Immortality Begins With Internal Breathing

Roar!

A beastlike roar echoed across Baishi Mountain. Two figures shot down from the mountain, rushing beyond Baishi Mountain’s bounds.

Bang!

Sensing a gust of force behind him, Ren Jie tapped lightly against a tree trunk and swiftly shifted direction. The living corpse’s palm slammed downward, and with a sharp crack, the tree shattered. The spot where he struck was left scorched and blackened.

The living corpse’s strength was ferocious, each blow rivaling a full-force blow from Ren Jie himself. Ren Jie could only unleash a few such full-strength attacks before exhausting his blood qi. Without blood qi, he would only be slightly stronger than an ordinary Organ Forging Realm warrior and utterly helpless against the living corpse.

Fortunately, the living corpse was not fast. His strength was immense, but it lacked lightness techniques and relied purely on brute force to pursue. Ren Jie dared not clash head-on and instead circled around, leading the creature away from Baishi Mountain to prevent a massacre there.

To lure the living corpse beyond the mountain, he deliberately kept his pace moderate, neither too far ahead nor too close. If he pulled too far ahead, the living corpse would stop chasing. It was troublesome to draw the creature away, and he still could not fathom how those bandits had managed to lure the living corpse here with just a few horses.

Hmph, you’re not the only ones who can lure a living corpse away.

Gritting his teeth, Ren Jie shifted his stance and dashed toward Lion Valley. If they could bring the living corpse to Baishi Mountain, then he could just as well drag the living corpse into Lion Valley.

Roar!

The living corpse roared again and resumed his relentless pursuit.

***

Lin Zheyu asked around for directions and followed the path Ren Jie had taken, but before long, he stopped in his tracks. Any farther and he would be beyond the defensive perimeter.

A fair amount of time had passed since he had repelled the bandits in his own sector, and after lingering with Jia Yanyong for a while, there was no trace of them left by the time he gave chase. After leading the living corpse out of Baishi Mountain, Ren Jie had vanished without a trace.

”Forget it. There will be other chances,” muttered Lin Zheyu to himself.

He decided not to pursue any further. Under the vast night sky, finding their trail would not be easy. He turned around and left.

Lin Zheyu headed west to check on that front. The fighting there was nearing its end and had entered a stalemate. The battle was not intense. There had been no fierce clashes, and the death toll was likely lower than in the south. Like the northern line, this front was locked in a standoff.

Now, with the other three fronts at Baishi Mountain holding steady, only the eastern line remained a concern. Lin Zheyu turned and made his way east.

At the eastern defense line, the fighting there was far more intense than anywhere else. The first line of defense had already been breached, and the fighting had pushed forward to the storage area for weapons and ironware, where a second line still held.

Hundreds of corpses littered the ground. Lin Zheyu counted roughly 200. There were bandits, masked men in black, and Feihong Gang members among the dead, though most of them were bandits. The Feihong Gang members had gathered together, forming their defense around the warehouse and the second line.

From a distance, Lin Zheyu spotted Ning Hui and Xie Jiang among them. They bore some injuries, but nothing too severe. He did not step in to help and only observed from afar before leaving.

Xu Yinghao, a master of the Blood Qi Realm, was there along with most of the gang’s Organ Forging Realm experts. Their combined strength was more than sufficient. Now the eastern defense line too had settled into a stalemate. As long as the other three fronts held and they avoided being caught in a pincer attack, there would be no major issues.

***

Mixed among the bandit ranks were many who were not bandits at all. There were not many of them, however. Other factions dared not deploy too many people; too large a force would draw unwanted attention. If they were accused of colluding with bandits, the consequences would be severe.

”Damn it, a bunch of useless trash! You can’t even break through a simple defensive line!” cursed Xing Zhiyuan, his eyes dark with frustration.

He had planned to charge into Baishi Mountain the moment the defenses were breached, capture Lin Zheyu, and interrogate him for clues about Xing Jinglong’s death. But now, they remained stuck outside the second line of defense.

”Have the brothers attacking the other lines failed too?” asked the man in the lead, his brows furrowing and his face grim. They had prepared thoroughly for this assault, even going so far as to lure a living corpse, yet they had still failed.

