Immortality Begins With Internal Breathing

Whoosh.

On Baishi Mountain, the wind howled over the slopes. The sunlight was pleasant that day, bringing a hint of warmth to the winter chill. As usual, Lin Zheyu had practiced martial arts for two and a half hours that morning, not pushing himself too long. Moderate training allowed his essence, qi, and spirit to quickly recover to their peak. Overtraining, however, would slow that recovery.

He spent most of the afternoon in his small courtyard, studying the Toxicology Codex. Various poisons were laid out neatly on the table. With the codex as his guide, he examined the poisons’ scents and colors, the symptoms they caused, and the methods of detoxification.

Many poisons possessed distinct smells and colors. As long as he could recognize them early when they were being used, hold his breath, and avoid inhaling too much of the toxin, there would be little danger.

Poison, too, depended on dosage. Even deadly poisons posed little threat as long as he did not inhale too much. With his blood-qi-honed physique, he could simply seek a physician afterward for treatment. Some rare poisons, however, were colorless and odorless, making them impossible to detect. Only after symptoms appeared could he respond by using medicines to alleviate the poison.

”The scent of this purple begonia is so faint. Without careful attention, it’s nearly impossible to detect, yet Old Master Chen claimed it was easy to notice,” muttered Lin Zheyu under his breath.

The powder of the purple begonia released an extremely subtle fragrance, one he could only distinguish by holding it right under his nose and focusing intently. Chen Peijun had once said that this drug took a long time to take effect, was easy to detect, and thus not very useful. How was this supposed to be easy to detect?

”My time steeped in poisons is still too short. It will take a great deal more time to sharpen my sensitivity to their scents,” murmured Lin Zheyu to himself.

Ma Wangcheng had once been able to detect the nearly imperceptible scent of Red Mountain Fragrance from far away, a feat that spoke to astonishing olfactory sensitivity.

After finishing his daily study plan from the Toxicology Codex, Lin Zheyu took out a jade bottle containing corpse poison. Inside the bottle was only a small pinch of corpse poison. Although the charred area had looked sizable at the time, there had not been much poison to scrape off. Such a small amount was nowhere near enough to refine into a proper poison.

”If only every poison had as pungent a scent as corpse poison.”

The moment he uncorked the bottle, an acrid, unpleasant stench hit his nose. Used on its own, corpse poison was highly poisonous, capable of stiffening muscles and rotting flesh. If it entered the brain, it could drive a person mad with violent rage, turning them into something like a monster.

However, inducing that madness required large amounts of corpse poison, making it far too costly to be practical. No one in their right mind would use it alone anyway, as the smell was far too obvious.

Knock, knock, knock.

Before long, there was a knock at the door. Lin Zheyu put away the Toxicology Codex, tidied up the poisons on the table, and went to answer the door.

”What are you doing here, brother?”

He was surprised to see that it was none other than Xie Jiang.

”Haha, weren’t you curious about ghosts? Turns out one of the mines near us was haunted yesterday. I came straight here to tell you the moment I heard the news. I’m a good friend, right?” said Xie Jiang with a grin.

”Is that so?”

”Come on, let’s go have a look.”

Lin Zheyu’s curiosity was piqued. He had been in this world for several months but had yet to encounter a ghost.

As he left the courtyard, he called over a reliable Bone Forging Realm expert and gave him instructions, saying, ”Hong Cheng, I’m stepping out for a bit. I’ll be back soon. Keep an eye on things here.”

”Yes, sir,” replied Hong Cheng.

After settling the matter, Lin Zheyu followed Xie Jiang toward the northern side of Baishi Mountain.

”Did anyone die?” asked Lin Zheyu.

”No, a few miners were just frightened into sickness. They’ve already called for a spirit medium to treat them and perform an exorcism ritual,” replied Xie Jiang.

”An exorcism ritual? Do the spirit mediums in Songyi City even have that ability? Aren’t they just frauds putting on a show?” asked Lin Zheyu in doubt.

During his time in Songyi City, he had deliberately visited several spirit mediums, only to find that all their tricks were fake.

”We don’t believe it, but the common folk do! If you told them ghosts could just be burned away with fire, or blown up with gunpowder if fire didn’t work, they’d only curse you for disrespecting the spirits. Only by inviting a spirit medium to ‘drive away the ghosts’ and putting on a show will they agree to return to the mines,” said Xie Jiang.

Lin Zheyu was speechless as he thought, Fair point.

When they arrived at the mine, they found the area cordoned off by members of the Feihong Gang. A spirit medium, an old woman in her sixties, was muttering incantations as she performed an exorcism.

”Brother Lin, I knew you’d be interested.” Jia Yanyong was also there watching the scene and greeted Lin Zheyu with a smile.

