Immortality Begins With Internal Breathing

Inside the great hall, wisps of an invisible, distorted aura emanated from the demonic cultivator. His features twisted repeatedly, his face deathly pale as beads of sweat covered his forehead and streamed down his cheeks. In a corner of the hall, another pale-faced man sat cross-legged, regulating his breathing and recovering.

The man's eyes, which had been stained pitch-black by demonic qi and the yao will, had returned to normal. Although his face remained pale, he looked more at ease than ever before. After the yao will and demonic qi were expelled, however, his sea of consciousness was left battered and riddled with damage.

The demonic cultivator could not conceal his shock as he murmured in disbelief, "Just who is Master? To think he could truly help me expel the yao will from my sea of consciousness!"

Possessing a secret technique capable of eliminating the yao will was not enough. One also needed unimaginably powerful perception to separate the yao will from the sea of consciousness without harming the mind or soul in the process.

"I thought I had less than three years left to live. Who would have imagined that I would encounter such a powerful expert? The heavens have not abandoned me, Lu Han!" the demonic cultivator murmured softly.

Thud!

Not long afterward, the other demonic cultivator collapsed weakly to the floor, but his face bore an expression of immense relief.

Lin Zheyu looked at Kong Yujing and said calmly, "It is your turn."

"Yes. Thank you, Master!" Kong Yujing replied excitedly.

Soon, more than a day had passed. After clearing the yao will from Kong Yujing's consciousness, Lin Zheyu instructed them to continue recruiting more demonic cultivators before taking his leave.

As they watched him disappear from the great hall, the two demonic cultivators who had acknowledged him as their master could not help but breathe quiet sighs of relief. This mysterious and unfathomably powerful senior exerted a terrifying pressure upon them.

"Fellow Kong, just who is our master?" Lu Han asked in a lowered voice, as though afraid that Lin Zheyu might hear him despite having already left.

"Do not pry into master's secrets. Simply focus on carrying out his orders," Kong Yujing replied coldly, her expression turning stern.

Lu Han was left speechless by her response. Given his former temperament, he would probably have attacked the moment they disagreed. However, after the yao will was removed from his sea of consciousness, his violent and brutal nature had subsided considerably. Moreover, now that he and Kong Yujing served the same master, it would be even more inappropriate to fight her.

***

Waves rolled across the Eastern Sea as Lin Zheyu strode leisurely through the void. Yet with every step, the space beneath his feet seemed to contract, carrying him more than a hundred meters in an instant. After taking in two peak Foundation Establishment-realm demonic cultivators as servants, Lin Zheyu instructed them to recruit more demonic cultivators.

Recruiting Kong Yujing, Lu Han, and the other demonic cultivators was merely a casual move Lin Zheyu had made for the future. Currently, those few subordinates were not of much use. However, countless demonic cultivators throughout the world practiced demon arts. In a few more years, once their numbers reached the hundreds or even thousands, he would finally have begun to build a force of his own.

Lin Zheyu gazed at the island below and thought, This is the place.

This place truly lived up to its reputation as a black market. It was a complete mess. Lin Zheyu alone could sense no fewer than thirty cultivators lurking in the shadows. However, they were all weaklings who posed no threat to him. His figure flickered, and he appeared at the entrance to the island.

The entire island was enveloped by a powerful island-protecting formation, with only a single entrance allowing access. Lin Zheyu paid one low-grade spirit stone and entered the island. The place was bustling with activity. This was the largest black market in the Chaotic Star Sea, and whenever it opened, large numbers of cultivators came to browse, regardless of whether they needed to purchase dharma artifacts or spirit herbs, hoping to stumble upon a hidden treasure.

Once on the island, Lin Zheyu's interest was piqued. The golden Heavenly Eye within his sea of consciousness abruptly opened, and he used its ability to discern the essence of things to see whether he could find any overlooked treasures at a bargain.

Unfortunately, after browsing for more than an hour, he found no bargains. These cultivators were all exceedingly shrewd. Even when they came across treasures they could not identify, they either kept them for themselves or set outrageously high prices, refusing to risk losing out in the slightest.

Lin Zheyu's eyes lit up slightly as he looked at the green bamboo on the stall, several arcs of lightning dancing across its surface. "Azure Thunder Nether Bamboo! What good luck. Someone here is actually selling Azure Thunder Nether Bamboo."

Azure Thunder Nether Bamboo was one of the spirit bamboos required for cultivating the Primordial Chaos True Art. This type of spirit bamboo was exceedingly rare and grew only in places where yin qi gathered. Moreover, such places also had to endure constant lightning strikes throughout the year. Even when both conditions were met, Azure Thunder Nether Bamboo might still fail to emerge, with the chances of it forming being less than one in a thousand. As a result, this spirit bamboo was generally quite expensive.

Lin Zheyu walked up to the stall and asked calmly, "Fellow friend, how much are you asking for this bamboo?"

Under the observation of the golden Heavenly Eye, Lin Zheyu could see that the power of Nether Thunder contained within this stalk was exceptionally strong, making it a prized specimen among Azure Thunder Nether Bamboo. The stall owner was a ruddy-faced old man. When he saw Lin Zheyu approach and inquire about it, a smile appeared on his lips.

