Immortality Begins With Internal Breathing

Time passed quietly. In the blink of an eye, more than ten days had gone by.

Heavy breathing echoed through the hall where the Minor Heaven-Deceiving Formation had been set up. Sweat poured from Lin Zheyu's forehead like rain, only to evaporate into steam the instant it left his body.

An hour later, Lin Zheyu staggered several steps. At the same moment that weakness swept through his entire body, his essence, qi, and spirit abruptly merged into one and underwent a transformation.

"Mmm... that feels good..."

A satisfied sigh escaped Lin Zheyu's somewhat pale face. Even at his current level of strength, every time he shattered his limits, he felt both exhausted and weak, yet alongside them came an indescribable sense of exhilaration. It was suffering and pleasure intertwined.

Lin Zheyu sighed regretfully. "Unfortunately, I still need to replenish the Origin Force within my sea of consciousness. Otherwise, I could recover directly using the life essence and blood qi stored in my divine repository."

Whenever he trained to push beyond his limits, Lin Zheyu deliberately sealed away the immense reserves of energy accumulated in his divine repositories. Otherwise, he estimated that even while wearing the Thousand Mechanisms Myriadweight Armor at its maximum pressure setting, he would need four or five full days of training before reaching another breakthrough. He had tested this before in Yanwu City.

Although doing so increased the amount of Origin Force gained afterward, the increase was only about 2 units. Compared to the time and effort required, the return simply was not worth it.

Use 2 units of Origin Force to cultivate the Golden Ocean Secret Manual.

The thought flashed through his mind, and a vast surge of mysterious energy emerged, drawing upon the abundant blood qi and life force stored within his divine repositories. Those reserves were more than sufficient to replenish the golden energy within his sea of consciousness.

A few breaths later, Lin Zheyu slowly opened his eyes. A trace of golden light flashed across them as he exhaled a long breath of turbid air and withdrew a green spell disc from his storage pouch.

"A bit too far. I'll deal with it next time..." Lin Zheyu muttered after glancing at the location information displayed on the disc.

While he had been training, the disc had received an updated location for the person he was supposed to find. After putting it away, Lin Zheyu spread out his powerful perception and quickly located Wu Di.

On the island, Wu Di was busy refining and improving the formations that protected the area. Suddenly, his body trembled slightly, and a look of delight appeared on his face as a familiar voice echoed in his mind.

"You can come over now!" Lin Zheyu's voice sounded within Wu Di's mind.

Wu Di's face lit up with joy, and he vanished from where he stood. The chance to receive guidance from the senior once more filled him with excitement. This mysterious expert's strength was unfathomable. Wu Di could not gauge it in the slightest, yet the man could instantly identify the hidden flaws in his cultivation. Even the problems Wu Di encountered while constructing formations were exposed at a glance, with the senior immediately pointing out their root causes.

Just who is this senior? Could he be some ancient monster from a bygone era, reincarnated and cultivating anew? Such thoughts flashed through Wu Di's mind.

Otherwise, a figure of such ability could not possibly lack a powerful backing. A faction capable of nurturing someone like this would surely possess far more complete versions of the Heaven-Deceiving Formation and would have no need to study his reconstructed one. The speculation passed through his mind in an instant before he quickly dismissed it and hurried toward the hall where Lin Zheyu was staying.

***

Time passed unnoticed in cultivation. More than ten days slipped by in the blink of an eye.

The sea churned violently, raising towering waves. Walls of water more than ten meters high crashed against the island, only to be blocked by the massive formation surrounding it. Standing within his cave dwelling, Wu Di frowned slightly. His spiritual sense spread outward, using the island's formations to monitor everything in the surrounding area.

Wu Di's frown deepened. Sweeping his spiritual sense toward the hall, he found Lin Zheyu still seated cross-legged in meditation, and anxiety immediately rose in his heart.

They've arrived! Damn it, senior is still immersed in his studies!

Although this senior did not seem malicious, interrupting him recklessly during cultivation was another matter entirely. If he happened to disrupt a crucial moment of insight, Wu Di feared he might be slapped to death on the spot.

A middle-aged man in a light-blue Daoist robe hovered above the island and said calmly, "Wu Di, surrender peacefully. Your talent in formations is quite good. Open the formation and come back with me, and I'll spare your life."

Below, the azure sea roared as enormous waves rose one after another, crashing relentlessly against the formation surrounding the island.

"Hmph." Wu Di merely snorted and offered no reply.

From time to time, he formed seals and sent them into the core of the formation before him to maintain its operation. At the same time, he kept a constant watch on Lin Zheyu's situation. This mysterious senior was his greatest source of confidence. As long as the man remained here, even if the island's grand protective formation were shattered, Wu Di could simply retreat to the hall where Lin Zheyu was cultivating and seek shelter there.

"So you'd rather take the hard way." The man spoke coldly and turned toward the empty air to his left. "Fellow Daoist Zhang, make your move."

As his words fell, the figure of a white-bearded elder slowly emerged from the void.

The white-bearded elder, Zhang Lu, stroked his beard and said calmly, "Once we break the grand formation, the island is mine. Wu Di and everything in his storage pouch are yours."

His deep-set eyes swept across the unremarkable island, and a trace of satisfaction appeared in his gaze.

The man in the light-blue Daoist robe, Gu Yicang, nodded faintly. "Agreed. Let's finish this quickly before complications arise and attract unwanted attention."

"Very well." Zhang Lu inclined his head slightly.

