Chance Encounter

Jinchuan infiltrated the underground palace to intercept the goods. Wang Xuan thought a fierce, bloody conflict might erupt, but after a brief clash, both sides quickly retreated.

Wang Xuan sensed that the relationship between the two factions was complex.

During the return journey, the atmosphere inside the small spacecraft was heavy. The Kite had a large hole in his chest, his upper body was covered in blood, and his body had already gone cold.

The other teams also suffered casualties, carrying their injured away.

Qing Mu spoke, "I'll privately send some funds to The Kite's family later."

Wearing a green mask, his expression was unreadable. He said calmly, "You get used to it after seeing it enough. Those who survive are explorers; the dead are just passersby."

Wang Xuan remained silent. That was a living person, strong as a tiger or leopard not long ago, and now covered in a white sheet.

Such expeditions were no longer just tense, exciting, or mysterious. They were gradually revealing their terrifying side, with participants walking the line between life and death.

Regarding the Qingcheng Mountain operation, the exploration organization had previously assessed its danger index as not high.

Qing Mu revealed that some expeditions occasionally encountered unnatural phenomena that were difficult to explain, which was truly terrifying.

Black Tiger was cleaning his alloy saber, The Kite had his eyes closed, and Old Mu sighed. They were all in low spirits and unwilling to speak, clearly having experienced such events more than once.

They could no longer remember how many batches of companions they had seen come and go.

"I'll save up for two more years and then retire completely," The Kite suddenly said.

The return trip was smooth. The spacecraft landed at a manor in the suburbs, and then several cars took Black Tiger, Old Mu, and the others away.

At the manor, Qing Mu kept Wang Xuan behind to talk.

"Keep the five pages of the Golden Book for yourself. It might be a powerful Body Art, but I suspect it's the kind that's extremely difficult to master. You need to be mentally prepared."

After reading just the first page of the Golden Book, Qing Mu felt a headache coming on. It involved the resonance of the internal organs, force generation, blood renewal, and regeneration. He had heard of such things before.

"A long time ago, a grandmaster in the Old Arts field from New Star practiced something similar and ended up killing himself."

Wang Xuan was dumbfounded when he heard this.

Practicing the Old Arts could actually lead to one's own death?!

"It involves blood renewal and organ regeneration. Even if it only targets the activation of some organs, the temptation for a grandmaster is immense. Once mastered, it could certainly add decades to one's life."

That was a grandmaster, yet he still died. That was quite terrifying.

In modern times, the Old Arts had long since declined. Grandmasters who reached the highest levels in this path were truly rare.

It was estimated that it would be difficult to find anyone like that in this era.

"Don't disbelieve me. New Star poached a lot of valuable things in its early years, so naturally, some people achieved great success. Of course, over the past few decades, the Old Arts have become increasingly neglected. This 'field' has been completely abandoned."

What Qing Mu said could be corroborated by information from New Star. It seemed that New Star had made discoveries related to supernatural phenomena decades ago and had already begun excavating them?

"You must remain calm. This kind of thing cannot be mastered just by having the will. Just with this first page, I tried it just now, and I couldn't get it to circulate. My internal organs felt like they were being cut by a knife." Qing Mu was actually trembling.

He turned around, quickly removed his green mask, and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, gasping for breath. His side profile, glimpsed in passing, was incredibly pale and lacking color.

He calmed his turbulent blood qi and returned the Golden Book to Wang Xuan. Although he was reluctant, he was an extraordinary person and managed to control his emotions.

"Don't try it rashly. This is a death warrant!" Qing Mu warned again. He didn't dare to look at the subsequent pages, fearing that one day he might be unable to resist and end up harming himself.

Wang Xuan's expression turned solemn. For the first time, he realized that practicing Body Arts could also be so dangerous. This was even more extreme than practicing the Root Method.

"The Root Method is the root of the Old Arts, improving your internal constitution and spirit, while Body Arts are the trunk and branches, outwardly displaying your strength."

Tracing back to ancient times and ascending to mythology, descriptions of Body Arts were even more exaggerated, demonstrating abilities like... throwing elephants and breaking rivers.

