Chapter 742: Chapter 640: Breathing Technique Advancement, Conflict and Vindication (Combined Chapter)

"Fellow Daoist Shen really is trustworthy!" Lou Yi was overjoyed when he found out.

"Promises made to others, I, Shen Ao, will certainly fulfill!" Shen Ao said proudly.

His tone remained as arrogant as ever.

Yet, at this moment, Lou Yi inexplicably found him much more agreeable.

The Five-colored Lingzhi is crucial for the next stage of the Breathing Technique’s advancement.

Its importance is self-evident for Lou Yi, who has less than eight years left and is running out of time.

Two days later, the cultivator from the True Blood Sect arrived outside the painting studio to deliver treasures.

This was an elder cultivator whose cultivation was no less than Shen Ao’s, with gray hair and a strong body.

He wore a gray leather armor, revealing two muscular arms capable of carrying a horse, with muscles protruding like small mountains.

A pair of fierce tiger eyes still hinted at the dominance he must have had in his youth.

Unfortunately, there was a lingering sense of decay around him.

Clearly, his Qi-Blood was in decline, with not much longevity left.

"Master Han!" Even the proud Shen Ao’s expression changed upon seeing this elder body cultivator, and he greeted him respectfully, "What brings you here?"

"Master Han." Jin Tingfeng and the black-armored cultivator with the surname Cao also greeted him.

It was evident this person held an extraordinary position in the True Blood Sect.

"I don’t have more than two years left anyway, might as well put this remaining warmth to use." The elder body cultivator’s tiger eyes turned to Shen Ao, "The item meant to extend my lifespan is here for you."

"Ah?!" Shen Ao couldn’t help but be greatly surprised upon hearing this, "Then..."

"No worries, I have no hope left as it is, living two years more or less doesn’t make a difference," the elder body cultivator laughed, 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Even if I were given an additional Third Level of the Spirit Platform out of thin air,

I have long since been beyond saving from Qi-Blood decline, unable to overcome the Heavenly Tribulation, why waste the sect’s rare resources?"

These words weighed heavily on everyone’s hearts present.

This is the harshness of the cultivation path.

If one misses the peak phase and begins to decline, even with suitable resources, they can only be seen but not used; one’s fate is already foreseeable, akin to waiting for death.

The cultivation path necessitates constant bold advancement, stagnation is synonymous with a slow death.

The elder body cultivator was very carefree, having long looked past everything.

The True Blood Sect’s purpose for sending him was clear, primarily for guarding and guiding the new blood.

It was very possible he might sacrifice for the newcomers if necessary.

Shen Ao silently received the Five-colored Lingzhi from his sect’s elder and handed it to Lou Yi.

After thanking everyone, Lou Yi said a few words.

He immediately left the group and headed to a remote rocky area, surrounded by giant rocks tens of feet high.

After setting an alert array, Lou Yi entered an unoccupied cave.

He opened a delicate purple wooden box engraved with intricate patterns.

Inside lay quietly, a dark red Lingzhi about the size of two palms.

The color of the Lingzhi was not fixed; it deepened every thirty breaths until it completely transformed to black after the fourth change, which is the origin of the Five-colored Lingzhi’s name.

Holding the Lingzhi, Lou Yi saw an almost imperceptible "+" symbol appear on the Attribute Panel behind the Breathing Technique’s third stage.

He imagined a force pressing onto it, and in the next moment:

"Yellow Extreme Breathing Technique (Third Stage, Proficient 0/1000 + Five-colored Lingzhi) → Yellow Extreme Breathing Technique (Third Stage, Mastery 0/5000 + Seven Apertures Spiritual Acumen Fruit)"

Strange memories surfaced in his mind.

Continuing from the previous memory, he was still the clan leader of Lu Zhuang.

In his youth, he led the clan to resist external enemies, and in old age sought new methods to replace old ones.

He induced the transformation of flesh near several critical acupoints to communicate with heaven and earth.

He absorbed Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi directly, much faster than the old method of consuming blood food and refining it.

After long experiments, by continuously communicating spirit with flesh, the old clan leader successfully transformed three regions:

Near the Baihui acupoint atop his head, near the Tan Zhong acupoint on his chest, and near the Weilu acupoint on his spine.

Three areas of transformed flesh simultaneously absorbed Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, pushing the old clan leader’s strength beyond any martial artist recorded in ancient texts.

However, human power has limits; after discovering the new method, the old clan leader extended his lifespan by decades,

but still couldn’t avoid aging, ultimately moving toward death.

Before dying, he regretted finding the new method too late; had he discovered it earlier, he could have achieved an even greater outcome, but unfortunately, heaven had deprived him of time.

Possibly due to heaven’s care or the clan leader’s vigorous fortune,

upon closing his eyes, he surprisingly reincarnated two hundred years back, becoming an infant in the amniotic fluid.

However, he still possessed the powerful soul of that two-hundred-year-old martial artist.

"Good, heaven hasn’t forsaken me, in this new life, I shall ascend to even greater heights!"

"...Hmm, the flesh of this infant no longer shrouded in mists, the spots easily transformed are distinctly perceived.

This is the difference between innate and acquired?"

"The human body has over twenty places similar to the Baihui, Tan Zhong, and Wei Lu acupoints, where the spirit can facilitate transformation.

Whistle... This easy?"

The old clan leader joyfully discovered that a task that eluded him his entire past life, could be easily accomplished in the womb, achieving better and further results...

The memory abruptly halted here as reality settled in, Lou Yi opened his eyes.

The next moment, a massive influx of Heaven and Earth energy poured into him, initiating the transformation of twenty-one flesh regions, such as under his arms and legs.

These flesh areas began to divide, grow, die, mutate, at a pace unknown previously, eventually altering their nature to interface with the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi.