Breathing Technique

The Vast Universe Records stated: Above the cloudless heights lay five layers of heaven, each pass fraught with peril, testing immortal and mortal alike. As long as a single breath of life remained, the great void's bitter cold held no human trace. Pure gang qi drew in demon winds, heavenly light gilded the mortal world, and Taiheng's realm drifted distant and ethereal—truly the threshold where chaos birthed life and death.

The first time Yang Ning saw this passage, he had thought some fellow transmigrator had come to this world and used poetry to give a simple description of the atmosphere.

But now he understood. This was not the work of another transmigrator. An immortal had truly flown up there and seen it.

At an altitude of fourteen thousand meters, a Flying Boat sped through the skies. It had two decks and three masts, and its wooden body was no different from the wooden ships of the Song and Ming eras. Yet bolstered by immortal formations, it flew smoothly through the air at no slow pace.

The Flying Boat was a hundred meters long and forty meters wide, but its interior was immensely spacious—eighty li long and sixty li across. It contained lecture halls, martial arts halls, libraries, hot spring rooms, talisman-making rooms, mineral chambers, and all manner of buildings, like a small city.

However, there were not many people living aboard it—only a little over a thousand.

"Therefore, cleverness is but a gathering of spiritual light. When seated, lower the eyes behind the curtain of the lids. Set a standard, then let it go. Yet when you try to let go, you may fear you cannot; thus, keep your mind upon listening to the breath. As breath enters and leaves, do not let the ears hear it. Listen only to its soundlessness."

"This Amber Breathing Technique is our Taiheng Sect's secret Foundation Establishment breathing art, and one of the finest Breathing Techniques in the entire Taiheng Realm. Outsiders could beg until their knees broke and never obtain it, yet you have come into contact with it the moment you step onto the path of cultivation. The sect is even taking you to Taiheng Heaven, the place most suitable for cultivating the Foundation Establishment Method. You must not waste such a heaven-sent opportunity."

"We will remain here for thirty days. If your Breathing Technique still has not entered the gate after thirty days, you can only be expelled from Ascension Academy!"

Wei Chaoyang's voice was not loud, yet it carried a strange rhythm. Rather than disrupting their thoughts, it guided the youths' minds toward their breathing. Between each inhalation and exhalation, they gradually settled into calm.

When a person could remain ever clear and tranquil, heaven and earth would return to them. Though the Taiheng Realm had no Scripture of Clarity and Tranquility, the principles of cultivation were interconnected.

In tranquility, spiritual qi came unbidden. Though those in the Body Refinement Realm could not absorb and merge spiritual qi, even letting it pass through their bodies brought great benefits.

After Wei Chaoyang finished speaking, his black eyes abruptly turned blue. He swept a glance below, then sighed softly.

The quality of Immortal Seedlings from the Northern Plains had never been particularly good. Eleven days had already passed since they boarded the vessel, yet only forty-seven had entered the gate of the Breathing Technique. There were two hundred Immortal Seedlings in total!

At this pace, once the month of Foundation Establishment ended, some people would certainly be eliminated.

However—

Behind the formation of two hundred Immortal Seedlings stood another six hundred youths. They were the Immortal Seedlings' servants, bookboys, and maids.

Taiheng Sect did not forbid the Immortal Seedlings' maids and servants from cultivating. After all, many formidable figures within the sect had begun as maids or servants, and they possessed a certain degree of influence.

In the early years, disciples' servants truly had been nothing but servants. Yet after many years of development, these maids and servants were no longer truly maids and servants. They might be sons of wealthy merchants or descendants of high officials, who had obtained their spots through all kinds of exchanges of interest. Taiheng Sect turned a blind eye to this as well.

After all, everyone did it.

But since they were not officially selected, there were many differences in treatment. For example, they sat farther back. By the time Wei Chaoyang's Dao Sound reached them, only one or two parts out of ten of its effect remained. Logically, their progress should have been far slower than that of the officially selected Immortal Seedlings. It would have been normal if not one of them entered the gate in eleven days—even in thirty days.

Yet this time, there was an exception. Not only had six of them entered the gate, Wei Chaoyang discovered that one youth's realm was already quite profound. He had reached the realm of Sleeping Breath.

