The trip to the ruins of the Withered-Glory Courtyard had been a blessing in disguise for Jiang Chen, bringing him immense benefits.
At the Soaring Dragon realm, there was nothing more important than cleansing one's Dao heart. This introspection had given him greater confidence to sweep away the fog of ignorance.
Of course, the work of cultivation itself still depended on accumulation over time.
"That fat man is extremely calculating. Be careful not to fall into his schemes."
While Jiang Chen was cultivating, the voice of Jiang Yan suddenly rang out from within the Nether Candle.
"Jiang Yan, I thought you understood the principle of not coming between close relations."
"You are me, and I am you. Who is close and who is distant—have you seen clearly?"
Jiang Chen activated his Dao Meridian Soaring Dragon and leaped directly into the fog of ignorance, too lazy to respond further.
Why had Jiang Yan suddenly warned him to be wary of Chongxuan Sheng?
This was a question Jiang Chen would not even consider. Some questions, once pondered, led directly into calculations.
Jiang Yan had his own plans, and Jiang Chen had his own judgment.
Regardless, cultivation was the foundation of everything.
He knew he lacked the innate brilliance of Zhao Yan, and was not as far-sighted as Chongxuan Sheng in his calculations. All he could do was cultivate diligently and grasp everything within his reach.
He cast aside distractions and refused to do foolish things like the man from Zheng who suspected his axe.
No matter what Jiang Yan was plotting, he simply would not engage.
Li Longchuan had said that when Chongxuan Sheng gave gifts, he did so with overwhelming generosity—and this was no exaggeration.
When they had emerged from the Celestial Residence Secret Realm, Chongxuan Sheng had directly presented Jiang Chen with a Life Fruit, which was proof enough.
Lifespan was a profound mystery, governed by hidden fate yet also unpredictable. Before it was witnessed, it never held a fixed form—it only solidified at the moment of observation.
Among the arts of divination and calculation, there was an ancient saying—"Heavenly secrets come first; none can fathom a person's lifespan."
This spoke to the profound mystery of lifespan.
Typically, a judgment about a person's lifespan was more accurately a range rather than a precise number.
For example, Zhang San might be young and vigorous, and someone with a bit of knowledge could determine his lifespan would be at least past fifty, but without any means of nourishment, he would likely not live to eighty.
A more experienced physician might notice that Zhang San's qi and blood were slightly deficient, meaning he probably would not live past sixty, but a lifespan of thirty was certainly no issue.
A more powerful cultivator could peer into the specific details of Zhang San's physical body, further narrowing this range to between forty and fifty.
For instance, when Grand Preceptor Zhao Cang of the State of You first saw Jiang Chen, he immediately knew Jiang Chen's lifespan had been diminished—for the same reason.
And some ordinary people could sense their "great limit approaching" before death. This was information the body fed back to itself—this great limit was one's destined lifespan.
But destiny was not unchangeable.
A person who grew up in luxury and abundance would naturally live longer than one who endured hunger and want.
Cultivators who consumed pills and precious treasures operated on the same principle. Items like Youth-Nourishing Pills and Life Fruits were such things.
However, the heavens followed constant laws, and human lifespan was limited. Such lifespan-extending marvels could only be consumed once—taking more had no effect.
For example, after taking a Youth-Nourishing Pill that extended one's life by one year, even more potent pills that could extend life by three, four, or five years would no longer have any effect.
Similarly, after Jiang Chen consumed a Life Fruit that extended his lifespan by twenty years, no Life Fruit of any duration would ever work again.
This prevented the possibility of lifespan-extending marvels being completely monopolized by certain supreme powers—for monopoly would be useless to themselves.
Therefore, Grand Preceptor Zhao Cang of the State of You gifting Jiang Chen a Youth-Nourishing Pill that extended life by one year was a rather subtle gesture. For ordinary people or even common cultivators, extending one's life by a year was certainly a good thing.
But with Jiang Chen's potential, he would have had the opportunity to seek better Youth-Nourishing Pills in the future. However, once he consumed this one-year pill, his hope of extending his lifespan through this method was severed.
It was only after arriving in the State of Qi and broadening his horizons that Jiang Chen looked back and understood this matter.
Human lifespan was limited—this restriction had been explored by the ancients and was precisely one hundred and twenty-nine years and six months.
