Immortality Begins With Internal Breathing

”D-dead... He’s dead?”

The two Chen Family experts following behind widened their eyes in disbelief. The black-clad man’s strength was at least at the second transformation of blood qi, yet he had died so easily.

One of the Chen Family elders swallowed hard, muttering in disbelief, ”Could that person be a Marrow Refining Realm martial artist?”

Among Blood Qi Realm martial artists, the difference in strength was not that vast. Even someone at the third transformation could not so easily kill another at the second transformation.

”Impossible. The Xu Family has only one Marrow Refining Realm martial artist, and he guards their family. He wouldn’t act so casually. That person must have learned some kind of secret art that allows him to unleash power beyond his limits. Such techniques usually have restrictions; they can only be used two or three times before the user can no longer continue.

”And even with a secret art, sneaking up quietly and striking so suddenly is no simple task. His speed, ability to conceal his aura, and his attack power are all astonishing. Since when did Songyi City have such a powerful martial artist? I have a feeling this person was a helper invited by the Xu Family,” said the middle-aged man.

”Whoever he is, as long as he bears no ill will toward the Chen Family, that’s fine. Take this man back. I want to see who dares to lay hands on my Chen Family,” said the elder, before giving a cold laugh and striding toward the motionless black-clad man on the ground. He tore off the cloth covering the man’s face, and under the bright moonlight, a slightly aged visage came into view.

”Zhao Chen of the Zhao Family. That old fellow kept a low profile all his life, yet to think he’d die so meaninglessly. Bring the corpse back. Tomorrow, we’ll go to the Zhao Family to demand an explanation.”

The middle-aged man let out a low chuckle, hoisted the black-clad corpse over his shoulder, and walked toward the Chen Family residence.

At that moment, several more columns of fire rose within Songyi City, most from territories belonging to the Feihong Gang. However, they did not rush to assist, as those areas had powerful guards stationed there. If a formidable enemy appeared, a different emergency signal would be sent.

***

At the Xing Family residence.

The first elder and Xing Hongwei stood upon the rooftop, quietly watching as flames rose in the distant night, their expressions calm and indifferent.

”There’s no such thing as escaping from Songyi City unscathed. Now it depends on what the Xu Family chooses—whether they protect their people or cling to their interests in Songyi City,” said Xing Hongwei evenly.

They had chosen to act tonight mainly as a warning to the Xu Family. The second group from the Feihong Gang would be departing soon, taking most of their assets with them and leaving only a few strong members behind to guard their main holdings in Songyi City.

If they managed to kill a few of the Feihong Gang’s experts tonight, all the better; if not, it didn’t matter. Their main goal was simply to send a warning. What came next would depend entirely on the Xu Family’s decision.

If the Xu Family valued people over profit, they would send more men to protect the second departing group, sacrificing more of their holdings within Songyi City. If they valued profit instead, they would lose some manpower.

”Knowing Xu Yunhu’s temperament, he’ll likely put people first. But I’m worried something unexpected may happen. The deputy commander might interfere,” the first elder said gravely.

With the city lord gone, the Xing Family was now the most powerful clan in Songyi City. However, if the deputy commander, who represented the civilian forces, decided to intervene, it would become troublesome.

The deputy commander’s rank was not due to a lack of strength, but because he had no family background and no esteemed family supporting him. In terms of raw strength, the deputy commander was the most powerful martial artist in all of Songyi City.

”Boxuan will keep an eye on him. The situation is tense right now. His main duty is to protect Songyi City, and not to meddle in our affairs.” Xing Hongwei then asked calmly, ”Great-grandfather’s cultivation of the Origin Returning Art hasn’t caused any problems, has it?”

”There have been no major issues. The Origin Returning Art truly is an extraordinary technique. As expected of a legendary immortal cultivation method! Grandfather’s strength has not only returned to its peak but has even surpassed it. However, despite suppressing it with secret methods, Grandfather’s temperament has changed somewhat. There’s often a trace of bloodlust in his eyes,” the first elder said with a flicker of worry in his eyes.

Xing Hongwei gazed into the distant sky as he said softly, ”Keep a close watch on Great-grandfather. If anything seems off, stop him from cultivating further immediately. It might still be reversible. We’ve already allied with the Nine Nether Sect, so there’s no turning back. At worst, we’ll fully side with them, join the rebel army, and receive the Demon God’s blessing.”

Several more pillars of fire rose on the horizon, and a faint, cold smile appeared on his face.

