Chapter 602 : The Price of Eternal Youth

For a cultivator to maintain perpetual youth, they must continuously nourish their physical body with Mana [the refined spiritual energy cultivated within a practitioner]. This process significantly impacts the pace of their cultivation journey.

Soren the Heart-Seer has forsaken the preservation of youthful appearance and entered the state of Heart-Mirror Unblemished [a profound meditative state where the cultivator's mind is clear of worldly dust and distractions]. No wonder his cultivation speed is so astonishingly swift.

Although abandoning eternal youth offers such benefits, Ethan Chen shook his head and said, "To cultivate the spirit [the mind and consciousness] while neglecting the body [the physical vessel and vitality] is the foremost malady of cultivation. To refine only the ancestral spirit [the innate spiritual nature] without forging the Golden Core [the condensed core of spiritual energy and life essence formed within a high-level cultivator], even a heroic soul across ten thousand kalpas would find it difficult to attain sainthood."

"I understand."

Soren the Heart-Seer nodded. If the physical body is not strong enough, or if its vital essence [the fundamental life force] declines and withers, then even with vast Mana and a powerful soul, it would likely be impossible to sustain oneself.

Even for those who walk his path, to advance further in the future, they would inevitably need to expend a far greater price to reverse aging and return to their peak state, only then having a chance to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm [the realm where a cultivator's spiritual essence condenses into an infant-like soul form].

Yet, knowing this full well, he still chose this path. He spoke with serene detachment, "A human life is like a leaf upon a tree: sprouting, budding, growing, maturing, then withering, falling away with the wind."

"I do not seek the path of immortality. To experience the sensations of birth, aging, sickness, and death is enough."

Ethan Chen was taken aback for a moment. After a long pause, he shook his head. "In a single lifetime, if one lacks a Spiritual Root [the innate spiritual foundation that determines one's aptitude for cultivation], it is one matter. But since you possess a Spiritual Root, to not strive for the destiny of immortality is to truly waste this life you have been given."

"The path that brought you to this day was not easy. Do not squander the opportunity of this incarnation." For the best reading experience, visit site: audio-novel.com.

Soren the Heart-Seer shook his head, remaining silent for a moment before speaking. "I have been pondering," he began, "for what purpose is a human life lived?"

"Is it for the love between husband and wife, for a brood of children at one's knee, to experience the joys of family?"

"Or is it to propagate the Dao and dispel ignorance, to instruct disciples and apprentices, to slay demons and vanquish monsters, carving out territory for the Human Race?"

"Or perhaps it is to climb ever higher, sparing no cost, to ultimately achieve the status of a Nine Heavens Immortal Demons [a legendary, transcendent demonic being]?"

At this point, Soren the Heart-Seer shook his head again, a note of confusion entering his voice as he asked, "Husband and wife can turn on each other. And what of managing a Sect and expanding its borders? No matter how splendid a life, it all returns to dust in the end."

"And even if one becomes a Nine Heavens Immortal Demons, attaining eternal life, what one might gain is perhaps nothing but everlasting solitude."

"These questions of yours, I do not know how to answer them either." Ethan Chen furrowed his brow, yet his gaze was earnest as he spoke. "But in this one lifetime, one should act according to one's capabilities and, above all, follow the dictates of one's own heart."

"If one day I truly find myself blessed with a loving spouse and many children, possess the power to expand the frontiers for the Human Race, and even ascend to become an Immortal [a being who has transcended mortality through cultivation] in the Nine Heavens [the legendary celestial realms], then I shall return to your graveside and give you my answer."

"Hahaha!"

Soren the Heart-Seer was also amused. For a mere Golden Core [the third major realm of cultivation, where one forms a solidified core of spiritual energy] cultivator to question the meaning of life was no different from an ant questioning the heavens—how could one expect a reply?

If one truly ascends to become an Nine Heavens Immortal Demons [a legendary tier of demonic beings said to possess immortality], one would then be qualified to ponder such philosophies of existence.

Ethan Chen offered a faint smile. Though he had matured considerably over the years, a core of youthful idealism still burned within him. He could not bear to see his friend shrouded in such world-weary gloom. "My Clan Uncle has summoned you," he said. "If you have the nerve, go and debate these profound matters with him."

"Clan Uncle?"

Soren the Heart-Seer felt a tremor in his heart. Within the Chen Immortal Clan, only three cultivators of the Nian Generation [the generation bearing the character 'Nian' in their given names] remained: Seraphina Chen, Kael Chen, and Eldrin Chen.

Among these three, the two male cultivators were True Lord [a title for powerful Golden Core stage cultivators] whose names commanded awe across the land.

With this thought, Soren the Heart-Seer inquired, "For what purpose am I summoned?"

"For you, it may well be a stroke of fateful fortune."

