Longevity: Comprehending the Heart Method

Over a hundred sect members broke ranks and fled in every direction.

Just then, Song Changsheng and the others split up and charged into the fray.

Chi Huo Old Ghost led the charge, wielding his Fiery Flame Banner and cutting through the enemy ranks as if they weren’t there. Everywhere he went, the banner swept out, turning all Blood Demon Sect Members below the Foundation Establishment realm to ashes.

In the blink of an eye, he had slain over a dozen men.

Song Changsheng weaved through the battlefield as if on a leisurely stroll. Under his control, the Book Language Sword mercilessly reaped the lives of the Blood Demon Sect Members. Even an Early-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator was no match for him.

Under the assault of the five, the Blood Demon Sect’s forces were quickly decimated, their corpses littering the ground.

The battle in the sky quickly came to a close as well.

Under the combined assault of three experts from Luoxia City, the Blood Demon Sect Leader didn’t last a quarter of an hour before being beheaded by Bai Zhengchun.

”There’s no time to lose. Let’s begin immediately,” Bai Zhengchun said gravely.

”As you command.”

Song Changsheng nodded and took out the four Jade Tokens he was carrying. They were instantly pulled together by an invisible force, transforming into a streak of light that shot toward a spot deep within the forest.

VMMMM—

A surge of immense energy erupted. A tiny point of light bloomed in the dark of night, gradually expanding into an oval orb. A thin slit then opened down the center of the orb, parting like a doorway.

This was the Space Tunnel leading to the Small World, just like the one to the Wutong Secret Realm. Song Changsheng was very familiar with it.

”Senior, we will go on ahead!” Song Changsheng cupped his fist, then led Chi Huo Old Ghost and the others into the Space Tunnel one by one.

The familiar weightlessness, the familiar dizziness, the familiar streams of multicolored light.

The sensation of passing through the Space Tunnel was no different from using a Space Transmission Array.

After about a quarter of an hour, Song Changsheng and the others finally emerged from the Space Tunnel, finding themselves under an unfamiliar sky.

Just like the outside world, this place was shrouded in darkness. It was pitch-black all around, so dark you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face.

The only source of light in this world was a crescent moon on the horizon. Bizarrely, it was the color of blood.

’A blood moon?’ Song Changsheng frowned slightly. A blood moon was always an omen of misfortune and evil, and it seemed this world was no different.

Fortunately, this was only a Small World. If a blood moon were to appear over the Purple Imperial Realm, the Five Great Holy Lands would likely lose sleep over it.

”Young Master, look down there,” Chi Huo Old Ghost said suddenly, pointing below.

Song Changsheng followed his gaze. Although it was pitch-black, he extended his Divine Sense and discovered countless pairs of scarlet eyes watching them silently from the darkness.

”What are those things?”

Zhu Yiqun and the others also noticed the abnormality and instinctively drew closer together.

”It’s bizarre. My Divine Sense can’t see their true forms. All I can perceive are pairs of eyes,” Zhuang Yuechan said, her expression grave. Fear is born from the unknown, and what lay before them was beyond her comprehension.

”They might not be eyes,” Song Changsheng said, shaking his head. He scanned their surroundings before continuing, ”There’s nothing in the air, so it should be safe to travel by Sword Control. Still, we need to stay vigilant. This is Blood Demon Sect territory, after all. We can’t be too careful.”

”Sigh, I’m starting to regret coming here. What is this godforsaken place?” Zhu Yiqun’s face scrunched up in a miserable frown.

”You can always go back now. We’ll just split your share among ourselves,” Song Changsheng said with a chuckle.

”Hmph, in your dreams.” Zhu Yiqun rolled his eyes. After glancing around, he asked, ”So are we just going to wander around like headless chickens?”

”We have nothing to go on, so let’s just search the area. This place probably isn’t that large; it shouldn’t take too long.” Even Song Changsheng was a bit perplexed by the situation.

He had thought they would receive some sort of guidance upon entering, but they hadn’t seen so much as a glimmer of light.

”Should we split up to search?” Xu Yunhe suggested with a frown.

”Absolutely not. Safety comes first.” Song Changsheng immediately shut down his dangerous idea.