”See that mine? Several people discovered their dead coworkers inside. They’re going to burn firewood inside for 7 days straight. After that, the ghost won’t appear again,” said Xie Jiang, pointing toward the mine.

Since the haunting had occurred inside the mine, blasting it with gunpowder would cause a collapse, so burning was the only alternative. After several days of burning, the problem would usually resolve itself.

”Where’s the ghost?” asked Lin Zheyu.

”It’s broad daylight. Of course it won’t come out. That kind of thing only appears at night,” replied Xie Jiang as if it were obvious.

”You called me here when there’s no ghost to see?” said Lin Zheyu speechlessly.

”I figured it’s been a while since the brothers got together for drinks. I called you here to take a look and share a few cups,” replied Xie Jiang with a grin.

”Can we go inside and have a look? It’s not dangerous, is it?” asked Lin Zheyu. Even if he couldn’t see any ghosts, he still wanted to explore and see if there was anything to discover.

”It’s fine. What danger could there be? I’ll go in with you,” said Jia Yanyong.

The mine was pitch-dark inside, and a chilling gloom washed over them as they entered.

”It’s really creepy in here.”

Xie Jiang shuddered, goosebumps prickling across his skin. He warned, ”Be careful. It may be daytime, but the mine’s so eerie that ghosts might still show up.”

”What’s there to fear? A warrior’s blood qi burns strongly. Running into a ghost is nothing.”

Jia Yanyong strode ahead without concern, head held high, holding a torch to light the way.

Lin Zheyu followed him inside and also felt the oppressive chill. His cultivation had reached the Blood Qi Realm, making him far more sensitive to fluctuations in energy. The gloomy atmosphere in the tunnel unsettled him deeply, as if something sinister were trying to burrow into his body. His blood qi stirred restlessly in response. The deeper they went, the stronger that sensation became.

”Interesting...” murmured Lin Zheyu as he scanned his surroundings, finding nothing unusual and no sign of any ghostly figure.

The mine stretched deep underground, and when they reached the end, that unsettling feeling intensified as a wave of cold seeped into his body. The chill invaded his body but vanished as soon as it touched the thin blood qi gauze beneath his skin.

”Let’s get out. There’s something strange here, so we shouldn’t linger,” said Lin Zheyu.

”Yeah, let’s go. My hands and feet have gone cold in here.” Jia Yanyong felt an icy chill spread through his limbs; it was something highly unusual given his physique.

The three did not linger and quickly turned back, striding out of the mine. Once outside, the sunlight washed over them, and both Jia Yanyong and Xie Jiang felt warmth returning to their bodies.

”What a pity. The ghost didn’t show up because it’s daytime,” said Jia Yanyong. He hopped in place a few times and swung his fists before warmth returned to his limbs.

”What’s there to regret? Stay around long enough and you’re bound to encounter one eventually. Give it some time, and we might even run into a living corpse. I heard from the transport crew that they’ve been spotting signs of living corpses moving in the forests outside Baishi Mountain lately. Maybe one of these days, one of those living corpses will charge up the mountain,” added Xie Jiang.

”Living corpses came all the way here?” asked Lin Zheyu in surprise.

Beast Roar Mountain was quite a distance from here, and those mindless living corpses had somehow wandered all the way into this area. Still, he was not overly concerned. If the sky fell, Feihong Gang’s Blood Qi Realm experts would hold it up. Outwardly, he was just a minor Bone Forging Realm cultivator.

”Yeah, I even ran into Lord Ren Jie yesterday.”

”Lord Xu Yinghao and Lord Ren Jie both appeared here at Baishi Mountain. I’d wager they’re here to guard against the living corpses,” said Xie Jiang.

In Songyi City, almost all Blood Qi Realm martial artists hailed from the great, esteemed families. Even someone with extraordinary talent among commoners could not reach the Blood Qi Realm without ample wealth and time.

Ren Jie was a Blood Qi Realm expert of the Ren Family, someone Lin Zheyu had never met, so he knew little about his strength. Lin Zheyu had seen Xu Yinghao once when he first arrived. His strength was formidable, having reached the first transformation of blood qi, and he was likely not far from the second.

”If the sky falls, the Blood Qi Realm experts will hold it up. All we need to worry about is dealing with bandits. Brother Lin, stay for dinner tonight. Let’s have a few drinks together,” said Jia Yanyong with a laugh.

”Alright!”

Lin Zheyu agreed, though a hint of regret showed on his face. A ghost had appeared for once, yet he hadn’t gotten to see it. He had even wanted to try a physical method of exorcism, but unfortunately, he hadn’t had the chance.

After the spirit medium finished her ritual, the Feihong Gang members piled dry firewood into the mine, where a roaring fire soon blazed to life. The flames would need to burn for 7 days and 7 nights to completely purge the malevolent presence from the mine.