Immortality Begins With Internal Breathing

After interacting with Lin Zheyu over the past two days, Wu Di did not feel he was an evil person. Still, powerhouses of this level were often temperamental and unpredictable. Wu Di feared that the slightest mistake might provoke Lin Zheyu’s displeasure and bring disaster upon himself.

”Then forget it. Continue organizing the remaining formation knowledge instead.” Lin Zheyu spoke calmly before adding, ”I’ll give you another three days. Three days from now, I want to see a complete jade slip containing the full system of formation knowledge.”

Wu Di trembled slightly upon hearing that and quickly responded, ”Yes, Senior!”

”Mhm. You may leave.” Lin Zheyu waved his hand, dismissing Wu Di.

This fellow was highly perceptive, deeply skilled in formations, and extremely cooperative. Lin Zheyu had even considered recruiting him. Unfortunately, although Wu Di feared offending Lin Zheyu, he still politely declined whenever the matter was raised. Taking in someone who was unwilling at heart would only invite endless future troubles, so Lin Zheyu did not force the issue.

***

Time slowly passed.

Lin Zheyu temporarily settled down on the island. Wu Di opened the incomplete Heaven-Deceiving Formation outside the main hall for him to study, and by comparing it against the incomplete formation recorded on the hide parchment, his research became far easier.

Another two days passed. Just as Lin Zheyu was fully immersed in studying the incomplete Heaven-Deceiving Formation, the bracelet on his left wrist suddenly emitted a faint golden glow.

”Someone is trying to pinpoint my location!” Lin Zheyu frowned slightly, his expression darkening.

Is it that old fellow from Soaring Cloud Pavilion? Or could it be Woo Yixuan?

There was still a long time left before the agreed-upon one-year deadline. Fan Hongwei should still be refining the necessary dharma treasure, so logically, he should not have come looking for him this early. As for Woo Yixuan, Lin Zheyu had already stripped away the mark the man had left on him previously, making it even less likely.

A trace of vigilance rose in Lin Zheyu’s heart as he thought, Could it be that the old fellow only mentioned a one-year deadline to lower my guard, when in reality he never needed that long?

This was what worried him the most. If that were truly the case, then things would become troublesome. Fan Hongwei’s strength was unfathomable. Even after mastering the fourth saber of the Seven Absolute Sabers, Lin Zheyu still had no confidence in defeating him.

I need to return as soon as possible, Lin Zheyu thought to himself, a strong sense of urgency rising within him.

Even if Fan Hongwei was at most at the peak of the Golden Core realm, as long as Lin Zheyu returned to the Martial Realm, he refused to believe the man would dare act recklessly. Back then, after he beat up Woo Yixuan, even with the Woo Family backing him, they still did not dare cause trouble within Yanwu City. He did not believe Fan Hongwei would be any different.

”Rise!”

Having made his decision, Lin Zheyu rose to his feet. With a single thought, the incomplete Heaven-Deceiving Formation surrounding the hall split into eight sections under the control of his spiritual sense and flew into his storage pouch.

Wu Di had already completely opened the core of the formation. Although Lin Zheyu could not remove it intact, he was still able to forcibly cut apart sections of the formation and take them away, even if it damaged the formation in the process.

Of course, once dismantled like this, the formation would lose all practical use and could only serve as material for study and comprehension. Sensing the disturbance, Wu Di’s face filled with surprise. Since he was already in the room next door, he immediately rushed over.

Lin Zheyu looked at Wu Di and asked calmly, ”Have you finished organizing the formation knowledge?”

”Senior, there’s still a little left unfinished,” Wu Di answered cautiously.

Sneaking a glance at Lin Zheyu and noticing his less-than-pleasant expression, Wu Di hurriedly added, ”But it’s almost done! If you give me two more hours, I’ll definitely finish organizing everything!”

Lin Zheyu replied indifferently, ”No need. Just hand over all the texts and materials related to formations that you have on you.”

”Yes, Senior!” Wu Di immediately responded.

Under Lin Zheyu’s gaze, Wu Di did not dare hesitate in the slightest. With a wave of his hand, he pulled several jade slips from his storage pouch, along with a number of damaged formation flags and formation compasses.

”Senior, this is everything I have,” Wu Di said carefully.

”Mhm.” Lin Zheyu nodded lightly as a high-grade spirit stone appeared in his hand.

”Take this spirit stone as compensation. Until we meet again,” Lin Zheyu said calmly.

Wu Di’s attainments in formations were genuinely impressive. Lin Zheyu had no intention of driving things too far. There might come a day when he would need Wu Di’s expertise again.

