Longevity by Grinding Skills

Sun Yue’s mountain-toppling Inverted Divine Fist came from the front, while Mo Qisha’s peerless, silent God-obliterating Slaughter Stab struck from behind.

One was fierce and violent; the other, sinister and lethal.

One attacked openly, wielding the power to shake mountains.

The other lurked in the shadows, concealing all of his aura for a single, fatal blow.

Their timing was exquisite. It was the precise moment Ye Yuan was shifting his energy to defend against their two-pronged assault, just as the full power of the Sixth-grade Grand Array erupted and caused his own energy to stagnate.

They seized the perfect opportunity. Sun Yue’s mountain-toppling Giant Fist sealed off Ye Yuan’s escape routes, while Mo Qisha’s shadowy Godslaying Sword Gang stabbed straight for his life gate.

Watching from within the Thunder Array, Xu Yunfan couldn’t help but praise them in his mind. ’As expected of the Primordial Sect’s direct disciples!’

After all, any Daoist Master who could rise from obscurity in the Primordial Sect and reach the Foundation Establishment Realm was bound to be a figure of stunning talent.

But even among such prodigies, there were always those who were even more exceptional, making the others seem almost ordinary by comparison.

Yet Ye Yuan, at the center of the storm, remained perfectly calm, his eyes as still as a Cold Pool.

Facing this combined attack that seemingly cut off all hope of survival, he merely spat out four indifferent words.

"Mere chickens and dogs."

Before the words had even faded, the seemingly ordinary Iron Sword in his hand suddenly let out a low, trembling hum.

The blade channeled the Beidou Shaking Light Sea Splitting True Intent, and the Anomaly in the void reappeared behind him.

Seven immense Sword Soul Stars hung high in the sky. The star in the "Shaking Light" position blazed with immeasurable light, as if the mighty power of an entire galaxy was pouring into the edge of his blade.

A terrifying Sword Intent—tyrannical and magnificent, relentless and unstoppable, capable of severing anything in the world, tangible or not—erupted from him once more.

This was the Fierce Sword Intent he had dedicated his entire life to mastering.

The Sword Intent was brilliant and dreadful. The moment it erupted with its full power, even the Sixth-grade Grand Array enveloping the valley—the Nine Heavens Five Thunders Yin Yang Chaotic God Covering Evil Formation—began to tremble.

Ye Yuan flicked his wrist. The Iron Sword moved like a fleeting shadow, delivering a thrust that was simplicity itself, yet contained an endless Destruction True Intent.

SHIIING!

With that soft sound, the very air seemed to be sliced apart by an invisible blade.

Before this Fierce Sword Intent, Sun Yue’s mountain-toppling Fist Gang and his famed Vajra Indestructible Giant Spirit Fighting Body were as fragile as paper.

A flash of blood erupted from his right shoulder as his entire arm, still crackling with terrifying power, was severed and sent flying.

The stump was as smooth as a mirror. Before he could even cry out in pain, his massive, mountain-like body was sent staggering backward by the irresistible Sword Power.

In that same instant, the Shadow Seven Extremes Sword in Mo Qisha’s hand...

...his Lifebound Magical Treasure, pitch-black and light-absorbing, which radiated a Godslaying Aura condensed to its absolute limit...

...shattered inch by inch without a sound.

CLANG!

The fragments didn’t scatter. Instead, they were caught by the violent Sword Intent and swept backward, piercing Mo Qisha’s chest like countless black fangs.

SPURT!

Mo Qisha’s body convulsed, the front of his green robes instantly soaked with blood.

His once deep and icy eyes were now filled with incredulous horror and the grim resolve of a dying man.

He stared at Ye Yuan, a gurgle in his throat, as a speck of light—his True Spirit—suddenly flared between his eyebrows and violently tore itself from his ruined body.

This True Spirit, carrying his remnant soul, was extremely cunning. It took advantage of the massive turbulence of Spiritual Energy and the chaos of light and shadow generated by Ye Yuan’s attack as cover. With a WHOOSH, it escaped into the void. This was precisely the Primordial Sect’s secret Reincarnation Technique.

A single strike from Ye Yuan had forced Mo Qisha to abandon the physical body he had painstakingly cultivated for years, leaving him with only a wisp of a True Spirit to brave the Sea of Reincarnation.

Xu Yunfan’s pupils shrank as he watched. ’This Fierce Sword Intent... it’s simply inconceivable.’

"KILL!"

