Longevity by Grinding Skills-Chapter 64: Introductory Linn Character Technique

Chapter 64: Chapter 64: Introductory Linn Character Technique

’You are entangled by an ominous aura.’

’You are silently chanting the Linn Character Technique. The ominous aura is being assimilated. Your Linn Character Technique Skill Level has increased.’

In his mind, that blurry figure slowly emerged, seemingly gazing at the eight-armed, three-skulled statue on the altar from a distance.

The strange phenomenon in the Buddha Hall quickly subsided. When he looked up again, the statue of the eight-armed, three-skulled Powerful Awakening Bodhisattva on the altar no longer possessed its earlier unsettling and soul-stirring aura.

Although it was still eerie, it no longer tugged at one’s mind.

"Patron, why must you involve yourself in karma?"

A raspy voice exploded against his spine, and Xu Yunfan’s hair stood on end.

The hem of his robes tore through the air with a HISS as he spun and retreated. He had already grabbed the Jar Gold Hammer, his body rapidly pulling back into the courtyard.

He saw, ten zhang away, on a prayer cushion beneath the altar in the Buddha Hall...

...a withered old monk facing him, his body as emaciated as a stick insect wrapped in human skin. The hem of his kasaya was piled in web-like folds.

The most terrifying part was his eyes—two specks of golden light floated in his murky pupils, as if all the incense smoke in the entire temple had been refined into embers at the back of his eyes.

’Is he a man or a ghost?!’

Alarm bells screamed in Xu Yunfan’s mind, and his scalp went numb.

It was the first time he had ever seen such a bizarre-looking person.

Without the slightest hesitation, Xu Yunfan stomped his foot. The bluestone slab beneath him instantly shattered, and his body shot backward.

As Xu Yunfan was about to leap over the high wall, the wrinkles at the corners of the old monk’s mouth suddenly lifted, revealing gold foil embedded in his gums.

The gold foil shimmered with a strange luster in the incense-filled air, outlining the densely packed scriptures of the Rebirth Spell.

His withered neck made a crisp crack, like a bamboo stalk snapping, as his head tilted back at an impossible angle. The golden light in his eye sockets suddenly flared.

"Since you have seen a True Buddha, why not convert?"

A wave of sound, wrapped in the cloyingly sweet scent of sandalwood, rushed toward him. Xu Yunfan suddenly noticed his shadow on the bluestone slab twisting into an eight-armed shape.

He bit his tongue hard. The salty, metallic taste mixed with the Linn Character Technique as he guarded his Heart and Spirit. Spurred by this, the blurry figure in his mind actually took a step forward, as if about to walk out of the obscuring mist. Even its indistinct form became much clearer.

’You have been infiltrated by Incense Smoke Qi. The Linn Character Technique is assimilating it. Your Linn Character Technique Skill Level has increased.’

A clear stream rushed into his Spirit Platform, but then he saw the eyes of the Arhat reliefs on the surrounding corridor pillars all turn, eighteen gazes stabbing into the back of his head like steel needles.

This, however, only provoked Xu Yunfan’s ferocity.

"Stop your cheap tricks!"

The Jar Gold Hammer smashed into the ground. The powerful gust from the two-hundred-plus-jin heavy weapon tore an opening in the surging Incense Smoke Qi before him.

Xu Yunfan used the recoil to leap into the air, his toes tapping on the upside-down Weituo Statue.

When the stick-insect-thin old monk saw that Xu Yunfan had actually broken free from his spiritual restraints, his brow twitched and his lips trembled. His face was filled with excitement, a complete change from before.

"You can actually cultivate an Ancient Technique! Could it be that the world’s Primordial Spirit has been stirred?!"

Tears streamed down the old monk’s face as he looked to the heavens and clasped his hands together.

"Ancestral Master! I’ve waited. I have finally... finally waited for this moment."

Then, he suddenly glared at Xu Yunfan, his murky eyes now shot with blood.

The old monk slowly stood up. As he moved, his body let out a series of grating, crisp CRACKS.

’This old monk must have been sitting here motionless for decades for his body to be in this state.’

Xu Yunfan was secretly alarmed, but he also breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed his opponent was not skilled in the Martial Dao but instead focused on spiritual Cultivation, able to use Spiritual Power to influence his surroundings and trap people in illusions.

