Immortality Begins With Internal Breathing

Early morning. A thin layer of mist shrouded the mountain forest.

Lin Zheyu strolled through the woods, occasionally spotting gigantic serpents slithering past. This mountain was called Soaring Serpent Mountain precisely because a large number of soaring serpents lived here. This species of snake possessed high medicinal value. The stronger ones could even rival Blood Qi realm martial artists.

Lin Zheyu curiously examined the various medicinal herbs cultivated by the Wuji Sect, while Yang Guanbin beside him introduced the uses of each herb. He had studied the Toxicology Codex for a long time and was familiar with the properties of many medicinal herbs. However, the author of the Toxicology Codex had been limited by their strength and experience. As his strength increased, the knowledge he learned from the Toxicology Codex gradually became less useful to him.

”Martial Uncle, that is Azure Bane Grass. It is one of the herbs used to refine true intent pills. This place has been set up with a grand formation. Lord Meng needs to come every day to maintain it and circulate Azure Tide true intent into it,” Yang Guanbin said as he pointed at the herbs ahead.

Lin Zheyu gave a slight nod, glanced at the Azure Bane Grass, then turned to look at the grand formation inscribed on the ground. Having stayed on Soaring Serpent Mountain for so long, he had gained some understanding of the place. According to Yang Guanbin, there were many grand formations on Soaring Serpent Mountain. Aside from the true intent formation that enveloped the Azure Bane Grass, there were also grand formations covering the precious herbs in the core region. Those were the truly powerful formations.

The sect disciples stationed on Soaring Serpent Mountain, working in coordination with that grand formation under Martial Uncle Meng’s direction, could unleash terrifying power. Even weaker Martial Innate realm martial artists might not be able to break through the core formation and enter the core area of Soaring Serpent Mountain. Lin Zheyu had specifically studied that formation under the guidance of his senior sister[1], Gu Ye. It was extremely profound, and something he could not yet comprehend in his current realm.

The formation seemed to play a role similar to talisman tokens in military formations, capable of gathering the stationed disciples’ essence, qi, and spirit into a single force and unleashing terrifying power at the Martial Innate realm level. However, in terms of offensive power, endurance, and mobility, it was still far inferior to an actual Martial Innate realm martial artist. This formation focused on defense. Lin Zheyu felt that as his strength increased, he was drawing closer and closer to the legendary path of cultivation.

”Who set up these formations?” Lin Zheyu asked curiously.

”It is said they were set up by people from the Directorate of Celestial Observation. Rumor has it that the Directorate of Celestial Observation is unfathomably mysterious, possessing powers akin to gods and ghosts, and that they cultivate legendary immortal techniques,” Yang Guanbin said.

He had grown up in the Wuji Sect since childhood. Although limited by his strength and unable to access the secrets of the world, through years of accumulation and hearsay, he had still learned many half-truth, half-false bits of information.

”The Directorate of Celestial Observation... The Hidden Dragon List and the Heaven’s Pride List were both created by the Directorate of Celestial Observation, and the formations were also set up by them... This Directorate of Celestial Observation is rather mysterious!” Lin Zheyu murmured.

The Heaven’s Pride List was similar to the Hidden Dragon List, except it did not impose an age restriction. Any martial artist below the Martial Innate realm could be ranked on the Heaven’s Pride List. It was a ranking that spoke purely through strength. This list was also known as the Grandmaster List, because nearly everyone on it was a Grandmaster realm martial artist. Only a very small number of monstrous martial artists could make it onto the Heaven’s Pride List at the Force Transformation realm.

After passing through the Azure Bane Grass area, they arrived at another medicinal field.

”Martial Uncle, the area ahead is planted with various exotic flowers and poisonous herbs. It is best to hold your breath the entire time after entering. These are antidote pills. You should take them before going in to prevent poisoning,” Yang Guanbin said.

Lin Zheyu nodded and accepted the antidote pills. As his strength increased, poisons became less and less effective against him. He had never regarded poison as a method to deal with enemies, but he still needed to understand potent toxins to avoid falling victim unknowingly. There were quite a few poisons in the Central Plains that could affect Force Transformation realm martial artists, and several of them were cultivated on Soaring Serpent Mountain.

