Longevity by Grinding Skills

However, he gripped the True Martial Sword tightly, his body like a steel spike driven into the earth. His bones creaked and groaned, but he didn’t retreat a single step.

His Martial Arts Celestial Eye spun furiously, analyzing the weakest link of the platinum Sword Intent as he let out a beast-like roar.

"Break!!!"

Empowered by the Triple Secret Technique, his Fury Killing Sword Intent erupted skyward.

The True Martial Sword, a Magical Treasure-level Sword Artifact, couldn’t withstand the violent surge of energy. The fine purple electric arcs on its unadorned blade were consumed by a crimson Sword Aura. Then, with a pained CRACK, cracks spiderwebbed across its surface.

The entire East Sea fell into a dead silence as the two supreme Sword Intents collided.

The platinum thread of Fierce, No-Return Sword Intent clashed head-on with the crimson torrent of violent Fury Kill Sword Intent. Space warped and buckled, light flickering in and out of existence.

The stalemate lasted only an instant before a sound like tearing silk ripped through the air!

The Fierce Sword Intent, the culmination of Ye Yuan’s lifetime of insights into the Sword Dao, was violently torn asunder by Xu Yunfan’s Fury Killing Sword Intent—an attack fueled by his Martial Dao, his lifeblood, the Hundred Desires Secret Skill, and the very essence of the Clone Sword Dao.

The platinum thread shattered inch by inch, and the residual Sword Qi lashed backward, tearing through Ye Yuan’s Protective Gang Qi and leaving several bloody gashes in its wake.

The body of the Wansheng Sword Sect Elder trembled violently. He staggered back three steps before regaining his footing. With a sharp CRACK, his Hair-Binding Jade Crown shattered. As his long hair tumbled down, the cold, hard calm on his face vanished, leaving only horror and disbelief.

"How can this be? How do you know a Sword Dao of the Wansheng Sword Sect?"

Ye Yuan stared at the lingering crimson gleam on the tip of the True Martial Sword, then at the cracked longsword in Xu Yunfan’s hand. For the first time, his voice wavered.

His expression was tinged with suspicion.

"The Sword Intent of the Thousand Chariots Geng Sea Fury Wave Sword Technique... I recall that one of Pure Yang True Monarch’s disciples, a man named Han Shi, comprehended a Fury Killing Sword Intent remarkably similar to yours."

Xu Yunfan suppressed the roiling lifeblood within him. The earlier clash of wills had left his Divine Sky Dao Body covered in fine cracks, and blood from the torn web of his thumb soaked the sword’s hilt.

His Magical Power began to circulate, his lifeblood thrumming.

The wounds on his body’s surface healed within a few breaths.

He feigned nonchalance, giving his sword a casual flourish, his expression deceptively relaxed.

"The path of a Sword Cultivator is vast and profound. Similar Sword Intents are hardly surprising. It’s merely a coincidence. My Primordial Sect has its own true Sword Techniques as well. It’s not as if the Wansheng Sword Sect is the only sect in the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm that cultivates the Sword Dao."

"A coincidence?"

The corner of Ye Yuan’s mouth twitched into a sneer, his long hair whipping about in the lingering Sword Qi.

"Han Shi, the third disciple of the Wansheng Sword Sect’s Pure Yang True Monarch, comprehended the True Intent of ’Furious Tide Sword Transformation: Fury Wave Slaughter’ while he was only at Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment. The characteristic of his Sword Intent..."

He stared intently at Xu Yunfan. "The greater the fury, the greater its power. A Sword Path that extreme... you might not see another one like it in a hundred years!"

Xu Yunfan’s eyelid twitched, but he kept his expression calm.

"To be remembered by name by an Elder of the Sword Sect... he must be an exceptional talent."

"Exceptional talent? Hah!"

Ye Yuan laughed with a hint of disdain.

"That boy’s temperament is as narrow-minded and vicious as a jackal’s. He must be shouldering a blood feud, or he never would have comprehended such a purely murderous Sword Intent from the foundation of Fury Kill."

A chill went down Xu Yunfan’s spine.

’The fact that Ye Yuan is saying this much to me obviously means he’s spotted some clues.’

’Anyone who can reach Foundation Establishment is no fool.’

Xu Yunfan sighed to himself. Despite the situation, his heart gradually calmed.

’He had been one-sidedly sharing Han Shi’s Sword Dao comprehensions via his Attribute Panel. He never expected his clone to actually be such a generational talent, drawing the attention of the Wansheng Sword Sect’s various peaks.’

’But thinking about it, it made sense. Even in the Wansheng Sword Sect, the number of people who had comprehended Sword Intent and become Sword Art Daoist Masters was probably no more than twenty.’

So, Xu Yunfan could only play along, letting just the right amount of surprise show on his face.

