Immortality Begins With Internal Breathing

Two days later, Zong Linjing could no longer hold on. Wang Zhengtian took over the formation node under her charge, while she seized the opportunity to recover with all her strength. Wang Zhengtian’s arrival relieved much of the pressure, allowing Lin Zheyu to devote more attention to comprehending the surrounding formation restrictions. He had no intention of wasting such a rare opportunity.

The sense of danger lingering in his heart filled Lin Zheyu with urgency. Perhaps this would be his final opportunity. Had there been anyone available to guard this formation node in his place, he would have freed himself from the task, pushed the Heavenly Eye to its limit, and immersed himself completely in comprehending the formation.

Unfortunately, Ji Haozhong was not strong enough and had only just returned to rest. He had barely recovered and was therefore unable to take over the formation node guarded by Lin Zheyu.

Time passed. This invasion from the demon realm lasted far longer than the previous ones, continuing for a full five days.

”Damn it, why are there so many of these accursed things? It feels like we can never kill them all,” Ji Haozhong cursed, his face somewhat pale.

After holding out for around three days, Lin Zheyu began showing signs of exhaustion and had Ji Haozhong, who had rushed over, take control of the formation node. He then immersed himself completely in comprehending the formation restrictions. The results were undeniably gratifying, but the drain on his golden energy was equally astonishing.

Hearing the voice beside him, Lin Zheyu slowly opened his eyes, which were filled with blood-red veins. He had just finished using the Heavenly Eye to comprehend the formation, and the golden energy within his sea of consciousness had been completely exhausted.

”The first formation defensive line is about to collapse.” Lin Zheyu frowned slightly and warned, ”If the formation breaks, do not hesitate. Flee immediately and leave me to cover the retreat.”

”All right!” Ji Haozhong nodded firmly, his expression grave.

He knew there was a vast difference between his strength and Xiao Yu’s. Staying behind would only make him a burden. Without him and Zong Linjing slowing them down, Senior Wang Zhengtian and Xiao Yu would have a much greater chance of escaping.

”Fuck, there are far too many yao. It feels like they will never run out,” Ji Haozhong cursed.

”There is nothing we can do. Yao Demon Nests are simply too unreasonable. This is a struggle between two worlds, and with the support of their world’s will, those yao likely have no need to worry about exhausting their energy. As long as they have enough energy, they can continuously breed powerful yao cannon fodder,” Lin Zheyu said helplessly, shaking his head.

Fortunately, the strongest of these cannon-fodder yao were only at the peak of the six-pattern level, equivalent to the peak of the Golden Core realm. Otherwise, there would be no point in fighting at all. Besides the intelligent yao born with sentience, the demon realm also had yao that awakened intelligence after cultivating to the seven-pattern level. Once a yao advanced to seven patterns, it could condense a nest and breed its own army of cannon fodder.

”A Yao Demon Nest... Do you think the entire demon realm might actually be one enormous nest?” Ji Haozhong muttered.

Lin Zheyu narrowed his eyes and nodded gravely. ”That really is possible!”

He had never truly encountered a Yao Demon Nest and did not understand much about them, yet an inexplicable premonition told Lin Zheyu that Ji Haozhong’s speculation was very likely correct.

”Damn it, if the entire demon realm is a Yao Demon Nest, just how terrifying must its master be?” A trace of fear flashed through Ji Haozhong’s eyes. That was an entire great world. The very thought of a Yao Demon Nest comparable in size to a great world was enough to inspire terror.

”Do not worry. Even if the demon realm is the nest of some terrifying yao, something must have happened to that yao. Otherwise, with its strength, it would have devoured our entire world long ago. There would have been no reason to wait until now,” Lin Zheyu said, shaking his head. He slowly rose and walked over to Ji Haozhong.

”Leave the rest to me. Recover your strength first, then take Fellow Zong and leave ahead of us,” Lin Zheyu said calmly as he placed his hand on the formation node.

After five continuous days of relentless assaults from the yao army, the first formation defensive line finally began showing signs of collapse. Although the rate at which the yao army poured in had started to slow and even seemed to be gradually stopping, no one knew whether something unexpected might happen before the invasion truly ended. There was no harm in preparing to withdraw in advance.

”All right,” Ji Haozhong replied. He exhaled softly, took out a medicinal pill, and swallowed it.

He then walked aside, sat down cross-legged, and seized every moment to recover. Fortunately, the worst-case scenario did not occur. More than four hours later, the yao army finally stopped pouring from the node fissure. Under the formation’s continuous slaughter, the yao already trapped inside were gradually wiped out, leaving the ground covered in shattered corpses.

”It seems there is still time,” Lin Zheyu murmured as he looked toward the space-time node.

