Longevity: Comprehending the Heart Method

Previously, he might have claimed the Song Clan could be annihilated with a flick of his wrist, but he no longer dared to entertain such a thought.

He didn’t believe that even after breaking through to the Purple Mansion realm, Chang Wudao would be any stronger than the Silver Moon Demon Wolf that had begun reawakening its ancestral bloodline.

Even a Great Demon had met its end at the hands of the Song Clan. Could Chang Wudao possibly succeed in destroying them?

Besides, it was no secret that Song Xianming was in seclusion for his own breakthrough. Du Huating could only hope Chang Wudao would break through quickly, lest they face the Song Clan’s retribution.

The situation was simply changing too fast for anyone to control.

Fortunately, he had already contacted a reliable ally, so protecting himself in the future shouldn’t be a problem...

Inside the Garrison Mansion, Song Changsheng personally presided over the operations, coordinating everything. Meanwhile, Xia Yunxue, Song Chang’an, and others led the clan’s elite members on patrols through the Marketplace to prevent any troublemakers from stirring up chaos.

Such incidents were not unheard of. Previously, a Foundation Establishment Independent Cultivator had ignored the Song Clan’s decree forbidding private combat within the Marketplace, striking down and killing a Qi Refining Independent Cultivator.

After the incident, Song Lutong had arrived immediately and, in full view of the public, cut down the murderous Foundation Establishment Cultivator on the spot. The crowd was terrified. For several days afterward, no one dared to challenge the Song Clan’s authority.

Still, they couldn’t let their guard down. After all, the Liuyun Marketplace had been established through a baptism of fire and blood.

Song Changsheng took advantage of a rare moment of leisure to practice the Five Beasts Body Refining Technique in the courtyard of the Garrison Mansion. He had been cultivating this technique for quite some time now.

So far, he had cultivated the Earth, Fire, and Metal aspects of the technique to the Great Success Realm. This had tempered his body to the point where it was comparable to a Spiritual Artifact, allowing him to completely ignore ordinary attacks.

While thrilled with his progress, he also began to anticipate what new heights his physique would reach once he had mastered all Five Elements.

The only issue was that while he already possessed the Monkey Heart, he had yet to find the Cyan Dragon Scale, which made him a little anxious.

”I wonder where that fellow Chi Huo has gotten to, and if he’s even trying his best,” Song Changsheng murmured to himself.

His words dissolved into the air and drifted away on the wind. Far away in Qing Province, inside a brothel, a red-haired old man with a woman in each arm suddenly shuddered, instinctively pulling the beauties in his embrace a little tighter...

「At the Riverfront of Grace, two travel-worn figures landed just outside the Marketplace.」

The older of the two men pointed to the behemoth hovering above the Marketplace and said with envy, ”That must be the Quasi-Celestial Ship. It’s likely the only one in the entire Daqi Cultivation World. I wonder which grandmaster’s hands it came from.”

”There are no more than three Celestial Artisans in the entire Daqi Cultivation World capable of building a Quasi-Celestial Ship,” the middle-aged man sighed with emotion. ”With a ship like this, the Song Clan’s prosperity is guaranteed for at least several hundred more years. Who wouldn’t be envious of such a treasure?”

”To bring such a priceless treasure here to stand guard... it seems the Song Clan is taking this auction very seriously.”

”The more seriously they take it, the more reassuring and exciting it is. Many of our fellow cultivators have already arrived. Mr. Qi, we can’t afford to fall behind.”

”Hahaha, precisely.”

After undergoing an inspection at the entrance, the two entered the Marketplace and found it to be slightly different from what they had imagined.

They had assumed that a newly built marketplace would be quite desolate. Instead, they found that while it might be small, it had everything one could need. Not only were there all sorts of shops, but large numbers of Loose Cultivators had also set up street stalls, creating a bustling, prosperous scene.

Just then, a streak of fiery light suddenly shot toward the sky. Within the blaze, a figure in a black robe, their face obscured, charged straight for the Celestial Ship.

”Is someone trying to seize the Celestial Ship?” the middle-aged man exclaimed in shock. ’Who would be so audacious?’

Every eye in the Marketplace converged on the figure. Their hearts were filled with shock, anticipation, or... a budding desire to make their own move.

”Insolent!”

A thunderous roar echoed out.

A dazzling golden net materialized out of thin air above the Marketplace, enveloping the entire area.

