Immortality Begins With Internal Breathing

After encountering a living corpse, Lin Zheyu had grown even more suspicious of the Nine Nether Sect. The power behind them must be terrifyingly strong. He was just a minor figure at the Blood Qi Realm, so it was best not to get involved with such forces.

Time passed, and the sky gradually dimmed. Lin Zheyu stopped practicing the Tortoise Breath Grand Method, rose to his feet, tapped the ground lightly with his toes, and vanished into the forest. It was yet another fruitless day for him.

As night fell, Lin Zheyu sat cross-legged in his courtyard and cultivated the Tortoise Breath Grand Method. All of his other techniques had already reached Perfection; only the Golden Goose Technique and the Tortoise Breath Grand Method remained incomplete.

The ninth stage of the Golden Goose Technique was extremely difficult to master. It required years of refinement—at least twenty to thirty years of effort. Ordinary martial artists would never waste so much time trying to merge a violent blood qi burst technique into their leg techniques. It simply wasn’t worth it.

Even if one were willing to spend decades attempting it, success was far from guaranteed. Firstly, mastering a blood qi burst technique itself required years of focused training. Secondly, to make the body capable of enduring such unrestrained bursts would take at least seven or eight years, or perhaps ten, of continuous tempering with potent tonics and medicinal baths. Finally, one had to achieve mastery in leg techniques before the burst technique could be successfully integrated.

The process was immensely difficult; failing even one condition meant certain failure. No ordinary person could accomplish it. Only Lin Zheyu, blessed with his golden finger, dared to harbor such an ambitious idea.

***

The moon shone bright amid the sparse stars. Pale moonlight spread like a silver gauze, blanketing the entire courtyard. Lin Zheyu’s chest rose and fell gently, his breathing deep and steady. His aura was reduced to the faintest trace, indistinguishable from that of an ordinary man. Clad again in his storyteller’s robe, he would look like a scholar too weak to bind a chicken.

Suddenly, Lin Zheyu’s ears twitched. He opened his eyes and looked toward the distant night sky. A column of fire shot upward and burst in the sky, brilliant and dazzling.

That seems to be the Zhao Family’s territory. Have they been attacked?

Lin Zheyu was slightly surprised. He rose, entered his room, changed into black nightwear, wrapped his face with a dark cloth, and vanished into the night. It wasn’t often that something this interesting happened; how could he not go and take a look? These esteemed families were rich to the core; perhaps he could even take advantage of the chaos.

Whoosh.

Several dark figures flickered through the night. Hidden within the darkness, Lin Zheyu circulated the Tortoise Breath Grand Method to its fullest, suppressing his aura completely. Combined with the Golden Goose Technique, he moved silently without the slightest sound.

He refrained from using the blood qi burst technique as he still couldn’t control it well. Though it granted great speed, it created too much noise.

By the time he arrived at the place where the signal had been fired, the attackers were already gone.

”So it really is the Zhao Family residence. Though it belongs to a collateral branch, the direct line’s residence is right next to it. The person who attacked is bold indeed,” muttered Lin Zheyu.

The Zhao Family was in chaos and heavily guarded. The watchmen held crossbows ready to fire. Anyone attempting an attack would be riddled with bolts instantly. City patrol soldiers were also arriving one after another. Seeing no chance to take advantage of the chaos, Lin Zheyu went after the fleeing figure.

Who could it be? Could it be someone from the Xu, Ren, or Chen Families?

He glanced around and noticed at least five others, also curious, following from a distance. Suddenly, several more flares rose into the night sky from different directions, bursting into brilliant fireworks. Judging by the signals, two belonged to the Feihong Gang, one to the Nine Stars Gang, and two more to the Wuding Gang.

Lin Zheyu halted, his expression filled with surprise.

”Someone’s stirring up trouble!” murmured Lin Zheyu under his breath.

Songyi City was under strict guard, and anyone entering or leaving was closely inspected, so it was nearly impossible for outsiders to sneak in. Those behind the attacks were most likely one of Songyi City’s esteemed families, though it was unclear which one had orchestrated it. Lin Zheyu suspected the Xing Family. They alone had the strength and ambition for such a move.

With a quick motion, he sped toward one of the areas where the Feihong Gang’s distress signal had been fired. The two signal locations belonged to the Xu and Chen Families.

Lin Zheyu chose not to go to the Xu estate. The Xu Family had plenty of experts and strong defenses, so they wouldn’t need his help. Instead, he headed toward the Chen Family’s signal site.

***

At the Chen Family’s Pineflower Courtyard, one of the Chen Family’s secondary residences.

The attackers were cautious, knowing that the main branch’s residence was well-defended and filled with experts, so they targeted the collateral branch instead.

Although most of the family members had already been evacuated, about one-fifth of their people remained. Those who stayed behind were elites, tasked with finishing up and protecting the Chen Family’s property in Songyi City.

Swish, swish, swish.

Dozens of arrows flew out as a black figure leapt from Pineflower Courtyard and swiftly disappeared into the night.

”Heh, trying to catch me? Keep dreaming!” The dark figure glanced at the flare rising into the sky and let out a cold sneer.

Moments later, several figures shot out from behind him, moving at incredible speed in pursuit.

”Kekeke... If you want to catch me, you’ll have to go train for another hundred years!” A hoarse, sharp laugh rang out as the man spoke with wild arrogance.

He deliberately stopped, waited until the two behind him were within ten meters, and then darted away again, widening the gap. It was as if he were mocking the two Chen Family pursuers as useless fools.

”Be careful. He seems to be luring us in on purpose!” the elder on the left warned grimly. He was a Blood Qi Realm expert of the Chen Family, having reached the first transformation and possessing deep mastery over leg techniques. Yet the man before him was even faster.

Seeing the two slow down, the black-clad man stopped and turned to mock them. ”Ha! Cowards! Don’t dare chase anymore, do you? If you don’t come after me, I’ll visit every night and kill a few more! Hahaha! Useless trash! Your Chen Family—damn it!”

Halfway through his sentence, the man’s face twisted in sudden shock. A terrifying gust of force swept toward him. Someone had approached silently, appearing right beside him. It was unbelievable.

The black-clad man was proud of his perception and speed, and few in Songyi City could approach him without a sound. Such people were exceedingly rare and were usually high-ranking family guardians who never left their estates.

His mind raced as he unleashed his blood qi, stomping hard to the ground in an attempt to evade the incoming strike. But it was too late. The attacker’s speed was terrifying. In the blink of an eye, a palm slammed into his chest.

Crack! Crack!

A series of sharp cracks sounded as every rib in his chest shattered, sending him flying backward. He crashed to the ground with a loud boom, the stone pavement beneath him splintering apart. He stared wide-eyed at where his assailant had been, but the figure was already gone.

Pfft.

Blood gushed from his mouth, and his body went still. His eyes remained open, filled with disbelief and unwillingness.

An expert at the second transformation of blood qi. His backers will surely grieve this loss, thought Lin Zheyu.

His figure then melted into the darkness. From strike to retreat, the entire sequence had taken less than two breaths. With his current strength, a surprise strike using a triple blood qi burst Mountain Shattering Palm could kill even a fourth transformation expert immediately.