Longevity by Grinding Skills

Zhang Ziyang instantly understood. "You take its Divine Format and refine the brand of its authority. Although it won’t be your own Dao Fruit, it will be like wearing a suit of armor. In the eyes of the Celestial Dao of this Great Realm, Aitira, you’ll become one of its own.

Things will be much more convenient. You won’t have to keep walking on thin ice as you did today."

At this point, Zhang Ziyang couldn’t help but look at Xu Yunfan with an approving gaze.

"Although your innate talent and comprehension are rather poor, you’ve learned not to get the short end of the stick over the years."

Xu Yunfan: "..."

’My talent is amazing, you know?’

’Just go ask around in the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm. Who else could have done what I have? In less than 150 years, I reached Late-Stage Foundation Establishment. I even condensed my own Imagery effortlessly, stepping straight into Foundation Establishment Perfection to claim the Great Daoist Master Position.’

’Although the Attribute Panel’s help was indispensable, I still cultivated it one step at a time, alright?’

"...Sect Leader, you flatter me."

Zhang Ziyang nodded slightly. "This plan is feasible. However, the Heart of Nature Pantheon is deeply rooted. According to Delis, while it can’t compare to the Light Pantheon and isn’t known for its power, it should not be underestimated.

That God of Thunder, while not the true Thunder God of the Light Pantheon, has an authority that touches upon its fringes. He’s a perfect target for you to make your move. However, since he commands the thunderbolt, his strength certainly won’t be weak.

We need to plan this meticulously and first see what his true strength is."

It was simple. If the opponent was weak, they would find an opportunity to take him down in one go. If he was strong, they would have to make a long-term plan.

However, Xu Yunfan estimated he couldn’t be that strong.

From the intelligence they had gathered, the Main Gods of this world were only barely comparable to Golden Core True Monarchs.

And there were only three Main Gods in this world.

Therefore, time was of the essence. If the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm followed the trail here and those Golden Core True Monarchs caught wind of it and took action, they wouldn’t even get to drink the leftover soup.

After all, this world’s Celestial Dao manifested authority as Divine Formats. In the eyes of the True Monarchs from the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm, this was no different from someone throwing money around in public. Coming here would be like picking up cash off the street.

"That’s exactly what I was thinking."

Xu Yunfan nodded. "So, I must ask the Sect Leader to go first."

He looked at the mark of the Investigation Divine Format on Zhang Ziyang’s brow.

"Sect Leader, you have just acquired this new ability; it’s the perfect time to display your talents. Please find the lair of that God of Thunder for me, and determine the extent of his faith’s coverage and its nodes of power. If we know our enemy and ourselves, we can succeed with a single, fatal strike."

Zhang Ziyang smiled in understanding. With a slight stir of his Divine Thought, the silver star on his brow pulsed with light. An invisible, intangible power of investigation, yet one that could perceive the most subtle of things, spread silently outward like ripples on water.

The Divine Spirit who originally held the authority of investigation had been completely useless, but in Zhang Ziyang’s hands, it had the effect of turning the mundane into the miraculous.

With Zhang Ziyang’s talent, he could naturally develop this investigative authority to a profound degree. In just a moment, Zhang Ziyang could already rely on the authority to perform all sorts of wondrous feats.

Because it was an authority of the Celestial Dao, in his hands it was no less effective than a Talent Divine Technique.

He sat down cross-legged, his Heart and Spirit completely immersed in applying his new power. He began to search this vast and dangerous Wilderness West Field for any trace of the God of Thunder from the Heart of Nature Pantheon.

Xu Yunfan stood quietly to the side, his Divine Thought turned inward in Introspection.

Thirteen strands of Immortal Golden Nature bobbed within his Grotto Heaven Embryo, and the faint glow of the Star Spirit Banner illuminated his serene face.

He had shattered the peace of the Wilderness West Field. The stage of hunting Weak Gods was over.

Next, the spear would be aimed at a stronger existence. As long as they could get their hands on the Divine Spirit who wielded natural thunderbolts, the rest would be easy.

As Zhang Ziyang sat quietly in meditation, the silver star on his brow suddenly flared to life.

The power of his investigative authority spread out silently with his Divine Thought, like invisible ripples washing over the barren mountains of the Wilderness West Field, meticulously covering an area hundreds of thousands of miles wide.

