Longevity: Comprehending the Heart Method

Song Changsheng was not one to be content with mediocrity. His status as a Transmigrator gave him a unique sense of pride, and the Daoist Scripture that had accompanied him to this world was the source of his confidence and conviction.

He set his sights far into the future. Foundation Establishment was not his final goal; he wanted to go much further, to leave Ling Province, even Qii Kingdom, and contend with the Great Sect Disciples.

Therefore, he had to lay the most solid foundation for himself. Only with a firm foundation could a towering skyscraper be built.

In the path of cultivation for the Human Race, although one’s level of existence already differed from a mortal’s starting from the stage of Introducing Qi into the Body, that was merely the first step on the journey.

Only by stepping into the Foundation Establishment Stage could one be considered to have truly embarked on the path to longevity, and only then could one be called a "Cultivator."

Foundation Establishment, as the name implies, is the process of laying a foundation. The higher the quality of the Dao Foundation one condenses, the higher their future potential will naturally be.

It was said that the clan’s ancestor, Song Taiyi, had condensed a Wind Dao Foundation when he was at the Qi Refining Great Perfection stage. This was formed by absorbing North Wind Qi and corresponded with his Spirit Root’s attribute.

This was a type of Attribute Dao Foundation. Relying on it, Song Taiyi’s Fast Sword Technique became renowned throughout the entire Daqi Cultivation World, and he had many recorded feats of defeating stronger opponents.

If Dao Foundations were divided into three tiers—Low, Middle, and High—then the Attributeless Dao Foundation would be the Low tier. This is because Cultivators who condense this type of Dao Foundation are highly unlikely to comprehend a True Intent when breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Stage.

This left their innate combat power a step behind, and the obstacles to breaking through to the Purple Mansion Stage in the future would be much greater.

Song Taiyi’s Attribute Dao Foundation was Middle Level. Anyone who could condense such a Dao Foundation was a genius. Upon breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Stage, they could comprehend a True Intent corresponding to their Spirit Root’s attribute, which was a huge boost to their strength and would also aid in their future breakthrough to the Purple Mansion.

The next step up, the High Level, was the Dao Foundation of the Great Dao. You might not even find one among a thousand Foundation Establishment Cultivators. Calling it as rare as a phoenix’s feather might be a slight exaggeration, but the reality wasn’t far off.

After condensing a Dao Foundation of the Great Dao, one could comprehend a Dao Principle True Intent—one of the three thousand Great Daos—upon breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Stage. Examples include Slaughter True Intent and Destiny True Intent, the profound mysteries of which are beyond description to outsiders.

Song Changsheng’s goal was the Yin Yang Dao Foundation, one of the Dao Foundations of the Great Dao.

Due to the unique nature of his Heart Method, he could absorb Sun Essence and Moon Radiance Qi. One was yin, the other yang, which was one of the methods to achieve a Yin Yang Dao Foundation, and for him, it was simple.

He only needed to circulate his Heart Method and cultivate at specific times each day, and a continuous stream of Sun Essence and Moon Radiance Qi would be drawn into his Dantian to condense his Dao Foundation.

Without his special method, obtaining Yin and Yang Qi would be incredibly difficult. It might be manageable with the support of elders in a family, but for a disciple from a small power, they might not be able to condense a Dao Foundation in their entire lifetime.

Thus, in this world, it was harder than ascending to the heavens for a low-level Cultivator to turn their fortunes around. Song Changsheng was merely a lucky exception, one that could not be replicated...

WHOOSH...

After finishing his morning cultivation, Song Changsheng "looked" at the Dao Foundation in his Dantian, which had already formed a complete outline, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

Although it was still far from being fully condensed, Song Changsheng was already content. After all, this speed was quite impressive.

’Time to go see Fifth Uncle. That batch of Artifact Refining Materials should be ready soon.’ Song Changsheng withdrew from his meditative state, rose to his feet, and murmured to himself.

