Longevity: Comprehending the Heart Method

But what Song Lutong couldn’t understand was that countless people came and went along the Wind-facing Cliff route, but he’d never heard of any thunderstorms there. ’What in the world is happening?’

Feeling the wildly surging lightning, Song Lutong knew he didn’t have much time to think. He made a snap decision, saying, ”Activate the Flying Ship’s Defensive Array, then lower our altitude. After that, we can only leave it to fate.”

”Okay.” Song Luyun had also calmed down by now. She quickly activated the Defensive Array on the Flying Ship, and a faint barrier of light enveloped it.

But just as she was about to control the Flying Ship to descend, the dark clouds overhead suddenly swelled, swallowing the ship in an instant!

Song Lutong’s vision went black. Heart-stopping bolts of lightning surged violently around them, looking as if a thunderbolt could strike the Flying Ship at any moment.

Fear spread. Even though both were Foundation Establishment Cultivators, they felt utterly powerless at this moment. They couldn’t think of any way to escape their current predicament.

BOOM!

A thick thunderbolt suddenly struck down, grazing the Flying Ship and hitting the ground. In an instant, a hundred-mile radius was turned to scorched earth.

Song Luyun’s face was deathly pale. The Array on the Flying Ship was only Tier Two High Grade. She had no confidence at all that it could withstand the thunderstorm.

RUMBLE...

The thunder roared as one thunderbolt after another crashed down. The Flying Ship was like a small boat on a vast ocean, teetering on the brink of destruction in the storm.

The bombardment lasted for half an ancient hour. The Flying Ship was battered and scarred, but it had unexpectedly held on.

Song Lutong plopped down on the deck, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. Still shaken, he said, ”Damn it, I really thought we were done for. Looks like this thunderstorm is all bark and no bite. Got me worried for nothing.”

”Something’s not right. I don’t think the thunderstorm is over,” Song Luyun said, her voice trembling slightly.

Hearing this, Song Lutong finally noticed something was odd. Normally, after the bombardment ends, the Thunder Power within the dark clouds would be spent, and they would dissipate.

But their situation was clearly different. They were still in the center of the cloud mass.

”Damn it, what the hell is this thing?” It was slowly dawning on Song Lutong that this phenomenon was very similar to a thunderstorm, but it definitely wasn’t the same.

”Let’s see if we can get out.”

The two of them flew the Flying Ship at full speed. After several ancient hours, they estimated they had traveled thousands of miles, but they still hadn’t escaped the cloud mass’s range.

They tried several other directions, but the result was always the same.

A thunderstorm of this magnitude had never appeared in the history of the Daqi Cultivation World. The only logical explanation was that they were trapped inside, and all their previous flying had just been them going in circles.

”What do we do now?”

This bizarre situation left them completely dumbfounded. They had only ever heard of people being turned to Ashes in a thunderstorm; they’d never heard of anyone being trapped inside one.

Letting out a soft sigh, Song Lutong said dejectedly, ”Let’s ask the clan for help.”

Faced with this situation, two mere Foundation Establishment Cultivators like them were powerless to change anything. Their only hope was to see if they could break through with outside help.

Song Luyun nodded silently. She then took out a Jade Token, whispered a few words to it, and crushed it. A golden light shot toward the sky and quickly vanished.

The two watched the direction the golden light had gone, their feelings complicated. They were still tens of thousands of miles away from the clan. A round trip would take several days. It was hard to say if they would still be alive by then...

On Vast Mist Peak, inside Wind Language Hall, Song Changsheng was examining Ding Qii’s cultivation progress.

Switching to a new Heart Method wasn’t so simple. One had to first disperse all of their cultivation and then start over from the beginning.

But even though the cultivation was gone, one’s realm remained, so the speed of recultivating would be very fast.

Ding Qii was originally at the Qi Refining Second Layer. After dispersing his cultivation and switching to the ”Qi Refining Introduction,” it only took him half a month to return to the Qi Refining Second Layer.

This speed was considered extremely fast. It would have been impossible with the old ”Qi Refining Introduction,” which indirectly proved that Song Changsheng’s modifications were on the right track.

”Did you feel anything unusual while cultivating?”

