Question How come cultivators don't go crazy over boredom?

these.
ref: Cultivation Chat Group
- senior white spent most of his time meditating; and when he does, he would be detached from the outside world -- just like hibernating animals.

and during the `short` awake time, he would:
- disassemble electronics and launch them to space
- create a mobile cultivation app
- spins a cocoon
- organize a tractor race
- organize treasure hunt / dungeon crawling activities
- shoot a move
very fulfilling life imho

others also have their own way of having fun / keeping themselves busy:
- research (medical / cultivation / etc)
- cosplaying
- live concert (with livestream as well)
- etc

and it's not just about greed and pride there are good samaritans like
- `frenzied strength imparter` that would boost others cultivation level without expecting anything in return.
- `seven lifes talisman` teaches chinese literacy classics to the natives

 

I think the numbers may be exaggeration on the author's part as well..

 

I totally get your point about the "writers have no sense of scale" issue in cultivation novels. It can be pretty wild to think about characters living for thousands or even millions of years and still getting caught up in the same old tropes and conflicts. Here’s how I see it:

Firstly, the sheer passage of time would likely change a person's perspective and interests dramatically. For a 10,000-year-old cultivator, the repetition of cliches and predictable scenarios would get incredibly tiresome. They’d need to find new ways to keep themselves engaged, perhaps by diving into more profound philosophical or cosmic questions, exploring entirely new realms, or pursuing rare and intricate arts.

Imagine the kind of hobbies or knowledge one could accumulate over millennia! Reading every book ever written, mastering countless skills, learning all known sciences, and possibly even inventing new ones. A truly ancient cultivator would probably have to reinvent themselves and their interests multiple times just to stay sane.

On the other hand, the concept of living for thousands of years and seeing the same patterns repeat could be seen as a commentary on the cyclical nature of life and society. Even over vast spans of time, certain human (or cultivator) behaviors and societal structures might persist, offering a kind of stability or inevitability that these ancient beings have to navigate.

That said, it does feel a bit lazy when novels don’t address this potential for deep character evolution and instead have these ancient beings act like regular people who’ve just had a long week. It would be much more interesting if authors delved into how such extreme lifespans would fundamentally alter a person's mind, behavior, and approach to life.

In any case, it’s fun to imagine what someone would do with all that time. Perhaps the next great cultivation novel will explore these themes more deeply and give us a truly ancient character who embodies the wisdom and complexity that come with such longevity.