Xu Yunfan, watching from the side, was a little surprised. He truly hadn’t expected this Divine Format to be so effective in Zhang Ziyang’s hands.

’Keeping it in the Star Spirit Banner before was truly a waste of its potential.’

Finally, Zhang Ziyang withdrew the power of the authority.

"There are no Divine Spirits left in the Wilderness West Field. This place is barren and sparsely populated. Any Divine Spirit with a bit of ambition would rarely come here. We’ll have to check other regions."

Xu Yunfan had no objections.

The investigation continued for three days, but the feedback from the entire West Field was nothing but an empty echo.

Zhang Ziyang’s Divine Thought turned to the north, toward the Frosty North Plains where the Natural Pantheon was entrenched.

Eventually, Zhang Ziyang’s investigative power seeped into the frigid north wind that howled year-round.

The moment his investigative power spread into the Frosty North Plains, Faith Desire Force surged toward Zhang Ziyang like an icefield blizzard.

He felt the biting, frosty faith of the "Wrath of Winter" Pantheon and the chilling, cold-tide fluctuations from the Eternal Silence Glacier Pantheon.

Although the discerning authority granted by the Divine Format was from a low-level one, in Zhang Ziyang’s hands it could precisely filter out the chaotic tides of faith unrelated to the Heart of Nature. Amidst the vast and profound torrent of Faith Desire Force, he locked onto a violent and unique rhythm of thunderbolt.

"Found him. The God of Thunder, Tatus."

Zhang Ziyang opened his eyes, a single Divine Text condensing on his fingertip.

"Deep in the Frosty North Plains, above the ’Frost Skull’ Barbarian tribe. His Divine Country is suspended in the clouds, stirring up a persistent thunderstorm."

Without further hesitation, the two transformed into streaks of Escape Light and shot away.

𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Half a day later, they arrived above the frost-covered Northern Plains.

Xu Yunfan’s gaze swept over the clusters of animal-hide tents faintly visible at the edge of the ice field.

The thunderclouds in the sky were as heavy as a lead curtain, with blue and white electric serpents writhing deep within them.

The crude ritual songs of the Barbarians drifted on the cold wind. A thick Faith Desire Force rose and converged, holding aloft a Divine Country hidden within the clouds.

The Martial Arts Celestial Eye on Xu Yunfan’s brow opened, allowing him to see with perfect clarity.

Inside the Divine Country, a twenty-foot-tall stone colossus with knotted muscles sat upon a throne, its body wrapped in blue and white Thunder Chains as thick as water buckets.

It was Tatus, the one who wielded the Thunderous Authority.

"Lure the snake from its hole?"

Xu Yunfan flipped his palm, revealing a prism-shaped Divine Format.

This item came from some spring guardian. Its divinity was weak and it was already damaged, its surface covered in spiderweb cracks, yet it still exuded an irresistible allure to Divine Spirits.

For other Divine Spirits, seeing it was truly like a hungry beast smelling blood.

An irresistible temptation.

This was also the shortcut for Divine Spirits in this world to advance.

Zhang Ziyang knew what Xu Yunfan was about to do with a single glance and nodded.

"It’s worth a try."

The plan was quickly settled.

Xu Yunfan transformed into a faint shadow and sped westward, not stopping until he was hundreds of miles away from the Frost Skull Tribe.

He chose a desolate valley backed by an ice cliff, embedded the Divine Format deep into the frozen earth, and then used his Divine Sky Magical Power to simulate the chaotic energy signature of a self-detonation, deliberately directing it toward the Wilderness West Field.

The fabricated traces were crude, yet effective.

Shattered Ice Crystals were scattered in a radial pattern, and the scorched earth gave off the faint, burnt smell of annihilated divinity, perfectly matching the rumors of the God Hunter cleansing the West Field.

After all, with the essences of so many captured Weak Gods transformed into spirits for his banner, Xu Yunfan was more than capable of making the scene look authentic.

Within the Divine Country of Thunder, the music of clashing metal and stone and the crazed laughter of women came to an abrupt halt.

With a look of surprise, Tatus pushed aside the Barbarian Priestess draped over his lap. A Bronze goblet tumbled down, spilling its fine liquor across the stone steps inlaid with Thunder Patterns.