Aging

Biodata

Background / History

The Aging Stele is one of the Seven Limits, which encompass Birth, Aging, Sickness, Death, Suffering, Tribulation, and Fate. Its power carries the Daoist charm of senescence, decay, and the withering of all things, particularly the depletion of Life Qi 241 272.

Zhang Chu initially identified the decaying power wielded by the Red Lantern Cult’s Paper Person as originating from the Aging Stele. The Paper Person had used its secrets alongside God Worship power to drain townspeople’s vitality and transform himself into a half-human, half-paper existence. However, after destroying him, Zhang Chu concluded that the Paper Person had not actually possessed the stele 241 242.

The stele’s power later appeared as one of the three living inheritances of the Qingming Secret Realm. A stone statue carried the complete cultivation method, combat consciousness, and movement patterns associated with Aging, alongside inheritances of the Buddhist Sect’s Three Lives Body and an ancient sword path 270.

After Zhang Chu obtained it, the Aging Stele entered his Chaos Small World, where it formed a triangular balance with the Tribulation and Bitter Character Steles 270 271. Its inherent pollution, Decay of All Things, was subsequently removed through the expenditure of ten million Merit Points 272.

Abilities & Properties

Decay of All Things

The Aging Stele governs the decline and exhaustion of Life Qi rather than physical deterioration in battle or spiritual decay 272.

• Represents senescence, withering, and the inevitable end of living things 241 270 272.
• Its power can induce a sensation akin to aging hundreds of years in an instant 270.
• The Paper Person used related decay power to absorb the vitality of living people and support the Underworld Lamp 241.

Living Inheritance

Within the Qingming Secret Realm, Aging was preserved through a stone statue rather than a conventional manual.

• The statue contained a complete cultivation technique, combat instincts, and movement patterns 270.
• Its attacks released decay power that instinctively repelled living beings 270.
• The three inheritance statues functioned as a formation; after the Aging statue was lost, the remaining two halted their assault 270.

Abnormal Pollution

Before purification, the stele contained an abnormal contamination designated Decay of All Things.

• The system required 10,000,000 Merit Points to eliminate the hidden danger 272.
• Its gray-yellow, withered-wood-like form conveyed an irreversible sense of all things progressing toward their end 272.
• Following purification, it remained within Zhang Chu’s Heavenly Palace alongside the Tribulation and Bitter Character Steles 271 272.

Relationships

• Zhang Chu — Current holder of the Aging Stele; incorporated it into his Chaos Small World and removed its pollution 270 272.
• Paper Person — Drew upon knowledge or power related to Aging while using the Underworld Lamp, but did not possess the stele itself 241 242.
• Granny Kurong — Explained that the Qingming Secret Realm’s stone statue preserved Aging’s complete inheritance 270.
• Tribulation Character Stele — Forms part of a three-stele balance with Aging and Bitter within Zhang Chu’s Heavenly Palace 271.
• Bitter Character Stele — Forms the same triangular arrangement with Aging and Tribulation 271.

Trivia

• Aging is also translated in-context as Old through the term “Old Character Stele” 241 270.
• Unlike the Tribulation Stele’s violent aura and the Bitter Stele’s sorrowful markings, the Aging Stele appears smooth and gray-yellow, like withered wood 272.