Longevity: Comprehending the Heart Method

The Lieyang Sect had occupied the very cream of the crop in Yang Province. If no manpower or resources were invested in recovery, then apart from the tribute the seven great families offered once every five years, the Song Clan would be unable to obtain even a single high-tier resource from Yang Province.

This was unacceptable.

Therefore, the recoverable resource points had to be restored. The Song Clan currently had plenty of material resources; the biggest problem was a shortage of manpower.

The situation in Zhangye County, however, was different. Not long ago, Song Yulong had sent a messenger to report that he had unintentionally discovered a Tier Three Celestial Cyan Stone Ore Vein.

Celestial Cyan Stone was an exceptionally rare Spiritual Material that could be used in Artifact Refining and Array Formation. A piece the size of a pea was worth as much as one hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones on the market.

The Stone Marrow found alongside it in the vein was even more valuable—a treasure worthy of an auction house.

The vein Song Yulong had discovered was a rich one. With proper planning, it could become a major economic pillar for the Song Clan.

However, mining this type of vein produced a large amount of toxic gas. Mortals would die instantly upon inhalation; only Cultivators could use their Spiritual Power to block it.

That was why a large number of Cultivators were needed to mine the Celestial Cyan Stone there.

”I recall the clan captured over three hundred prisoners, didn’t we? We were supposed to take their heads to appease the spirits of our fallen clan members. But since we’re short on manpower, let’s just send them all to Zhangye to mine for the rest of their lives.”

”Have Elder Brother Yulong and his men oversee them. I’ll make the call to give them ten percent of the Celestial Cyan Stone Ore Vein’s profits.” With a single, casual sentence, Song Changsheng turned more than three hundred Cultivators into manual laborers.

”Excellent.” Song Luzhou nodded in satisfaction. He had been eyeing those prisoners for a long time.

”As for Yang Province, let’s send fifty people over for now. Have them restore the Spirit Stone Vein and the Tier Three veins first. We’ll deal with the rest later. If we really can’t manage, we can always sell off some of the resource points for a low price.”

Hearing this, Xia Yunxue frowned slightly. ”If we do that, the clan will be left quite short-staffed.”

”Let’s abandon all non-core industries for the time being.” Song Changsheng rubbed the bridge of his nose. ’Even the most clever housewife can’t cook a meal without rice.’ With such a shortage of manpower, he had no choice but to rob Peter to pay Paul.

”Sigh... I understand.” Xia Yunxue sighed and didn’t argue further. She was well aware of the clan’s current circumstances.

After this redistribution, the manpower issue was tentatively resolved. The next steps involved increasing the population and allowing the clan to recuperate.

There was no secret to increasing the population: just have children. Have lots of children. Have children like your life depended on it.

Song Changsheng had proposed this eight years ago, and the results had been remarkable. The population of the Song’s Mortal Realm was now close to 1.2 million; in just eight years, the clan had grown by over a hundred thousand people!

This was a gratifying number, but what was even more exciting was that the oldest of this new generation were now eight years old—the age to have their Spirit Roots tested.

Judging by the numbers, this year’s Immortal Ascension Conference was certain to yield far more clan members with Spirit Roots than ever before.

Song Changsheng’s gaze swept over the crowd, finally landing on Song Qingqing.

”Qingqing, I want you to take charge of the clan’s Immortal Ascension Conference in half a year.”

”I accept.” Joy bloomed on Song Qingqing’s face. The reward for presiding over the Immortal Ascension Conference was proportional to the number and aptitude of the clan members found to have Spirit Roots. This was a top-tier assignment.

Song Changsheng nodded slightly and continued, ”Everyone witnessed the Wind Language Hall’s performance during the great war. I’ve decided to expand its scale further.”

The words had barely left his mouth when Song Luzhou scrambled to his feet, complaining, ”My dear Great Clan Leader, where on earth are we going to find the people to expand the Wind Language Hall?”

”Don’t be anxious, Fifth Uncle. Please, let me finish.” Song Changsheng smiled, signaling for Song Luzhou to calm down. He then continued, ”The clan indeed has no spare manpower right now. But let’s not forget, the Lieyang Sect ruled over a population of nearly three million mortals. Rather than let someone else benefit from them, we might as well put them to use ourselves.”

”You mean to recruit Foreign Cultivators, Clan Leader?” Song Luyun cut straight to the point.

”Correct.” Song Changsheng nodded.

