Immortality Begins With Internal Breathing

In Bafang City, the blazing sun hung high in the sky, casting down waves of scorching light.

”That’s all for today,” said Lin Zheyu.

”Thank you for your guidance, Uncle Lin.” Han Tianmin bowed respectfully to Lin Zheyu.

”By the way, have you heard from your father lately?” Lin Zheyu asked.

Songyi City had already fallen. If Han Mo was safe, he should have sent word of his safety. Han Mo did not have Lin Zheyu’s contact information, but Han Tianshu had joined the City Guard with his father’s recommendation letter, so Han Mo could reach him through Han Tianshu.

”My older brother received a letter from Father yesterday morning. After Songyi City fell, my brother was drafted into the Tenglong Army, so he wasn’t able to come tell you personally. I was just about to tell you, but it slipped my mind,” said Han Tianmin with a simple, good-natured smile.

Hearing that Han Mo was safe, the family couldn’t help but feel relieved. After Songyi City’s fall, no one knew what had become of their relatives and friends who still lived there.

”That’s good to hear. By the way, your brother’s skills aren’t bad. He should be able to make something of himself in the Tenglong Army,” Lin Zheyu praised.

”Uncle Lin, my mother asked me to invite you for lunch. Let’s go together later,” said Han Tianmin.

”All right.” Lin Zheyu nodded, closed his courtyard gate, and followed Han Tianmin to his home.

***

After lunch, Lin Zheyu went out for a stroll as usual. Bafang City’s commerce was exceptionally prosperous, with street vendors everywhere and even errand runners for hire. Upon learning this, he hired twenty men through an employment agency to move between teahouses every day in search of Master Liang Song’s whereabouts. Today, he went to meet them, but there was still no news of Liang Song. He suspected that Liang Song might have already left Bafang City, though he had no proof.

After wandering around for a while, Lin Zheyu arrived at Tianxiang Pavilion to listen to a storytelling session. The storyteller at Tianxiang Pavilion was an old man in his sixties who still appeared strong and full of vitality. His tales from The Journey for Immortality carried a certain charm, so whenever Lin Zheyu felt bored, he enjoyed coming here to listen and sip tea.

Night gradually descended. Lin Zheyu altered his appearance, put on a mask, and stepped into the black market. The black market in Bafang City opened rather frequently, once every five days, and it was always bustling with activity. Everyone in the market wore a mask as they looked around.

”Friend, what kinds of cultivation techniques do you have?”

Lin Zheyu approached a stall selling manuals. The vendor was a martial artist who had just stepped into the Blood Qi Realm. Each time Lin Zheyu came, there were always many unfamiliar faces. Most were outsiders from other cities, though a few were locals of Bafang City who had fallen on hard times and had to resort to selling their family’s inherited techniques for money.

”They’re all listed here. Take a look yourself,” said the man indifferently.

Lin Zheyu picked up the list. There were five manuals in total, all of which were third-rate techniques.

”Do you have any second-rate manuals?” asked Lin Zheyu.

”No,” the vendor replied.

Hearing this, Lin Zheyu got up and moved on to the next stall. He visited over thirty stalls that were selling cultivation techniques, but only eighteen offered second-rate manuals capable of training one up to the Blood Qi Realm.

Aside from those, Lin Zheyu also found two body-refining manuals. Unfortunately, they were low-level methods with little training value.

”Huh? Even a martial artist at the third transformation of blood qi is running a stall?” Lin Zheyu murmured in surprise.

A martial artist who had reached the third transformation was already a notable figure in Bafang City. It was rare to see someone of that level running a stall. Most of the vendors he had met before were cultivators that newly advanced to the Blood Qi Realm, with only a few being at the first transformation.

Those at the second transformation were even rarer. This was his first time seeing someone at the third transformation selling techniques.

”Friend, what kind of techniques are you selling?” Lin Zheyu crouched in front of the stall and asked curiously.

The man wore a black mask that concealed his age, and his aura was deeply hidden. It was likely due to a concealment technique. However, such a technique was useless before someone like Lin Zheyu, whose strength surpassed his and who had cultivated the Tortoise Breath Grand Method to the third stage of Perfection.

The vendor looked Lin Zheyu over, then took out a folded paper from his robe and handed it over. Lin Zheyu was releasing an aura that suggested he was at the second transformation of blood qi. That often saved him a great deal of trouble in such dealings. Due to this, the vendor had directly brought out the manuals sold under the table.

”Hmm. The highest one can only bring the user up to the fifth transformation of blood qi.”

Reading the descriptions on the paper, Lin Zheyu felt a little disappointed. He had expected someone this strong to sell something far more uncommon. Still, among the martial techniques for sale, one caught his eye—a saber art called Raging Wind Slash.

The saber art consisted of nine forms, each one more powerful than the last. When all nine strikes were accumulated, and momentum reached its peak, it could unleash ten times the force of a normal full-strength blow.

”How much for this Raging Wind Slash?” Lin Zheyu asked.

He already possessed the Mountain Shattering Palm and had not planned on buying any new martial techniques, but he hadn’t expected to come across something as unique as this Raging Wind Slash.

The way this technique unleashed its extraordinary power differed from the Mountain Shattering Palm, which relied on a blood qi burst technique. Instead, it worked by building up momentum during combat. Once the accumulated force reached its peak, it could be released in a single strike of astonishing might.

Moreover, if the blood qi burst technique were integrated into Raging Wind Slash, the power of the ninth strike would become even more terrifying. In theory, it could reach thirty times the usual strength.

”Good eye, my friend. Raging Wind Slash is a rare high-grade martial art, capable of allowing a warrior to fight across realms. It’s 980 taels of silver. Fixed price,” said the vendor.

”All right. I’ll take it,” Lin Zheyu replied readily.

Money was meant to be spent once earned. The stronger one became, the faster money came. Once his strength rose, earning more would never be a problem.

If not for the ninth stage of his improved Golden Goose Technique and its combination with the Mountain Shattering Palm, which allowed him to hunt powerful Blood Qi Realm beasts with ease, it would have been difficult to amass such wealth in a short time.

Even a Marrow Refining Realm warrior would find it difficult to hunt such fierce beasts. Both powerful lightness techniques and strong offensive skills were necessary; neither could be lacking.

Lin Zheyu took out 980 taels of silver from his robe and handed them over. He accepted the manual and began reading it on the spot.

More than twenty minutes passed, but Lin Zheyu had memorized the contents of Raging Wind Slash. He checked the data in his consciousness and saw that Raging Wind Slash was registered there. It was proof that the technique was genuine and, when mastered, capable of unleashing a strike ten times stronger than normal.

After confirming the manual was sound, Lin Zheyu continued exploring the black market. Later, he found two more martial techniques, but they were similar to the Mountain Shattering Palm and not worth replacing.

He also came across two body-refining manuals, but they were overpriced and unimpressive in effect, so after a quick glance, he set them aside. He soon noticed that Body-refining techniques were rare in the black market. After circling the place, he found only a few common ones of mediocre quality.

Body refinement wasn’t mainstream in this world; martial cultivators mainly trained through the path of blood qi. Even when they could no longer advance in blood qi, most would choose to study a powerful burst-type martial art, or they would learn a lightness technique.

I’ll come back next time. Being able to get Raging Wind Slash today counts as a gain, Lin Zheyu thought to himself.