Longevity: Comprehending the Heart Method

”As you command.”

Although he didn’t know what had happened, the look on Song Changsheng’s face told him it was something major. The Steward didn’t dare delay and immediately went to relay the orders.

Upon receiving the command, the Steward on duty at the Law Enforcement Hall personally led a twenty-man Law Enforcement Team to White Wolf Mountain.

They did not return until noon the next day. Twenty-one people had left, but they came back with more than a dozen ragged, filthy children...

”Young Clan Leader, it was horrible. Over a hundred thousand people locked away in a sunless cavern, crammed together, short on food and clothing... They lived worse than pigs and dogs.

Among them were members of the Wang and Li Clans, and even many of our own clansmen. They were being bled daily, treated like livestock!”

As Song Changsheng listened to the Steward’s report, he clenched his fists tightly. ’Those monsters,’ he thought, ’they deserve to be cut into a thousand pieces! To actually raise mortals and drain their blood for cultivation!’

In the Primordial Era, when the Human Race was still incredibly weak, they were raised by Fierce Beasts as Blood Food, nearly driving them to extinction.

Only after countless people fought back with all their might did the Human Race rise up, carving out this vast territory to thrive and multiply.

Therefore, raising mortals as livestock is absolutely forbidden. Anyone discovered doing so would be condemned and executed by all!

The Thunder King Hall had crossed the bottom line of the Human Race!

Sometimes, Song Changsheng couldn’t help but wonder what Ling Province had done to deserve this. First, it was the Blood Demon Sect, and now the Thunder King Hall!

But compared to the Blood Demon Sect, the Thunder King Hall was undoubtedly more despicable for targeting mortals.

”Young Clan Leader, what should we do with the rescued mortals?”

Song Changsheng pondered for a moment before saying, ”Disperse them among the seven cities. Except for those who are already married, the men must marry into the Song Clan, and the women must marry Song Clan men. The next generation of those already married will follow the same arrangement.”

Over a hundred thousand people was no small number. Song Changsheng’s plan was to completely integrate them into the Song Clan. This way, their descendants would all bear the surname Song and possess half of the Song Clan’s bloodline.

In less than fifty years, the descendants of these people would become a vital cornerstone for the Song Clan’s growth!

”And what about the children?” the Steward asked, a hint of a headache in his voice.

The dozen or so children he had brought back all possessed Spirit Roots. They had been selected by the Thunder King Hall to be trained as disciples, and they were between eight and twelve years old.

According to clan rules, Foreign Cultivators of this age could not be integrated into the clan unless they married a clan Cultivator or married into the clan.

Song Changsheng frowned slightly, then his eyes lit up with an idea. ”Assign them to the Wind Language Hall. The clan will train them, and once their cultivation is established, we’ll plant them in other factions as spies.”

The Steward’s eyes lit up. That was an excellent idea.

The Song Clan had always been small, but building an intelligence network required a large number of people. As a result, most of the Wind Language Hall’s spies had been secretly bought, making their reliability and loyalty difficult to guarantee.

Thus, though Song Luyao had tried her best to expand the clan’s intelligence network over the years, she lacked the necessary manpower. It was a case of a skilled housewife trying to cook without rice; she could never make it grow.

These children, however, were different. The Song Clan would be their saviors and benefactors, ensuring a much higher degree of loyalty.

After settling the matter of the refugees, Song Changsheng finally asked about the primary objective of the mission. ”Did you find the refining method for the Lei Zhenzi?”

”Reporting to the Young Clan Leader, the Sixth Elder captured an Artifact Refiner and has already extracted the refining method. We also found a number of finished products, which I’ve brought back along with the ones we seized earlier.

There was also a batch of cultivation resources, worth about fifty to sixty thousand Spirit Stones. It should be enough to solve the clan’s current urgent needs,” the Steward answered quickly.

Song Changsheng nodded in satisfaction. ’Song Changxuan handled this well. He deserves credit for it.’

”Young Clan Leader, there’s one more thing. According to the captured Artifact Refiner, their superiors send someone down every ten years to take the mortals away. The next ten-year mark is less than three years from now.”

