Immortality Begins With Internal Breathing

The Purple Flame Qilin truly lived up to its reputation for overwhelming defense. The six-pattern specimen before him possessed an absurdly tough hide. Lin Zheyu had been forced to unleash his strongest attack just to barely breach its defenses. Within the demon realm, he could not draw upon the power of spatial laws. If even his strongest strike had failed to penetrate the Purple Flame Qilin's defense, he would have had no choice but to turn and flee immediately.

Fortunately, he had succeeded. With the assistance of the golden Heavenly Eye, he had discovered the Purple Flame Qilin's fatal weakness. The moment he broke through its defenses, he severed the circulation of energy within its body, instantly crippling its combat strength. Otherwise, with its formidable defense and monstrous regenerative ability, a prolonged battle would have placed Lin Zheyu at a severe disadvantage.

Streaks of silver-white light flashed through the void without pause. Once the Purple Flame Qilin's defenses had been breached and its internal energy circulation disrupted, it was no longer a threat. Blood qi roared through Lin Zheyu's body as his blade reached unbelievable speeds, carving through the air again and again. Powerful golden energy and blood qi surged along the saber and poured into the yao's body.

The blade traced the pathways through which energy flowed along the demonic patterns. As tremendous power erupted into the yao's body, it directly disrupted its internal energy network. Without energy to sustain it, the yao's formidable defenses immediately weakened considerably.

Lin Zheyu's attacks grew increasingly rapid. The Purple Flame Qilin's anguished roars became weaker with each passing moment, while the fear in its eyes gradually gave way to despair. It could feel its life force draining away at an alarming rate. Somehow, this human had used a bizarre method to sever the flow of energy within its body directly.

After hacking the Purple Flame Qilin into pieces, Lin Zheyu clenched his left fist and unleashed a ferocious punch, instantly blowing apart the creature's head. Its roars came to an abrupt end.

"Done! Not bad for a six-pattern yao. It took quite a bit of effort to bring down," Lin Zheyu muttered to himself.

This battle had given him a much clearer understanding of his current strength. The golden Heavenly Eye was extraordinarily powerful. Thanks to its ability to perceive an opponent's weaknesses, Lin Zheyu possessed the capability to challenge enemies beyond his own realm.

By his estimation, his current strength should be enough to contend with mid-stage Golden Core realm cultivators or yaos. Against an early-stage Golden Core realm cultivator, as long as the opponent did not possess an exceptionally powerful dharma treasure, Lin Zheyu could rely on the Heavenly Eye's abilities to kill them in an instant. As for mid-stage Golden Core realm cultivators, he still lacked a clear understanding of their true capabilities.

Even if he proved unable to defeat one, he was confident he could escape. The immense reserves of energy stored within the void spaces of the three great divine repositories granted him tremendous endurance and vitality comparable to that of a yao.

While he could not yet regenerate from a pile of flesh the way a true yao could, as long as he was not killed in a single blow and his brain was not instantly destroyed, he could recover rapidly without expending Origin Force, relying solely on the vast life force stored within the essence origin divine repository.

A frigid wind swept across the land, carrying the foul stench of yao blood. Lin Zheyu did not dare remain here for long. The aura of a powerful yao was vastly different from that of ordinary ones, and the aftermath of this battle would likely attract other powerful yaos before long. He quickly put away his saber, grabbed the twitching corpse with both hands, and vanished from the spot in a blur. The fluctuations generated by the battle had been far too conspicuous.

The last thing Lin Zheyu wanted was to kill one six-pattern yao only to draw several more. Eager to study its secrets, he carried the headless corpse in search of a secluded location where he could carefully examine the demonic patterns covering its body. These were the demonic patterns of a six-pattern yao, precisely the Purple Flame Qilin demonic patterns he had wanted most.

Holding the headless corpse of the Purple Flame Qilin, Lin Zheyu allowed a faint smile to spread across his face. "Not bad. I thought I wouldn't be able to lure out a six-pattern Purple Flame Qilin. I was just about to give up and advance directly when this fellow showed up instead."

The stronger the yao, the more valuable its demonic patterns became. The reason Lin Zheyu had delayed creating the third stage of the Primordial Golden Body was precisely that he wanted to see whether he could lure out a six-pattern Purple Flame Qilin. To his surprise, he had actually succeeded. Better yet, only a single one had appeared this time. His luck could hardly have been better.

Not long after Lin Zheyu departed, the foul stench of yao blood attracted several powerful yaos. To him, the scent was revolting, but to other yaos, it was as sweet and enticing as a feast.

A few minutes later, another yao emerged from the void. Its body was covered in savage spikes, and two imposing black horns protruded from its head, giving it the appearance of a mutated crocodile. It was the very same yao that had appeared alongside the Purple Flame Qilin earlier.

Sniffing the lingering scent in the air, it carefully examined the traces left behind by the battle. There was little evidence to study, but one thing was obvious: the Purple Flame Qilin had died almost instantly, without putting up any meaningful resistance. That was exceedingly difficult to believe. With the immense vitality of a yao and the extraordinary defenses of a Purple Flame Qilin, even against a vastly superior opponent, it should not have fallen so quickly.

The crocodile-like yao muttered softly, "Carrying a powerful dharma treasure, perhaps? No wonder he dares to enter the demon realm alone and openly radiates such a strong life aura. He's probably here specifically to hunt powerful yaos like us. And judging by his target, he's after yaos with five patterns or more."

As an intelligent high-level yao, it was far from foolish. Any being capable of cultivating to this level was rarely an idiot. Its vicious maw slowly parted, revealing a cruel smile.