’Are you kidding? Who knows what’s hiding in this godforsaken place? Splitting up rashly would be asking for trouble.’

”Changsheng is right. We’ll search together,” Zhuang Yuechan agreed. This place gave her a deeply unsettling feeling.

Once they settled on a plan, the group began to move in the direction of the blood moon. Their combined Divine Sense could cover a radius of ten li, enabling them to react quickly to any sudden developments.

They traveled for some time, their expressions growing increasingly grave. After covering a distance of about a thousand li, they found that the scarlet eyes in the darkness hadn’t lessened. Instead, they had become more and more numerous.

They were now so numerous it made one’s skin crawl.

Seeing their grave expressions, Song Changsheng couldn’t help but offer some reassurance. ”The Laws of this Small World are incomplete, and its overall level is low. The strongest creatures it can spawn are only at the Tier Two level. There’s no need to worry too much.”

Hearing this, Zhu Yiqun sidled up and added with a laugh, ”Exactly! Changsheng is the number one expert below the Purple Mansion realm. Together, we even took down a Great Demon. What’s there to be afraid of in a little place like this?”

Xu Yunhe rolled his eyes. ”And who was it just a minute ago, crying about wanting to go home?”

”Damn you, Xu! Always trying to undermine me...”

Before Zhu Yiqun could finish, disaster struck!

BOOM—

A colossal creature charged out of the darkness.

”Get back!”

Song Changsheng bellowed, and the others instantly scattered.

After confirming everyone was safe, Song Changsheng finally had a moment to observe their sudden foe.

Under the perception of his Divine Sense, the creature was just a dark mass, roughly a thousand zhang tall and covered from top to bottom in ”eyes” that gleamed with a scarlet light.

”It’s those strange things from before. They’ve merged together,” Song Changsheng said, his expression turning grim.

”Watch out!” Zhu Yiqun suddenly shoved Chi Huo Old Ghost.

The next moment, something resembling an octopus tentacle swept through the spot where Chi Huo Old Ghost had just been standing.

Having narrowly escaped death, Chi Huo Old Ghost looked with lingering fear in the direction the tentacle had gone, his forehead drenched in sweat. A moment ago, he had felt the breath of death on his neck.

”It has completely blended into the darkness. Everyone, be careful,” Song Changsheng warned in a low voice, gesturing for the others to move closer to him.

’This thing is bizarre. It can not only merge together but also blend perfectly into the darkness. Even with the strength of my Divine Sense, I can’t find a single trace of it.’

”It’s coming!” Xu Yunhe shouted. His long sword left its sheath, unleashing a torrent of Sword Qi. A series of soft thuds echoed in their ears.

”There are too many of them! I can’t kill them all.”

”Brother Xu, get back!” Song Changsheng pulled Xu Yunhe aside, then activated the Purple Mansion Melting Furnace within his Middle Dantian. The seed of the Earth Core Cold Flame instantly flared to life, becoming incandescent.

Song Changsheng opened his mouth and spat out a jet of ethereal blue flame.

The flame formed a defensive wall around them. The scarlet eyes slammed into it like moths to a flame, instantly turning into wisps of smoke and dissipating.

”Are they some kind of... insects?” Zhu Yiqun asked with a frown.

”If they’re insects, this will be much easier. Spiritual Fire is their natural enemy. We can’t stay here. I’ll clear a path. Stay close behind me.”

With a great shout, Song Changsheng grabbed Yuechan’s wrist and charged forward. Vast swaths of the insects were incinerated wherever he passed.

The group charged forward for hours on end before finally breaking through. The effort had consumed a massive amount of Song Changsheng’s energy, and his face was pale.

”Are those things endless?” Zhu Yiqun asked, glancing back with lingering fear.

He roughly estimated that no less than a hundred million insects had died in the Spiritual Fire along the way, yet there was still no end in sight. The swarm was like a hopeless, endless ocean.

”They seem to be confined to that area back there,” someone noted. ”There isn’t a single one up ahead.”

’Could this be the danger Soulless mentioned?’ Song Changsheng mused, stroking his chin.

When they had met, Soulless had bluntly stated that they were counting on Song Changsheng’s strength.

”Brother Song, look over there! It looks like there are buildings.”

...