Longevity: Comprehending the Heart Method

Song Changsheng followed the "scent," using the Secret Technique, Ten Thousand Miles Tracking, to feel his way forward.

Along the way, he discovered numerous traces of battle but saw not a single corpse. He guessed they must have been collected by that old man.

’This undoubtedly confirmed my suspicion. The enemy must be performing some sort of evil ritual, like a blood sacrifice.’

’The purpose of such a ritual could only be one of a few things: either to gain power or to refine something like a Demonic Spiritual Artifact.’

But no matter the case, Song Changsheng could not allow him to succeed. He knew the old man would never let him go; their conflict had already become a duel to the death.

For some reason, however, Song Changsheng felt a strange sense of familiarity with the man. ’I must have encountered him up close before.’

’But I’ve met my fair share of Purple Mansion Cultivators, and because of the black fog, I couldn’t see his face clearly. For a moment, I just can’t place him.’

Suddenly, Song Changsheng felt the space before him open up. The omnipresent, irritating black fog finally vanished, and his field of view became incredibly wide.

Song Changsheng glanced back and saw that the path behind him was still shrouded in thick fog, a stark contrast to the open space before him.

Seeing this bizarre scene, Song Changsheng halted his advance. Instead, he activated his Eye of Truth and began to observe his surroundings.

Just as he expected, bright Array Patterns materialized on the surrounding cavern walls. With his sharp eyes, he quickly discerned that these patterns were completely different from those of the Heaven and Earth Lock Void Array.

’In other words, this is another, separate Array.’

Song Changsheng’s eyes lit up. He knew he was very close to the underground space Zhuang Yuechan had mentioned. According to her description, Yinn Shang and the others had been trapped precisely because the old man had suddenly activated some kind of Array.

Clutching his last Earth God Thunder in his hand, the Tai Chi Diagram hovering before him, Song Changsheng concealed his aura and continued forward. Soon, after navigating two more turns, a massive underground cavern appeared before his eyes.

And then he saw it: the intimidating, colossal body of Golden Armor.

With the help of his Eye of Truth, he could clearly see that Golden Armor’s body was bound by pitch-black chains. Beneath it, a strange diagram was carved into the ground, continuously drawing power from its body.

’So this is the last Great Demon of the Profound Armor Turtle clan, famed for having the strongest defense in the Hundred Thousand Mountains? To think it’s fallen to such a state.’

Song Changsheng shook his head slightly. ’It seems that in this world, life is tough whether you’re a human or a demon.’

He then shifted his gaze to a short distance away. There, several figures were also bound by pitch-black chains, suspended in mid-air.

It was Yinn Shang, Niu Dazhuang, and the others.

Their current condition was terrible. The black chains piercing their shoulder blades were continuously siphoning the Spiritual Power from their bodies, leaving them to struggle feebly in mid-air.

A chill ran down Song Changsheng’s spine. ’I know Yinn Shang and Niu Dazhuang’s strength very well. They far surpass other Cultivators of the same rank. And since they dared to hunt a Great Demon, they must be carrying quite a few treasures.’

’But in this situation, they have absolutely no ability to fight back. Just what kind of Array is this powerful?’

Song Changsheng hid to the side and carefully scanned the area. Sensing no one else’s aura, he finally revealed himself and called out softly, "Fellow Daoist Yinn? Fellow Daoist Niu?"

Hearing the call, a deathly pale Yinn Shang slowly opened his eyes. They lit up upon seeing Song Changsheng, but the light quickly faded.

’Song Changsheng’s strength is decent, but he’s nowhere near powerful enough to break this Array.’

He could only manage to say in a hoarse voice, "Fellow Daoist Song, this Array is treacherous. Don’t come any closer."

Just then, Niu Dazhuang called out weakly, "Hey, Song! Did you come here to... to laugh at me?"

’This guy is as infuriating as ever.’

Song Changsheng didn’t even deign to look at him and instead addressed Yinn Shang. "Fellow Daoist Yinn, just hold on. I’ll figure out a way to get you out."

Yinn Shang was touched and was about to try and talk him out of it, but Niu Dazhuang cut in with a sneer, "Kid, this is the Tier Three Low-Grade Yin Sha Locking Spirit Array. Even *I* can’t break it. You think you can?"

"Don’t be ridiculous. Run for your life while you still can, before that old bastard gets back."

"Junior Brother, don’t be rude."

