Longevity: Comprehending the Heart Method

The warm, bright sunlight shone on Song Changsheng’s face, making him squint. He knew without looking back that Song Xianming hadn’t followed. He would have to walk the path ahead alone.

Stepping out of the great hall and into the plaza, he felt Song Xianyun’s relieved and eager gaze, heard hundreds of Song Clan Members cheering in unison, and saw the glistening tears in the corners of Xia Yunxue’s eyes.

He also saw the solemn-faced Song Qingxi, Zhuang Yuechan standing in the crowd, and Little Lingyun clutching Jin Xuan, refusing to let go...

Their faces were filled with joy, and their eyes shone with anticipation.

A sudden gust of wind billowed the flags embroidered with the clan emblem, and robes snapped in the wind. At that very moment, the doubt in his heart seemed to resolve itself.

In the great hall, kneeling on a prayer mat before the ancestral tablets of the previous Clan Leaders, many things had weighed on his mind.

The first Clan Leader, Song Taiyi, had started from scratch, building the Song Clan’s foundation from nothing.

The second Clan Leader, Song Chuer, had led the clan through arduous pioneering to firmly plant their roots in the Moon Mountain Range, establishing a legacy that would stand for generations.

The third Clan Leader, Song Yungui, a domineering figure, held sway over Ling Province. His illustrious reputation brought the Song Clan to the zenith of its glory.

The fourth Clan Leader, Song Yunhan, took command during a time of crisis. He opened trade routes, forged marriage alliances, established clan rules, quelled internal strife, and rallied their forces, saving the clan from the brink of collapse.

The fifth Clan Leader, Song Xianming, had taken up the mantle in a time of mourning. He resolved the clan’s desperate crisis and devoted his entire being to leading them back to their former glory.

Every Clan Leader of the Song Clan had their own mission. They all fulfilled it admirably, dedicating everything they had to the clan.

Song Xianming’s actions during his tenure had also profoundly influenced Song Changsheng.

This left him feeling somewhat lost. ’Can I really do as well as they did?’

The question had lingered in his mind until just now, when he found his answer.

The clan members were all willing to believe in him—to believe that he could lead the clan to scale greater heights and achieve a more dazzling glory.

’If that’s the case, then what reason is there to be lost?’

”Please, rise. I, Changsheng, will not fail to live up to your high expectations!” Song Changsheng declared earnestly. This was his promise to all his clan members. The moment he finished speaking, he felt a heavy weight settle on his shoulders.

At that moment, all the Song Clan Members erupted in deafening cheers. They had welcomed a new Patriarch; the clan now had a bright future!

Song Xianyun raised a hand to wipe away his tears, then, with a stooped back, quietly retreated, leaving the stage to Song Changsheng.

Just then, a synchronized chant suddenly rang out: ”Love your kin, respect your elders, care for old and young, forbid infighting...”

The verses of the Song Clan’s creed echoed through the air, drawing everyone’s attention. A scholarly-looking Cultivator was leading a group of young children to the edge of the plaza.

They were no more than five or six years old, each holding a Jade Scroll. Their young faces were tense with concentration as they loudly recited the clan rules.

This was a mandatory lesson for all Song Clan Members, and also the most precious legacy left to the clan by the fourth Clan Leader, Song Yunhan.

”Face our foes, strive for the lead, share glory and shame, live and die as one...”

Gradually, the Song Clan Members present began to recite along. At first their voices were disjointed, but they grew increasingly synchronized, rising in volume until their collective chant soared into the heavens.

In that moment, they were as one.

In the crowd, Jiang Shuming took in the atmosphere and remarked with feeling to Yuann Tianshu beside him, ”Such incredible spirit. Brother Yuann, the Song Clan has truly laid low for a century, only to shock the world with a single cry.

Young Friend Song is a generational talent. In his hands, the Song Clan could very well become the next Luoxia City one day.”

Hearing this, Yuann Tianshu turned his head in surprise. ”Brother Jiang, you think that highly of Young Friend Song?”

Jiang Shuming’s praise was high indeed. In the Daqi Cultivation World, Luoxia City was a unique existence. In the past, it had been the undisputed number one power beneath the two Major Sects.

And now, its Great City Lord was the only Golden Core Master in the Daqi Cultivation World in the last thousand years who hadn’t come from one of the two Major Sects.

For Jiang Shuming to compare the Song Clan to Luoxia City was bold, to say the least. After all, the Song Clan’s current strength ranked at the very bottom among the various Purple Mansion Influences.

Although Yuann Tianshu also held Song Changsheng in high regard, he had never entertained such a bold notion himself.

In response to his doubt, Jiang Shuming said quietly, ”Young Friend Song is only in his early thirties this year, isn’t he?”

Yuann Tianshu froze for a moment, and then understanding dawned on him.

’A thirty-year-old at the Foundation Establishment Great Perfection stage... How many years had it been since someone like that appeared in the Daqi Cultivation World?’

Song Changsheng was so articulate and composed, and he had made a name for himself so many years ago, that it was easy to inadvertently overlook his age.

Only with Jiang Shuming’s reminder did it hit Yuann Tianshu: Song Changsheng was merely thirty years old, yet he already stood at the apex of the Foundation Establishment Stage.

’How long had it taken him? Fifty years? A hundred? He couldn’t even remember.’

’For a genius like that, would the Purple Mansion Stage even be a bottleneck?’

Yuann Tianshu thought not. ’In that case, what Jiang Shuming said... maybe there really was a sliver of a possibility.’ Watching the high-spirited figure on the platform, his eyes flickered, his thoughts unreadable.

Meanwhile, high above Vast Mist Peak, two graceful figures stood amidst the clouds, also watching the figure on the platform. However, one of them kept her gaze fixed on the Soul Lamp Hall, as if trying to see something through the layers of Liuli tiles.

Song Changsheng knew both of these women. In fact, he was rather familiar with them.