Li Chen had long since empirically verified such things as the soul, will, and primordial spirit. He believed they were a collective will born of the responses of individual flesh-and-blood cells and neurons. The sum of everything produced in the course of living constituted the meaning of that life itself.
A living being did not exist in isolation in this world. It had to continually interact with the outside world and undergo metabolism. Even a closed system like Dancing Maiden inevitably engaged in various exchanges, influenced by external matter and primordial energy.
Daoists spoke of merit; Buddhists of karma, retribution, and affinity; Confucians of the three establishments. All revealed that humanity and the whole of the natural world were one. In modern science, this could be summed up as negative entropy.
The inherent law of the natural world was chaos and disorder. All achievements, fortune, Dao fruits, accomplishments, and influence would dissipate and be forgotten. Civilization, too, would ultimately perish, making perpetual existence difficult.
Yet matter itself was indestructible. The inherent property of immortal, undying existence had long lain hidden within living beings.
In principle, matter was part of this world and universe. As long as the universe endured, it would not perish either. What perished were the forms, meanings, and all such things that intelligent perception assigned to it.
Thus, the key lay in how to hold on to the meaning of the true self's existence and maintain the capacity for thought and activity that a living being ought to possess.
By comparison, forms of life, bodies, and souls were merely technical details.
"Employer, what you're describing seems to be a philosophical principle: a living being should possess unity, and the continuation of life should possess continuity. Is the Dao fruit of immortality you seek something to be found