Once the Golden Body Art was mastered, one's life level would rise, granting a physique far beyond that of ordinary people. From early resistance to blows, to being truly impervious to iron swords, and finally to an indestructible golden body—in the eyes of ordinary people, this was the extraordinary.
Wang Xuan immersed himself in it, practicing again and again. In the void world of meditation, time seemed exceedingly long to him.
Here, he could think at leisure and assume the most precise Body Art Poses. Any slight flaw would be properly corrected.
Though he was practicing the Golden Body Art, Wang Xuan Found that he remained in a detached state, able to calmly examine himself, his mind empty and lucid.
"The highest realm of meditation, entering the Void and Silence Land—my spirit remains here, standing within it as I perform the Golden Body Art."
Wang Xuan knew very well that this silent space, like a barren universe, belonged to an exceptionally special domain and felt incomparably real.
His true body could not possibly appear here, yet this cultivation seemed capable of feeding back into his physical body.
Wang Xuan was clear within and without, his mind cold and still, as if he had transcended himself and was looking down upon everything about himself. During this process of practicing the Golden Body Art, he made fewer and fewer mistakes.
In the end, his movements became exactly identical to the records in the scripture, without a single flaw to be found.
At that moment, through the void and deathly silence, he vaguely sensed his body outside. It seemed to be adapting to all kinds of changes, assuming one pose after another.
His body outside made the most standard movements, performing the perfect Golden Body Art.
However, those movements were extremely slow, as though his flesh was engraving something into memory, rather than making countless attempts and drills like it did in the Void and Silence Land.
In that state of absolute calm, Wang Xuan pondered: at the highest level of meditation, a few minutes outside might be several years here. But could he really take the results obtained here back out with him?
If he left this place, there should be no problem taking out insights on the spiritual level and the like.
Several years passed in the Void and Silence Land, but relatively speaking, it mainly affected the spiritual level.
Yet even though his external physical body memorized this sensation, would it improve along with it?
He believed that his physical body should not be able to keep up with the changes here.
That was somewhat regrettable, but it also felt utterly real to him. After all, his physical body had not followed him into this place.
If his spirit became vigorous and returned with all those insights and flawless memories of the Golden Body Art, could it accelerate the formation of the golden body in the Real World?
However, Wang Xuan also noticed something unusual. As he examined himself, why was the external physical body that he could vaguely sense beyond the Void and Silence Land also moving, performing the Golden Body Art with the most standard movements? Was it truly just his subconscious driving it?
Now that he possessed extraordinarily sharp perception, he immediately realized that he seemed to have overlooked something.
Several days later in the Void and Silence Land, the world of meditation, Wang Xuan unexpectedly began to feel somewhat tired.
He could not help frowning. Was it not said that at the highest level of meditation, one could remain here for years? Perhaps even longer?
What had he overlooked? What was wrong? He pondered calmly as he watched himself practice the Golden Body Art. His movements gradually slowed, and flaws were about to appear.
"That's not it," he murmured. His spirit was actually showing slight fatigue.
Suddenly, two glimmers flashed through his nearly indifferent eyes. He knew where the problem lay.
Why had he been able to enter this place? It was all because he had circulated the Root Method from the Pre-Qin Bamboo Slips while in a Super-Sense state, allowing him to stand here.
The next moment, Wang Xuan changed. Rather than practicing the Golden Body Art with his exhausted spirit, he once more activated the Root Method left behind by the Pre-Qin Daoist practitioners.
Almost in an instant, everything changed. His spirit began to flourish, and his fatigue gradually faded. Even his perception improved, and his condition rapidly recovered.
Before long, his spiritual perception and sharpness kept growing stronger.
Then, his Supernatural Sense fully recovered and spread outward, unexpectedly touching something.
"By circulating the Root Method of the Pre-Qin Daoist practitioners, I have drawn in some kind of Mysterious Matter!"
At first, he made a precise and correct judgment. It was an indescribable Mysterious Factor, scattered throughout the Void and Silence Land.
It was precisely the fall of this Mysterious Factor that ended his spiritual fatigue and made his spirit increasingly vigorous.
At the highest level of meditation, Wang Xuan sensed inexplicable matter coming from outside and entering the Void and Silence Land, bringing his condition to an unprecedented peak.
It was like sweet dew descending from heaven, watering the Void and Silence Land while nourishing his spirit as well.
As time passed, he felt that not only his spirit but even the physical body he could vaguely sense seemed to be changing.
He realized that the highest level of meditation was no longer enough to describe the phenomenon before him. It needed to be explained as the Inner Scenery Realm of Yellow Court.
"This is the Daoist school's Inner Scenery Realm of Yellow Court—absolute emptiness and stillness, existing in lucid time and drawing in ineffable Mysterious Factors."
The Inner Scenery Realm was silent and void, like a land of death. Yet by standing here, one could draw in substances immensely beneficial to both spirit and physical body.
Wang Xuan understood. The foundation of the Old Arts lay in the Inner Scenery Realm!
In an instant, he became even more certain that the correct way to activate the secret methods in the Pre-Qin Daoist practitioners' inheritance was to do so within the Inner Scenery Realm.
He even began to suspect that the origin of the Old Arts was connected to the Inner Scenery Realm as well.
Why had the Pre-Qin Daoist practitioners been so powerful?
Because to practice their methods, one first had to arrive here in a Super-Sense state. Only then could one draw in Mysterious Matter.
