The beast-skin book was a foot square, gleaming silver. Several hundred densely packed characters covered it, not written in ink but carved with a blade.
Wang Xuan ran his hand over it. The patterns were crisp beneath his fingers, the texture distinct. The carving was exquisitely skilled; every character possessed a certain artistic conception, brimming with beauty.
Yet he did not recognize a single character!
What kind of mystical symbols were these? The strokes were numerous and incomparably complex. He tried associating them with bronze inscriptions, only to find no resemblance at all.
He examined it from left and right. This was not oracle bone script either. What era's writing was this? He actually could not recognize one word.
Wang Xuan used a rapid memorization technique, staring at the hundreds of characters as though they were a photograph, striving to imprint them in his mind.
It did not matter if he could not recognize them now. He could look them up later and find someone to decipher them. It could always be resolved; the crucial thing was to memorize them firmly.
For secrecy's sake, no one had been allowed to bring phones or other devices capable of contacting the outside world on this expedition. Otherwise, Wang Xuan could have simply taken pictures.
Though he carried a button-sized miniature scanner, it had been supplied by the Exploration Organization and would probably have to be handed in afterward.
Wang Xuan memorized it and found it quite difficult. He recognized none of the several hundred complex characters and could only force himself to commit them to memory as though they were a heavenly book.
Fortunately, he had trained himself over the years. When practicing the root method among the Old Arts, he had needed to visualize all kinds of complicated scenery without the slightest omission.
He now treated the entire Silver Beast Skin Book as a complex painted scroll, engraving it in his heart and visualizing it again and again.
Wang Xuan was certain there was no problem. He had memorized everything.
Still, he activated the miniature scanner and scanned the writing from different angles. He feared that different perspectives might conceal other mysteries.
"Even if I have to hand it in, I hope Qing Mu will allow me to keep a backup."
Wang Xuan did not intend to keep it all for himself. First, he felt that it was the result of everyone's shared efforts.
Second, he believed that eating alone never led to a good end. Since he carried a scanner, it might have been automatically activated already, recording the entire process of this operation.
There were countless marvelous methods in this world and too many good things. The conglomerates had excavated every corner of Old Earth and had even obtained such strange objects as Golden Bamboo Slips, yet no one had heard of anybody mastering anything from them.
The key still lay in the person. In the end, it depended on who could comprehend it. Truly mastering what it recorded was what mattered.
Wang Xuan seriously suspected that no one would be able to master this scripture in a short time. Perhaps no one would even be able to decipher its essence and profound meaning.
After all, even that figure clad in feathered robes, regarded as one of the supreme experts among Daoist Masters, had been studying this beast-skin scroll until his death. He had been so powerful, yet he was still researching it. That was enough to explain the issue.
Next, he took out the Jade Casket.
The so-called Jade Casket was simply a jade box. Most of it was white and lustrous, made from fine jade, but one side bore mottled traces of blood infiltration. It was an ancient artifact.
Inside were several sheets of gold foil, fastened together like a few golden pages forming a thin golden book.
Wang Xuan looked it over. There were only five pages, each bearing humanoid diagrams without written annotations. The illustrations flowed together smoothly and were already detailed enough.
He was certain this was a body technique. It looked very profound, involving complex movements that stimulated the five viscera and six bowels. It should be far from ordinary.
He began memorizing again. Overall, these familiar humanoid diagrams were far easier to remember than the characters on the silver beast-skin scroll.
At last, he used the scanner to scan the entire golden book, recording all of it.
He knew that he might not gain any insight from the beast-skin scroll, at least not in the short term. That was something only top-tier Daoist Masters could study.
Perhaps this golden book was currently more valuable to him than the beast-skin scroll.
Wang Xuan found a concealed spot, leaned against a stone wall, held an energy gun, and carefully studied the golden book and silver scroll once more.
Time slipped away silently. Qing Mu, Black Tiger, and the others had yet to return. Clearly, the underground passageways had complex terrain, dug by earlier people into a spiderweb-like maze, and their pursuit of the enemy had not gone smoothly.
After an unknown amount of time, Wang Xuan suddenly shuddered. Without even thinking, he raised his energy gun and swept it across. Dazzling beams blasted the scattered rocks apart, sending fragments flying everywhere.
A figure was as agile and ferocious as a tiger or leopard. Moving at lightning speed, he dodged the interwoven energy beams several times, then leaped like an eagle behind a boulder and concealed himself.
Wang Xuan became extremely serious. That was absolutely a master!
Just now, that person had closed to within five meters of him before Wang Xuan sensed him, and then had evaded his sweeping fire as swiftly as lightning.