So-called Sleeping Breath meant maintaining the state of the Breathing Technique even while asleep.

This was actually very difficult. The Breathing Technique was divided into four major realms: Nether Breath, Still Breath, Moving Breath, and Sleeping Breath. Ordinary people needed a full month merely to enter the gate. Still Breath and Moving Breath required three to five years of cultivation to attain. As for Sleeping Breath, many people could graduate from Ascension Academy without ever reaching it.

Yet this youth had done it—and in only eleven days!

"Jia Liu, what is the name and background of that youth in Ren Si's position?" Wei Chaoyang could not help asking.

The white-robed disciple beside him glanced below, then took out some records. After flipping through several pages, he answered, "Yang Ning, from Anxi in Yue Kingdom. Minister of Works of Yue Kingdom, twelve years old this year. He came with Xun Hu, the eighth prince of Yue Kingdom."

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

"It's him!" The disciple nodded. "They say Yang Ning is not only overflowing with literary talent, but also skilled in ingenious craftsmanship. The Curved Shaft Plow he invented greatly increased the efficiency of tilling fields. He also invented the waterwheel, which could carry water from low places to high ones. After these two inventions appeared, Yue Kingdom not only resolved its famine, but could even sell grain to other nations."

"So it really is him!" Wei Chaoyang stroked his beard and pondered. "Then those who display wisdom in ordinary life also possess better cultivation aptitude?"

The disciple beside him nodded. "That should be so. At the very least, clever children have better comprehension."

Wei Chaoyang sighed. "What a pity that our Taiheng Sect has its own sect circumstances. The cleverest disciples may not necessarily receive the best treatment!"

"Elder, mind your words!"

"Mind what words? There are no great figures here!"

"But walls have ears. Besides, Taiheng has changed somewhat. If this were in the past, someone of Yang Ning's background would never have had the chance to set foot upon the path of cultivation."

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

Naturally, Yang Ning had no idea that he had become the topic of discussion among the immortals on the platform. After all, his eyes were closed, and immortals did not even need to open their mouths to communicate. He could not read lips even if he wanted to.

He was still studying this Breathing Technique.

"You have cultivated for thirty-five minutes. Current liver cell activity increased by 4%, Red Blood Cell activity increased by 6%, white blood cell activity increased by 7%, lung cell activity increased. Today's limit has been reached."

If Wei Chaoyang heard those words, they would certainly startle him senseless. Even Wei Chaoyang did not know that cultivation of the Breathing Technique had an upper limit.

That was because ordinary people could never touch this limit. Their progress in the Breathing Technique rose alongside their ever-improving physical condition. And in immortal cultivation, if nothing else, physical fitness improved at an extremely rapid pace. Thus, that limit continued to rise, while one's Breathing Technique realm generally lagged behind the improvement of one's body.

Especially in the later stages, once they acquired more powerful cultivation arts, everyone simply abandoned the Breathing Technique.

But Yang Ning had reached this limit.

However—

This is merely the limit of the Breathing Technique, not my own limit. Look—the lung cells increased by 7%, while the Liver Cells increased by only 4%. Brain cells increased the least, only 0.6%. Clearly, this Breathing Technique is somewhat lopsided. It places greater emphasis on training the lungs, blood, and immune cells, while paying little attention to the rest of the body!

Still, that is normal. It is only a Breathing Technique for Foundation Establishment. Let alone their hearts and lungs, children cannot even properly control their muscles. More profound Breathing Techniques may exist, but they would not suit them.

Unfortunately, Yang Ning came from humble origins. Though he had become a renowned prodigy through his own abilities and a little help from his cheat, and even the emperor treated him with courtesy, such abilities were still not enough to make immortals view him with special regard.

He entered the gate of the Breathing Technique on the third day, reached Still Breath on the fifth, Moving Breath on the seventh, and Sleeping Breath yesterday. Yet the Daoist on the platform had not even looked at him twice, much less given him a more advanced Breathing Technique.

Well, it is not certain that a more advanced Breathing Technique even exists.

But it does not matter. If those above will not give me one, I will create one myself. The principles are not that complicated anyway.

A new book sets sail—please keep reading!

This is truly important to me.

This time, it is an original story: xianxia, scientific immortal cultivation.