Immortality Begins With Internal Breathing

After a few breaths, Lin Zheyu slowly opened his eyes. Unlike when he cultivated the Sacred Evolution Spirit Nurturing Art, his eyes were now bloodshot. The violent operation of the Furnace Tempering Body Technique made him relive the agony he had once experienced when cultivating the modified blood qi condensing method.

”Huff...” Lin Zheyu exhaled a long, scorching breath.

After the enhancement ended, his body still burned fiercely, his skin flushed red like a boiled crayfish.

The Furnace Tempering Body Technique consumes so much energy. If I used 1 more unit of Origin Force, my body might be drained dry, Lin Zheyu thought as he sensed the emptiness of his blood qi.

Not only was his blood qi depleted, but his body felt faintly weak. Though the consumption was heavy, the results were striking. He felt that his physique had strengthened by nearly 50%. At his current level, such improvement was extraordinary. This was largely due to his powerful golden blood qi.

The Furnace Tempering Body Technique was merely a decent body refining method, and its effectiveness was closely tied to the strength of one’s blood qi. If Lin Zheyu had only possessed blood qi at the ninth transformation, the 3 units of Origin Force would have improved his physique by perhaps 5% at most.

It has not reached its limit yet.

Reflecting on the cultivation process in the consciousness space, he felt that the Furnace Tempering Body Technique could still be pushed further. His golden blood qi, refined to an extreme degree, allowed this ordinary body refining method to produce astonishing results.

I wonder whether, before the Furnace Tempering Body Technique exhausts its potential, I can raise my physique to the point where sheer physical strength alone can break the sound barrier, Lin Zheyu pondered.

He felt that this goal was not far away. When he advanced to the Marrow Refining realm, he could already break the sound barrier with his fists without relying heavily on blood qi. If his physique doubled again, perhaps pure physical power alone would produce a sonic boom.

At that time, relying solely on my physique, I would possess strength comparable to the Force Transformation realm. Combined with my powerful golden blood qi, how formidable would I be? he thought with awe.

This was the result of deep accumulation before explosive growth. He had lingered in the Blood Qi realm for a long time, spending hundreds of units of Origin Force to forge an incomparably solid foundation. Now his strength was erupting. Without his golden blood qi refined to the extreme, he could not have undergone such a transformation upon entering the Marrow Refining realm, nor would the Furnace Tempering Body Technique have produced such results.

”But the spirit liquid is used up. If I want to continue improving, I will have to wait until I return to Wuling City,” Lin Zheyu said with a shake of his head.

As his strength rose, he consumed more and more energy with Origin Force. To use 1 unit of Origin Force on the Furnace Tempering Body Technique, he estimated that it would require around ten doses of Blazing Flame Blood-Burning Powder to sustain.

[Heaven Rewards the Diligent]

[Name: Lin Zheyu]

[Origin Force: 1]

[Skills: Furnace Tempering Body Technique (Perfection), Tortoise Breath True Technique (Sixth Stage: 0%), Azure Tide Boundless True Technique (Sixth Stage: 70%)]

Lin Zheyu looked at the data within his consciousness. Only 1 unit of Origin Force remained in reserve. As his strength increased, the speed at which he accumulated Origin Force grew faster and faster. By the time he left Soaring Serpent Mountain and returned to Wuling City, he would likely have saved up 20 to 30 units.

***

The next day.

Bang, bang, bang.

From halfway up the mountain came waves of dull impacts. Lin Zheyu and Gu Ye fought fiercely, trading blows as their fists struck flesh with thunderous force. After this period of sparring, Lin Zheyu’s combat techniques had improved rapidly, and he was gradually able to keep up with Gu Ye’s movements. Yet compared to the improvement in skill and battle awareness, the greatest enhancement lay in his spiritual soul.

After using 1 unit of Origin Force yesterday to enhance the Sacred Evolution Spirit Nurturing Art, Lin Zheyu’s spiritual soul had grown considerably stronger. Though he could not precisely measure the increase, he could clearly feel improvements in reaction speed and perception. Most noticeably, when fighting Gu Ye, his responses were faster, allowing him to keep up with her attacks.

