Breathing Technique

"The Vast Universe Records" states: Above the clouds lie five heavens, each a perilous pass separating immortals and mortals. The primal energy still harbors life, but the extreme cold of the void is uninhabited. Pure gang energy summons demonic winds, and celestial light washes over the mortal world. The Tai Heng Realm drifts, ethereal and distant, truly a crossroads of chaos and life and death.

When Yang Ning first saw this passage, he thought another traveler had arrived in this world and simply described the atmosphere through poetry.

But now he understood. Those weren't fellow travelers, but immortals who had truly flown up there to see.

At an altitude of fourteen thousand meters, a Flying Boat was speeding through the air. This Flying Boat had two decks and three masts, entirely made of wood, no different from wooden ships of the Song and Ming dynasties. However, with the enhancement of Immortal Dao formations, it could fly stably in the sky at no small speed.

The Flying Boat was a hundred meters long and forty meters wide, but its internal space was vast, eighty li long and sixty li wide. It contained various buildings such as a lecture hall, a martial arts hall, a library, a hot spring room, a talisman crafting room, and a mineral room, resembling a small city.

However, the number of people living within the boat was not large, only a little over a thousand.

"...Thus, intelligence is merely a single spark of spirit. When sitting, lower your gaze like curtains, set a principle, and then let go. However, if you fear you cannot truly let go, then focus your mind on listening to your breath. The in-and-out of the breath should not be heard by the ear, but only listened to in its silence."

"This Amber Breathing Technique is our Taiheng Sect's secret Foundation Establishment breathing method, and also one of the most top-tier breathing techniques in the entire Taiheng Realm. Outsiders can't even get their hands on it. You have just stepped onto the path of cultivation and can already access it, and the sect's Flying Boat is taking you to Taiheng Heaven, the most suitable place for practicing Foundation Establishment methods. You must not waste such an excellent opportunity."

"We will stay here for thirty days. Those who cannot even get started with the breathing technique in thirty days will be expelled from the Ascension Academy!"

Wei Chaoyang's voice was not loud, and it carried a strange rhythm. It did not disturb their thoughts; instead, it guided the youths' minds towards focusing on their breath. With each inhale and exhale, they calmed down.

"When one can be constantly pure and tranquil, heaven and earth all return." Although the Taiheng Realm did not have the "Scripture of Purity and Tranquility," the principles of cultivation were interconnected.

Under purity and tranquility, spiritual energy would come uninvited. Although one could not absorb and integrate spiritual energy in the Body Refinement Realm, even just letting it pass through the body was greatly beneficial.

After Wei Chaoyang finished speaking, his dark eyes suddenly turned blue. He glanced down and then sighed softly.

The quality of the Immortal Seedlings from Beiyuan had always been poor. It had been eleven days since they boarded the ship, and only forty-seven people had managed to get started with the breathing technique. Keep in mind that there were a total of two hundred Immortal Seedlings!

At this rate, by the time the one-month Foundation Establishment period ended, some people would definitely be eliminated.

However...

Behind the formation of two hundred Immortal Seedlings were another six hundred youths. These were the servants, attendants, and maids of the Immortal Seedlings.

The Taiheng Sect did not forbid the maids and servants of the Immortal Seedlings from cultivating. After all, many powerful figures in the sect had originated from maid or servant backgrounds, and they held a certain degree of influence.

In the early years, disciples' servants were truly servants. However, after years of development, these maids and servants were no longer true maids and servants. They might be the sons of wealthy merchants, or descendants of high officials, who obtained spots through various exchanges of benefits. The Taiheng Sect turned a blind eye to this.

After all, everyone did it this way.

But they were not the primary candidates, so their treatment was often different, such as being positioned further back. When Wei Chaoyang's Daoist sounds reached the back, their effect was reduced to only ten to twenty percent. By rights, their progress should have been much slower than the primary Immortal Seedlings. It wouldn't be strange if not a single person got started within thirty days, let alone eleven.

But this time was an exception. Not only had six people gotten started, but he also discovered that one youth's realm was quite profound, having already reached the Sleeping Breath stage.

The so-called Sleeping Breath was the state of maintaining the breathing technique even while asleep.

