Longevity: Comprehending the Heart Method

The tall Cultivator’s head spun, and the savage grin on his face was replaced by endless terror. He struggled to crawl toward the other half of his body.

But before he could crawl more than a few steps, a large foot in a thick-soled boot descended.

"I only wanted to teach him a lesson," the man in black said with a slight frown, looking toward the lavishly dressed youth who stood beside the headless corpse.

He hadn’t intended to take the man’s life. Being cut in half at the waist was severe, but for a Body Refiner, it wasn’t necessarily fatal. There was still a chance for him to regrow his body—provided, of course, that no one else had other ideas.

But he hadn’t expected some lavishly dressed youth in a white fox-fur cloak to appear out of nowhere and end the man’s life with a single stomp.

While he didn’t care whether his enemy lived or died, the other party’s actions left him slightly displeased.

The lavishly dressed youth slowly cleaned his fingernails with a Golden Needle. His foxy, charming eyes narrowed as he looked at the man and chuckled. "My apologies. His crawling around was just too disgusting. It was better to put him out of his misery."

Hearing this, the onlookers’ faces twitched, and they shot the youth strange looks. ’Seriously? What you just did was even more disgusting!’

The commotion here quickly attracted the attention of the city gate guards. One of them pushed through the crowd and walked over. He glanced at the man in black and the lavishly dressed youth, then at the mangled corpse on the ground. He spat a thick glob of phlegm and cursed, "What damn bad luck. Someone get over here and drag this thing away."

With that, he shot the two a warning glare before swaggering back to his post.

Soon, another guard came over and cleaned up the corpse. His technique was remarkably professional, leaving not a single trace behind. The crowd quickly returned to normal.

Incidents like this were all too common in the Lu Country Cultivation Realm—so common, in fact, that they weren’t even worth gossiping about after dinner.

The guards were also used to it. As long as it wasn’t inside the city walls, they didn’t care what happened outside. Even if everyone out here killed each other, it had nothing to do with them.

The man in black glanced at the lavishly dressed youth, then turned and walked toward the city gate.

His earlier display had its intended effect. The crowd parted wherever he went, everyone wanting to keep their distance from this harbinger of death. After all, felling a Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Body Refiner by cutting him in half with a single sword strike was a demonstration of power that could not be underestimated.

As was custom, the guard at the city gate collected a ten-Spirit Stone entrance fee and warned, "Randomly killing people is strictly forbidden within the city."

’Hmm, that’s a peculiar way of phrasing it. In other places, it’s usually "private duels are forbidden."’

The man in black nodded slightly, then entered the city, carrying his cloth bag.

"Xing, that person just now was no simple character. I don’t think he’s purely of the Human Race."

The voice suddenly emerged from the Copper Mirror at the man in black’s waist after he had entered the city.

"Not human?"

The man’s brow furrowed. He hadn’t detected any Demon Qi on that person, so he couldn’t be a member of the Demon Race in disguise.

"Well, I can’t say he’s *not* human. This goes back to an ancient secret. In the distant past, the Human Race was weak and was kept in pens by Great Demons as Blood Food.

A portion of the Human Race willingly debased themselves, submitting to the Demon Race and calling themselves servants of demons. They helped the demons persecute their own kind.

To obtain power, they integrated the blood of Great Demons into their own bodies, transforming themselves into half-human, half-beast monsters. They called themselves ’Half-Demons,’ but the Human Race called them ’Demon Slaves.’

Later, when the Human Race rose to power and defeated the Demon Race, these traitors were purged. Only a small number escaped. After a long time, the number of Half-Demons has become extremely rare, but they are still active in this world.

That person’s aura just now was quite similar. I have a feeling he might have his eyes on you. You need to be extra careful for a while."

A strange glint flashed in the man in black’s eyes. He nodded slightly, not asking why the youth might be targeting him.

This was the Lu Country Cultivation Realm. Here, you didn’t need a reason for anything!

This wasn’t his first time in Panshi City. Following a slightly dilapidated street, he arrived before a tall pavilion.

The plaque in the center bore the two words "Shadow Pavilion," and a single glance was enough to send a bone-deep chill through a person.

The man in black walked in, carrying his cloth bag. The pavilion was filled with all sorts of people, bustling with activity, but no one dared to act recklessly here.

