Chapter 48: Defects

Hearing this, Mu Yanxi was stunned for a moment, finally coming back to her senses from the shock earlier.

Then she suddenly remembered—she had indeed heard of similar cases in her previous life.

She’d heard that in other sects, there was a very special disciple who broke through the limits of the Qi Refining Thirteenth Layer.

Supposedly, he cultivated all the way to the Fifteenth or even Sixteenth Layer. That sect also took great care of him, treating him as a special case to study.

But in the end, that disciple didn’t live much longer before his lifespan ran out and he passed away sitting in meditation.

The Qi Refining stage could only allow a disciple to live to a hundred at best, and the absolute limit was around one hundred and twenty or thirty years. After researching, the elders of his sect concluded that this was a congenital flaw in his constitution.

If, no matter how much one refined their qi, their lifespan would never increase, then that truly was the greatest flaw. Cultivators pursued immortality above all; if even the limit of one’s lifespan could not be broken, then what was the point in becoming stronger?

“That’s not right! Didn’t you say the Qi Refining stage couldn’t increase one’s lifespan? Then how did people with thousands or even tens of thousands of Qi Refining layers come about? Don’t tell me they reached ten thousand layers within just a hundred years?” Mu Yanxi asked in confusion.

“The first cultivator in the Xing Ji Realm to be discovered with infinite Qi Refining layers was born with the Everlasting Evergreen Physique and had infinite lifespan.”

“So, he never had to worry about the limits of longevity and cultivated all the way to over four thousand Qi Refining layers.”

“But even he believed that his Infinite Dantian constitution was a flaw and kept searching for a way to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage. In the end, the Xing Ji Realm studied his special constitution in exchange for helping him attempt that breakthrough,” the Terminal Ring answered.

“There’s actually a physique that’s born with infinite lifespan?!” Mu Yanxi was once again shocked. Compared to the power of defying immortals with infinite Qi Refining, she envied this even more.

“If one had infinite life, what need was there for any breakthroughs? From the very start, you’d already be standing at the finish line.”

“There are, Master. Although breaking through the limit of lifespan is extremely difficult, the Xing Ji Realm still possesses several ways to achieve infinite longevity, including a few immortal physiques. However, the price is extremely steep—truly astronomical,” the Terminal Ring continued.

To achieve immortality—how could any price measure up to that? It was only natural for it to be astronomical. Mu Yanxi thought so, but since even the Terminal Ring called it an astronomical price, her ordinary family certainly couldn’t afford it for now.

She said to the Terminal Ring, “Continue talking about the Infinite Dantian. Are there any other cases?”

“The second case is a Prodigy of Heaven from a certain world fragment. Although he did not possess the Everlasting Evergreen Physique, he was a peerless genius who cultivated over fifty Qi Refining layers within a hundred years, comparable to a Golden Core Stage cultivator.”

“In a fortuitous encounter, he obtained a longevity-extending pill and lived up to five hundred years,” the Terminal Ring replied.

“During those five hundred years, he advanced by leaps and bounds, breaking through to over three hundred Qi Refining layers—his strength rivaled the Nascent Soul mid-stage.”

“After that, he kept searching for more longevity-increasing treasures and continued to break through in the Qi Refining stage. Eventually, with the help of the Xing Ji Realm, he obtained the secret to immortality—by that time, he had already broken through to over ten thousand Qi Refining layers.”

So that’s how it was—relying on heavenly materials and treasures to extend his life, cultivating only to increase his strength.

With greater strength, he could gain more resources to prolong his life. That too was a path.

“Since the Xing Ji Realm has methods for infinite lifespan and surgeries to transform someone into the Infinite Dantian constitution, then why are there still so many Foundation Establishment and Golden Core Stage cultivators?”

Mu Yanxi suddenly thought of the cultivators she’d just encountered in the market—most of them weren’t in the Qi Refining stage, were they?