Fishing from the Golden Ranking

The mountains outside the Lost Land are shrouded in bands of light, with extremely high energy concentration, and eight extraordinary monsters have built their nests around the Lost Land.

Wang Xuan gazed into the distance, wondering what the Ferryman's expression would be when he saw him—would he be overjoyed to see him, or would he think he had seen a ghost?

He stood atop a mountain peak and saw a family of Silkworm Snake, two large and two small, lazily basking in the sun outside their burrow. Not wanting to disturb their peaceful atmosphere, he decided to let them go.

He also saw the mountain tortoise, still as active as ever. After the extraordinary fruit was harvested, it practiced its Turtle Steps in that area every day, searching for enemies. The tortoise, lacking even extraordinary herbs, was rather pitiful, so he decided not to disturb it.

Then he saw the Silver Bear, plump and almost round like a ball, which hardly ever left its den. He couldn't bear to disturb such a home-loving bear.

Next, he went to observe another extraordinary nest and saw from afar that the golden bird was standing on the cliff, tearing an elephant apart with its sharp claws, the blood staining the cliff face as it feasted on it.

This fierce bird is so difficult to get along with. Forget it, Wang Xuan looked at it again and again, and decided not to bother with it.

He circled around and found that the eight lairs were heavily guarded. It was not good to approach them. He guessed that his frequent visits last time, three times, had made the eight extraordinary monsters less hospitable.

"The Oula Star, he has at least four Metal Tokens!" Several people spotted Wang Xuan and were furious. They quietly retreated, preparing to have someone hunt him down.

Wang Xuan had already seen them, but he glanced indifferently in the direction they left, too lazy to pay them any attention. His current goal was to become extraordinary.

He planned to go directly to the Land of the Dead, Demon Fruit were currently unavailable and all the monsters were on guard.

He felt that he had accumulated enough energy. He had digested the Mysterious Mist, drunk a lot of the Earth Immortal Spring, and eaten a lot of the flesh and blood of extraordinary monsters.

The mist shrouded the area, and the lost land remained unchanged. When Wang Xuan stepped inside, all sounds vanished, and the sun-drenched secret realm transformed into a cool, moonlit night scene.

Upon arriving at this place, he experienced severe pain again, with his pores bleeding, but he didn't care and had become accustomed to it.

What's different is that a large, bright yellow metallic lump appears on the only way to the blue lake, standing more than five meters tall.

It was clearly weathered by time; the large, dusty metal looked extraordinary even from a distance. But why didn't I see it the first two times?

Wang Xuan walked over and wiped it lightly with his hand. The dust-free parts of the metal immediately shone brightly, like the sun shining in the sky, revealing its true appearance. It was too dazzling.

"This is Sun Gold?!" He was astonished. Legend has it that Transcendent Immortals used this material to forge weapons, and there was such a large piece here? Unbelievable.

It looks like it's been lying here for quite some time. The place is strange; why didn't I see it the previous two times?

Wang Xuan took out the short sword, demonstrated it, and first carefully made a cut. What shocked him was that the short sword could cut through the Sun Gold!

Is this something reserved for someone destined to have it? Wang Xuan hadn't forgotten that 100 grams of Sun Gold was worth 500 million New Star Coin, making it priceless!

He examined it again and again, preparing to slice off a large chunk with his short sword. The materials used by the Transcendent Immortals to forge weapons were mythical items; he would give them to Goddess Zhao and exchange them with Old Zhong for scriptures. He thought the deal should be done.

Clang!

He slashed down with his short sword, and a deep crack immediately appeared on the Sun Gold. He estimated that if he slashed twice more, this scrap piece, which weighed several dozen kilograms, could be cut off.

However, Sudden Change occurred: the entire Sun Gold emitted light, and a curtain of light appeared, isolating him from the outside.

Wang Xuan took a few steps back. Although he felt regret, he didn't feel too much remorse. He knew that things from the dead were not so easy to take.

"There are words." He was somewhat surprised. The huge Sun Gold was covered with densely packed words, which stretched from the top of the five-meter-high sun to the bottom.

However, he didn't recognize any of these scribbles!

He lightly touched the golden light screen, starting from the bottom, and then he was shocked to find that there were mental imprints that could be sensed; they were actually records about him.

He could now make out the line of golden, scribbled characters; it read: Wang Xuan, three times he entered the Land of Death, a mere mortal.

What is this five-meter-tall Sun Gold nugget? It's covered with so many strange symbols. Could they all be names and records of people?

