Longevity: Comprehending the Heart Method

”Old dog, come and fight!”

Song Changsheng brandished his greatspear, streams of water coiling around it. His eyes burned like torches, and his voice boomed like a great bell.

”Insolent whelp! You think you’re untouchable just because you killed Zhangg Chenlong?” Cheng Yufei cradled a pitch-black metal seal in his palm, its immense aura chilling to the bone.

”Heh. If I’d been cultivating for as many years as you, taking your head would be as easy as reaching into my pocket.” A look of disdain crossed Song Changsheng’s face. Cheng Yufei might possess a Late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivation, but Song Changsheng had trump cards of his own. It was not yet clear who would come out on top.

”Meet your death!”

With a thunderous roar, the great seal in Cheng Yufei’s hand erupted with golden light. It shot above his head and came crashing down like a mountain, seeking to crush Song Changsheng.

”Break!”

Song Changsheng angled his Broken Water Spear upward. The Spiritual Qi of the world rapidly converged on its tip, forming a Spiritual Energy Vortex. The muscles on his arm bulged as he mustered all his vital energy. He was going to meet this attack head-on!

CLANG

The Long Spear collided with the descending seal, creating a deafening boom. Song Changsheng felt as if a mountain were crashing down upon him. An immense force traveled up the spear shaft to his arm. His sleeves disintegrated inch by inch, revealing the bulging, vein-covered limb.

CRACK... CRACK

In an instant, the solid floor beneath his feet shattered, causing Song Changsheng to sink.

Song Changsheng clenched his jaw, feeling the qi and blood surge and churn within him. The lifelike image inscribed on his spleen even began to glow.

A surge of power erupted from his body, rushing to the heavens.

”RISE!!!”

His eyes wide with fury, Song Changsheng summoned every ounce of his strength, pushing the pitch-black seal upward inch by inch. Cracks spread from his feet like a spiderweb, covering the floor.

’This boy’s Physical Power is terrifying!’ A hint of horror flickered in Cheng Yufei’s eyes. ’Though my great seal is not a true Spiritual Artifact, it’s close after my many years of refinement. A single strike at full power could obliterate a small hill.’

’I thought he would be reduced to a bloody pulp under my seal, but he actually managed to block it.’

’He’s this strong just after reaching Foundation Establishment. I can’t let him keep growing. Otherwise, my sect’s centuries-old foundation will be destroyed by his hands sooner or later.’

Song Changsheng’s performance only strengthened Cheng Yufei’s resolve to kill him. He decided to stop holding back. He had to kill him before the City Lord’s Mansion could interfere!

He swiped a finger across his Qiankun Bag and retrieved a thumb-sized ”Golden Melon Seed.”

He muttered a few words, then tossed the Golden Melon Seed onto the ground. It landed on the floor and melted straight into it.

Even while struggling to resist the great seal, Song Changsheng never lowered his guard against Cheng Yufei. ’I don’t know what he’s up to, but my instincts are screaming that it’s a terrifying killing move.’

He stomped his foot, concentrating all his power into the tip of his spear. Yin and Yang Qi coiled around it, transforming into a furious Flood Dragon that instantly blasted the great seal away.

Before he could even catch his breath, a jolt of danger shot through him. Not daring to be careless, Song Changsheng instantly retreated.

The next moment, a thick vine erupted from the spot where he had just been standing. It was a deep, murky green, its surface covered in sharp, poisonous thorns, and it was well over a hundred feet long.

RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE

The floor around Song Changsheng began to bulge, forming large mounds, as if something was about to burst forth at any moment. He didn’t need to guess what it was—it had to be more of those bizarre vines.

Just as he expected, countless vines burst from the ground in an instant. The wide street transformed into a jungle, the vines slithering like giant pythons, all aiming to tear Song Changsheng to shreds.

”Fleeting Shadows!”

He weaved and dodged, his outstanding Body Technique allowing him to evade the storm of attacks. But the surrounding Space had been sealed, and his room to maneuver was shrinking by the second.

Finally, hundreds, even thousands of vines surged toward him at once. There was nowhere left to dodge!

A fierce battle cry rose in Song Changsheng’s heart. He snorted, two jets of air blasting from his nostrils. Stabbing his Broken Water Spear into the ground beside him, his hands began to fly through seals to cast a Magic Technique. The Array Patterns carved into his bones, acupoints, and every single muscle flared to life once more.

For a moment, it was as if the light of the patterns shone through his very flesh, bathing him in a brilliant glow.

”[Yin Yang Two Elements Formation]—rise!”

A small black sphere and a small white sphere orbited him like two loyal guards, shredding any vine that came within ten feet of him.

In an instant, shattered pieces of vine rained down around him.

And so, Song Changsheng stood in the center of a thousand vines, utterly unshaken!

Cheng Yufei’s expression turned sinister. The hand seals for his Magic Technique shifted, and the vines began to twist violently. A chill went down Song Changsheng’s spine as a bizarre pattern surfaced in his eyes:

”[Eye of Truth]—open!”

Aided by the Pupil Technique, his gaze pierced through the floorboards and the layers of soil beneath. He saw the source of the endless vines.

It was a tiny, sparkling point of light—the very same ”Golden Melon Seed” Cheng Yufei had tossed to the ground.

The vines it had spawned began to retract rapidly, but Song Changsheng felt no joy. Instead, he sensed a terrifying presence gestating within.

”Refining a single seed into a Spiritual Artifact... quite the move,” Song Changsheng said coldly, pulling his spear from the ground.

”The methods of my sect are beyond anything you could possibly imagine,” Cheng Yufei replied, his gaze as cold as ice.

’My Cultivation far surpasses this junior’s, yet I’ve been forced to use a Spiritual Artifact. If word of this gets out, I’ll be scorned by everyone. But I can’t worry about that now. I must use overwhelming force to crush this threatening genius in his cradle!’