The trip to the ruins of the Temple of Withered Glory proved to be a blessing in disguise for Jiang Wang, yielding immense benefits.

At the Tenglong realm, nothing is more crucial than purifying one’s Dao heart. This introspection allowed him to be more confident in dispelling the veils of ignorance clouding his path.

Of course, progress in cultivation still requires continuous, accumulated effort.

“That plump fellow is deeply cunning. Be wary of being ensnared in his schemes,” Jiang Yan’s voice echoed abruptly from the Underworld Candle as Jiang Wang cultivated.

“Jiang Yan, I thought you understood the principle that closeness outweighs distance,” Jiang Wang retorted.

“You are me, and I am you. Who is close and who is distant? Have you seen it clearly?”

Jiang Wang spurred his dragon-like Dao vessel and plunged directly into the mist of ignorance, disinclined to further argue.

Why did Jiang Yan suddenly warn him to be cautious of Chong Xuansheng?

Jiang Wang would not even consider the question. Some questions, once entertained, lead directly into a trap.

Jiang Yan had his calculations, and Jiang Wang had his own judgment.

In any case, cultivation was the foundation of everything.

He knew he wasn’t blessed with Zhao Rucheng’s innate cleverness, nor could he match Chong Xuansheng’s profound scheming. He could only strive diligently, seizing every opportunity within his grasp.

Rejecting distractions, he wouldn’t commit the folly of the axe-doubting Zheng man.

Whatever Jiang Yan was plotting, he simply wouldn’t take the bait.

Li Longchuan said that Chong Xuansheng’s gift-giving was grand and imposing, and this was indeed true.

As proof, he had presented Jiang Wang with a Longevity Fruit immediately after they emerged from the Heavenly Mansion Secret Realm.

Lifespan is profoundly mysterious, seemingly predetermined yet constantly shifting. It never has a fixed form until it is witnessed, at which point it solidifies.

There’s an ancient saying in the arts of divination and prophecy: “Heavenly secrets are paramount; human lifespans are the most inscrutable.”

This speaks to the enigmatic nature of lifespan.

Typically, an assessment of someone’s lifespan is more accurately a range than a precise number.

For example, Zhang San is young and vigorous. Anyone with some insight can judge that his lifespan will be at least fifty years, but without any means of nurturing, it is unlikely he will live to eighty.

More experienced physicians could discern that Zhang San’s qi and blood were slightly deficient, suggesting he wouldn’t live past sixty, but thirty years were certainly within reach.

More powerful cultivators could perceive the specific details of Zhang San’s physical body, further narrowing the range to between forty and fifty years.

For example, when the National Preceptor of You Country first saw Jiang Wang, he knew that his lifespan was deficient for this reason.

Some ordinary people also know that their “time is approaching” before death. This is information relayed by the body. Such a “great limit” is one’s fate.

But fate can be altered.

The same person raised in luxury and comfort will naturally live longer than one whose life is marked by hunger and instability.

Cultivators taking pills and consuming rare delicacies follow the same principle. The Age-Nourishing Pill and Longevity Fruit are examples of this.

But heaven’s course has its constants, and human lifespan is limited. Such lifespan-extending treasures can only be taken once, and further consumption is useless.

For example, after taking an Age-Nourishing Pill that extends lifespan by one year, even better pills with the potential to extend lifespan by three, four, or even five years will no longer have any effect.

Similarly, after Jiang Wang consumed a Longevity Fruit that extended his lifespan by twenty years, any Longevity Fruit of any duration would no longer be useful.

This prevents lifespan-extending treasures from being completely monopolized by powerful figures, as such monopolization would be useless to themselves.

Therefore, when the National Preceptor of You Country, Zhao Cang, gave Jiang Wang an Age-Nourishing Pill that extended lifespan by one year, his intentions were subtle. For ordinary people or even ordinary cultivators, extending lifespan by one year is certainly a good thing.

But with Jiang Wang’s potential, he would have the opportunity to purchase better Age-Nourishing Pills in the future. However, after taking this one-year pill, he would lose the hope of extending his lifespan through this means.

It was only after Jiang Wang arrived in Qi and gained more experience that he realized this.

Human lifespan is limited, a constraint that has long been explored by the sages. It is precisely one hundred and twenty-nine years and six months.

