Immortality Begins With Internal Breathing

Black winds howled through the demon cave. Deep within it, a certain space-time node was gradually stabilizing, and the surrounding region was saturated with immense rule power. Countless geniuses had ventured deep into the area, competing for opportunities involving rule fragments. Three burly figures sped toward the depths of the demon cave at astonishing speed.

”Hurry up, we’re almost there. Don’t let him get away this time!” Woo Yixuan said with a savage grin. His mind was already occupied with fantasies of how he would torture Lin Zheyu once he captured him.

The two burly men beside him remained expressionless. They cast Woo Yixuan a brief glance, speechless. Of the three of them, wasn’t it Woo Yixuan himself who was holding everyone back? Still, neither of them voiced the thought. They followed Woo Yiyan, and since Woo Yiyan had ordered them to assist Woo Yixuan in hunting Xiao Yu, they would simply carry out the task.

After a long while, the three drew closer and closer to the space-time node Lin Zheyu had entered. Even from a great distance, they could already sense the dangerous aura emanating from within it.

The man on the left, broad and muscular with an utterly ordinary face, frowned slightly as he said, ”Young master, that’s the space-time node leading to the demon realm ahead. This space-time node is currently stabilizing after the merger. For cultivators of the Shackles realm, it’s extremely dangerous. It would be best not to proceed any further.”

The man’s name was Woo Mingkun. Like Wu Yijie, another martial artist, both were members of the Woo Family and followed Woo Yiyan.

”Hm?” Woo Yixuan frowned.

He stopped outside the region shrouded in the destruction aura, uncertainty flickering across his face. With a flick of his right hand, a palm-sized mirror appeared. Intricate and profound rule patterns were engraved upon its surface. The mirror itself was merely a receiver, a special dharma treasure used to accept signals from the Sky-Patrolling Mirror.

As one of Great Wei’s supreme treasures, the Sky-Patrolling Mirror possessed unparalleled abilities. One of those abilities was locating the position of a designated living being. However, the price was considerable, and not just anyone was qualified to use it. During the Ascension Assembly, Woo Yiyan had obtained two opportunities to use the Sky-Patrolling Mirror, but had never spent them.

The Nether-Seeking Beast was already dead. Without its assistance, they could still spend spirit stones and have the Directorate of Celestial Observation calculate Xiao Yu’s location, but such calculations were not performed in real time.

Given Woo Yixuan’s abilities, finding a slippery target like Xiao Yu would have been nearly impossible. Thus, Woo Yiyan had given one of his Sky-Patrolling Mirror usage rights to his younger brother, allowing him to deal with Xiao Yu as quickly as possible before devoting himself entirely to cultivation.

Powerful spirit power poured into the mirror. Its surface suddenly erupted with brilliant light before the radiance condensed into a single thread that extended into the depths of the dark void. After entering the region covered by the terrifying destruction aura, the thread began to tremble and wander aimlessly in every direction. Yet no matter how it stretched or shifted, it showed no sign whatsoever of leaving that region.

”He’s inside!” Woo Yixuan exclaimed.

He looked toward the direction where the thread extended, filled with uncertainty and surprise. Despite the chaos caused by the merging of the two worlds, which disrupted the Dao resonance and filled the region with destructive aura—affecting the Sky-Patrolling Mirror’s function—the general direction remained reliable. The fact that the condensed thread from the mirror never left that area indicated that after Xiao Yu’s aura entered, it never reemerged.

”This could be troublesome.” Woo Mingkun frowned as he watched the brutal slaughter between the cultivators and yao ahead.

”Should we go in?” Wu Yijie asked indifferently, his expression unchanged.

It was as though the terrifying aura ahead, enough to make others’ hearts tremble, did not exist in his eyes. Upon hearing this, Woo Mingkun’s brow furrowed slightly, but he did not object.

Among the many cultivation systems, Shackles realm martial artists faced comparatively less danger when entering regions shrouded in destruction aura.

The suppression they suffered was roughly the same as that experienced by cultivators of other systems. However, martial artists possessed physiques, defenses, and vitality that ranked among the very best of all cultivation paths. As long as they concealed their Shackles realm aura and refrained from revealing the strength of a Shackles realm martial artist, the danger remained manageable. Because of this, many powerful clans and esteemed families specifically hired martial artists to escort their younger members into such areas to try their luck.

Very few Shackles realm martial artists were willing to take on such work, however. Their lower level of danger was only relative to cultivators of other systems at the Golden Core realm and above. Once a Shackles realm martial artist entered such a place, the risks they faced were far greater than those encountered by cultivators below the Golden Core realm. However, if they forced their way in, found their target, killed them, and left immediately, the problem should not be too serious.

What the three of them could not understand was why Xiao Yu, a newly risen genius martial artist of the Martial Alliance, would risk his life by entering such a place. What exactly was he after? At their level, opportunities involving rule fragments were no longer particularly attractive when weighed against the dangers involved.

”No. Although I don’t know what Xiao Yu’s objective is, he’s already reached the Shackles realm and still chose to venture inside. But since he’s determined to seek death, there’s no reason for us to accompany him. When he comes out at his weakest, we’ll deliver the killing blow. Hehe... The advantage is ours right now. There’s no need to take unnecessary risks. We’ll wait outside and let him come to us.”

Woo Yixuan shook his head, a confident smile appearing on his face. It was the expression his elder brother liked to wear most. At some point, without even realizing it, Woo Yixuan had begun unconsciously imitating every gesture and mannerism of Woo Yiyan. He wanted to become like his brother, to be just as powerful.

Hearing this, Woo Mingkun and Wu Yijie looked at Woo Yixuan in surprise. Their impression of the family’s infamous wastrel improved somewhat. The two exchanged a glance and nodded faintly. Only this was worthy of the title of Woo Yiyan’s younger brother.

