"You mean, what exactly is the essence of lifespan?"
True Person Miaobao looked intrigued by Li Chen's question. "Sages and philosophers throughout the ages have studied this question in depth. It concerns the Dao fruit of everlasting life, yet few have ever understood it clearly. Even those great powers who have attained immortal longevity mostly achieved it through innate gifts or heaven-sent opportunities. They still know that it is so, but not why it is so."
"However, cultivators of different eras and different Dao paths have held sharply differing views on it. The oldest is undoubtedly the true spirit life theory of the primordial spirit way."
"This theory regards a person's innate true spirit as indestructible. A person's heaven and earth souls are bestowed by the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, while the life soul is born in response to the father's essence and the mother's blood, with the seven souls forming thereafter. Most mortal bodies exist in this manner."
"Those who follow this path cultivate the primordial spirit, seeking an immortal primordial spirit and an undying mind. Once they reach flawless perfection, longevity follows naturally. Thus, immortal longevity is merely an ordinary thing to them."
Li Chen said, "I've long been familiar with this theory. The great powers among the ancient cultivators truly weren't constrained by the limits of lifespan. That is enviable indeed."
"But it's no wonder ancient cultivators feared the Three Calamities and Eight Tribulations, and the five decays of the celestial. Without innate limits, only these trials remained to threaten their continued existence. Calamity itself meant death. Modern cultivators, by contrast, are like barefoot men unafraid of those wearing shoes."
True Person Miaobao said, "Indeed. In ancient times, there were already immortals who routinely lived for millions or tens of millions of years, as though