Immortality Begins With Internal Breathing-Chapter 358: The Wind Rises (II)

Before advancing to the Force Transformation realm, martial artists relied on blood qi energy, which circulated through the blood vessels throughout the body to supply power. After advancing to the Force Transformation realm, they condensed the more powerful true strength energy. True strength was stronger than blood qi and differed in nature, unable to flow through blood vessels. It required the opening of meridians to circulate within them.

Demon puppets possessed no intelligence and would not actively open meridians.

Pfft. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Lin Zheyu sliced open the demon puppet from the neck downward, peeling apart its chest cavity. A dense stench assaulted his nose, causing even him to feel a wave of nausea. Thick purple-black viscous liquid poured out as he opened the torso, and the foul odor filled the entire room. He quickly held his breath to block it out.

"The five viscera have all corroded away. The abdomen is nothing but an empty cavity... Hm, well, it’s not completely corroded. The heart remains. It seems to have grown stronger and more robust."

Lin Zheyu cut out the heart and held it up with his blade for closer inspection. Since beginning martial cultivation, he had killed many people. Yet studying a corpse in such meticulous detail still caused him slight discomfort, even if it was only a ferocious beast. The discomfort was minor.

"The muscles, skin, tendons, and bones throughout the body have all undergone structural changes under the erosion of Baleful Yin force. The fur shows the greatest change. The inner layer is densely covered with purple-black patterns... Fascinating..."

Using crude methods, Lin Zheyu studied the structure of this artificially refined living corpse demon puppet, astonished. As he continued, he became more certain that the energy of a living corpse demon puppet was supplied through blood vessels spread throughout its body. The Baleful Yin force had fused into the blood and altered its nature. This hypothesis was supported by the fact that the blood vessels across the entire body had been reinforced and enlarged.

"I wonder what the bodily structures of demon martial artists, half-yaos, and true yao are like."

A strong curiosity rose within him regarding the structures of these three types of beings. Unfortunately, this world lacked the advanced technology of his previous life. Otherwise, he would have liked to slice the demon puppet into sections for study. After more than two hours of research, he finally left the room, still reluctant. Outside, Gu Ye stood with a jug of wine, drinking while admiring the moon.

"Senior Sister, what brings you here?" Lin Zheyu asked in surprise.

"I came to see how your research went. So, did you discover anything useful?" Gu Ye asked with a smile.

"No, but it satisfied my curiosity about demon puppets. Senior Sister, is there a significant difference between demon puppets formed through natural Baleful Yin force erosion and artificially refined living corpse demon puppets?" Lin Zheyu asked.

"More or less. In comparison, artificially refined living corpse demon puppets are stronger than those formed naturally. It is said that during the immortal cultivation era, living corpse demon puppets were an immortal technique known as corpse refining and were incredibly powerful. They sacrificed part of their regenerative ability to elevate their defense to astonishing levels, earning the name copper skin and iron bones. In the same realm, they are comparable to the Buddhist Sect's Vajra," Gu Ye said thoughtfully.

As a veteran Force Transformation realm martial artist, she knew many intriguing secret tales. She had seen numerous martial artists clutching some corpse refining secret art found who knew where, believing they had obtained an immortality technique. They attempted to refine themselves into intelligent living corpses in pursuit of immortality, only to end up as mindless living corpse demon puppets.

"The Buddhist Sect's Vajra is comparable to the copper skin and iron bones of a living corpse?" This was the first time Lin Zheyu had heard such a claim.

He had witnessed the copper skin and iron bones of living corpses. In the same realm, their defense was nearly impossible to break, and even those a realm higher might fail. He had not expected the Buddhist Sect's Vajra to be so formidable.

"Of course. The Buddhist Sect's Vajra secret technique is one of their most powerful secret arts and is reputed to be among the strongest defensive methods in the world," Gu Ye replied.

After hearing his senior sister's explanation, Lin Zheyu took out the Hidden Dragon Tokens and examined them curiously. It had been a long time since he last paid attention to Monk Puxuan, and he wondered what rank Puxuan now held on the Hidden Dragon List.

"Impressive indeed."

Lin Zheyu opened more than thirty light points in succession before finally locating Monk Puxuan's marker.

In just a few months, that fellow had risen to rank thirty two on the Hidden Dragon List. However, Puxuan was no longer in the Guanghua Region and had gone to the Fengchuan Region.

"What rank is that monk now?" Gu Ye asked curiously. She had also heard of several monks from the Buddhist Sect of the Western Regions challenging the geniuses of Great Wei and ascending the Hidden Dragon List.

"He's ranked thirty-two. Back then, he seemed rather ordinary. I did not expect him to quietly rise to rank thirty-two," Lin Zheyu put away the Hidden Dragon Tokens and said with a smile.

"Tsk, tsk..." Hearing the tone in Lin Zheyu's voice, Gu Ye could not help clicking her tongue.

