Immortality Begins With Internal Breathing

Chapter 503: Saber Intent (I)

In the Azure Dragon Realm, a lush, dense forest stretched over fifty kilometers southeast of Lei Family City. Hills formed overlapping ridges, and the mountains remained completely silent.

Two formidable figures floated in midair. The one on the left stood tall and fierce, his presence commanding, like a drawn sword. His sword intent soared into the sky.

The figure on the right was surrounded by countless flickering arcs of lightning, creating a field of electricity that concealed their form. Only a faint outline of a slender figure was visible, yet the aura they radiated was fiercely terrifying.

The two hovered in the sky, their overwhelming auras radiating outward and pressing down on everything within several hundred kilometers. Fierce beasts quivered in fear, not daring to utter a sound. By the time Lin Zheyu and Lei Yunshu arrived, many cultivators had already gathered on the outskirts.

”So strong!” Lei Yunzhi’s face turned pale as she felt the powerful aura radiating from the sky. Among them, she was the weakest, and under the pressure of a peak Golden Core realm expert, she was the first to falter.

”Let’s stay here,” Lin Zheyu said after sensing the surroundings.

This was a battle between peak Golden Core realm experts. The aftershocks would be terrifying. A single remnant wave of sword intent could very well take the life of a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator.

”Mm, we’ll stay here then.” Lei Yunshu and Lei Yunhan both nodded in agreement. They were also starting to struggle.

Even the pressure waves building up before the battle, the rippling collisions of force, were already hard to endure. Once the fight truly began, the aftershocks would be far worse. If not for accommodating Lin Zheyu, they might have retreated several hundred meters more.

Silence. Absolute silence. It was as if even the wind had stopped. The surrounding cultivators watching the battle unconsciously held their breath, not daring to make a sound. The only thing that could be heard was the faint crackling of lightning arcs dancing around Lei Xiyuan.

Lin Zheyu narrowed his eyes and released his spiritual sense, while fully activating his Perception Domain to observe the situation ahead. The surrounding cultivators did not bother to hide their spiritual senses, and many swept them across Lin Zheyu and the others. Lin Zheyu no longer held back either.

”So many Foundation Establishment realm cultivators. There are at least a thousand of them!” Lin Zheyu said in surprise.

”Of course. These aren’t just cultivators from Lei Family City. Cultivators across the Azure Dragon Realm have been anticipating this battle for a long time,” Lei Yunhan explained with a smile.

The Azure Dragon Realm was governed by the Azure Dragon Sect, with support from the Han and Yuan Families from the eight great immortal cultivation worlds, as well as forces like the Lei Family and the Soaring Sword Sect. Together, they comprised the entire Azure Dragon Realm. When counting cultivators from this realm, along with those from the other three realms of the Four Symbols Realm and numerous minor realms, having over a thousand Foundation Establishment cultivators present was quite normal.

”It’s not only the Azure Dragon Realm. Cultivators from the other three major realms and various minor realms have also come specifically to witness this clash of peerless geniuses,” Lei Yunshu said with a smile, a trace of pride evident in her expression.

The Lei Family was not considered one of the top immortal cultivation families in Great Wei, at most ranking in the upper-middle tier. Yet for them to produce a top-tier genius like Lei Xiyuan was indeed something worth being proud of. If Lei Xiyuan did not fall midway and grew smoothly, there was a strong chance she could reach the Void Cavern realm in the future. With sufficient opportunities, there was even a sliver of hope she could ascend to the Dao Converging realm.

”No wonder there are so many Foundation Establishment realm cultivators.” Lin Zheyu nodded in understanding, his gaze casually sweeping toward several spots in the sky.

There, he sensed extremely subtle auras, though they were faint due to the distance. Quite a number of Golden Core realm cultivators seemed to have arrived as well.

As time passed, the pressure and momentum of the two figures grew stronger and stronger. Lei Yunshu and the others could no longer endure it and retreated several hundred meters. Lin Zheyu, however, seemed unaffected and even advanced another two hundred meters.

”What a powerful sword intent. Is this the legendary unity of man and sword...?” Lin Zheyu narrowed his eyes as he looked at Mu Jianli standing proudly in the sky.

That snow-white figure seemed to have transformed into a brilliant, towering sword. Boundless, razor-sharp sword intent surged outward, pressing down toward Lei Xiyuan. Even the faint ripples of that sword intent caused a burning pain in Lin Zheyu’s body and soul. Yet compared to the insights he gained from it, such pain was insignificant.