Song Changsheng’s brow furrowed. ”Do we know their cultivation level?”

”It’s highly likely a Purple Mansion Cultivator. But the good news is that the Ling Province stronghold was newly established, and they haven’t set up a communication channel. So, even though we destroyed their base, their superiors might not find out.”

Hearing this, a shadow passed over Song Changsheng’s face. ’So, in less than three years, the Song Clan might have to face the wrath of a Purple Mansion Cultivator?’

It wasn’t that he was afraid. The Song Clan could still hold its own against an ordinary Purple Mansion Cultivator. Besides, there were still three years, and by then, Song Xianming might have successfully broken through.

Still, antagonizing the Thunder King Hall was a major hidden danger.

But there was no other choice. After all, the enemy had already kicked down their door. How could they not fight back?

After dismissing the Steward with a wave, Song Changsheng turned his gaze to the box he had brought.

He opened it to find twenty fist-sized purple beads neatly arranged inside.

These were the Lei Zhenzi, refined from rare Thunder Stones, possessing immense Thunder Power.

They were not only sharp tools for breaking arrays but also formidable weapons against enemies. With enough of them, even a Purple Mansion Cultivator would have to retreat.

Unfortunately, Thunder Stones were far too rare. In the decade or so that Bai Zhisheng and his group had been operating in Ling Province, they had only managed to refine about thirty of them.

’I wonder how powerful they really are.’

Song Changsheng picked up a Lei Zhenzi, rubbing his chin in thought. Hearing is one thing, but seeing is believing. If he was going to use them in actual combat, he first needed to have a thorough understanding of them.

With this in mind, Song Changsheng went to a deserted wilderness. He took out an Array Banner and an Array Foundation and set up a Tier Two High-Grade Celestial Spirit Array. It was the strongest defensive array he could currently create.

’I wonder how many it will take to break it. To be safe, I’ll start with five.’ Song Changsheng took five beads from the box, buried them in the ground, and then moved to a safe distance to detonate them with a magic technique.

BOOM—

An earth-shattering explosion rocked the very ground.

When the dust settled, the Celestial Spirit Array was still standing, but the ground around it was riddled with huge craters.

Song Changsheng wasn’t disappointed by this. He retrieved the Array Foundation and Array Banner, only to find that the foundation was now covered in cracks, and the Spiritual Light of the banner had dimmed.

’Looks like it would take about seven or eight to completely destroy the Celestial Spirit Array. That means it would take at least a dozen or so to destroy a Tier Two Top-Grade Array.

So why did Bai Zhisheng and his men dare to attack a Tier Three Low-Grade Grand Array with only a few?’ Song Changsheng was suddenly confused.

In truth, Bai Zhisheng and his men only wanted to use them to open a breach in the Grand Array; they never intended to destroy it completely, as the cost would have been too great.

What they didn’t know was that the Seven Stars Locking Mountain Array was renowned for its defense. It would take at least a dozen or so just to open a breach; the few they brought wouldn’t have been able to even shake the Grand Array.

One wonders if Bai Zhisheng and the others would die of anger all over again if they learned this.

Having figured out the power of the Lei Zhenzi, Song Changsheng instructed the clan’s newly promoted Tier Two Low-Grade Refiner, Song Changrong, to begin secretly refining them. When it came to good things like this, the more, the better...

「Three days later.」

Song Xianyun, who had been unconscious for a long time, finally stirred and awoke. Overjoyed, Song Changsheng hurried to visit him.

”How are you feeling?” Song Changsheng asked with concern as he brewed him a cup of tea.

”I won’t be dying just yet. These old bones can still serve the clan for a few more years,” Song Xianyun said with a smile. His spirits seemed quite high.

From the moment he awoke, he was already aware of his body’s condition. Not only had his lifespan been depleted, but his very foundation had been damaged. To put it simply, he didn’t have many years left to live.

But Song Xianyun felt neither anger nor fear; instead, he chose to face it with composure.

’It’s already a blessing to have survived,’ he thought. ’What more could I ask for?’

Seeing this, Song Changsheng felt a pang of sadness. This old man, who had dedicated his entire life to the clan, would probably never see the day it was restored to its former glory...

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