Longevity by Grinding Skills

His pupils shrank violently. The Blood Qi in his body churned like boiling water, instantly reaching its peak. His muscles bulged, and the veins across his skin formed a pattern like cicada wings. As his bones vibrated, waves of power erupted, one after another, and he swung the Drumming Jar Golden Hammer—weighing over two hundred jin—in a brutal smash.

The surrounding air churned, letting out an unending howl.

The Jar Gold Hammer tore through the dense fog, its head wreathed in roaring air as it smashed toward Chen Tiangang’s chest.

A blow that could easily shatter a bluestone stele only managed to press a spiderweb of bloody lines onto his opponent’s skin. Those dark red veins writhed like living things, impossibly neutralizing the Hammer Force layer by layer.

"Is that the best you can do?"

Chen Tiangang flicked a finger against the face of the hammer. A dent in the shape of a fingerprint immediately appeared on the bronze-cast head.

Xu Yunfan’s expression changed drastically. Before the Blood Beads from his ruptured tiger’s mouth could even hit the ground, he saw the bloody pattern crawl up the hammer’s handle and onto his arm, weaving a translucent network like cicada wings among his own veins.

His Heart and Spirit trembled, and he could not help but take a step back.

He immediately surged forward again. The Jar Gold Hammer crashed down, carried on a wave of air. The cicada-wing pattern on Xu Yunfan’s arm bulged as the two-hundred-jin Refined Steel Heavy Hammer transformed into a black shadow, cleaving straight for Chen Tiangang’s Celestial Spirit.

The moment he spun to swing the hammer, Chen Tiangang’s withered hand shot forward. His knuckles bent backward at an unnatural angle, forming a claw that precisely latched onto the handle, seven *cun* from the end.

CRACK!

The handle of the Jar Gold Hammer splintered on impact, and blood gushed from the web of Xu Yunfan’s hand.

He retreated seven explosive steps, the arches of his feet gouging deep furrows into the Bluestone Slabs.

The muscles on Chen Tiangang’s right arm coiled like constricting pythons, and the blue-black blood vessels beneath his skin throbbed violently. He had clearly pushed his Celestial Cicada Force to its absolute limit.

"Why do you insist on hunting me?"

The muscles on Xu Yunfan’s back knotted together, forming the shape of a demon’s face. A rapid series of cracks echoed from his shoulder blades. All that remained in his hand was a splintered fragment of the Jar Gold Hammer’s handle.

The Drumming Jar Golden Hammer he had used for so long had been shattered so easily by Chen Tiangang.

He noticed the cicada-wing pattern on Chen Tiangang’s newly formed skin was vibrating at the exact same frequency as the cicada-wing blood threads on his own body.

"The Qi Blood Pills you’ve been taking for the past few months..."

He tore open the flesh of his chest. The dark-gold True Blood, which had originally belonged to Ning Wuque, had now formed a Blood Cicada that was swimming through his fascia.

"All of them were laced with the medicinal power of a Blood Cicada that I have personally nurtured for thirty years. You, my boy, are the primer. Should any problems arise with the True Blood transplant, your assistance is required."

Chen Tiangang stated with conviction, "Your Cultivation speed is far too rapid. You must have True Blood inside you."

As he spoke, the tangled blood-red patterns on his bare torso coalesced into the shape of cicada wings, each line glowing as if lava were flowing just beneath his skin.

He looked as if he were about to explode.

"It seems it was still too much."

Chen Tiangang sighed, shaking his head slightly.

"When two True Bloods clash, the rejection response will naturally be eliminated. It’s just a pity that the True Blood will be somewhat diluted."

He looked at Xu Yunfan, a slight smile on his face. "My good disciple, it’s just a little bloodletting. I’ll make sure your body is left intact. I will even bury you myself."

"Master, it seems this True Blood has caused your strength to drop significantly."

Xu Yunfan lowered his gaze, the muscles all over his body twitching restlessly.

"Of course. In the Blood and Marrow Washing Realm, one’s blood is remade and their marrow and bones are renewed. Teeth and hair are replaced in a complete rebirth. Blood flows like mercury, and the physical body becomes as clear as glazed glass, free of all illness. Every single movement contains the ultimate worldly power. One can pierce Profound Armor with their bare hands and shatter a hundred-*zhang*-tall boulder, with the shockwave felt a hundred paces away."

Chen Tiangang’s tone shifted.

