Longevity by Grinding Skills

"We must incur Baal's wrath."

The two Upper-Rank Gods' hearts pounded wildly upon hearing this.

'This plan is too vicious.'

'It's designed to completely ignite a war between the two major factions of the Natural Pantheon.'

'And specifically mentioning the theft of the Thunderbolt authority... that's like touching Thunderous Fury Baal's inverted scale. He'll definitely come charging in, throwing all caution to the wind.'

'And Main God Orion would never tolerate such a blatant challenge to his authority.'

'Once the Main God's will descends and he dispatches his powerful pantheons to intervene, the scale of the war will escalate instantly, sweeping across the entire northern territory of the Natural Pantheon.'

'At that point…'

"Your Eminence."

Rockman's voice was strained. "What if the Main God descends to investigate personally?"

"Don't worry."

Xu Yunfan cut him off.

"A Main God-level existence won't act rashly.

They are more accustomed to dispatching the powerful pantheons under their command as extensions of their will.

I want them to send troops—the more, the better. As for investigations, as long as you don't deliberately draw the Main God's direct gaze to this place, the techniques I've laid down are enough to temporarily block any probing below the level of an Upper-Rank God. Remember your roles and your stories. Don't slip up."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the two Upper-Rank Gods.

"After this is done, you will continue to rule your own Divine Countries and believers. I will not interfere. In fact, if this battle can draw out Baal, his Divine Format might even help you advance further."

Xu Yunfan dangled a tempting offer before them.

It was an offer he could retract at any time, of course.

Rockman and Bosse exchanged a look, each seeing the helplessness and faint glimmer of hope in the other's eyes.

Under his absolute control and the threat of death, they had no other choice.

Bosse, in particular, saw an opportunity. If he could use this to eliminate his potential rival, Baal... A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes.

"We will obey Your Eminence's decree!"

The two Upper-Rank Gods bowed in unison to accept their orders.

"Bosse, you go first. Return to the Storm Divine Country immediately and proceed as planned.

Rockman, you stay. There are still some details regarding Anya."

Xu Yunfan waved his hand.

Bosse's Divine Soul projection bowed once more, not daring to linger for a second. His body flickered with a faint green light, transforming into a somewhat dimmer streak of light. He carefully skirted the edge of the All Heaven Profound Dome Locking Array and sped off toward his Storm Divine Country.

𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

He had to reappear in his Divine Country in a heavily injured state as quickly as possible to be convincing to Baal.

Watching Bosse disappear over the horizon, Xu Yunfan waved his hand and dispelled the All Heaven Profound Dome Locking Array.

The violent energy turbulence on the ice plains gradually subsided, leaving behind only a ravaged landscape and countless bewildered believers, soldiers who had lost their god's guidance. Their lives and deaths were no longer within Xu Yunfan's scope of concern.

Xu Yunfan looked at Rockman. "She just sat by and watched as you, I, and Bosse fought? She remained indifferent even as the Divine Spirits under her command were being reaped?"

Rockman replied gravely, "Yes. Anya has always been like that, as if she's completely detached from the world.

Her domain, the Eternal Silence Glacier, is a place of absolute desolation, naturally isolating it from the outside.

This subordinate suspects she might be in some sort of critical state, perhaps attempting to break through the limits of an Upper-Rank God?

Or... she could actually be attempting her insane Eternal Ice Seal. In that case, her Divine Country's defenses would be raised to their absolute peak, and her perception of the outside world would likely be at its lowest."

Xu Yunfan's eyes narrowed slightly.

Either possibility meant that Anya was temporarily preoccupied, or that her sensitivity to external changes had been reduced.

This was an opportunity for him as well.

"Don't make a move on her for now."

After careful consideration, Xu Yunfan ultimately abandoned the idea of capturing Anya and made his decision. "Let her continue her slumber.

Our goal is to provoke a much larger war.

When she is awakened by the raging fires of war outside, or is forced to get involved, that will be our chance.

