Immortality Begins With Internal Breathing

A black wind, carrying dense demonic qi, rampaged through the endless darkness. Within the void, in the vast lake of energy, countless black, smoky bubbles suddenly burst forth with sharp hissing sounds. After a few breaths, the activity slowed, only to pause briefly before surging again in a wild eruption of black smoke.

Lin Zheyu began his second round of cultivation enhancement. Using 20 units of Origin Force in one go would place too great a strain on his mind, so he deliberately split it into two sessions. Within the pitch-black lake of energy, streaks of differently colored energy and strands of rule power would occasionally flash past.

After a few breaths, Lin Zheyu slowly opened his eyes. The swaying shackles around his body faded as his eyes opened. But in the next instant, his body trembled slightly, and two shackles manifested at the same time. What had once been faint, rusted phantoms now fully solidified.

Lin Zheyu gazed at the newly formed shackle and murmured softly, ”They’ve completely solidified. A shackle that extends into the sea of consciousness and wraps around the soul... I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

Ever since he had cultivated the Heavenly Pivot Nine Refinements Nine Tribulations Art to Perfection of the second stage and stepped into the third stage, beginning to nurture and strengthen his spirit divine repository, this shackle had appeared.

At first, Lin Zheyu paid it little mind. The Shackles realm contained seven shackles in total. Under normal circumstances, a new shackle would only appear after one had been torn apart.

But Lin Zheyu was a genius. He had laid an unprecedentedly deep foundation in martial cultivation, forged an extraordinarily powerful physique, and possessed terrifying latent potential. A few anomalies were nothing unusual. Compared to shackles appearing as early as the Divine Repository realm, having two appear at once was hardly worth mentioning.

Lin Zheyu did not feel even a trace of surprise. If one shackle could not restrain his powerful physique, then two would suffice; that was all. However, when he saw the newly formed shackle gradually solidifying and extending into his sea of consciousness, his composure began to waver.

What... is this thing? A shackle that binds the spirit and the soul?

Lin Zheyu had studied countless texts related to the Shackles realm, including obscure works, fragmented manuscripts, and even ancient records. Yet he had never heard of shackles that bound the soul. The Immortal Dao cultivated the soul itself. If shackles existed upon the soul, he would have seen mention of them in Immortal Dao texts long ago. The fact that he had not meant such shackles should not exist. And yet, here it was.

”Could it be that the Heavenly Dao thinks I’m too defiant and has deliberately strengthened the shackles binding me?” Lin Zheyu muttered to himself, a trace of complaint in his voice.

It was unbearably uncomfortable. His enhanced perception, gained after his breakthrough, had been suppressed once more with the appearance of this shackle. Lin Zheyu felt as though he had lost his freedom, as if his soul could no longer breathe properly. The sensation was stifling and oppressive.

Lin Zheyu let out a long breath of turbid air, which turned into bubbles that rose to the surface of the energy lake. After expelling the heaviness within him, the suffocating feeling eased considerably.

With a sudden movement, Lin Zheyu shot out of the energy lake like a cannonball. He did not rush toward the node’s rift leading to the demon realm. A group of yaos was still gathered outside, and he had no intention of getting entangled in a direct battle with them.

He preferred to remain hidden, capturing powerful yaos that interested him. Lurking in the shadows, he would quietly develop as he slowly studied the rules encoded in the demonic patterns on their bodies.

Although Lin Zheyu was extremely powerful and his defense was even more monstrous, transforming into his yao form came with a greater cost. This consumption was not limited to demonic qi; it also drained the golden energy within his body. The more intense the battle and the more demonic qi he absorbed, the faster the golden energy stored in his sea of consciousness to protect his spirit and soul, as well as the portion curled around his heart to guard it, would be depleted.

The golden energy gathered around his heart was manageable. Once he activated Yao Transformation and entered that state, the golden energy within his body would be forced to retreat and coil around his heart. The real difficulty lay in the golden energy within his sea of consciousness.

