Longevity: Comprehending the Heart Method

The great serpent on the ground let out wave after wave of mournful cries.

Seeing this, Xu Yunhe immediately followed up with another sword strike. At the critical moment, the great serpent twisted its head and dodged. Still, the blade left a gash on its neck so deep that bone was visible. Any deeper, and it would have been enough to sever its head completely.

The great serpent hissed in agony as the Demon Qi around it roiled violently.

But it had no time to retaliate against Xu Yunhe, as Song Changsheng’s and Zhuang Yuechan’s attacks were already upon it.

It could only desperately channel its Demon Techniques to resist their assault.

But a prolonged defense is bound to fail. If this kept up, it would sooner or later be utterly destroyed.

At this point, the great serpent had nothing left to hold back.

Deep within its heart, a drop of brilliant golden Essence Blood suddenly exploded. An overwhelmingly tyrannical power instantly surged through its entire body.

The great serpent hissed at the sky and instantly entered a state of Frenzy. Its already tyrannical aura surged to a new height. Its wounds began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye, and in moments, only the two most severe injuries on its head and neck remained.

It reared up, its eyes filled with hatred and madness as it stared at Song Changsheng and the others.

All power comes at a price. What it had just used was a single drop of Essence Blood, created through dozens of refinements after it had devoured a piece of the Black Dragon Demon King’s flesh.

One could say this drop of blood was nearly indistinguishable from true Dragon Blood. It was the key to its transformation from a serpent into a Flood Dragon, originally meant to be used at the very last moment of the process.

Yet, it had never expected to be forced into such a desperate situation by Song Changsheng and his companions, compelling it to use its trump card prematurely.

This meant it had lost its chance to become a Flood Dragon. How could it not be filled with rage? How could it not be consumed by hatred?

"Everyone, be careful! It’ll try to pick us off one by one!"

Song Changsheng’s expression was grim as he sent the warning to the other two via voice transmission.

In its current state, the great serpent’s power surpassed any one of them individually. If it focused all its might on a single target, even Song Changsheng would struggle to defend himself, to say nothing of the weaker Xu Yunhe and Zhuang Yuechan.

And in fact, that was precisely the great serpent’s plan. Its crimson, vertical pupils scanned the area, finally settling on Xu Yunhe.

Its original target had been Zhuang Yuechan; after all, she was the one who had lured it out in the first place.

But instinct told it that its current state wouldn’t last long. It had to return to its lair as quickly as possible if it wanted a fighting chance.

Therefore, Xu Yunhe, who was blocking its path of retreat, had become a thorn in its side!

"HISS—"

It opened its maw and spat out a cloud of venom.

Xu Yunhe scrambled to dodge.

"TSSSS—"

Wherever the venom landed, vegetation withered and the ground corroded. Xu Yunhe was only splashed by a mere trace, yet it ate several large holes in his Protective Gang Qi, a horrifying sight.

With its first attack failing, the great serpent hissed at the sky and charged straight for Xu Yunhe.

Xu Yunhe understood the great serpent’s plan. To prevent their entire hunt from being for naught, he stopped dodging and chose to face the attack head-on!

But his Cultivation was ultimately far too inferior to the great serpent’s. When Song Changsheng had been leading the attack, he could still rely on his superior Body Technique to skirt the edge of the battle and chip away at its strength.

But now, with the great serpent focused solely and recklessly on him, even with Xu Yunhe’s vast combat experience and sharp Swordsmanship, he was defeated within a few exchanges.

Fortunately, Song Changsheng and Zhuang Yuechan intervened just in time. Otherwise, he would have been gravely wounded, if not killed.

Even though they had made it in time, Song Changsheng felt a pang of lingering fear.

Originally, because of the Tree Demon incident, Song Changsheng had planned to wear the serpent down slowly, like a frog in boiling water. The method was slower, but it was safer and would minimize their own expenditure of energy.

But now, he couldn’t afford to be so cautious.

"Demon Binder!"

Song Changsheng waved his hand, and a shimmering green rope shot out from his wide sleeve. Like a Spiritual Snake, it nimbly evaded the great serpent’s attacks and wrapped itself tightly around its body.

The great serpent flew into a rage. Its already massive body swelled further as it tried to snap the Demon-Binding Rope with sheer Physical Power.

Unfortunately for the serpent, while the Demon-Binding Rope was only a Tier Three Low-Grade Artifact, not yet in the ranks of Magical Treasures, its core material was the root of a Tier Four Spirit Plant—the Law Spirit Fruit.