After this experience, when he formed the Linn Character Seal, he felt something in his mind was on the verge of breaking through.

’I’m about to reach the entry level!’

On the contrary, the Linn Character Technique focused the spirit, stabilized the body and mind, and protected one from external disturbances. It was the perfect counter to the hallucinations caused by such spiritual attacks.

According to the Daoist Sect, the Linn Character Technique can shatter external demons!

Having been held back by this old monk several times, Xu Yunfan would naturally not hesitate any longer.

’Since he’s not a Martial Arts Master, just someone who’s cultivated his spirit for many years, what is there to fear?’

A tiger’s roar erupted from Xu Yunfan’s throat. His muscles tensed like bowstrings, and his leg muscles suddenly swelled by three cun, forming an arc like a bow drawn taut as a full moon.

BUZZ!

Amidst the vibrating hum of a bowstring, Xu Yunfan shot forward like an arrow released from the bow, charging toward the old monk wrapped in a sharp gale.

He gripped the Jar Gold Hammer tightly in his right fist, his knuckles white. His qi and blood surged like a boiling tide within him. As he swung the Heavy Hammer, the air roared in its wake.

The old monk’s withered body, however, remained completely still. The golden light in his murky eyes blazed.

He clasped his hands together and muttered an incantation. His kasaya fluttered without a wind, and a strange spiritual fluctuation spread out like ripples. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Xu Yunfan’s vision blurred, and the scene around him suddenly twisted.

The pillars of the Buddha Hall transformed into giant pythons, and countless cracks split the ground, threatening to swallow him whole.

But he was prepared. He had already formed the Linn Character Seal with his left hand and was silently chanting the Supreme Kindness Heart Spell. His Heart and Spirit were focused and unshakable.

"Got you!"

With a furious shout, the Jar Gold Hammer slammed heavily into the old monk’s chest.

The withered body flew backward like a kite with a snapped string, crashing into the altar with a dull thud.

But Xu Yunfan could clearly feel that as his Heavy Hammer fell, an invisible force had blocked most of its power.

’The blow that landed on the old monk probably wasn’t fatal.’

Now that he’d found the key, Xu Yunfan kicked the head of the Heavy Hammer. The Jar Gold Hammer swung in an arc through the air as he strode forward, twisted his body, and unleashed his power. His qi and blood boiled, muscles coiled like dragons, and veins bulged like snakes. The air in the hall suddenly grew thick, like a viscous liquid, stirred into layers of ripples by the swinging hammer.

The Jar Gold Hammer drew a full circle in mid-air, unleashing a shocking force.

The Thirty-six Cloak Hammers, final stance.

Celestial Fall!

However, in that instant, a sudden change occurred!

The eight-armed, three-skulled statue on the altar suddenly began to tremble violently. The central head, with its compassionate, downcast eyes, slowly looked up, a bloody light glowing in its empty sockets.

The head on the left, with its furious glare and bared fangs, let out a piercing shriek, while black mist poured from the empty eye sockets of the head on the right.

All three heads looked toward the sky outside the hall, as if expecting something.

An invisible force suddenly radiated from the statue, preventing him from advancing even half a step.

SHREEEE!

A piercing shriek that tore through the clouds suddenly came from the horizon.

Xu Yunfan subconsciously turned his head to look and saw a streak of golden light rising from the horizon, shooting toward the Buddha Hall.

The boundless ominous aura dissipated, and Xu Yunfan, who had been holding the Linn Character Seal with his left hand, froze for a moment.

The blurry figure in his mind completely walked out of the mist, becoming clear upon his Spirit Platform.

’It’s me!’

A thought stirred in Xu Yunfan’s mind, and a message floated into his field of vision.

’Your Linn Character Technique has reached Entry Level.’

’Linn Character Technique 0/500 (Entry Level)

Effects: Subtle Discernment, Heightened Insight, Focused Spirit and Will, Awakened Senses’

In an instant, strands of a cool, refreshing aura appeared in his mind, continuously pouring into his brain.

He felt like his brain was flooding with water.

A feeling of being soaked in water surfaced and intensified.

In that moment, he felt his thoughts become significantly faster. Martial Arts bottlenecks that he couldn’t break through before, which he could only grind Skill Level for through repetitive, arduous practice, suddenly became crystal clear.