Longevity by Grinding Skills

For him, however, this was just right.

He didn’t choose to merge it with himself.

In this world, Divine Spirits who completely merge with their Divine Formats are enslaved by the Celestial Dao—a taboo for Cultivators.

They were all people who pursued a life of freedom and abandon; how could they allow themselves to be controlled by another?

Especially not by the Celestial Dao.

Cultivators defy the heavens. Their very purpose was to challenge the Celestial Dao.

After a moment of thought, he sat cross-legged on the ice cliff and once again activated the Profound Capital Eight Sceneries Celestial Refining Creation Cloud Scripture.

Eight-Colored Clouds surged from his palm. The Li Huoyun burned away the remnant will imprinted on the Divine Format, the Kan Water Cloud washed away the impure dregs of faith, and the Yin-Yang Spirit Soil reshaped its foundation...

After nearly twenty days of continuous Refining, the Divine Format’s violent nature gradually faded, finally solidifying into a pure blue crystal that contained liquid lightning.

Xu Yunfan stared at the diamond-shaped Thunderous Divine Format in his palm, which he had stripped from Tatus. Blue-white arcs of lightning danced restlessly across its surface.

He then turned his palm over, producing a piece of Nine-Aperture Divine Jade recovered from the ruins of the Celestial Realm, along with a vast amount of other precious materials.

The Eight Sceneries Cloud Qi rose again: Separation Fire Forging Shape, Kan Water Purification, Thunder Shock Vein Formation...

Amidst the intertwining Cloud Qi, a small, simple, three-legged cauldron slowly took form.

Faint Thunder Patterns were visible on the cauldron’s body, and it contained a strange space within.

This cauldron could gather the mottled Incense Fire Wish Power from believers. It used the Thunderous Power of Evil-breaking as its flame and the Creation Cloud Qi as its furnace. Through repeated tempering and purification, it could transform the torrent of faith into pure Divine Power, which could then be used to condense the Immortal Golden Nature.

"I will call you the Divine Sky World Refining Cauldron."

Xu Yunfan tapped the cauldron’s body lightly with his fingertip, and the Thunder Patterns glowed faintly.

It was a functional Lower Grade Magical Treasure. With his current Artifact Refining Mastery, he could create as many as he wanted, as long as he had a clear design.

Below, the Barbarians of the Frost Skull Tribe were still prostrated before the altar, completely unaware that deep within the thunderclouds overhead, the Thunder God they had worshipped for generations had been replaced.

The Priest, Balutu, was presiding over the blood sacrifice ceremony. He could sense that his god’s divine might was as oppressive as ever, but he failed to notice the new thread of order deep within its divinity.

The real Divine Spirit, Tatus, had only known how to demand Blood Food; he would never have had the patience to guide the Barbarian Race to build cities and cultivate the frozen earth.

Xu Yunfan looked at the illusory figure of Zhang Ziyang beside him and offered the small cauldron. "Sect Leader, do you need this to purify Wish Power?"

Zhang Ziyang touched the Silver Star Mark on his brow and shook his head. "In this world’s Incense Fire Divine Dao, the miscellaneous thoughts and prayers of believers are also a source for tempering divinity and strengthening Divine Power. To purify it would be to lose its essence. I need to immerse myself in it to comprehend its mysteries."

His gaze swept over the expanding barbarian city on the ice plains.

"The more believers, the more abundant the Wish Power. That is the true path of a god. I will have my own methods to break free from the Celestial Dao’s control later on."

Xu Yunfan didn’t insist. With a flip of his hand, he completely refined the Thunderous Divine Format into a token for himself.

The moment the Divine Format was integrated, the faint repulsion and hostility that permeated the world melted away like ice and snow, and his body and mind felt refreshed.

The Aitira Heavenly Dao finally saw him as one of its own.

It had given him a green card.

Zhang Ziyang said at the appropriate moment, "In that case, I will affiliate my Investigation Divine Format with your Thundering Pantheon."

A divine light flashed. An invisible thread of faith extended from the silver star on his brow and sank into the Divine Format’s imprint within Xu Yunfan’s body.

This was the pact of pantheonic affiliation.

A Subordinate God could enjoy the protection of the Main God, and the Main God could, in turn, draw a portion of the Subordinate God’s Wish Power.

Xu Yunfan naturally had no objections; the two of them were already on the same path.

Xu Yunfan felt the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi smoothly and actively gathering around him. His Divine Sense faintly resonated with the network of Laws in the Frosty North Plains.

He looked at the Divine Sky World Refining Cauldron. Inside, the milky-white Fire of Willpower was enveloping a Divine Format and slowly burning it.