Wang Xuan handed over the silver beast skin scroll, which was the objective of the exploration organization this time.

Qing Mu intended to take the silver scroll to have it evaluated. If its value far exceeded expectations, Wang Xuan would be compensated.

Wang Xuan stated his request, "If you decipher the text, please provide me with an annotation."

"No problem. After all, it's something you discovered and brought back," Qing Mu told him, adding that the exploration organization was not stingy with its own people.

As they parted, Qing Mu reminded Wang Xuan again not to act rashly. The Body Arts on the Golden Book might have a significant origin, and practicing them directly could indeed be fatal.

He strongly suspected that it might be something left behind by Zhang Daoling.

Wang Xuan gasped, truly shocked this time. The five pages of golden paper might be related to him?

Upon careful consideration, it was indeed possible. There was a saying that Zhang Daoling lived in seclusion on Qingcheng Mountain in his later years and finally ascended there.

Wang Xuan suddenly felt that the five pages of golden paper might be no less valuable than the silver scroll. He carefully put them away, resolving to study them cautiously and meticulously upon his return.

Qing Mu agreed to let him take the scanner and then arranged for a car to take him back to the city.

Wang Xuan returned to campus and began packing to leave. Today was the final deadline; the Old Arts experimental class was officially over.

He only had a few changes of clothes and no large luggage. Slinging his backpack over his shoulder, he could leave quickly and simply.

Wang Xuan looked back one last time at the familiar scenery: the tall teaching buildings, the clear Ling Lake, the Cui Garden where fallen leaves danced... He turned and walked away.

Everything behind him was over. From now on, he would officially plunge into the great melting pot of society.

The apartment had already been rented, and he had asked the cleaning service to tidy it up a couple of days prior. Wang Xuan went directly to buy bedding, towels, toothpaste, and other daily necessities.

He felt a pang of emotion, realizing he now had to manage his livelihood.

Wang Xuan felt a peculiar sensation. He had just left Qingcheng Mountain, where he had been exploring, fighting, and teetering on the edge of life and death not long ago.

Now, back in the city, he was busy with towels and toothbrushes. In two or three days, he would start working and be rushing around for a living.

He felt a sense of spatial displacement and temporal dislocation. The Qingcheng Mountain exploration and the nine-to-five job life were both parts of his life trajectory, leaving him with mixed feelings.

He didn't immediately mention the New Star matter to Qing Mu. He had just joined the exploration organization and hadn't made any contributions yet, so asking for such a high-level opportunity seemed a bit unrealistic.

However, an opportunity had now arisen. Once they finished evaluating the silver beast skin scroll, he could talk to Qing Mu.

Wang Xuan was quick and efficient, buying all the necessary items at once. A taxi took care of everything.

The place he rented was in an old residential area with a good environment. The trees planted long ago had grown into towering giants, making the whole place very tranquil.

The downside was that the facilities were aging and not very modern.

He rented a one-bedroom, one-living room apartment that had been renovated two years ago. Overall, it was quite decent.

Wang Xuan quickly arranged the daily necessities, spread out the bedding, poured himself a glass of water, and sat down to rest.

His phone had been off for a day. When he turned it on, there were indeed many messages and voicemails. He first called his parents to tell them that everything was going smoothly and that he would be starting his official job in a couple of days.

Then, Qin Cheng's call came in.

"Old Wang, where did you run off to? I was worried sick! You had your phone off for over a day, and I couldn't reach you. I thought that scumbag Zhou Yun had harmed you. I was already rallying people from our class, preparing to get revenge for you and demand an explanation!"

He rambled on, his loud voice making Wang Xuan's ears ache.

Qin Cheng was genuinely worried that Zhou Yun might retaliate and cause trouble for Wang Xuan. After all, Zhou Yun was a direct descendant of the New Star Zaibatsu.

Wang Xuan really wanted to tell him that Little Zhou had been beaten badly, his nose bridge broken and his arm fractured. He was probably hating a certain mixed-blood individual and had no time for anything else.

But he didn't dare. He was afraid that if Qin Cheng, the big mouth, heard about it, the whole world would know by the next day.

