Immortality Begins With Internal Breathing

"Roar!"

The roar of an invisible Desolate Beast echoed faintly from within Woo Jin. A massive purple tiger phantom materialized behind him, its jaws gaping wide to reveal vicious fangs as it roared relentlessly at Xia Ping.

Beside them, Lin Xian's forehead was already drenched in sweat. Although Woo Jin's pressure was not directed at him, merely standing nearby was enough to make Lin Xian feel an overwhelming weight pressing down on him. He hurriedly sat down cross-legged, calmed his mind, and focused his spirit. His powerful martial cultivation will surged forth, contracting into a tiny sphere that barely held together, swaying precariously as it struggled to survive within the narrow gap created by the collision of Woo Jin and Xia Ping's vast, boundless, and irresistible wills.

"Hmph!" Woo Jin snorted coldly. With a deafening roar, the purple tiger phantom behind him lunged straight at Xia Ping.

This was a clash of martial cultivation wills. The three ancient, esteemed martial families cultivated their wills differently from ordinary martial artists. Their martial cultivation was founded upon comprehending the wills of ancient Desolate Beasts hidden within their bloodlines, allowing them to manifest phantoms of those ancient beasts. Only by doing so could they unleash the full power dormant within their bloodlines.

Xia Ping, on the other hand, radiated an ever-growing qi of momentum. The air around him distorted, taking the shape of a humanoid phantom engulfed in blazing flames, emanating an intense, scorching aura.

The will phantom Xia Ping had manifested wore a calm expression, yet blazing flames burned within its eyes. Faced with the ferocious tiger phantom charging toward it, the fiery figure casually raised a palm wreathed in crimson flames. The flaming palm slammed squarely into the tiger's forehead. At the same time, the purple tiger phantom opened its savage maw and bit toward Xia Ping's shoulder, seeking to swallow his entire arm in one bite.

This was a battle of martial cultivation wills. Both men possessed extraordinarily powerful spirits and spiritual souls, and the martial cultivation wills they had forged were terrifyingly potent, serving as a direct reflection of their strength as martial artists. More often than not, the stronger one's martial cultivation will, the more formidable one's overall power.

Just before the tiger phantom collided with Xia Ping, a disdainful smile curled across Woo Jin's lips.

Woo Jin's blood qi erupted in an instant as an immense surge of bloodline power poured forth. The tiger phantom formed from his martial cultivation will swelled to three or four times its previous size. With another thunderous roar, it opened its massive jaws and swallowed Xia Ping's flaming will phantom whole.

"So this is all the Martial Alliance amounts to. Nothing more than a dog raised by the ancient martial families. Even after slipping its master's leash, it's still just a shit-eating dog." Woo Jin's voice dripped with contempt.

After devouring the phantom formed from Xia Ping's martial cultivation will, the purple tiger returned to Woo Jin's side, its ferocious aura surging toward the heavens.

"Senior!" Sensing the commotion outside, Lin Xian cracked open his eyes, a flicker of worry passing through his heart.

"Heh!" Xia Ping let out a quiet chuckle, his expression remaining completely unchanged.

Not only had Xia Ping's aura failed to weaken despite seemingly losing the previous clash, it instead continued to grow stronger. An astonishing heat radiated from his body, so intense that even the space around him began to shimmer and distort.

"Hm?" Seeing this, Woo Jin let out a quiet grunt as a bad premonition rose in his heart. He abruptly turned to look at the purple tiger phantom beside him.

Woo Jin cried out. "Not good!"

The purple tiger phantom twisted in agony as its temperature soared. Even the space around it warped under the intense heat. Wisps of golden flames began spilling from its eyes, ears, nostrils, and mouth. Woo Jin immediately pushed off the ground and shot backward, his right hand slicing downward like a blade.

Woo Jin spat out a mouthful of blood. That hand strike had forcibly severed the invisible connection between himself and the powerful martial-cultivation will-phantom he had manifested. His aura plummeted, and the color drained from his face.

The imposing purple tiger phantom exploded with a thunderous blast. A terrifying wave of scorching aura rippled outward in every direction. As the energy waves gradually dissipated, the blazing will phantom at the center was revealed once more.

"He won! What an incredible martial cultivation will! It actually overpowered that old bastard Woo Jin's Desolate Beast will and blew it apart head-on! Senior Xia is amazing!" Lin Xian swallowed hard. Alongside his excitement, his eyes burned with a fiery zeal.