Clutching the high-grade spirit stone, Wu Di first stared in stunned disbelief, then quickly recovered and expressed his gratitude excitedly. ”Yes! Many thanks, Senior! Many thanks!”

He had already prepared himself for devastating losses. Never did he expect Lin Zheyu not only to leave the Purple Infant Fruit untouched, but even give him a high-grade spirit stone on top of it. Although the spirit stone still paled in comparison to everything Lin Zheyu had taken, Wu Di had already braced himself to suffer heavily. Instead, not only had he avoided catastrophic losses, but he had even gained a high-grade spirit stone. This was an unexpected windfall beyond his wildest expectations.

”Sen... Uh...” Wu Di had just been about to express his gratitude once more when, in the blink of an eye, Lin Zheyu had already stepped away and vanished without a trace.

”What incredible speed! That senior really is a good person!” Wu Di exclaimed emotionally, tightening his grip on the spirit stone in his hand.

The tense nerves he had maintained for days finally relaxed completely at this moment. Suddenly, an indescribable insight surged through Wu Di’s mind. The seemingly unshakable bottleneck blocking his path toward the Golden Core realm unexpectedly began to loosen ever so slightly.

”!!!”

Wu Di’s eyes widened, his face filled with overwhelming excitement. Even with the help of the Purple Infant Fruit, he originally had little confidence in successfully cultivating a False Core. But now, as long as he could seize hold of this sudden insight, he was highly confident he could advance into the perfect False Core realm!

***

Lin Zheyu neither knew nor cared much about what Wu Di was thinking. At this moment, he was pushing the Earth Shrinking Technique to its absolute limit, his speed soaring to thirty times the speed of sound as he raced toward the nearest Martial Realm teleportation formation.

He was not yet prepared. He still had not acquired advanced techniques for the Divine Repository and Shackles realms. Lin Zheyu had no intention of falling into Fan Hongwei’s hands this early.

”Hm? Another attempt to locate me? What’s going on?”

As he sped forward, Lin Zheyu frowned at the glowing bracelet, a bad feeling rising in his heart. The continuous attempts to pinpoint his location suggested the other party was very likely tracking him in real time.

”If it really is that old fellow, then this is going to be troublesome.”

Anxiety crept into Lin Zheyu’s heart as he pushed his speed to the absolute extreme.

At the same time, his powerful perception spread outward, constantly monitoring every movement in the surroundings. If he truly was found, then his only option would be to temporarily play along while searching for another opportunity to escape. This was the worst-case scenario Lin Zheyu had envisioned.

At thirty times the speed of sound, violent winds howled around him with deafening force. Even with Lin Zheyu’s physique, he could only maintain such terrifying speed for roughly ten minutes. To avoid exhausting himself in the event of unforeseen danger, he began to slow down after sprinting at full speed for five minutes.

Suddenly, Lin Zheyu’s expression shifted as he came to an abrupt halt. He looked toward the empty sky ahead, his brows knitting slightly together. There, he sensed a faint trace of danger. Although the other party had concealed himself extremely well, he still could not escape Lin Zheyu’s perception and a martial artist’s powerful instincts.

Letting out a slow breath, Lin Zheyu said calmly, ”Senior, since you’re already here, why bother hiding?”

Suddenly, a flash of earthen-yellow light appeared as a familiar figure gradually materialized. Tu Yuan looked at Lin Zheyu and burst into hearty laughter.

”Haha! As expected of you, Fellow Xiao. After awakening a spiritual divine ability, your senses truly are extraordinary to have detected our ambush!”

”Hm? It’s you!”

After recognizing the person, Lin Zheyu froze in surprise, nearly failing to react in time.

Damn it. So the one who has been repeatedly using secret arts to track me this whole time was not Fan Hongwei at all, but Tu Yuan! Out of all the possibilities Lin Zheyu had considered, Tu Yuan had never even crossed his mind. Honestly, even Woo Yixuan seemed more likely than this guy!

”Oh? Who else did you think it would be?” Tu Yuan raised a brow. Seeing Lin Zheyu visibly relax slightly only made him feel strangely looked down upon.

”Fellow Tu Yuan, you’ve gone out of your way to block my path. May I ask what this is about? Or are you planning to kill for treasure?”

Lin Zheyu stared coldly at Tu Yuan as killing intent quietly surged within him.

Blood qi churned violently within his body as terrifying saber intent slowly gathered, ready to unleash a heaven-shaking strike at any moment. This bastard truly deserved a beating. He had made Lin Zheyu worry himself sick for so long.