Longevity by Grinding Skills

Xu Yunfan paid him no further mind.

His gaze shifted to the distant depths of the snow-swept ice plains, home to the last Upper-Rank God of the Frosty North Plains.

The domain of Anya, the God of Ice and Snow.

Xu Yunfan cared little for the true thoughts of either Rockman or Bosse. They were irrelevant. He just needed them to set the stage.

Rockman and Bosse, one of ice and one of wind, were now firmly in his grasp.

"Rockman."

Xu Yunfan spoke.

"I am here."

Rockman immediately stepped forward, his posture deferential.

Having witnessed firsthand how Bosse had been so helplessly defeated and brought under control by the Divine Sky Thunderbolt, his fear and obedience toward Xu Yunfan had deepened.

"And then there is the Frost God, Anya."

Rockman understood at once. "Anya, the God of Ice and Snow, rules over the Eternal Silence Glacier. Her Divine Country is located in the Sleeping Ice Abyss at the pole of the Northern Plains.

"The nature of her power is similar to mine, but it leans more toward stasis and slumber. She holds some authority over soul-frost.

"She is reclusive and aloof, rarely getting involved in the disputes between me and Bosse. She’s also less reliant on faith, so she has few Subordinate Gods. However, they are all Middle-Rank Gods proficient in Ice Magic. Her Divine Country Defense is formidable, rumored to be connected to an ancient Origin of ice."

Xu Yunfan nodded slightly.

’Less reliance on faith means she’s probably more focused on developing her own authority. She’s likely a bit tougher to handle than Rockman and Bosse.’

’But it also means her base of believers is small, so her Divine Power will be limited.’

’Even if she’s strong, she’ll have no staying power.’

Bosse’s Divine Soul phantom was also present. Eager to drag someone else down with him, and given his current state, he naturally couldn’t stand the holier-than-thou Anya.

"That woman Anya is a lunatic. She once tried to entomb the entire Sleeping Ice Abyss, herself included, in ice, pursuing some so-called ’Eternal Freeze’.

"Unlike us, she has no interest in expansion, but her Divine Country is practically the toughest nut to crack in the Northern Plains.

"Attacking her rashly will cause too much of a commotion and will definitely attract the attention of the Main God of Nature."

’This Bosse is adapting to his role surprisingly well.’

’Sounds interesting.’

However, Bosse’s words reminded him that a direct assault on Anya was extremely risky, as it could easily alert the Main God Level entities of the Natural Pantheon ahead of schedule.

𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

After all, the struggle between two Upper-Rank Gods like Bosse and Rockman was still manageable, but for them to suddenly join forces to attack another Upper-Rank God would inevitably draw the gaze of a Main God Level being.

This was precisely what he needed to avoid at all costs.

What he needed was a controllable, large-scale Divine War to harvest Divine Spirits, not a direct confrontation with the top-tier existences of this realm.

After all, he was running out of time.

He needed to take advantage of the time he had. Once Anya was subdued, he could immediately invade the neighboring human kingdom, a territory of the Light Pantheon.

This would detonate the confrontation between the two major pantheons prematurely.

Sometimes, once a war starts, a snowball effect can form quite easily.

After all, the Dark Pantheon, the natural enemy of the Light Pantheon, would definitely seize the opportunity to make a move.

And it could also drag other Upper-Rank Gods from the Natural Pantheon into the fray.

The Human Race’s population was enormous. With such a vast resource of Incense Fire Wish Power, everyone would want a piece of the pie.

For Xu Yunfan, who had studied extensively at the Primordial Sect, manipulating people was well within his expertise.

The Divine Spirits of this realm lacked mental fortitude, typically acting on their own desires—a truly unsophisticated approach.

As a result, while the numbers of Middle-Rank and Upper-Rank Gods were vast, there were only a mere three Main Gods.

As for True Monarch Qing Yuan, Xu Yunfan was certain that he was currently trying every means possible to hunt him down.

