Longevity: Comprehending the Heart Method

’I was the one who secretly saved you. Otherwise, you would have suffered the Annihilation of Body and Spirit long ago.

Since you were given a second chance at life, why did you have to come out and cause such evil? You even set up this scheme, harming so many people.

Fortunately, the heavens have given me a chance to make amends. I will ensure you never reincarnate!’

Without another word, and before Dongtian Xie could react, Song Changsheng’s large hand descended. Amidst bloodcurdling screams, his Soul Body was instantly refined, leaving only a ball of incomparably pure Divine Soul Power that was absorbed by the Daoist Scripture in his hand.

The awakening progress abruptly jumped to fifty percent.

Song Changsheng’s eyes lit up. He had expected the effect to be good, but not this good. This meant he only needed to absorb one more soul of this caliber to awaken the Artifact Spirit.

Dongtian Xie had really gotten carried away, daring to target a Purple Mansion Cultivator. He was unbelievably audacious.

After confirming that no trace of Dongtian Xie’s Divine Soul remained, Song Changsheng withdrew from his Sea of Consciousness. He slowly opened his eyes, only to be met by pairs of gazes, some worried, others wary.

Yinn Shang approached him and asked tentatively, "Fellow Daoist Song?"

Song Changsheng smiled faintly and cupped his hands. "I have taken care of Dongtian Xie. Thank you all for your assistance."

His words, however, did not dispel their doubts. Instead, they grew even more vigilant. After all, that was a Purple Mansion Cultivator. For Song Changsheng to claim he’d dealt with him so quickly... who did he think he was fooling?

The hot-tempered Niu Dazhuang even pulled out his great hammer and bellowed, "How can you prove you’re my Brother Song? If you say one word wrong, I’ll bash your head in!"

Yinn Shang’s face was grave as well. "Fellow Daoist, if you cannot prove your identity, then I’m afraid you’ll have to come with me to Luoxia City to see my master."

Song Changsheng didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. ’When did I become his "Brother Song"?’

It wasn’t that he was unwilling to go meet the Great City Lord, but seeing their expressions, he knew the journey wouldn’t be pleasant.

Fortunately, Song Changsheng was prepared. He smiled. "You’ll know if I’m real or not in just a moment, fellow Daoists!"

With that, he closed his eyes. A miniature person that looked exactly like him emerged from his Forehead Acupoint, only to retreat back inside an instant later.

It was true that Song Changsheng’s Divine Soul could leave his body, but he would only do so when absolutely necessary. He had not yet reached a stage where he could abandon his Physical Body. If his soul remained outside for too long, the damage to his physical form would be staggering.

Fortunately, even that fleeting glimpse was enough for everyone to see his face clearly, and they immediately relaxed.

After all, the Divine Soul is a person’s foundation; it cannot be altered or faked. Song Changsheng’s demonstration was more than enough to prove he was himself.

"Fellow Daoist Song, I never imagined your Divine Soul was so powerful! We were worried for nothing." Yinn Shang let down his guard and slumped to the ground, his posture completely unbefitting his status.

His injuries prevented him from standing for long.

"Good man! I knew he couldn’t do anything to you." Niu Dazhuang came forward and slapped him heavily on the shoulder. If not for his powerful physique, those few pats would have been enough to cause him serious trouble.

He was used to Niu Dazhuang’s cold and harsh words, so this sudden enthusiasm was a bit jarring.

After the group recovered for a short while within the Array, Yinn Shang laid out the spoils from Dongtian Xie’s body in a pile. There wasn’t much—just the Evil Ghost Banner, a Storage Bag, and a belt.

Yinn Shang looked at Song Changsheng and said, "Fellow Daoist Song, if it weren’t for you today, we all would have been sent to the Yellow Springs. Please, take all of these spoils."

None of the other survivors present objected to Yinn Shang’s words.

Before this battle, there had been sixteen of them. Now, only ten remained. If Song Changsheng hadn’t turned the tide at the critical moment, they would all be walking the road to the Yellow Springs by now.

Compared to their lives, these items were not worth mentioning.

Song Changsheng didn’t refuse. He unceremoniously picked up the Storage Bag and the belt, but then pushed the most valuable item—the Low-Grade Treasure, the Evil Ghost Banner—toward Yinn Shang.

His action surprised everyone. They all knew that for a Loose Cultivator like Dongtian Xie, obtaining a Magical Treasure must have come at an immense cost.