Wang Xuan lowered the volume of his phone and held it further away, telling Qin Cheng that he had been meditating and had entered a deep state of concentration, which was why his phone had been off.

"I'm about to leave soon. I couldn't reach you, so I'm treating you to dinner tonight at the top floor of Cangding Tower!" Qin Cheng shouted magnanimously.

In Cangding Tower, the higher the floor of a restaurant, the higher the consumption. As a recent graduate, it would be somewhat daunting to go there solely on his salary.

Wang Xuan chuckled, "Did your girlfriend change her mind, so you're celebrating?"

He wasn't worried about Qin Cheng's wallet, knowing his family had deep pockets and wouldn't care about such things.

"Alas, the future doesn't look optimistic. What can relieve my worries? Only eating heartily. See you tonight!"

Wang Xuan sat in his room, flipping through the Golden Book, studying it carefully. In the end, he couldn't resist. Based on the first few diagrams on the first page, he resonated with his five internal organs and then exerted force with a special rhythm.

Instantly, his internal organs ached. It was indeed as Qing Mu had said; this was an extremely difficult technique to practice.

However, he was also somewhat puzzled. After practicing, his complexion hadn't turned as pale as Qing Mu's. He felt the pain wasn't unbearable and was manageable.

"Still, I should be careful," he didn't dare to be careless, as this might be a Body Art left by Zhang Daoling, and its origins were too significant.

Daoism had existed very early on, with concepts like Huang-Lao thought involved.

As for Taoism, it appeared relatively later, founded by Zhang Daoling.

Undoubtedly, even if Zhang Daoling were placed in the Pre-Qin era, during that most brilliant period of Old Arts, he would have been an absolute top-tier expert among Daoist practitioners.

Wang Xuan checked the time; the sun was about to set. It was time to go out.

The area around Cangding Tower was very prosperous, with a mature large commercial district and heavy foot traffic.

When Wang Xuan arrived, he went straight to the top floor via the elevator.

The top floor had three restaurants. Despite the exorbitant prices, they were all doing excellent business.

He estimated that Qin Cheng had probably made a reservation in advance. If nothing unexpected happened, it should be at "Golden Years."

Qin Cheng had brought guests here before. In his words, "Golden Years" had the most authentic taste.

As Wang Xuan walked forward, he suddenly froze. Had this place been... booked out?

"Golden Years" was completely booked!

He could only comment on the wealth. The cost for just one table usually required two to three months' salary for an ordinary person, yet someone had booked the entire venue.

He looked inside and saw that some private rooms were empty. He figured he had encountered a truly wealthy individual who simply wanted some peace and quiet, so they booked the entire place.

"Wang Xuan?!" Suddenly, someone called him out, seemingly with an unpleasant tone.

"Golden Years" was quite spacious. In another direction, a few women spotted him and walked over.

He recognized two of the women. One was Zhou Ting, Zhou Mingxuan's daughter and his ex-girlfriend's cousin. She looked good today, not sleepwalking, wearing a cinched waist long dress, appearing graceful and quite beautiful.

The other was Wang Xuan's university classmate. She was born on Old Earth and had been selected to go to New Star. He hadn't expected to meet her here.

"Which Wang Xuan? Could it be Ling Wei's..." A woman in a white evening gown next to them spoke up, her expression unfriendly.

"It's him," Zhou Ting nodded.

These women were dressed more formally, mostly in evening gowns. They had good figures and looks, appearing either youthful and vibrant or cold and elegant.

The woman in the white evening gown, whose high heels had crystal edges, looked at Wang Xuan's face repeatedly with a scrutinizing gaze. "Can you be more of a man? Since you broke up over a year ago, why are you here to cause trouble?!"

Wang Xuan frowned, seeming to understand something. However, he hadn't known about the situation here beforehand, so he couldn't be blamed no matter what.

The woman in the white evening gown lifted her fair chin and glanced at him dismissively. "You're not welcome here, and this isn't a place you should be. Please disappear immediately!"

Wang Xuan didn't have the habit of tolerating such people. Upon hearing this, he calmly replied, "What business is it of yours where I am? Also, who do you think you are?"