Longevity: Comprehending the Heart Method

The Tree Demon had never intended to defeat them with these treants; that was far too unrealistic. Its only goal was to wear them down.

"Brother Song, let me take over." Seeing Song Changsheng’s slightly pale face, Xu Yunhe immediately volunteered to take his place on the front line.

Song Changsheng didn’t refuse. These treants were merely cannon fodder; he had to conserve his strength for the Tree Demon.

And so, the three of them took turns leading the charge, fighting for a full ancient hour before they finally broke through to the Tree Demon’s true body.

"Well now, are you satisfied with this little surprise I prepared for you?" A human face reappeared on the Tree Demon’s trunk as it sneered at Song Changsheng and his companions.

Song Changsheng used his Spiritual Fire to create a Flame Barrier, blocking the treants that had been tailing them.

Hearing the Tree Demon’s words, he roared in fury, "We made an agreement with you, intending to spare your life! I never imagined you’d be so stubborn. Today, I will personally erase your thousand years of cultivation!"

The Tree Demon reacted as if it had heard the funniest joke in the world. It let out a deafening laugh, its massive canopy trembling with the sound.

When its laughter subsided, it stared coldly at Song Changsheng. "Though I have never ventured out, I have seen plenty of Human Race Cultivators in my long years of cultivation. You are the most shameless, most filthy creatures in this world.

"You have absolutely no honor. If I didn’t strike first to seize the advantage, was I supposed to just wait for you to recover your strength?

"Besides, once I kill you, everything you own will be mine. Now, die!"

The Tree Demon’s trunk shuddered, and a crimson barrier erupted from its base, completely enveloping Song Changsheng and his companions.

Immediately after, the blood-red fruits hanging from the Tree Demon’s branches all shriveled in an instant. Its aura began to skyrocket, quickly reaching a critical point.

"This is bad! It’s about to break through!" Song Changsheng’s expression changed drastically as a chill ran down his spine.

When a demon like this breaks through to a new Great Realm, it is always accompanied by a Thunder Tribulation, each one more violent than the last. An ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator likely couldn’t survive a single strike of the tribulation required to reach Tier Three.

Furthermore, any living creature within the range of the Thunder Tribulation would be attacked without distinction. Unfortunately for them, they were now trapped inside that very range.

This was all part of the Tree Demon’s plan. It knew it was no match for Song Changsheng and his group, so it first did everything it could to drain their strength. Then, it used this bizarre barrier to trap them within the range of its Thunder Tribulation, intending to use the tribulation to wipe them all out at once!

Even if Song Changsheng and the others were lucky enough not to be killed, they would still draw some of the Thunder Tribulation’s fire.

A Tree Demon’s breakthrough tribulation is different from a Human Race’s Golden Core Thunder Tribulation.

When a human undergoes a Golden Core Thunder Tribulation, the tribulation’s power increases with the number and strength of the Cultivators within the tribulation cloud’s range. Thus, one can only rely on themselves to survive it; seeking help is tantamount to suicide.

But the Tree Demon’s breakthrough tribulation is different. The number and power of the Celestial Thunder bolts are fixed.

For instance, if this Thunder Tribulation consisted of nine Thunderbolts, and Song Changsheng’s group absorbed the strike of three, the Tree Demon would only need to withstand the remaining six to reach Tier Three.

From this perspective, it would seem easy for a Tree Demon to pass its tribulation—it would just need to find a place crowded with Demon Beasts or Cultivators.

In practice, however, it’s not nearly so simple. A Tree Demon below Tier Four cannot move its true body, meaning its breakthrough location is fixed.

Besides, Demon Beasts aren’t idiots. The moment a Thunder Tribulation appears, they all scatter. None would be willing to take the fall for the Tree Demon.

The Tree Demon, however, had perfectly solved this problem with its innate Secret Technique: the very barrier now trapping Song Changsheng and his companions.

Originally, this trap was prepared for that great serpent, but the arrival of Song Changsheng’s group disrupted its plans, forcing it to devise a new one.

Clearly, it had succeeded, and with a far higher chance of success than its original plan!

RUMBLE...

As the Tree Demon’s aura climbed rapidly, dark, oppressive tribulation clouds began to gather over Celestial Sinking Valley. Thunder Serpents writhed within them, emitting a terrifying, heart-pounding energy.

Song Changsheng’s face was as dark as the bottom of a wok. ’These ancient monsters really can’t be underestimated,’ he thought. ’I was already on high alert, and I still fell into its trap!’

