No Becoming a Spirit

The two then tacitly agreed not to mention exploration again, leaving room for future cooperation.

They chatted about the Old Arts, with Wang Xuan primarily asking questions, wanting to understand the situation, such as the golden bamboo slips from the Pre-Qin era.

Zhao Qinghan explicitly told him not to think too much about such "rare items." Only four had been unearthed over the years, and two were fiercely contested by various parties, thus scattered.

Truly authentic Pre-Qin golden bamboo slips, complete ones, only two remained, locked in the most secure vaults of the largest banks on New Star.

Wang Xuan felt regret; such things were out of reach.

Even though the Old Arts had declined, those organizations and Zaibatsu had no intention of letting go; at least, there was no hope in sight currently.

Zhao Qinghan informed him that speaking of golden bamboo slips, any inheritance from Pre-Qin Daoist practitioners was incredibly rare, as so few had survived.

"So, ordinary Pre-Qin bamboo slips are also priceless?" Wang Xuan asked.

Zhao Qinghan glanced at him and said, "There's no such thing as 'ordinary' when it comes to bamboo slips related to Pre-Qin Daoist practitioners."

Wang Xuan realized how precious the translation of the Pre-Qin bamboo slips Professor Lin had given him was.

In fact, Professor Lin had nearly lost his life for that bamboo slip back then, barely escaping a Pre-Qin tomb alive, surviving by sheer luck.

"I heard that New Star once had a Grandmaster who eventually died practicing a certain Body Art, exhausting himself. How strong were people at that level?"

Zhao Qinghan was slightly surprised, thinking his information wasn't that limited, even knowing about such matters on New Star. She judged he must have other channels.

After Wang Xuan finished speaking, he knew she would have all sorts of thoughts.

But he didn't care. The two would soon go their separate ways, with little normal interaction. Anyway, he didn't want to get involved in Zhao Qinghan's exploration plan at the moment.

Zhao Qinghan felt a bit emotional. The path of the Old Arts was quite rugged and difficult to tread, with few achieving success.

"That Grandmaster was practicing a secret scripture from the ancestral court of Daoism you were just curious about, and it ended up killing him. His internal organs rotted as if cooked, and he died a most miserable death."

Wang Xuan was solemn. It was that dangerous?

He became even more cautious and serious about the Golden Book in his hand. The items left by Zhang Daoling were definitely no weaker than the secret scriptures from the ancestral court of Daoism.

Qin Cheng sighed, "Why bother? He was already a Grandmaster, and in the end, his internal organs were all jumbled up. People are never satisfied."

"You say it so easily. When he was getting older day by day, he learned that if he succeeded in practicing that Body Art, his aging internal organs could be reborn, extending his life by decades. Would you say he could resist the temptation?"

"With such great benefits, if it were me... I'd want to try too!" Qin Cheng nodded, yearning for it.

"How far are Grandmasters from Pre-Qin Daoist practitioners?" Wang Xuan asked.

"They're not on the same scale; the difference is too vast to compare," Zhao Qinghan said plainly.

Then she looked at Wang Xuan and asked, "I see you seem to really want to keep walking the path of the Old Arts. Is your goal Pre-Qin Daoist practitioners?"

Wang Xuan replied, "I'm someone who's been abandoned. I can't access the New Arts, so I can only continue on the path of the Old Arts."

Qin Cheng was deeply moved upon hearing this and felt sorry for his friend.

Zhao Qinghan thought Wang Xuan had great talent on the path of the Old Arts, and no one could predict his future.

Qin Cheng, however, shook his head and said, "Old Wang was born at the wrong time. If it were in ancient times, he might have grown to the point where he could dominate the world, becoming a legend, or even a myth. But in this era, with the rise of technological civilization, what good would it do for him to practice the Old Arts to extremely profound levels? He wouldn't be able to withstand modern weapons. The starry river remains brilliant, but Emperors Qin and Han have all turned to dust. The Daoist practitioners ordered to find immortality elixirs for them also died in the passage of time. The path of the Old Arts is difficult; there's not much hope to be seen."

The topic was a bit heavy. Living in this era, the Old Arts had indeed dimmed, making it difficult to see hope for them to shine again.

No matter how strong the Old Arts were, a skilled soldier with an advanced technological weapon was enough to deal with a master of the Old Arts.

Zhao Qinghan looked at Wang Xuan and found him very calm. Clearly, this was a man with a strong inner core and his own beliefs. Did he think the Old Arts still had a future?

"So..." Qin Cheng spoke again, continuing his previous thought, looking at Zhao Qinghan. "It's such a shame for Old Wang to be buried like this. Goddess Zhao, do you have any connections to help Wang Xuan, perhaps with methods for practicing the New Arts, or by bringing Wang Xuan to New Star?"

After saying so much, he just wanted to set the stage, not caring about losing face, to ask Zhao Qinghan to help Wang Xuan.

Wang Xuan waved his hand, stopping his words, then patted his shoulder and said, "I know my path very well."

