Immortality Begins With Internal Breathing-Chapter 92: Baleful Yin Force (I)
Splash, splash.
At a small river deep within Beast Roar Mountain, Lin Zheyu plunged headfirst into the water. It was the dead of winter, and the river was bitterly cold. Steam rose from his body in waves.
"This should erase any traces of my aura, right?" muttered Lin Zheyu to himself.
Lately, whenever he had free time, he had been reading the Toxicology Codex, learning a great deal from it. This world was filled with countless strange plants and creatures, and among them were dozens that could be refined into powders used for tracking and locating targets.
Most of these powders were exceedingly rare and could not be purchased on the open market. But even the Xing Family possessed some, so with the Zhao Family's power and their mastery of poison arts, they certainly had many more.
After cleaning himself, Lin Zheyu sorted through the belongings taken from his enemies. The pouches contained various poisons, pills, and around 20 taels of silver. Among the many powders and pills, he could identify only two with his current knowledge; the rest were beyond his recognition. He dared not touch them carelessly, fearing they might be highly toxic.
"Hm? This powder must be what they scraped from the charred plants and flesh earlier, right?"
Lin Zheyu opened a small vial, revealing a foul-smelling black powder inside. When he had returned to retrieve the discarded pack, he noticed that the charred parts of the plants had been scraped off, as had the blackened portions of the flesh, which were then tossed aside.
It was clear that the Zhao Family understood what they were doing; they knew that this blackened powder was the truly valuable part.
Are they collecting this powder to use it for poison-making? wondered Lin Zheyu.
He speculated as he tucked the vial of black powder safely away. This substance was worth studying. If he ever encountered a living corpse, understanding it in advance would help him prepare countermeasures.
***
By the time he returned to Songyi City, dusk had already fallen.
"When did a whole army appear out here?"
About 5 kilometers outside Songyi City, Lin Zheyu spotted a fully armed force. There were roughly 2000 soldiers, all robust and powerful, and they exuded a suffocating killing intent. The combined murderous aura of 2000 elite soldiers surged into the sky like a storm and could be felt, even from afar
"Are they deploying troops to suppress the rebel army?" muttered Lin Zheyu, speculating.
If the rebel army could be suppressed, Songyi City would become much more stable. But stability wasn't necessarily a good thing. Once order was restored and the bandits outside the city were gone, he would lose a source of extra income. He observed the scene from a distance and didn't linger.
Upon returning to the city, he passed by Elder Chen Peijun's house, but no one was home. He guessed the old man had gone off to the pleasure quarters again.
He wrote a note and slipped it into the doorframe, saying he had questions to ask tomorrow afternoon, then turned and left. Elder Chen and him had agreed earlier that if he came by with questions and the old man wasn't home, he could leave a note to arrange a time.
When he returned home, Lin Zheyu saw a young boy squatting by his door. The boy wore a servant's garb and had a gloomy expression. He was idly poking at ants on the ground, but when he looked up and saw Lin Zheyu returning, his face lit up with delight. He had been waiting there all day without seeing anyone, so his legs had gone numb from squatting.
"Master Lin, I've finally found you. This is an invitation from my young master. He invites you to visit the Chen residence tomorrow at the You hour[1]."
The boy took out a card and handed it over. Lin Zheyu took it and saw that it was from Chen Xihong.
"Very well. Tell your young master I will attend tomorrow," said Lin Zheyu with a nod.
He was quite interested in the Chen Family's Berserker Art. Even if he couldn't learn it, sparring with Chen Mu might still offer some valuable insights.
The next morning, a rich medicinal fragrance filled the courtyard. On this day, Lin Zheyu did not go out but stayed home to train. After several days of nurturing his energy, his essence, qi, and spirit had reached their peak. It was another day suited for cultivating Origin Force.
In the courtyard, Lin Zheyu moved with agile footwork and astonishing speed. At times, he crashed into the wooden stake with a Barbaric Ox Charge; at others, he swept his right leg across, his body wreathed in a fierce momentum that was far more solid than before. The past few days of battling ferocious beasts in the mountains had not greatly increased his momentum, but it had become significantly more refined.
After more than 4 hours, nearly 6, Lin Zheyu stopped, breathing heavily.
[Heaven Rewards the Diligent]
[Name: Lin Zheyu]
[Origin Force: 1] 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺
[Skills: Barbaric Ox Fist (Perfection), Golden Goose Technique (Fifth Stage: 14%), Tortoise Breath Grand Method (Third Stage: 2%), Sixfold Saber (Initial Mastery: 4%), Poison King Body (First Stage: 0%)]
Lin Zheyu stared at the Origin Force within his consciousness and murmured to himself, "I can finally test whether my earlier theory holds. If it does, advancing the Poison King Body will no longer be a major problem."
He rested for a while to regain some of his strength. Then, he fetched a set of Blood-Nourishing Bone-Fortifying Decoction herbs from his room, all of which he had already ground into powder. He took a wooden basin, poured the powdered herbs into it, added water, and stirred the mixture gently until it was even.