He entered the land of death three times, and being a mortal, he was able to secure a place on the gold nugget.

He reached out and touched the line of text above him, only to find that he was not qualified to view it.

"What a terrible ranking of gold nuggets! The reading experience is awful!"

He touched on line after line of text, but each time it showed that he did not have permission to view it.

Suddenly, celestial music began to play, and the five-meter-tall golden nugget glowed, with wispy white mist swirling around it. High up on top of it, a line of words appeared.

The text was legible; in fact, Spirit Imprint had already been transmitted, conveying its meaning: Chen Tuan, traveling to the Western Lands, had perfected the Nine-Colored Golden Elixir Dao under the Five Tuo Tree, and had developed the Nine-Turn Feather Immortal Technique to slay...

Then, Wang Xuan saw that the line representing Chen Tuan had been moved up more than ten places.

He stared in disbelief at the sight of a legendary figure, and this golden nugget was actually broadcasting his recent activities. Was this a sign of his power and status?

Chen Tuan was a top figure in the field of internal alchemy after Zhongli Quan and Lu Dongbin. His Five-Colored Golden Elixir Method was famous throughout the world and he was renowned in the history of Old Arts.

Now, the golden nugget has proven that he is still alive, but it is unknown what kind of life form he is. He has also developed a new method and his combat power is astonishing.

Unfortunately, it wasn't broadcast that Chen Tuan had killed anyone.

Wang Xuan's eyes were strange. Among the people who walked the path of the past, there were some rather special and powerful individuals who had such a ranking.

He stood there for a moment, not wanting to linger any longer, and walked towards the small blue lake. Along the way, he felt that the moon in the night sky was exceptionally large, and that his own changes were somewhat strange.

Call!

A pair of pure white wings appeared on his back, constructed from energy runes. He had an impulse to fly to the moon!

Then, a pair of golden wings appeared on his back, still giving him a strong desire to fly and get closer to the moon.

Something's definitely not right. Is it because he didn't eat the Demon Fruit that he's being deified? No, that doesn't make sense either!

Even if one were to be deified, it wouldn't lead to thoughts of going to the moon. Why would one have such an impulse? Wang Xuan was puzzled.

The moon is exceptionally sacred; tonight is different, its radiance is much richer.

In a daze, he seemed to see palaces on the moon and figures moving about, but that should be impossible. How could he see them when they were so far away?

Amidst the rolling waves, a golden bamboo boat sped across the Azure Sea.

The Ferryman was dumbfounded. He saw that kid again. In just a few days, he had run in three times and was still alive and well. Did he really think this was his backyard?

"It's alright, take your time. Take it easy, and you'll get used to it after a few more tries."

Wang Xuan jumped onto the bamboo boat, becoming increasingly outgoing. This time, after getting on the boat, he poured himself a cup of Earth Immortal Spring and asked the Ferryman if he wanted a cup too.

"No!" the Ferryman refused outright.

"Senior, I saw a gold nugget. What's going on?" Wang Xuan asked directly, getting straight to the point.

"You can see it? A mere mortal can leave his name on it?!" The Ferryman was somewhat surprised.

Clearly, he knew about this thing, but had never mentioned it before.

"Those people there are all above the extraordinary level, each with unique skills, worthy of being listed on the Sun Gold. You are not yet extraordinary..." the Ferryman sighed.

"Is it because I'm not extraordinary, yet I was able to enter three times that I was included?" Wang Xuan guessed.

"What's your ranking?" the Ferryman asked him.

"The bottom line of text describes me."

"Last place, understandable." The Ferryman nodded.

"I'd like to ask, who exactly carved this on the Sun Gold nugget, and what is its significance?" Wang Xuan asked.

The Ferryman shook his head and said, "I don't know. Throughout history, quite a few people have entered the Eight Lands of the Dead, but very few have been recorded on the Golden Ranking."

"The moon is unusual tonight, it's exceptionally big, it feels like it's about to fall into the sea," Wang Xuan said, feeling that everything was strange tonight.

The Ferryman's heart skipped a beat. He looked up abruptly, then at Wang Xuan, and muttered to himself, "Are you that special? Has something happened to you recently?"

"No!" Wang Xuan denied it outright, then added at the end, "I ate some extraordinary meat and drank some Earth Immortal Spring."

He would never reveal the truth about the treasures that the Transcendent Immortals fought over and the fact that they were placed in his Inner Scenery Realm, lest the news leak out and all the great curtains move toward him.

