Immortality Begins With Internal Breathing

More and more seven-pattern yao poured through. The demon realm seemed to be taking the invasion seriously this time, as the unending army surging from the rift was frighteningly vast.

An exceptionally fierce battle was also raging inside the rift itself. Terrifying aftershocks spread from it in waves of energy. Many yao were caught in those waves before they could even escape the vicinity of the rift and were instantly reduced to black ash, scattering into nothingness.

”This is bad. More and more yao are converging on this position.” Lin Zheyu could not help frowning slightly as he watched their numbers swell.

Although the defensive formation surrounding the eye would not be breached anytime soon, the position would eventually fall if the endless horde of yao continued bombarding it.

”Strange. This formation node is concealed by a formation. The yao shouldn’t have been able to discover it,” Lin Zheyu said in puzzlement.

He looked toward Zong Linjing nearby. The formation node she guarded had not been discovered by the yao. The Heavenly Eye within his sea of consciousness abruptly opened, blazing with brilliant golden light as he peered through the energy barrier surrounding the nexus and observed the situation outside.

Lin Zheyu wanted to determine what was happening. However, the dozens of wisps of Netherfrost Flame secretly released by Shi Tianyun had long since dissipated without leaving the slightest trace. Even his Heavenly Eye failed to discover anything amiss.

”Will I have to reveal my true strength? Where is Senior Wang? Why hasn’t he arrived after all this time?” Lin Zheyu muttered.

The power of a formation did not depend solely upon the formation itself. It was also closely tied to the strength of the cultivator controlling it. If Lin Zheyu revealed his full strength, the formation would become correspondingly more powerful. Withstanding the yao’s attacks would pose no problem whatsoever.

The roars of the yao rose and fell without end. The area surrounding the formation node guarded by Lin Zheyu was soon engulfed by an enormous yao army.

Terrifying sword lights streaked across the sky and crashed down, blasting the yao surrounding the formation node into minced flesh. Yet as soon as those at the front died, more yao recklessly surged forward to continue battering Lin Zheyu’s position. There was no end to them. They simply could not all be killed.

”Were these yao bred within a Yao Demon Nest...? Isn’t this number a little excessive?” Lin Zheyu murmured as he watched the yao army engulf the formation node he guarded.

Even now, there was not the slightest trace of concern on his face. If he revealed his full strength, surviving would pose no problem, but he might have to abandon his identity as Xiao Yu afterward. After all, an ordinary man was innocent, but possessing treasure made him guilty. If he exposed too many secrets without sufficient strength or a powerful background, he would have no hope of keeping them safe. Fortunately, Lin Zheyu would not have to hesitate for much longer.

”Hahaha, this old man has arrived!”

A loud, hearty laugh suddenly rang out from beyond the formation, followed immediately by a terrifying series of crashes. A burly young man wreathed in astonishing blood qi charged into the yao horde, resembling both a god and a demon. Slaying a yao with every punch, he forcibly carved a path through their ranks.

”Senior Wang!” Lin Zheyu could not help breathing a slight sigh of relief as he watched Wang Zhengtian carve a bloody path through the yao army.

It seemed he would not have to abandon this identity after all. Wang Zhengtian truly deserved to stand alongside Qin Hu and Xia Ping as one of the Three Heroes of the Martial Alliance. Lin Zheyu estimated that his strength had already reached the peak of the Nascent Soul realm. No wonder Wang Zhengtian and Ji Haozhong had been able to hold the first defensive line for so long.

Wang Zhengtian blasted apart a yao lunging toward him with a single punch, then turned to Lin Zheyu with a relaxed smile. ”Fellow Xiao, are you all right?”

”I’m fine. But if you had arrived any later, Senior, I wouldn’t have been.” Lin Zheyu shook his head.

Had Wang Zhengtian come any later, Lin Zheyu would have been forced to reveal his true strength and then look for an opportunity to flee.

