Immortal Tomb

That group's origins were anything but simple. Killing Wang Xuan had merely been a trivial matter done in passing?

After hearing that answer, Wang Xuan lightly swept his right hand. The yellow leaf drifting before him was instantly sliced cleanly into two and fell to the ground.

At noon, he set out on foot to get lunch.

Since he was outside, he did not say much. He only told Qing Mu that he would take part in this operation.

Though they had not discussed much over the phone, Wang Xuan had already roughly learned that the group came from an organization called Gray Blood, which accepted commissions for exploration... and even murder.

According to Qing Mu, this organization was quite powerful and mainly operated on New Star. It had even snatched away one of their Exploration Organization's major discoveries before.

The moment Qing Mu learned they were coming, he immediately reported upward. Several formidable teams would soon arrive, all brimming with energy as they prepared to surround and hunt them down in revenge for old grudges.

Besides, even without their past enmity, the fact that the Tomb of the Immortal Lords had been located this time was enough to stir up enormous waves across Old Earth.

Anyone who received the news probably could not remain unmoved. If they had the strength, they would certainly join in.

"Hiring the Gray Blood organization to kill me—they have money to burn, and they do not want to expose themselves. Fine. I'll slowly dig you out."

Having been ambushed for no reason and nearly killed in the city, even Wang Xuan could not remain calm. If he did not drag out the mastermind behind it, there was no telling whether something else might happen.

Before long, however, his attention was drawn to the highly shocking news of the great tomb of the Transcendent Immortals. Another important discovery of this kind had actually appeared on Old Earth.

He just did not know whether this one was real. Over the years, there had been several claims of discovering burial grounds of the Transcendent Immortals, but every time, the final result had fallen far short of expectations.

After those earlier underground palaces had been excavated, they were eventually proven to be nothing more than the grand tombs of top-tier Pre-Qin Daoist practitioners.

"If this one is real, and scriptures or artifacts related to the Transcendent Immortals are unearthed, it should bring a tremendous shock to this world."

Wang Xuan pondered that in this era when the Old Arts were declining more and more, the appearance of such things might perhaps reverse that downward trend.

After lunch, he got a crisp short haircut, making the strands of hair that had been cut off by his ear look unremarkable. After all, he was officially starting work tomorrow.

As he thought about the Transcendent Immortals, ready at any time to head into the deep mountains and old forests for an operation and endure the baptism of blood and fire, he was also preparing to go to work. These utterly different experiences and thoughts left Wang Xuan in a rather strange mood.

Fortunately, Qing Mu did not contact him the next day. Wang Xuan did not have to ask for leave and miss his very first day of work, and he joined the company smoothly.

It was a branch of a design institute under a subsidiary of Interstellar Group. It sounded lofty and impressive, but in reality, it was nothing of the sort.

Nowadays, any technology involving deep-space exploration and interstellar travel had to rely on New Star. The relevant technology groups on Old Earth were completely outclassed.

The design institutes under Interstellar Group's subsidiaries had not produced any significant results in years. They were practically so neglected that weeds could grow there.

As for the branch of the design institute where Wang Xuan had reported for duty, there was even less to say. It had practically become a place for people to retire, and its daily pace... was incredibly slow.

On his first day at work, Wang Xuan found that many desks in the office area were empty. Only five or six people had shown up. When he went over to greet them, one older guy in black-rimmed glasses was practically falling asleep in front of his computer while reading the news so early in the morning.

The only energetic young woman was applying lipstick while looking into the small mirror in her hand. She did react, though, realizing a newcomer had arrived, and greeted him warmly.

Looking at these listless, aging colleagues, Wang Xuan was speechless for a while. He had chosen to work here in the first place because he had heard it was quite leisurely.

But no matter what, he had never expected it to be this leisurely. Early in the morning, two middle-aged women were already discussing where to play mahjong after work.