Next time he opens the Inner Scenery Realm, he will definitely study the inscription on that treasure carefully. Is it a secret technique that the Transcendent Immortals covet, or some other secret? He is looking forward to it.

"Something fell from the moon!" Wang Xuan exclaimed in surprise. Tonight was indeed full of unexpected events!

Pure white light fell, like a shower of light from a celestial being ascending to heaven, pouring down onto the sea surface. No matter how you looked at it, it seemed as if treasures had fallen.

"A scroll of scriptures?!" Wang Xuan was stunned. Did it fall from the moon?

"As expected, it really has come. You, a mortal, have entered the Land of the Dead three times and been inscribed on the Sun Gold. You are being treated with special regard." The Ferryman sighed.

"Senior, haven't you never boarded this waning moon?" Wang Xuan asked suspiciously.

"I've never been up there, but I've seen some strange things happen there," the Ferryman said.

The scripture fell before our eyes, emitting a hazy rain of light, hanging above the bamboo boat.

Wang Xuan sensed something was wrong. There was a translucent silk thread attached to the scripture, which looked like fishing line!

He looked at the fishing line on the Ferryman's fishing rod and was surprised to find that the line hanging down from the moon was stronger and more unusual than the Ferryman's fishing line, and was covered with tiny runes, seemingly possessing the aura of the Great Dao!

He looked at the cover of the scripture and saw several strange symbols that he didn't recognize at all. However, a spiritual imprint quickly appeared, allowing him to understand the meaning of the words: "Sixteen-Foot Golden Body Art".

Wang Xuan was moved. He practiced the Golden Body Art, and now a body-refining manual that seemed to be from Buddhism had descended upon him. It was truly astonishing.

It's impossible for him not to be tempted, but when he thought about how the Buddhist path ultimately involves burning oneself in fire, he lost interest.

Wang Xuan asked, "Senior, has this ever happened before? What happened to those who obtained the scriptures?"

"Following this line, it seems like we've landed on the moon," the Ferryman said uncertainly.

"Is this a moon landing? I feel like it was fished up." Wang Xuan seriously doubted. Isn't this just a fishing line? With bait attached, if there were a golden hook, it would truly be a moon landing.

"I really don't know anything about what's happening on the moon," the Ferryman shook his head.

"The Land of the Dead is one of the oldest secret paths, which means that there are only extraordinary beings when the Land of the Dead exists, Transcendent Immortals may not have appeared yet," Wang Xuan said, analyzing seriously.

"So, this crescent moon in the sky might have existed even before the Transcendent Immortals?" Wang Xuan's expression changed as he said this.

Now, there are monsters on the moon, or rather, people. Are they fishing?

Having no idea what was going on on the Bai Yue, Wang Xuan would never go up there, even if his life depended on it.

Wang Xuan looked at the Sixteen-Foot Golden Body Art and said, "What a lousy manual! It's not even as good as the scriptures in Old Zhong's study. Do you really think I'm ignorant? Take it back!"

As he and the Ferryman stared in disbelief, the fishing line sank far away, taking the Sixteen-Foot Golden Body Art with it and disappearing into the night sky.

Before long, a shower of light, like a celestial being descending, fell from the sky, and another scroll fell to the ground above the bamboo boat, attached to the fishing line.

"You've got your eye on me, treating me like a fish, trying to hook me?!" Wang Xuan drew his short sword, looking at the scripture. If it was good, he could study it; if not, he'd put it back.

He carefully examined the scribbled symbols on the cover of the scripture and eventually understood their meaning through mental imprinting: the Primordial Clear Spirit Art.

He felt the name was impressive, as if it were something extraordinary, and couldn't help but turn to the Ferryman to ask if he had heard of this scripture.

"This Daoist school renowned early Daoist manual for cultivating the spirit; it's quite extraordinary, a high-level secret technique!" the Ferryman said solemnly.

Wang Xuan looked at it again and again, but he still restrained himself and said, "Old Zhong's study has more powerful top-notch secret manuals than this one, this one is still not good enough."

Silently, the scripture drifted away again, disappearing into the night sky.

The Ferryman spoke slowly, "May I ask who Old Zhong is, and what secret manuals and martial arts techniques are in his study?"

Just then, the fishing line on the moon drooped down again, showering down a rain of light. A radiant scripture, radiating Daoist charm and flowing with various runes, slowly fell down.