Longevity: Comprehending the Heart Method

In response to Wang Qingquan’s plea, Song Changsheng simply shook his head. These people had been scared witless and would spend the rest of their days living in fear. It wasn’t worth wasting energy and manpower on them; the effort would be greater than the reward.

"They’re nothing more than swine. Letting them go is no great loss. Our priority now is to clean up the enemies who are still putting up a futile resistance."

At Song Changsheng’s command, everyone surged forward. An overwhelming torrent of Magic instantly enveloped Baiyun Peak.

The Foundation Establishment Cultivators each found a suitable opponent.

Song Luzhou and Liu Hongyan faced Li Tiancheng; Wang Qingquan and Liu Hongye faced Qiu Tianyang; Xia Yunxue faced Qu Jinsheng; Song Luyun and Yu Xueqian faced Qiu Wenwu...

Gazing at the chaotic battlefield, Du Huating let out a quiet sigh. The Song Clan’s methods were beyond his imagination. He had originally planned to use this opportunity to swallow up the Liuyun Sect contingent, but Song Changsheng had given him no such chance.

His own side was trapped with no hope of survival. The Martial Spirit Sect had reached the end of its road.

A sudden wave of grief washed over Du Huating. The Earth Fire Sect had endured for hundreds of years, and now it would end by his hand. This outcome was a result of his actions alone.

He had lied to Liuu Ruowei when he’d told her the Lieyang Sect hadn’t responded to his messages. The truth was, he had never contacted the Lieyang Sect at all. In fact, he had deliberately cut off all channels of communication with them.

"I am the betrayer of my Sect..." Du Huating muttered, his face seeming to age decades in an instant.

"Du Huating, your end has come! Kill yourself, and I’ll leave your body intact!"

Song Changsheng stood atop Jin Xuan’s shell. Spiritual Artifacts—the Celestial Measuring Ruler, the Heaven-Encompassing Net, and the Yin Yang Spirit-Slaying Gourd—orbited around him. A murderous aura emanated from him, and his gaze was ice-cold, as if he were already looking at a corpse.

Du Huating looked down at the arrogant young man. They had met once, over a decade ago, when he and Cheng Yufei had plotted an ambush to kill him.

Back then, the young man could only hide behind Wang Wanzhou.

But now, here he stood before him, presuming to pass judgment on his fate.

Du Huating found it deeply ironic.

But he had no intention of surviving this. Otherwise, he would have fled with Liuu Ruowei and the others. He was the betrayer of his Sect; he was too ashamed to continue clinging ignobly to life.

He would personally see the Earth Fire Sect off on its final journey.

"Sect Leader... Eldest Brother, I have done everything you asked. I hope you haven’t forgotten your promise..."

Du Huating took one last look at Baiyun Peak below. Even now, in its ruined state, its beauty still captivated him.

Closing his eyes, he could almost see his younger self again, timidly following a sage-like elder, climbing Baiyun Peak one careful step at a time.

The first time he had stood upon its summit, the view from Baiyun Peak had left him utterly awestruck.

"Master, your disciple has failed you..."

A single, shimmering tear slipped from the corner of his eye. A flash of lightning erupted from his body, and then he exploded, turning into a cloud of ash that scattered on the wind.

Song Changsheng was taken aback. He hadn’t expected Du Huating to actually take his own life, let alone by using an extreme method like the Annihilation of Body and Spirit, which didn’t even leave behind a True Spirit.

’If he knew it would come to this, why did he start it in the first place?’ Song Changsheng thought, shaking his head. He turned and threw himself back into the fray. He had no time to mourn an enemy...

The moment Du Huating took his own life, Liuu Ruowei, who was hiding in the mountains behind, seemed to sense something. She raised her head and looked toward Baiyun Peak. Even from this distance, she could feel the fluctuations from the battle, and one by one, familiar auras were being extinguished.

The Martial Spirit Sect was gone. The Earth Fire Sect was gone.

Liuu Ruowei suddenly felt the urge to cry. But when she looked at the panicked, uneasy faces around her, she held back her tears. She was likely the only Foundation Establishment Cultivator to have survived. She could not show a single trace of fear, for she had to lead them and help them live on.

She stood up, her expression unreadable. "Let’s go," she said to her fellow sect members. "It’s time."

