Upon hearing this, Fang Shu's smile faded. After pondering for a few breaths, he asked, "Since Refining Spirit Immortals only feed upon others and are never fed upon themselves, may I ask what in heaven and earth could count as a great terror to you all?"
A clear gesture of laughter immediately appeared upon Goose Divine Immortal's blurred face.
Pointing at the heavenly net surrounding them, he said directly, "Little friend, you truly are clever. Since there is nothing else in heaven and earth that can be called terrifying, then naturally, it is this very heaven and earth."
These words entered Fang Shu's ears, and his brows immediately furrowed tightly.
"Enough. This old man shall cease beating around the bush and explain it properly to you, lest your scheming heart grow too heavy and you become even more suspicious of this old man."
Goose Divine Immortal clapped his hands and said, "Now that you have formed your Golden Core, you ought to know this. Although True Immortal Dancheng has attained agelessness and inexhaustibility, from the very moment one forms a Golden Core, one's appearance no longer ages and one's mana is almost never depleted.
"Yet True Immortals, too, have their time of decline. Once their lives near their end, their clothes become soiled, the flowers atop their heads wither, sweat pours from their armpits, their bodies become foul and filthy, and their minds fall into disorder, no longer delighting in their proper seats.
"These five signs are also called the Five Decays of Heaven and Man. They are no different from the ugly state of mortal old age—indeed, they are even worse.
"And although we Refining Spirit Immortals have already attained immortality without end, we likewise face calamities, ones even more perilous than the Five Decays of Heaven and Man.