Immortality Begins With Internal Breathing

Swish, swish.

Lin Zheyu swung Ke Haolin’s blade a few times and found it fairly suitable. Although he had not used a blade in a long time, he did not feel the slightest bit rusty. When facing the foul-smelling demon puppets, he had no intention of using his fists. The sticky purplish-brown fluid that splattered from them was too disgusting once it stained the body. It took a long time to wash off the odor each time. Lin Zheyu intended to use the saber directly and sever the demon puppets’ heads. Against creatures without reason that fought purely on instinct, his modest saber technique was already more than sufficient.

Bang!

After adjusting to the long saber in his hand, Lin Zheyu stomped his right foot and shot forward like a cannonball. In the mountain forest, beneath the bright moonlight filtering through the gaps in the leaves, he seemed to transform into a true phantom, weaving back and forth among the demon puppets. He was incredibly fast. Before the demon puppets could react, a silver-white saber light swept past. Their ferocious faces had not even registered what had happened before their heads thudded onto the ground.

Saber light flashed like lightning through the mountain forest. Each roaring demon puppet, at the instant its body lunged forward, had its head thud onto the ground. After a little over two minutes, Lin Zheyu returned to the second defensive line. From the long saber in his hand, purplish-brown viscous liquid dripped slowly.

”Rest for a while. A big one may appear later,” Lin Zheyu said softly.

Gulp. Gulp.

The sound of people swallowing rang out. Only after hearing Lin Zheyu’s voice did everyone come back to their senses. They looked at the ground littered with demon puppet corpses and could not help drawing in a sharp breath, and then caught the heavy stench in the air.

”So strong! Is this the power of someone ranked fifty-third on the Hidden Dragon List?” someone murmured softly.

When Lin Zheyu had captured that peak Marrow Refining realm demon puppet alive earlier, they had not witnessed it personally. Although they had been shocked at the time, it did not compare to the shock of seeing him act with their own eyes now.

”Do not stand there in a daze. Rest quickly. You have fought for so long, and your blood qi is heavily depleted. Take some Essence and Qi Pills to recover,” Lin Zheyu said calmly as he swept his gaze around.

He lifted his head and looked through the gaps at the distant sky. His heart sank slightly. The Baleful Yin force in the air had grown denser again. Lin Zheyu felt a sense of oppressive tension, as if a storm were about to break.

That space-time node will not be completely opened, will it?

There were simply too many demon puppets. With such numbers pouring out together, he could not help but suspect this possibility.

***

In the mountain forest, two black figures concealed themselves atop a large tree.

”Senior Brother, when will we make our move?” a somewhat rough voice asked.

”Wait a little longer. Once they retreat to the final defensive formation, we will use the power of those demon puppets to break it open,” the other said calmly.

”Senior Brother, can they really succeed? With so many powerful experts in Great Wei, can that space-time node truly be opened?” the rough-voiced man asked doubtfully.

”Yes. Do you think only this place has broken open a space-time node? Heh. Across the entire Central Plains, as far as I know, space-time nodes have appeared in several locations at the same time,” the man said lightly.

He swept his gaze around and revealed a faint smile.

”No need to rush. We are not the only ones eyeing this medicinal mountain. Let them take the lead. We only need to follow,” the man said with a smile.

”Mm. I will follow Senior Brother’s lead,” said the rough-voiced man with a nod.

The two fell silent once more. The Central Plains were filled with powerful figures. Like them, many were hiding in the shadows, eyeing the medicinal fields of Soaring Serpent Mountain. A large quantity of precious herbs was planted there. Otherwise, the Wuji Sect would not have spent such a great cost to invite the Directorate of Celestial Observation to set up such a powerful formation. In the past, other factions would not have dared covet the herbs here. But now the situation was in turmoil, and space-time nodes were erupting. It was a rare opportunity.

Time slowly passed. A pale white glow appeared along the horizon. Dawn had arrived.

”Damn it!” The man glanced at the whitening sky and could not help cursing.

”Senior Brother, are we still making a move?” the rough-voiced man asked.

”Make a move, my ass. Do you not see it is daylight already? Those fellows are useless. I thought they might actually succeed, but they are as useless as ever. Let’s go. Without those demon puppets helping, we have no chance,” the man said softly. His figure shifted and vanished into the forest.