She then took out her Waist Token and activated a Spatial Transmission Array hidden there. Liuu Ruowei had no idea where this array had come from; perhaps even Du Huating hadn’t known.

What’s more, she had no idea where the array led.

Gazing at the iridescent vortex before her, she led the way and stepped inside, embarking on a journey into the unknown...

The moment the Space Transmission Array activated, Song Xianming, who had been suspended in midair using his Divine Sense to search for Chang Wudao, was alerted. His sharp gaze pierced the thick darkness, locking onto the mountains behind the sect.

Just as he was about to investigate, a blood-red face suddenly materialized in the sky above Baiyun Peak. It had no mouth or nose, only a pair of empty eyes that looked down upon the entire mountain.

"A Blood Demon?" Song Xianming’s eyes narrowed. He soon realized the face wasn’t a physical entity, but more like a projection.

The sudden appearance of the blood-red face caused an immediate uproar. Everyone instinctively stopped fighting, staring at the enormous face with a mixture of fear and alarm.

"Look, the bodies!" someone suddenly cried out.

Song Changsheng glanced down and saw the bodies of the fallen cultivators shriveling at a visible rate, as if something were draining them dry.

The blood that had pooled on the ground was also being drawn down, seeping into the earth.

’There’s something in the ground!’ Song Changsheng realized at once.

At that moment, Song Xianming flicked a finger toward the blood-red face, and a gust of Gang wind instantly swept through the air.

"Little Divine Technique: Xunfeng Finger."

Unexpectedly, the blood-red face offered no resistance and was instantly shredded by the Gang wind, vanishing completely.

’It really was just an illusion,’ Song Xianming thought, his brow furrowed. He couldn’t imagine who would play such a pointless trick.

Just then, he heard Song Changsheng shout, "Grandpa, there’s something in the ground!"

Song Xianming snapped back to reality and saw that all the bodies had become desiccated husks—even the corpses of Foundation Establishment Cultivators like Qiu Tianyang were no exception.

’A blood sacrifice?’

The term flashed through Song Xianming’s mind. In that instant, he finally understood Chang Wudao’s plot. He intended to use the entire Martial Spirit Sect as a blood sacrifice, and the face had been nothing more than a diversion!

Even for someone as experienced and worldly as him, the realization sent a cold shiver down his spine.

"Everyone, get off Baiyun Peak now!"

Song Xianming roared, then drew his Magical Treasure, Stabilize the Realm. It transformed into a flash of Sword Light and plunged straight into Baiyun Peak. He was going to drag that animal Chang Wudao out!

Song Changsheng and the others quickly withdrew. Seeing his chance, Li Siyang fled in the opposite direction with the remaining disciples of the Martial Spirit Sect.

With no time to overthink, Song Changsheng immediately ordered Song Luzhou and the Wang Clan to give chase, but he kept the Quasi-Celestial Ship back. He could already feel a powerful force beginning to awaken.

He had a hunch that Chang Wudao might have broken through to the Purple Mansion realm.

And just as he thought, the next moment, a large hole blew open on the mountainside. Amidst a shower of flying rock and debris, two figures shot out, one chasing the other.

"Hahahaha, I did it! I finally did it!

"Song Xianming, so what if you got lucky and beat me by a step? You still can’t do a thing to me!"

His hair a mess, Chang Wudao hovered in midair, laughing like a maniac.

Song Xianming’s face was dark as he pointed Stabilize the Realm from a distance and roared, "You animal! You actually cultivated the Blood Demon Technique and sacrificed the entire Martial Spirit Sect! Do you have no fear of divine punishment?!"

"Nonsense! It was you! You’re the ones who destroyed the Martial Spirit Sect! I just took a little something from their bodies. You caused this! All of you!"

Chang Wudao pointed a finger at Song Xianming, his voice thick with resentment and his crimson eyes burning with rage.

If it weren’t for this man, he never would have risked cultivating the *Celestial Demon Manual*. He wouldn’t have let the Blood Demon corrupt his mind, and he wouldn’t have been forced to break through using such a method!

He was the cause of it all!

Watching from the side, Song Changsheng couldn’t help but shake his head. Chang Wudao had gone completely insane, having fallen entirely to the Demon Dao. There was nothing to say to a creature worse than an animal. He looked up at the Quasi-Celestial Ship, poised and ready in the sky, and commanded:

"Open fire! Blast that bastard to smithereens!"

...