Immortality Begins With Internal Breathing

By the time Lin Zheyu returned to his residence, it was already deep into the night. Spring was giving way to summer, and the great tree in the courtyard was covered in luxuriant blossoms. A faint fragrance drifted through the air, filling the entire courtyard.

Sitting cross-legged beneath the tree, Lin Zheyu allowed his mind to become tranquil and empty. Specks of starlight filtered through the protective formation surrounding the courtyard and fell gently upon him.

A clear, ethereal chime rang out from within his body. Seven massive golden shackles, visible only to Lin Zheyu, gradually manifested throughout his physique. As his blood qi pulsed and surged, the chains swayed and collided with one another, producing a series of crisp, resonant tones. They were embedded deep within his flesh, binding his body firmly in place and preventing his physique from growing any stronger.

Of the seven shackles, two were distinctly different from the others. They extended upward toward his head, disappearing into his sea of consciousness and wrapping themselves around his soul form.

"So these are the Heavenly Dao Shackles... A powerful restraint forged from the power of rules combined with some mysterious and unfathomable force."

Deep within his sea of consciousness, the golden Heavenly Eye radiated brilliant light as it focused on the two shackles coiled around his soul. Lin Zheyu had attempted to use the Heavenly Eye to analyze all seven shackles within his body, yet they were far more mysterious than he had imagined.

At most, he could discern some of the forces contained within them. One component was an immensely powerful force of rules. The others were several strange and inscrutable energies that defied understanding. They were like a veil of mist, elusive and incomprehensible, far beyond what his current realm and strength could grasp or unravel.

Within his sea of consciousness, Lin Zheyu's golden soul form trembled faintly. The two shackles wrapped around it emitted a series of clear, ethereal chimes. With each note, mysterious ripples of power spread throughout his sea of consciousness. Under their influence, the vast ocean of golden energy began to churn and surge. Even his soul form started resonating with the sound at a peculiar frequency.

Rise! Lin Zheyu shouted inwardly.

The soul form he had prepared for this moment erupted with tremendous soul power. His golden soul form leapt upward and shot toward the upper reaches of the sea of consciousness, attempting to break through its barrier and leave the body behind. Ever since opening the Spirit Divine Repository in the demon realm, his soul had transformed into a golden form so solid it seemed almost physical.

From that moment onward, he had wanted to test whether his soul could leave the sea of consciousness. Like the primordial spirits of Deity Transformation realm experts, he hoped it might separate from the body and exist independently.

The moment Lin Zheyu made his move, the golden shackles wrapped around his soul form began vibrating violently. The vast golden energy within the sea of consciousness roiled furiously, raising wave after wave of raging tides. As the increasingly terrifying sound ripples spread outward, the entire sea of consciousness began to tremble.

Just as Lin Zheyu's soul form was about to break free from the sea of consciousness, the golden shackles coiled around it suddenly snapped taut with a sharp metallic twang. An overwhelming force of restraint descended instantly. The two golden shackles locked firmly around his soul form, refusing to let it advance another inch. Strange energies seeped from the chains and merged directly into his soul, suppressing the immense power within him in an instant.

The next instant, Lin Zheyu's soul form was violently yanked back by the golden shackles. The turbulent sea of consciousness immediately settled, returning to calm. The two golden shackles wrapped around his soul form gradually faded from view as well.

"So the Heavenly Dao Shackles can do that as well..." Lin Zheyu muttered, feeling somewhat speechless as he watched the golden chains slowly disappear.

He had originally assumed that the Heavenly Dao Shackles merely restricted the growth of his strength. He had not expected them to bind the soul within his sea of consciousness as well. Lin Zheyu had wanted to see whether his current soul form could exist independently of his body, but the shackles wrapped around it gave him no such opportunity.

He frowned thoughtfully, It seems that unless these shackles are broken, no matter how powerful my soul becomes, it won't be able to leave the sea of consciousness. But why is my soul bound by Heavenly Dao Shackles when immortal cultivators have never mentioned anything like this? Did something go wrong somewhere?

Martial artists specialized in cultivating the physique, tempering their bodies through martial cultivation until they reached and surpassed their limits, achieving transformations and ascensions of life itself. It was understandable for Heavenly Dao Shackles to appear on the body. But for them to appear on the soul as well seemed excessive. Immortal cultivation, meanwhile, focused primarily on the soul, yet no one had ever spoken of Heavenly Dao Shackles in that path.

From the Foundation Establishment realm to the Golden Core realm and the Nascent Soul realm, every stage of the Immortal Dao ultimately served to prepare for the cultivation of a powerful primordial spirit upon reaching the Deity Transformation realm. Even body-refining cultivators followed the same principle. The only difference was that they possessed extraordinarily powerful physiques in addition to their cultivation. Ordinary cultivators refined heavenly treasures into offensive and defensive dharma treasures.

Body-refining cultivators, on the other hand, refined their own flesh and blood, turning their bodies into formidable weapons comparable to dharma treasures. Though the approaches differed, they ultimately reached the same destination. One refined external treasures, while the other refined the human body itself. The only distinction lay in the material being refined.

Countless immortal cultivation arts flashed through Lin Zheyu's mind. He meticulously reviewed the differences between the Immortal Dao and martial cultivation, examining every aspect from beginning to end. He hoped to uncover the reason why Heavenly Dao Shackles had appeared on his soul while cultivators, who specialized in cultivating the soul, seemed entirely unaffected.

A thought suddenly surfaced in his mind. Could it be... Could it have something to do with the strand of destiny aura that immortal cultivators capture from the Heavenly Dao when they attain the Golden Core realm?

Perhaps it was not only the destiny aura acquired at the Golden Core realm. The existence of the Nascent Soul and Deity Transformation realms might also be part of why immortal cultivators never developed Heavenly Dao Shackles on their souls.

"Looking for answers through immortal cultivation techniques alone is probably a dead end... unless I choose the path of dual cultivation in both the Immortal and Martial Daos," Lin Zheyu murmured.

The idea was rejected almost as soon as it appeared. A person's time and energy were limited. Even with Origin Force at his disposal, dividing his attention between martial cultivation and the Immortal Dao would significantly slow his progress. He was nowhere near powerful enough to ignore such consequences.

Back in the demon cave, he had been forced to swallow his anger when dealing with someone like Sun Zhenzhi. Despite being merely a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator, Sun Zhenzhi's background and access to the Demon-Suppressing Army's military formation had left Lin Zheyu with little choice but to endure the humiliation. It was not an experience he wished to repeat.

Lin Zheyu wanted strength. Only overwhelming power would allow him to fear nothing and live the life he desired in this dangerous world.

Letting out a slow breath, Lin Zheyu put the matter of the soul aside. The shackles wrapped around his soul were merely extensions of those embedded within his flesh. Once he broke the seven shackles within his body, the ones binding his soul would naturally shatter as well.

A gentle breeze swept through the courtyard. Soft golden light radiated from Lin Zheyu's body as mysterious runes gradually appeared across his fair skin. More and more emerged until they interlocked, forming a layer of elegant golden scales. He had spent over five months in the demon realm, and during that time, his strength had advanced at an astonishing rate. Even now, he had yet to fully digest and assimilate those gains.

There was still much he did not understand. The awakened golden Heavenly Eye within his sea of consciousness remained largely unexplored. The unknown regions of the Divine Repository realm, along with the vast expanse hidden beyond the Divine Repository's void space, were mysteries he knew almost nothing about. He would need a long period of adjustment and study. While accumulating Origin Force, he also needed to settle down, consolidate his foundation, and thoroughly absorb the tremendous growth he had experienced during these past months.