The man was a Golden Core True Monarch with unfathomable methods. Although Xu Yunfan could temporarily hold a Fake Gold Position with the help of the Taiyin Profound Mirror Dao Fruit, and the Star Spirit Banner’s power was greatly enhanced, confronting a Golden Core True Monarch head-on was still incredibly difficult.

’I must acquire as much Immortal Golden Nature as possible to increase my strength before he finds me. I might even need to try and get back to the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm quickly to activate my clone, giving myself a chance to make an immediate breakthrough to the Golden Core realm.’

His thoughts raced, and a much grander plan quickly took shape in his mind.

He needed a massive war, one that would engulf the entire Natural Pantheon and even spill over into other pantheons.

"Bosse,"

Xu Yunfan said, looking at the God of Storm’s Divine Soul phantom, "who among the Upper-Rank Gods are you on good terms with? Or to put it another way, under your Main God, what other powerful pantheons are there besides your Gale Pantheon?"

Bosse was startled for a moment, then understood Xu Yunfan’s intention, his face twitching slightly.

"My Lord, are you thinking of...?"

He was truly shocked by Xu Yunfan’s ambition.

’This Outer Realm Demon seems to want to plunge Aitira back into a continent-sweeping Divine War.’

’Based on his past actions, this fiend wants to harvest the divinity of the gods.’

A chill ran down his spine.

’I feel like I’m walking right into an abyss.’

"Answer."

Xu Yunfan’s voice was devoid of warmth, but it sent a jolt through Bosse.

Bosse immediately said: "Above the Gale Pantheon is His Majesty Orion, the Lord of the Firmament. He wields the great power of the sky and the atmosphere and is a Main God of the Natural Pantheon.

"Under His Majesty Orion, besides my Gale Pantheon, there is also Thunderous Fury Baal, who rules the Thundering Mountain Range, and Mother of Clouds Sif, who controls the endless sea of clouds. They are all extremely powerful Upper-Rank Gods. Baal’s pantheon is several times stronger than mine was at its peak."

Xu Yunfan’s mind raced, and a clear path forward quickly emerged.

He met the distant gaze of Zhang Ziyang, who stood atop a bordering mountain peak, and conveyed his thoughts.

Zhang Ziyang nodded slightly, indicating his approval.

"Good."

Xu Yunfan was instantly relieved.

"Rockman, Bosse, I need you to put on a show. A show big enough to draw the attention of Baal, and perhaps even Orion, to the Frost Winter Pantheon."

He looked at the two Upper-Rank Gods under his control.

"Rockman, return to the Eternal Freeze Royal Court at once. In a state of utmost grief and indignation, go and lament to the other Upper-Rank Gods you know.

"Say that Bosse tore up your truce, allied with a powerful Evil God suspected to be from Star Fall, and set a trap for you. Not only did they severely wound you, but they also slaughtered every single Middle-Rank and Lower-Rank God under your command.

"You fought back desperately and, using the advantage of the terrain, managed to gravely injure Bosse, but you are now too weak to fight. The Frost Winter Pantheon’s foundation in the Northern Plains is now in jeopardy. Plead for reinforcements to severely punish the Gale Pantheon and the Evil God behind it."

"Bosse," Xu Yunfan turned to the God of Storm, "you will return to your Storm Divine Country, also feigning grave injuries, and send your most urgent plea for help to the Upper-Rank God you know, Baal.

"You are to accuse Rockman of being utterly insane, of colluding with an Evil God who wields a bizarre power of thunderbolt, of setting up a spatial restriction formation, and ambushing you.

"Their methods were vicious. Not only did they slaughter all of your Subordinate Gods, but they also gravely injured you. They even boasted that their next target is Baal, and that they intend to challenge the authority of His Majesty Orion.

"You must emphasize that the Evil God’s thunderbolt power is exceptionally bizarre and powerful, and that he may have even usurped a portion of the authority over thunderbolts."