Immortality Begins With Internal Breathing

”No, he is merely a pawn I placed on a whim.” Wei Lixin turned around and invited her with a smile. ”Have a seat.”

”No need. I only came to inform you of something before leaving. I simply happened to stumble upon something interesting,” the woman said calmly. The corners of her lips curved upward in a faint, enigmatic smile.

”Still, are you certain you truly intend to treat him as nothing more than a pawn placed on a whim?” she asked slowly.

Wei Lixin’s eyes lit up.

”Oh? Could it be that you noticed something?” Unable to contain his curiosity, he urged, ”Quick, tell me what you found.”

The woman held up three slender, jade-white fingers and smiled faintly. ”Three hundred contribution points.”

The contribution points she referred to were those used within the Wei Family. Like Wei Lixin, the woman came from the Wei Family. Her name was Wei Jiarou, and the two of them cultivated the same technique.

Wei Lixin rolled his eyes and snapped irritably. ”Three hundred? You might as well rob me!”

These were the Wei Family’s internal contribution points, which could be exchanged directly for cultivation resources from the family’s treasury. Every single point was immensely valuable.

”I guarantee you won’t be disappointed. If I no longer had any use for him myself, I would never have handed him over to you,” Wei Jiarou said with a smile.

”Fine, I’ll trust you this once. Three hundred it is. But if you’re playing me and your information isn’t worth the price, don’t blame me for going back on my word,” Wei Lixin said, curling his lips.

Wei Jiarou had cultivated the Eye of Shamanic Sight, allowing her to perceive many things that escaped his notice. Moreover, she was stronger than he was, having already reached the late Golden Core realm. Wei Lixin was not at all surprised that she had noticed something unusual about Xiao Yu.

Despite the considerable disparity in their status within the Wei Family, the two could associate as equals because of their lifelong friendship. Blessed by the influence of his parents and grandfather, Wei Lixin held a much higher position than Wei Jiarou.

”His name is Xiao Yu, isn’t it? He’s quite an impressive fellow...”

The corners of Wei Jiarou’s lips curved upward. ”When I probed him just now, he almost detected me...”

”But I still uncovered his secret. His body carries a faint and unusual shamanic spell fluctuation, one that belongs to a natal shamanic pattern! In other words, not only has he obtained an inheritance from the Shamanic Clan, but he has also successfully condensed a relatively complete natal shamanic pattern!” Wei Jiarou said with a smile.

Wei Lixin trembled slightly upon hearing this. His eyes widened involuntarily, gleaming with excitement.

Wei Lixin suppressed his excitement and asked solemnly, ”Is that really true?”

Under the current conditions of the world, someone had actually managed to condense a relatively complete natal shamanic pattern. The Wei Family had tried for so long and employed countless methods, yet had never succeeded. Back when Lin Zheyu was still an ordinary martial artist, the so-called Hidden Dragon List had been one of the methods they used to select martial artists to receive the Shamanic Clan’s inheritance.

”Although he concealed it well enough to evade my various probing methods, he could not deceive my Eye of Shamanic Sight. This special ocular art, adapted from a shamanic spell, is exceptionally sensitive to Shamanic Dao energy. Although that unique and powerful shamanic spell fluctuation was exceedingly faint, it could only have been emitted by a relatively complete natal shamanic pattern. There can be no mistake,” Wei Jiarou said calmly.

Her words brimmed with unshakable confidence. In truth, even she had not sensed it clearly and had only vaguely detected a trace of an unusual aura, but that was enough. Wei Jiarou was 40% certain that the man from earlier had condensed a relatively complete natal shamanic pattern. 40% was already a remarkably high degree of confidence.

”Hahaha! Excellent, excellent, excellent!” Wei Lixin laughed heartily, repeating the word three times. He had merely intended to place a pawn on a whim and see whether it might yield anything, but he had never expected the returns to come so quickly.

”I invited him to attend a private Dao discussion five days from now. You should come as well and help me confirm it more carefully,” Wei Lixin said after a moment’s thought.

”All right. There is also something else I need to inform you about. It concerns that place...” Wei Jiarou transmitted.

The excitement in Wei Lixin’s eyes turned to astonishment. ”Really?” 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

”Yes. With the great tribulation drawing near, the world’s will has sensed an unprecedented crisis and begun trying to save itself. As it actively intervenes, all manner of fortuitous opportunities, secret realms, and ruins have begun appearing with increasing frequency,” Wei Jiarou said calmly. ”It is hardly surprising that those ruins have resurfaced.”

”If that is the case, we can set our previous preparations aside for now and focus our efforts on the ruins you mentioned,” Wei Lixin said.

Countless thoughts raced through his mind as he began considering his next course of action.

”By the way, do not be too hasty about making your move. If the natal shamanic pattern within that man is sufficiently complete, he may prove quite helpful during our expedition to the ruins. You can always act against him afterward,” Wei Jiarou reminded him.

Wei Lixin paused in surprise and looked at Wei Jiarou in astonishment. ”Who said I intended to act against him?”