An ordinary person could never do that. This man was likely no weaker than Qing Mu, having mastered an exceptionally powerful Old Art. His strength was terrifying.
"Friendly!" A middle-aged man's voice came from behind the boulder. He revealed part of his body, wearing the same style of protective suit as Wang Xuan.
Wang Xuan did not speak. Hidden behind a rock formation, he held the energy gun, ready to fire at any moment.
That man was dangerous. Especially since he had silently crept almost right up to him just now, making Wang Xuan's hairs stand on end. The other party had clearly intended to attack him.
Shadowy figures appeared as more than a dozen people arrived outside the Underground Palace. All held energy guns and hid behind rocks, around corners, and in other places.
A woman spoke. "Qing Mu and I are old acquaintances. Do not misunderstand or misjudge us. Hurry and bring the items over. What was discovered here is of enormous importance and cannot be lost. We are the people responsible for receiving you. We need to take you out of the Underground Palace quickly. If we delay any longer, reinforcements from the Zhou Family and Ling Family may arrive."
Wang Xuan asked, "If you are here to receive us, why did you attack me just now?"
He was certain that if the energy gun had not remained in his hands the whole time, and if his reaction had not been so sharp, that master might well have succeeded in ambushing him.
The middle-aged man who had acted earlier said, "You misunderstand. We need to remain vigilant at all times when entering a cave. I led them in stealthily, so naturally I had to watch for dangers. You were hiding in secret, and at first I did not realize you were one of us. But young man, your reaction speed truly is astonishing. Not bad!"
Wang Xuan remained unmoved. In a hoarse, disguised voice, he said, "Since we are on the same side, let us wait for Qing Mu and Black Tiger to return together."
The woman seemed somewhat impatient. "Why will you not listen? We already said that people from the Zhou Family and Ling Family are coming. If you refuse to leave, then hurry and hand over the beast-skin scroll. We will send it out first."
Wang Xuan trusted them even less at once. They had even seen the beast-skin scroll. Could they not see that he wore the same protective suit? Yet they had still approached him in secret, intending to ambush him.
Without saying a word, he used Giant Stones and other cover to stealthily move deeper into the Underground Palace.
The people behind him noticed and immediately quickened their pace to chase down after him. Wang Xuan did not hold back, directly sweeping them with his energy gun as a warning.
"Qing Mu, Black Tiger, have you returned?" Wang Xuan shouted loudly, still using that hoarse, disguised voice.
Movement came from afar. Clearly, after so much time had passed, Qing Mu, Black Tiger, and the others had begun their return journey.
"Chase him!"
The woman behind him shouted, and the group immediately rushed after him.
The powerful middle-aged man was the most frightening of them all. Silently, he tried several times to close in on Wang Xuan, only to be forced back each time by the energy gun.
"Roar!"
From deep within the underground passage came Qing Mu's roar. He had noticed something was wrong here and swiftly hurried over with his people.
The spiderweb-like underground passageways had extremely complicated terrain. Wang Xuan abruptly stopped, quickly found a concealed place to hide, and then fired ahead.
Sure enough, amid the brilliant beams, he saw the middle-aged man again. He had actually gone around through another fork to get in front of him and had just been preparing to ambush him.
"Jin Chuan, what are you doing here?" Qing Mu's voice rang out. He was moving quickly and had already rushed over, confronting the middle-aged man.
Wang Xuan immediately said, "Qing Mu, I obtained a silver beast-skin scroll left behind by Pre-Qin Daoist practitioners. This group claims they came to receive us, but they want to take the scripture from me."
He explained the process simply and directly.
"Jin Chuan, you have some nerve! Coming here to snatch the spoils—have you gone too far?!" Qing Mu was instantly angered, his voice full of fury.
At the same time, he was somewhat delighted. They had only obtained an empty Golden Casket, while Wang Xuan, who had stayed behind, had actually found the true inheritance.
Jin Chuan offered a slight apology. "Qing Mu, you and I both know that what we found this time is extraordinary. Do not blame me."
"You brought your men to rob us, and you still expect me not to blame you?!" Qing Mu sneered.
Jin Chuan was extremely serious. "Rest assured, I will only look through it once, then return it to you immediately. I absolutely will not snatch the spoils. I can swear it."
"No. You have crossed my bottom line. There is no way I will let you read it." Qing Mu refused outright.
With a wave of Jin Chuan's hand, the group he had brought immediately moved to encircle Wang Xuan's hiding place.
Qing Mu said in a cold tone, "You really dare to attack us. Do not forget: our Exploration Organization hates internal vendettas and bloody clashes most of all. Whoever dares do this will face encirclement and suppression by all the other divisions. Whether you hide on Old Earth or flee to New Star, there will be no way to live!"
