Longevity: Comprehending the Heart Method

The Tree Demon chose an impeccable moment for its sneak attack. From the very beginning, it concentrated all its offensive power on Song Changsheng, maximizing the ambush’s effectiveness.

However, Song Changsheng and the others were already on guard. The moment the dense thicket of roots shot out, Xu Yunhe’s flying sword flew from its sheath. An endless Sword Light flashed, clearing away vast swathes of roots and opening an escape route for Song Changsheng.

Song Changsheng swiftly leaped out of the encirclement and immediately unleashed the Earth Core Cold Flame on the area below.

Wherever the eerie blue flames touched, the roots were instantly devoured, quickly transforming the area into a raging, blue ocean of fire.

As the absolute bane of all things plant-based, the Spiritual Fire gave the roots no chance to resist. Like octopuses thrown into a sizzling wok, they could only writhe in despair as they died, ultimately turning to Ashes.

Unfortunately, to the Tree Demon, these roots were merely an insignificant fraction of its massive root system.

Realizing its sneak attack had failed, the Tree Demon promptly severed the roots tainted by the Spiritual Fire and retreated like a receding tide.

"Hmph. So it couldn’t hold back in the end after all." Xu Yunhe stood with his sword at the ready, his cold gaze fixed in the direction of the Tree Demon’s main body as he spoke.

"I was originally going to spare its life, considering how difficult it is for plant-type Spirit Monsters to cultivate. But I never imagined the beast would be so ruthlessly ambitious, plotting to be the oriole that preys on the mantis.

Today, I will destroy its thousand years of cultivation!" Song Changsheng declared, radiating killing intent.

Even though the Tree Demon had tricked him and used him as a weapon, Song Changsheng had only planned on taking the Flood Dragon Scale and leaving. After all, the Tree Demon had broken their agreement first, rendering it void.

He just never expected the Tree Demon to be so audacious that it would try to wipe them all out in one fell swoop.

This was utterly intolerable. If he didn’t grind this demon to dust, even Song Changsheng’s Dao Heart would be affected.

"Let’s not get careless. It must have some kind of ace up its sleeve to dare to attack us. We still need to be cautious," Zhuang Yuechan couldn’t help but say, seeing the two men’s righteous indignation.

"Of course. No one should underestimate a plant-type Spirit Monster that has cultivated for over a thousand years," Song Changsheng said, his eyes cold as he stored away the massive serpent’s corpse. "But don’t worry too much. The Flood Dragon Scale is ours now. If it pushes me too far, I’ll just burn this entire Celestial Sinking Valley to the ground."

With the Earth Core Cold Flame, he could indeed do it. At that point, the Tree Demon would be doomed. After all, its massive body was both an advantage and a weakness; until it broke through to Tier Four, its main body was completely immobile.

The only problem was that doing so could easily trigger a wildfire spanning thousands of miles. Thus, he wouldn’t resort to it unless absolutely necessary.

Just as Song Changsheng and the others were preparing to assault the Tree Demon’s main body directly, they felt a vast wave of Life Force erupt from it, sweeping across the entire valley. Immediately after, the ground began to tremble violently, as if an Earth Dragon were turning over below.

RUMBLE...

Countless surrounding trees began to transform at a speed visible to the naked eye, eventually morphing into tall tree-men that tore themselves from the earth.

"Are... are all of these Tree Demons?" Xu Yunhe’s eyes widened as he stared at the hundreds, no, thousands of tree-men, his throat suddenly feeling dry.

Song Changsheng immediately replied, his tone firm, "Impossible. Cultivation is incredibly difficult for plant-type Spirit Monsters; there’s no way they could exist on such a massive scale. This must be some kind of Innate Divine Technique.

It may look like all these trees have come to life, but they’ve only been temporarily granted the ability to move. They have no Spiritual Wisdom of their own; they’re all being controlled by the main Tree Demon.

Look closely. Don’t you see roots wrapped around each of the tree-men?"

The other two focused their gaze and saw that it was just as Song Changsheng had described.

Moreover, the tree-men moved slowly and stiffly, and their bodies gave off no fluctuations of Demonic Power. They were only intimidating because of their sheer numbers.

"If that’s the case, what’s our next move?" Xu Yunhe asked, licking his dry lips.

Song Changsheng silently drew his Celestial Measuring Ruler. "We fight our way through, of course," he said. "I’ll take the vanguard. You two cover me!"

With that, Song Changsheng leaped into the air, transforming into a streak of light as he charged the army of tree-men. Severed limbs flew everywhere in his wake, and bodies littered the ground.

This was only possible because they were tree-men. Had they been anything else, the area would have already become a Chaotic Scene.

The tree-men’s attacks were very simplistic, consisting of little more than claws formed from branches and throwing rocks. Their power was only about that of the Qi Cultivation Stage.

Even so, concentrated attacks from them could still be fatal, as their numbers were simply overwhelming. For this reason, the trio didn’t use Sword Control, as it would have made them easy targets in the air.

Led by Song Changsheng, the three of them plowed a path forward, but the tree-men seemed inexhaustible. As soon as one group fell, another would rise to take its place. They were endless.

Realizing that at this rate they would die of exhaustion long before they even reached the Tree Demon, Song Changsheng shouted, "Get behind me! I’ll use the Spiritual Fire to open a path!"

Shielding Zhuang Yuechan and Xu Yunhe behind him, Song Changsheng brandished the Spirit-Slaying Gourd and unleashed a torrent of Spiritual Fire. The tree-men had no resistance whatsoever, bursting into flames on contact, and he quickly burned a path forward.

However, using the Spiritual Fire for so long had also severely drained Song Changsheng’s Spiritual Power—an undoubtedly terrible sign.

It was then that Song Changsheng and the others easily discerned the Tree Demon’s true intentions.