You're Exposed

Silent, desolate, with no end in sight—it was like a dried-up universe without stars. This was the Inner Scenery Realm.

At the highest level of meditation, a few minutes outside could unfold into years here.

Of course, the Daoist school's explanation of the Inner Scenery of Yellow Court was the most reasonable: the Void and Silence Land, where one stood amid lucid time, able to remain for long periods, maintaining transcendence and calm, inscrutable even to gods and ghosts.

This was Wang Xuan's second time entering, and his heart surged with excitement, because he knew very clearly what coming here meant. This was where the Pre-Qin Daoist practitioners' foundation of strength lay.

"There are traces of a lightning strike!"

Wang Xuan focused and examined the place carefully. The Inner Scenery Realm, originally dim and even gloomy-cold, actually contained patches of charred black that differed from what he had seen last time.

Very soon, his mind calmed. Once he entered this place, his senses became extraordinarily sharp, and he himself would rise into an extremely cold and tranquil state of mind.

Wang Xuan studied the charred ground and proceeded cautiously. Amid the deathly stillness, it seemed as though destructive matter was seeping out.

Though he stood amid lucid time, his mind silent, he still felt an oppressive pressure that nearly suffocated him.

With a boom, it was as if history had flowed backward. He once again saw that world-shaking lightning from the past streak across the skies of the Pre-Qin era, like a Comet Impact striking the earth—vast in momentum, destroying everything.

In a daze, an Ascension True Immortal seemed to raise her head. Her white robes fluttered, and she was supremely powerful, yet even she could not withstand that lightning strike. With a boom, she was scattered apart, and Feather Ascension Light Rain spanned ancient and modern times, scattering across the heavens.

Wang Xuan's scalp prickled. How could humanity possibly contend against such power?

His absolute transcendent state quickly returned him to calm and cold detachment. He observed in silence.

Large stretches of the Inner Scenery Realm were charred black, and lightning still lingered there even now, far beyond his imagination.

In Wang Xuan's understanding, the Void and Silence Land was isolated from the present world. Only the mind could enter deeply; nothing else could touch this place, and the physical body could only remain outside.

Before his eyes lay desolation, emptiness, stillness, even deathly stagnation. The lingering lightning flashed and vanished, returning to the charred ground, overturning everything he knew.

He stepped forward, but while there was still some distance between him and the charred land, the faint breeze stirred by his feet caused a violent change ahead.

The vast charred patches, along with the lingering lightning, rapidly dissipated, like sandcastles in waves, collapsing and vanishing in an instant.

As Wang Xuan advanced, every sight that differed from the past turned to ashes. The charred darkness faded, the lightning was erased, and nothing remained.

Wang Xuan stopped and watched the surrounding area return to desolation and emptiness. He fell into thought.

"Can the Inner Scenery Realm ultimately not be interfered with by the present world? Everything I just saw turned into smoke and dust as I moved forward. All of it was decayed."

He stood where he was and sensed quietly. At last, he sighed softly. "What lies before my eyes is merely history replaying itself, not a real scene."

Once he spoke those words, the Inner Scenery Realm became even more withered and silent, steeped in death Qi.

Wang Xuan roughly understood. What he had seen just now had all been caused by remnants of the Female Daoist practitioner's Mental Power. It was not that vast lightning had truly struck down here back then.

"The Ascension Stone is a Rare Strange Item, a priceless treasure!" Wang Xuan's gaze deepened. He had gained greater confidence in walking the Old Arts path, having glimpsed many possibilities for the future.

At this very moment, he naturally understood completely why he could appear here.

Back then, the Female Daoist practitioner had been supremely powerful and aspired to rank among the Transcendent Immortals, but she had ultimately failed in her Ascension to Immortality. Her Essence, Qi, and Spirit had been scattered by the immense lightning.

A terrifying ascension explosion had occurred in that underground cavern. Her Mental Power, along with the Mysterious Factor she had brought out from the Inner Scenery Realm, had all exploded outward.

"The Mysterious Matter, along with some of her remaining Mental Power, struck the rock layers. Most of it dissipated, and only a small portion was preserved, becoming Ascension Stones."

That was why Wang Xuan had vaguely seen the edge of the Inner Scenery Realm without activating Super-Sense, and had ultimately come here again.

Because Ascension Stones contained residual Mental Power originating from the Female Daoist practitioner. Even though she had long since died, the little Mental Power she left behind was still considerable to later generations.

This residual spiritual energy naturally resonated with the Inner Scenery Realm she had opened back then. Once someone activated it, they could possibly enter the Void and Silence Land once again.

"The Mysterious Factor in the Inner Scenery Realm is the key."

Wang Xuan Believed that the Mysterious Matter had wrapped around the residual spiritual energy and merged into the stones, thereby preserving all of it.

At the same time, his ability to sense the Ascension Stone, discover it, and ultimately use it to enter the Inner Scenery Realm again was also related to his having absorbed Mysterious Factor before.

Wang Xuan sorted out this entire chain of cause and effect, but he still did not understand what kind of place the Inner Scenery Realm truly was.

In fact, no one had ever been able to explain the secrets of the Void and Silence Land. It was desolate, empty, still, even steeped in death Qi—unfathomable.

There were still sights in the distance, but Wang Xuan did not immediately walk toward them. He had not forgotten why he had entered the Inner Scenery Realm in the first place: to rise swiftly and grow stronger, so that he could calmly face everything in the present world.