This was indeed the longest recorded lifespan of an ordinary person in history, one who had not cultivated nor consumed any lifespan-extending treasures.
And while the extraordinary transcended the power of mortals, it was very difficult to break through the limits of human lifespan.
What distinguished cultivators from mortals was that cultivators remained healthy and robust, resistant to poison and disease, and could relatively easily approach the limit of lifespan. In truth, mortals found it very difficult to live past ninety.
Cultivators had more opportunities to access lifespan-extending treasures, but the dangers encountered during cultivation that could diminish one's lifespan were also things mortals rarely faced. Some injuries could not be healed at all, so merely in terms of longevity, some cultivators might not even match mortals.
From the perspective of cultivation itself—
Cultivators up to the Outer Tower realm still suffered the pains of qi and blood decline.
Even someone as powerful as Ji Cheng, at the peak of the Outer Tower realm, after suffering bodily injuries and spirit damage, aging, and the decline of qi and blood, saw his cultivation retreat as three of his four Holy Towers went dark.
If not for holding on with sheer will, he might not have even survived to the Battle of Qi and Yang.
Only after reaching the Divine Descent realm could one lock in qi and blood and fix one's true essence, achieving the so-called golden body and jade marrow—the indestructible physical form. Until the moment of death, one would not suffer the pains of qi and blood decline. Until the moment of death, one could maintain their peak state.
In ancient times, the Divine Descent realm was once called the Immortal realm—for precisely this reason.
Upon reaching the Divine Descent realm, cultivators could easily surpass the limit of human lifespan. The Divine Descent realm was also seen as truly breaking through the limits of human lifespan—"I descend like a god" spoke not merely of power.
In that grand era of antiquity, chaos was the dominant theme. Even the Divine Descent realm could hardly guarantee safety.
The legend of "immortality" persisted until... the first Divine Descent realm powerhouse, free of illness and calamity, living peacefully and undisturbed, died of old age at five hundred and eighteen years of age.
That person had maintained his golden body and jade marrow his entire life, but at the moment of death, he instantly aged and disintegrated.
The Immortal realm became the False Immortal.
Without speaking of higher realms, when Jiang Chen visited the ruins of the Withered-Glory Courtyard and questioned his original heart, after his Dao heart grew firmer, he illuminated his own being and understood his own regret—he needed to make up for the lifespan lost when using the forbidden arts of the Bone Path, to restore his "human lifespan limit."
This did not mean he could not progress without making up for this "regret," but rather that his future cultivation would be relatively more difficult.
But anything that could increase lifespan was a treasure. Chongxuan Sheng's Life Fruit back then had also been a fortuitous encounter—when he had sought the Life Fruit to befriend Jiang Chen, he had actually not been very confident.
Treasures in this world were hard to come by, so he could only keep it in mind and wait for the opportunity.
...
Two peaceful days passed. Cultivate, cultivate, cultivate.
Over a hundred battles in the Ethereal Realm, constantly summarizing and deducing.
Until this afternoon.
The Cloud Mountain villa received an uninvited guest.
The person was still on the road, but the gifts had already arrived.
Gold, silver, treasures, pearls, jade, and gemstones—these gifts filled eight carrying poles, though that was not particularly impressive.
The land deeds and shop deeds listed on the gift registry were the real priority—these were exactly what Chongxuan Sheng urgently needed for his newly formed Desheng Chamber of Commerce. To expand and enlarge the market in the Yang region, grain and medicinal herbs could never be enough.
Although the Four Seas Commerce Alliance also allocated massive resources, it could not fully satisfy Chongxuan Sheng's appetite. After all, no matter how large the business in the Yang region grew, the lion's share belonged to Chongxuan Sheng.
Two horses with demonic beast bloodlines pulled the carriage, driven by a cultivator at the Soaring Dragon realm.
Two guards who accompanied the carriage also looked spirited and capable.
The display was not lacking in grandeur, nor was the sincerity lacking in generosity.
First the gifts were sent ahead, then the calling card was delivered, and only then did the carriage follow.
However, when this extravagantly luxurious carriage arrived before the villa, the main gates were tightly shut, and the gifts sent earlier were neatly stacked outside the door.
Gates closed to visitors.
The owner of the carriage had just lifted the curtain—
A whoosh!
The calling card that had been sent flew back like a bolt of lightning, and was actually embedded into the carriage door!