This is, in fact, the longest recorded lifespan of a mortal who has not cultivated or consumed any lifespan-extending treasures.

And what is called transcendence is surpassing the power of mortals, but it is difficult to break the limit of human lifespan.

The difference from mortals lies in the fact that cultivators are healthy and strong, resistant to poisons and diseases, and can approach the limit of lifespan relatively easily. Mortals, in fact, rarely live past ninety.

Cultivators also have more opportunities to come into contact with lifespan-extending treasures, but the dangers encountered in cultivation that can shorten lifespan are also rarely encountered by mortals. Some injuries are irreparable, so in terms of longevity alone, some cultivators may not be able to match mortals.

From the perspective of cultivation itself,

Cultivators will suffer from the decline of qi and blood until the Outer Building realm.

Even a pinnacle Outer Building cultivator like Ji Cheng, after suffering physical and mental damage and aging, experienced the decline of qi and blood, and his cultivation regressed, extinguishing three of the Four Sage Towers.

If he hadn’t held on with one last breath, he probably wouldn’t have been able to wait for the Qi-Yang War.

Only after reaching the God Proximity realm can one lock in qi and blood, stabilize the true nature, and be hailed as a golden body with jade marrow, with an imperishable physical body. Until death, one will not suffer from the decline of qi and blood. Until death, one can maintain the peak state.

In ancient times, the God Proximity realm was once called the Immortal Realm, and this was the reason.

Upon reaching the God Proximity realm, cultivators can easily live past the limit of lifespan. The God Proximity realm is also regarded as truly breaking the limit of human lifespan. “I am like a god descended” refers not only to power.

In such a great era as the ancient times, chaos was the main theme. Even God Proximity cultivators could not guarantee their safety.

The legend of “immortality” continued until… the first God Proximity cultivator who died of old age at the age of five hundred and eighteen, without illness or disaster, and living without contention.

That person maintained a golden body with jade marrow for a lifetime, and at the moment of death, instantly aged and disintegrated.

The Immortal Realm became a False Immortal Realm.

Without discussing the higher realms, Jiang Wang, after introspecting on his true heart during his trip to the ruins of the Temple of Withered Glory and making his Dao heart more firm, illuminating himself, also understood his regret – he needed to compensate for the lifespan lost by using the White Bone Dao heretical method, to make up for his “limit of human lifespan.”

It is not to say that he cannot make further progress without making up for this “regret,” but that it will be relatively more difficult in future cultivation.

But those that can increase lifespan are all treasures. Chong Xuansheng’s Longevity Fruit was also a fortuitous encounter. When he went to find the Longevity Fruit to befriend Jiang Wang, he himself was not very confident.

Rare treasures are hard to come by, and can only be kept in mind first, and then wait for the opportunity.

He spent two days in rare peace. Cultivating, cultivating, cultivating.

He fought over a hundred battles in the Illusory Realm of Grand Void, constantly summarizing and deducing.

Until this afternoon,

The Xia Mountain Villa welcomed an uninvited guest.

The person was still on the way, but the gifts arrived first.

Gold, silver, wealth, pearls, jade, and precious stones – these things alone amounted to eight loads, which was not too much.

The main list of gifts, which listed field deeds and pharmacy house deeds, was the most important – these were things that Chong Xuansheng’s newly established Desheng Chamber of Commerce urgently needed. In Yangdi, reopening and expanding the market, no amount of grain and medicinal materials would be enough.

Although the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce also allocated a large amount of resources, it was impossible to fully satisfy Chong Xuansheng’s appetite. After all, no matter how big the business in Yangdi was, Chong Xuansheng would still get the bulk of it.

Two horses with the bloodline of demon beasts pulled the carriage, and a Tenglong realm expert acted as the coachman.

The two guards traveling with the carriage were also full of spirit.

The pomp was not small, and the sincerity was more than enough.

First came the gifts, then the visiting card, and the carriage followed after.

But when this extremely luxurious carriage drove to the front of the mansion, the main gate was tightly closed, and the gifts that had been sent earlier were neatly stacked outside the gate.

The door was closed to visitors.

The owner of the carriage had just lifted the curtain.

With a whoosh,

The visiting card that had been sent out came flashing back and was stuck on the carriage door!