Witnessing this, Sun Yue’s eyes looked ready to split from their sockets. Blood gushed from the stump of his right arm like a fountain.

He wasn’t grieving for Mo Qisha. The Ye Yuan before them possessed strength far beyond anyone’s imagination.

With Mo Qisha dead, there was nothing to divert Ye Yuan’s attention. He would have to face him alone.

The thought was terrifying, utterly hopeless. This man’s strength was monstrous. He had probably already touched the threshold of the next major realm, and with his comprehension of Fierce Sword Intent, he was just... unbelievably terrifying.

The intense pain and despair instantly ignited the primal ferocity in his bones.

"WE’LL DIE TOGETHER!"

He roared, his qi and blood surging like wild mercury. The faint golden light covering his body flared intensely, and his muscles and bones let out a dull, grating boom, like metal grinding against stone.

He brazenly activated "Heaven and Earth Return Together," the ultimate suicidal attack of his Unbreakable Giant Spirit Fighting True Skill.

𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

A violent, self-destructive shockwave formed instantly, powerful enough to pulverize everything within a hundred-zhang radius.

Unfortunately for him, Ye Yuan’s sword was faster than his despairing thoughts.

The earlier flick of his wrist had just been a feint. Ye Yuan didn’t even spare the self-detonating Sun Yue a second glance.

His three-foot Longsword simply flicked upward in a traceless, unpredictable arc. A Platinum Sword Rainbow, as fine as a strand of hair but condensed to the absolute limit, shot out against the tide, striking first despite being unleashed second.

SHIICK!

The Sword Intent pierced with unerring precision into Sun Yue’s Skull as he was about to erupt in a frenzy.

The ferocious, self-destructive shockwave he had just begun to gather was extinguished at its very source by the peerless Fierce Sword Intent, unable to even produce a complete roar before it dissipated.

Sun Yue’s massive, ruined body collapsed as if all his Essence, Qi, and Spirit had been drained away. It crashed limply into the dust without another sound.

RUMBLE—!

Only then did Xu Yunfan unleash the final, ultimate attack he had been saving, a strike from the Nine Heavens Five Thunders Yin Yang Chaotic God Covering Evil Formation.

Countless Divine Sky Thunderbolts, each capable of tearing the heavens asunder and carrying an aura of infinite destruction, came crashing down.

Yet, Ye Yuan didn’t even look up.

He simply swung his sword in a backhanded arc, his movements as fluid as flowing water, as if he had anticipated this all along.

A Platinum Sword Rainbow, seeming to stretch from one end of the horizon to the other, shot up to defy the heavens, as if to cleave the world in two.

The brilliant sword light collided with the sky full of purple thunder.

KRAKA-THOOM!

BOOM!

The myriad Thunderbolts were like a raging tide crashing against a reef, brutally torn asunder by the tyrannical beam of sword light.

The terrifying shockwave shredded the clouds, and the Yin Yang Evil Force Chains disintegrated inch by inch.

With a grating shriek of stressed material, the Core Array Banner of the Sixth Grade Peak Formation exploded!

The Grand Array was shattered by that single sword strike.

As the shockwave from the shattered formation swept through the canyon, alarm bells shrieked in Xu Yunfan’s mind. He whipped his head around to where Zhang Qiaoluo and Lu Chuan had been standing.

But all he saw was the Gang Wind sweeping over rubble. Not a single person was in sight!

’They ran away?!’

A nameless fury flared in Xu Yunfan’s chest, and he nearly started cursing out loud.

’Not a single one of these bastards has an ounce of loyalty.’

’Classic Primordial Sect style!’

’Fleeing at the first sign of trouble, "better you die than me"... it’s an instinct carved into their very bones.’

’Out here in the world, the "loyalty" of these fellow disciples is utterly paper-thin.’

’They talk a big game about righteousness, but the moment things get tough, they’re the first to run.’

In that fleeting moment, as Xu Yunfan was distracted by his silent cursing, Ye Yuan’s icy gaze pierced through the dust and smoke, locking onto him.

The gaze was like a physical blade, sending a chill down Xu Yunfan’s spine. Even his Martial Arts Celestial Eye, a Divine Technique, instinctively throbbed with a cold premonition.

How could Xu Yunfan dare to hesitate for even a moment?

Cursing inwardly, he instantly pushed his Triple Cause and Effect Secret Technique to its absolute limit, forming a hand seal to detonate what was left of the collapsing Grand Array.