Wang Zhengtian blasted apart another two yao with a single punch as he said with a smile, ”Hahaha, I’m glad you’re all right. Open a gap in the formation node and leave the rest to me.”

Hearing this, Lin Zheyu manipulated the formation with a thought, opening a gap where Wang Zhengtian stood.

Wang Zhengtian swept out his palm, blasting away the yao attempting to force their way into the formation node. His figure flickered as he slipped through the gap. Lin Zheyu stepped back, yielding the position from which the formation was controlled, then sat down cross-legged nearby. Wang Zhengtian stepped forward and pressed his right hand against the formation node as immense energy surged from within his body.

”Hehe, there certainly are a lot of yao! Quite a few intelligent yao have come this time. Since you’re already here, don’t even think about going back.” Wang Zhengtian chuckled as a terrifying aura erupted from his body.

Under his control, the sword lights outside the formation node abruptly surged in power, accelerating to an inconceivable speed.

Under Wang Zhengtian’s control, more than a hundred sword lights plunged into the yao army like wolves among a flock of sheep and began slaughtering them with abandon. Before long, more than half of the densely packed yao surrounding the formation node had been killed.

”The power of formations is truly astonishing!” Lin Zheyu murmured softly.

At that moment, he gained a profound appreciation for the terrifying power of the Formation Dao. Even the densely packed yao army appeared pathetically fragile before the formation. Their only option was to rely on sheer numbers, sacrificing countless lives in an attempt to break through by force, and even then, success was far from certain.

If a battle between ordinary cultivators was akin to fighting with cold weapons, then using a formation was like riding into battle in a heavy tank. The difference between the two was enormous.

”If I can use divine patterns to reproduce the power of Immortal Dao formations and use the energy stored within my three great divine repositories to power them, then...” Lin Zheyu murmured softly as an almost imperceptible golden light gleamed in his eyes.

The golden Heavenly Eye within his sea of consciousness abruptly opened. With Wang Zhengtian now controlling the formation node, Lin Zheyu could finally take this opportunity to thoroughly study the surrounding formations and restrictions. Now that all the formations were fully activated, their profound intricacies were far easier to comprehend than before. Such an opportunity was exceedingly rare.

With Wang Zhengtian present, this formation node would remain secure as long as no eight-pattern yao comparable to the Deity Transformation realm emerged from the rift.

Lin Zheyu calmed his mind, cast aside every distracting thought, and immersed himself in comprehending the formation. The deafening roars of the yao, the terrifying energy ripples released by the fighting, and the violent tremors all around him failed to affect him in the slightest.

The golden Heavenly Eye within his sea of consciousness radiated brilliant golden light. Lin Zheyu had no intention of wasting such a rare opportunity, so he pushed the golden Heavenly Eye to its utmost limit.

Within his sea of consciousness, the boundless ocean of golden energy began churning as though it were boiling. Vast quantities of golden energy poured into the Heavenly Eye, causing it to blaze with dazzling golden light like a miniature sun within his sea of consciousness. His ocean-like reserves of golden energy rapidly diminished at a rate of nearly 1% per second. Despite lacking a physical form, the golden Heavenly Eye began to throb with pressure and piercing pain, as though it might burst apart.

”Hmm? What secret art is this young fellow using?” Wang Zhengtian suddenly turned and glanced at Lin Zheyu, puzzled and uncertain.

A moment ago, his powerful martial intuition had detected a mysterious aura. It was strange and elusive, yet when he tried to examine it more carefully, he could no longer sense anything at all.

”Hmm, why do I feel as though he can see right through me? Is this the spirit divine ability he awakened?” Wang Zhengtian muttered quietly.

According to the information he had received, Xiao Yu was a genius who had opened all three great divine repositories and awakened a unique spirit divine ability. Wang Zhengtian suspected that the aura he had sensed most likely came from Xiao Yu activating that ability. At this thought, he hurriedly circulated the energy within his body. The power of his Gu stirred, enveloping his entire body and concealing his aura.