Jin Chuan shook his head and smiled lightly. "No, you misunderstand. I am merely sparring with you. The people I brought want to spar with Little Wang. There will be no bloodshed."
Then he ordered those people, "Do not use your guns. To show our sincerity, put them all on the ground."
Black Tiger, Feng Zheng, and the others were not far away by then. They shouted through the passageways, warning Jin Chuan's people not to act rashly.
Qing Mu shouted, "Little Wang, protect what you found! According to our organization's agreement, you only need to hand over half of what you find on an expedition. Therefore, that is your own spoils of war. Do not let anyone snatch them!"
Wang Xuan nodded. He was deeply displeased with these latecomers. If he had not been alert enough, he really would have been dealt with. Surviving might not have been a problem, but the golden book and silver scroll would certainly have been stolen by these people.
Naturally, Wang Xuan would not indulge them. These people wanted to snatch his spoils, and now they did not even ask him before wanting to read the scripture. Did they take Little Wang for a nobody?
The people who had thrown down their energy guns and were advancing with the aid of the terrain surrounded Wang Xuan, drawing ever closer.
Wang Xuan said nothing and waited quietly. Only when someone suddenly lunged at him did he grip his gun with both hands and unleash a fierce sweep.
Thud! Thud!
Several people fell to the ground and lost consciousness. A few experts, however, retreated swiftly and successfully dodged.
"This young man has no sense of propriety! We already said we would spar barehanded with Old Arts, yet he used a gun!" someone shouted in dissatisfaction.
Wang Xuan ignored them. Show propriety to you? How was that possible!
This group had originally wanted to ambush him and seize his spoils of war. What cheek did they have to speak like that now?
At last, Black Tiger and Feng Zheng were the first to return. They directly and "properly" charged in, fighting those people with Old Arts.
"Little Wang, be 'proper' too and show them a few moves." Qing Mu called out. He was confronting Jin Chuan and seemed quite at ease about the situation here.
Wang Xuan observed for a moment. Among Jin Chuan's subordinates, several young people had not yet been matched against anyone, and none of them held firearms.
Wang Xuan stepped out. Without wasting words, thunder and wind sounded from his fists as he used the Vajra Fist from his body technique and charged alone into their midst.
In an instant, fist winds surged through the area, and cracks formed in the ground beneath their stomping feet. Wang Xuan's attack power stunned them. An Old Arts expert so young was truly a rare sight!
Bang!
In moments, one woman took a kick to the face, spat blood, and flew sideways. She crashed into the stone wall and slumped there, unable to move.
Crack!
Next, a young man was struck on the shoulder armor by Wang Xuan's Vajra Fist. His bones fractured at once. He gave a muffled groan and fell into a pile of rubble.
Pfft!
Amid the fierce battle, the third person was kicked away by Wang Xuan in midair. Three ribs broke, and bloody foam continually spilled from his mouth as he lay there, unable to crawl back up.
In a very short time, Wang Xuan struck repeatedly, knocking down five people in succession. Then he charged toward the opponents of Black Tiger, Feng Zheng, and the others.
Black Tiger and Feng Zheng had run quickly and returned before the others, each fighting several opponents.
Now Wang Xuan rushed over and directly sent one person flying seven or eight meters. The man coughed blood in great mouthfuls and struggled for a long time without managing to rise.
These were Middle-aged Men in their thirties and forties who had long achieved success in the Old Arts, yet Wang Xuan still knocked several of them down. Some had arms broken outright, while others had ribs snapped.
"Stop fighting." Seeing that the situation was wrong, Jin Chuan immediately called for a halt. "Who would have thought? He is a newcomer, yet he is this fierce. Most importantly, his hands are ruthless. Even a group of old hands under me could not withstand him. I miscalculated this time. Aside from me, I did not bring any experts."
"Qing Mu, how about we let it end here? I owe you a favor, and I will repay it next time!" Jin Chuan lowered his stance.
Qing Mu nodded. "Fine. Next time, let me look at your family's inherited scripture, the White Tiger True Explanation. How about it?"
"Fuck off!" Jin Chuan left with his people.
"We are leaving too!" After Qing Mu gathered everyone, he led them swiftly out of the Underground Palace. Not long afterward, they boarded the spaceship and successfully left Qingcheng Mountain.
The double-time period was about to end. Calling for monthly tickets—if you still have any, fellow readers, please lend me your strength.
Thanks to the two alliance leaders, Wu Ma Xing and White Sugar O, for their support.
Before you continue