After chiding Niu Dazhuang, Yinn Shang looked at Song Changsheng and said, "Fellow Daoist Song, this Array is perilous. You shouldn’t risk it."

"Yuechan escaped earlier. I don’t know if she made it to safety. Please, help find her and take her back to Luoxia City. Tell her to inform our Master that Dongtian Xie is in the Griffin Mountain Range, using a Blood Refining Technique to forge an Evil Artifact. He must be stopped!"

Song Changsheng’s heart jolted at his words. ’Dongtian Xie! The mastermind is actually Dongtian Xie!’

In that instant, a flood of long-buried memories returned.

Back when he first arrived in Luoxia City, he was ambushed by a Blood Demon and an Evil Cultivator during an auction. The Blood Demon had come for a Demon King’s cub, while the Evil Cultivator was after the Auctioneer, Xia Wanyun.

That Evil Cultivator was Dongtian Xie!

At the time, he and Xu Yunhe had tracked Dongtian Xie, only to find him trapped in a Chain Array set by Cultivators from the Lieyang Sect.

To ruin the Lieyang Sect’s plans, Song Changsheng had used his Godslaying Flying Knife to kill one of them, disrupting the Grand Array and allowing Dongtian Xie to escape.

Afterward, he and Xu Yunhe had leaked Dongtian Xie’s whereabouts, intending to use others to eliminate him. But Dongtian Xie still managed to escape into the Hundred Thousand Mountains and vanished without a trace.

He had originally thought that Dongtian Xie had either left the area or died somewhere in the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

He never imagined that not only had Dongtian Xie remained, but he had also laid such a massive trap in the Griffin Mountain Range!

’The seed I planted that day has borne fruit here today,’ Song Changsheng thought, a bitter smile on his face. Strictly speaking, he bore some of the responsibility for this disaster.

’If I hadn’t secretly intervened and let Dongtian Xie go, none of this would be happening today.’

He felt a pang of guilt for what Yinn Shang and the others were going through.

But even if time could be turned back, Song Changsheng would not have changed his choice. For him, there was a simple reason: the interests of his clan outweighed everything else.

If he hadn’t stopped the Lieyang Sect that day, and they had successfully claimed the reward from Luoxia City and nurtured a second Purple Mansion Cultivator, it was uncertain whether the Song Clan would even still exist today.

’Better you than me, my friend...’

Still, since a mistake had been made, he had to do his best to atone for it, no matter how arduous and perilous the process might be.

With this thought, Song Changsheng looked at Yinn Shang and said, "I’ve already made sure Fellow Daoist Zhuang is settled and safe for now."

"But there’s more than one Array here. Outside, a Heaven and Earth Lock Void Array has sealed off the entire area for several miles. If we can’t break it, none of us are getting out of here."

Hearing this, the hearts of Yinn Shang and the others sank. They had been trapped as soon as they entered and had no idea what was happening outside, so they had still clung to a sliver of hope.

But after hearing Song Changsheng’s account, they knew they were in a truly desperate situation.

Although three Purple Mansion Great Cultivators had entered this time, not a single one of them was a Tier Three Array Master. In a situation like this, who could possibly break the Arrays?

Yinn Shang was instantly overcome by a profound sense of despair and helplessness.

Niu Dazhuang fell silent as well. He had been stuck at the level of a Tier Two Top-grade Array Master for a long time, unable to take that final step. Faced with a Tier Three Array, he too was powerless.

Just then, Song Changsheng asked, "Fellow Daoist Niu, have you been able to identify the energy source for this Yin Sha Locking Spirit Array?"

Niu Dazhuang snapped irritably, "Can’t you see that giant damn turtle right there?"

"It’s the energy source! I know what you’re thinking, and I’d advise you to give up on that idea. Golden Armor is part of the Array; trying to break it by killing the turtle is completely hopeless."

"You’d be better off spending your energy on the Array outside. You might even save your own skin. The Heaven and Earth Lock Void Array has forty-nine nodes. If you can destroy more than half of them, you’ll have a chance."

He spoke bluntly, but he still didn’t forget to offer Song Changsheng a pointer.

Song Changsheng’s opinion of him improved considerably. He smiled and said, "I came here precisely to break the Array."

"Under any other circumstances, my skills are too shallow, and I would indeed be helpless against this Tier Three Array. But right now, I think I might have a chance."

With that, he turned his gaze directly to the distant Golden Armor and declared, "Golden Armor Race Leader, let’s make a deal!"

...