Longevity: Comprehending the Heart Method

As the old saying goes, a hundred-year python becomes a thousand-year Flood Dragon.

Though said in jest, there is some truth to the phrase.

The lifespans of the Demon Race are extremely polarized. Those with inferior bloodlines might only live for a few years, or perhaps a few decades, before their time is up.

However, those with powerful bloodlines, like the Nine-tailed Fox or the Profound Turtle, have lifespans that far exceed Human Race Cultivators of the same tier.

Longevity often represents many things. The longer you live, the more you can slowly grind your way up, even with poor aptitude. At the very least, you can outlive your enemies.

Snakes and pythons in the Purple Imperial Realm typically only live for about a hundred years. But once they surpass this limit, a change occurs within their bloodline.

The great snake before them was undergoing just such a change. Perhaps because it had devoured the flesh of the Black Dragon Demon King and fused with a Flood Dragon Scale, it was evolving in the direction of a Flood Dragon.

If it were allowed to cultivate in peace, given enough time, it could very well become a second Black Dragon Demon King.

In a way, it was lucky. A typical Tier Two Demon Beast would have likely exploded and died from consuming such a large piece of a Peak Demon King’s flesh, let alone fusing with a scale. From this perspective, its aptitude was quite impressive.

Unfortunately for it, it had now encountered Song Changsheng and his companions. Unlike the Tree Demon, and with the future in mind, there was no way they could allow this creature to continue growing stronger.

"I’ll take the lead. Brother Xu, Yuechan, you two support me from the sides." After speaking, he sent a subtle voice transmission to them. "And remember to watch out for that Tree Demon, lest it try to reap the rewards of our labor."

Zhuang Yuechan nodded and floated gracefully to the rear of the battlefield. Her fair hands lightly plucked the zither strings, and music with the power to disrupt the Divine Soul washed over the great snake like a tide.

Seeing this, Song Changsheng swiftly summoned the Celestial Measuring Ruler and struck at the great snake. The two sides were soon locked in a fierce struggle.

Song Changsheng drew the great snake’s attention head-on, while Xu Yunhe roamed the edges of the battlefield, periodically commanding his flying sword to launch sneak attacks, leaving a mix of deep and shallow wounds.

The three of them cooperated seamlessly. In less than an hour, the great snake’s massive body was covered in wounds. Blood pooled beneath it, and it looked as if it could collapse at any moment.

But Song Changsheng and the others still didn’t dare to let their guard down. They continuously used Magical Artifacts and Magic to drain the great snake’s stamina, intending to wear it down until it died of exhaustion.

The great snake was quite intelligent and realized their plan. Feeling the Life force slowly draining from its body, it panicked. The thought of retreat surfaced—if it could just get back to its lair, it was confident it could turn the tables and kill them.

Unfortunately, since Song Changsheng and the others had gone to such great lengths to lure it out, they would never let it return.

Whenever it tried to fall back, Xu Yunhe would firmly block its path, and Song Changsheng would press his attack even more relentlessly, leaving it with no room to escape.

Seeing that its defeat here was imminent, the great snake could no longer hold back. It let out a roar toward the sky as its slick, green vertical pupils turned scarlet. A bloody mist began to swirl around its body.

"It’s starting to burn its own Essence Blood! Be careful!" Song Changsheng saw this and immediately shouted a warning.

Zhuang Yuechan’s music shifted. The Enchanting God’s Song was replaced by the Celestial Blade Song. The melody instantly became high-pitched and intense. At that moment, the lilting notes seemed to transform into the sharpest of blades, leaving countless fine cuts all over the great snake’s body.

HISSS—

The aura around the great snake surged, and its vertical pupils quickly locked onto Zhuang Yuechan. ’It was this human, the one who kept making that disgusting sound.’

Its eyes flashed with scarlet light. With a whip of its tail, it swatted aside Xu Yunhe, who was attempting a sneak attack. Then, with unbelievable speed, it broke through Song Changsheng’s assault and lunged straight for Zhuang Yuechan.

"Yuechan, watch out!"

Facing its gaping, bloody maw, Zhuang Yuechan remained calm. With a light tap of her feet, she retreated at high speed. Her ten fingers flew across the zither strings, unleashing waves of sound that bombarded the snake’s head, leaving gashes so deep the bone was visible.

HISSS!

The great snake flew into a rage. Its venom glands swelled, and it spat a large spray of viscous green poison.

A grave expression finally appeared on Zhuang Yuechan’s face. With a flip of her fair hand, she produced a three-inch-tall, slender-necked white Jade Bottle. She tossed it into the air, and the venom, as if drawn by some special force, surged into the bottle.

Seeing that Zhuang Yuechan was unharmed, Song Changsheng let out a sudden sigh of relief, which was immediately followed by a surge of fury. He activated Fleeting Shadows, appearing above the great snake’s head in a few flashes. Spiritual Power rapidly gathered in his palm, forming an illusory great seal etched with mountains and rivers.

"Little Divine Technique—Mountain-Flipping Seal!"

BOOM—

Carrying Song Changsheng’s immense fury, the great seal smashed directly down toward the snake’s head. If this blow landed squarely, its head would surely burst like a watermelon.

In the nick of time, the few unique scales near the great snake’s heart emitted a faint glow, forming a shield above its head.

CRASH—

The great seal collided with the shield, triggering a violent explosion. The great snake crashed to the ground, and the very earth seemed to tremble.

When the dust and smoke cleared, Song Changsheng looked closely and saw that the side of the snake’s head was a mangled mess of flesh and blood, caved in so deeply that it resembled a meteor crater.

It was, after all, the Scale Armor of a Peak Realm Demon King. It was already impressive that the snake had managed to forcibly fuse with it in such a short time, but it still had a long way to go before it could fully unleash the scale’s power.