silent at his side, saw that familiar smile on Xu Yunfan’s face and cursed inwardly.

’Lecher.’

What Xu Yunfan was about to perform was a Supreme Scripture from the Primordial Sect’s Hundred Desires Peak: the *Heaven and Earth Interchange Yin Yang Separation and Reunion Scripture*.

This was no ordinary Dual Cultivation Technique, but a deeper form of exchange—a merging of body and spirit.

As his Magical Power circulated, Yin and Yang Qi flowed out, forming a profound force field that enveloped Delis.

Dozens of times, he delved deep, probing, drawing out, and stripping away.

With every probe, Delis’s deepest memories were forcibly extracted and funneled into Xu Yunfan’s Sea of Consciousness. This included her fundamental understanding of the Aitila Celestial Realm’s power system, information about Magic Ring Levels, the structure of the Divine Spirit hierarchy, and the locations of other, weaker Divine Spirits in the surrounding region.

For Delis, the process was continuous and unending. After all, who’s to say how long such things take?

It was a desecration that pierced her very soul. With each repetition, her own spiritual essence was ground away even more completely.

One could call it an alternative method of re-education.

For Xu Yunfan, however, it was nothing more than an efficient method of intelligence gathering and knowledge imprinting.

After all, however weak Delis was now, she had once been a proper Divine Spirit who had ignited her Divine Fire and condensed a Divine Format. Her store of knowledge was equivalent to that of an Early-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator from the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm who had just formed their Dao Foundation.

Moreover, by virtue of her Divine Format and divinity, her lifespan was double that of an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator. It would take five full lifecycles for a cultivator to live just half as long as she had.