”A natal shamanic pattern may be precious, but there are limits to its value. I have never considered simply killing him and seizing his natal shamanic pattern. That would be extremely shortsighted. How would it be any different from killing the hen to get the eggs? The most valuable things about him are the natal shamanic pattern within his body, his understanding and insights into the Shamanic Dao, and the tremendous fortune and destiny he possesses in connection with the Shamanic Dao. Keeping him alive would be far more valuable than directly seizing his natal shamanic pattern,” Wei Lixin said, unable to resist rolling his eyes.

Why did he spend every free moment at the Discussion Pavilion during each Ascension Assembly, participating in Dao discussions concerning shamanic arts? Was it not precisely to find cultivators blessed with tremendous fortune and destiny connected to the Shamanic Dao? Now that one had finally appeared, how could he possibly bear to kill him?

Wei Jiarou looked at Wei Lixin with some surprise. ”Then why did you make that expression just now? I thought you intended to use that secret art to seize the natal shamanic pattern within his body for your own use...”

Even she had entertained the same thought after sensing that Xiao Yu was quite likely to possess a natal shamanic pattern. After all, the technique they cultivated had deep connections to the Shamanic Dao. If they could seize a natal shamanic pattern and incorporate it into their Golden Core, it would provide tremendous benefits to their future cultivation.

Unfortunately, Wei Jiarou had already reached the late Golden Core realm, and the Golden Core within her body had almost completely taken shape. A natal shamanic pattern was no longer of much use to her. Otherwise, she would never have told Wei Lixin about it and would instead have secretly made her own move.

Wei Lixin shook his head. ”Ahem, the thought did cross my mind just now. After all, a natal shamanic pattern is simply too alluring to cultivators like us who practice that technique. But it was only a fleeting thought. Compared to the benefits he could bring, killing a genius like him would simply not be worth it.”

Wei Lixin smiled faintly and said with assured eloquence, ”Times of upheaval give rise to heroes. The fact that this man obtained a natal shamanic pattern proves that he has an affinity with the Shamanic Clan. In this magnificent age, when the great tribulation approaches and fortuitous opportunities emerge in abundance, cooperating with him and actively cultivating friendly relations would yield rewards far beyond anything a natal shamanic pattern alone could provide. That is how ordinary cultivators like us should approach a ’tribulation-bearer’ blessed with tremendous fortune and destiny.”

He was an exceptionally clear-headed man with an accurate understanding of himself. He knew that he was mediocre and ordinary. But what was an ordinary person who refused to resign himself to mediocrity supposed to do? Some cultivators, such as Fan Hongwei in the past, conceived malicious designs and planned to use vicious secret arts to directly seize the fate of cultivators blessed with great opportunities.

Others, like Wei Lixin, actively sought such people out, befriended them, and nurtured them so that they might share in a portion of the benefits. This was what Wei Lixin meant by placing a pawn on a whim.

He believed that Lin Zheyu appeared to be a ’tribulation-bearer’ blessed with tremendous fortune and destiny connected to the Shamanic Dao. Wei Lixin had already selected thirteen such candidates, ranging in strength from the Foundation Establishment realm to the Golden Core realm. Among them was even an early Nascent Soul realm expert from an ordinary faction.

Wei Jiarou shook her head slightly, disagreeing with Wei Lixin’s view. ”It’s pointless. Reality is not some fictional tale. Fortuitous encounters and opportunities may play a role, but their influence is negligible compared to one’s background, foundations, natural talent, and comprehension. The innate disparity is simply too great, so great that no fortuitous encounter can bridge it. He may possess considerable fortune and opportunities, but the Deity Transformation realm will almost certainly be his limit.”

”Is that so? As I said before, we shall wait and see,” Wei Lixin replied with a smile.

This was not the first time Wei Jiarou had said such a thing. In her view, throughout history, the powerful had only ever emerged from mighty factions and families. There had never been an exception. Even those experts hailed as dark horses who had risen from obscurity invariably proved, upon closer examination, to have powerful, esteemed families or sects standing behind them.

Opportunities obtained through fortuitous encounters alone could indeed bring a dramatic leap in a cultivator’s strength, but that was not enough. To grow into one of the mightiest experts at the very pinnacle required more than opportunities. Profound foundations were equally indispensable.

”I have delivered the news. Farewell.” Wei Jiarou had no intention of continuing the argument with Wei Lixin. Her figure shimmered slightly before vanishing.

Wei Lixin gazed in the direction Wei Jiarou had departed, an excited smile spreading across his face.

Wei Lixin chuckled. ”Heh, he actually managed to condense a relatively complete natal shamanic pattern. It seems I have struck gold. His affinity with the Shamanic Dao is unimaginably profound! My hopes of breaking through to the Nascent Soul realm, and even the Deity Transformation realm, now rest on him.”

The path he followed was not easy. Wei Lixin also knew his own limitations and understood that his natural talent was nothing exceptional. Now that the great tribulation was approaching, he did not have much time left. If he wanted to increase his strength rapidly, he could only forge a new path by turning to the Shamanic Dao.