Immortality Begins With Internal Breathing-Chapter 103: Transcendent Mastery (II)

At the northern side of Baishi Mountain, Lin Zheyu found Jia Yanyong and the others, all of them bearing wounds.

"You're all right, I hope?" asked Lin Zheyu.

"We're fine! These are just minor injuries. Lord Qiu is the one in serious condition," replied Jia Yanyong.

"In serious condition? Is his life in danger?" Lin Zheyu asked. "Where is he? I'll go check on him."

"He's getting treated by the physician. Let's go together," said Xie Jiang. Baishi Mountain had set up a small medical hall beside the warehouse and stationed a physician there. They arrived at the clinic, which was crowded with patients after the battle.

Inside the inner room, Qiu Gaoxuan lay on a bed, his skin tinged with purplish-blue and his face a shade of iron grey.

"Lord Qiu, are you all right?" asked Jia Yanyong worriedly.

"I'm fine. The doctor says I just need a few months of rest," said Qiu Gaoxuan lightly. Even in such a condition, he still wore the same indifferent expression as always.

"Lord Qiu, what happened to your chest?" asked Lin Zheyu.

He pointed to Qiu Gaoxuan's chest, where white bandages were wrapped tight and streaks of fresh blood had seeped through, staining the cloth red.

"This is where that monster struck me with his palm. The doctor said I was poisoned by corpse poison. They had to cut out a large chunk of flesh, or the poison would have slowly spread through my whole body," said Qiu Gaoxuan.

He pointed to a nearby spot where a chunk of purplish-black flesh lay, its surface charred in many places. Lin Zheyu studied it closely. It looked almost identical to the flesh he had seen before in Beast Roar Mountain.

"What did it feel like when you were struck by the living corpse?" asked Lin Zheyu curiously. He had never seen a living corpse before, let alone fought one himself.

"His strength was terrifying. The moment his palm hit me, I was blasted into the air. The instant his palm touched me, a chilling aura surged into my body, and I was paralyzed on the spot, unable to move. It took quite some time before I could move again.

"That creature is extremely strange, so you must not touch it. Once you do, your body will go numb, and you'll be poisoned. Thankfully, Lord Ren Jie arrived in time. Otherwise, I'd be dead," said Qiu Gaoxuan.

"Where is Lord Ren Jie? I haven't seen him since," asked Lin Zheyu.

He wanted to meet the Blood Qi Realm powerhouse of the Ren Family. Using his strength as a benchmark, Lin Zheyu hoped to gauge the gap between himself and the living corpse.

"I know about that," Xie Jiang said with a smile. "I heard that Lord Ren Jie led the living corpse all the way to Lion Valley, where he then fought the bandits. He was injured there and has gone back to recover."

After checking in on Qiu Gaoxuan, the group returned to their posts. With the raid still fresh from yesterday, the defenses at Baishi Mountain had become much tighter. Since many had been killed or wounded, the Feihong Gang had dispatched fresh reinforcements to the site.

***

Inside Lion Valley.

The valley was shrouded in mists and miasma and was crawling with venomous beasts and insects, most of which were carrying poison or resistance to it. Within a grove of dusky maple trees deep in the valley stood a cluster of wooden houses. Inside the largest one, more than a dozen burly men were gathered. Their auras were powerful, and each of them was at least an Organ Forging Realm expert.

"Priest, your strength, and that of your men, is formidable. Why not act directly? If you had, we wouldn't have lost so many brothers!" said one man on the left with clear dissatisfaction.

"Exactly! And didn't you say you could provide talisman tokens so we could form a battle formation like the City Guard? Where are those talismans? We haven't seen a single one."

"You keep making us fight, but we get nothing in return. Isn't that a bit much?"

Voices rose one after another as the men vented their frustration.

These people, clad in black and crimson robes and their faces painted with strange markings, had entered Lion Valley under the banner of the Nine Nether Sect to recruit followers. With overwhelming strength, they had eventually subdued the valley's bandits.

"Patience. The time is not yet right. If we act now, it will only bring ruin upon us," said the man in the lead calmly.

He was a man of about 40, dressed in black and crimson robes adorned with the shadowy image of a demon god. His presence was steeped in mystery.

"Hmph. It's never the right time, is it? Then what about the pills you promised to strengthen us? This time, we attacked Baishi Mountain and tried to seize their weapons exactly as you asked, and we suffered heavy losses because of it. You owe us some compensation!" said the burly man on the right. It was he who had led the southern assault that night, losing many men in the process.

