Longevity by Grinding Skills

And at the Golden Core Realm, it unleashed an unbelievable might.

This single move not only resolved the crisis of Xu Yunfan being targeted, but it was also like pouring a basin of cold water into a pot of boiling oil.

The Divine Battlefield, where everyone had already been driven into a killing frenzy and provoked by both Xu Yunfan and True Monarch Qing Yuan, had a brief moment of respite before plunging back into utter madness.

Everyone abandoned defense, knowing only how to relentlessly attack.

The three Main Gods, their wills twisted, instantly regarded each other’s abnormal actions as the most fatal betrayal and the most ferocious of attacks.

They completely lost their lock on Xu Yunfan, issuing endless divine decrees of slaughter through their supreme authority.

Sensing the drastic change in their Main Gods’ wills and the undisguised commands to kill, how could the Divine Spirits under their command possibly bother to tell truth from falsehood?

Bound by that supreme authority, the Divine Spirits of the three great Pantheons naturally had no way to resist.

Even the Thunderous Divine Format within Xu Yunfan’s body stirred restlessly.

He raised an eyebrow slightly. With a surge of Divine Sky Magical Power, his Thunderous Divine Format completely suppressed the influence the Natural Main God was attempting to exert through its own Divine Format’s authority.

As True Monarch Qing Yuan deployed the Celestial-Eroding Netherworld Talisman, even the world’s Celestial Dao, though on alert, was silently affected.

Had Xu Yunfan not also cultivated this art and brought it to the level of Perfection, he too would likely have been affected without even knowing.

This was the true meaning of manipulating cause and effect, of killing without a trace.

And so, an all-out, no-holds-barred war between the Pantheons erupted completely.

Flashes from exploding Divine Power rose and fell one after another, like innumerable suns rising and being annihilated over the Aitela Continent.

The entire continent issued a mournful cry, unable to bear the strain. The earth cracked, the sky shattered, and even the Laws descended into chaos.

This chaotic battlefield instantly transformed into an even more efficient meat grinder for Divine Spirits.

The number of fallen Divine Spirits continued to rise.

A chill rose in Xu Yunfan’s heart.

True Monarch Qing Yuan’s move, of course, was not to help him.

Rather, it was a blatant move to turn the entire battlefield of Aitira into a larger, more efficient Divine Refining Furnace.

All of Xu Yunfan’s previous painstaking efforts to instigate the Divine War and secretly reap the spoils... The Golden Core True Monarch before him had simply used a Secret Technique at the Golden Core Realm to accelerate the entire process, hastening the Manifestation and collapse of this World Heaven’s Origin, which was caused by the mass death of Divine Spirits.

This Primordial Sect True Monarch wanted the entire Origin of Aitira.

’What audacity.’

Xu Yunfan took a breath, steadying his somewhat ragged breathing.

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

He glanced at the three Main Gods in the distance, who were now attacking one another under True Monarch Qing Yuan’s influence, and couldn’t help but shake his head.

’It’s just as True Monarch Qing Yuan said. They have authority, but they don’t understand the true essence of the Great Dao.’

’To think they’d end up like this, even while fighting on their home turf with the Celestial Lord’s aid.’

’This is a good opportunity, though.’

Xu Yunfan’s mind raced.

He had to seize this moment—one that True Monarch Qing Yuan was content to let play out—to snatch the last four strands of Golden Nature as quickly as possible and reach his goal of ninety-nine.

Xu Yunfan’s gaze swept across the battlefield.

His eyes landed on an Upper-Rank God of the Dark Pantheon, Eternal Night Nightmare Marduk, who was trying to melt into the shadows and escape the battlefield amid the utter chaos.

’He wasn’t affected?’

Marduk transformed into a deep, writhing shadow, silently slipping away into the void.

Xu Yunfan moved like lightning, the Star Spirit Banner flaring to its full power.

The orbits of the Stars of the Celestial Sphere suddenly contracted. In an instant, eighty-one brilliant star phantoms condensed into a giant Star Sword that spanned the sky. It ignored all distance, slashing down with the might to sunder the void itself.

He secretly deployed the Celestial-Eroding Netherworld Talisman, causing his target to freeze abruptly, its expression becoming dazed.

By the time Marduk snapped out of it and let out a horrified shriek, its divine body had been pinned to the shattered earth by the Star Sword, its Shadow Realm breaking apart inch by inch.

The Heaven-Eroding Talisman and the Purple Gold Divine Thunder followed immediately after, burrowing into its shadow core like an inescapable plague.

With a mere flick of his finger, it was collected.