Now, only one path lay before them: kill the Tree Demon before the Thunder Tribulation descended. The only other option was to pray that the Tree Demon itself would be turned to ash by the tribulation.

Otherwise, if it successfully passed the Thunder Tribulation and reached Tier Three, they would be nothing more than fish on a chopping block.

At this thought, Song Changsheng and the others exchanged a look and charged the Tree Demon in unison.

"Little Divine Technique: Mountain-Flipping Seal!"

"Tier Three Low-Grade Attack Talisman: Xunfeng Soul-cutting Talisman!"

"Nine Celestial Killing Swords!"

In that instant, the three held nothing back, unleashing their ultimate abilities.

In a flash, the Tree Demon was engulfed in a blinding, brilliant light...

Outside Celestial Sinking Valley, the disheveled Drunkard and the white-robed Cultivator stood upon the clouds. Watching the tribulation clouds gather below, the Drunkard’s eyes widened. "Don’t tell me this was part of your plan too?"

The white-robed Cultivator shook his head. "I knew the Tree Demon was close to Tier Three, but I never expected it to attempt a breakthrough right now. Otherwise, I would have eliminated it long ago. After all, once it reaches Tier Three, it will be able to sense the thing below. I do understand the priorities here."

"Hmph. If you really understood, you wouldn’t have arranged this trial in the first place," the Drunkard jabbed. "So, what now?"

"We wait and see," the white-robed Cultivator said coolly.

"You’re not going to intervene? That’s a Thunder Tribulation! With their level of Cultivation, they’ll be severely injured, if not killed!" The Drunkard was growing furious. "You’re toying with their lives!"

The white-robed Cultivator remained unmoved. "The line between life and death is the ultimate test of one’s character," he stated coldly.

"If this allows me to see someone’s true nature, what are a few injuries? I will heal her, of course. That is far better than suffering heartbreak later on."

The Drunkard was so incensed he could barely speak. He pointed a finger at the white-robed Cultivator’s nose and roared, "You’re being utterly unreasonable! If you won’t go, then I will!"

SHING!

The sound of a blade being drawn from its sheath cut through the air. "I said," the white-robed Cultivator stated, his voice devoid of emotion, "no one is to interfere."

...

KABOOM—

"It’s almost down! Everyone, push harder!" Song Changsheng, his face pale, yelled at the top of his lungs.

After a fierce battle that lasted for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, the Tree Demon was covered in wounds. If not for its profound reserves of power, it would have long since perished under their relentless assault.

"I will kill you!"

The Tree Demon let out an enraged roar. The ferocity of their counterattack had caught it completely by surprise. It had assumed they were a spent force, but it never imagined they still had so many hidden cards to play.

That crimson bead, in particular, had nearly blasted its trunk in two.

The Thunder Tribulation was still gathering, but at this rate, the Tree Demon feared it wouldn’t live to see it descend. And even if it did manage to hold on, it would be impossible to survive the tribulation in its current, battered state.

A sliver of regret pricked its heart. ’If I hadn’t provoked Song Changsheng and his group in the first place, would things have turned out differently?’

But alas, there’s no medicine for regret in this world. You have to drink the bitter brew you make yourself.

"Even if I die, I’ll take you all with me!"

The Tree Demon’s furious roar echoed through the valley, and a sudden, ominous premonition seized Song Changsheng’s heart.

"I’ll make you humans taste the agony we Plant Spirits endure in our cultivation!" The Tree Demon’s spectral face twisted into a terrifying, ferocious mask, and its aura surged once again.

"This is bad! It’s going to trigger the Celestial Thunder ahead of schedule!" Song Changsheng’s face paled. Once the Celestial Thunder descends, it won’t stop even if the Tribulation Crosser is dead. The Tree Demon was using its own life as a catalyst to drag them all down with it!

BOOM—

The long-brewing tribulation cloud finally unleashed a thick, violet bolt of Thunderbolt.

"Hahaha, you’re all going to die!"

Gazing at the Thunderbolt pulsing with destructive energy, the Tree Demon abandoned all resistance and broke into a maniacal laugh.

BOOM—

Beneath the Celestial Thunder, the Tree Demon was instantly turned to ash—a complete Annihilation of Body and Spirit, without even a trace of its True Spirit left behind.

The Tribulation Crosser had perished. The remaining Thunderbolts in the tribulation cloud instantly locked onto Song Changsheng and his companions...

...