Longevity: Comprehending the Heart Method

CRACKLE!

The eerie blue Earth Core Cold Flame clashed with the pure white frost, creating a violent explosion and composing a song of ice and fire.

”Gourd Spirit Slayer!”

The Black and White Gourd spun rapidly. An Invisible Blade swept through the void, slicing apart the flame and frost. It pierced into Xia Qingxue’s mind, but instead of cutting open her Sea of Consciousness as Song Changsheng had expected, it crashed into something resembling a palace.

”Soul-Slaying Golden Saber!”

Unwilling to give up, Song Changsheng immediately activated the Little Divine Technique. A Golden Saber materialized in the air, radiating an immense golden light as it chopped down toward Xia Qingxue’s head.

DONG...

As the Golden Saber struck at Xia Qingxue’s Sea of Consciousness, the phantom image of a magnificent palace emerged, resonating with the sound of the Great Dao. The Soul-Slaying Golden Saber shattered on impact, transforming into pure Divine Soul Power that was then absorbed by Xia Qingxue.

”This is...” Song Changsheng’s face fell in alarm.

”The Sea of Consciousness Divine Hall and the Ninefold Celestial Palace share the same origin. She has already cultivated it to the Great Success Realm. Her Sea of Consciousness defense is impregnable,” Little Ninth’s voice suddenly rang out, explaining the reason.

’A Sea of Consciousness Palace,’ Song Changsheng’s expression grew solemn. Spiritual Soul Attacks had always been one of his trump cards, something that even an expert as strong as Jin Yue found hard to resist.

He never expected it to be useless against Xia Qingxue.

Without much hesitation, Song Changsheng immediately switched tactics. He leaped into the air, his figure rapidly ascending. Mountains and rivers materialized in his hands, resembling a magnificent landscape scroll.

”Little Divine Technique, Mountain-Flipping Seal!”

A seemingly solid, great seal descended from the sky, growing larger as it fell until it covered nearly half the arena stage.

Xia Qingxue instantly felt the aura around her lock into place. It was too late to dodge; she could only face the attack head-on.

With a light tap of her foot, streaks of snow-white patterns emerged, forming a giant eye on the surface of the stage with Xia Qingxue at its center.

SWOOSH!

A thick pillar of ice shot up from the eye, like a towering, snow-capped mountain, and collided with the great seal descending from the sky.

BOOM—

In that instant, the ground shook. The entire arena stage sank by nearly an inch, and the tremors could be felt across more than half of Dingyuan City.

”Whoa, Changsheng is as monstrously strong as ever,” Little Fatty said from the spectator seats, his eyes wide with shock.

The One-armed Swordsman chuckled. ”He’s been a prominent figure in the Daqi Cultivation World these past few years. It’s a real shame you weren’t around.”

”Hah, you think I wanted to be gone? It’s all my old man’s fault! He insisted that I go learn some stupid Swordsmanship and even tried to tempt me with a honey trap. Luckily, my will is strong and my integrity unwavering, so I managed to escape the tiger’s maw. The second I got out of that Dragon’s Lair and Tiger’s Den, I came looking for you guys,” Little Fatty declared with righteous indignation.

”So, where are you planning to go next? You can’t possibly hide from Elder Moo for the rest of your life, can you?” the One-armed Swordsman asked with a light laugh, changing the subject without calling his bluff.

Little Fatty smacked his lips, finally shaking his head. ”I’ll just take it one day at a time. If it really comes down to it, I’ll go to Gusu, or maybe Great Yu. As long as my old man and that she-dragon don’t find me, I’m good.”

”I heard Changsheng’s family is recruiting Honored Guests. Why not give it a shot? With your Cultivation and status, it should be a piece of cake, right?”

”Hey, why didn’t I think of that? Old Xu, after all these years, your brain’s finally started working!” Little Fatty’s eyes lit up, and he slapped the One-armed Swordsman on the shoulder, making a loud WHAP-WHAP sound.

”Look, the situation is changing,” the One-armed Swordsman said, his expression shifting as he pointed down at the arena.

Little Fatty followed his finger and saw that the battle between Song Changsheng and Xia Qingxue had reached a fever pitch, with Song Changsheng now at a slight disadvantage.

”This Xia Qingxue really lives up to her reputation as Su Ding Master’s Direct Disciple. Her technique is flawless, without any openings. She’s a tough opponent. It’s hard to say who will win,” Little Fatty said with a frown, a hint of worry in his heart.

He definitely wasn’t worried about the hundred thousand Spirit Stones. Nope, definitely not.

”Let’s see how Changsheng handles this,” the One-armed Swordsman said softly.

Did Song Changsheng have a solution?

Not really.

Xia Qingxue cultivated the Sea of Consciousness Divine Hall, so his Spiritual Soul Attacks were ineffective.

The Heart Method Divine Techniques she cultivated were all top-tier; Song Changsheng had no advantage at all.

And that was to say nothing of Spiritual Artifacts. Xia Qingxue had only used a pair of white silk gloves to easily freeze his Book Language Sword.

Although her Physical Body wasn’t as strong as Song Changsheng’s, she had that strange pair of white silk gloves, which made him hesitant to get close.

On top of all that, her Body Technique wasn’t bad either.

She was practically an all-around master, leaving Song Changsheng completely frustrated.

After carefully taking stock of the situation, Song Changsheng realized he only had one advantage left against Xia Qingxue: Arrays.

’But will she give me the chance to set up an Array?’ A bitter feeling arose in Song Changsheng’s heart. The method he had used to set up the Celestial Light Prison Array before couldn’t be replicated now.

If he wanted to attempt Array Formation, his only option was to use the method Niu Dazhuang had used.

That method relied on the element of surprise. It was fine to use once in a while, but trying to pull the same trick twice was incredibly difficult, especially against an opponent like Xia Qingxue.

’I can only give it a try.’

Song Changsheng sighed softly.

While using Stepping on Snow Without Trace to maneuver around Xia Qingxue, he channeled his Spiritual Power through the Yongquan acupoint on his foot, sending it into the arena stage to quickly draw the Array Patterns within.

After half an ancient hour of drawing, the rudimentary form of a Grand Array began to take shape.

Just as Song Changsheng was feeling relieved that Xia Qingxue hadn’t noticed his ”little movements,” she suddenly stopped and said coolly, ”Your Array should be almost complete by now, shouldn’t it?”