Longevity by Grinding Skills

Han Shi’s heart eased slightly. ’It seems he can’t perceive my innermost thoughts.’

"My business in the Divine Martial Realm is concluded. I still have important matters to attend to in the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm, so we’ll put the issue of the Root Origin Qi aside for now. Since you’ve chosen the name Han Shi, continue on with that identity and focus on your Cultivation."

At this, a hint of a smile crept into Xu Yunfan’s voice.

"What’s all this ’subordinate’ talk? We’re fellow cultivators, you and I."

At this, Xu Yunfan sighed. "But I must trouble you for a while, my friend. If I can one day break free of my own cage, I will certainly grant you your freedom."

’Just dangling a carrot. You make the promise now and worry about keeping it later.’

Xu Yunfan was quite familiar with this tactic. His bosses in his previous life had fed him plenty of those.

Now that he was the one doing it, he finally understood why leaders loved making such grand promises.

You don’t have to give up a thing. Just flap your gums a bit, and you might gain a completely loyal, underpaid beast of burden.

’I wouldn’t dare! This subordinate understands!’

Han Shi kowtowed in his mind. ’I will not fail you! I will put down roots here and await the day you master your great arts and return!’

Xu Yunfan’s voice didn’t sound again, fading without a trace like a receding tide.

Xu Yunfan’s will receded completely, leaving Han Shi to gasp with lingering fear in the cold, damp corner.

A cold sweat had soaked through his undershirt, bringing a deeper chill with it.

He leaned against the cold wall and slowly closed his eyes, forcing the churning fear down, bit by bit, into the very depths of his soul.

A long time passed before he opened his eyes again.

Someone lit an oil lamp on the street outside the alley, and its dim, yellow light bloomed into a small, hazy reflection on the damp Bluestone Slabs.

The dim, flickering light washed over the lingering pallor of his face. It also caught a glint, faint yet exceedingly dangerous, that flashed and vanished deep within his eyes—eyes hidden in shadow, cold as the ice of a lightless pool.

’Main body... Are you not a little too confident?’

’Confident that this controlled incarnation will truly be content to remain as the dirt beneath your feet forever?’

’To be replaced by you at a moment’s notice?’

Han Shi slowly reached out. His fingertips brushed against the cold, rough surface of the wall, and his nail scraped a faint white line across it.

A thread of Devouring Power, so faint it was nearly imperceptible, quietly emanated from his fingertips.

A greasy, hard-shelled beetle crawling on the wall suddenly went rigid. The minute spark of Vitality within it was instantly drained, transforming into a negligible wisp of grayish-black energy that vanished the moment it merged with Han Shi’s fingertip.

The sensation from that minuscule bit of Vitality was like a single spark landing in a deep sea of oil.

Thoughts once again churned and crashed beneath the solid ice of his consciousness, emitting a low rumble. He grinned silently, the corners of his mouth pulling into a bone-chilling arc.

The Wansheng Sword Transformation Technique lived up to its name, channeling immense power to transform the body itself into a weapon. Though the Sword Embryo was still in its infancy, its miraculous properties were already beginning to manifest.

***

A heavy, dark mist shrouded the summit of a nameless cliff in the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm. The Gang Wind howled past jagged rocks, its cry like a mournful keen.

Xu Yunfan sat cross-legged atop a smooth, black rock, his figure flickering in and out of view amidst the chaotic swirl of Spiritual Mist and encroaching night.

The intricate Gathering Spirit Array embroidered on his immaculate Li Fire Robe constantly gathered the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi. It filtered the energy, converting it into pure Spiritual Qi that flowed into his body. A single revolution of his True Martial Magical Power was all it took to completely refine it.

When he opened his eyes, there wasn’t a trace of annoyance in their depths—only a bottomless, soul-freezing indifference.

This was, of course, an aftereffect of being in the Linn Character State for several days. Had it been a little earlier, his eyes would have held a coldness so thick it seemed tangible.

His gaze shifted, landing on the Attribute Panel in his vision.

In the Skill Bar, a scarlet "Control" marker had quietly appeared next to the Cloud Scripture Incarnation created by the Profound Capital Eight Sceneries Celestial Refining Creation Cloud Scripture. The marker hovered above the golden-lettered entry.

Xu Yunfan’s eyes narrowed. The moment his Divine Sense touched the marker, Han Shi’s roiling thoughts surged into his mind like a bursting flood: his pathological craving for freedom, his frenzied plots to betray his master, and the twisted, almost tangible hatred lurking beneath his humble facade.

He raised an eyebrow. ’So this "Control" marker can read the incarnation’s mind.’

A flicker of coldness passed through Xu Yunfan’s eyes. ’Interesting.’

’Damn. Anyone else who got their hands on a top-tier Artifact Refining Technique like this and saw it included the Cloud Scripture Incarnation Technique would dive right in. After all, being able to refine your own artifacts adds a lot of trump cards to your arsenal. You can’t just show your life-saving Magical Treasures to anyone.’

’And to advance further, to refine a true Spiritual Treasure using the Eight Sceneries Cloud Qi, you absolutely need to master the Cloud Scripture Incarnation Technique to assist.’

’A master and servant incarnation, one for control and one for the forge, working in tandem—it’s the only way to succeed.’

’But the moment you create this incarnation, one slip-up means it will turn on you and kill you.’

’It’s a massive death trap.’

’I wonder what bastard put this out there to screw people over.’

’If I didn’t have the absolute control granted by my Attribute Panel, I really would’ve taken a nasty fall because of this.’

A cold smile played on Xu Yunfan’s lips.

Through his connection to the Cloud Scripture Incarnation, he could clearly see Han Shi’s clenched fists in that dark alley. He could hear the boiling ambition in that shell of a body, a sound like a caged beast gnawing on iron bars, a grating noise that set one’s teeth on edge.

"Interesting..."

’This Cloud Scripture Incarnation has an almost completely independent personality. Its moods and emotions are mostly dark and negative; even its innermost passions are entirely evil and chaotic.’

’But its natural talent is extraordinary, its comprehension astonishing.’

’In just a few days, it’s already grasped the rudiments of the Wansheng Sword Technique and started gestating a Sword Embryo.’

’If it were me, it would probably take me several years to even reach the entry level, and that’s with the help of the Attribute Panel...’

"Is this really my own incarnation?"

Xu Yunfan felt a flicker of doubt. He glanced at the information on his Attribute Panel and muttered, "Good thing I can unilaterally share his insights."

An idea sparked in Xu Yunfan’s mind. Leveraging the Attribute Panel’s absolute control over the Cloud Scripture Incarnation, he unilaterally extracted Han Shi’s insights from his Cultivation of the Wansheng Sword Technique.

The profound principles of the sword technique flowed into his Sea of Consciousness like a gentle stream. Though not gained through his own arduous Cultivation, the panel converted them into experience he could draw upon.

’What belongs to the incarnation belongs to me.’

’Logically, this was just a product of my own heaven-defying comprehension.’

His gaze swept over the Attribute Panel. Next to the "Control" marker, the comprehension progress bar for the Wansheng Sword Technique was steadily increasing. At the sight, the last vestiges of indifference in his eyes, a remnant of the Linn Character State, faded a little more.

’My humanity is finally returning!’

Feeling the full spectrum of human passion welling up within his Dharma Body—a consequence of its immense power—Xu Yunfan let out a long sigh of relief.

’The physical body is a vessel, and the Divine Soul resides within.’

’Body and soul are inseparable.’

’First, I’ll head back to Cold Crow Pass.’

His mind made up, a streak of Escape Light flashed, and Xu Yunfan’s figure vanished from beneath the heavens.