The old man said enthusiastically, "This is top-grade Azure Thunder Nether Bamboo, more than three hundred years old. It is exceedingly rare."

The ruddy-faced old Daoist chuckled. "Fellow friend, you bear some resemblance to an old friend of mine. That must mean fate has brought us together. I will give you a discount, then. Three hundred low-grade spirit stones."

"Three hundred low-grade spirit stones? Old man, do you take me for someone who does not know the market? One hundred low-grade spirit stones," Lin Zheyu replied irritably.

This old man truly had the nerve to name such a price. Although Azure Thunder Nether Bamboo was rare and had a very low survival rate when cultivated, the conditions required to grow it were simple enough that it could easily be cultivated across vast areas. No matter how low its survival rate was, sheer scale could more than make up for it.

"This is wild Azure Thunder Nether Bamboo. It is far more effective than bamboo artificially matured with spirit power," the ruddy-faced old Daoist argued.

"One hundred low-grade spirit stones is far too little. I will accept no less than one hundred and fifty," the old Daoist countered.

Wild?

Lin Zheyu was even more speechless when he heard that word.

"Fellow friend, wild spirit bamboo is not worth much these days. Being wild means it has endured years of corrosion from demonic qi. I am concerned that it may contain too much yao will and that prolonged exposure to demonic qi has affected the quality of the Azure Thunder Nether Bamboo. Fifty low-grade spirit stones. I will not pay any more than that," Lin Zheyu said calmly.

"That is not how you should look at it. Azure Thunder Nether Bamboo embodies both ultimate yin and ultimate yang, with the two forces complementing one another. It has nothing to fear from demonic qi or yao will. Because wild spirit bamboo must constantly resist the corrosion of demonic qi and yao will over many years, a mysterious and powerful special energy is nurtured within it. That is precisely what makes wild spirit bamboo so valuable," the ruddy-faced old Daoist said with a chuckle, presenting his argument as though it were perfectly reasonable.

As Lin Zheyu listened to the ruddy-faced old Daoist, he could not help marveling at how glib the old bastard was. He truly knew how to spin a convincing tale. If the golden Heavenly Eye had not allowed Lin Zheyu to examine the Azure Thunder Nether Bamboo inside and out, even he might have been taken in.

"Fifty low-grade spirit stones each. I want one thousand stalks of Azure Thunder Nether Bamboo," Lin Zheyu said calmly. Based on his calculations, cultivating the Primordial Chaos True Art would require roughly a thousand stalks in total.

"Fifty low-grade spirit stones? Fellow friend, you... Huh?" The ruddy-faced old Daoist stared at him in disbelief. "Fellow friend, did you say you want to purchase one thousand stalks of Azure Thunder Nether Bamboo?"

This was a huge transaction! Even at fifty low-grade spirit stones per stalk, a thousand stalks would still be worth a full fifty mid-grade spirit stones.

"Deal!" The ruddy-faced old Daoist gritted his teeth and put on an expression as though he were reluctantly parting with something precious. After a moment of hesitation, he added, "However, one thousand stalks of Azure Thunder Nether Bamboo is quite a large order. You'll need to wait another two days."

Lin Zheyu nodded. "Very well. I will return tomorrow."

It appeared that this old Daoist had access to a supplier and could obtain large quantities of Azure Thunder Nether Bamboo at a low price.

"It is not that I distrust you, fellow friend. This is simply the custom in our line of business. You will need to pay one hundred low-grade spirit stones as a deposit. Here is my contract," the ruddy-faced old Daoist said with a smile.

With that, he took a sheet of parchment from inside his robes. The terms of their agreement were written upon it. The old Daoist cut his hand and used his blood essence as a medium to imprint his personal mark upon the parchment.

Lin Zheyu accepted the parchment, left behind one hundred low-grade spirit stones, and calmly took his leave. "See you tomorrow."

He had already made inquiries at the shops operated by the major factions. Even for bulk purchases, they charged a full eighty low-grade spirit stones per stalk, more than fifty percent higher than the old Daoist's price.

"Please wait, fellow friend. This is my Spirit Resonance Sphere. If you require anything else, feel free to contact me. I guarantee you the lowest prices!" the ruddy-faced old Daoist said with a smile. In his eyes, Lin Zheyu was a valuable customer worth cultivating a long-term relationship with.

"Oh? In that case, do you have Profound-Subduing Fruit Cores, White Essence Fruits, Eight-Direction Black Spirit Leaves..." Lin Zheyu proceeded to ask about all the treasure herbs he required for his cultivation.

The Primordial Chaos True Art was a powerful martial cultivation technique he had created after incorporating martial cultivation into martial cultivation. He alone knew the technique, so even if he revealed the spirit herbs required to cultivate it, there was no need to worry about exposing any of its secrets.

"Hmm, please wait a moment. Let me check." The ruddy-faced old Daoist's eyes lit up as he hurriedly began searching. This Fellow Daoist truly was a major customer. If he could secure his business, he might soon accumulate enough resources to advance to the False Core realm.

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