After preparing the basin, he poured out the decoction from his medicine pot, which contained the medicinal power of three full sets of the Blood-Nourishing Bone-Fortifying Decoction. He intended to test whether, by grinding the herbs into powder and using water as a medium to make contact through his arm, the mysterious energy could still draw out their medicinal power.
However, just in case the experiment failed, he had prepared three more sets of the decoction as a backup to prevent leaving him severely depleted of blood qi. Including the powder in the basin, he had a total of four sets worth of herbs.
He submerged his right hand into the basin and felt the chill of the water.
Use one unit of Origin Force to improve the Golden Goose Technique!
The thought flashed from his mind, and his consciousness entered the familiar inner space where he began frenziedly cultivating the Golden Goose Technique.
At the same time, mysterious energy surged from within his body. Part of it flowed into his stomach, drawing out the power of the decoction within, while another portion extended through his arm into the basin.
The medicinal power within the powdered herbs responded to the pull of the mysterious energy, flowing along his arm and into his body. Nourished by the mysterious energy and the decoction's medicinal power, his body, which was exhausted and weakened moments ago, quickly began to recover.
A steady stream of blood qi was refined within him, compressed and purified under the influence of the mysterious energy. After just a few breaths, he withdrew from the consciousness space. His eyes flickered briefly in confusion before shining with brilliant light.
"It works!"
Lin Zheyu was overjoyed. The blood qi in his body hadn't fully returned to its peak, just as it hadn't during his previous breakthrough. Four sets' worth of the decoction's herbs were not enough to fully meet the energy demand of an Origin Force upgrade. But the shortfall wasn't large either, and using five sets would have been somewhat wasteful.
Lin Zheyu sensed his body's condition and said to himself, "The effect is the same as brewing and drinking the decoction; no medicinal power is lost."
His theory had proven correct; it wasn't necessary to ingest the herbs for the mysterious energy to draw out their power. By using water as a medium and channeling through his arm, the mysterious energy could still extract the herbs' medicinal essence. Even without grinding the herbs into powder, it would likely still work. He had only ground them into powder to minimize the chance of failure.
This will make things much easier. I won't have to spend so much time brewing decoctions every day. And when I head to Baishi Mountain in a few days, I can focus on strengthening myself without worry, thought Lin Zheyu.
In just a few days, he would be heading to Baishi Mountain for a month-long garrison assignment. Baishi Mountain was home to many powerful experts, including those in the Blood Qi Realm.
If he brewed too much Blood-Nourishing Bone-Fortifying Decoction at once there, the wind could easily carry its scent, and such an anomaly would quickly draw attention. After all, what Bone Forging Realm cultivator would dare consume such a potent tonic, let alone four doses at once?
[Heaven Rewards the Diligent]
[Name: Lin Zheyu]
[Origin Force: 0]
[Skills: Barbaric Ox Fist (Perfection), Golden Goose Technique (Fifth Stage: 27%), Tortoise Breath Grand Method (Third Stage: 2%), Sixfold Saber (Initial Mastery: 4%), Poison King Body (First Stage: 0%)]
Lin Zheyu looked at the data in his consciousness. The Golden Goose Technique was still quite a distance from achieving full perfection at the fifth stage and triggering a complete transformation of his blood qi.
"Next time, I'll try using 1 unit of Origin Force to see how far I can push the Poison King Body. I'd really like to see if using Origin Force to advance it won't consume my essence or shorten my lifespan," murmured Lin Zheyu to himself.
3 or 4 units of Origin Force would not significantly improve his current combat strength. But if those same 3 or 4 units could enhance his poison resistance, he wouldn't have to fight so cautiously against others, and the resulting boost to his combat strength would far exceed what he'd gain by investing them in the Golden Goose Technique.
He didn't need to advance it too far, and would only need it to reach the perfection of the third stage of the Poison King Body. At the third stage, the Poison King Body could neutralize most common poisons. Even if he were struck by a highly virulent toxin, his powerful resistance would greatly weaken its effects.
According to the Toxicology Codex, the first stage is best cultivated over 7 years or more, the second over 8, and the third over 10. To cultivate the Poison King Body to the third stage would normally take at least 25 years.
However, the actual time spent in poison tempering is brief. After each session, one must rest for more than 7 days to let the body recover and avoid depleting its essence or causing toxin buildup. If one were to perform poison tempering daily without taking rest, the time could be shortened to less than 4 years.
In theory, within the consciousness space, my vitality is limitless and requires no rest. That might shorten the time even further. Perhaps just 2 or 3 units of Origin Force would be enough to raise the Poison King Body to the perfection of the third stage!
Lin Zheyu ran through the calculations in his mind and concluded that the plan was highly feasible.
1. 酉时 (yǒu shí) is one of the twelve traditional Chinese time periods (时辰 shíchen) used to divide the day. It refers to 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM in today's timekeeping. ☜
