Immortality Begins With Internal Breathing

Fan Hongwei cultivated the arts of divination and aura observation. Among the arts he practiced was a powerful and sinister secret art that could seize another person’s destiny, much like a cuckoo taking over a magpie’s nest.

However, unlike possession arts of that nature, this secret art did not seize the target’s body. It usurped only their fortune, destiny, and providence. The price was immense, and the slightest mistake could cost the user their life. Fan Hongwei had possessed this secret art for over a century but had never found a suitable target.

Ordinary cultivators were not worth the immense risk involved in using such a secret art, while most talented cultivators were backed by powerful factions and formidable backgrounds. Targeting such cultivators could easily provoke a backlash from the fortune of the families or sects behind them. Only this somewhat mysterious Xiao Yu appeared to be a suitable target.

In Fan Hongwei’s view, martial cultivation was a path with little hope of advancement. It was a road with no future, a dead end. Any cultivator backed by a powerful faction or an influential background would never choose to pursue martial cultivation.

Apart from the three ancient martial esteemed families, nearly everyone who walked the path of martial cultivation came from the ranks of unaffiliated cultivators. This somewhat mysterious Xiao Yu was likely no exception. He merely seemed to possess unusually profound fortune and had encountered some extraordinary opportunities.

I should observe him for a while longer. With fortune as profound as his, he may well possess some extraordinary hidden trump card, Fan Hongwei mused inwardly.

A cultivator could use this secret art only once in their lifetime, and it carried enormous risks. He had no choice but to proceed with the utmost caution.

***

More than ten days later, Lin Zheyu returned to Yanwu City and entered seclusion. While cultivating and accumulating Origin Force, he waited for Fan Hongwei to deliver the pill residue from the herbs he required. At last, the wait came to an end.

A knock sounded from the courtyard entrance. Lin Zheyu rose and gently waved his right hand. The courtyard’s protective formation opened at once, revealing the burly man standing outside.

”Vice Hall Master, a Golden Core realm expert from the Soaring Cloud Pavilion has come to visit you. The senior said his name is Fan Hongwei,” the burly man reported respectfully.

”Finally!” Lin Zheyu’s expression shifted slightly, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

Having unexpectedly gained access to a source of pill residue through Fan Hongwei, Lin Zheyu almost felt reluctant to kill the old bastard. Even so, Fan Hongwei still had to die. The old bastard appeared friendly and amiable on the surface, but secretly harbored malicious intentions. There was no telling what scheme he was plotting.

A few minutes later, Fan Hongwei sat leisurely in a side hall of the Martial Hall reserved for receiving guests. Smiling as he savored his spirit tea, he looked every bit the transcendent Daoist immortal.

”My apologies for keeping you waiting, fellow friend,” Lin Zheyu said with a smile as he entered the hall.

”You are too courteous. I was the one who arrived unexpectedly without informing you beforehand,” Fan Hongwei replied with a smile. He lightly patted the storage pouch at his waist, and five enormous jade boxes appeared on the table.

”These are the pill residues from the spirit herbs you requested. Feel free to inspect them thoroughly.” Fan Hongwei lightly tapped the table with his right hand, sending the five jade boxes flying toward Lin Zheyu.

”Thanks!” Lin Zheyu beckoned with his right hand, and the jade boxes came to a stop before him.

With a thought, he opened the jade boxes one by one. The Heavenly Eye within his sea of consciousness abruptly opened and examined each box in turn. The quantities were correct, with considerably more than Lin Zheyu had requested. However, the chaotic mixture of energies within the pill residue far exceeded his expectations.

”As long as you are satisfied. Although these are merely pill residues, they still possess considerable value. They can be processed into nutrients for cultivating spirit herbs or used as feed for spirit beasts, among other things. However, since fate has brought us together, I will sell them to you at cost. The total comes to thirty-seven high-grade spirit stones,” Fan Hongwei said with a smile before taking a sip of spirit tea.