”Whenever I cultivate for more than three ancient hours, my Shenque Acupoint feels a faint, stinging pain. It’s very slight and doesn’t affect my cultivation speed.

”The conversion efficiency of Spiritual Qi doesn’t feel ideal. It’s a lot worse than what we used before.” Ding Qii recounted his experiences over this period in detail.

Song Changsheng’s brow furrowed upon hearing this. A stinging pain in one’s acupoints was no small matter.

”Perhaps the circulation route for Spiritual Power is incorrect. You could try changing it,” Little Ninth’s voice chimed in at the right moment.

”Guan Yuan, Qi Sea, Shenque, Middle Cavity—this is the most common circulation route. How could it be wrong?” Song Changsheng frowned slightly.

”Improving a Heart Method isn’t something that can be done overnight. Please don’t worry, Master,” Little Ninth comforted him softly.

Song Changsheng nodded slightly and looked at Ding Qii. ”Stop cultivating for the next few days. Wait until I’ve improved the Heart Method again.”

”As you command.” Ding Qii respectfully withdrew.

Just as Song Changsheng was racking his brain over how to improve the Heart Method, a Steward from Wind Language Hall hurried over and said in a low voice, ”Clan Leader, something has happened.”

”What is it?” Song Changsheng’s gaze instantly sharpened.

”We just received a distress message from the Foreign Affairs Elders. They’re trapped inside a thunderstorm and can’t get out.”

”A thunderstorm? Which route were they taking? How could they run into a thunderstorm?” Song Changsheng shot to his feet and demanded sternly.

”They said it was at Wind-facing Cliff.”

The first thought that flashed through Song Changsheng’s mind was, ’Impossible.’

He often traveled the Wind-facing Cliff route himself and had never heard of anyone encountering a thunderstorm there.

Moreover, he had never heard of a thunderstorm that could trap people.

”A thunderstorm is a product of a violent disturbance in the Law of Thunder in a certain area. Rushing into one rashly will disrupt its balance, turning the intruder into an outlet for the Thunder Power.”

”In that situation,” Little Ninth quickly explained, ”an intruder will either be turned to Ashes by the thunderbolts or be able to leave after the Thunder Power has been fully discharged. They would never be trapped inside.”

”There’s something strange about this.” Song Changsheng’s brow was tightly furrowed. His intuition told him this matter wasn’t simple.

He looked up at the reporting Steward and said, ”Hurry to the Soul Lamp Hall and check if the two Elders’ Soul Lamps have been extinguished.”

Although he was anxious, Song Changsheng didn’t lose his composure. The incident had already happened, so a few more moments of haste wouldn’t make a difference.

The Steward quickly returned, panting as he said, ”The two Elders’ Soul Lamps show no abnormalities.”

Song Changsheng breathed a slight sigh of relief, but the doubt in his heart only grew heavier.

So much time had passed. If it were a real thunderstorm, Song Lutong and Song Luyun could not possibly have survived this long. He had set up the Flying Ship’s Defensive Array himself; he knew its defensive capabilities better than anyone.

The whole affair reeked of strangeness, from top to bottom.

But no matter what, Song Changsheng couldn’t just ignore it.

He quickly went to Ruyun Hall to see Song Xianming. After explaining the whole situation, he found that Xianming shared his opinion: the matter was exceedingly strange.

”Wind-facing Cliff... Wind-facing Cliff... I remember Nine Swords Mountain isn’t far from there, is it?” Song Xianming suddenly asked.

Song Changsheng was taken aback for a moment, then it dawned on him. ”That’s right. It seems we’ll have to ask Elder Yuann to make a trip.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Song Xianming added, ”Inform Luoxia City as well. We are allies, after all, and Wind-facing Cliff is within the borders of Bian Province.”

”Your grandson understands.”

Song Xianming nodded. ”I’ll set out for Wind-facing Cliff immediately. I’m leaving the clan in your hands.”

”I’ll go with you.” Song Changsheng couldn’t shake the feeling of unease without going to see for himself.

Song Xianming’s brow furrowed, but he ultimately relented. ”Alright. We’ll go together. Let’s leave now.”

...