A few months ago, he had requested a batch of Tier One Top Grade and Tier Two Low Grade Artifact Refining Materials from Song Luzhou to improve his Artifact Refining Technique.

However, Tier Two materials were too rare, and the clan didn’t have much in stock, so Song Luzhou needed some time to gather them. By his calculations, the time was about right.

He strolled over to the Hundred Arts Hall, where Song Luzhou was already waiting for him in the stone pavilion by the entrance.

"Your nephew pays his respects, Fifth Uncle," Song Changsheng said, bowing meticulously.

"Here, the materials you wanted." Song Luzhou didn’t say much more, just nodded and placed a Qiankun Bag in front of Song Changsheng.

Although he appeared calm, Song Changsheng could still see a flicker of heartache on his face.

Song Changsheng chuckled to himself. ’My Fifth Uncle is a notorious Iron Rooster, and he just so happens to be in charge of the clan’s finances. Prying anything from his grasp is no easier than snatching food from a tiger’s mouth.’

’Preparing such a large batch of high-quality materials for me to practice with must feel like he’s carving off a piece of his own flesh.’

’If it weren’t for my status as a Purple Mansion Seed, I really might not have been able to pry these materials from this Iron Rooster.’

He opened the Qiankun Bag to take a look, his brow furrowing slightly. "Fifth Uncle, why are there only twenty sets of Tier Two Low-Grade materials? This is far less than I expected."

He would have been better off not saying anything. The moment he spoke, Song Luzhou nearly exploded on the spot. He pointed a chubby finger at Song Changsheng and roared like a wrathful guardian deity, "Only twenty sets is too few? What do you think these are, cabbages?

Do you have any idea? In Eleventh Uncle’s hands, these twenty sets of materials could produce at least five Tier Two Low-Grade Artifacts! Do you know how much money that is? In your hands, can you even produce one? It’s easy for a son to sell his grandfather’s fields without feeling the pinch!"

Song Changsheng retorted, unconvinced, "Fifth Uncle, have you considered that once your nephew becomes a Tier Two Low-Grade Refiner, I’ll be able to contribute more effectively to the clan?"

Song Luzhou didn’t speak, just glared at him with puffed cheeks, as if Song Changsheng had committed some unforgivable crime.

"Alright, alright, have it your way! You can just sit there and hug your Spirit Stones until they hatch," Song Changsheng said. He snatched the Qiankun Bag, cupped his hands in a quick salute, and left in a hurry, afraid that Song Luzhou might change his mind.

Watching Song Changsheng’s retreating back, Song Luzhou couldn’t help but break into a smile. "That little brat... he actually dares to mock me now."

But in the next moment, the smile on his face turned bitter.

As an Alchemist, he naturally knew that improving one’s Artifact Refining Technique required practicing with a large amount of materials.

He also wanted to provide Song Changsheng with enough support, but the clan’s current financial situation simply didn’t allow for it. To purchase the Foundation Establishment Pills from the main family branch, the clan’s coffers had been almost completely drained.

If he hadn’t been so frugal, pinching pennies here and there, it would have been difficult to even come up with these twenty sets of materials.

’I hope you can give me another surprise,’ Song Luzhou murmured softly. He then walked into the main hall and settled back into his reclining chair in the corner...

After returning to his courtyard, Song Changsheng began refining Magical Artifacts to improve his Artifact Refining Technique.

While it wasn’t true that the more you refined, the better your Artifact Refining Technique would become, it was certain that you wouldn’t improve without practice.

Although the Tier Two materials were few, the Tier One Top Grade materials were quite abundant—a full fifty sets. It was clear Song Luzhou had truly gone all out this time.

Time flew by amidst his busy work. In the blink of an eye, another half a year had passed. Song Changsheng’s Artifact Refining Technique was now infinitely close to the Tier Two Low-Grade level, but he just couldn’t seem to cross that final step.

He had attempted to refine a Tier Two Low-Grade Artifact five times, and all attempts had ended in failure...