Back then, not even the mighty Celestial Thunder had been able to harm that root. How could a mere serpent hope to damage it?

In fact, the more it struggled, the tighter the rope coiled.

As the great serpent writhed and struggled, Song Changsheng shot forward. He leaped into the air, bringing a fist down upon the serpent’s head. All of his immense Physical Power was channeled into the blow, and the punch slammed the great serpent’s head straight into the ground.

This ferocious display didn’t just catch the great serpent by surprise; even Zhuang Yuechan and Xu Yunhe were left dumbfounded.

Having known him for many years, they were well aware that Song Changsheng was a versatile talent with an incredibly powerful physique.

But over the years, Song Changsheng had almost always fought his enemies using Magical Artifacts and Divine Techniques. He rarely engaged in close-quarters combat, causing them to momentarily forget that this was a man who dared to face down Spiritual Artifacts with his bare Physical Body.

The serpent was clearly dazed by the punch. Reeling from the excruciating pain in its skull, it couldn’t comprehend how Song Changsheng’s tiny body could unleash such tremendous force.

But Song Changsheng couldn’t care less what it was thinking. He rained down a flurry of savage blows on its head, and soon the great serpent was a bloody, mangled mess.

Song Changsheng often took calculated risks, but at his core, he was an extremely cautious person. It was only when circumstances left him no choice that he would resort to such desperate gambles.

On a typical day, unless absolutely necessary, he preferred fighting with Magical Artifacts and other treasures. It was a much safer approach.

He had only intended to catch the serpent off guard, but the visceral feeling of flesh meeting flesh, of pure physical combat, easily ignited a person’s fighting spirit and battle-lust. In the end, Song Changsheng abandoned all defense, relying solely on his Physical Power to brawl head-on with the serpent, roaring in the heat of battle.

"I never thought Brother Song had such a ferocious side to him." Xu Yunhe was inwardly stunned as he watched Song Changsheng, who fought like a humanoid Fierce Beast.

"The victor will be decided soon," Zhuang Yuechan said softly.

Xu Yunhe gave her a puzzled look. ’Although Song Changsheng is fighting with incredible ferocity, he and the great serpent seem evenly matched. It won’t be that easy to determine a winner, will it?’

"The great serpent is restrained by the Demon-Binding Rope, so its agility is no match for Changsheng’s. Plus, it already expended a great deal of energy. It’s not his opponent."

"Besides, Changsheng is carrying three Red Refining Beads crafted by my martial uncle. With the right timing, a single one is enough for a fatal blow."

Zhuang Yuechan had barely finished speaking when, on the battlefield, Song Changsheng’s Body Technique seemed to falter, revealing a slight opening. The great serpent seized the opportunity, opening its cavernous, bloody maw to swallow him whole.

From Xu Yunhe’s perspective, there was no way for Song Changsheng to dodge this attack. He was just about to rush in to help when a flash of crimson light shot from Song Changsheng’s hand, flying straight into the great serpent’s mouth.

Then, with a flicker of movement, Song Changsheng dodged the serpent’s lunge from an impossible angle.

Immediately after, a deafening explosion echoed. A massive, bloody hole was blasted through the serpent’s abdomen, sending flesh and gore flying everywhere in a nauseating display.

"BANG!"

The great serpent let out a final, mournful cry as its massive body crashed to the ground.

With a Red Refining Bead exploding inside it, forget a mere Tier Two Top-Grade Demon Beast—even a Great Demon would be half-dead from the blast, if not killed outright.

As it felt its life force rapidly draining away, the great serpent’s vertical pupils filled with profound indignation and resentment.

Song Changsheng’s expression was cold and hard. ’One Black Dragon Demon King is already pushing the Daqi Empire to its limits. We absolutely cannot allow a second one to rise.’

It could only be called fate. Because of the Demon King’s flesh, its bloodline was given the chance to evolve.

But it was also because of the Demon King’s flesh that it ran into Song Changsheng and his party. Otherwise, hidden away in the Celestial Sinking Valley, it would have been perfectly safe.

Song Changsheng stepped forward. With a light flick of the Celestial Measuring Ruler in his hand, the great serpent’s head was severed from its body.

A future Flood Dragon was thus snuffed out in its infancy.

Just as Song Changsheng was about to harvest the scales, the unexpected happened!

Countless tree roots burst from the earth, lunging toward Song Changsheng like ravenous beasts...

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