Immortality Begins With Internal Breathing

The two remained in the Discussion Pavilion for seven full days. During that time, Qin Hu resolved many of the doubts that had troubled Lin Zheyu, deepening his understanding of martial cultivation even further.

"Haha, there is no need to be so courteous. We can simply address each other as fellow friends. To tell you the truth, your questions have given me quite a bit of inspiration as well. You truly live up to your former reputation as the foremost martial cultivation genius beneath the Shackles realm!" Qin Hu said with a hearty laugh.

Their discussions had not merely consisted of Qin Hu answering Lin Zheyu's questions about martial cultivation. The two had exchanged ideas and explored each issue together. Lin Zheyu's unique perspective and novel ideas often gave Qin Hu fresh insights.

Lin Zheyu smiled and cupped his hands. "You flatter me, Alliance Leader."

"I am not flattering you. During the early stages of my martial cultivation, I followed a path that fused shamanic cultivation with martial cultivation. Unfortunately, problems arose later in my cultivation, forcing me to take a different path. I have noticed that you have explored not only the fusion of martial cultivation with the Immortal Dao, the path of the yao, and the barbarian totem path, but have even begun experimenting with the fusion of shamanic and martial cultivation. Some of your insights leave me feeling inadequate by comparison," Qin Hu said earnestly. He regarded Lin Zheyu with curiosity in his eyes.

As expected of someone who had earned Feng Xuanji's recognition. His natural talent and comprehension were truly astonishing. Perhaps this young man really could forge an unprecedented path in martial cultivation!

"I have only dabbled in those areas," Lin Zheyu replied modestly.

"That is still a good thing. No one knows where the future of martial cultivation lies. Studying the cultivation paths of other systems can broaden a martial artist's horizons, deepen their knowledge, and allow them to see more possibilities. However..." After offering his praise, Qin Hu changed his tone and cautioned, "It is still a little too early for you to begin experimenting in this area."

"Once you have broken free of all seven shackles, exploring the future path of martial cultivation will be a hundred times easier than it is now. This is especially true for a genius like you, who has opened the three great divine repositories and awakened a spirit divine ability. After breaking free of all seven shackles and reaching the limit of the Shackles realm, not only will your body undergo an unprecedented transformation, but the spirit divine ability you awakened will also improve tremendously," Qin Hu explained calmly.

This was advice drawn from Qin Hu's own experience. As a martial cultivation genius, he had also opened the three great divine repositories and awakened a spirit divine ability, so he understood the changes involved better than most.

"Understood. Thank you for the reminder, Alliance Leader. I will keep your advice in mind," Lin Zheyu replied gratefully.

He wanted to do exactly that. Unfortunately, the Heavenly Dao shackles within his body would not allow it. The further he progressed, the more difficult they became to break. With the six thick, golden shackles still binding his body, continuing to cultivate traditional martial cultivation techniques would never allow him to break free of them. He had only managed to break the first shackle because the Blessing of the Ancestral Shaman and the condensation of his natal shamanic pattern had greatly strengthened his body. Otherwise, Lin Zheyu would still be worrying about how to break even the first shackle.

After leaving the Discussion Pavilion, Lin Zheyu visited the Martial Hall and met with Lin Xian. The two shared drinks and enjoyed a pleasant conversation. Lin Zheyu then remained at the Martial Alliance for another three days and paid a visit to Xia Ping.

The last time Xia Ping had sought him out, it had mainly been to warn him to be wary of the Woo Family. Still unwilling to give up, he once again asked whether Lin Zheyu had made any new discoveries regarding the divine repositories.

Unfortunately, Lin Zheyu truly had discovered nothing. He had a vague intuition that to fully uncover the secrets hidden within the divine repositories and unlock the treasures beyond them, his soul would have to enter and explore the void within. At the moment, however, he was completely incapable of doing so.

***

Four days later, on an unremarkable island in the Chaotic Star Sea of the Eastern Sea, the void twisted in the sky as ripples spread through it. An ordinary-looking middle-aged man emerged from the distortion. It was Lin Zheyu, who had recently left the Martial Alliance.

"The black market will not open for another two days. I might as well visit Wu Di first," Lin Zheyu said calmly.

He had come here to dispose of the stolen goods in his possession. The Chaotic Star Sea was home to all manner of people and lay beyond the jurisdiction of any major power. It also had a fairly well-known black market, making it the ideal place to sell dharma treasures and other valuables of questionable origin.

The black market opened once a month, and there were still two days until its next opening, so Lin Zheyu had arrived somewhat early. His figure blurred as he stepped forward, passing directly through the island's grand protective formation and entering the island.

