Longevity: Comprehending the Heart Method

Dragonlike streams of Purple Qi surged from all directions, vast and mighty, blanketing the entire Spirit Peak.

Standing halfway up the mountain, Song Changsheng felt a desolate, boundless aura descend from the dome of the sky. As he gazed at the Purple Qi that stretched across the heavens, an impulse suddenly bloomed within him—an impulse to explore the secrets of the universe!

Activating his [Eye of Truth], an otherworldly pattern materialized in the depths of his eyes, emitting a hazy, fluorescent glow. He stared intently at the Purple Qi that blotted out the sky.

Empowered by the Pupil Technique, Song Changsheng saw more. Hidden within the Purple Qi were simple symbols, resembling some sort of writing, yet also like a child’s doodles.

Song Changsheng’s eyes widened as he desperately tried to see the hazy runes clearly, but no matter how hard he tried, he could only make out their blurred outlines.

After a moment, he felt a faint, sharp pain in his eyes, and his eyeballs began to tremble erratically. But he didn’t give up or stop. Instead, he widened his eyes further, fixing his gaze on one particular symbol.

’I don’t need to see them all,’ he thought. ’Just one. If I can just see one clearly...’

The stinging pain grew more intense, and his vision became shrouded in a faint crimson haze. Had anyone been standing before him, they would have seen blood seeping from the corners of his eyes, tracing paths down his cheeks.

He seemed completely oblivious, his gaze still locked on the sky. An unknown amount of time passed. His eyes were now completely bathed in blood, yet the symbols seemed to recede ever further away.

Suddenly, among the tens of thousands of symbols, one erupted in a brilliant flash of light. Though it lasted but an instant, Song Changsheng saw it clearly. The symbol’s strokes were not complex, but he was certain he had never seen it before.

Yet for some unknown reason, the moment he saw it, he understood its meaning. It was the word for "Dao"!

BOOM—

A roar echoed through Song Changsheng’s mind, as if something had detonated within his Sea of Consciousness.

PFFT—

He sprayed a mouthful of blood onto the ground before him. His consciousness began to fade, his body teetering on the verge of collapse. The instant he fell, the symbols filling the sky vanished...

"He succeeded!"

"The Clan Leader has reached the Purple Mansion Realm!"

As the last of the Purple Qi poured into Ruyun Hall, all the disciples of the Song Clan erupted in a thunderous cheer. Many of the clan elders embraced each other, weeping with joy.

Watching this scene, Song Xianyun, who was already beginning to show his age, was so moved that his graying beard trembled. He took a deep breath, feeling as if something had just burst within his chest.

One hundred and twenty years. A full one hundred and twenty years!

For all these years, the Song Clan had endured endless humiliation. Anyone dared to step on them, anyone *wanted* to step on them. Countless Song Clan disciples had shed their blood at the foot of Vast Mist Peak because of it.

Song Xianyun clenched his fists. His once slightly stooped back straightened ramrod-straight in that moment. He let out an uninhibited laugh, but as he laughed, tears filled his eyes and streamed down his face. He had finally lived to see this day.

His hearty laughter echoed through the mountains, but it was soon drowned out by the enthusiastic voices of others. Every member of the Song Clan was cheering for this historic moment!

Amidst this fervent atmosphere, no one noticed Song Changsheng lying in an inconspicuous corner. Withered yellow leaves fluttered down from the branches, nearly covering him completely.

"Sigh..."

A faint sigh echoed from within the Wordless Dao Scripture in his Sea of Consciousness. The spectral image of an old man with the ethereal air of an immortal sage slowly emerged from it.

Barefoot, he stepped onto the churning surface of the Sea of Consciousness, each step sending out ripples as he approached Song Changsheng’s Divine Soul.

At this moment, his Soul Body was seated cross-legged on a reef, its eyes tightly shut. Its aura was bleak and its light was dim.

"What a foolish boy, fearless in your ignorance. Daring to spy on the Celestial Dao with such meager Cultivation... I can’t believe you actually succeeded. This world truly becomes more incomprehensible by the day.

I left this Divine Soul projection to help you during a critical breakthrough in the future, but I never expected I’d be forced to intervene so soon."

The old man shook his head helplessly. He too had once used the [Eye of Truth] to spy on the Celestial Dao, but at that time, he had already stood at the very pinnacle of this world. Even so, he had nearly perished completely.

It was a miracle that Song Changsheng was still breathing.

Without outside help, it would take Song Changsheng at least decades, perhaps even centuries, to digest this fortuitous encounter. But with his current level of Cultivation, his Physical Body would have long since decayed over such a long period, leaving him as nothing more than a wandering ghost.

While that was also a path of cultivation, the old man, judging by his own standards, figured that Song Changsheng would not want to end up that way.

"So be it. Your master will lend you a hand now. How much you gain from this will depend on your own fortune."

The old man extended a withered finger and gently tapped the center of Song Changsheng’s brow. Spiritual Light flared, and the bleak aura around Song Changsheng’s Soul Body instantly vanished.

"My good disciple, from now on, you must walk the path ahead on your own."

Gently stroking the top of Song Changsheng’s head, the old man’s form gradually dimmed and finally disappeared...

"Master?"

Song Changsheng awoke with a start, but there was nothing before his eyes except for the gently falling leaves.

He pressed a hand to his throbbing head and stood up. He discovered that the sky-spanning Purple Qi was gone, but the waves of cheers reaching his ears told him one thing: they had succeeded. The Song Clan finally had a Purple Mansion Cultivator once again!