He found an empty counter, placed the black cloth bag and a yellow Waist Token on the surface, and said indifferently, "Mission turn-in."

The one who received him was a beautiful Female Cultivator. Upon hearing him, she opened the bag, revealing the bloodstained head inside.

It was the head of a middle-aged man, who looked to have been dead for some time. It emitted a nauseating stench.

But the woman was completely unfazed. She inspected it carefully, and after confirming the identity, she looked up with a sweet smile. "It is indeed the head of the Blood Killing Mad Saber, Jiang Tai. The mission is worth one hundred Contribution Points. Seeing as Lord Song Xing completed a mission above his rank—Yellow Level, Middle Tier—you will receive an additional fifty percent bonus, for a total of one hundred and fifty points."

This was Song Qingxing’s current identity: a Yellow Level, Middle Tier assassin of the Shadow Pavilion. Yellow Level represented Foundation Establishment, and Middle Tier represented the Middle Stage.

The Shadow Pavilion was an immense power that controlled several gray-market industries. The assassin organization was just one of them. Beyond that, it was also the proprietor behind the widespread Black Markets in various regions.

In the Lu Country Cultivation Realm, many people were affiliated with the Shadow Pavilion as assassins. They were freelancers; as long as they didn’t accept a mission, the Shadow Pavilion had no control over them.

However, if a mission failed, the assassin’s fate would be miserable. Therefore, they usually only accepted missions equal to their own rank. People like Song Qingxing, who took on missions above their rank, were a minority. But successful completion came with generous rewards, so it was a trade-off.

Song Qingxing nodded slightly. "How many Contribution Points do I have?"

"One moment."

The Female Cultivator quickly checked a ledger and said, "Lord Song Xing, you currently have one thousand five hundred Contribution Points."

"Give me a report on the Daqi Cultivation World. The more detailed, the better."

"Of course. Do you have a time frame requirement?"

"Within the last year."

"That will be twenty Contribution Points." The Female Cultivator offered a sweet smile and handed over a Jade Scroll.

The intelligence was extremely detailed, recording all the major events that had occurred in the Daqi Cultivation World over the past year.

For instance, how much territory the Allied Army had conquered in the Hundred Thousand Mountains, which Purple Mansion Cultivator had fallen where, and the fact that Thunder King Hall had been designated a Demon Dao force, among other things.

The news of Song Xianming’s ascension to the Purple Mansion realm and Song Changsheng’s succession as the Clan Leader of the Moon Viewing Song Clan was prominently recorded within.

This was another of the Shadow Pavilion’s industries—intelligence.

If Song Changsheng were here, he would surely be amazed by their formidable intelligence network. Not even a day had passed, and the news of his succession as Clan Leader had not yet spread beyond the Southwest of Daqi, yet Song Qingxing, far away in the Lu Kingdom, had already learned of it.

Such an information network was truly terrifying.

After reading it, Song Qingxing felt a stir of emotion. He had been away for over three years and in the Lu Country Cultivation Realm for two, but this was the first time he had received any news about the Song Clan.

He never expected it to be so uplifting. The Song Clan finally had a Purple Mansion Cultivator, and his uncle had succeeded as Clan Leader. Everything was developing in a good direction.

’I wonder how she’s been these past few years.’

A graceful figure appeared in Song Qingxing’s mind, and a trace of guilt surfaced in his heart.

Just then, the Female Cultivator behind the counter suddenly spoke in a secretive tone, "Lord Song Xing, I have a piece of exclusive information here. I wonder if you might be interested?"

Song Qingxing glanced at her and said impassively, "Let’s hear it."

"It’s about the ancient ruins of a Golden Core Master. If you want it, it’s yours for just five hundred Contribution Points."

"Five hundred points? That little wench has some nerve," Wujie sneered from within the Copper Mirror.

Song Qingxing, however, simply nodded, sealing the deal.

’The price isn’t cheap, but the accuracy of the Shadow Pavilion’s intelligence is beyond doubt. The ruins of a Golden Core Master are worth this price.’

’However, her so-called ’exclusive information’ might not be exclusive at all. This intel could already be circulating everywhere.’

But he didn’t care. As long as the information itself was real, that was all that mattered.

Taking the Jade Scroll the Female Cultivator handed him, he accepted a few more missions before walking out of the pavilion. He looked down at the Jade Pendant at his waist and murmured, "I will make it back alive. Wait for me..."

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