His figure flickered as he left the formation node and joined the group clearing away the yao corpses. During this period, he had nearly finished comprehending the surrounding formation restrictions and had reached a bottleneck. Continuing in the short term would not provide much further benefit. Thus, Lin Zheyu turned his attention toward the demonic patterns.

Divine patterns had originally evolved from the demonic patterns of yao. Even now, divine patterns were still primarily based on demonic patterns, with Immortal Dao runes and elements from other cultivation systems incorporated into them. To refine their structure, Lin Zheyu not only needed to deepen his knowledge of formations and comprehend how formation principles were fused with demonic patterns within the restrictions outside the node, but also expand his understanding of demonic patterns themselves.

”I will take this yao’s body. I will personally send it back in a few days.” Lin Zheyu waved his right hand, causing the corpse of a seven-pattern yao on the ground to vanish, before speaking calmly.

”Yes, Senior!” the cultivator replied respectfully.

After Lin Zheyu left, he could not help but breathe a slight sigh of relief. The pressure of facing a senior with the strength of the Shackles realm was simply too overwhelming. The imposing presence emanating from a Shackles realm martial artist was far more terrifying than that of a Golden Core realm cultivator. It felt like the suppression of a superior bloodline, involuntarily filling him with awe.

Lin Zheyu moved across the battlefield, selecting yao corpses that would be useful to him. Besides seven-pattern yao, he also chose large numbers of six-pattern and five-pattern yao corpses. Whenever possible, he selected yao of the same race.

The higher a yao’s level, the more complex the demonic patterns within its body became, and the more difficult they were to comprehend and study. Lin Zheyu needed to compare the demonic patterns of yao from the same race but of different strengths to break down and study them.

Wang Zhengtian had watched Lin Zheyu throughout the entire process. Only after Lin Zheyu finished selecting the corpses and returned to the formation node did he ask with a smile, ”Brat, you have picked out so many yao. You are not planning to follow the path of a demonic cultivator, are you?”

He paid close attention to this junior, whose natural talent and aptitude were both astonishing.

”I’m only in the early Shackles realm and am merely trying to understand them for now. Stones from other mountains can be used to polish jade. Although the cultivation system of yao differs fundamentally from the many systems of this world, the greater the difference between cultivation systems, the more valuable they can sometimes be to study. Would you not agree?” Lin Zheyu replied with a smile.

”Haha, that makes sense. Back then, I also considered studying the yao, but I ultimately failed to make the path work. Of course, my aptitude is mediocre and cannot compare with yours. Work hard, brat, and try to forge a broad path forward for martial cultivation while I am still alive. After all, it is a path into which I poured nearly all the effort of the first half of my life. I cannot help feeling unwilling to accept it if I never get to see what lies farther down the path of martial cultivation,” Wang Zhengtian said wistfully.

Although he had switched to cultivating the path of the Gu Immortal, he still possessed a deep attachment to martial cultivation that he found difficult to relinquish.

”Yes, Senior. I will do my utmost!” Lin Zheyu said solemnly, cupping his hands.

Just as he calmed his mind and prepared to begin studying the demonic patterns of the yao, a strange expression suddenly appeared on Wang Zhengtian’s face.

”Brat, do you know Senior Jing Xinyue?” Wang Zhengtian asked curiously.

”No.” Lin Zheyu shook his head, then asked in puzzlement, ”Am I supposed to know her?”

”Uh...” Wang Zhengtian waved his hand and said, ”Senior Jing Xinyue wishes to see you. I will notify Ji Haozhong to return and take over for you. Go pay that senior a visit.”

Lin Zheyu realized what he meant and asked after a brief hesitation, ”Could the senior you mentioned be the mighty Deity Transformation realm expert guarding this place?”

”Precisely. That senior has done the Martial Alliance a great service. Remember to show her proper respect when you meet her,” Wang Zhengtian reminded him.

When the Martial Alliance broke away from the three ancient martial esteemed families, experts from the Vermilion Bird Sect had secretly assisted them. Otherwise, it would not have been easy for the Martial Alliance to free itself from the three ancient martial esteemed families through its own strength alone. This place had also become one of the strongholds guarded by the Martial Alliance because the mighty expert stationed here was from the Vermilion Bird Sect.

”Yes, I will remember,” Lin Zheyu replied.

A trace of doubt arose in his heart. Why did that senior wish to see him? On the surface, he was merely a martial artist who had broken free of two shackles, equivalent to an early Golden Core realm cultivator of the Immortal Dao. To a mighty Deity Transformation realm expert, he should have been as insignificant as an ant.

Could Senior Jing Xinyue have seen through the strength I am concealing? Or did I attract her attention because I inadvertently sensed her presence? Lin Zheyu speculated inwardly, considering how he should respond under different circumstances. After all, she was a mighty Deity Transformation realm expert, and the disparity between their strengths was simply too vast.