The ninety-sixth strand of Golden Nature was his.

High in the sky, a sharp glint flashed in True Monarch Qing Yuan’s eyes as he watched Xu Yunfan’s practiced maneuvers. A faint sense of unease crept into his heart.

’Damn, you can even play it like that?’

At that very moment, the three Main Gods finally shook off the effects of the Secret Technique and, with furious roars, lunged at True Monarch Qing Yuan.

In that instant, the world lost its color, and all things fell silent.

True Monarch Qing Yuan glanced at them, his expression growing slightly solemn, but he didn’t seem overly concerned.

’First, I’ll deal with Xu Yunfan.’

He was done watching the show. He took a single step forward.

The Pure Qi beneath his feet solidified into jade steps. Though he seemed to be taking a leisurely stroll, he crossed an immense distance in an instant.

A massive hand, wreathed in Immortal Palace Pure Qi and seemingly containing the universe itself, reached for the Star Spirit Banner hovering above Xu Yunfan’s head, carrying the terrifying power to seal the Ten Thousand Laws.

That grasp contained the suppressive might of a Golden Core Grotto Heaven. The space around Xu Yunfan instantly froze like crystal, his Magical Power grew sluggish, and even the ethereal glow of the Star Spirit Banner dimmed and faltered.

At this moment of life and death, Xu Yunfan held nothing back.

The ninety-six strands of Golden Nature within his Dantian roared and thrashed wildly.

’Sword Two: Tribulation Destruction!’

A roar that shook his very Divine Soul erupted from the depths of his being.

The second Golden Core Sword Intent bestowed upon him by Ancestral Master Chunyang, Lv Chunyang, erupted with a BOOM. It was a terrifying beam of sword light containing the True Intent of the Nirvana of all things.

The sight made True Monarch Qing Yuan’s heart tremble. The last time he faced the might of Sword Two: Tribulation Destruction, it had nearly caused his Dao Fruit to degrade. He was, naturally, scarred by the experience.

HSSSST!

It was like a red-hot iron plunging into Ten Thousand Years Profound Ice.

The sword light, containing the Pure Yang Destruction True Meaning, managed to forcibly slice open a tiny but crucial fissure in the space that had been frozen by the power of the Golden Core Grotto Heaven.

The ethereal light of the Star Spirit Banner flared, enveloping Xu Yunfan. Like a slippery loach, he narrowly and precariously escaped from beneath the massive, sky-blotting hand of Pure Qi.

But that was as far as it went.

This Sword Intent was a far cry from the Golden Core Sword Intent Xu Yunfan had unleashed earlier.

"You can still use Pure Yang Sword Intent?!"

True Monarch Qing Yuan grasped at empty air. For the first time, an undisguised, grim expression appeared on his face.

He stared at the lingering wisp of golden Sword Intent on his fingertip, the killing intent in his eyes practically tangible.

That last move had genuinely sent a shiver through him.

Having already fled a thousand li away, Xu Yunfan heard the shout. Seeing that the three Main Gods had now reached True Monarch Qing Yuan with their attacks, he allowed himself a faint smile.

"Lv Chunyang of the Wansheng Sword Sect is my Ancestral Master."

From these words, True Monarch Qing Yuan naturally understood that Lv Chunyang, like Xu Yunfan, came from the Divine Martial Realm.

He snorted coldly but had no choice but to face the attacks of the three Main Gods.

Using the respite this distraction had bought him, Xu Yunfan’s Divine Thought flared.

He pushed the Celestial-Eroding Netherworld Talisman to an unprecedented extreme, no longer aiming to capture and refine his targets, but only for the most savage destruction and plunder.

He became the most terrifying specter on the battlefield. Under the cover of the crumbling All Heaven Star Formation, his every flicker was accompanied by the piercing scream of a Middle-Rank God and the shattering of a Divine Format.

The ninety-seventh strand!

A "Rotting Poison Vine" Middle-Rank God from the Dark Pantheon had its core ensnared by a Heaven-Eroding Talisman, instantly withering and disintegrating!

The ninety-eighth strand!

A "Holy Shield Guard" from the Light Pantheon had its Divine Format pierced by the Purple Gold Thunder Spear, its Holy Light Armor crumbling like paper!

The ninety-ninth strand!!!

A "Thorny Land" Middle-Rank God from the Natural Pantheon, attempting to self-destruct, was forcibly suppressed by the Star Array, its Divine Format ripped out and crushed!

He had harvested what should have been six strands’ worth of Immortal Golden Nature, but due to the massive wastefulness of his methods, he had only just managed to reach his goal of ninety-nine strands.