This was actually very difficult. The breathing technique was divided into four realms: Nether Breath, Still Breath, Moving Breath, and Sleeping Breath. Ordinary people would spend a month just to get started. Reaching Still Breath and Moving Breath required three to five years of cultivation. As for Sleeping Breath, many people couldn't reach this realm even after graduating from the Ascension Academy.

Yet, this youth had achieved it, and in just eleven days!

"Jia Liu, Ren Si, what is the name of the youth in that position, and what is his background?" Wei Chaoyang couldn't help but ask.

The white-robed disciple beside him looked down, then took out a document. After flipping through a few pages, he replied, "Yang Ning, from Anxi, Yue Kingdom. He is the Minister of Works of Yue Kingdom, twelve years old this year, and came with the Eighth Prince of Yue Kingdom, Xun Hu."

"A twelve-year-old Minister of Works?" Wei Chaoyang was stunned. "Is he that Yue Kingdom Prodigy?"

"It's him!" The disciple nodded. "It is said that Yang Ning is not only brilliant in literature but also skilled in craftsmanship. The Curved Shaft Plow he invented greatly improved plowing efficiency, and he also invented the Water Wheel, which can transport water from low to high places. After the invention of these two items, not only was the famine in Yue Kingdom resolved, but grain could also be sold to other countries."

"It really is him!" Wei Chaoyang stroked his beard and pondered, "So, do people who show wisdom in their daily lives also have good cultivation aptitude?"

The disciple beside him nodded. "It should be, at least intelligent children have better comprehension."

Wei Chaoyang sighed. "It's a pity that our Taiheng Sect has its own traditions. The most intelligent disciples may not necessarily receive the best treatment!"

"Elder, be careful with your words!"

"Careful about what? There are no important figures here!"

"But one can't guard against walls having ears. Besides, Taiheng has changed somewhat. If it were before, someone like Yang Ning, with his background, wouldn't have had the chance to embark on the path of cultivation."

"Is that so?" Wei Chaoyang shook his head. Unfortunately, he was just a minor elder, insignificant, and his words carried little weight.

Yang Ning naturally did not know that he had become a topic of discussion among the immortals on the platform. After all, he had his eyes closed, and the immortals communicated without speaking, so there was no way to read his lips.

He was still studying this breathing technique.

"You have been cultivating for thirty-five minutes. Your liver cell activity has increased by 4%, red blood cell activity by 6%, white blood cell activity by 7%, and lung cell activity by... This has reached today's limit."

If Wei Chaoyang heard this, he would be shocked. Wei Chaoyang didn't know that there was an upper limit to practicing the breathing technique.

This was because ordinary people could not even touch this limit. Their progress in the breathing technique followed the continuous improvement of their physical fitness. And in cultivation, if nothing else, the speed of physical fitness improvement was extremely fast, so this upper limit was constantly increasing. The realm of the breathing technique generally lagged behind the improvement of physical fitness.

Especially in the later stages, with more powerful cultivation methods, people simply abandoned the breathing technique.

But Yang Ning had reached this limit.

However...

"This is just the limit of the breathing technique, not my limit. You see, the increase in lung cells is 7%, but liver cells are only 4%, and brain cells are the least, only 0.6%. It's obvious that this breathing technique is a bit unconventional. It focuses more on the lungs, blood, and immune cells, and doesn't pay much attention to other parts of the body!"

"But it's also normal. After all, it's just a breathing technique for Foundation Establishment. Children can't even control their muscles, let alone their hearts and lungs. There might be more profound breathing techniques, but they are not suitable for them."

It was a pity that Yang Ning came from a humble background. Although he had become a famous prodigy through his own abilities and a little help from a cheat, and even the emperor treated him with respect, these abilities were not enough to catch the attention of immortals.

He got started with the breathing technique on the third day, reached Still Breath on the fifth, Moving Breath on the seventh, and Sleeping Breath yesterday. The Daoist priest on the platform didn't even give him a second glance, let alone give him a more advanced breathing technique.

Well, it wasn't certain if there were more advanced breathing techniques.

But it didn't matter. If they didn't give it to me, I'd create it myself. The principle isn't complicated anyway.

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This is an original story, Xianxia, scientific cultivation.