This was evident from his fighting style; besides the Evil Ghost Banner, he didn’t even have a single Spiritual Artifact.

This meant that Dongtian Xie was actually quite poor. The most valuable thing he owned was the Evil Ghost Banner. It was a Low-Grade Treasure, and Song Changsheng was actually refusing it?

"Fellow Daoist Song, what is the meaning of this..."

Song Changsheng smiled and held up a hand to stop him. "Fellow Daoist Yinn, the credit for this victory doesn’t belong to me alone. It wouldn’t be right for me to take all the spoils for myself.

Besides, while this treasure is powerful, it is an Evil Dao Magical Treasure. Whether it falls into the wrong hands or I keep it with me, it would be a serious liability. It would be better for you, Fellow Daoist Yinn, to take it back and let the Great City Lord decide what to do with it."

These words immediately made the others think even more highly of him.

Yinn Shang no longer insisted. He cupped his hands and said, "What you say is reasonable, Fellow Daoist. In that case, I shall take it. But rest assured, Luoxia City will not let you suffer a loss."

Song Changsheng simply smiled and said no more. With the contribution he had made today, there was no way Luoxia City would treat him poorly.

After the spoils were divided, Niu Dazhuang slapped his forehead. "Hey, are we missing something?"

Everyone looked at him, confused.

"Didn’t that old coot go to all this trouble to perform a Blood Refining? What about the thing he was trying to refine? It couldn’t have been himself, right?"

"How could we have forgotten? That thing must be destroyed. Otherwise, the consequences will be unimaginable," Yinn Shang said with a frown.

The only problem was, with Dongtian Xie dead, where would they find it?

A thought suddenly struck Song Changsheng. He pointed at the ground. "The blood that was seeping up from the ground earlier must have been for the Blood Refining. Do you think... it could be underground?"

His words immediately met with everyone’s enthusiastic agreement.

"We’ll know once we smash through!"

Niu Dazhuang raised his great hammer and slammed it down. Under his deliberate control, his Spiritual Power pierced through the thick layer of earth, actually breaking all the way through and revealing a faint glimmer of light from below.

Everyone exchanged a look. This was it!

Filled with renewed vigor, Niu Dazhuang quickly widened the hole into a passage large enough for a person to pass through.

He then took the lead and jumped down. Song Changsheng and the others followed close behind, leaving two people above to stand guard just in case.

After landing, Song Changsheng found himself in a massive underground cavern. A few Luminous Beads embedded in the ceiling provided faint illumination.

In the center of this subterranean space was a huge Blood Pool. Most of the blood that had been stored within it was gone, but the thick, lingering Evil Qi silently testified to the monstrous crimes Dongtian Xie had committed.

At the far end of the Blood Pool stood a ten-foot-square altar made of bone. On top of it sat a small bottle, emanating a strange, demonic aura.

"This must be it." Yinn Shang cautiously put it away, planning to take it back to Luoxia City to be dealt with.

Just then, Niu Dazhuang, who had been the first one down, suddenly shouted, "Brother Song! Senior Brother! Come over here, quick!"

The two followed his voice and saw a large pit where over a dozen people were laid out in neat rows. All of them were unconscious. A small cut had been made on each of their wrists, from which blood slowly dripped, collecting in a groove and flowing toward the Blood Pool they had seen earlier.

"It’s Elder Yuann and Elder Jiang!" Yinn Shang’s gaze fell on the two people at the very top, and he cried out in alarm.

The fact that even he addressed them as "Elder" made their identities obvious.

These were two of the three Purple Mansion Cultivators who had entered the karst cave. Aside from Vast Sea Ascendant, who had managed to escape, the rest had been almost completely wiped out.

They quickly moved everyone out of the pit, stopped the bleeding, and then began waking them one by one.

Due to excessive blood loss, everyone’s face was deathly pale. Fortunately, the weakest among them was at the Foundation Establishment level of Cultivation, so while the injuries weren’t life-threatening, they would still need a long period of rest to recover.

After the two Purple Mansion Cultivators awoke, everyone learned what had happened from Yinn Shang. Of course, he discreetly omitted the details about the deal with the Golden Armor and Dongtian Xie’s attempt at Possession on Song Changsheng.

Furthermore, he deliberately gave all the credit for rescuing everyone to Song Changsheng. In an instant, Song Changsheng became the center of everyone’s attention...

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