Immortality Begins With Internal Breathing

A gentle breeze passed by. With a thought, Lin Zheyu disappeared from his original spot and entered the space inside the Primordial Chaos Pool. He had divided the void within the pool into four sections.

One stored his personal belongings; another contained a large amount of chaos-origin qi; the third held dharma treasures of dubious origin, such as the Grand Purple Crystal Ring, taken from others; and the last was a void where Lin Zheyu now stood. This space had no energy at all and was designated solely for his cultivation.

”Saber, come!” Lin Zheyu opened his right hand. With a thought, the silver-white treasured saber he had purchased appeared in his grasp.

The saber was approximately 1.37 meters long, its blade gleaming with a cold, chilling light. Its overall appearance was simple and unadorned, with no aura emanating from it, making it look no different from an ordinary mortal weapon. This was a treasure concealing its own brilliance.

”As expected of a treasured saber that cost nearly thirty high-grade spirit stones. It truly is extraordinary.”

Lin Zheyu stroked the long saber and spoke with satisfaction. The saber was named Voidcleaver, and spatial runes and restrictions were engraved upon it, allowing him to bring out the power of the Seven Absolute Sabers to the fullest.

”If I had possessed this back then... Hmm, perhaps it still would not have been enough. This Grand Purple Crystal Ring truly is extraordinary.” Lin Zheyu shook his head.

With a thought, the Grand Purple Crystal Ring belonging to the Woo Family appeared in his left hand. This dharma treasure was of a grade far superior to the Voidcleaver Saber. Even among treasures at the Nascent Soul realm, it ranked among the very best.

Woo Yiyan had simply been too weak to unleash the Grand Purple Crystal Ring’s true power. By comparison, the Voidcleaver Saber was barely considered an entry-level treasure among those of the Nascent Soul realm.

Lin Zheyu had deliberately sacrificed many of the properties typically found in a dharma treasure and chosen the Voidcleaver Saber because of its exceptional durability. The saber had been forged from Voidcleaving Stone, a special mineral with an extremely high affinity for the power of spatial laws.

Powerful spatial formation runes were not something that could be purchased with a mere thirty high-grade spirit stones. The spatial runes and restrictions engraved upon the Voidcleaver Saber were only basic ones, and there were not many of them. Its ability to enhance the power of the Seven Absolute Sabers was primarily due to the remarkable properties of the Voidcleaving Stone itself.

Now is not the right time... Once I become stronger, I will find an opportunity to sell the Grand Purple Crystal Ring for spirit stones and replace this with a higher-grade Voidcleaver Saber, Lin Zheyu thought as he put the Grand Purple Crystal Ring away.

Once he had broken free from all seven Life Shackles within his body, Lin Zheyu estimated that even if his strength did not reach the Deity Transformation realm, it would still be comparable to the peak of the Nascent Soul realm.

By then, with the formidable defenses of the Primordial Chaos Pool, he would be able to escape with ease even when facing a Deity Transformation realm expert from the Woo Family.

Lin Zheyu cleared his mind of distracting thoughts, sealed the three great divine repositories within his body, and activated the enchanted robe he wore to assist his cultivation. Once everything was ready, he tightened his grip on the Voidcleaver Saber and began training to push his body beyond its limits and acquire more Origin Force.

Saber lights tore through the void, but each strike was perfectly ordinary, containing not the slightest trace of the power of laws. The void within the Primordial Chaos Pool contained no Dao resonance of the rules and was therefore unsuitable for cultivation. However, Lin Zheyu was only using it to push beyond his limits and acquire Origin Force, so the absence of Dao resonance had no effect whatsoever.

More than four hours later, Lin Zheyu finally stopped, breathing heavily.

[Heaven Rewards the Diligent]

[Name: Lin Zheyu]

[Origin Force: 1183]

[Skills: Heaven-Deceiving Art (Perfection), Seven Absolute Sabers (Seventh Stage: 100%), Earth Shrinking Technique (Third Stage: 100%), Primordial Golden Body (Fourth Stage: 100%), Primordial Chaos True Art (Dormancy: 0%), Eight Desolations World-Suppressing Art (First Stage: 0%)]

”Everything is ready. It is time to leave,” Lin Zheyu murmured softly as he looked at the data in his mind.

