It is well known that the lifespans of cultivators are exceptionally long. Bai Qiuran was just about to respond when suddenly, a multitude of yellow lights descended upon him from above. However, after the yellow light entered his body, he remained untouched and showed no signs of weakness, seeming perfectly fine. In contrast, those who were struck by the yellow light instantly appeared drained of energy, their movements slowing down considerably.
"So that's how it is... he has been living for so long using this method," Bai Qiuran pondered. "Why, why?" From the very beginning, the cultivation world had never lacked methods for prolonging life. Indeed, the act of cultivating itself is, to a large extent, a human invention aimed at breaking free from the constraints of mortality. As more and more people were repeatedly hit by the yellow light, their feeble state seemed to compound, causing their actions to slow and their features to become increasingly aged.
"Hey, I really know the reason behind this," a skeleton nearby insightfully pointed out. "It's just that if I tell you all, you won’t be able to replicate my method."
Since only cultivators could enter this cave, the purpose of this trial was evidently to let cultivators experience the feeling of aging like mortals. Even if one had the ability to manipulate time, severing just a few decades of life wouldn’t be enough to achieve such a feeling. Meanwhile, the skeleton gazed at Bai Qiuran on the projection screen, its eye sockets glowing gently as if it were contemplating something.
After being struck by the yellow light, Bai Qiuran curiously examined his palm, astonished to find that nothing seemed to happen. As a cultivator who had survived for over three thousand years during the Qi Refining period, Bai Qiuran's life had already reached its limit over three millennia ago. During this long span, he had relied on longevity pills to extend his life, yet every year, he lived in dread of the end, occasionally encountering soul-reaping envoys from the Underworld.
A figure in a black robe tossed the skeleton aside, coolly stating, "Who will die first is yet to be determined." He turned and ignored the anxious and pleading gazes of several scattered cultivators as he continued on his way. At this moment, a scream echoed from ahead.
Bai Qiuran was curious about how this trial would demonstrate the so-called "pain of aging" to the cultivators. He observed as a few scattered cultivators ahead of him faced attacks descending from the dim, yellow sky. As he advanced along the narrow path, it seemed the oppressive yellow sky drew nearer to them.
Dense pillars of yellow light fell from above, striking near the cultivators. Bai Qiuran noticed that once struck, their life force quickly waned. Their appearances had not changed drastically due to their cultivation, but there were signs of their hair turning white, suggesting imminent demise.
Life span was a mysterious concept, yet it undoubtedly existed. For those who had not ascended to immortality, every lifespan was recorded in the Book of Life and Death in the Underworld. If one spoke plainly, it could be likened to a number in the realm of fate.
As the yellow light rained down upon Bai Qiuran, he stood firm as if crossing through a storm, his figure unfaltering while others around him seemed to fade into the distance. This state of impending doom felt no different from his usual conditions. He had lived for over three thousand years, and while he took longevity pills to survive, each year he faced the dread of his life coming to an end.
Bai Qiuran secretly pondered to himself, contemplating why he was unaffected while others struggled. It seemed this mysterious yellow light had the power to directly sever a living being's lifespan, reducing it materially, even if only temporarily. In this way, the trial allowed those within to experience the agony of physical aging and the fear of dying.
With every new influx of yellow light into his body, Bai Qiuran grasped its true nature. This wasn’t the time-manipulating power he had envisioned but rather a strange ability that could strip away the lifetimes of others.
As he advanced further along the path, Bai Qiuran's intrigue heightened. His curious observations were cut short when he suddenly witnessed several scattered cultivators collapsing under the attacks from the yellow sky, their faces betrayed weariness and despair.
"What is going on?" he murmured, feeling a flicker of understanding about why he remained unscathed. "Why is it that the aging light has no effect on me?"
He sensed something unusual about himself compared to his fellow cultivators, who experienced visible effects. With each strike, they aged prematurely, while he seemed untouched by the passage of time. The fact that the power of this aging light did not work on him seemed impossible; he was definitely still a mortal. Bai Qiuran quickly hurried forward, wondering about the strange powers that allowed him to evade the grasp of time while others suffered.
This dichotomy between his experience and theirs stoked his curiosity even further as he navigated through the chaos created by the yellow light. In that moment, he decided to discover the truth behind this trial and the secrets of this peculiar cave, hoping to take advantage of it for even greater purposes.