At these words, the hall erupted in an uproar.

A population of three million would produce a considerable number of children with Spirit Roots each year. Recruiting them would indeed be a fast way to alleviate the Song Clan’s manpower shortage.

But this plan came with a massive potential risk. The Song Clan was a Cultivation Family. If a large number of Foreign Cultivators flooded their ranks, it might be fine in the short term, but over a long period, it would inevitably lead to schisms. It could even result in a loss of power, a situation where the outsiders suppressed the original clan members.

At that point, the Song Clan would cease to be the Song Clan.

Before anyone could voice their objections, Song Changsheng quickly explained, ”I know what you are all worried about. It won’t be too late to argue after you’ve heard my complete proposal.”

”I intend to establish two new divisions under the Wind Language Hall: the Dark Hall and the Hidden Hall.”

”The Dark Hall’s main responsibility will be to gather intelligence and plant informants for the clan. This requires a large number of people, and Foreign Cultivators are much better suited for such tasks than our own clan members.”

”In the past, when our clan was in decline, very few powers were wary of us, so our cultivators still had opportunities to infiltrate other factions. But things are different now. Many are on guard against us.”

”All they need to do is use a Bloodline Tracing Technique, and it’ll be crystal clear who is a member of the Song Clan. There’s no chance for our people to go undercover.”

The magic of the Human Race was strange and wondrous, and it included techniques capable of identifying blood relations. Many sects made it a habit to screen new recruits for ties to major surrounding clans or hostile powers.

Back when the Song Clan was merely a Foundation Establishment Family, powers like the Huansha Sect and the Celestial Sword Sect paid them no mind, so they could occasionally get lucky and plant an agent or two.

But now that the Song Clan had attracted the attention of other Purple Mansion-level powers, there was no longer any room for such gambles.

Thus, cultivating spies from outside the clan was imperative. After all, it didn’t matter how those people were tested.

In Song Changsheng’s view, as long as they underwent rigorous screening, were trained from a young age, and were instilled with loyalty to the clan, Foreign Cultivators could be put to very effective use.

Moreover, as Hidden Scouts, they would operate mostly from the shadows. They would have no opportunity to hold any real power and little chance to even interact with the clan’s own cultivators. This would naturally prevent conflicts and avoid the cliché drama where clan members bully the outsiders, only for the outsiders to rise up in rebellion.

Most importantly, there would be no need to worry about them colluding to vie for power, because they would not know one another and would be widely dispersed. Even if one or two ambitious wolves emerged, they would be in no position to shake the foundations of the clan.

After he explained his reasoning, the others in the hall gradually began to dispel their doubts.

Song Luzhou went so far as to proactively ask about the duties of the Hidden Hall.

”The Hidden Hall’s duty is simple: to train the clan’s Hidden Guards. You can think of them as the clan’s hidden blade, striking from the shadows.”

”Any business the clan cannot handle openly can be resolved by the Hidden Guards—things like assassinations, silencing targets, and cleaning house.”

”When it comes to the Hidden Guards, my principle is quality over quantity. Talent and loyalty are both indispensable.”

Upon hearing this, everyone had a moment of sudden understanding.

Hidden Guards were nothing new. Any power of a certain standing had such an elite force, hidden in the shadows and responsible for handling dirty work.

They also served as a secret reserve force, capable of turning the tide at a critical moment.

Powers like the Golden Crow Sect, the Celestial Vein Sect, Luoxia City, and the Celestial Sword Sect all had similar, and extremely powerful, forces.

Song Changsheng was simply adopting a well-established idea.

The only difference was that he had divided it into two separate divisions.

The intelligence specialists would focus solely on gathering information, while the assassins would focus on cultivating and killing. They would not have to concern themselves with anything else.

”Two more gold-devouring behemoths,” Song Luzhou said, shaking his head with a wry smile.

The Dark Hall was one thing—building an intelligence network was a bottomless pit, and the money would drain away like a torrent.

The Hidden Hall was no different. Although it would only have a fraction of the Dark Hall’s numbers, its spending would be no less extravagant, for this was to be the elite of the elite.

’You don’t even have a Foundation Establishment cultivation, and you dare call yourself a Hidden Guard?’

’It would be embarrassing to even admit it.’

Time-consuming and costly—that was the reality of these two new divisions.

Song Changsheng was only laying the groundwork now. For these divisions to truly become effective, it would be decades, perhaps even a century, before they bore fruit...

...