Lacking Universality

The faint sound of yellow leaves drifting down outside the window reached Wang Xuan's ears with crystal clarity. His eyes clearly caught the trajectory of night birds streaking across the pitch-black sky.

Something had changed. Even without entering a Super-Sense state, his hearing, vision, and other senses had improved noticeably. The distance between him and this world had narrowed.

He ran his fingers across the surface of his body and immediately felt a resilient toughness. As he gradually applied more force, his flesh trembled and resonated, actually sliding his fingers away.

At his current level, Wang Xuan's fingers could leave deep marks in tree trunks and carve words into tables and chairs. Yet now, they were blocked by his resilient skin and jolted aside.

Was this the most direct effect brought by the Golden Body Art?

He naturally knew the benefits did not stop there. He could clearly sense the vigorous vitality within his flesh and blood, proof of an all-around improvement in his physique.

It was easy to imagine that if he were injured, his wounds would heal faster, shortening his recovery time.

Moreover, his five senses and mental strength had surpassed what they had once been.

"The Golden Body Art truly is extraordinary!"

Especially in this era, the Golden Body Art carried extraordinary significance for him. It could guard against hidden shots and block firearms used to ambush and kill him.

That point alone was enough for Wang Xuan to spare no cost in mastering the Golden Body Art. If those people dared appear again, not a single one of them would escape.

Most importantly, this effect of the Golden Body Art showed him the value of the Old Arts path. Though it had declined, if one dug deep enough, there were surely many treasures left amid the piles of old paper.

In those vanished ancient years, there had been legends of all manner of strange arts and secret techniques, some brimming with legendary color. Just imagining finding and mastering the very best of them made even the usually steady Wang Xuan grow excited.

He quickly calmed down. There was no use thinking so far ahead at this stage. He needed to keep his feet on the ground and move forward step by step.

"The third level of the Golden Body Art already has powerful defensive effects. Though it still cannot block bullets, hidden shots are no longer so fatal to me."

Wang Xuan believed that after being obstructed by his tough flesh, the damage hot weapons inflicted on his body could be greatly reduced. So long as his heart or other vital points were not hit directly, it would probably be difficult to shoot him dead in a short time.

If those gunmen appeared again, as long as Wang Xuan was willing to pay a certain price, he could wipe them all out in a very short time.

"Don't let me find you!"

There was no way this matter could be let go so easily. Wang Xuan would keep investigating until he discovered exactly who wanted to kill him.

"The third level of the Golden Body Art is still somewhat lacking. If I pushed it directly to the sixth or seventh level and beyond, bullets and the like would probably become useless against me."

Of course, larger-caliber hot weapons with greater power would certainly still threaten him. But if he raised the Golden Body Art beyond the tenth level, that would be harder to say.

As for the perfected realm of the Golden Body Art, it was currently impossible to guess. After all, even Zhou Yun Kong himself in the Northern Song dynasty had failed to master it. He had only left behind scriptures derived from empty conjecture.

Wang Xuan calmed his emotions and emptied his mind. He wanted to immerse himself in that special state again, enter the highest level of meditation, and gain a foothold in the Inner Scenery Realm.

Yet no matter what he did, no matter how many times he tried, he failed.

Even after circulating the Root Method from the Pre-Qin Bamboo Slips dozens of times, he could not sense that secluded and silent Inner Scenery Realm. He could no longer enter it.

He meditated several more times, hoping to reach the supreme level and enter the Void and Silence Land for several years, but no matter what he did, he could not achieve it.

Wang Xuan sighed softly. He had been mentally prepared and could accept this outcome.

After all, even grandmasters in the field of meditation spent their entire lives pursuing the highest meditation, yet few truly succeeded.

At the very least, no one had ever been heard of accomplishing it in modern times.

As for the Daoist school's Inner Scenery Realm, it would only be harder. Wang Xuan Believed that since the end of the old era, absolutely no one had entered the Inner Scenery Realm.

Just think of it: New Star had finally produced a grandmaster in the field of Old Arts, only for him to practice the secret scriptures of the Daoist Ancestral Court and train himself to death, his five internal organs rotting away.

If he had been able to enter the Daoist Inner Scenery Realm, such a thing would never have happened.

