Longevity: Comprehending the Heart Method

”Oh, right. Twelfth Uncle is still stationed at Liuyun Marketplace. For safety’s sake, we should recall him first,” Song Changsheng suddenly said. ’We can’t let him get caught up in this.’

”That’s right. According to the intel from Wind Language Hall, those desperados love to raid Marketplaces along their path. Although their goal is likely to seize another’s territory, we still must be on our guard. Let’s have Luhuai come back first.

The clan’s shops there should all be closed, and all the goods brought back. It won’t be too late to reopen after this turmoil has passed.”

The shops in the Marketplace were one of the Song Clan’s main economic pillars. A full evacuation would be a massive blow to the clan’s finances.

But they had no other choice. As long as they still had the goods, there would always be a way to liquidate them. At worst, they could sell them to Luoxia City at a discount, treating it as a high-volume, low-margin sale.

If those desperados plundered them, it would be a total loss.

”Alright. There’s no time to lose. I’ll go send a message to Twelfth Uncle now.”

---

「Liuyun Marketplace, Song Family Garrison Mansion.」

According to the rules, the garrison cultivators of the Six Great Influences rotated every ten years. In the blink of an eye, Song Luhuai had already been here for two years.

In terms of cultivation conditions, Liuyun Marketplace only had a few Tier Two Spirit Veins, which naturally couldn’t compare to the Tier Three Spirit Vein at the base of Vast Mist Peak.

But Song Luhuai gladly accepted it. He knew his own situation best; his aptitude wasn’t particularly good. He had been in the Foundation Establishment realm for many years and had only broken through to the Mid-stage Foundation Establishment by relying on a Dragon Ascending Pill.

He had already given up hope of reaching the Purple Mansion realm, so he didn’t care much about things like cultivation conditions anymore.

What he thought about now was accumulating more cultivation resources for his descendants, so they could go further than him.

Some time ago, he had received a message from the clan, informing him that his son, Song Chang’an, had taken first place in the grand competition and had already entered seclusion to break through to the Foundation Establishment realm.

This left him with mixed feelings. He was happy that his son had the opportunity to break through to Foundation Establishment at just over thirty years old, but he worried that a failed breakthrough meant death.

After all, the image of Song Changquan’s failed breakthrough was still vivid in his mind.

But as a father, he naturally hoped his child would succeed and had one hundred percent confidence in him.

Therefore, he had been crafting Talismans constantly during this period, even giving up his own cultivation time, all to save up more cultivation resources for Song Chang’an.

As one of only two Tier Two High-Grade Talisman Masters in Ling Province, the Talismans Song Luhuai crafted were very popular in Liuyun Marketplace, with each one selling for a considerable number of Spirit Stones.

It was just that the higher the grade of the Talisman, the more difficult it was to craft, and the yield was very low.

On this day, after working for three days and two nights, Song Luhuai failed to craft another Talisman. He felt frustrated and decided to stop for a while to get some fresh air.

But just as he stepped out of his room, his young daughter, Song Changyan, came up to him.

”Father, a message has arrived from the clan,” Song Changyan said, handing him a short, jade-like sword.

Song Luhuai’s gaze focused. Communication Flying Swords varied in speed and range depending on their material. Jade ones were of the highest quality, expensive, and generally not used unless the situation was extremely urgent.

’Has something happened to the clan?’

At this thought, Song Luhuai quickly took the short sword and crushed it. The message Song Changsheng had inscribed within instantly flooded his mind.

After reading the contents, the color drained from Song Luhuai’s face.

Seeing her father’s grim expression, Song Changyan couldn’t help but let her imagination run wild. She asked tentatively, ”Could it be... brother...?”

”Stop your wild guessing! Your brother is fine. This is a message from the Young Clan Leader. Immediately send someone to summon the Stewards of all the shops to the Garrison Mansion. Be quick. Everyone must be here within the hour,” Song Luhuai said, glaring at her, his tone urgent.

Song Changyan’s eyes widened in surprise. Song Luhuai had been here for two years, and this was the first time he had ever summoned all the shop Stewards.

Not daring to delay, she immediately sent someone to deliver the messages.

