The fans online were always saying, "May you never die." It turned out that, for her brother, those words were literal. For someone at Void Refinement and Dao Integration, as long as the Heavenly Dao endured, so did they.
Yang Wanqing realized this too. She pressed her palms together and bowed toward the sky. "Master, how does that saying online go? 'May you never die.' It actually applies to you! You're already immortal!"
Chen Hao shook his head.
The movement was slight, but unmistakable.
"No one can live forever."
Yang Wanqing froze. "Huh? But Chang'e's records said..."
"Whether through Void Refinement and Dao Integration or a Dao Venerable True Body, you can indeed be reborn through the Dao." Chen Hao slowly traced a circle around the rim of his cup.
"But given enough time, the Dao you've merged with will also dissipate. Even heaven and earth have a lifespan. The world that sustains the Dao will eventually decay, and the Dao will perish with it. So will the person."
Chen Siyao's back stiffened slightly.
"This process," Chen Hao said, "is called the Five Decays of Heaven and Man."
The Five Decays of Heaven and Man.
The moment he spoke those words, Chen Siyao and Yang Wanqing both froze.
The Five Decays of Heaven and Man was a concept that had circulated on Blue Star for thousands of years. It appeared in Buddhist scriptures, in the Daoist Canon, and in folk legends.
When heavenly beings approached the end of their lifespan, five signs of decay would appear, and then they would perish.
So this saying really had a source.
And that source was right here.
"The 'heavenly beings' in the Five Decays of Heaven and Man..." Chen Siyao's voice was a little dry. "That means beings at the level of Void