Immortality Begins With Internal Breathing

In the plaza, a middle-aged man walked over and said to Lin Zheyu, ”Hey, are you new here? We’re short on hands over here. Come and give us a hand!”

”Yeah, I just got here. I’ve been chopping trees all morning, so I’m exhausted and taking a break right now. I can help you, so just tell me where you need help. I’ll head over once I’ve rested,” replied Lin Zheyu in a slightly weak tone.

His face was smeared with black mud, leaving him grimy and dirty, and his clothes looked disheveled. The man did not doubt him. Many of the new refugees here looked just like that.

”Alright, then get over as soon as you can. There’s an open patch about 200 meters ahead. We need a lot of people to clear it and turn it into farmland. Once the work’s done, the deacon will hand out meat-filled flatbreads to everyone, and I doubt you’d want to miss that,” said the man.

”Got it. I’ll rest a bit and head over right away!” replied Lin Zheyu with a promise.

By now, there were few people left in the plaza. Most had gone off to work. Whatever the Nine Nether Sect’s true goal was, they had at least given these refugees a glimmer of hope to survive.

It couldn’t have been easy bringing in so many refugees, right? The Nine Nether Sect must be working with one of the major families in Songyi City, but which one? Or perhaps all of them have a hand in this, thought Lin Zheyu.

Cao Wang and his companion had entered the shrine, and more than 10 minutes had passed without them coming out. Lin Zheyu began to wonder if Cao Wang had truly taken the Blood Pill inside to break through. The number of people lingering around was dwindling, and not wanting to draw attention, he stood up and prepared to leave. Just then, Cao Wang and his companion emerged.

The moment they stepped out of the shrine, the man beside Cao Wang said eagerly, ”Quick, open it and let me see! I’ve never seen what a Blood Pill looks like!”

They had exchanged their points for a Blood Pill from the priest and came out holding a small bottle containing the pill. They could not help but feel uneasy before the priest and dared not stay inside for too long. Inside the shrine, both of them felt an inexplicable weight pressing on their hearts, like a solemn and sacred presence was there. Just a glance at the statue made them want to kneel and worship it with reverence.

”What’s the rush? We can talk about it after we return,” said Cao Wang.

”Return where? The shrine is right here, with the priest and his 16 deacons inside. Is there any place in Lion Valley safer than this? If you ask me, we should just break through right here. The priest said that once the pill is taken, the breakthrough will happen quickly. In less than 15 minutes or so, right?” said the man.

”True, this place is much safer than my place.” Cao Wang nodded.

All of these bandits held deep reverence for the Nine Nether Sect’s priest, so none of them dared act recklessly here. Cao Wang sat cross-legged on the ground and removed the stopper. A rich medicinal fragrance laced with a faint metallic scent of blood rushed to his nose. Just a single breath of it made him feel refreshed and invigorated.

”Quick, let me smell it too... Damn!” The man beside Cao Wang jolted in shock.

Just as he was about to take the jade bottle from Cao Wang and inhale the Blood Pill’s scent, a blur shot past them, and the jade bottle vanished from Cao Wang’s hand. It happened so abruptly that before they could even react, the figure was already darting toward the forest. It was like a raging gust of wind.

”Catch him! Someone’s broken into Lion Valley! Catch that thief!” shouted the man loudly. Meanwhile, Cao Wang was already giving chase.

”Stop! Put down that jade bottle! Hey, everyone! What are you waiting for? Block him! Shoot! All of you, shoot!” shouted Cao Wang, his voice echoing through the forest.

His heart bled with rage. That Blood Pill had cost him dearly; over twenty of his brothers had died, and he had borrowed twenty contribution points from others just to exchange for it. He had barely caught a whiff of its scent before someone stole it away.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

Several patrol teams within the forest raised their bows and fired volleys of arrows toward Lin Zheyu. Crossbow bolts were deadly in open ground, but their threat diminished greatly within the forest.

Lin Zheyu employed the Golden Goose Technique footwork, his body darting agilely between the trees, using them as cover against the incoming arrows. His Golden Goose Technique had reached a transcendent level, granting him astonishing speed. Even third transformation blood qi martial artists might not be able to match him. Within just a few blinks, Lin Zheyu’s figure vanished from the bandits’ sight.

”Arghhh!”

Cao Wang shouted at the empty forest where the figure had disappeared, startling a flock of birds into flight.

”Whew... What are you standing around for? Go report to the priest and have them make a move to catch him! That guy is strong; he’s at least at the Blood Qi Realm. A martial artist that powerful sneaking into Lion Valley must have some hidden agenda. If we report this to the priest, we might even earn a good number of contribution points,” Cao Wang’s associate caught up and said.

”Damn it, let’s go already then! We’ll ask the priest to act!” Cao Wang cursed angrily and ordered the surrounding bandits. ”Search for him! We must catch that thief. Spread the word to guard every exit, and don’t let him escape!”