As a sword cultivator, all of Mu Jianli’s strength and comprehension of laws were perfectly integrated into the path of the sword. Her sword intent was of immense help to Lin Zheyu, allowing him to draw insights from it, adapt them, and cultivate his own saber intent.

As time passed, some cultivators began to grow impatient and muttered, ”Why hasn’t it started yet!”

”Shh, what do you know? It already started!” his companion snapped, glaring at him.

”Started where? Why can’t I see anything?” the cultivator retorted.

”This is a clash at the peak of the Golden Core realm. You’re just a cultivator in the Foundation Establishment realm. If you could understand it, that would be strange,” a female cultivator nearby scoffed coldly.

”Hmph, aren’t you only in the early Foundation Establishment realm? If I can’t understand it, what makes you think you can?” the cultivator sneered.

”What do you mean? This is...” Before she could finish, a sharp pain struck her spiritual sense. The moment it extended outward, it was instantly shredded by an incomparably terrifying sword intent.

”Ah! Ahhh! Damn it!”

Cries erupted one after another. Those who stood too close felt their spiritual sense instantly shredded and obliterated by the terrifying sword intent. Others felt as if a muffled thunderclap exploded in their souls, leaving their spiritual sense severely wounded.

At last, the unmoving Mu Jianli and Lei Xiyuan made their move. Mu Jianli swung her sword, sending a streak of white sword light shooting toward Lei Xiyuan. Before it even reached her, dazzling lightning erupted in the sky and struck toward the sword light. Only then did the thunderous roar arrive, exploding within the minds of all the watching cultivators, including Lin Zheyu.

Fortunately, after realizing that Mu Jianli’s sword intent caused severe damage to spiritual sense, Lin Zheyu withdrew his spiritual sense into his sea of consciousness and relied solely on his Perception Domain to observe. His spiritual sense had always been a support ability, offering little combat strength and even falling short of his martial cultivation perception. Whether he used it or not made little difference.

So strong!

Lin Zheyu exclaimed inwardly as his figure shifted and he quickly retreated. His movements were incredibly fluid, his footwork stepping rapidly from side to side at astonishing speed, yet he appeared completely composed.

The battle erupted instantly. Mu Jianli’s speed reached an extreme, and her fierce sword intent not only harmed the body but also struck directly at the soul. Even though Lin Zheyu had withdrawn his spiritual sense, if he was grazed by the aftershock of her sword intent, his sea of consciousness would still suffer a sharp, twisting pain.

He had no choice but to step through the air, moving rapidly across the sky to avoid the energy aftershocks from the clash between Mu Jianli and Lei Xiyuan. At the same time, he used his Perception Domain to capture and comprehend her sword intent.

Not far from Lin Zheyu, several figures were forced out of the void by the battle’s aftershocks, revealing themselves as they hastily retreated, looking somewhat disheveled. Among them, near Lin Zheyu, a young cultivator in a purple robe, carrying himself with a flashy air, was cursing as he quickly fell back. When he retreated to Lin Zheyu’s vicinity and sensed the spatial fluctuations nearby, a hint of surprise appeared on his face.

The purple-robed man studied Lin Zheyu with curiosity.

Hm? No destiny aura, just Foundation Establishment realm cultivation. Interesting. To comprehend spatial laws to this level at the Foundation Establishment realm, and still apply them so skillfully amidst the aftershocks of two peak Golden Core realm geniuses... Which family does this kid belong to?

The more he observed, the more intrigued he became. This kid was actually a martial artist who had stepped onto the path of Immortal Martial Cultivation. That made things even more interesting. To think such a prodigy had appeared among martial cultivators.

”Interesting, very interesting. A great era is about to begin; chaos is on the horizon. Another magnificent age where prodigies clash,” the purple-robed cultivator chuckled softly and muttered.

His gaze swept past Lin Zheyu and shifted to several other cultivators moving through the battle’s aftershocks. Like Lin Zheyu, quite a few peak Foundation Establishment realm cultivators were navigating the surging energy, personally experiencing the clash of peak Golden Core realm experts. Each of them was extremely powerful, possessing their own methods, with strength approaching the half-step Golden Core realm. After a brief look, the purple-robed cultivator lost interest and, like Lin Zheyu and the others, continued moving within the aftershocks.