Chapter 1087: Reaching the Longevity Stage
Any of these—colluding with an Ancient Immortal, stealing dragon qi, arranging a blood formation, refining a Longevity Stone, and opposing the Golden Tower Council—alone were enough for anyone to be executed. One did not even need to succeed, as merely intending such acts was already a monstrous crime. Astonishingly, Chen Shuhua had achieved all of them. Having come this far, there truly was no turning back.
She committed these crimes to pursue immortality.
Many people criticized Daoists for scheming, fighting for power, chasing ranks and fame, wasting heaven’s gifts, and neglecting their proper path. The reason was that most Daoists simply knew that they could not attain immortality.
Human life spanned 100 years, regardless of whether one spent the century in restraint or in indulgence.
Some Daoists feared laboring their whole lives and enduring every hardship for a century, only to miss out on life’s pleasures.
Meanwhile, those who wielded power and lived in lavish enjoyment also lived 100 years.
The hardworking ones would feel they had labored for nothing, lamenting that immortality was just an illusion. Meanwhile, others would think that they had lived their life to the fullest.
It was human nature to compare oneself to another, but this would inevitably make one feel like they were at a loss somehow.
Thus, most people would realize early on that they lacked the talent to pursue immortality, so they would abandon the thought altogether and choose instead to live an exciting life.
Since the Daoist Order adopted the Nine-Rank System, the higher one’s position, the greater the resources. The Daoist Order could even create Immortals, so if one climbed high enough, say to the Grand Master’s position, even a talentless cripple could become an Immortal with enough resources.
Of course, this created a paradox. Those who needed resources to become an Immortal would never qualify to become the Grand Master. Those who could become the Grand Master did not need many resources to attain immortality.
That said, there were only a few truly talentless people, as the Daoist Order gathered gifted people from across the world. Most were considered prodigies in mortal eyes.