In less than an hour, the Stewards from the dozen or so Song Clan shops in Liuyun Marketplace had all arrived. Sitting in the meeting hall, they looked at each other in bewilderment, not knowing why Song Luhuai was in such a hurry.

Song Luhuai had no intention of wasting words. He took a deep breath and said, ”The clan just sent a message. Recently, there has been a... So, the Young Clan Leader and the Grand Elder have made a joint decision: we are to temporarily withdraw from Liuyun Marketplace. All goods will be taken, and everyone will return.”

”What?”

”How can this be?”

...

As expected, his words caused an uproar. Even Song Changyan stared at her father in shock; she knew exactly how significant this order was.

One Steward stood up and said emotionally, ”Elder, Liuyun Marketplace is a pillar of the clan’s economy. Isn’t doing this like cutting off our own arm?”

”That’s right! They’re just a pack of strays. As long as we raise our guard, we can probably make them back off.”

His words immediately resonated with the others. It wasn’t that they were blindly confident; although Liuyun Marketplace only had three resident Foundation Establishment Cultivators, when the Marketplace was first built, the Six Great Influences had pooled their resources to hire a Tier Three Array Master. He had set up a Tier Three Low-Grade Guardian Array. Even if it couldn’t operate at full power, it was not something an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator could hope to break.

”Silence.”

Seeing Song Luhuai speak, the crowd quieted down.

Song Luhuai scanned the room and said in a heavy tone, ”I am not negotiating with you. This is a direct order from the Young Clan Leader and the Grand Elder!

Do not underestimate these people. They have moved from the north to the Southwest, leaving nothing but devastation in their wake. Could they do that without immense power?

If you have any questions, you can ask them when you’re back at the clan. Your task now is to immediately return and take inventory of your assets. I’m giving you ten hours. All personnel and all assets must be evacuated.”

With that, Song Luhuai flicked his sleeve and departed.

The Stewards looked at one another, but in the end, they could only accept this reality...

A move this big from the Song Clan naturally couldn’t be hidden from the other five families.

Their first reaction upon hearing the news was, ”Has Song Luhuai gone mad?”

But soon after, they each sent people to sound out Song Luhuai and find out what was going on.

Song Luhuai was in no mood to see anyone at this time. Aside from revealing some information to the Wang Clan, he refused all other visitors.

It wasn’t the Wang Clan’s turn in the rotation, so they had no Foundation Establishment Cultivator stationed here. The Chief Steward couldn’t make a decision and had to hastily request instructions from his clan.

Before the others could react, the Song Clan had already finished packing. After all, they only had a dozen or so shops here.

Seeing the Song Clan evacuate en masse, the other Cultivators in Liuyun Marketplace were full of doubt and confusion.

Song Changyan looked at Song Luhuai, puzzled. ”Father, why not make the news public and let everyone evacuate? If those desperados do come to attack the Marketplace, won’t all these people suffer?”

Hearing this, Song Luhuai shook his head. ”This information is, after all, just speculation. It hasn’t happened yet. Announcing it rashly would cause turmoil. If it turns out their target isn’t Liuyun Marketplace, do you know what the consequences would be?”

”I see. It was my own shortsightedness.”

Although no one yet understood what was happening, those with sharper instincts knew something big was about to occur.

And so, a large number of Cultivators also chose to leave the Marketplace. After all, their own lives were most important. If nothing happened after a while, they could always come back.

In less than a day, Liuyun Marketplace was basically empty. Only the staff of the various shops and a small number of skeptical Cultivators remained.

The other five families weren’t stupid. It didn’t take long for them to understand the meaning behind the Song Clan’s actions.

But understanding was one thing; not all of them had the same determination and decisiveness as the Song Clan. After all, they had far more shops than the Song Clan did.

Furthermore, they subconsciously believed the Tier Three Array was indestructible and sufficient for their defense.

It was this hesitation that caused them to miss the best window for evacuation.

On the evening of the third day after the Song Clan’s withdrawal, the Marketplace was suddenly attacked. The guarding Foundation Establishment Cultivators immediately activated the Guardian Array.

But the strongest fortresses are most easily breached from within.

「At dawn the next day, Liuyun Marketplace fell.」

...