At a thought from him, the waves grew even more violent. A terrifying aura spread outward from beneath the sea.

A thunderous roar echoed across the sea as the enormous silhouette of a giant whale burst from the water and slammed toward the island. At the same moment, Gu Yicang formed a series of seals. The raging waves condensed into ferocious water dragons that roared through the air and charged directly at the island's formation.

The entire island shook violently. Under the relentless assault of the water dragons and the Azurewater Whale, the formation protecting the island quickly began to falter.

Wu Di's expression darkened the moment he saw the giant beast. "Damn it! An Azurewater Whale! That's the signature spirit beast of Azurewater Palace. Is he actually a cultivator from Azurewater Palace?"

Azurewater Palace was one of the stronger factions in the Chaotic Star Sea. Rumor held that its founder was a powerful Nascent Soul realm cultivator. The sect specialized in beast taming and raised vast numbers of sea beasts, among which the Azurewater Whale was the most famous.

For the first time, Wu Di felt a pang of regret. Perhaps he should have fled immediately. The time he had spent preparing here would have been enough to relocate the island's most important possessions. Even if the senior could kill these two, offending Azurewater Palace would make it difficult for Wu Di to continue surviving in this region.

"Haa..." A determined look flashed through Wu Di's eyes. Forming a seal with one hand, he sent a burst of spiritual light into the formation and shouted in a low voice, "Water-Reversal Formation, activate!"

There was no turning back now. If the two men outside captured him, then even if he managed to survive, he would lose nearly all freedom for the rest of his life. Fortunately, during this period, Wu Di had corrected many of his weaknesses under Lin Zheyu's guidance, and his strength had advanced by leaps and bounds. Nor had he spent this time idly.

Through his constant refinement, coupled with the occasional advice from Lin Zheyu, the island's formations had undergone a complete transformation. Even a true Golden Core realm cultivator would find it far from easy to break through them.

The explosions outside the island grew increasingly violent, causing the entire island to tremble. Inside the hall, Lin Zheyu sat cross-legged as his hands moved swiftly through the air. Threads of purple-black energy flowed from his fingertips, condensing into one mysterious rune after another. These runes differed from those of the Immortal Dao and bore a strong resemblance to demonic runes.

Before long, the mysterious runes gradually assembled into a Minor Heaven-Deceiving Formation. An inscrutable aura of Dao resonance emanated from it. Brilliant golden light shone from the Heavenly Eye at Lin Zheyu's brow as he studied the newly formed structure without blinking. A slight frown creased his forehead. Clearly, he was not satisfied with the result.

"Still not enough. The loss in effectiveness is too severe..." Lin Zheyu murmured.

His hands moved swiftly once more, fine-tuning the formation suspended in the air. To him, the energy flowing through the structure was crystal clear, and he could instantly assess each adjustment with the Heavenly Eye. This remarkable skill enabled Lin Zheyu to master the Minor Heaven-Deceiving Formation in under a month and start blending it with demonic patterns. Still, that wasn’t sufficient.

Suddenly, a thunderous explosion rang out. The battle beyond the island disrupted the spiritual qi of heaven and earth, sending violent waves of energy rippling through the surroundings. The miniature Minor Heaven-Deceiving Formation suspended before Lin Zheyu was caught in those disturbances and shattered instantly.

Lin Zheyu's eyes snapped open. As he sensed the fluctuations of battle coming from beyond the island, his brows drew together, and a trace of displeasure appeared on his face.

"A mere False Core realm cultivator dares disturb my cultivation? Hmph!" Lin Zheyu said coldly.

His voice carried clearly beyond the island, resounding directly within the minds of Zhang Lu and Gu Yicang.

"Who is that?" Both men were horrified.

The two exchanged a glance, their expressions turning grave. Before either could react, a gigantic hand covered in purple-black scales burst from the void. It swept toward them with overwhelming force.

Gu Yicang hurriedly formed seals, sending several enormous water dragons crashing toward the giant hand. Yet when they struck, it was like ants trying to shake a tree. They accomplished absolutely nothing.

The air was filled with the stench of blood. Under Gu Yicang's horrified gaze, the giant hand closed around him. With a single squeeze, his body exploded into a cloud of blood and flesh, his soul extinguished along with it.

An overwhelming sense of danger surged through Zhang Lu, making every hair on his body stand on end. He immediately sent out a command through his spiritual sense. The Azurewater Whale that had been attacking the island roared and rushed over, placing itself between him and the giant hand. At the same time, Zhang Lu spat out a mouthful of blood and transformed into a streak of crimson light that shot toward the horizon.

"Roar!"

Another roar echoed through the air. Lin Zheyu's massive, scaled hand seized the Azurewater Whale in its grasp. The hand tightened. The beast let out a pained scream before exploding into a mass of mangled flesh that fell into the raging sea below.

Inside the hall, Lin Zheyu lifted his head toward the distant horizon and murmured softly, "One of them got away..."

He had no intention of pursuing the matter to the end. The cultivator had used a secret art to escape, and even if he survived, his strength would be severely damaged. In the end, he was only a False Core realm cultivator, hardly worth wasting valuable cultivation time over. Having dealt with the nuisance interrupting his cultivation, Lin Zheyu closed his eyes once more and immersed himself in his studies, as though none of it had ever happened.

Elsewhere on the island, Wu Di stared at the place where the giant hand had vanished. He swallowed hard, a fervent light rising in his eyes.

"S-So powerful!"