Immortality Begins With Internal Breathing

As Lin Zheyu pressed forward, every bone in his body ground and compressed beneath the terrifying pressure, producing a constant chorus of cracking sounds. At last, more than ten minutes later, he had traversed less than two hundred meters.

He looked up at the gigantic statue standing not far away. Judging by size alone, Lin Zheyu appeared utterly insignificant before it. Yet to any powerful cultivator watching, the sight would have been entirely different. Standing tall with his chest out and head held high, he radiated an immense momentum qi. Even as he resisted the statue’s overwhelming pressure, he exuded an awe-inspiring sense of grandeur.

The pressure must be adjusted according to the strength of the cultivator undergoing the trial. Otherwise, with pressure this overwhelming, a Blood Qi realm martial artist would be fortunate to make it ten steps, Lin Zheyu thought to himself.

He stood silently where he was as blood qi coursed through his body with a thunderous roar. Beneath the crushing pressure, as though the heavens themselves had collapsed upon him, Lin Zheyu’s body trembled faintly. The cool aura inside him, once no more than a thread, continued to grow. By now, it had become a gentle stream flowing steadily throughout his body.

A flicker of excitement flashed through Lin Zheyu’s resolute eyes. To his body, this cool aura was like the finest tonic treasure herb in existence. It did nothing to strengthen his golden blood qi. Instead, it acted directly upon his muscles, tendons, skin, flesh, and bones.

Sounds like exploding firecrackers rang out from within Lin Zheyu’s body. Under the influence of that mysterious aura, his muscles, tendons, skin, flesh, and bones strengthened at a rate visible to the naked eye.

As Lin Zheyu’s physique continued to improve, the seven golden shackles swayed and collided violently, producing clear, ringing chimes. Yet no matter how powerful the Heavenly Dao shackles’ restraint was, under the influence of that cool aura, Lin Zheyu’s physique continued to improve. The progress was slow, but utterly unwavering.

Time passed slowly. Three full days went by. Lin Zheyu stood silently before the statue, enduring the overwhelming pressure it radiated while allowing the cool aura to nourish and strengthen his physique.

”My raw physical strength has increased by nearly 30%. This Shamanic cultivator system really is something,” Lin Zheyu remarked with admiration.

That mysterious power had already pushed Lin Zheyu’s improvement to its limit. Not only had his body become completely saturated with the mysterious energy, but the seven Heavenly Dao shackles within him had also tightened almost to their absolute limit, binding his physique so firmly that it could no longer improve even the slightest bit.

His body trembled slightly as the seven brilliant golden shackles suddenly drew taut in unison, resonating with one another and producing a series of crisp, melodious chimes.

I still can’t break free. Even using my Golden Body Dharma Form isn’t enough, Lin Zheyu thought.

He had just tried to see whether he could break the first shackle, but it was still impossible. Even with the added strength of his Golden Body Dharma Form, he fell just short.

”It’s time to move on to the next trial,” Lin Zheyu said softly.

He stretched his body. After standing there for so long under the statue’s relentless pressure for three straight days, his body had grown somewhat stiff. Taking a step forward, he set foot onto a carpet woven from the hide of some unknown beast. Instantly, the crushing pressure weighing on him vanished, and he felt an unprecedented sense of relief. If I could train under that pressure while pushing my limits, the results would be phenomenal, he thought.

”The aura coming from this carpet is terrifying. If I could take it out with me, it’d probably sell for quite a fortune,” Lin Zheyu said, unable to resist commenting as he looked down at it.

The carpet radiated an overwhelming aura of primordial wildness. Anyone lacking a firm will would begin trembling uncontrollably and collapse to their knees at the mere thought of it. Lin Zheyu forcibly suppressed the urge to test just how durable the carpet was and continued walking forward.

”Where’s the entrance to the next trial?” Lin Zheyu muttered as he swept his gaze around the hall in search of it.

Lin Zheyu was not completely unfamiliar with the Shamanic Clan secret realm. Before setting out, he had thoroughly studied everything he could find. According to the ancient records, the inheritance trials differed greatly from one Shamanic Clan secret realm to another. Even so, they generally tested candidates in three different aspects.