Lin Zheyu had spent years, with the patience of water wearing through stone, accumulating that vast reservoir of golden energy bit by bit. He had no intention of wasting it on something so meaningless.

The black wind howled as the Wind of Annihilation, cold enough to freeze the soul, swept through the void. Lin Zheyu hovered in the dark emptiness, letting the roaring wind buffet him, a faint smile on his face as though he felt nothing at all. After being nurtured by two divine repository techniques, even without activating his repositories, his physique had already reached an unbelievable level of strength.

Even newly advanced Golden Core realm cultivators, or weaker ones, would struggle to break through his defenses without relying on powerful dharma treasures or secret arts. At most, they could only make him itch. This mere black wind was hardly worth mentioning. Lin Zheyu turned his attention to the data within his consciousness.

[Heaven Rewards the Diligent]

[Name: Lin Zheyu]

[Origin Force: 539]

[Skills: Earth Shrinking Technique (Perfection), Primordial Concealment Technique (Perfection), Seven Absolute Sabers (Fifth Stage: 3%), Primordial Golden Body (Second Stage: 100%), Spirit Martial Universe Secret Art—Advanced (Perfection), Heavenly Pivot Nine Refinements Nine Tribulations Art (Third Stage: 33%)]

He still had over 500 units of Origin Force remaining. That was enough for Lin Zheyu to open all three great divine repositories. The Heavenly Pivot Nine Refinements Nine Tribulations Art truly deserved its reputation as the most difficult technique within the Martial Alliance. Lin Zheyu had already spent more than 90 units of Origin Force on it, yet still had not reached Perfection of the third stage. It was utterly monstrous.

However, this was also closely related to Lin Zheyu having already cultivated a powerful divine repository technique. Building upon the Purple Firmament Repository Returning Art as his first repository technique, then cultivating the Heavenly Pivot Nine Refinements Nine Tribulations Art on top of it, was something only he would attempt. If other martial artists heard of it, they would surely look at him as if he were insane.

Although the Heavenly Pivot Nine Refinements Nine Tribulations Art had not yet reached Perfection, there was good news. The Spirit Martial Universe Secret Art—Advanced had reached Perfection with only 4 units of Origin Force. This technique was extremely difficult. Even talented martial artists within the Martial Alliance would likely need over fifty years to fully master it to Perfection.

Lin Zheyu had achieved Perfection with only 4 units of Origin Force. This was somewhat beyond his expectations. He had originally thought it would require at least 7 or 8, perhaps even 10 units. He had not expected that as his spirit divine repository grew stronger, his comprehension would improve as well, greatly accelerating his cultivation of the Spirit Martial Universe Secret Art.

”At this rate, it will probably take around 70 more units to bring the Heavenly Pivot Nine Refinements Nine Tribulations Art to Perfection. The Yellow Springs Nirvana Scripture may be less difficult than the Purple Firmament Repository Returning Art, but its danger is terrifying. And as a third divine repository technique, its difficulty will skyrocket, likely reaching a level similar to the Heavenly Pivot Nine Refinements Nine Tribulations Art.”

Lin Zheyu shook his head helplessly. ”In that case, if I want to complete all three divine repository techniques before opening them, it will take quite some time. I likely won’t make it in time for this opportunity involving rule fragments. Looks like I’ll have to miss it this time.”

When he arrived at the demon cave, he had already sent a message to Han Ge and the others, explaining that he might not be able to meet up with them early and telling them not to wait for him. Now it seemed that not only would he not be early, but he would also miss the meeting entirely. There was nothing he could do about it.

Lin Zheyu could not recklessly break through to the Divine Repository realm just to gain strength while ignoring the future. Without completing his divine repository cultivation, he lacked the confidence to face that old fox Fan Hongwei. Opportunities involving rule fragments would arise again, but he had only one life. Preserving it was what mattered most.

”That old bastard really deserves to die,” Lin Zheyu muttered, a trace of killing intent flashing through his eyes. Because of Fan Hongwei, many of his plans had been thrown into disarray.