Because within the Inner Scenery Realm, one could clearly observe changes in the five viscera, while Mysterious Factor drifted down to nourish the five viscera. Even if one failed in cultivation, one would not die.

Wang Xuan even seriously suspected that, since modern times, those who studied Old Arts simply did not know that the Inner Scenery Realm, this mysterious domain, existed.

Even if some ancient sects still spoke of it, they likely treated it only as a legend. Later generations might not believe the human spirit could reach such an extraordinary place.

Wang Xuan was not in a hurry. Since he had entered it once, there should be opportunities in the future.

Moreover, he had roughly guessed how one could enter that mysterious place. After all, he had experienced it personally and understood every detail.

"A Super-Sense state is needed, followed by circulating the Root Method of the Pre-Qin Daoist practitioners. Only then can it succeed."

How could a Super-Sense state appear?

He pondered whether it was because extreme danger in the outside world triggered an intense stress response within him, resonating with Old Arts and accidentally activating the Super-Sense state.

"No rush. I can take it slowly, use all kinds of methods to stimulate myself, and recreate that Super-Sense state."

Wang Xuan even had the thought of taking part in all kinds of expeditions. That way, the chances of triggering a stress response and activating the Super-Sense state would greatly increase.

Wang Xuan stood and gathered up the skin he had shed. The sight was truly strange. What kind of force had erupted from his body in those few minutes to cause such violent changes and consequences?

Unfortunately, his mind had been in the Inner Scenery Realm at the time, leaving him only a vague perception of the outside world. He had not clearly caught that brief yet astonishing transformation.

Still, he could understand it. Every living thing in the world was evolving at every moment; this had never changed from ancient times to the present. Species that could not keep up would ultimately be eliminated.

It was simply that this process of adapting to nature and improving oneself was very slow, requiring generation after generation to continue it.

Yet in a very few periods of history, certain species would evolve rapidly and improve with fierce intensity.

Humanity, for instance, had once undergone an unbelievable period of eruption when it parted ways with other living creatures, evolving at high speed in the shortest time and achieving a qualitative leap in the level of life.

Many people speculated that some inexplicable change had caused humanity to evolve suddenly and violently, giving rise to all the later splendor.

In Wang Xuan's view, those who walked the Old Arts path were also experiencing all manner of "changes," sometimes drastically shortening what had originally been a lengthy transformation process.

Take the Daoist Masters of the Pre-Qin era. Ordinary people still feared tigers, leopards, wolves, and jackals, while Daoist Masters could already sever rivers, hurl elephants, and slice mountains.

What kind of power was that? How could it be gained within such a short period?

As for the Transcendent Immortals, they should have been even stronger, their transformations even more drastic.

Now, after visiting the Inner Scenery Realm, Wang Xuan's view of the Transcendent Immortals had subtly changed. He felt that such people might truly have existed.

Of course, he still believed that the Transcendent Immortals were human. And humans ought to die.

Wang Xuan took a cold shower, changed into loose pajamas, and leafed through the Scripture of the Yellow Court in search of anything related to the Inner Scenery Realm. Unfortunately, he found nothing new.

Such classics spoke in broad terms. The occasional cryptic phrases also had to be comprehended on one's own.

The true Root Method lay within the Pre-Qin Bamboo Slips. These later books could only serve as reference materials, helping one understand terminology and Old Arts names from even more ancient times.

"Attain Emptiness to the Utmost, Guard Stillness with Devotion..."

Unwilling to give up, Wang Xuan searched through other materials. Yet even if he wore out the classics, he could not find a method for instantly activating the Super-Sense state.

"There must be some conventional method. Otherwise, the Pre-Qin Daoist practitioners could not have been so strong. Only by entering the Inner Scenery Realm often could they achieve things later generations could never rival."

Wang Xuan felt that he should pay attention to every kind of Pre-Qin Bamboo Slips in the future. Anything related to Daoist Masters, he would collect and study carefully.

He believed that amid certain piles of old paper, there might as well be records of a conventional method for entering the Inner Scenery Realm.

"What a pity. All the good things are on New Star, in those Life Science Research Institutes and the hands of the top great financial clans. If I could read all the bamboo slips, classics of the various masters, and everything else in their hands, I would definitely find what I seek."

Wang Xuan felt regret, while also wanting more and more to go to New Star.