However, these poisons were extremely troublesome to use. Trying to deceive the astonishing perception of Force Transformation realm experts was no easy task. After strolling through the various medicinal fields on Soaring Serpent Mountain for a while, Lin Zheyu returned to the courtyard to continue his cultivation. Since it was rare for him to visit Soaring Serpent Mountain, he would set aside one or two periods each day to wander through the different medicinal fields and identify various exotic flowers and poisonous herbs. In any case, he had nothing better to do, and accumulating more knowledge might prove unexpectedly useful in the future.

***

Returning to the courtyard, Lin Zheyu continued cultivating the Azure Tide Boundless True Technique. Under his control, the vast golden blood qi transformed into silkworm thread-like strands of energy that seeped into his bone marrow, fundamentally remodeling his physique.

With this period of cultivation, his physique had improved by no small margin. Thick, viscous blood flowed through his veins, producing a thunderous roar like crashing waves. As his blood strengthened, it underwent a qualitative transformation. Not only did the energy contained within his blood increase, but even the amount of oxygen his blood could carry with each breath also rose.

Lin Zheyu took a deep breath and found that he could cultivate in a deep pool for nearly an hour. This was extremely astonishing.

[Heaven Rewards the Diligent]

[Name: Lin Zheyu]

[Origin Force: 11]

[Skills: Tortoise Breath True Technique (Sixth Stage: 0%), Azure Tide Boundless True Technique (Fifth Stage: 46%)]

After cultivating for more than two hours, Lin Zheyu finally stopped.

He looked at the data within his consciousness. After nearly a month, the Azure Tide Boundless True Technique had advanced to 46% progress, and his Origin Force had accumulated to 11 units.

The Blazing Flame Blood-Burning Powder is running out. After breaking through my limit once more tomorrow, I will tell Martial Uncle Meng and head back for a few days before returning.

This time, he had only brought fifty sets of Blazing Flame Blood-Burning Powder. Bringing more would have been troublesome and would easily draw Gu Ye’s attention. In any case, once he accumulated enough Origin Force, breaking through after returning would be no different.

Suddenly, Gu Ye’s voice rang out.

”Junior brother, you are cultivating again. You need to balance work and rest. Come on, let’s go drink.”

Life on Soaring Serpent Mountain was very dull, and whenever she had nothing to do, she liked to look for Lin Zheyu to drink and spar.

”Alright.” Lin Zheyu agreed readily.

Each time after drinking, when he sparred with Gu Ye, the two of them suppressed their strength to the same stage and competed in combat awareness and martial techniques. At first, Lin Zheyu could only rely on his exquisite lightness and movement techniques to barely fight her to a draw. Later, as the number of bouts increased, Lin Zheyu gradually grasped Gu Ye’s fighting patterns, and his number of victories steadily increased.

”Haha. This time I will definitely beat you,” Gu Ye laughed loudly.

The two of them arrived at the plaza halfway up the mountain before sitting at a high spot to enjoy the mountain breeze while drinking wine and eating roasted meat. They felt thoroughly at ease.

”Junior Brother, you are almost done cultivating the Boundless Azure Sea Body now, right?” Gu Ye asked curiously.

When she was bored, she would occasionally go to the deep pool at the foot of the mountain to watch Lin Zheyu train. She was greatly astonished by his remarkable endurance and stamina. Even she, without using true strength, could not compare to Lin Zheyu in this regard.

Gu Ye speculated that her junior brother’s physique was highly compatible with the Azure Tide Boundless True Technique, allowing the Boundless Azure Sea Body to display astonishing effects on him. Such situations had also been encountered by seniors of the Azure Tide Pavilion before.

”Yes, I’m almost there. Senior Sister, the resources I use for cultivation are almost exhausted. In a few days, I plan to return to Wuling City and visit a few friends along the way,” Lin Zheyu said with a smile, taking the opportunity to mention his plan to leave for a few days.

”The situation is tense right now, so you should not go back alone. I heard from Martial Uncle that Chen Ding has already completed his mission and returned. He will come to replace us next month, and we can go back together then,” Gu Ye said.

When they came previously, they had even encountered an attack. If not for a senior expert stepping in, Gu Ye felt that her junior brother might have met with disaster.

1. The raw wrote Senior Brother, but this should be Senior Sister as Gu Ye is a female character. ☜