Immortality Begins With Internal Breathing

Roar! Roar!

As night fell, the demon puppets hidden deep in the mountains began to emerge. Sounds of battle and howls rose one after another. While roasting meat and keeping watch, Lin Zheyu also had the leisure to examine the data in his consciousness.

[Heaven Rewards the Diligent]

[Name: Lin Zheyu]

[Origin Force: 8]

[Skills: Tortoise Breath True Technique (Sixth Stage: 0%), Blood Burning Saber Technique (Third Stage: 18%), Sacred Evolution Spirit Nurturing Art (Second Stage: 0%), Primordial Wuji True Technique (First Stage: 23%)]

During those days in the main sect, he had not attempted to break his limits, so his Origin Force remained at 8 units. However, both the Primordial Wuji True Technique and Sacred Evolution Spirit Nurturing Art had made significant progress. The Primordial Wuji True Technique was of the same lineage as the Azure Tide Boundless True Technique. In less than five days, Lin Zheyu had converted the Azure Tide Boundless True Technique into the Primordial Wuji True Technique. Its progress had also risen to 23% of the first stage.

Among the accompanying martial techniques of the Primordial Wuji True Technique, the saber technique is the strongest. I should focus on saber techniques from now on. Fist techniques and palm techniques can serve as auxiliary attacks.

Aside from the primary cultivation technique, the Primordial Wuji True Technique also came with several accompanying martial techniques, including the Wuji Heaven Overturning Palm, the Wuji Soul Shattering Saber, the Wuji Mountain Collapsing Fist, and others. The strongest among them was the Wuji Soul Shattering Saber, also known as the Soul Shattering Slash.

After cultivating the Primordial Wuji True Technique, Lin Zheyu could train in not only these techniques but also martial techniques from the eight divisions, such as the Heaven Shattering Dominance Flash he had previously obtained from Elder Yang. However, compared to the accompanying techniques of the Primordial Wuji True Technique, those were noticeably weaker.

It is a pity that the second stage of Sacred Evolution Spirit Nurturing Art cannot be cultivated for now, Lin Zheyu sighed inwardly.

The Sacred Evolution Spirit Nurturing Art had two stages. Previously, he had cultivated the first stage. The second stage could only be cultivated by Force Transformation realm martial artists. While using physique and blood qi to nourish and strengthen the spirit and spiritual soul, true strength was applied to further temper them, making the spirit and spiritual soul more solid.

***

Time passed slowly. A faint light appeared in the sky, followed by the first ray of sunlight falling upon the land. Lin Zheyu stood up and stretched. Walking out of the cave, he saw several corpses of ferocious beasts and demon puppets scattered at the entrance.

Today I will make one more round. Whether or not I meet an opponent worthy of my full strength, this journey will end afterward, Lin Zheyu thought.

He felt that his strength was indeed too great. Below the Grandmaster realm, there were likely few who could rival him. Finding Grandmaster realm ferocious beasts or demon puppets in the mountains was no easy task.

Lin Zheyu stepped forward with a bang beneath his feet and vanished into the forest. In the remote mountains, human traces were rare. Sometimes, even after two hours of travel, he would not encounter any powerful beasts.

Slash.

Suddenly, a blade flash swept through. With a soft sound, a fur-covered beast’s head fell to the ground, letting out a delayed roar. A headless demon puppet shot out from the dense forest, ran more than ten meters, then collapsed forward, still struggling to rise.

As expected, wherever the Baleful Yin force is dense, demon puppets are usually hidden, Lin Zheyu thought.

With his powerful perception, he could sense the density of Baleful Yin force in the air. As long as he detected an area where it was thick, he could search nearby to locate its core point and uncover the hidden demon puppet.

Rustle...

Lin Zheyu stepped on the dry leaves and walked toward where the demon puppet had been hiding. Using the Heavenspan Saber, he pushed aside the dense foliage. In his perception, the trees had undergone slight changes after long exposure to Baleful Yin force, though not very obvious.

Strange. How are these areas of dense Baleful Yin force formed? A geomantic layout? Lin Zheyu wondered.

With a bang, he struck the ground with full force, blasting out a massive pit.

Boom, boom, boom.

After several punches, the pit grew larger and larger. Lin Zheyu’s immense strength made him resemble a human excavator. The place where the demon puppet had hidden was dug into a pit over ten meters deep by his fists and palms, yet it was empty inside.

”No spirit stones... Spirit stones are not so easily formed. It must be due to geomantic layout or some other factor,” Lin Zheyu muttered in disappointment.

He dusted himself off and leapt lightly out of the pit, disappearing from the spot. Lin Zheyu pushed his perception to its limits and observed changes in Baleful Yin force as he moved through the forest. Whenever fluctuations appeared, circling the area would reveal its densest point. After killing the hidden demon puppet, he dug another massive pit just as before. After several attempts, he found nothing.

”It seems it truly has nothing to do with spirit stones.” Lin Zheyu completely abandoned this idea.

However, the presence of so many areas dense with Baleful Yin force in the forest, along with the increasing number of demon puppets, gave him an uneasy feeling.

”Could these dense sources of Baleful Yin force be related to the erosion of yaos and demons?” Lin Zheyu speculated.

