Immortality Begins With Internal Breathing

Rustling sounds filled the air. In the mountain forest, a light breeze brushed past, and the shadows of trees swayed gently.

Roar!

A thunderous roar echoed from deep within the forest.

Bang, bang, bang.

Dull impacts rang out as thick tree trunks were smashed to pieces by a beast. Lin Zheyu moved with remarkable agility, using the Golden Goose Technique to narrowly evade the beast’s attacks again and again.

After Liang Song left, Lin Zheyu spent most of his time hunting in the mountains. He did not plan to leave Bafang City so soon. At the very least, he intended to perfect the Hundred Refinements Treasure Manual and raise his strength to its limit before heading toward the Central Plains.

Three days had passed since then, and though Lin Zheyu had not found Little Black, he had instead encountered the same terrifying beast from last time. The beast’s strength was astonishing—far beyond anything Yan Jun could compare to.

Even with his improved strength, Lin Zheyu still could not contend with it. Even the Raging Wind Slash at twelvefold power only carved a vicious wound into its back without affecting its combat ability in the slightest.

Whoosh.

A sharp blade-edge tore through the air with a ripping hiss.

A pained roar erupted. The blade streaked across and struck the beast’s back, slicing through its tough hide with ease before sinking into its flesh with a wet sound. When it hit bone, a crisp crack rang out.

A massive recoil traveled back through the blade, sending a tingling numbness through Lin Zheyu’s arm. Fortunately, after training in the Hundred Refinements Treasure Manual, his defensive power had increased greatly. Even after striking with full force, all he felt was numbness in his arm and a sharp sting in his tiger’s mouth.

”The bones of this beast are incredibly hard. They could definitely be used as materials for forging weapons.”

Lin Zheyu tightened his grip on the blade and rapidly retreated. Two consecutive Raging Wind Slashes at twelvefold power had consumed a massive amount of his blood qi. He could not continue wasting energy. Otherwise, he would not even have the chance to flee later.

Lin Zheyu tapped the ground lightly with his foot and used the flawless Golden Goose Technique to dodge the beast’s claws. His body twisted sharply as if he had no inertia, darting explosively in another direction.

Boom.

The massive beast was fooled by his feint and crashed violently into a large tree ahead. The thick tree shattered like paper under the impact. Two vicious wounds marked its back, one already scabbed over, while the one near its neck was fresh.

As the beast moved violently, blood oozed from its open wound. Its healing speed was astonishing, so it would probably scab over within a minute. A beast’s vitality was far stronger than that of a human martial artist. Even severe injuries healed rapidly. This was why Lin Zheyu did not dare prolong the fight.

A minute later, relying on the forest’s complex terrain and his agile movement techniques, Lin Zheyu managed to leave the beast far behind. But roars continued to echo behind him, growing closer and closer.

”I’ve angered this beast. It’s unusually persistent this time.”

Gulp.

Lin Zheyu pulled out his water pouch and drank a mouthful of highly concentrated medicinal broth to accelerate the recovery of his blood qi. The chase had consumed most of his blood qi; less than 30% remained.

The beast was relentless. Even though it could not catch up, it refused to give up and pursued him doggedly.

Lin Zheyu quickly took out a packet of medicinal powder and scattered it over himself. Then, he activated the Tortoise Breath Grand Method at full power, suppressing his aura drastically.

Roar!

Boom, boom, boom.

A tremendous noise erupted behind him. The beast had caught up again. Without hesitation, Lin Zheyu resumed his rapid escape through the forest after scattering the powder. After running a distance, he stopped again, took out another packet of powder, and sprinkled it over himself. After repeating this several times, the noise behind him gradually faded, and only then did Lin Zheyu finally let out a breath of relief.

”Finally shook it off...” Lin Zheyu muttered softly.

Along the way, he used various scent-masking powders and paired them with the Tortoise Breath Grand Method, barely escaping the beast’s pursuit.

”My blood qi is too little. If only I could maintain explosive power for twenty minutes, no, fifteen would be enough. Give me fifteen minutes and I could definitely kill that beast!”

Feeling the utterly drained blood qi inside his body, Lin Zheyu felt a bit helpless. His strength came from treating what others considered trump cards as ordinary moves he could use freely. That was how he could possess battle power equal to a Marrow Refining Realm martial artist while still in the Blood Qi Realm.

But his glaring weakness was equally obvious: his endurance was terrible. Right now, Lin Zheyu was only a four-minute warrior. After two explosive Raging Wind Slashes, he had no choice but to run.

Until I fix this flaw, I’m no match for that beast. Unless I can further strengthen my momentum and increase the power of the Raging Wind Slash, Lin Zheyu thought silently.

In theory, the Raging Wind Slash, when mastered, should be able to unleash tenfold power. Because his momentum was not strong enough, he could only produce threefold power normally, and with the blood qi burst technique, he could raise it to twelvefold.

But it still wasn’t enough. That beast’s defense was incredibly strong, and its recovery was frightening. Even a twelvefold Raging Wind Slash couldn’t kill it; at most it could inflict a heavy wound. But to such a massive beast, that level of injury meant almost nothing. Its powerful regeneration healed it quickly.

Rustle, rustle.

A gentle breeze blew, making the leaves whisper. Lin Zheyu found a secluded spot, drank a mouthful of concentrated medicinal broth, and sat cross-legged to recover. The previous battle had nearly drained all his blood qi, and he needed to recuperate before continuing the hunt.

Even without blood qi, he still had physical strength close to 80% of a martial artist at the first transformation, so the forest held little danger for him.

More than six hours later, dusk approached, and Lin Zheyu’s blood qi had recovered to about forty percent. The concentrated medicinal broth he brought was nearly used up.

”Little Black~!”

Moving swiftly through the forest, Lin Zheyu hunted while calling out Little Black’s name. This beast possessed high intelligence. Keeping it by his side made it an excellent helper for hunting. These past few days, without Little Black’s help, Lin Zheyu hadn’t managed to hunt even a single Blood Qi Realm beast. The only one he encountered was terrifyingly strong and completely beyond his ability to deal with.

When night fell, Lin Zheyu found a spot, lit a bonfire, and grilled the beast meat he had hunted. The roasting meat sizzled with oil, and its aroma drifted with the breeze, attracting many beasts. He glanced over. They were all ordinary beasts, none at the Blood Qi Realm, so they offered little hunting value.