Immortality Begins With Internal Breathing

The roars of yao echoed throughout the demon cave. A terrifying aura seeped through the space-time node and spread into the demon cave. The yao will and demonic qi permeating the entire demon cave began to seethe, and every cultivator felt an indescribable sense of oppression.

”Things aren’t looking good!” Lin Zheyu raised his head and looked beyond the city, his gaze grave.

He sensed that every formation throughout the city had begun operating, while terrifying yao auras swirled through the dark void. Lin Zheyu felt a crushing sense of oppression, like the dreadful stillness before a world-ending storm.

Another deafening boom erupted from within the rift, followed by terrifying ripples of energy. Lin Zheyu hurriedly controlled the formation to withstand this terrifying, evil, and corrupt power. Mo Qingyang and the others had already fled beyond the formation without looking back the moment they escaped from the rift. They were in poor condition and unfit to continue fighting.

”Hehe, my chance has come!”

Before departing, Shi Tianyun cast a cold, mocking glance in Lin Zheyu’s direction. His figure then flickered and vanished into the darkness.

Not long after that, thunderous yao roars erupted from within the rift. One enormous, vicious-looking yao after another surged out, each radiating a terrifying aura. A sealing formation stood outside the rift, but it had already been breached by the two terrifying waves of energy and the erosion of the vast quantities of demonic qi.

The instant the sealing formation broke, scorching winds swept in from every direction. Lin Zheyu and Zong Linjing controlled their respective formation node, pouring vast amounts of energy into the formation. Using their energy as a catalyst, they activated the formation’s energy pool and unleashed the Heaven-Scorching Grand Formation. Terrifying flames capable of scorching heaven and earth erupted throughout the pitch-black void, causing the temperature to soar at an astonishing rate.

As the yao charged out of the rift and entered this blazing domain, they let out agonized shrieks. Only a small number of the yao in the demon realm were unafraid of scorching flames, like the Purple Flame Qilin Yao. Most feared extreme heat and energy of the utmost strength and yang. However, the Heaven-Scorching Grand Formation was not the true killing move used against them. It merely suppressed their tremendous vitality and weakened their condition. The true killing move was...

The sound of air being torn apart rang out as sword phantoms formed from azure energy abruptly materialized in the void. Their sheer number filled the entire expanse. Lin Zheyu narrowed his eyes and spread his powerful perception. Under his control, the countless swords shot toward the yao, slicing them into writhing chunks of flesh.

At the same time, one formation after another lit up. The cultivators manning the second and third defensive lines activated their formations and joined in the slaughter of the yao.

Booming rumbles continued to erupt from within the rift as the concentration of demonic qi in the air rose ever higher. Even martial artists with strong resistance to demonic qi were beginning to struggle while fighting amid such dense concentrations. Zong Linjing frowned slightly as a trace of savage violence flashed through her eyes, but she suppressed it in an instant.

Lin Zheyu, by contrast, seemed entirely unaffected by the demonic qi, despite its extreme density. Golden energy surged within him, resisting the endless stream of demonic qi attempting to invade his body. However, to avoid appearing too unusual, he used his divine patterns to absorb some of the demonic qi, disguising himself as though he were also suffering from its corruption.

A terrifying roar suddenly rang out. A hundred-meter-long yao burst from the rift. Its entire body was pitch-black and covered in hideous fleshy growths, making it resemble a gigantic black dragon.

”A seven-pattern yao! Even a yao this terrifying has appeared!” Lin Zheyu’s gaze sharpened slightly, though he was not overly concerned.

He stood within the formation and was protected by it, so he would face little danger unless the formation was breached. For Zong Linjing and the others, however, there was another threat. They had to endure the corrupting effects of the yao will and demonic qi.

The first defensive line was the closest to the rift, where the concentrations of demonic qi and yao will were astonishingly high. Ordinary immortal cultivators could not remain here for long. Only martial artists with strong resistance to demonic qi and yao will could guard the formation node along the first defensive line.

Terrifying crashes rang out. The dragon-like yao rampaged wildly through the formation, relying on its formidable defenses and terrifying regenerative power to repeatedly hurl its enormous body against the formation.