”The Xu Family... huh. They really think they can leave unscathed this time? How naive.”

Until they stripped the esteemed families backing the Feihong Gang of a layer of skin, the Xing Family would never let them leave so easily. It was only a pity that the Nine Stars Gang, led by the Zhao Family, had also formed a pact with the Nine Nether Sect. Otherwise, the Xing Family’s gains this time would have been far greater.

***

The commotion within the city grew intense as patrolling soldiers began to move out in response. Using the cover of night, Lin Zheyu moved swiftly through the streets of Songyi City.

Several more distress signals flared up across the city. The attackers were all skilled experts who struck once and retreated immediately. The timing of the assaults was intriguing, as it was the very night before the second group of the Feihong Gang was scheduled to evacuate. It was clearly an act of sabotage meant to prevent the Feihong Gang from leaving so easily.

”Hahaha! Come and catch me if you’ve got the guts!” A dark silhouette laughed arrogantly as it leapt from rooftop to rooftop, swiftly vanishing into the distance.

Two Feihong Gang experts with grim expressions chased after him. After pursuing for some distance, they came to a halt and did not continue.

”Let’s return. We’re not going to chase this guy anymore,” said Ren Jie with a grave expression.

As they watched the black-clad man retreat, their grim faces suddenly froze. Under the moonlight, a dark figure suddenly burst from the shadows, moving with astonishing speed. The newcomer struck at the black-clad man’s head with a single palm. The blow quickly landed, followed by a sharp crack as the black-clad man’s skull shattered.

”Ah!”

A shrill scream tore through the night sky. The black-clad man’s head was crushed into his chest with one palm strike. His body crashed heavily to the ground, producing a dull thud. Having landed the blow, the mysterious attacker flickered back into the darkness and disappeared. Ren Jie and his companion exchanged a glance, their faces filled with shock, disbelief, and a trace of confusion.

”Let’s go. We’ll check the body and see who this guy is. This man was at least a first transformation expert. Losing someone like that will make the Xing Family bleed,” said Ren Jie as his grim expression vanished, replaced by a loud laugh.

He didn’t need to look to know that this masked figure was from the Xing Family. Only they had enough strength to launch attacks across so many locations at once.

Swish, swish.

Lin Zheyu tapped lightly off his toes, gliding rapidly through Songyi City as the wind roared past his ears. He moved like a sovereign of the shadows, harvesting one living life after another. Using the Tortoise Breath Grand Method to conceal his aura, he closed in swiftly with the flawless Golden Goose Technique before unleashing triple his blood qi, striking with power far beyond that of a fourth transformation expert.

Everyone he set his sights on became a corpse beneath his palm. Even a fourth or fifth transformation martial artist could not act as swiftly and decisively as Lin Zheyu.

Within the Blood Qi Realm, every three transformations marked a major threshold, and reaching the third transformation brought a great leap in strength. Yet the gap between levels was not so vast that one could achieve instant kills with a single strike.

Before mastering the Mountain Shattering Palm, Lin Zheyu had to rely on the Golden Goose Technique and engage in brief bouts of combat before he could defeat even a first transformation expert.

After learning the Mountain Shattering Palm, his attack power tripled instantly.

The third one already... Does the Xing Family truly have so many Blood Qi Realm experts hiding in the dark?

After killing another first transformation expert, Lin Zheyu felt a flicker of doubt. But he didn’t dwell on it and continued rushing toward the next distress signal. Killing a few more troublemakers would be enough to repay Xu Jingwu’s kindness.

Later, I’ll drop by the Zhao Family. Maybe I’ll find a chance to take Zhao Guanbin down as well.

With all the chaos tonight, it was a rare opportunity. In just two days, he would be leaving Songyi City, and unless something unexpected happened, he had no plans to return. He could use this chance to fulfil the promise he had once made to Old Master Chen.

Rustle, rustle, rustle...

In a small forest within Songyi City’s inner city. Several figures dressed in black darted into the forest and vanished.

”It’s me!” one of the black-clad figures called out.

”Why are you here? Where’s Zhao Chen? Wasn’t he the first to make a move?” another emerged from the trees and asked.

”How should I know? Maybe he got caught up. But you know, it’s not just Zhao Chen. Han Liang and Xu Guang haven’t returned either,” another said with a grim look.

”Split into pairs and check the situation. With their speed, they should’ve been back by now,” said the shadowy leader in a low, grim tone.

Soon, the six figures disappeared into the night, heading toward where Zhao Chen and the others had acted.