As for the other senior colleague in his fifties, he spent over half an hour on the phone with someone, arranging to go fishing over the weekend.

Still, these people were quite friendly toward Wang Xuan and showed no intention of excluding him. It was rare for a newcomer to arrive, so they said they would treat him to lunch as a welcome and did not need to wait until evening.

Wang Xuan thought that as a newcomer, he should leave a good impression on the veteran employees, so he said he would treat them instead. The suggestion was unanimously rejected, and they made him give up on the idea.

That morning, Wang Xuan wanted to find something to do, only to be told to familiarize himself with the work environment first. None of that was urgent.

He had completely realized that this place truly was for retirement.

The only young woman younger than Wang Xuan was named Liu Xue. She loved dressing up and was also the liveliest person in the office. According to her, she had come here specifically for the easy pace. She had joined in July, a few months before Wang Xuan.

All morning, Wang Xuan read the Daoist Canon on his computer, making good use of his time. Thinking it over carefully, he felt this kind of job was not bad either. Many people probably wanted one but could not get it.

A small incident occurred when they went to eat at noon. Liu Xue enthusiastically helped Wang Xuan pick up his trench coat. With a clatter, the coat, weighing over twenty pounds, slipped straight out of her hand and nearly smashed onto the top of her foot, scaring her into letting out a scream.

She found it unbelievable. How could a trench coat be so heavy? She stared at Wang Xuan as though he were a monster, then stubbornly picked it up from the floor and discovered that its weight truly was that outrageous.

The others immediately gathered around, and every one of them picked up the coat to try it out, clicking their tongues in amazement.

Wang Xuan hurriedly explained that he had recently been working out. He had specially commissioned this trench coat so that he could do weighted training every day on his commute.

The group suddenly understood and repeatedly praised Wang Xuan's perseverance, saying that such a habit of exercising at all times was worth learning from.

When he saw Liu Xue about to help him pick up his duckbill cap again, Wang Xuan quickly got ahead of her and put it on himself. It was also made of special material, bulletproof and weighing a full two pounds!

The atmosphere at lunch was harmonious. Wang Xuan had originally intended to humbly seek advice about how to work, but that thought vanished immediately. These people told him to just take it easy.

After lunch, three more people disappeared from the already empty office area. The guy in black-rimmed glasses said he had drunk too much, had a headache, and was going home first. The other two who left had roughly similar excuses.

Wang Xuan was speechless. There was no clocking in, no face scans, and no attendance checks here. It truly was extraordinarily free.

He sighed. Although the "environment" was very good and suited him for studying the Old Arts here, he knew he could not stay long. Someone practicing the Old Arts would eventually reveal abnormalities.

Fortunately, he knew clearly that he would soon be heading to New Star. For the time being, he would not expose any flaws here.

This lax atmosphere meant that when Wang Xuan asked for leave after only two days at work, the veteran employees in the office remained extremely calm, as though it were perfectly normal.

Someone drove Wang Xuan away, bringing him once again to the manor outside the city. He received his equipment, put on a human-skin mask, and then set off directly.

Of course, Wang Xuan did not take off the three layers of reinforced body armor beneath his clothes. He merely replaced the trench coat with protective gear. Ordinary people simply could not bear that kind of weight.

This time, he would be taking the initiative to hunt. It would most likely be more dangerous than last time at Qingcheng Mountain, so he paid close attention to protection.

On the road, Qing Mu announced their destination. It was unexpectedly the Greater Khingan Range, where a great tomb of the Transcendent Immortals had been discovered deep in the mountains and old forests.

This was different from what Wang Xuan had imagined. At first, he had thought it would be some famous mountain or great river again, a place connected to myths and legends.

Yet today's destination was merely an ordinary stretch of mountains in the Greater Khingan Range. It was said that nothing appeared unusual on the surface, but somehow people had located the burial site of an immortal corpse there.

Old Mu was still piloting the spacecraft, while Black Tiger and Feng Zheng wiped their blades and checked their energy guns.