He and Qin Cheng didn't need to say thanks; they understood each other's intentions and didn't want him to beg for help like this.

Zhao Qinghan stated that after returning to New Star, she would push for this matter, but couldn't guarantee anything.

Wang Xuan expressed his gratitude to her but politely declined, wanting to reconsider his path.

Zhao Qinghan nodded, smiled, and soon got up to leave, saying they would meet again and gather later.

Wang Xuan and Qin Cheng stood up and watched her leave.

Qin Cheng said, "Old Wang, you seem reluctant to get too involved with her. But rejecting her like this, I think it's a bit of a shame. If she's willing to help, she could probably take you to New Star."

Wang Xuan shook his head. "The players on the other side of the starry sky have already begun exploring a certain mysterious region. We can't afford to provoke them now; I don't want to get involved."

Qin Cheng nodded. "That makes sense. What do you think that place is? She mentioned someone harboring ambitions, wanting to ignite divine fire – what's that about?"

"There's too little information obtained so far to clarify the situation, but it sounds related to the Western deification through faith."

"Holy crap, no way?!" Qin Cheng was startled. "In this era, can someone really fantasize about becoming a god? Are they crazy!"

Wang Xuan said, "Who knows what they've discovered? Didn't she say some people are also daydreaming about becoming Buddhas or ancestors?"

Qin Cheng sighed, "It seems something truly significant has happened in the depths of the starry sky. I can almost feel a strong wind blowing from over there. The starry sea, the new era, infinitely vast – it makes me excited, and I can't wait to rush over there."

"No spirits after the founding of the People's Republic of China!"

Qin Cheng was speechless when he suddenly said this, thinking the joke was a bit cold.

Wang Xuan said, "What I mean is, with such advanced technology, it's fine for some Zaibatsu on New Star to fantasize about it. But if they truly dare to overstep, they'll likely die miserably. Other organizations and major institutions will definitely intervene, and the country won't stand by either. Those who go against the general trend will be crushed into dust by all sides."

In the evening, Wang Xuan returned to his residence and carefully studied the bamboo slips Professor Lin had given him, trying to sense the power buried within the years.

Qin Cheng's words had somewhat affected him. In this era, with its brilliant technological civilization, even top experts of the Old Arts couldn't withstand modern weaponry, and he saw no way forward.

The galaxy was brilliant, humanity had endured for a thousand years, but times had changed. Could the Old Arts be reborn?

Wang Xuan put down the bamboo slip scriptures and then looked at the Body Arts recorded in the Golden Book. He practiced for a while according to the few engraved images on the first page. When he felt a slight pain in his internal organs, he stopped, not daring to push himself.

He knew that what Zhang Daoling had left behind was undoubtedly a priceless treasure, but he couldn't rush the process.

What reassured him was that the pain was different from what Qing Mu had described. He seemed able to adapt slowly and could continue practicing after a short rest.

After half an hour, feeling he had reached his limit, he decisively stopped practicing the Body Arts from the Golden Book.

"Let's take a look at the Old Arts scriptures Zhou Mingxuan gave me."

Two days prior, at a class reunion, he had received a secret manual of Old Arts from Zhou Mingxuan. He hadn't had a chance to examine it carefully after bringing it back.

He didn't have high hopes, not believing the other party would give him anything extraordinary.

"Huh? It's similar to the Golden Robe Body Arts I've been practicing, or perhaps even its continuation?" Wang Xuan was surprised and began to study it carefully.

This was a type of Body Arts called "Golden Body," which seemed to have powerful effects. According to the records, in its later stages, it could make one fearless of worldly weapons.

Wang Xuan was speechless. The description of this Body Arts in the book seemed a bit exaggerated.

If it truly had such astonishing effects, how could Zhou Mingxuan possibly give it to him?

When Wang Xuan saw what was written later, his expression changed, and he directly threw the secret manual onto the table.

"Old Zhou, don't blame me for beating up your son. In the future, if there's a suitable opportunity, I'll beat him up every time I see him!"

He felt he had been tricked by Zhou Mingxuan. What kind of trash manual was this? The recorded content was obviously false and unreliable. No wonder Old Zhou gave it to him.

This Body Arts, called Golden Body, according to the description, after mastering the first level, one's ability to withstand attacks would increase dramatically, requiring about a year to achieve.

Then, the secret manual clearly stated that the time required to advance to each subsequent level would double. What kind of person could practice such Body Arts?

Wang Xuan felt like going to beat up Zhou Yun immediately. According to this calculation, without living for several hundred years, one could only dream of practicing this Body Arts to a profound level!

He flipped further back, and it went beyond nine levels? A total of... thirteen levels! No, upon closer inspection, there were actually deduced fourteenth and fifteenth levels!

"Holy cow!" Wang Xuan stared blankly. A few hundred years was an understatement. Was this Body Arts meant for humans to practice?

"Old Zhou, you can keep toiling away, just you wait and see!" Wang Xuan tossed the yellowed scripture, which looked like an ancient artifact, aside.