"That is because your lightness and movement techniques happened to counter his powerful defense. For others, as long as they cannot move faster than his Divine Foot Technique, defeat is only a matter of time," Gu Ye said.

The Buddhist Sect's Vajra secret art was exceptionally formidable. In the same realm, few could break through its defense. Relying on such a powerful defense, Monk Puxuan could be said to stand undefeated. His strength was considerable. In defense, he possessed the Buddhist Golden Body. In speed, he had the Divine Foot Technique, reputed as the fastest under heaven. In offense, he wielded the fierce Great Compassion Palm. Anyone slower than him and unable to breach his defense would eventually exhaust themselves and lose.

"Junior Brother, with your strength, are you confident in entering the top ten of the Hidden Dragon List?" Gu Ye asked curiously.

"I should be able to take first place," Lin Zheyu replied casually.

With his physique alone, he now possessed strength comparable to the Force Transformation realm. Combined with his powerful golden blood qi, even among Force Transformation realm martial artists he would at least rank second-rate. No, he should be able to enter the first-rate tier.

Gu Ye had fought that half-yao to a near draw, yet Lin Zheyu had slain it with ease. Since Gu Ye was at least a top second-rate expert among Force Transformation martial artists, Lin Zheyu believed that his own strength was at least first-rate within that realm.

"Heh..." Gu Ye gave a soft chuckle and did not refute him.

Those who cultivated Dominance true intent always spoke boldly. Gu Ye admitted that Junior Brother Lin's talent was indeed extraordinary, but entering the top ten of the Hidden Dragon List would already be remarkable. As for the top five, the chances were slim.

The two chatted as they walked to the cliff's edge. As powerful martial artists, going several days without sleep had little effect on them. The space-time rift had not been sealed in time, and unexpected developments might occur at night. Thus, neither of them intended to sleep.

Gu Ye had already gone down the mountain. A disciple had just reported the appearance of insect-beast demon puppets at the foot of the mountain, and she needed to rush there for support. If the situation turned unfavorable, they could only retreat to the third defensive line. As for the final line of defense, activating the grand formation capable of resisting Martial Innate realm experts would be a last resort. By then, the losses to Azure Tide Pavilion would be extremely severe.

***

Lin Zheyu sat cross-legged at the edge of the cliff and circulated the Tortoise Breath True Technique to restore his essence, qi, and spirit. It had to be said that this technique, passed down since ancient times, had truly withstood the test of ages. Its effectiveness in replenishing essence, qi, and spirit was remarkably powerful.

Boom.

In the forest, large numbers of ferocious beasts were still fleeing in all directions. After nightfall, demon puppets became even more active and began slaughtering the beasts everywhere. This was one of the reasons the beast tide had erupted.

"It seems a storm is about to rise..." Lin Zheyu gazed at the distant sky, where flashes of light flickered with increasing frequency, and murmured softly.

The oppressive feeling in the air grew heavier. He could even sense faint traces of Baleful Yin force drifting through the atmosphere. In the past, he would not have been able to perceive it at all. Only in special locations or within specially arranged grand formations could he detect the presence of Baleful Yin force.

Huff...

Lin Zheyu let out a slow breath. His right hand slipped into his robes and touched two spirit stones. If the situation turned unfavorable, he would immediately use Origin Force to restore his body to peak condition.

Time passed slowly. The roars of beasts in the forest did not diminish with the coming of night. Instead, as demon puppets grew more active in the darkness, the roars became even more frequent.

"Martial Uncle, I will go down the mountain to lend a hand." Lin Zheyu informed Meng Liuyuan and prepared to descend.

"Mm. Be careful. If it becomes untenable, abandon all the medicinal fields and the domesticated Soaring Serpents below the mountain and retreat into the grand formation." Meng Liuyuan stood atop the watchtower, his expression grave.

He sensed something unusual in the aura around them. The space-time node had not been sealed as swiftly as he had expected and had persisted until now. It was evident that the top experts of Great Wei, for some reason, were unable to spare the effort to deal with this space-time node. Such a development had not been anticipated even by Elder Yang and Pavilion Master Huang Baizhong. Had they known that a space-time node would appear deep in the mountains and that Great Wei's experts would not be able to close it in time, they certainly would not have sent Lin Zheyu here.

"Yes, Martial Uncle," Lin Zheyu replied.

His figure moved, and he leapt from the cliff. After a few swift bounds, he arrived at the foot of the mountain. Below, beastly roars shook the heavens, and tremors from the earth could be felt clearly.

"Junior Brother, why are you here?" Gu Ye asked with a slight frown when she saw him.

"I came to help. Senior Sister, is there any area where the defense is weaker and needs reinforcement? Do not worry. My injuries have mostly healed. If danger arises, with my lightness and movement techniques, I can easily evade it," Lin Zheyu said.

"Alright..."