Sima Pi was obsessed with the alchemist's technique of immortality since he was a child, and he was keen on studying the method of immortality at a young age. Sima Pi believed in Taoism and was fascinated by the immortality they taught him. He followed the Taoist method of practicing longevity, refrained from eating whole grains and took the "longevity" Dan medicine with strong medicinal properties. Minister of Manchu was deeply worried about this, so Minister Gao Song advised him: "Your majesty's abuse of Dan medicine is not the right way to keep fit, so it should be stopped as soon as possible." Sima pi paid no attention to this and didn't care at all. Finally, in 363 AD, due to taking the "elixir of life", the disease broke out and it was impossible to deal with the political affairs.

After careful conditioning, Sima Pi recovered his health, but he still didn't learn the lesson. He was still obsessed with the art of alchemy and longevity, and continued to take Dan medicine. In 365 AD, Sima Pi died of a sudden illness due to taking a lot of "Dan medicine".

After the death of his cousin Jin, Sima Pi succeeded to his throne. During his reign, the war in the Eastern Jin Dynasty continued, local warlords in China competed for supremacy, and the Eastern Jin Dynasty began to decline. Sima Pi himself was keen on Taoism to live forever, and he took the "elixir" at will, which eventually led to his early death.