The crocodile-like yao grinned viciously. "Interesting. A true genius of the human race indeed. But now that you've come here, leaving won't be so easy."

Suddenly, it threw back its head and unleashed a terrifying roar toward the heavens. Every yao within a radius of more than ten kilometers answered with thunderous roars of their own. At the same time, deep within a sea of crimson-purple magma, several powerful Purple Flame Qilin abruptly opened their eyes.

***

Carrying the corpse of the Purple Flame Qilin, Lin Zheyu sped toward the distance. A rapid series of crackling sounds erupted from within his body as his frame swelled and expanded. Dense fleshy tumors sprouted across his skin. If he wanted to move freely through the demon realm and study yao demonic patterns without constantly looking over his shoulder, taking on a yao form was by far the safest option.

As Lin Zheyu transformed into his yao form, a terrifying roar echoed from afar. The sound carried a strange power that caused every mindless yao that heard it to collapse to the ground and tremble uncontrollably. Turning toward the source of the roar, he revealed a faint smile on his not-yet-fully-transformed face.

"So they've discovered it already? That was fast," Lin Zheyu said with a smile.

Suddenly, a look of surprise appeared in his eyes, which were gradually darkening to an inky black.

"What is this? The language of the yaos?" Lin Zheyu exclaimed in surprise.

The moment he heard the deafening roar and sensed the peculiar power hidden within it, the demonic patterns on his body began operating of their own accord. Immediately afterward, a harsh, strange voice echoed in his mind. It spoke in a language he could not understand—a string of guttural, awkward sounds that were difficult even to listen to.

"Is it calling for reinforcements? When I get back, I should see if there are any records of the demon realm's language. If I can learn the language of the yaos, it might prove useful in ways I can't even imagine," Lin Zheyu mused with interest.

The vast demonic qi permeating the air poured endlessly into his body. His human flesh was rapidly broken down and consumed as nourishment by the reorganizing demonic patterns, giving birth to new yao flesh and blood. Thanks to the extraordinary vitality of a yao, the transformation process was remarkably swift. As his body steadily completed its yao transformation, Lin Zheyu suddenly paused. A look of shock and gravity appeared in his eyes, which had already turned as black as ink.

Lin Zheyu said solemnly, "This power... That roar didn't merely contain information. It seems to carry some mysterious force as well, one that can actually affect the demonic patterns within my body!"

Under the influence of that mysterious force, the demonic patterns within him had begun stirring restlessly. They seemed intent on driving his yao body toward the space-time node. They were even continuously sending signals toward his sea of consciousness, but the vast golden energy within his sea of consciousness blocked them completely.

Lin Zheyu quickly circulated his energy and suppressed the impulse. The roar soon faded, but violent disturbances erupted throughout the surrounding region as countless yaos answered with roars of their own. Spreading out his senses, he discovered that the mindless yaos were all charging toward the space-time node while roaring. Their movements were strikingly uniform, as though they had received a command.

"These yaos seem to be under some form of control. Is this a superior exerting authority over subordinates?"

Ever since discovering that the yao race consisted of two distinct groups, a vast population of mindless yaos and a much smaller population of intelligent ones, Lin Zheyu had harbored a suspicion. He believed the intelligent yaos were the true rulers of the demon realm, while the mindless ones were little more than expendable troops bred or raised for use as cannon fodder. Judging from the current situation, that speculation was likely correct.

"I'll need to find a way to eliminate this potential hidden danger," Lin Zheyu murmured.

The golden Heavenly Eye within his sea of consciousness suddenly opened, releasing brilliant golden radiance as it examined the demonic patterns throughout his body. Under its scrutiny, Lin Zheyu identified every pattern that had reacted to the strange force hidden within the roar and quietly committed them to memory. These demonic patterns carried unpredictable and unknown risks. When cultivating the next stage of the Primordial Golden Body, he would have to strip them away.

"Good thing I discovered this early..." Lin Zheyu muttered. "If I hadn't noticed the problem until the later stages, when the demonic patterns became difficult to remove, it would have been far too late."

A trace of relief appeared on Lin Zheyu's face. Previously, his primary concern had been the will of the demon realm and its demonic qi, guarding against their intrusion into his sea of consciousness. He had not been particularly wary of demonic patterns, despite the fact that they embodied the laws of the demon realm. To his surprise, these patterns, a unique manifestation through which the Dao resonance of the demon realm's laws operated and were channeled, concealed a tremendous hidden danger of their own.

Lin Zheyu pondered inwardly, I still know far too little about the yaos. Fortunately, this power seems to affect only demonic patterns in yao form. It has no effect on the golden runes of my human form.

When he had first heard the yao's roar, he had not yet fully transformed into his yao form. Some of the runes within his body had already turned purple-black, but had not yet completely broken apart and reformed into demonic patterns. Those runes had shown no reaction whatsoever to the mysterious force contained within the roar. That realization allowed Lin Zheyu to breathe a little easier.

***

Time slowly passed. Lin Zheyu paid no attention to the roaring yaos. He continued racing into the distance as vast amounts of demonic qi poured into his body, rapidly transforming his physique into that of a yao. A little over ten minutes later, he found a secluded location and began studying the six-pattern Purple Flame Qilin.

The golden Heavenly Eye within his sea of consciousness carefully compared the demonic patterns on his own body with those of the Purple Flame Qilin. This Purple Flame Qilin belonged to the intelligent type. Lin Zheyu had deliberately examined it with the golden Heavenly Eye earlier and confirmed that it had not been influenced by that strange controlling force. As long as he could identify the differences between intelligent yaos and the mindless cannon-fodder yaos, he would be able to strip away the problematic demonic patterns within his own body.