”The brothers attacking from the south failed, too? That’s where we concentrated most of our elite fighters!”

”I told you splitting our forces and pulling that diversion tactic was pointless. We should’ve smashed through a single line with everything we had, but you wouldn’t listen!” another man shouted.

”Damn it, if we’d done it your way, we’d have even more corpses now.”

”The hell did you say? You looking for a fight?”

”Fine by me! You think I’m scared?”

”Enough!” shouted the leader, his tone sharp and face twisted in anger.

This ragtag mob was still a mess even after forming an alliance. They were like a pile of loose sand that could not hold together.

”Retreat. If we’ve failed this time, we’ll look for another opportunity,” said the man coldly, grinding his teeth.

***

”What a useless bunch,” muttered Zhao Weichuan in exasperation from a nearby grove, where he and over a dozen experts had gathered. He had planned to slip in amid the chaos once these fools broke through Baishi Mountain’s defenses and seize some spoils for himself.

”They’re bandits through and through. Even with the Nine Nether Sect’s name behind them, they’re still just rabble. An alliance won’t change that; they’ll never amount to anything.” Zhao Weikun waved his hand dismissively and said, ”Let’s go. Nothing’s happening tonight.”

***

With the bandits gone, the members of the Feihong Gang finally breathed a sigh of relief. They began clearing the battlefield and tending to the bodies of their fallen brothers.

The next morning.

”Lord Lin!” Xu She greeted Lin Zheyu, though the usual sycophantic smile was gone from his face. He bore a few injuries, but none of them were serious.

”You all right? You look pale,” said Lin Zheyu.

”N-no, I’m fine,” Xu She stammered. He spoke the words, but inside, worry gnawed at him. He knew well that those bandits were cold-blooded killers who didn’t hesitate to slaughter.

It had been he who leaked the details of the southern defense line to them, and he who had taken men away to support other fronts. With so few defenders left at the southern line, they should never have been able to hold it.

Could it be that the bandits only launched a feint against the southern line and focused their main attack elsewhere? wondered Xu She. It was the only hope he could cling to. If that weren’t the case, he was finished.

”My lord, we’ve finished clearing the bodies. We lost 2 brothers last night, and 13 more suffered minor injuries. But our victory was a resounding one. We killed 59 bandits, including 18 Bone Forging Realm experts and three Organ Forging Realm experts!” Hong Cheng reported excitedly.

With such results, they could expect generous rewards when the time came for merits to be tallied.

”Excellent. You’ve all worked hard,” said Lin Zheyu, patting Hong Cheng’s shoulder.

Xu She’s mind went blank as Hong Cheng’s words sank in. 18 Bone Forging Realm experts and 3 Organ Forging Realm experts? Those were undoubtedly the bandits’ elite. It could not have been a feint. That meant the bandits had launched their main assault on the southern line based on his intel, yet they had still failed, suffering catastrophic losses.

How is that possible! Xu She was in utter disbelief. I gave them the trap and mechanism locations, so how could so few men have killed so many elites? Were those bandits complete idiots? Panic surged through Xu She’s heart.

Those bandits would surely think he had fed them false information, or worse, betrayed them by leaking their plans and helping set up an ambush in the south. He was doomed now.

Xu She swallowed hard and muttered inwardly, At worst, I’ll just stick with the main Feihong Gang group from now on and never leave the city alone again. Those bastards wouldn’t sneak into Songyi City to come after me, would they?

The thought left Xu She deeply unsettled.

”You sure you’re all right? Maybe you should take a couple more days off to rest,” said Lin Zheyu, noticing how pale Xu She looked as he patted his shoulder.

”No, no need. I’m fine, really. I don’t need to rest.” Xu She waved his arm and quickly said, ”See? I’m fine. It doesn’t even affect my movement.”

”Good. That’s what matters,” replied Lin Zheyu with a nod.

This guy’s behavior is far too unusual; there is definitely something off.

Lin Zheyu decided to mention it to Xu Chuanliang later and let him investigate. He had no intention of getting involved himself. After finishing his duties in his assigned sector, Lin Zheyu reported the situation with Xu She to Xu Chuanliang, then headed for the northern slope of Baishi Mountain.