By then, she will either have exhausted a great deal of her power..."

He needed Anya to be saved for last, to serve as bait for even bigger prey, or to deliver a fatal blow at the most chaotic moment.

"Return to the Eternal Freeze Royal Court immediately. As planned, seek aid from the Upper-Rank Gods you know. Remember, you must be grief-stricken, your story must be tragic. Make them feel that the Frost Winter Pantheon is facing an imminent catastrophe, and make them feel there's an opportunity to be seized. Go."

"Yes!"

Rockman didn't dare to delay. He gave a deep bow as an icy mist swirled around him, kicking up a frigid wind before he flew off toward the Eternal Freeze Royal Court.

After all, a god being heavily injured meant a vast territory of faith would likely be left vacant. As long as they considered themselves strong enough, no one would refuse such an opportunity.

On the ice plains, only Xu Yunfan remained, standing alone amidst the wind and snow.

He raised his hand to recall the Star Spirit Banner, his Divine Thought sinking into the space within it.

After the recent frenzied harvest, the points of starlight inside the banner were brilliant. The trajectory of the All Heaven Star Formation had become clearer and more profound, its aura having strengthened significantly.

But he was still a long way from gathering all three hundred sixty-five Star Monarchs.

'All Heaven Star Formation (79/365)'

The numbers in his vision silently updated.

Xu Yunfan estimated in his mind.

'Seventy-nine Foundation Establishment Level Divine Banner Spirits, including several at the peak of Middle-Rank God like Lokan... If this power is gathered and coordinated with the Star Array, it's enough to pose a huge threat to a single cultivator at Foundation Establishment Perfection.'

'But it's far from enough to face a Golden Core True Monarch.'

'The complete version of the All Heaven Star Formation has a Star Monarch presiding over each of the Stars of the Celestial Sphere. Only then can it unleash its ultimate power and trap and kill a True Monarch.'

With a flip of his hand, Xu Yunfan took out the Divine Sky World Refining Cauldron.

Inside the cauldron, the milky-white Fire of Willpower burned fiercely, refining the miscellaneous Wish Power stripped from the dozens of newly added remnant Divine Souls and shattered Divine Formats. Wisps of pure Divine Power Origin were extracted, slowly nourishing the thirty-four strands of Immortal Golden Nature floating within the Grotto Heaven Embryo in his Dantian.

Although the speed was much faster than before, it would still take some time to condense the ninety-nine strands of Immortal Golden Nature he envisioned.

'Next time, I should be able to finish it.'

'Ninety-nine strands of Immortal Golden Nature, combined with the Imagery of my own Divine Sky Thunderbolt and Profound Vault Undying...'

'Something unheard of in the entire history of the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm.'

'Praise this land.'

Xu Yunfan mused to himself.

But right now, time was precisely what he lacked most.

There was no telling when True Monarch Qing Yuan might appear. Once the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm discovered this place, its three Main Gods would likely be unable to hold out for long.

True Monarch Qing Yuan...

The man had mastered the Qiankun Pure Qi Mysterious Path; his ability to trace cause and effect was by no means ordinary.

Although he had set up the Triple Cause and Effect Secret Technique and the Celestial-Eroding Restriction for concealment, and the Star Spirit Banner had isolated most of the Taiyin Profound Mirror Dao Fruit's aura, none of it could do more than delay the inevitable against a prepared Golden Core True Monarch. It couldn't guarantee absolute safety.

"I have to speed things up."

Xu Yunfan muttered to himself.

The thought of the Imagery and the Grotto Heaven that would be achieved by condensing ninety-nine strands of Immortal Golden Nature was exhilarating.

Putting away the Divine Sky World Refining Cauldron and the Star Spirit Banner, his figure transformed into an inconspicuous streak of lightning and silently vanished into the snowstorm, heading toward the Divine Country of Frost Thunder City.

He needed to rest briefly to refine his gains from this battle, while also keeping a close watch on the progress of Rockman's and Bosse's pleas for aid.