”Damn it. If I had known, I would not have come. I wasted an entire night for nothing. Hmm. Should I take out a few people before heading back and see if I can get something worthwhile? Otherwise, this trip will be for nothing,” the rough-voiced man muttered to himself.

He glanced toward the direction his senior brother had departed, chuckled, and turned toward another direction. Go back? Nonsense. He had never had the habit of returning empty-handed. Among the many powerful figures hidden in the forest, quite a few shared his thoughts and were unwilling to leave. They lingered in place, intending to see if there was any chance to fish in troubled waters.

***

”It is finally daylight!” On Soaring Serpent Mountain, Ke Haolin finally let out a sigh of relief.

Having endured the night, things would be much easier during the day. Demon puppets were most active at night. In the daytime, aside from a few that were controlled or exceptional cases, they would hide of their own accord. Lin Zheyu glanced at the ground covered with demon puppets and savage beast corpses. Seeing no major danger, he turned and slowly walked toward the mid mountainside. Fortunately, the night had passed without a serious incident.

”Junior Brother, you are here! Here you go!”

When Senior Sister Gu Ye saw Lin Zheyu arrive, she chuckled and tossed over a jar of wine.

”Senior Sister, drinking so early in the morning is bad for the stomach,” Lin Zheyu caught the wine jar and said with a smile. Having passed through the crisis without mishap, he felt considerably more relaxed.

”Senior Sister, can you sense the Baleful Yin force in the air?” Lin Zheyu sat down beside Gu Ye and asked curiously.

”Oh? You can as well? It seems you are a genius with an aptitude for immortal cultivation. If you had lived thousands of years ago, you might have cultivated the Dao and become immortal.” Gu Ye said with a smile. She shrugged and continued, ”As for me, I do not have that kind of aptitude.”

”You said thousands of years ago. It is of no use now,” Lin Zheyu replied indifferently.

”It cannot be said to be useless. If you had been born into the imperial family of Great Wei, it might have mattered. Unfortunately, you were not.” Gu Ye chuckled.

She knew many secrets and held numerous speculations. In her view, the imperial family of Great Wei was very likely connected to the once brilliant and powerful Immortal Dao, though it remained only conjecture.

”Yes, what a pity. Otherwise, I might have been a once-in-a-century genius,” Lin Zheyu joked with a smile.

He glanced at the dark clouds in the distant sky. They had not yet dispersed, but they were no longer expanding. The sun slowly rose from the horizon, casting a gentle golden radiance.

”Hm? The Baleful Yin force is dissipating at an astonishing speed...” Lin Zheyu exclaimed in surprise.

Previously, at Daba Mountain, in the chamber that nurtured living corpses, dense Baleful Yin force only appeared at night and vanished during the day. Not only the Baleful Yin force, but even the demon puppets were also affected by day and night.

At that time, Lin Zheyu had speculated that the sun’s blazing Yang nature exerted a strong suppressive effect on Baleful Yin force. Now, personally sensing the Baleful Yin force rapidly dissipating as the sun rose further confirmed his conjecture.

Are there martial cultivation techniques with Yang attributes...? Fire attribute could count as one. Lightning attribute should also qualify, and there are...

As Lin Zheyu gazed at the rising sun, numerous thoughts flashed through his mind. If he could cultivate a supremely firm and pure Yang true strength energy, then even when facing true yaos or demons, he would be able to exert a powerful suppressive effect on them.

First, I need to complete the Primordial Wuji True Technique. After that, I can seek out some supremely firm and pure Yang techniques to cultivate, preferably martial techniques similar to the Vast Sun Heavenly Saber.

Lin Zheyu pondered silently, planning his future cultivation path. Those powerful yaos and demons were suspected to have once destroyed the entire era of immortal cultivation. If his strength continued to rise, sooner or later, he would face them. He had to plan ahead.

”Junior Brother, what are you thinking about so intently?” Gu Ye asked with a smile when she saw him staring at the sun.

”My Boundless Azure Sea Body was successfully cultivated yesterday. I was thinking about which direction to develop next. Senior Sister, what do you think of the Primordial Wuji True Technique?” Lin Zheyu came back to his senses and said with a smile.