Longevity by Grinding Skills

The Elf Race was of particular interest. The information Xu Yunfan had gathered suggested they were ageless and immortal, a fact that naturally piqued his curiosity.

Only after a Golden Core True Monarch reached the Mid-Stage and could sustain a Grotto Heaven, keeping it suspended high without it falling, could they achieve a form of Longevity. This allowed them to undergo endless Reincarnation without any loss of personal power.

Otherwise, even an Early-Stage Golden Core cultivator who failed to break through would ultimately see their cultivation fall. While their Innate Wisdom might persist through reincarnations, returning to the Golden Core Realm after several lifetimes was an incredibly arduous task.

Once he had squeezed out the last drop of valuable information, Xu Yunfan tossed the thoroughly "re-educated" Delis aside.

’Good thing his Dharma Body can change size at will; otherwise, he really wouldn’t have been able to take it.’

After a brief rest, Xu Yunfan left the unsupported Divine Country Space. He found a random spot and began the most crucial step.

He sat cross-legged and placed the wisp of Attributeless Immortal Golden Nature, which he had obtained from Delis, into the core of his Sea of Consciousness.

The Divine Sky Nine Heavens Profound Vault Undying True Scripture began to operate at full power. Within his Dantian Qi Sea, the already stabilized Grotto Heaven Embryo trembled faintly, emitting an attractive force.

His Essence, Qi, and Spirit condensed to a high degree, becoming like a Samadhi True Flame. He began to carefully guide it, refining this foreign, attributeless wisp of Golden Nature.

It was an exceedingly delicate and perilous process.

If this had been the wisp of Taiyin Immortal Golden Nature from the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm, or even the one he’d obtained from the Celestial Empress, Xu Yunfan would never have dared to do this.

After all, those types of Golden Nature had already been refined and contained the will of another’s Dao. Rashly assimilating one would most likely destroy his own Daoist Cultivation.

’Only an idiot would do something like that.’

But this was from Aitira.

Although this Golden Nature was pure, this was still his first time, so Xu Yunfan had to be extremely cautious.

Xu Yunfan used his own immense Divine Sky Magical Power as a hammer, his tenacious will as an anvil, and his Grotto Heaven Embryo as a furnace. Bit by bit, he excised the last, exceedingly faint trace of the Aitira Heavenly Dao from within the Golden Nature.

He purified it dozens more times before he could finally relax, terrified that even a sliver of impure Incense Fire Wish Power might remain mixed within.

Once all this was done, Xu Yunfan began to slowly infuse it with his life imprint and his comprehension of the Divine Sky Thunderbolt and the Immortal True Intent.

Time slipped by as he remained focused on the refining process.

An unknown amount of time passed. Deep within the core of the golden thread of light, which had previously only emanated an immortal aura, a minuscule, almost imperceptible Purple Gold Thunder Pattern quietly formed, carrying Xu Yunfan’s unique presence.

Immediately after, the Golden Nature’s radiance withdrew inward. Its form grew more condensed and resilient, as if it had transformed from ethereal light and qi into a kind of immortal substance existing somewhere between the tangible and the intangible.

It was no longer an ownerless Golden Nature. Now, it was thoroughly branded with Xu Yunfan’s mark—the very first wisp of Immortal Golden Nature that truly belonged to him.

Even though Delis had become a Banner Spirit and been "properly re-educated" by Xu Yunfan dozens of times, the sight of this still sent a wave of unbelievable shock through her.

In the Aitira Realm, a Divine Format was a gift from the Celestial Dao. The Immortal Golden Nature was a fruit that grew attached to the Divine Format, nourished by faith.

The Divine Spirits there had never considered, nor had they ever needed to consider, how to condense such a thing on their own.

In her understanding, Xu Yunfan’s actions were tantamount to shattering an unbreakable law of her world.

This was usurping the authority of creation itself.

He was forging immortality from the void.

This was a complete subversion of the Aitira Heavenly Dao’s entire system.

After successfully forging his first wisp of personal Immortal Golden Nature, Xu Yunfan remained perfectly calm.

This was just the beginning.

According to the common knowledge of the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm and the guidance of the *Divine Sky Nine Heavens Profound Vault Undying True Scripture*, pushing a Late-Stage Foundation Establishment Grotto Heaven Embryo to the flawless Perfection of the Realm of a Great Daoist Master required a solid Dao Foundation. To construct one sturdy enough to receive the grace of a Dao Fruit, one needed at least nine wisps of this Immortal Golden Nature to serve as its core framework.