Today could be called taking a shortcut. He did not know whether, as last time, standing amid lucid time would allow him to practice body arts here and rapidly improve his strength.

Wang Xuan silently recited the Golden Body Art once, then began practicing it directly. Starting from the first level, he advanced onward until reaching the late stage of the third level, which was where he had trained to last time.

"It works!"

He felt utterly lucid. His body's postures were exactly as recorded in the Golden Body Art, flawless beyond compare, every movement incomparably precise.

He immersed himself completely in martial practice, forgetting everything else. All his thoughts revolved around the Golden Body Art as he used it to improve his physique.

Only one day later, when he felt tired, did he stop and begin circulating the Root Method of the Pre-Qin Daoist practitioners.

Mysterious Factor descended from the void and drifted into the Inner Scenery Realm, nourishing Wang Xuan's mind and sweeping away his fatigue. He once again felt brimming vitality.

He let out a long breath. There had been no accidents or changes. Though he had slipped in by stealth, the Inner Scenery Realm remained the same; he could still practice body arts and increase his strength.

He had already been very close to the fourth level of the Golden Body Art. When he practiced again, it came as naturally as water flowing into a channel. Golden light coursed over his body, and in an instant, dazzling beams burst forth—brilliant beyond measure—before returning to normal.

At the same time, his spirit seemed like a flickering golden flame, flashing intensely before slowly calming down.

The fourth level of the Golden Body Art... was complete!

Wang Xuan was certain that the Inner Scenery Realm here had not lost its mysteries. Standing here was equivalent to entering the highest realm of meditation, and his heart became even more peaceful and tranquil.

He slowly Walked Towards the front, intending to take a look at the distant scenery.

That was... a cluster of buildings, accompanied by decaying old sights. The lake had dried up, pavilions and towers had collapsed. Was this still caused by the Female Daoist practitioner's residual spiritual energy?

Only a few buildings remained stubbornly standing. Nearby were broken walls and ruins, all steeped in decay.

In one of the rooms, the window stood open. A long table was piled with Pre-Qin Bamboo Slips, and among them was actually a roll of golden bamboo slips!

Wang Xuan's eyes went wide. Even in his transcendent and coldly detached state of mind, he still felt his heartbeat accelerate and his breathing grow heavy.

So many Pre-Qin Bamboo Slips—how many scriptures did they record, what levels of Root Method and body arts did they Involve? And there was even a golden roll among them. How could he not be tempted?

But his body did not dare move again. He feared that even the slightest breeze he stirred would blow all the scenes ahead into ashes, leaving nothing behind.

After watching for a long time, he sighed softly. Even though he could walk over, what then? None of the bamboo slips had been opened. If he tried to flip through them himself, perhaps only mottled flowing light and decayed dust would remain.

The feeling left him somewhat miserable. He could only stare at them, unable to approach them, much less touch them. He clearly knew that priceless scriptures lay on the long table, yet he could not obtain them.

"Forget it. I already have the Daoist Master Root Method from the Pre-Qin era, as well as the body arts left behind by Zhang Daoling, the founder of Daoism. All of these are sufficiently profound and unfathomable, requiring me to spend long years studying them. There is no need to greedily seek more. Even if all the bamboo slips on that long table were given to me, I would not have time to practice them."

Wang Xuan consoled himself and stepped back. At once, he felt as though the sea and sky had opened wide, and even his spirit seemed to have ascended.

He was startled. Had he attained enlightenment?

Very quickly, he realized in horror that it was nothing of the sort, because the scene around him had changed. It was no longer a cluster of buildings, but a truly vast and magnificent world, which was why it felt so grand.

What was going on? He had not even left the buildings yet, so why had the scene changed on its own? Was the Female Daoist practitioner's residual spiritual energy at work? This was the first possibility that came to mind.

He remained silent, standing there as he circulated the Root Method of the Pre-Qin Daoist practitioners.

In an instant, everything returned to normal. It was still broken walls and ruins, decaying old scenery, and priceless bamboo slips displayed upon the long table in the deathly silent room.

Suddenly, he felt that the atmosphere was strange, that something was wrong. He spun around sharply, and at the moment he looked back, his pupils contracted violently as he involuntarily staggered backward.

Because before his eyes was a pair of shoes, bright red as blood, suspended in the air at the level of his brows. They were clearly a woman's shoes.

In the dim ruins, the sudden appearance of such an abnormal sight made even the steady Wang Xuan's heart pound wildly. He sensed something strange.

Fresh red blood dripped from those shoes, horrifyingly eerie, nearly splashing onto Wang Xuan. He retreated several steps, then saw a dazzling cascade of lightning descend from the vault of heaven, like the Milky Way falling from the ninth sky, striking directly through the blood-red shoes.

In an instant, a pair of snow-white jade feet appeared within the red shoes, followed by straight, pale legs. Then, in a flash, a white dress descended with them, covering her body.

Is this haunted?!

Wang Xuan felt that something was terribly wrong. Though he still had not seen the woman's face clearly, he felt she must be connected to the Female Daoist practitioner.

In this desolate place, steeped in death Qi and filled with a sinister, terrifying atmosphere, he was possessed by some unseen impulse and said, "You're exposed!"

The moment he said it, he wanted to slap his own mouth. His mind was in an absolute state of cold detachment and could not lie; he had spoken straight from his heart, only to regret it so deeply.