Immortality Begins With Internal Breathing-Chapter 174: It Became Shorter (I)

The moon shone bright among the sparse stars.

Under the clear moonlight, Lin Zheyu sat with his eyes closed and brows tightly furrowed, as if enduring unbearable pain. Within his body, a vast, mysterious force drew immense medicinal power through his veins.

After resting for over two hours and recovering from the pain, he began a new round of enhancement. During his first enhancement, he had used 2 units of Origin Force, completely consuming the medicinal strength of three sets of Absolute Dust Blood Coagulating Powder.

The blood qi within his body had recovered to about ninety percent, and that was after he had trained with his blood qi still full; if he had just broken through his limit, 2 units of Origin Force and three sets of Absolute Dust Blood Coagulating Powder would not have sufficed, leaving his blood qi depleted. Using the Hundred Refinements Treasure Manual to refine and reshape his body consumed even more energy than he had imagined.

A few breaths later, Lin Zheyu opened his eyes, utterly drained in spirit. His head spun dizzily, and the lingering pain from his intense training in the consciousness space had yet to fade, haunting his mind like an illusion.

"Fuck... My mind feels like it's reaching its limit."

After resting a while, Lin Zheyu finally steadied himself.

Body-refining techniques were notoriously difficult to practice; they required inhuman torment to further strengthen an already formidable physique. It was precisely because of that unbearable suffering that so few chose to cultivate body-refining techniques.

Yet Lin Zheyu had even made some modifications to the technique, increasing its difficulty considerably. He was relying on the infinite recovery of his consciousness to endure the punishment.

The difficulty had increased tenfold, and so had the pain. Because his training in the consciousness space lacked medicinal baths and ointments, he had to increase the difficulty to compensate; otherwise, his improvement speed would have been drastically slower. And to reach Perfection, the amount of Origin Force required would multiply several times over.

[Heaven Rewards the Diligent]

[Name: Lin Zheyu]

[Origin Force: 3]

[Skills: Raging Wind Slash (Perfection), Golden Goose Technique (Ninth Stage: 100%), Hundred Refinements Treasure Manual (Second Stage: 45%), Tortoise Breath Grand Method (Third Stage: 100%)]

"I had to use 2 units of Origin Force to reach 45% of the second stage. Once all 5 units are spent, I think I’ll be able to reach the third stage."

Lin Zheyu looked at the data within his consciousness. As expected, his accumulated Origin Force was only enough to bring him into the third stage.

This body-refining technique was said to grant, upon reaching Perfection, a physique as powerful as that of a Marrow Refining Realm beast. Such a beastly physique was far beyond what a Marrow Refining Realm martial artist could compare to.

Though the physiques of Marrow Refining Realm beasts varied in strength, even the weakest among them far surpassed human martial artists of the same realm.

The technique's effect was astonishing, but its difficulty was equally great; most martial artists would never achieve perfection in it, even in a lifetime.

Lin Zheyu picked up a dagger beside him and drew it lightly across his arm. Even when using 10% of his strength, he failed to cut the skin. He increased his strength to 50%, and only then did the blade break the skin. That 50% was half of his full power when not using the blood qi burst technique.

"My skin's defense is getting stronger and becoming more and more like that of a beast," Lin Zheyu murmured in awe.

He still had 3 units of Origin Force left, and he estimated that if he used them all to train the Hundred Refinements Treasure Manual to the third stage, his defense would reach about 80% of Little Black's.

Without using the blood qi burst technique, even his full-strength strike could only make Little Black feel a slight sting. Even with a dagger and full force, he could only pierce its outer fur defense. Only by using the blood qi burst technique could he pose any real threat to it.

"After all my hard work, my defense only reaches 80% of Little Black's... These beasts truly are blessed by nature."

Lin Zheyu couldn't help but feel a little envious of Little Black's natural talent. That little creature did nothing but eat and sleep all day, yet it was still so powerful. Comparing oneself to others was truly maddening.

Though Little Black was only at the second transformation of blood qi, its speed and defense already surpassed most beasts at the fourth. However, its offensive power was slightly weaker—about the same as other second transformation beasts.

"I'll continue tomorrow. The Coagulating Powder is running out, and my mind has reached its limit," Lin Zheyu muttered to himself.

He had no desire to continue cultivating now. It was simply too painful. The pain of breaking through one's limits was brief, only a few hours at most. But in the consciousness space, the endless training, tempering, and grinding of his body stretched on like years of agony. It went on and on, without end. It was terrifying.

***

The night was deep and dark. In Bafang City, lights still gleamed brightly. Late at night, two uninvited guests arrived at the Yan Residence.

"What is the meaning of this, Forest Net Temple?" A middle-aged man in his forties, seated at the head of the hall, asked in a deep voice. His tone carried a restrained but unmistakable anger.

"Brother Yan jests. It is nothing more than ordinary business competition," said Ge Wuning with a smile after taking a sip of tea.

He appeared to be in his seventies, yet he addressed the man in his forties as Brother Yan. There was likely a reason rooted in power. Or perhaps the man truly was older than Ge Wuning. After all, once one broke through to the Marrow Refining Realm, it was possible to reshape the body and appear younger.

"Heh, ordinary business competition? Did you really need to send so many martial artists to stir up trouble in my territory? Your disciples from Forest Net Temple injured more than ten members of my Yan family. I'll be settling that debt with you sooner or later!" Yan Jun let out a cold snort.

A terrifying aura spread through the hall, pressing down on Ge Wuning and Yong Kang until they trembled uncontrollably. They were only third transformation cultivators; against the oppressive might of a Marrow Refining Realm expert, they could only endure silently.

The aura lasted only a brief instant before fading away. Even so, sweat had already soaked through the clothes of both Ge Wuning and Yong Kang. They exchanged glances, their expressions heavy.

Yan Jun's momentum had grown stronger! He was getting ever closer to transforming it into intent.

"You've spoken harshly, Brother Yan. I'll have the disciples of Forest Net Temple restrain themselves. And if you're willing to share that person's information, the Temple will owe you a favor," Ge Wuining said while he kept smiling pleasantly, showing no fear despite Yan Jun's show of force.

"Brother Yan, your momentum grows ever sharper. You'll soon transform it into intent, won't you? But after transforming it into intent, do you know the method to ascend into the Force Transformation Realm?" said Yong Kang with a low chuckle.

"What if I do? And what if I don't?" replied Yan Jun flatly, seemingly unmoved. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"So Brother Yan truly lives up to his reputation as a man of loyalty and honor. Though I wonder, would you be interested in an opportunity to ascend into the Force Transformation Realm?" said Ge Wuning with a smile.

Oh?

A spark flickered in Yan Jun's mind before he said, "Might you explain in more detail?"

"Haha, of course."

Ge Wuning laughed heartily. He had been waiting for those very words from Yan Jun. In his eyes, there was no such thing as true loyalty or righteousness—only insufficient bargaining chips. If the price wasn't enough, one only needed to keep adding more.