”Yes!” The bandits answered in unison and quickly began searching through the forest.

***

Whoosh, whoosh.

Lin Zheyu darted swiftly through the forest, retrieved the items he had hidden earlier, and rushed straight out of the valley.

Swoosh, swoosh.

As he burst out of Lion Valley’s entrance, the bandits guarding the gate raised their crossbows and fired volley after volley at him. An arrow narrowly grazed the top of his head, but his movement suddenly shifted, darting sharply to the right in a way that defied normal physics. After his Golden Goose Technique had reached a transcendent level, his movement became even more agile and unpredictable.

”A pill that can help someone directly break through to the Blood Qi Realm must be worth quite a fortune!”

The corners of Lin Zheyu’s lips curled slightly as his mood lifted. He had thought that there might be nothing to gain today, but to his surprise, that bandit, Cao Wang, had not taken the pill inside the shrine to break through. Instead, he had brought the pill outside to attempt the breakthrough beyond the shrine. With such a perfect opportunity, Lin Zheyu would have felt sorry for himself if he hadn’t seized it.

I wonder how much energy this Blood Pill contains...? Would it be enough to boost a unit of my Origin Force? Lin Zheyu mused to himself, then shook his head as he thought, Forget it. I’d better find a way to sell it. If I put this Blood Pill on the market, it’ll probably fetch a hefty price.

Although he was tempted to test the pill’s medicinal power, he ultimately decided against it. A pill with effects this powerful could easily sell for several hundred taels of silver, which was likely more profitable than him using it himself.

After bursting out of Lion Valley and confirming that no one was pursuing him, Lin Zheyu let out a sigh of relief. He then poured the Blood Pill from the bottle. The pill was entirely crimson, and it exuded a faint metallic scent mixed with a rich medicinal fragrance. It truly lived up to the name Blood Pill.

He casually tossed away the original bottle, pulled out an empty jade bottle from his waist pouch, placed the Blood Pill inside, and sealed it with a stopper. He then tucked the jade bottle into a leather poison pouch and tied it tightly. To prevent any tracking due to the pill, Lin Zheyu took multiple layers of precaution.

I’ll head back for now. The black market will open in a few days. I’ll return to doing this once I sell off what I’ve taken and improve my strength, thought Lin Zheyu to himself.

For the next few days, he had no plans to keep targeting the bandits for easy spoils. He had just stolen a Blood Pill from Lion Valley. They were likely searching for him everywhere, and maybe even setting up traps in hopes he would walk right into them.

Once outside of Lion Valley’s perimeter, Lin Zheyu found a secluded spot and changed back into his usual attire. After returning to his original appearance, he set off toward Songyi City. There was still some distance between Lion Valley and Songyi City. After confirming that no one was pursuing him, he deliberately slowed his pace, keeping his speed at the peak Bone Forging Realm.

Running at full speed through the forest would consume a tremendous amount of blood qi and easily drain his essence, qi, and spirit, affecting the accumulation of his Origin Force.

Whoosh.

As soon as Lin Zheyu entered the dense forest outside Beast Roar Mountain, a fierce gust of wind suddenly swept from behind. Sensing danger, he shifted sharply to the left. A chilling streak of light grazed past his side and struck a tree ahead, blasting a hole through the trunk.

Boom.

He tapped his toes lightly and leapt onto a branch as a howling wind roared past and smashed into a massive tree behind him.

Boom, boom, boom.

The booming sounds rang out one after another as Lin Zheyu relied on his movement techniques to dodge swiftly. It was then that he saw who was attacking him. It was one of the figures he had seen in Lion Valley, the ones clad in black and red robes. This man was extremely strong, his cultivation at the first transformation of blood qi, and his muscles bulging as he launched relentless attacks toward Lin Zheyu.

”Who are you, and why are you attacking me without reason?” challenged Zheyu coldly as he used his lightness technique to evade quickly, his eyes scanning the surroundings with vigilance. There had been seventeen people in black and red robes before, but he had no idea how many had come this time.

”You’re the one who just broke into Lion Valley, aren’t you? Did you really think switching the pill into another bottle would protect you from our tracking?” The man stopped and sneered coldly at Lin Zheyu.

”You must be mistaken. What pill? I don’t understand what you’re talking about,” replied Lin Zheyu, feigning ignorance.

A slight chill rose in his heart. He had taken every precaution, yet they had still found him. He had washed his body thoroughly along the way and even used scent-removal powder to erase any possible tracking marks, but they had still caught up to him.

Are they using some special method? wondered Lin Zheyu.

”To reach the Blood Qi Realm at such a young age, even in the Central Plains, would mean your talent is considerably remarkable. Are you interested in joining the Nine Nether Sect?” said the man coolly.

Although he did not know how Lin Zheyu had concealed his strength, his probing had given him a rough idea of Lin Zheyu’s power. It was likely at the gauze stage of the Blood Qi Realm.