"However, I am using most of my strength to suppress the True Blood and need time to integrate it. My current power is barely at the Flesh Refining Realm. And you, my good disciple, are the very catalyst I need to accelerate that process."

"I see."

Xu Yunfan slowly raised his head and took the Refined Steel Iron Box from his back.

This sight piqued Chen Tiangang’s curiosity.

"Ever since you came to this mountain, you have carried that Iron Box on your back, rain or shine. What’s inside it? Don’t tell me it’s a Divine Weapon?"

A faint smile touched Xu Yunfan’s lips as he opened the Iron Box.

"Master, your guess is spot on."

Chen Tiangang roared with laughter. "You? Worthy? Do you have any idea who can possess a Divine Weapon, let alone wield one? Do you know the stringent conditions a Divine Weapon requires to acknowledge a master? Don’t tell me you think you’re some supreme grandmaster of Qi Cultivation..."

"Linn!"

Xu Yunfan formed the Linn Character Seal with one hand. As his right fingertips brushed across a black cloth inside, a dragon’s cry suddenly exploded from the Iron Box.

The instant the black cloth tore, the body of a mace was revealed. It was cast entirely from what looked like ancient bronze, with a dark-gold Dragon Scale Pattern. Between the scales, fine golden threads pulsed like veins. When still, lava seemed to writhe slowly in the crevices of the pattern. When it moved, wisps of fiery energy burst forth.

"How is that possible?!!!"

Chen Tiangang’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. He could never have imagined that Xu Yunfan had truly been carrying a Divine Weapon all this time.

"Anything is possible."

Xu Yunfan replied indifferently. In the Linn Character State, he could clearly perceive the subtle airflow as his pores opened and closed, and hear the splash of his own sweat hitting the ground.

Even the frequency of the eighteen flickering golden veins on the Gilded Mace synced into a rhythm, like a second heartbeat.

’Three breaths!

No, it should be four. My strength has improved a lot recently.’

As the thought crossed his mind, Xu Yunfan moved. Amplified by the Divine Weapon, his Blood Qi surged like thunder. A torrent of hidden power erupted from within him, causing his already bulging muscles to swell to an even more exaggerated size, looking as if they might tear apart.

With a stomp of his foot, dirt and stone flew like crashing waves. He shot forward like a cannonball fired from its barrel, arriving in an instant as a sharp sonic boom tore through the air.

The first breath!

The edge of the mace grazed Chen Tiangang’s throat. Fueled by his Blood Qi, the crimson flames of the Gilded Mace flared, searing through his glass-like skin. The smell of scorched flesh mingled with rising steam.

Chen Tiangang reached out to seize the weapon, but the force rebounding from the mace’s body shattered the bones in his palm. His thick, mercury-like blood splattered everywhere, causing the surrounding plants to instantly wither and decay. Before this Divine Weapon, his vaunted Horizontal Training was as flimsy as paper.

The second breath!

Xu Yunfan spun, dodging Chen Tiangang’s palm-edge strike, and the pommel of the mace precisely struck the master beneath his ribs.

The sixty-six-jin Gilded Mace suddenly shot out threads of golden fire. As if transforming into Raozhi Rou, it used the momentum to swing in a full-moon arc. The fog within a five-*zhang* radius instantly vaporized into billowing white steam.

Chen Tiangang’s right hand, which had shot up in a grappling move, was still in mid-air when Xu Yunfan precisely anticipated the three points of force in his wrist. The Gilded Mace angled upward seven point three *cun*, and with a clash of metal, a shower of blood exploded into the air.

His opponent’s every move was completely under his control.

"Wait! I have something to say!"

Chen Tiangang was utterly horrified. He couldn’t even follow Xu Yunfan’s movements. His disciple’s strength had instantaneously surged to an unimaginable level.

Even with a Divine Weapon, it shouldn’t be like this.

It should have been like an infant wielding a great club, struggling just to swing it. But Xu Yunfan wielded it with silky smoothness. The Divine Weapon even resonated with him of its own accord, drawing out the hidden potential in his body and unleashing it in a final, explosive burst.

Xu Yunfan said nothing, only continuing his relentless assault with the mace.

As the throb of the third breath shuddered through his chest, the Gilded Mace was now completely crimson. With the vibration of his very bones, the Heavy Mace emitted a tremulous hum.

The moment the Gilded Mace tore through the night, the glass-like skin on Chen Tiangang’s throat suddenly spiderwebbed with cracks.