The people of Great Wei lived largely unaffected by yaos, demons, demon puppets, or even Baleful Yin force. This must have been due to some method employed by Great Wei. Now, that method seemed to be gradually failing, resulting in more and more sources of Baleful Yin force appearing.

I will ask Elder Yang when I return. He was once a Grandmaster and should know many secrets, Lin Zheyu thought.

Unable to find an evenly matched opponent and gaining nothing from killing demon puppets, Lin Zheyu gradually lost interest in hunting them or ferocious beasts. He took out the Hidden Dragon Token, and a map projection appeared in his consciousness. With the Hidden Dragon Token, he no longer needed to worry about getting lost even in the deep wilderness. After confirming the direction, he moved toward Wuling City.

After traveling for more than two hours, Lin Zheyu suddenly frowned as an inexplicable irritation arose within him.

It has been a long time since I felt this... This is a sense of danger.

Lin Zheyu narrowed his eyes and fully activated his perception.

Within two hundred meters, however, he found nothing. The person was hiding beyond his range, waiting for an opportunity.

Who is it? A bandit acting on impulse? Or someone connected to those yao martial artists from Soaring Serpent Mountain?

Lin Zheyu grew wary in his heart.

After leaving Wuling City, he had changed his appearance, so no one should have been able to track him. Lin Zheyu continued forward as if nothing was wrong. Yet the other party made no effort to hide and charged directly toward him.

Whoosh.

With a howling gale, Pei Xuan’s fist, wrapped in dense black-red energy, struck toward Lin Zheyu’s back. At Wuji Manor, Lin Zheyu had survived due to his carelessness. This time, Pei Xuan did not intend to give him that chance. His opening move carried sixty percent of his power.

Slash!

Just as the fist was about to strike Lin Zheyu’s back, a blade flash appeared. The saber sliced through the air with a sharp sound. A flicker of shock flashed across Pei Xuan’s cold eyes. A surge of black-red energy burst from his body and enveloped him. At the same time, his body began to swell. His muscles bulged, and veins coiled across his frame like steel cables.

Slash.

The Heavenspan Saber cut through the air and struck Pei Xuan’s energy barrier. With a soft sound, the blade sank directly into it.

Crack.

Immediately afterward, a cracking sound rang out. Lin Zheyu seemed to have predicted Pei Xuan’s movement and slashed straight toward his neck as he dodged. The blade sank into his twisted, hardened flesh and struck bone, producing a grinding sound. Pei Xuan’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Such speed. No, such a strange saber technique!

Without hesitation, black-red energy erupted as he retreated rapidly. His speed was even a little faster than Lin Zheyu’s.

Lin Zheyu narrowed his eyes and said coldly, ”Who are you, and why did you attack me?”

The man before him was very strong and likely at the peak of the Force Transformation realm. From their brief clash, Lin Zheyu was 80% confident he could kill him in a life and death battle. However, there was one troublesome issue: the opponent was extremely fast—far faster than Lin Zheyu.

The black-red energy unique to yao martial artists was somewhat similar to true strength and could greatly reduce air resistance. Lin Zheyu had yet to condense true strength and relied purely on brute force to break the sound barrier, making him inferior in speed compared to this man.

It is a pity that the previous strike did not sever his head, Lin Zheyu thought.

He stared at the man who resembled both yao and demon. Golden blood qi surged within him as his right hand gripped the Heavenspan Saber tightly. His Perception Domain was pushed to its limits, ready to unleash his strongest strike at any moment.

”Then who are you? Are you not Lin Zheyu?” Pei Xuan frowned and asked coldly.

The wound on his neck had already healed without leaving a trace. Such a powerful recovery ability made Lin Zheyu envious.

”Lin Zheyu? You must have mistaken me. I do not know anyone named Lin Zheyu.”

Lin Zheyu’s heart tightened, but his face remained cold.

How did he learn my identity and track me? Some kind of secret technique? Lin Zheyu wondered.

Pei Xuan was also puzzled. He took out the Ink Jade Disk and confirmed its guidance pointed to the middle-aged man before him. However, according to his investigation, Lin Zheyu had not even reached the Force Transformation realm. The Hidden Dragon List was established by the Great Wei’s Directorate of Celestial Observation, and no one could deceive its strength assessment. Yet the opponent’s power during their clash was at least at the peak of the Force Transformation realm.

Could the personal item be wrong? Damn it, a bunch of useless fools.

Pei Xuan was furious and decided to eliminate those incompetent subordinates upon returning.

”What is your relationship with Lin Zheyu?” Pei Xuan asked coldly. Even if this man was not Lin Zheyu, he believed there must be some connection.

”Heh. Since you have seen through it, I will not hide it anymore. You were also behind the assassination attempt on that boy last time, were you not?” Lin Zheyu said with a faint smile.

He planned to pretend to be the senior who had aided him by killing those yao martial artists in order to gather information.

”So it is you. Good. After I kill you, I will find a chance to kill that boy as well.” A savage smile appeared on Pei Xuan’s face. His eyes turned pitch black as endless violent emotions surged from within. The black-red energy around him grew even stronger.

So this is the true power of a peak Force Transformation realm martial artist. How strong! Lin Zheyu narrowed his eyes as intense battle intent ignited within him.

He had not fought freely for a long time. Now that he faced an opponent of comparable strength, he felt extremely excited.