Inside a secret chamber, Wu Di moved his hands as restriction runes condensed one after another. Demonic spirit stones radiating demonic qi were embedded throughout the formation on the floor.

Suddenly, the entire formation burst apart, sending demonic qi surging throughout the secret chamber.

"Another failure!" Wu Di shook his head helplessly.

He had spent nearly half a year studying the jade slip Senior Xiao Zhe[1] had given him, yet he still had not managed to grasp even the basics.

"Not bad. You have managed to comprehend the formation knowledge within the jade slip to this extent in less than half a year. As expected, you possess considerable natural talent in the Dao of Formations," Lin Zheyu remarked calmly as his figure emerged from the void.

"Senior! Ah, no, my lord!" Wu Di exclaimed, both shocked and delighted to see him.

He had set up numerous powerful formations throughout the secret chamber, yet Senior Xiao Zhe had entered as though none of them existed. Such strength was truly astonishing.

"Mm. There is no need to be so formal." Lin Zheyu walked over and took a seat nearby.

"These are the formations I managed to collect. They are all incomplete formations. Complete formations are too expensive, and I cannot afford them." Wu Di handed over the incomplete formations he had gathered, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"Not bad. If you do not have enough spirit stones, you can trade the formation insights I gave you for resources," Lin Zheyu said calmly.

Those insights into the Dao of Formations, which fused the Immortal Dao with demonic patterns, would likely fetch a considerable price if they were traded or sold.

"Ah! Yes, my lord!" Wu Di found the suggestion difficult to believe, but quickly accepted the instruction.

In his view, insights this precious should naturally be kept to oneself and guarded closely. How could anyone bear to trade them away?

"They are merely cultivation insights. You lose nothing by selling copies of them. If they can be exchanged for cultivation resources, why not do so?" Lin Zheyu said without concern.

"All right, continue. You need to control the spiritual power here, here, and here more carefully. As for the ratio between spiritual power and demonic qi..." Lin Zheyu began explaining calmly.

Lin Zheyu did not have enough spirit stones for his own use, so he could not spare any for Wu Di. However, since Wu Di was working for him, it would not be right to offer him nothing in return. Thus, he could only reward him by providing guidance on formations.

When it came to formations based purely on the Immortal Dao, Lin Zheyu was still only a beginner and was certainly inferior to Wu Di. However, when it came to combining Immortal Dao formations with the demonic patterns of the yao, he was more than qualified to offer Wu Di guidance.

"Yes! Thank you, my lord!" Wu Di replied delightedly.

Faced with a terrifyingly powerful expert like Lin Zheyu, Wu Di would have had no choice but to obediently carry out his orders even if he received nothing in return. More importantly, this expert was a temperamental demonic cultivator. Wu Di was deeply afraid of him.

***

The Chaotic Star Sea was immense, its countless islands scattered across the waters like stars in the night sky. On one enormous island, a strange and sinister-looking woman brightened with delight.

"Master has arrived! No matter how much I tried to persuade them, those fellows refused to believe me. This time, as long as I bring back a few examples, I will have proof to convince the others, and winning them over will be much easier." A sinister smile appeared on Kong Yujing's face.

Over the past several months, her sea of consciousness had steadily deteriorated under the erosion of the yao will. Although her current condition was still more than ten times better than it had once been, after experiencing the relief of having that burden lifted, Kong Yujing never wanted to return to her former state. Her figure blurred slightly before vanishing from the spot.

Fifteen minutes later, Kong Yujing left the island with three gloomy-looking men and sped toward Wu Di's island. Not long after their departure, a man slowly emerged from the island. He wore black robes, his skin was deathly pale, and his pitch-black eyes contained not the slightest trace of white. Dense demonic qi surrounded him. As he watched Kong Yujing and the others disappear into the distance, a vicious grin spread across his face.

"Interesting, very interesting. Someone capable of alleviating the erosion of the yao will and resolving the problems faced by demonic cultivators? If I can bring him under my control and force him to alleviate the erosion of my yao will, or perhaps even learn this secret art myself... Hehehe..." the man said with a vicious grin.

Sure enough, heaven never barred every path. His condition had already deteriorated to the extreme, and if he could not find a solution, he would be unable to hold on for more than a few years. He had long known that after returning to the Evilheart Sect, Kong Yujing had been secretly recruiting demonic cultivators from within the sect. However, he had continued pretending to know nothing, all so he could let the line run long enough to catch the big fish!

1. Lin Zheyu's fake name. ☜