Xiao Jie was taken aback: "Please, Primordial Monarch, enlighten me."

"The greatest difference lies in this: among our Gu Yun Immortals, eight or nine out of ten retain or have reshaped fleshly bodies! However, the Penglai Immortals exist and act almost entirely, as you are now, with purely Immortal Spirit Bodies!"

Xiao Jie was suddenly stunned: "Ah? Why is it so? What is the profound meaning behind this?"

"The key to this lies in the word ’human’." Su Zhiqing’s expression was solemn, "What does it mean to be human? Humans have the seven emotions and six desires, have joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, have love, hate, obsession and entanglement, have relatives and old friends, possess greed, anger, obsession, arrogance, and doubt, have pursuits for beauty and aversion to pain. It is precisely because of these complex and vibrant experiences and bonds that there is something called ’human nature’. And the carrier and root of all these are largely determined and induced by our fleshly bodies."

"For this reason, in ancient times, the first sages to achieve the Immortal Path faced a crucial decision: to retain this body that carries all human nature, becoming an ’immortal’ who embraces the seven emotions and six desires and partakes in worldly pleasures; or to completely shed the mortal coil, transcend all physical bonds, and become a purely rational ’Immortal Spirit’ that conforms to the Heavenly Dao."

"Immortal Spirits are those who forget emotions, conform to the Heavenly Dao, observe all things with absolute rationality, are nearly the embodiment of laws, without sorrow or joy, without good or evil, pursuing the ultimate extremes of eternity and truth, yet also losing many of the joys and warmths of being born human; whereas Immortals, although possessing extraordinary power and longevity, still retain the core of human nature, with preferences, with persistence, delight in fine food, become melancholy over farewells, possessing complex emotions and desires, more like ’humans’ with great power."

"In those primordial times, the ancient Immortals gradually diverged because of this fundamental difference in ideology. The Immortals who retained their bodies felt those Immortal Spirits were cold and unfeeling, inhuman; whereas the Immortal Spirits who chose the Spirit Body felt the Immortals indulged in low-level pleasures and failed to transcend, with impure Dao Hearts. The rift between the two grew ever larger, eventually leading to complete division."

"Originally, Penglai State and Gu Yun State were both places where ’Immortal Spirits’ and ’Immortals’ lived mixed together, debating the Dao with each other yet coexisting peacefully. However, over time, the ideological conflict intensified. Most of the Immortals in Penglai State transformed or leaned toward the Immortal Spirit path, believing that only by casting aside the seven emotions and six desires, severing worldly ties, can one truly approach the Great Dao and obtain ultimate truth; whereas most Immortals in Gu Yun State believed that since Immortals cultivate from humans, one should not completely deny one’s roots, losing desires and emotions is no different from being a stubborn stone or dead wood in the world. What then is the meaning of eternal life?"

"Later, as differences became irreconcilable, those in Gu Yun State who leaned towards the ’Immortal Spirit’ path gradually left Gu Yun State and went to Penglai State where the path was more recognized; those in Penglai State who still cherished human nature and their fleshly bodies mostly came to Gu Yun State."

Around eight thousand years ago, the Outer Heaven Demons launched a large-scale invasion of the Jiuzhou World, and we, the Gu Yun Immortals, took it as our duty to protect all beings and save the world, emerging one after another to fight fiercely. But the Penglai Immortals believed that worldly conflicts and mass tribulations were all part of the heavenly cycle, intervening in them was meaningless, and they took the opportunity to completely close off the Immortal Island, cutting off all ties with the Nine States, drifting into the depths of the endless eastern sea, never to be seen again."

"Thereafter, the Nine States experienced several more great calamities, and they remained coldly watching, allowing us Gu Yun Immortals to struggle and bleed alone, resulting in countless deaths and injuries, utterly devoid of humanity, truly a bunch of cold-blooded, ruthless stones that defy moral principles!"

Miao Fa Yuanjun said this with a tone carrying obvious indignation and disdain. It was clear that she stood firmly on the side of preserving human nature and having a fleshly body.

Xiao Jie felt slightly shocked. Although logically this information was shocking enough, due to the influence of the Immortal Spirit Body, he did not feel overly agitated, merely rationally thinking "I see."

"But... Daoist Su, I currently do not feel anything wrong with myself? My thoughts are clear, and I can make judgments no different from ordinary people." Xiao Jie was somewhat puzzled.

"The fact that you feel little change now is quite normal." Su Zhiqing explained, "Because you have not achieved the Immortal Position for long, your consciousness and thought patterns still retain the powerful inertia from when you were a mortal, human nature can still rely on this inertia to sustain for quite some time. But over long periods, ten years, a hundred years, a thousand years... without a fleshly body as an ’anchor’ to continuously generate and bear those subtle emotional fluctuations and physiological feedback, your spiritual sense will become increasingly pure and indifferent. You will gradually no longer be able to taste the flavors of fine food, no longer able to feel the richness of fine wine, no longer able to appreciate the charm of music, no longer cheer with joy over victories, no longer feel sorrow over losses, and may even no longer feel a spark for the opposite sex."