Hidden outside the formation, Shi Tianyun smiled faintly when he saw the dragon-like yao emerge. ”Oh? An intelligent yao has actually appeared this time. Hehe, what a perfect opportunity!”

He formed a hand seal with his right hand, sending dozens of wisps of cold flame into the formation. Concealed by the Heaven-Scorching Grand Formation, the tiny, frigid flames appeared utterly insignificant and incapable of having any effect.

Shi Tianyun did not dare tamper with the formation too openly, nor did he possess the ability to do so. However, using wisps of Netherfrost Flame to lure the yao into attacking Lin Zheyu’s position posed no difficulty whatsoever.

A sinister glint flashed through Shi Tianyun’s eyes as he murmured with a faint smile, ”Tsk, tsk. What an excellent vessel. If I can obtain his corpse, my Netherfrost Flame will advance to an even higher level!”

His figure flickered and merged into the void before disappearing. He had done everything necessary. Now, it all depended on whether this yao invasion proved powerful enough and whether Xiao Yu of the Martial Alliance was fortunate enough to survive. One of the experts controlling the Heaven-Scorching Grand Formation was a member of the Shi Family. The moment the yao breached the formation node guarded by Xiao Yu and killed him, that Shi Family expert would manipulate the formation to preserve his corpse.

Even if something unexpected occurred and the yao devoured Xiao Yu’s corpse entirely, it would not matter. This was merely an idle move on the board. It would be best if it succeeded, but if it failed, Shi Tianyun still had other options, though they would be considerably more troublesome. After all, hunting experts with powerful bodies among the ancient yao and barbarian tribes was no easy task.

***

Yao poured from the rift like a surging tide, packed so densely that their numbers were terrifying. This was the first time Lin Zheyu had ever seen so many yao. These mindless creatures knew nothing but slaughter. Sacrificing their lives and bodies, they charged relentlessly into the surrounding formations and restrictions.

There are far too many yao, aren’t there? Lin Zheyu marveled inwardly.

Despite being slaughtered by countless sword lights, the number of yao did not decrease. Instead, as more continued pouring in like a raging tide, their numbers rose at a slow but steady rate. These yao were not particularly powerful. Most were five-pattern or six-pattern, equivalent to the Foundation Establishment and Golden Core realms. Against the Heaven-Scorching Grand Formation and the Sword-Slaughtering Formation, they had no power to resist.

However, the sheer number of yao was simply overwhelming. Enough ants could bite an elephant to death. With so many yao flooding forth and sacrificing their lives to batter the formations and restrictions without pause, the vast reserves of energy stored within them were being depleted at an astonishing rate.

A thunderous crash suddenly rang out. The dragon-like yao roared and charged toward the formation node guarded by Lin Zheyu. Its enormous body slammed into the barrier surrounding the eye with a deafening boom.

Lin Zheyu’s gaze sharpened slightly. ”An intelligent yao! It actually saw through the formation’s concealment and discovered the location of this formation node!”

However, there was not the slightest trace of panic on his face. A mere seven-pattern intelligent yao could never break through the defensive formation surrounding the formation node. With a thought, he sent more than a dozen sword lights shooting toward the dragon-like yao.

The sword lights were exceedingly fast, but the strength of a seven-pattern yao was not to be underestimated. The dense growths covering the dragon-like yao were incomparably hard, and the sword lights could barely pierce its outer defenses. Their bombardment reduced it to a bloody mess, but it recovered completely in the blink of an eye.

The formation nodes guarded by Lin Zheyu and Zong Linjing were not offensive types. Their primary purpose was to maintain the normal operation of the formation. The barriers surrounding them were extremely powerful and could withstand attacks at the peak of the Nascent Soul realm. However, the offensive power Lin Zheyu could command through the formation was only sufficient to deal with seven-pattern yao below the Nascent Soul realm.

Oh no, the location of Fellow Xiao’s formation node has been exposed! A trace of concern flashed through Zong Linjing’s eyes when she saw what was happening on Lin Zheyu’s side.

However, there was nothing she could do. Faced with such a vast and ferocious horde of yao, Zong Linjing could barely maintain her own formation node. She had no strength to spare to help Lin Zheyu out of his predicament.