The price was indeed very reasonable. Lin Zheyu estimated that even if Fan Hongwei had added a markup, it could not have been much.

”Then you have my thanks. This is my first time using pill residue, and I have found it rather different from what I imagined. No wonder it is so cheap. The medicinal properties are so chaotic and thoroughly intermingled that each has become inseparable from the others... It seems I miscalculated this time...” Lin Zheyu took out the spirit stones and handed them over, feigning regret as a wry smile appeared on his face.

Pill residue referred to the waste left behind after a failed pill refinement, material that had no value for recovery and no possibility of being returned to the furnace for further refinement.

Fan Hongwei’s expression shifted slightly as he asked with a smile, ”Oh? In that case, would you like me to help you dispose of this pill residue and exchange it for heavily contaminated, inferior treasure herbs?”

”However, I already incurred quite a few favors while acquiring this pill residue. If you want me to take it back, I will not be able to do so free of charge,” Fan Hongwei added with a smile.

Lin Zheyu forced a wry smile and let out a sigh. ”Then forget it. I am merely a crude martial artist. I only managed to obtain this many high-grade spirit stones through extraordinary luck and a fortunate series of coincidences. If I were not short on spirit stones, I would never have resorted to such an unconventional approach by purchasing inferior treasure herbs or even pill residue. I will try to make use of them first. If there truly is no other way, I will have no choice but to trouble you again, fellow friend.”

”Sigh... The path of cultivation is akin to defying the heavens and changing one’s fate. It is truly as difficult as ascending to the heavens. Sigh... Still, rest assured. A great many heavenly treasures and earthly wonders remain undiscovered within those Shamanic Clan Ruins. With your assistance this time, we are certain to reap some rewards,” Fan Hongwei said with a smile.

”That would be ideal. Otherwise, who knows how many years it would take me to break through the limits of the Shackles realm? Cultivation is difficult enough as it is, but martial cultivation is even harder...” Lin Zheyu shook his head and sighed.

After exchanging a few more rueful remarks, Fan Hongwei took his leave. Apart from delivering the pill residue to Lin Zheyu, he had also come to visit a friend in the Kong Family.

As he watched Fan Hongwei depart, Lin Zheyu idly turned the jade box containing the pill residue in his hands. The melancholy vanished from his face, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.

”Pill residue truly is good stuff! How did I never think of it before? I wasted so many spirit stones for nothing.” Lin Zheyu smiled as he toyed with the jade box.

Originally, Lin Zheyu had estimated that purchasing all the treasure herbs required for the Primordial Chaos True Art would completely exhaust the spirit stones he had painstakingly accumulated. They might not even have been enough. To his surprise, replacing the treasure herbs with pill residue had saved him so many spirit stones that he still had forty-two high-grade spirit stones remaining. Even for a Golden Core realm cultivator, that was a considerable fortune.

Lin Zheyu pondered, murmuring quietly to himself, ”With so many spirit stones left, it is time to purchase some talismans and dharma treasures for emergencies. I should replace this saber as well. Once my strength reaches the level of the Nascent Soul realm, its material will no longer be able to withstand my power. Next time, I should get one engraved with spatial runes and restrictions... As for other dharma treasures, I already have the Primordial Chaos Pool for defense, while the Earth Shrinking Technique is more than sufficient for speed. There is no need to purchase anything else for the time being.

”I should buy a more powerful concealment formation disc. Once I enter the demon cave, I will need a powerful concealment formation disk to hide myself before I can safely break through my limits and accumulate Origin Force...”

Previously, because he needed to purchase heavenly treasures and earthly wonders to cultivate the Primordial Chaos True Art, Lin Zheyu had constantly worried that he would run out of spirit stones and had kept a tight grip on his spending. He had been reluctant to buy this and unwilling to spend money on that.

Now that he had replaced the heavenly treasures and earthly wonders with pill residue, he could finally afford to indulge himself for once. The feeling was indescribably satisfying.