"To be called extreme by a Sword Cultivator from the Wansheng Sword Sect... this Han Shi must be quite..."

He shook his head, leaving the rest unsaid, the implication thick in the air.

’After all, the vast majority of Sword Cultivators in the Wansheng Sword Sect who comprehended Sword Intent were fanatics. To be called a fanatic by other fanatics... one could only imagine just how fanatical Han Shi truly was.’

But Ye Yuan didn’t linger on the topic of Han Shi’s temperament. His focus shifted, his words becoming as sharp as a blade.

"What I’m more curious about is the Primordial Sect’s famous ’Profound Capital Eight Sceneries Celestial Refining Creation Cloud Scripture.’ You seem to have practiced it?"

Xu Yunfan’s heart sank, but his expression remained unchanged.

"This technique is known as the Supreme Secret Method of Artifact Refining,"

Ye Yuan watched every minute change in Xu Yunfan’s expression. His pace was unhurried, yet each word landed like a hammer blow. "The ’Cloud Scripture Incarnation Technique’ within it is particularly abstruse. Its original purpose was to solve the difficulty of controlling the heat during Artifact Refining by creating a clone to assist with the flame. However..."

He drew out the word, a sharp light glinting in his eyes. "If this method is cultivated to a deep enough level, the clone it creates will carry the main body’s Origin brand, but it will also nurture the dark emotions stripped from its creator, eventually forming its own personality.

Its twisted and fanatical state is a perfect match for that Han Shi."

Xu Yunfan wasn’t surprised that Ye Yuan had spoken the truth. In fact, the moment Ye Yuan started this conversation, he knew the man must have already realized it.

’I have to admit, the perception and Sword Heart Clarity of an Elder from the Wansheng Sword Sect’s Phecda Peak far exceeded my estimations.’

’Based on nothing but the traits of the Sword Intent, Han Shi’s disposition, and the rumors floating around about the Eight Sceneries Cloud Scripture, he had managed to piece together a conclusion that was remarkably close to the truth.’

"You must be joking, Elder Ye,"

Xu Yunfan said, his expression placid, betraying no emotion.

"The Profound Capital Eight Sceneries is an Artifact Refining Secret Skill. The idea of incarnations is pure fantasy. How could..."

"Fantasy?"

Ye Yuan cut him off.

"If you haven’t created such a clone, then how can a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Primordial Sect, one who primarily cultivates the Divine Sky Thunder Skill, possibly use the Fury Killing Sword Intent? That is a core technique of a Wansheng Sword Sect True Inheritor!

And perfectly embody its core essence: ’Anger is Sword Intent’?!"

He took a step forward. Though his fierce Sword Intent had been shattered, the oppressive might of his Foundation Establishment Perfection cultivation crashed down like a collapsing mountain.

"Han Shi acts like an extremist, but he possesses a natural Sword Bone. The purity of his Fury Killing Sword Intent is unrivaled among the younger generation. That kind of Sword Intent cannot be learned through mere observation! If you two are not from the same source, how could you wield it so flawlessly, as if it were an extension of your own body?!"

At some point, the wind and waves on the East Sea had subsided, leaving only dead silence.

The next instant.

The starlight descending from the All Heaven Star Formation swirled silently, illuminating the cracked True Martial Sword in Xu Yunfan’s hand, and glinting off the undisguised killing intent in the depths of his eyes.

’In the end, he had underestimated the insight of a Great Daoist Master at Foundation Establishment Perfection.’

’Whether it was Zhang Qiaoluo or Lu Chuan, the moment they encountered an enemy they couldn’t defeat and who wasn’t worth the fight, they would flee without a moment’s hesitation.’

’They had truly grasped the essence of the Primordial Sect’s culture.’

’The path of wisdom, of course.’

At this point, Xu Yunfan couldn’t be bothered to pretend any longer.

’Today, Ye Yuan must die!’

"Since you insist on spelling it out, Elder Ye..."

Xu Yunfan suddenly looked up, and the Purple Gold Thunder Patterns on his cracked Divine Sky Dao Body flared brilliantly. "...then I’m afraid you won’t be leaving the East Sea!"

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Before his voice had even faded, the sky-obscuring face of the Star Spirit Banner unfurled with a sudden snap.

Three hundred and sixty-five Main Stars erupted with a blinding radiance. Kui Water Yin Thunder, wrapped in the Power of All Heavens Star Beating, surged downward like an inverted Celestial River, crashing toward Ye Yuan.

But Xu Yunfan’s true killing blow was hidden up his sleeve.

A wisp of Taiyin Immortal Golden Nature coiled around his fingers—the very same power he had obtained from the Celestial Empress in the Celestial Realm.

By refining it, he could unleash power rivaling that of a Foundation Establishment Perfection cultivator for a short period.

With this boost, he could match Ye Yuan’s strength for a short time.