"Eventually, you will completely lose all humanity and emotion, becoming a truly, absolutely rational, and also absolutely cold—’Immortal Spirit’."

"Therefore, in my opinion, if you do not wish to become like that, it is best to reshape a fleshly body for yourself as soon as possible. This is both an anchoring for self-awareness and a confirmation and safeguarding of your own human nature."

Xiao Jie immediately fell into contemplation.

No wonder... no wonder in this period, whether hearing about a friend’s resurrection, gaining a powerful profession, or even being suddenly kissed by An Ran, his emotions always remained in an unusual ’stability’. As if reason knew ’this moment should be joyful’ or ’this moment should be surprising’, yet deep inside, it was difficult to stir genuine waves. Previously it only seemed like an elevation of state of mind, as calm as an ancient well, and even took secret delight in this state. But now, hearing Miao Fa Yuanjun’s analysis, he was startled to realize this might exactly be the sign of ’human nature’ being gradually eroded by ’immortal nature’!

If in the end, human nature is lost, what is the point of achieving immortality? The pursuit of powerful strength, is it not for better protecting what is cherished, enjoying the beauty of life? But if even the desire and perception for ’enjoyment’ are lost, how different is eternal life and boundless mana from a timeless unchanging stone?

In an instant, Xiao Jie made his decision.

"Thank you, Primordial Monarch, for the reminder! If it weren’t for the enlightenment from Daoist friend, I might have almost strayed into the wrong path without realizing it." Xiao Jie solemnly cupped his hands in a salute, "I’ve decided that it’s better to be an ’Immortal’ with flesh and blood, emotions and desires. That pure ’Immortal Spirit’ path is still a bit too cold and detached, not really humane."

"Good." Miao Fa Yuanjun showed a comforting smile, "If you wish to reshape your fleshly body, you can return to Gu Yun State’s ’Tai Chang Hall’. There resides the Hundred Bones True Monarch, who is most skilled in the methods of body sculpting and vitality infusion. And for all our Gu Yun Immortal Friends, the first reshaping of the body is free of charge, with no need to pay Cause and Effect Points."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jie merely smiled faintly, "No need for such trouble. Has Primordial Monarch perhaps forgotten? I am the Ten Thousand Transformations Immortal."

Reshaping a human body might be simpler than imagined for him now. Humans are one of the myriad beings, and the one he is most familiar with. Visualizing it would surely be twice as effective with half the effort.

Immediately, he concentrated his mind, letting his awareness sink into the Sea of Consciousness.

This was his first time using the Visualization Technique, especially in a holographic virtual mode, which was considerably more complex compared to mouse and keyboard operations.

Luckily, with the system’s imparted skills and knowledge, using it was not difficult.

He began meticulously visualizing and constructing a virtual human figure in his mind. The process was akin to modeling the highest precision game character: starting from the basic skeletal structure, attaching muscle textures, mapping out the network of meridians, covering skin texture, adjusting facial features in detail... He could even "fine-tune" the density and sheen of the hair strands. In the end, he chose a body model based on his original appearance, but optimally perfected all flaws for enhanced harmony.

[System prompt: You have successfully used the Profession Skill [Visualizing All Things], you visualized [Man], your All Things Collection content has increased.]

"Done." Xiao Jie silently noted in his heart.

"Immortal Law—Human Transformation!"

A flash of white light enveloped his body, gentle but not blinding. When the light faded, Xiao Jie’s appearance seemed not too different from before, still maintaining that elegant look, but upon closer inspection, apparent differences could be seen—the overly perfect, dust-free "Immortal Aura" had faded significantly, replaced by a sense of real flesh. Beneath the skin, faintly visible blue veins, a natural rise and fall of the chest with each breath, and a newly rekindled sparkle in his eyes belonging to "Man".

"Ha..." Xiao Jie gently exhaled, feeling the long-lost, various subtle perceptions belonging to a mundane body. "Returning to this flesh and blood... this sensation is both familiar and strange, an exceptionally genuine... sense of presence."

He closed his eyes, carefully experiencing the fresh (or rather nostalgic) sensory feedback brought by this new body: the refreshing scent of grass and soil filling the air, the natural moisture of saliva secretions in the mouth, the gentle touch and minute temperature variations of the breeze on the skin’s surface, the steady and powerful heartbeat he could hear in his ears, and the vibrant life force felt when the muscles slightly tensed.

"Indeed... it’s better to be ’human’." He sincerely sighed. Reflecting on the time he spent as a pure immortal spirit, that absolute calmness and detachment really felt somewhat surreal; like waking up from a dream.

Even when An Ran kissed him previously, his reaction was indifferent... Now thinking back, it’s simply—an enormous waste! Absolutely dull!

Suddenly, Xiao Jie opened his eyes wide, with a remarkable brightness in his gaze, as if he had instantly figured out a particularly crucial problem.

"What happened?" Miao Fa Yuanjun was a bit curious due to his sudden action and change in expression.

Xiao Jie showed a trace of an intrigued, expectant expression on his face, murmuring to himself as if talking to himself:

"There’s someone... I must hurry and return a kiss!"