Chapter 294: Longevity

"Longevity Pill?"Mo Hua had never heard of this term before, so he asked, "Can it extend one's lifespan?"

Zhang Lan pondered and said, "You could say it extends life, but not in the way you think."

Elder Yu and the others exchanged glances, looking puzzled.

Mo Hua urged, "Uncle Zhang, stop being cryptic."

Zhang Lan hesitated for a moment and then asked Mo Hua, "What is the most important thing for a cultivator?"

"Strength?" Mo Hua guessed after a moment.

"No," Zhang Lan shook his head, "Strength is fundamental for a cultivator, but more important is lifespan. Only with lifespan can one pursue strength and seek longevity."

"True longevity is essentially eternal lifespan."

Mo Hua understood, "In simple terms, no matter what one does, one must first be alive. Without life, everything is meaningless."

"That's right," Zhang Lan said, "Even the most powerful cultivator must first stay alive. Without lifespan, no matter how powerful, they will still face death."

Mo Hua asked, "So cultivators will go to great lengths to extend their lifespan?"

Zhang Lan nodded, "The term 'extend lifespan' is actually misleading. There are natural laws, and cultivators have their limits. When one's lifespan is exhausted, it's inevitable to face death."

"But some pills or techniques can indeed extend lifespan..." Mo Hua was puzzled.

Mo Hua had read about pills and techniques that extend life in Daoist texts, so it wasn't a new concept to him.

"That's why I said, those so-called 'life-extending' methods are not truly extending life," Zhang Lan explained.

Mo Hua listened attentively, waiting for Zhang Lan to continue.

With a serious expression, Zhang Lan said, "When a cultivator's limit is reached, it is impossible to extend life. This is a law of the Dao. The so-called life extension for cultivators generally falls into two categories."

"One is through techniques or pills that condition the body and meridians, removing impurities and illnesses, thereby prolonging life."

"But in this case, the cultivator's limit has not been reached, and their lifespan is not exhausted. This kind of life extension is actually just using the cultivator's own lifespan, so it doesn't count as truly extending life."

"And once the cultivator's limit is truly reached, restricted by the Dao, death is inevitable. To avoid death, one would have to resort to demonic paths, practicing forbidden techniques, and crafting forbidden pills."

"The Longevity Pill is one such forbidden pill." Sᴇaʀᴄh the n0vᴇl(ꜰ)ire.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

Mo Hua felt a chill in his heart and asked, "Does making the Longevity Pill require killing many people?"

Zhang Lan nodded, "The Longevity Pill is difficult to craft and requires the killing of many people."

"Making the Longevity Pill involves using humans in the pill, borrowing life from others. But such acts against the Dao are extremely difficult. It might take a lot of effort, and one person can only lend a little life, so it requires killing many people to extend one's own life..."

Mo Hua felt a shudder and gradually understood:

"The way of humans is to take from those who have less to give to those who have more, exploiting others for their own benefit..."

"Families and clans grow powerful by exploiting spirit stones; the Dao Court monopolizes power; demonic paths are more cruel, some drink blood, exploiting blood; some absorb spirits, exploiting spiritual power; and crafting the Longevity Pill is directly exploiting human lives..."

Zhang Lan was startled and asked, "Who told you this?"

Mo Hua scratched his head, "Isn't it so?"

Zhang Lan wanted to deny it, but he vaguely felt it was true, although he couldn't articulate his thoughts.

Elder Yu was also surprised and looked at Mo Shan.

Mo Shan shook his head, indicating that he didn't teach Mo Hua this, and he didn't know how Mo Hua came to say such things.

After a moment of thought, Mo Hua asked Zhang Lan, "If it's true that this pill is crafted from humans, then is it made for the big boss?"

Zhang Lan, still frowning and thinking about Mo Hua's words, suddenly remembered the current issue with Heishan Stronghold and speculated, "The big boss is a Foundation Building cultivator. A Foundation Building cultivator has about three hundred years of lifespan, maybe four hundred at most in later stages. Given this timeline, the big boss's limit must be nearing, which is why he established the stronghold deep in Dahei Mountain, gathered demonic cultivators, and resorted to killing and pill-making to extend his life..."

"Such actions are forbidden by the Dao Law," Mo Hua remarked.

"Indeed, such acts are capital crimes, punishable by death, dismemberment, or even array execution," Zhang Lan sighed, but his expression relaxed somewhat, "Crafting the Longevity Pill is an act of utmost wickedness. Once reported, the Dao Court will take it extremely seriously and will deploy Dao soldiers to eradicate these demonic cultivators!"

Elder Yu and the others also felt relieved.

If this were the case, eliminating Heishan Stronghold wouldn't be so troublesome.

Mo Hua thought for a moment and asked, "Are these demonic cultivators so discreet because they fear their actions being exposed and triggering a Dao Court raid?"

Zhang Lan pondered briefly and nodded, "Very likely, but..."

Then Zhang Lan thought of another question and asked Mo Hua, "Crafting the Longevity Pill is a closely guarded secret, and the pill room is a forbidden area. How did you get in?"

Elder Yu and the others looked at Mo Hua curiously.

"It wasn't a big deal, I just sneaked in while the third boss was out," Mo Hua said nonchalantly.

"And then?" Zhang Lan pressed, knowing it couldn't be that simple.

"Then I got delayed and was caught by the third boss..."

Everyone's expressions changed, and Mo Shan's heart trembled with worry.

"Getting caught by a Foundation Building demonic cultivator, and you still managed to escape?" Zhang Lan was shocked, "How did you get out?"

"The third boss sent me out," Mo Hua said.

Zhang Lan didn't believe it, "What nonsense is that?"

"It's true," Mo Hua insisted.

Zhang Lan asked, "Was he out of his mind?"

"His mind was fine, but he probably got confused and misunderstood," Mo Hua explained.

"Misunderstood what?"

"Misunderstood me as an old demon possessing a body."

"Possessing?" Zhang Lan was taken aback and asked, "Why?"

Mo Hua tried to remain humble but couldn't help feeling a bit proud, "Maybe because my spiritual sense is strong."

Zhang Lan was stunned, "I know your spiritual sense is strong, but not to this extent..."

As he spoke, Zhang Lan suddenly sensed something and his expression changed, incredulously saying, "Your spiritual sense..."

Elder Yu, hearing this, also released his spiritual sense. After a moment, his eyes widened, and he stood up abruptly.

He hadn't noticed it before, but upon hearing about the spiritual sense, he extended his own to probe Mo Hua.

Only a moment later, he couldn't remain seated.

In his spiritual perception, Mo Hua's presence was indistinct, his aura vague, impossible to see clearly or grasp the reality.

The stronger the spiritual sense, the more obscure it became.

This indicated that Mo Hua's spiritual sense was already strong enough to rival his own, even obstructing his perception!

But how was this possible? He was at the Foundation Building stage, and Mo Hua was only at the Qi Refining stage! This defied his understanding of cultivation...

Elder Yu was astonished, "Your spiritual sense..."

Mo Hua scratched his head, embarrassed, "My cultivation is at Qi Refining, but my spiritual sense has already reached Foundation Building..."

Everyone gasped, and the room fell into dead silence.

Meanwhile, deep in the mountains.

The third boss muttered to himself, "Qi Refining cultivation, Foundation Building spiritual sense, how is this possible..."

He realized something was amiss.