Being in the Great World Heaven of Aitira, Xu Yunfan’s eyes burned with greed. All around him were endless fields of faith’s lambs, penned in by the Heavenly Dao’s system.

Xu Yunfan coveted all of those Divine Spirits, regardless of their size or strength.

The cores of their Divine Formats were nothing less than ready-made mines, rich with Attributeless Immortal Golden Nature.

’No, I have to thank Ye Xuan properly for this,’ he thought. ’If it weren’t for her, I’d probably still be struggling, trying to find a way to condense Immortal Golden Nature using massive amounts of resources.’

Xu Yunfan immediately summoned Ye Xuan from within the banner. Only after giving her more than a dozen "re-educations" in earnest was he satisfied.

He, Master Xu, was a man who believed in clearly rewarding merits and punishing faults.

’What if I forge ninety wisps of Immortal Golden Nature? Or nine hundred?’

A glint flashed through Xu Yunfan’s eyes.

In theory, the more Immortal Golden Nature one had, the better. They were like the steel and iron bones of the Dao Foundation; their quantity and quality determined its potential and the ultimate limit of the Dao Fruit’s power it could bear in the future.

Although the difficulty and risk would increase exponentially with each wisp he refined, the sheer richness of this Great World Heaven was enough to support an accumulation far beyond what was conventional.

However, his success was followed not only by joy, but also by a core problem he had to face.

Imagery.

Reaching Foundation Establishment Perfection wasn’t merely about accumulating Magical Power and Golden Nature.

It required a Cultivator to summarize and sublimate their own Dao, coalescing it into a personal Imagery.

It was much like the Sword Intent of a Wansheng Sword Sect’s Sword Cultivator—the crystallized manifestation of a cultivator’s lifelong philosophy, the nature of their power, and the pursuit of their will.

This Imagery had to be rooted in the True Intent contained within his fundamental cultivation art, the *Divine Sky Nine Heavens Profound Vault Undying True Scripture*—the concept of the Divine Sky Thunderbolt bringing Destruction to the Ten Thousand Laws, and the concept of the Profound Vault Undying. Yet, it also had to transcend the True Scripture’s framework, forging a path that was uniquely Xu Yunfan’s.

’What is my Dao? What should my Imagery be?’

Xu Yunfan fell into a brief, contemplative silence.

Throughout his cultivation journey, from his struggle for survival in the Divine Martial Realm to his cautious progress in the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm, all his trials and tribulations had been in pursuit of one thing: absolute freedom.

Although he had the Attribute Panel, his achievements were still the result of his own arduous cultivation, earned one step at a time.

He wanted to be free from manipulation, to cultivate as he pleased, to explore the very peak of the Immortal Dao, and ultimately, to achieve true Longevity.

This yearning for freedom resonated faintly with the Thunder True Intent of the Divine Sky Scripture he practiced—an intent that was supreme in its hardness and Yang nature, one that sought the Destruction of all obstacles and restraints.

But the word "freedom" alone seemed too vague, insufficient to bear the Imagery he was about to coalesce—an Imagery that pointed toward the Divine Sky Yuqing Nine Heavens Profound Vault Myriad Transformations Undying Dao Fruit.

’What is the essence of the Divine Sky Thunderbolt?’

’Does Destruction give way to rebirth?’

’Profound Vault Undying... does it mean eternal and unchanging, or seeking immortality through constant transformation?’ These questions swirled in his mind.

’Forget it. There’s still plenty of time.’

Xu Yunfan quickly pushed these thoughts aside.

Coalescing an Imagery couldn’t be done overnight. It required a moment of natural enlightenment, an opportunity that would arise when the conditions were right.

His Daoist Cultivation was still insufficient. He decided he would revisit the matter after accumulating another thousand points of Daoist Cultivation.

The most important thing for now was to seize this heaven-sent opportunity in the Aitira Celestial Realm, collect as much Immortal Golden Nature as possible, and solidify his foundation.

With an incomparably solid foundation, he would have more confidence and options when it came time to coalesce his Imagery and pursue the Golden Dao.

His goal now clear, Xu Yunfan no longer hesitated to act.