"You failed your mission. Why should you receive any pills? If a task is too difficult, then you should go recruit refugees and absorb other bandits. Expand the ranks of the Nine Nether Sect. The more followers you gather, the greater your contribution. With 100 contribution points, you can exchange them for a pill that will let you break through to the Blood Qi Realm," said the man coolly.

The men's faces darkened at his words. They had attacked Baishi Mountain in the first place to earn contribution points. If they had succeeded, the points would have been enough to trade for more than a dozen pills. Unfortunately, they had failed.

***

After the bandits' massive assault, the defenses at Baishi Mountain became far tighter.

Time passed slowly, and the bandits fell silent and launched no further attacks. Lin Zheyu's days were now exceedingly leisurely. He spent his days training in martial arts and studying the Toxicology Codex. At night, he lit campfires and roasted wild game. Life felt full and content.

In the blink of an eye, 16 days had passed. Lin Zheyu had already spent more than half a month at Baishi Mountain. In the forest, he arrived as usual to train. The sounds of thudding blows echoed through the trees.

The blood qi surging within Lin Zheyu's body was immense, and as it flowed through his veins, it produced a faint, thunderous hum. 4 days ago, he had finally broken through to the first transformation of blood qi, and his strength had more than doubled compared to when he was at the perfection of the fourth stage.

Whoosh.

Lin Zheyu's fist shot forward, unleashing a tremendous surge of blood qi as a gust of force roared outward. He unleashed his blood qi without restraint. After reaching the first transformation, he could fight at full power for roughly 10 minutes. After that, the blood qi within his body would be completely spent.

Six hours later, Lin Zheyu stopped to catch his breath, realizing that the time he could push his limits had increased once again.

[Heaven Rewards the Diligent]

[Name: Lin Zheyu]

[Origin Force: 2]

[Skills: Barbaric Ox Fist (Perfection), Golden Goose Technique (Sixth Stage: 2%), Tortoise Breath Grand Method (Third Stage: 2%), Sixfold Saber (Initial Mastery: 32%), Poison King Body (First Stage: 0%)]

"This time I gained 2 more units of Origin Force, but unfortunately, I'm running out of herbs. Only 7 sets of Blood-Nourishing Bone-Fortifying Decoction ingredients remain," muttered Lin Zheyu.

Over the past 16 days, he had accumulated a considerable amount of Origin Force, all of which had been used to advance his Golden Goose Technique, nearly depleting his herb stock. Now that he had reached the first transformation of blood qi, the amount of medicinal strength required for improvement had risen significantly.

By his estimation, each unit of Origin Force now required the potency of at least six sets of herbs. After all, each breakthrough did more than just temper his body; it instantly restored his depleted blood qi to its peak.

After resting and regaining some strength, Lin Zheyu began preparing the herbs. He filled a basin with water, poured in the powdered herbs from six sets of Blood-Nourishing Bone-Fortifying Decoction, and stirred the mixture thoroughly with his hand.

Use 1 unit of Origin Force to enhance the Golden Goose Technique!

Lin Zheyu's comprehension was exceptional. After so many breakthroughs, his understanding of the Golden Goose Technique was nearing its peak, pushing the lightness technique toward a transcendent level.

A mysterious energy surged forth, swiftly restoring his blood qi and compressing and refining it further under its influence. With each unit refined, the energy contained within his blood qi grew stronger, and the power it could unleash became even more terrifying.

In just a few seconds, Lin Zheyu's body was further strengthened. He opened his eyes and exhaled a long, steady breath.

[Heaven Rewards the Diligent]

[Name: Lin Zheyu]

[Origin Force: 1]

[Skills: Barbaric Ox Fist (Perfection), Golden Goose Technique (Sixth Stage: 12%), Tortoise Breath Grand Method (Third Stage: 2%), Sixfold Saber (Initial Mastery: 32%), Poison King Body (First Stage: 0%)]

"It only improved by 10%. Wouldn't that mean I need 10 whole units of Origin Force just to reach the seventh stage?" murmured Lin Zheyu to himself. He was starting to feel that the Golden Goose Technique lacked power in its later stages.

The further he cultivated it, the slower his progress became. At this point, he could only rely on ordinary methods, gradually tempering his body and refining his blood qi until it underwent a qualitative change.

Perhaps I should change to a different technique, thought Lin Zheyu.

His comprehension of the Golden Goose Technique had long since reached an extraordinary level, but its speed in tempering and refining blood qi was far too slow, so his realm refused to advance.

But finding a new technique isn't easy. The great families of Songyi City never share theirs, and those sold on the black market are all common-grade techniques. When my assignment at Baishi Mountain ends, I'll ask around and see if there's a place where I can obtain a higher-grade technique, thought Lin Zheyu.