The first test assessed one’s physical latent potential, the second examined one’s character and comprehension, and the last measured one’s compatibility with the Shamanic cultivator system. However, every Shamanic Clan expert designed their inheritance trials differently, and the ancient records contained no details about their specific contents. It seemed that every cultivator who had undergone a Shamanic Clan inheritance had been placed under a restriction that forbade them from revealing any information about it.

Lin Zheyu had not yet been subjected to that restriction. He guessed it would only take effect once he left. Just as he was searching for the entrance to the next trial, a glimmer of light flashed through the lifelike eyes of the gigantic statue deep within the hall. An ancient will, dormant for who knew how many years, slowly awakened inside the statue.

”Hmm... How many years have passed in this world? The fragment of consciousness I left behind has weakened to this extent...” the will inside the statue murmured softly as it sensed its own frailty. Whether because it had slumbered for too long or because it had grown too weak, its thoughts seemed sluggish.

”More than ten thousand years have passed... It took over ten thousand years for a single Grade A aptitude inheritor to appear. Has heaven and earth truly declined to such a state... Hm? Why is this inheritor so small? Is he from the dwarf branch of the human race...?”

The will within the statue was no longer particularly lucid, with many of its memories missing. Even so, it still remembered its purpose. It would awaken only when an inheritor possessing Grade A aptitude appeared.

”Never mind. As long as the inheritor has Grade A aptitude, that’s enough,” the will murmured.

Two beams of brilliant light suddenly shot from the statue’s eyes, enveloping Lin Zheyu.

The power of space-time... Is this a teleportation formation? Isn’t the second trial supposed to take place here? Lin Zheyu thought, somewhat surprised.

He had not expected the second trial to be held elsewhere. The moment the ghostly light enveloped him, his entire body froze, leaving him no choice but to be passively teleported away. His vision blurred for an instant, and in what felt like the blink of an eye, he had arrived at his destination.

As far as the eye could see, endless yellow earth and swirling sands stretched. A howling hurricane swept toward him, carrying an endless sea of sand. Its might was astonishing, its momentum qi boundless. It stretched from heaven to earth, vast and endless, blotting out the sky and the sun.

What exactly is this trial testing? Lin Zheyu narrowed his eyes as he gazed at the endless storm of yellow sand.

The moment he arrived, all the restrictions on him disappeared. The golden Heavenly Eye within his sea of consciousness snapped open, and he pushed his senses to their utmost limit, yet he still could not detect the boundaries of this world. This realm was far vaster than the Shamanic Clan secret realm he had entered before.

The hurricane howled relentlessly. Lin Zheyu walked across the ochre-colored earth amid the endless sandstorm, hoping to trigger the so-called trial. However, nothing happened.

Strange. What exactly is this trial testing? Willpower? Lin Zheyu wondered as he gazed at the boundless sea of yellow sand.

As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but ochre earth and the raging yellow sand. Not a single plant could be found. The entire world was completely barren, containing nothing except the earth beneath his feet and the endless storm.

Lin Zheyu took a step into the air and shot toward the distant horizon. Since he had no idea what this trial was testing, he decided to explore first and see if he could find the boundary of this world.

Time passed slowly. For three consecutive days, Lin Zheyu flew at his maximum speed without stopping, heading in a single direction. More than half of the immense energy stored within his divine repositories had been depleted. Yet he still failed to find the edge of this world. It was as though this realm stretched on forever, boundless and without end.

Lin Zheyu came to a halt, frowning slightly. Something’s wrong. There’s something wrong with this world.

He suspected that this world might be spherical like Earth, and that he had unknowingly circled it countless times. However, Lin Zheyu’s attainments in the spatial laws were by no means shallow. He could leave spatial marks within the void, and the distribution of the laws in every inch of space was crystal clear to his senses, allowing him to use them as landmarks.

Yet over the past three days, he had never once encountered any of the spatial marks he had left behind, nor had the pattern of the surrounding laws ever repeated. That left him unable to fully trust his theory. Even so, the size of this world was only a secondary concern. The real issue was the nature of this trial.

What exactly is this trial testing? The strength of one’s spirit and will? Lin Zheyu thought to himself.

He had a strong feeling that the Shamanic Clan expert intended to imprison him within this lifeless world for countless years, using the endless passage of time to test the strength of his spirit and will.

If that’s really the case, then this trial is far too unimpressive...