Caught off guard, the figure in the fiery light was violently repelled. The flames shrouding his body shattered, revealing the true face of the black-robed man—he looked ancient.

SWOOSH

At the same time, an emerald-green rope shot out from somewhere in the Marketplace, snaking directly toward the falling old man.

The old man sensed it coming. His body suddenly faded, then vanished completely, causing the rope to lash through empty air.

When he reappeared, he was already hundreds of feet away.

’What a brilliant Body Technique,’ the old man, Mr. Qi, thought, secretly astonished. He hadn’t seen a single flaw in the movement.

The black-robed old man’s face, however, was filled with shock. His own speed was incredible, yet his opponent’s reaction had been even faster. With his first attack thwarted, he now had to figure out how to escape with his life.

Suddenly, the rope reappeared right above his head.

The old man’s heart leaped in alarm. He tried to use the same trick again but was horrified to discover he couldn’t move, as if an invisible force had locked him in place in mid-air.

He struggled frantically, but a dazzling golden net—identical to the one covering the sky—materialized around his body, wrapping him tightly and rendering him immobile.

Since the old man had dared to pluck the tiger’s whiskers, he naturally had an ace up his sleeve. With a flicker of his will, an invisible ripple emanated from the bronze-colored ring on his finger.

The net wrapped around his body shattered inch by inch.

But before he could rejoice, the rope from above shot down and coiled around him once more. The instant it bound him, he felt an invisible shackle lock down the Spiritual Power within his body.

Not only that, but the rope was like a greedy viper, constantly siphoning the life force from his body.

Unable to muster even a shred of Spiritual Power, he plummeted straight down.

Below, a squad of Cultivators in black martial attire, each bearing the Song Clan’s emblem, was already waiting for him.

The moment the old man hit the ground, the Cultivators swarmed forward, seized him, and forced him to kneel in humiliation, facing the Garrison Mansion.

The entire battle, from start to finish, took place in the blink of an eye. Many of the observing Cultivators hadn’t even processed what happened before a Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator had been utterly defeated.

What shocked everyone the most was that throughout the entire Magical Combat, they never once saw the old man’s opponent. Even the Foundation Establishment Great Perfection Cultivators present had to admit to themselves that they would be hard-pressed to replicate such a feat.

At that moment, one of the Song Clan Law Enforcement Disciples holding the old man bowed respectfully and called out in a clear voice, ”We await the Young Clan Leader’s judgment!”

The only response was a single, nonchalant word: ”Execute!”

The word had barely been spoken when, under the stunned gazes of the crowd, the Law Enforcement Disciple raised his Long Sword high. A flash of Sword Light, a spray of blood, and the old man’s head tumbled to the ground.

The old man had probably never imagined he would die at the hands of a mere Qi Cultivator.

How unpredictable life could be.

”Could that have been the Song Clan’s Young Clan Leader, Song Changsheng, the one who shot to fame in a single battle? It’s only been a few years... has he already grown this powerful? It’s truly terrifying.” The old man, Mr. Qi, stared, dumbfounded, as the Law Enforcement Disciple dragged the corpse away. He felt as if he were in a dream. ’Just how old is that kid?’

The middle-aged Cultivator nodded and said with deep feeling, ”Besides Clan Leader Song, he’s likely the only one in the Song Clan capable of such a feat. That young man has an incredible future ahead of him!”

Song Changsheng’s decisive and overwhelming suppression of a Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator left all the Cultivators in the Marketplace utterly aghast. Those who had been harboring ulterior motives were scared out of their wits by the display and hastily abandoned any foolish ideas.

Back in the Garrison Mansion, Song Changsheng, the man who had just sentenced a Foundation Establishment Cultivator to death, examined the Storage Bag and ring the Law Enforcement Disciple had brought before him, his heart filled with curiosity.

He had clearly trapped his opponent using the Grand Array to power the Spiritual Artifact, the Heaven-Encompassing Net. Yet, at the last possible second, a mysterious power had set the man free. He was very curious about the source of that power.

His gaze fell upon the bronze-colored ring. He picked it up and examined it. It was actually a Middle-Grade Spiritual Artifact, and one refined from the rare Celestial Star Copper, no less.

Any Loose Cultivator who possessed a Spiritual Artifact was bound to be a renowned figure. The man’s identity could likely be uncovered quickly, but Song Changsheng wasn’t concerned with that.

He was far more curious about how this ring had managed to break the restraints of the Heaven-Encompassing Net...