"Brother Qing Mu, have you ever experienced a time when your five senses, intuition, and everything else became abnormally sharp?"

On the way, Wang Xuan began chatting with Qing Mu. At this stage, he did not dare tell anyone that he had entered the Inner Scenery Realm. Once the financial conglomerates and research institutions learned of it, it was hard to say what might happen.

However, Wang Xuan wanted to hint at it to Qing Mu and hoped he would go try it.

Before Qing Mu could say anything, Black Tiger cut in. He said he had experienced that sort of thing long ago, when he had felt clarity in his heart and had even had the illusion that he was about to attain Ascension to Immortality.

Wang Xuan was surprised and asked when it had happened. If Black Tiger had truly triggered a Super-Sense state before, he might be able to do so again in the future. Wang Xuan did not mind giving him some indirect guidance.

"It was probably ten years ago, when I was with my first love. It never happened again afterward. Once one has seen the vast sea, no other water compares; in this life, there will be no true love again!" Black Tiger sighed.

Wang Xuan stared blankly, then wanted to slap him. This guy's solemn, utterly shameless manner really left him speechless.

Seeing that Feng Zheng also wanted to offer some insight, Qing Mu directly smacked him on the back of the head. "Relaxing before a great battle is one thing, but do not stray too far off course. Hmm, Wang Xuan, did you gain some insight while practicing the Old Arts?"

Qing Mu's senses were sharp. He had noticed that Wang Xuan seemed somewhat different upon seeing him again. His strength appeared to have... increased by a huge margin!

"Last time, I seemed to enter a special state. My sight, hearing, sense of smell, and instinctive intuition all became exceptionally sharp and powerful at the time..."

Wang Xuan was still organizing his words, considering how to tell him about entering the Inner Scenery Realm, when Qing Mu spoke directly. He seemed greatly shocked, but then let out a sigh.

Qing Mu said, "That is an extremely rare individual case. Normally speaking, even grandmasters find it difficult to trigger such a state. Different ancient sects had different names for it. Some called it the Bodhisattva of Clarity Realm, while others called it Unity of Man and Heaven. It is said that in ancient times, if one received guidance from a powerful Daoist Master, or was guided in by a sect founder-level figure, one would very likely gain immense benefits from it. But in the present age, unless an extraordinarily rare accident occurs, no one can trigger that state. It is a realm even grandmasters cannot attain. Besides, where could one find Pre-Qin Daoist practitioners now? The various religions lost their founder-level figures long ago. Who could guide you in? Who could give you such benefits?"

After Qing Mu finished, he felt somewhat sorry for Wang Xuan. He believed that without anyone to guide and lead him in, Wang Xuan had missed an incredible opportunity.

In the legends of ancient sects, this had been an immense stroke of fortune!

Wang Xuan was somewhat surprised. He had gleaned valuable information from it. In ancient times, triggering a Super-Sense state required guidance from an absolute expert in order to enter the Inner Scenery Realm? In that case, his own experience had been somewhat different.

For now, it was not convenient to discuss this matter any further. He would talk with Qing Mu again when an opportunity arose.

Not long afterward, they arrived in the primeval forest of the Greater Khingan Range and closely monitored a stretch of mountainous terrain.

Before long, all the other teams of the Exploration Organization had also taken their positions. There were far more people than during the Qingcheng Mountain exploration.

At the very least, Qing Mu alone had brought twelve teams of his own this time.

The forces from the other divisions were all elites as well, rich in experience.

"Quick look, something is happening over there. It is pretty eerie!" Old Mu shouted.

Ahead, rosy clouds inexplicably billowed from the mountains. The entire mountain region had actually twisted and become blurred, looking extremely bizarre—sacred, yet emanating a chilling aura.

"Could there really be Transcendent Immortals?!" Qing Mu felt his heart pound with fear. Even from so far away, he sensed intense unease.