But he soon adjusted his mood, calming himself and maintaining a peaceful state of mind. For one walking the Old Arts path, that was very important.

"A person should know contentment. In only a few minutes, I attained a Golden Body achievement that others might not gain even after five years."

Thinking about that ratio of time, it was truly too exaggerated. If word got out, even amid the current rise of New Arts on New Star, it would trigger a massive storm.

After becoming calmer and more rational, Wang Xuan made a further judgment. He might have been overly optimistic. Even Pre-Qin Daoist practitioners could not enter the Inner Scenery Realm whenever they wished.

Otherwise, if they remained inside year after year, then even if there were no immortals in the world, they would probably have cultivated themselves into immortals by then!

A few minutes amounted to several years. How many years would one day in the Real World equal there?

What about one year?

What about an entire lifetime?!

Wang Xuan felt that Pre-Qin Daoist practitioners could only enter once every stretch of time.

Moreover, he estimated that the method for entering did not possess universality. Only a small number of people could still accomplish it.

"Is this why Old Arts declined? Its demands on the individual are too high."

Then he speculated whether, as time passed, certain external factors had also changed, the larger environment becoming different and making it harder and harder for later generations to enter the Inner Scenery Realm.

Wang Xuan guessed that since modern times, he might be the only person who had ever entered the Inner Scenery Realm.

"Though I stayed inside for five years, I did not feel time eroding me. I do not have that weathered feeling of a lifetime gone by. Instead, my spirit is more vigorous than ever. Both my physical vitality and mental energy are better, as though the breath of new life is spilling out."

Wang Xuan realized that his spirit had not aged during those five years in the Inner Scenery Realm mainly because he had been completely immersed in comprehending Old Arts, cut off from the world without contact with external things. His heart had been pure and free of distracting thoughts, untouched by the air of the vast mundane world. All of that was related. Of course, most importantly, the Mysterious Factor falling from that Void and Silence Land had nourished his spirit and flesh. That might have been the crucial factor.

That night, despite having endured gunfire and being ambushed in the residential district, Wang Xuan slept soundly. He had found his path.

He was certain that if those people came again, he could leave them all behind.

At dawn, Qin Cheng sent him a message: Brother, I'm leaving. Goodbye!

He had gone to New Moon, leaving Old Earth and heading into deep space.

Take care! Wang Xuan silently sent back a message.

At nine in the morning, Professor Lin told Wang Xuan that he was setting off, returning to New Star. He left Wang Xuan an address on New Star and a contact number there.

This meant that the classmates heading to New Star were also leaving, embarking on new journeys.

Sure enough, Wang Xuan soon received several messages. Zhou Kun, Kong Yi, Su Chan, and others bade him farewell.

Half an hour later, Wang Xuan received a letter sent by an unexpected person.

Li Qingxuan, someone from New Star, warmly invited Wang Xuan to join her family's expedition team. In the letter, she also left an address and contact information for her family on Old Earth.

She promised generous compensation and said that as long as he agreed, she could help him find a way to New Star.

"Li Qingxuan..."

They had met last night on Bar Street. Her image surfaced before Wang Xuan's eyes: long hair with a slight natural curl, phoenix eyes carrying an innate allure, and vivid red lips that were deeply sensual. She was an exceptionally youthful and beautiful girl.

Yet he had no real connection with her. They had met only once. Why was she looking for him? Did she truly want to recruit him into her family's expedition team?

Wang Xuan tossed the letter aside and silently considered it. Zhao Qinghan had also invited him to cooperate. The organizations and financial clans on New Star all seemed to be preparing for something.

"Wang Xuan, we have a lead. Whether or not you want to go hunt them?!" At noon, Qing Mu called Wang Xuan and told him they had discovered where the gunmen were staying.

Wang Xuan had just mastered the third level of the Golden Body Art when he received this news. Naturally, he wanted to rush over personally and join the hunt.

"These people have no simple background. From the latest information we've received, killing you was merely a trivial matter for them. They actually located... the Tomb of the Immortal Lords, and came for it!"

By the end, Qing Mu was somewhat agitated, his voice trembling.

If the intelligence was true, it was simply too shocking. Many people did not acknowledge that Transcendent Immortals existed at all, yet now someone had located the great tomb of such beings and intended to excavate it!