Like Xia Ping, Lin Xian cultivated a fire-attributed martial cultivation technique as his primary path. Although he had only broken free of two Heavenly Dao shackles, he had already begun exploring the path of martial cultivation beyond them. Witnessing Senior Xia's terrifying strength filled him with hope for his own future.

Xia Ping looked calmly at the pale-faced Woo Jin. "So this is all you're capable of. More than thirty years have passed, yet your martial cultivation has hardly progressed at all."

As he spoke, his aura rapidly receded, and the phantom formed from his martial cultivation will gradually faded before vanishing completely.

Woo Jin's face darkened with disbelief. "Impossible! How can your martial cultivation will possibly be this powerful?"

The martial cultivation will cultivated by the Woo Family was modeled after the wills of the ancient Desolate Beasts, mighty creatures born when heaven and earth first came into being. How could such a supreme Desolate Beast will possibly lose to an inferior martial cultivation will like Xia Ping's?

"Your path is wrong." Xia Ping's expression remained calm, his eyes as deep as an abyss as he looked down at the pale Woo Jin. "Martial cultivation is the cultivation of one's own path. It is the Mortal Dao, the path most suited to humanity. Yet you've strayed from that road, abandoning the way of mankind in a futile attempt to turn yourselves into ancient Desolate Beasts.

"How laughable. What your ancient martial families cultivate is not true martial cultivation, but a diminished form of the Shamanic Dao. The true orthodox path of martial cultivation lies with the Martial Alliance."

These were Xia Ping's genuine beliefs, not words spoken merely to provoke Woo Jin. In his view, the path cultivated by martial artists was humanity's orthodox path. It was humanity's own martial cultivation, and the will it forged was likewise humanity's own martial cultivation will. The three ancient martial esteemed families claimed to practice orthodox martial cultivation and proudly called themselves ancient martial families.

In reality, however, what they cultivated was not orthodox martial cultivation at all. More accurately, it was the failed path pioneered by powerful experts of the ancient Shamanic Clan. It was a weakened version of the Shamanic Dao, a false Shamanic Dao. The true orthodox tradition of martial cultivation resided within the Martial Alliance. As for what the ancient martial families cultivated, it would be more accurate to call it Bloodline Martial Cultivation, or simply the False Shamanic Dao.

Martial artists cultivate the bloodline of humanity itself. Their pursuit is to enter the Dao through martial cultivation, tempering martial cultivation into their very bones. In doing so, they evolve the human bloodline, bringing about a transformation of life itself and elevating it to a higher stage of existence. The ancient martial families, however, abandoned the human bloodline in favor of pursuing ever-purer Desolate Beast bloodlines.

What they cultivate are Desolate Beast bloodlines. Their goal is likewise the evolution of life, but the end they seek is to transform themselves into pseudo Desolate Beasts. It is nothing more than a crude imitation of the Shamanic Dao. The Shamanic Dao follows the path of the primordial chaos gods and demons, cultivating a human body until it becomes a mighty existence comparable to those primordial beings.

The ancient martial families, on the other hand, follow the path of the ancient Desolate Beasts. Their path of Bloodline Martial Cultivation was originally created to address the problem of people's inability to cultivate shamanic arts. In the end, however, the experts of the Shamanic Clan failed. Over tens of thousands of years, their failed test subjects gradually refined and perfected the method through countless generations, eventually giving rise to what the ancient martial families now call 'Bloodline Martial Cultivation.'

"Hmph. A clash of martial cultivation wills is nothing but a side path. True strength is what really matters," Woo Jin said coldly despite the ugly look on his face. Lin Xian, however, could tell that he was nowhere near as composed as he appeared.

"Then let me put an end to your delusions once and for all." Xia Ping opened his right hand, revealing a sheet of parchment radiating a mysterious power. He said, "This is a Life-and-Death Duel Contract. Sign it, and we'll set a date to settle this in a duel to the death."

A murderous glint flashed through Woo Jin's eyes as he sneered. "You think I'm afraid of you? Since you're so eager to die, I'll gladly grant your wish."

With a wave of his hand, the parchment flew out of Xia Ping's grasp toward him. Halfway there, however, an overwhelming force intercepted it, sending it shooting straight out of the hall.