Woo Yixuan’s bloodline talent was second only to his elder brother’s. If he could truly pull himself together and abandon his frivolous ways, then why would the family need to worry about declining?

”By the way, Young Master Woo Yiyan is participating in the Bloody Trial and is currently in the depths of the demon cave as well. Should we inform him?” Woo Mingkun asked.

Woo Yixuan smiled and replied with complete confidence, ”No need. I’ve advanced to the Shackles realm as well. We’re only dealing with a newly advanced Shackles realm martial artist from the Martial Alliance. There’s no need to trouble Big Brother over something so trivial. I can handle it myself.”

***

At the space-time node, an enormous dharma form phantom enveloped the entire node. It was a mysterious figure whose face could not be seen and whose gender could not be discerned, its entire body shrouded in dim gray radiance. The phantom sat cross-legged with its five centers facing heaven, while the fissure of the node was located directly within its chest cavity.

This was the mysterious powerhouse tasked with guarding the space-time node. Nearly every space-time node under the control of the living beings of this world had a powerful expert stationed there, preventing the situation from spiraling out of control once the node fully opened.

Suddenly, a phantom figure beat its enormous wings and flew out from the fissure of the node. The scales covering the wings shimmered with dazzling streams of light. The motionless phantom of the mysterious expert abruptly opened its eyes the moment the figure emerged.

Lin Zheyu’s brow twitched involuntarily. He felt a powerful gaze settle upon him.

Pretending nothing had happened, he quietly sped toward the outside without revealing anything unusual. Any expert capable of guarding a space-time node like this was, at the very least, a terrifying existence at the Deity Transformation realm.

Lin Zheyu did not dare act recklessly before such a figure. After all, it had not been long since he had used the golden Heavenly Eye to spy on the Demon-Suppressing Army from afar, only to be discovered immediately.

The mysterious expert’s phantom glanced at Lin Zheyu’s departing figure and murmured softly in a voice that no one else could hear, ”Extraordinary times produce extraordinary heroes... With the great calamity approaching, another monstrous genius has emerged among the human race. As expected of the race most favored by the Heavenly Dao in this world.”

However, after that brief glance, he withdrew his gaze and resumed comprehending the Dao resonance and rule auras released during the fusion of the two worlds. The terrifying aura generated by the collision and merger of the worlds contained countless profound mysteries of the Dao and the rules. That was also why nearly every space-time node had a terrifying powerhouse stationed there.

Lin Zheyu beat his wings and darted through the devastated battlefield. The genius cultivators remained immersed in comprehending the rule fragments. Only after he had flown a considerable distance away and felt the powerful gaze disappear did he finally relax a little. Being watched by such an expert left him feeling as though he were sitting on a bed of needles.

Fortunately, Lin Zheyu had the foresight to incorporate the remnant Heaven-Deceiving Formation into his cultivation technique, thereby creating the Heaven-Deceiving Art.

Without the concealment provided by the Heaven-Deceiving Art, he would have been completely exposed before those powerful experts, like a man standing naked without the slightest secret. Those terrifying existences would likely have needed only a single glance to see through many of the secrets he carried.

Upon reaching the edge of the region, Lin Zheyu let out a quiet breath. ”Huff...”

His powerful perception spread outward, covering a radius of more than twenty kilometers and taking in every movement in the surroundings. The disturbance here was so great that many powerful cultivators were undoubtedly watching from outside.

Lin Zheyu hesitated slightly over whether he should leave immediately. Departing far earlier than the other cultivators would certainly attract attention. After a moment’s thought, however, he decided not to dwell on it.

The mysterious expert guarding the space-time node was already fully aware of his movements, yet had shown no reaction whatsoever. Compared to that, the opinions of other cultivators hardly mattered.

Just as Lin Zheyu was about to leave the area, he abruptly stopped. ”Hm? Nascent Soul realm experts?”

Moments earlier, he had sensed three terrifying auras. Judging by their intensity, their owners were at least Nascent Soul realm experts.

Lin Zheyu muttered to himself, ”Forget it. I’ll wait a little longer.”

Those were Nascent Soul realm experts. Some Nascent Soul realm cultivators with exceptionally powerful perception were still capable of seeing through his Heaven-Deceiving Art. They were likely waiting for talented juniors to emerge and were probably quite bored at the moment.

Lin Zheyu had no desire to attract even a shred of their interest after stepping outside. Finding a suitable spot, he sat down cross-legged. His powerful perception spread throughout the area as he monitored the activity outside. Large numbers of cultivators had gathered beyond the region, and he curiously examined them one by one.

Suddenly, a trace of surprise appeared on his face.

”Woo Yixuan? What’s he doing here? Not only did he come himself, but he even brought two Shackles realm experts. Don’t tell me this brat came specifically for me?”

Lin Zheyu was speechless. The foundations of these great clans truly were formidable. They had actually managed to track down his location.

So he’s advanced to the Shackles realm. No wonder he’s acting so confident. The two men with him have both opened three shackles. They’ve come well prepared. Since they’ve delivered themselves to my doorstep, I might as well wipe them all out and eliminate one more nuisance.

They had come knocking on his door themselves. If he let them leave alive now, that would be rather impolite. It would almost be disrespectful to their efforts.

Lin Zheyu slowly got to his feet and moved closer to the deeper parts of the Bloody Trial grounds. He wasn’t planning to leave yet; instead, he wanted to prepare first. Once the aura covering the area faded, he would go further into the Bloody Trial Grounds to find a peaceful spot with nice surroundings, where he would bury Woo Yixuan and his two companions.