Although Lin Zheyu had already gathered enough heavenly treasures and earthly wonders to cultivate the Primordial Chaos True Art, he had yet to advance it because he lacked sufficient energy. He could use the vast reserves of chaos origin energy stored within the Primordial Chaos Pool, but doing so would be far too extravagant. Chaos origin energy had become virtually impossible to find in this world, so every bit he used would be gone for good.

As long as another option existed, Lin Zheyu would avoid consuming chaos origin energy for cultivation whenever possible. As the Primordial Chaos True Art he had created advanced into its later stages and incorporated more aspects of the Shamanic Dao, its cultivation would begin to involve both chaos origin energy and Earth Power. If he exhausted his chaos origin energy prematurely and had none left when he truly needed it, he would regret it beyond measure.

”Open!” Lin Zheyu willed.

The three great divine repositories sealed within his body abruptly opened. Vast amounts of essence, qi, and spirit poured out from the voids within them. Lin Zheyu’s weakened body recovered at an astonishing rate, returning to its peak condition within a few breaths.

His figure abruptly vanished from the void inside the Primordial Chaos Pool and reappeared in the courtyard. With a light wave of his right hand, the Primordial Chaos Pool rapidly shrank and entered his body, forming a tattoo-like image of the pool on his chest. This was a new ability Lin Zheyu had discovered after completing its initial refinement.

***

Night had fallen, and bright moonlight streamed down through the gaps between the leaves, casting swaying shadows across the forest floor. Outside the demon cave, ripples spread through the void as Lin Zheyu’s figure slowly emerged.

With a slight movement, he passed through the energy barrier surrounding the demon cave. The stench of decay and blood assailed his nostrils as black winds howled past, carrying surging tides of demonic qi. Sensing the familiar demonic qi once more, Lin Zheyu was unexpectedly overcome by a sense of nostalgia.

”I am back...” Lin Zheyu murmured as his powerful perception spread outward.

He discovered that after forming his natal shamanic pattern, his perception was far less suppressed by demonic qi and yao will. Shamanic cultivators truly deserved to be feared even by yao. He had only just taken his first steps on the path, yet the effects were already so remarkable.

Sun Zhenzhi... Let us see if that fellow is still here.

A thought stirred in Lin Zheyu’s mind as he recalled Sun Zhenzhi.

The humiliation and frustration he had suffered back then remained vivid in his memory. Every time he entered the demon cave, those scenes would involuntarily resurface in his mind. As long as Sun Zhenzhi remained alive, Lin Zheyu would never be able to put the matter behind him. It was like a thorn lodged in his throat, leaving him deeply uncomfortable.

With a slight movement, Lin Zheyu vanished from where he stood and transformed into a fleeting blur as he sped toward the Demon-Suppressing Army camp where Sun Zhenzhi had once been stationed. The camp was not far away, and before long, he arrived at a position just over ten kilometers from it.

Having learned from his previous experience, Lin Zheyu knew that an immensely powerful expert was stationed within the Demon-Suppressing Army camp. This time, he was not reckless enough to use his golden Heavenly Eye to spy on the camp directly.

Instead, he concealed himself in the shadows and extended his powerful perception across the area within a kilometer of the camp, quietly observing its movements. The demon cave was home to vast numbers of yao and demon puppets, so the Demon-Suppressing Army had to deploy regularly to hunt down and eliminate those that drew too close.

Five days. If I still cannot find any trace of Sun Zhenzhi within five days, I will leave immediately, Lin Zheyu decided, setting himself a deadline.

As the black winds howled, time flowed steadily onward.

Soon, three days passed by.

Lin Zheyu soon grasped the Demon-Suppressing Army’s deployment patterns. Every unit sent out to hunt yao consisted of a hundred Demon-Suppressing Army soldiers. Ten such units operated outside the camp at any given time, with all ten rotating approximately once every half day. Unfortunately, Lin Zheyu never saw Sun Zhenzhi among them.

On the fourth day, just as he began to think that Sun Zhenzhi would not appear today either...

Lin Zheyu’s eyes abruptly snapped open, and a cold gleam flashed within them. The corners of his lips curled into a sneer. ”You finally showed yourself. You certainly kept me waiting!”