Ethan Chen sighed, then revealed the matter of the Nascent Soul Formation Pill [a legendary elixir that can aid in the formation of a Nascent Soul]. "However," he continued, "given your attainment of the Heart-Mirror Unblemished [a state of spiritual purity where one's inner heart-mirror is flawless], if you can obtain Earthly Dao Essence [a rare spiritual substance embodying fragments of worldly Dao principles], a sliver of hope may yet remain for you to one day break through to the Dao Lord [a title for cultivators who have comprehended a profound Dao principle] realm in the future."

"Consider it carefully for myself."

Following behind Ethan Chen, Soren the Heart-Seer strode forward and arrived at Spirit Isle Lake.

A young man, upon seeing the two, offered a slight bow towards Ethan Chen and said, "Greetings, Elder Brother."

"No need for such formality," Ethan Chen nodded, then inquired, "Brother Alistair Lu, is the Clan Uncle present?"

Alistair Lu offered a gentle smile and replied, "My Master is currently playing the zither. However, he instructed me earlier that you may proceed directly to him upon your arrival."

"My thanks."

With a nod of acknowledgment, Ethan Chen ascended onto Spirit Isle Lake. The air was soon filled with the ethereal, lingering notes of a zither, a celestial melody that seemed to drift from beyond the heavens, possessing an indescribable, sublime beauty.

The ground was carpeted with fallen peach blossoms. Following behind him, Soren the Heart-Seer walked through the Ten-Mile Peach Blossom Grove. Beneath a gnarled and ancient peach tree, they saw a youth clad in snow-white robes, a zither resting upon his knees. With downcast eyes, he played with a serene detachment. This chapter is part of a larger work available at audio‑novel.com.

That person resembled a banished immortal [an immortal being exiled to the mortal world], quietly plucking the strings. An ineffable, divine aura lingered between his brows.

Soren the Heart-Seer suddenly felt that a person of such extraordinary grace as the one before him was likely impossible to find again within the mortal realm. Perhaps only the true Immortal residing within the Nine Heavens Immortal Domain could possess even a fraction of his divine bearing.

The zither's melody, delicate and lingering, gradually faded into silence. After a long while, Eldrin Chen opened his eyes. He cast a calm glance at the two and spoke.

"Sit."

"My gratitude, True Lord."

Soren bowed respectfully, then settled himself upon the peach blossom.

Eldrin Chen regarded Soren with a placid gaze, observing him in silence for a long moment before finally inquiring, "The matter of the Nascent Soul Formation Pill [a legendary elixir that aids in forming the Nascent Soul, the next stage of cultivation], I presume Ethan has already informed you."

"Mm."

Soren nodded. After a moment of contemplative silence, he spoke, "That pill... perhaps it should be reserved for another."

"Oh?"

Eldrin Chen's eyes grew faintly distant. It was the first time he had ever heard someone refuse the boon of a Nascent Soul Formation Pill. "And why would you decline it?" he asked.

"For me, cultivation is its own purpose. I have never harbored ambitions of ascending further," Soren stated plainly. He then posed a question of his own: "I have three inquiries. Might I trouble you, Senior, to dispel my doubts?"

As he spoke, he presented his three questions to Eldrin Chen.

After listening, Eldrin Chen did not answer immediately, but instead smiled and said, "Those who have attained the Heart-Mirror Unblemished [a state of spiritual purity where the mind is like a flawless mirror] often pay little heed to the affairs of the mundane, ever-shifting world."

"An Immortal [a being who has transcended mortality through cultivation] remains unstained by the dust of mortal concerns, serenely seated upon a Spirit Mountain [a mountain imbued with potent spiritual energy] to watch the clouds unfurl."

"Such cultivators, with minds free from distraction, often advance in their cultivation with remarkable speed. Thus, this is considered the ideal state of mind, the Dao-heart, for an Immortal."

Speaking thus, Eldrin Chen shook his head once more. "However, in my view, this is merely mortal fancy, a conjecture about what an Immortal must be. A true Immortal may not be like this at all."

"Oh?"

Soren's eyes flickered with interest. "I beg you to elaborate, Senior."

"Blossoms number in the billions, each year's flowers are different. Human lives are myriad, each one utterly unique. How much more so, then, for the Immortal dwelling within the Nine Heavens [the celestial realms, often depicted as nine layered heavens]?"

Eldrin Chen offered a serene smile. "You observe the veins upon a single petal and believe you have seen the whole world, presuming that mortals, and even Immortal, are all just so. This is the perspective of an ant gazing at the sky."

"Contemplating the great Dao of life and comprehending the principles of heaven and earth is indeed a noble path for the heart. But you must understand one truth."

"It is like this: when mortals yearn for the starry heavens, they should remember that their own feet still tread upon the solid earth. They must climb step by step to truly understand what the cosmos is."

"Were I in your place, I would carry these three questions with me on my journey, walking until the day I experience their answers firsthand, rather than sitting idly in a corner, lost in empty contemplation." Dive deeper into the Dao at audio - novel . com.