This small, three-legged cauldron was the key tool he would use to exploit the Celestial Dao’s Rules and steal the resources of immortality.

With a flip of his hand, Xu Yunfan put away the Divine Format and casually tried issuing a few divine edicts.

After resting for a few days, his gaze fell upon Frost Thunder City below, which was protected by Divine Power.

Zhang Ziyang said, "I’m afraid that God of Frost Winter, Rockman, has already noticed."

"It’s no matter. I’ll take this chance to use the mark and meet this Lord of Frostwinter. Are the incense channels still clear?"

Since Tatus was a Middle-Rank God, his Realm was comparable to the Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment.

By that logic, an Upper-Rank God was most likely equivalent to the Late-Stage Foundation Establishment.

He was a Cultivator who had reached Foundation Establishment Perfection, peerless within his Realm. Why would he fear them?

Zhang Ziyang closed his eyes and sensed for a moment.

"The faith threads from the one hundred seventy thousand Barbarians in Frost Thunder City have all been transferred to the Divine Format you refined. The morning prayers led by the Priests just ended, and the resulting Wish Power is being purified by the Divine Sky World Refining Cauldron you prepared. The efficiency is thirty percent higher than when Tatus was in charge."

"However, that high priest, Balutu, seems a bit confused about the new farming regulations that suddenly appeared in yesterday’s divine edict."

A slight smile touched the corner of his mouth.

"Tatus never cared what crops the mortals planted."

"It doesn’t matter."

Xu Yunfan wasn’t concerned in the slightest.

"The summons from the Upper-Rank God is the urgent matter. Have you finished refining the three wisps of Immortal Golden Nature?"

He could sense that Zhang Ziyang’s aura was more harmonious and restrained than it had been a few days ago.

"Thanks to you, the Weak God Banner Spirits in the Star Spirit Banner have been helping to sort the Wish Power, and the refined Divine Power is much purer."

Zhang Ziyang nodded. "The foundation of my Divine Format is stable now. Affiliated with your Thundering Pantheon, as long as I don’t leave the Northern Plains, I can still exert seventy percent of my investigation authority."

「Three days later.」

A biting cold wind, carrying shards of Ice Crystals, swept over Frost Thunder City.

The will contained within the wind was icy and majestic, imprinting itself directly onto the core of the Thunderous Divine Format Xu Yunfan had refined.

"Thunder God Tatus, come at once!"

The command was brief and allowed no refusal.

Xu Yunfan and Zhang Ziyang exchanged a look, and the space around Xu Yunfan distorted slightly.

Zhang Ziyang’s figure turned illusory, becoming a streak of silver light that shot into Xu Yunfan’s brow. His Investigation Divine Format’s imprint attached itself to the Thunderous Divine Format like a satellite.

Xu Yunfan, in turn, activated the power of the Thunderous Divine Format. Fine, blue-white Thunder Patterns appeared on his skin, and his aura became identical to that of Tatus, only more restrained and profound.

He took a step forward, his figure melting into the howling north wind, and raced toward the Far North, following the guidance of the Divine Thought’s imprint.

A thousand miles of ice plains flew past beneath him. The frigid qi in the gale was enough to freeze Refined Steel, yet it was easily dispelled by the Thunder Patterns on Xu Yunfan’s skin.

The farther north he went, the more active the Ice Attribute Energy in the world became, until a majestic Glacial Mountain Range came into view.

In the center of the mountain range, a massive palace carved entirely from Ten Thousand Years Profound Ice floated amidst a blizzard. This was the Divine Country of the Natural Pantheon’s Upper-Rank God, the God of Frost Winter, Rockman—the Eternal Freeze Royal Court.

Before the palace gates, two ten-zhang-tall Frost Giant guards slowly opened their deep blue eyes, their chilling gazes sweeping over Xu Yunfan.

A staircase of Ice Crystals extended down from the palace gate, landing before Xu Yunfan’s feet.

On both sides of the staircase, ice Elemental Spirits of various forms floated silently, emitting an oppressive might equivalent to the Late-Stage Qi Cultivation Realm.

His expression unchanging, Xu Yunfan ascended the steps.

The moment he stepped through the palace gate, it was as if he had passed through an invisible curtain of frigid water. The sound of the howling blizzard outside instantly vanished.

Before him was a vast, heart-stoppingly empty ice-domed hall. Countless icicles hung from the dome, refracting a deep blue, chilling light.

At the far end of the hall, upon a throne constructed entirely of deep blue profound ice, sat a figure shrouded in a hazy ice mist.

Its mere existence caused the surrounding space to freeze slightly, to stagnate.

This was the supreme ruler of the Northern Plains’ Natural Pantheon, the God of Frost Winter, Rockman.