Even the slightest movement from Gu Ye did not escape him. He could detect it instantly and respond swiftly. The strengthening of his spiritual soul had sharpened his reactions.

Bang!

Lin Zheyu was struck in the chest by Gu Ye’s punch and staggered back several steps before steadying himself. The two exchanged smiles and did not continue.

”Not bad, Junior Brother. You have improved so quickly. I am a Force Transformation realm martial artist, a whole realm above you, yet I could not overwhelmingly defeat you. If you had used your movement techniques, I might have lost,” Gu Ye said with a smile.

She felt genuine surprise. Over the past month, she had witnessed Lin Zheyu’s steady progress. At first, he needed to rely on lightness and movement techniques just to draw even with her. Now, even without them, he could match her in close-quarters combat. That was astonishing.

The gap in realms meant that even when Gu Ye suppressed her strength to Lin Zheyu’s level, her perception, reactions, and combat experience still far surpassed his. Yet under such circumstances, he could fight her to a standstill. It was truly unbelievable.

”You were holding back, Senior Sister. If you fought seriously, I would not be your match,” Lin Zheyu said modestly with a smile.

Through their exchange, he had deeply felt the benefits of a strengthened spiritual soul. Not only had his perception improved, but his mental reactions had also quickened, compensating for his lack of combat experience.

”Why be so modest, Junior Brother? That does not suit your bold style. I did not hold back at all,” Gu Ye replied with a smile.

Given her personality, she would never intentionally hold back. She treated every fight seriously, yet she had nearly lost, even without her junior brother using lightness and movement techniques. A faint sense of frustration rose in her heart. Lin Zheyu only smiled faintly and did not respond directly.

He raised his cup and offered a toast to Gu Ye. ”Senior Sister, this cup is for you. Thank you for your guidance over the past month.”

”Haha, I have not guided you much. Besides, I have enjoyed fighting with you,” Gu Ye said with a hearty laugh.

”Have you used the spirit liquid I gave you? Did you feel any discomfort?” Gu Ye asked.

”I used some. There was a bit of discomfort, but it was still tolerable,” Lin Zheyu said.

As for the herbs Gu Ye had sent to assist with absorbing the spirit liquid, he had crushed them into powder and found an opportunity to discard them.

”That is good. Spirit liquid is a precious resource. After reaching the Force Transformation realm, without spirit liquid to assist, one’s strength cannot continue to improve. It is good for you to adapt to it early. In the future, using spirit liquid directly to complete the condensation of true strength will be much faster,” Gu Ye said with a smile.

She quietly let out a sigh of relief. If something had gone wrong while her junior brother was using the spirit liquid, she would have been in serious trouble.

The sun sank toward the horizon. Dusky golden light spread across the land, bathing it in warm hues.

”Hm. Senior Sister, look over there. That patch of dark cloud seems a little off,” Lin Zheyu suddenly said, pointing toward a mass of black clouds in the distance.

The dark cloud lay far from Soaring Serpent Mountain, likely over a hundred kilometers away, yet its shape could still be vaguely discerned. The sky had been clear for kilometers, so the sudden appearance of a single cloud was strange. Stranger still, it did not resemble an ordinary cloud. The black mass looked like a ring, like a doughnut, with a faint trace of purple at its center.

”It does look strange,” Gu Ye said, gazing curiously in the direction he indicated.

Upon seeing the unusual cloud, she too felt something was off. However, because of the great distance, she could not sense any aura from it and could only note its oddity.

”It has begun!” A low voice suddenly sounded. Meng Liuyuan had appeared behind them at some unknown moment.

Before Lin Zheyu could speak, Gu Ye voiced her confusion, ”Martial Uncle, what has begun?”

”A space-time node. That strangely shaped cloud is formed by demonic power leaking out after someone forcibly tore open a weak point in space and time,” Meng Liuyuan said with a grave expression.