Over the long years, few successors had reached this place. Thus, the Old Arts had grown ever dimmer, and later generations found it difficult to stand shoulder to shoulder with Daoist Masters.
Entering the highest level of meditation and standing in the Inner Scenery Realm was a necessary condition for practicing the profound Root Method of the Pre-Qin Bamboo Slips. This threshold alone had barred countless people throughout history.
Not long afterward, Wang Xuan sensed changes outside. His physical body had indeed benefited; it was not limited to the spirit within the Void and Silence Land.
As time passed, the Mysterious Matter falling within the Inner Scenery Realm became saturated. Further circulating the Daoist Masters' Root Method was useless, so Wang Xuan began practicing the Golden Body Art again.
This time, he observed carefully. As expected, the effect was even better than before.
Within the Inner Scenery Realm, he performed the Golden Body Art flawlessly. As the days passed, his body art steadily grew stronger.
At the same time, he vaguely sensed that his physical body was moving as well. Nourished by Mysterious Matter, the Golden Body Art was slowly improving.
He perceived that the Mysterious Factors drawn from the Inner Scenery Realm could enter the Real World and be absorbed by his body.
This meant that the results of the Golden Body Art he obtained at the highest level of meditation could be brought completely into the Real World!
Even though Wang Xuan was in a state of absolute calm and detachment, he trembled slightly for an instant. Yet all emotional ripples were quickly smoothed away, and the Inner Scenery Realm returned to silence.
One year, two years—within the Void and Silence Land, Wang Xuan continuously practiced the Golden Body Art. Whenever he felt even slightly tired, he would circulate the Root Method from the Pre-Qin Bamboo Slips again, drawing in indescribable Mysterious Factors to water this place until it was saturated.
After two years, he had mastered the second layer of the Golden Body Art in the Inner Scenery Realm. He also sensed that his body outside had changed, shedding a layer of skin.
It was all because the nameless substance drawn from the Inner Scenery Realm ensured that his physical body improved and changed in step with the spiritual realm.
During those two years in the Inner Scenery Realm, Wang Xuan had not only practiced the Golden Body Art. He had also tried practicing the body arts recorded on several pages of golden paper.
After all, the temptation of such a method was simply too great. It was something left behind by the founder of Daoism.
During this process, Wang Xuan Found a chilling truth: this art actually harmed the body. The body arts recorded in the golden book were simply too terrifying and incredibly difficult to master.
"Before, I was ignorant and fearless."
That was Wang Xuan's assessment of himself for practicing this body art before entering the Inner Scenery Realm.
Here, with his powerful perception and near-detached state, he looked down upon himself and discovered a terrifying fact.
Whenever he practiced this body art and felt even the slightest pain, his five viscera and six bowels had actually been injured. In the Inner Scenery Realm, he could clearly see minute bleeding on his internal organs.
Outside, perhaps only the most precise instruments could detect such extremely subtle changes.
That was because such injuries were minuscule, almost negligible.
But for someone practicing body arts, if this continued over a long period and accumulated little by little, something would inevitably go wrong. The consequences would be unthinkable.
Previously, Wang Xuan had thought that since it was not the pain of tearing flesh, he could simply endure it. If he held on a little longer every day, he would gradually adapt sooner or later.
Now, standing in the Inner Scenery Realm, he understood. In the past, he had nearly stumbled into a forbidden zone.
"So the body arts in the golden book can only be mastered after entering the Inner Scenery Realm."
Wang Xuan noticed that once his internal organs showed imperceptible bleeding, the Mysterious Matter of the Inner Scenery Realm would diffuse out, nourishing them until they healed.
As expected of the golden book left behind by Zhang Daoling. Its starting point was simply too high. Without entering the Inner Scenery Realm, one could not practice such body arts at all.
Moreover, after two years, Wang Xuan had only mastered the first engraved diagram on the first sheet of golden paper.
This time, unlike in the outside world, he did not swallow dates whole and practice all the engraved diagrams on the first sheet of golden paper. Instead, he focused solely on one diagram.
Sure enough, after his internal organs bled repeatedly and underwent two years of tempering, he brought the first diagram to completion.
No matter how he tossed and turned over this diagram, his internal organs were no longer injured.
"The difficulty is too great!"
Wang Xuan Believed that this body art had not been meant for him at his current stage. This was entirely an achievement he had obtained by repeatedly injuring himself and enduring through it by sheer force.
If the first diagram was already like this, one could imagine the later ones—they would only become harder!
He decided to improve the Golden Body Art first. As for the things left behind by Zhang Daoling, he would seriously practice them in the future, when his realm was higher.
Time flowed in the Inner Scenery Realm. Another three years passed, and Wang Xuan trained the Golden Body Art to the third layer. He felt that with a few more months, the third layer would be completely perfected.
At that moment, an indescribable feeling surged into his heart. He immediately knew that the highest level of meditation had ended and that he was about to withdraw from the Inner Scenery Realm.
Sure enough, the Void and Silence Land was no longer silent. Sounds gradually emerged.
They were the sound of his own heartbeat, the faint wind outside the window, and the sound of cars passing along the streets farther away.
The Inner Scenery Realm dispersed, and Wang Xuan's spirit fully returned to reality.
At first, he sensed the changes in himself. He had shed two layers of skin, and his new flesh was crystalline and resilient. His constitution had clearly improved compared to before; he had become stronger.
In the Real World, his Golden Body Art had reached the third layer!
He checked the time. Five years in the Inner Scenery Realm had amounted to only... a few minutes in the Real World!
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