Old Chen had been beaten half to death all night?!
After hearing that, Wang Xuan had no idea why, but rather than finding it tragic, he almost wanted to grin and laugh out loud.
Of course, to avoid provoking Old Chen, he put on an act, rubbing his temples with both hands and then wiping his face, afraid Old Chen would see his unconscionable smile and beat him up.
Taking the opportunity, Wang Xuan let out his laughter before looking at Old Chen with a solemn face. There was no helping it—Old Chen was far too dangerous right now, so he had to appear a little more serious.
"Old Chen, you have to understand that this world is balanced. Whenever you gain something, you are also paying something in return. That was a terrifying fist technique beyond the Great Vajra Fist. It wasn't easy to obtain." To add a little more feeling to his words, Wang Xuan even sighed at the end.
Old Chen had always been shrewd, and he was powerful enough himself that he was not so easily fooled. He immediately sneered. "Then what about you? Why weren't you beaten?"
Wang Xuan was wondering about that too. He truly had some doubts this time. Why had the same method failed when Old Chen used it, only for him to be viciously beaten by the Old Monk instead?
He actually wanted to say it was probably a matter of character—that Old Chen's moral standards had failed him—but he did not dare mention that. He could only insist, "I paid a price too!"
Old Chen would have been fine if he had not heard that, but the moment he did, his anger flared. He said coldly, "What did you pay? From the Female Daoist practitioner to the Ghost Monk, the one you paid was me!"
Old Chen was filled with resentment. He had thought it over carefully. Every time, he was the one left holding the bag. He never got any of the anticipated benefits and suffered for nothing instead.
"Old Chen, watch how you talk. Don't make it so mushy." Wang Xuan naturally refused to admit it. He had to compete with Old Chen over who had it worse in order to restore his psychological balance.
After recounting a pile of entirely fabricated "blood-and-tear history," Wang Xuan added, "Besides, Old Chen, using your logic, you paid Qing Mu."
Old Chen's expression immediately turned hostile. "Are you reminding me that you paid with both master and disciple?!"
In truth, Wang Xuan had also been wondering all along why Old Chen had been beaten. Could this be karma coming due, with the Old Monk taking revenge on Old Chen by another route?
"Old Chen, I can swear that I only got what I wanted after giving him a whack with a stick! Don't rush. Let's review it. Tell me what happened to you, and we'll think of a solution together."
"Do you really want to know the details of how I was beaten?" Old Chen was brimming with killing intent. Nothing had gone right lately, and he was truly in a foul mood.
Although he really did want to hear how Old Chen had been beaten senseless, Wang Xuan naturally would not admit it for the sake of his own safety. He immediately changed the subject. "Right, which branch of Buddhism does Pufa Temple belong to?"
"Huh?!" Old Chen froze, then turned serious. He realized where the problem lay.
Wang Xuan had only mentioned it casually, wanting to trace the origins of this Thousand-Year Ancient Temple and find more clues. Yet after saying it, he froze too, having figured something out.
"Zen Buddhism!" they both said at once.
"The mind itself is Buddha!"
"See one's nature and become Buddha!"
The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch recorded: Upon hearing these words, he attained great enlightenment, suddenly saw the true suchness of his own nature, and realized that all dharmas possessed self-nature.
"Old Chen, what they preach is sudden enlightenment, following one's true heart. Take me, for example. I acted according to my heart at the time. Even though I was somewhat disrespectful, I... was acknowledged. You, on the other hand, were full of twists and turns, coveting their scriptures, yet you still had to put on an act and go up there to hit him on the head. If I were the old monk, I wouldn't like the look of you either. If he didn't beat you all night, then who would he beat!"
Hearing this, Old Chen tilted his head up toward the sky. At that moment, he only wanted to sigh and say nothing at all.
Ever since Zen Buddhism had been mentioned, he had naturally understood the crux of the problem completely. He turned and left.
"Old Chen, do you want me to teach you the remaining moves?" Wang Xuan asked warmly, prepared to see his good deed through to the end.
"No need. I'm afraid your movements aren't standard!" Old Chen said disdainfully, deciding to face the Ghost Monk directly that night and thoroughly wring all the scriptures out of him.
Old Chen truly was formidable. That very night, he obtained what he wanted and no longer suffered from insomnia. From that day onward, he hid in the little courtyard outside the city, shutting his doors to visitors and practicing that fist technique bitterly.
Qing Mu and the others had gone underground in the Greater Khingan Range and never returned. There was no news from them for a long time.
Wang Xuan's life quieted down. Old Chen gave him special approval for an extended vacation, and every day he had ample time to study Old Arts.
He also browsed the Daoist Canon. It was not because he wanted to excavate any inheritance from it, but merely to understand certain coded phrases and specialized terms, allowing him to better comprehend the secret arts of more ancient times.
During that time, he went home and had a long talk with his parents. He told them that because the company considered his performance outstanding, it was preparing to send him to New Star for further study. The slot and opportunity were rare, and he did not want to miss them.
To his surprise, his parents were very supportive. There was no sadness or reluctance, making the bellyful of comforting words he had prepared utterly useless.
Thinking back, he realized that throughout all his memories from childhood to adulthood, his parents had seemingly always been like this—broad-minded to a fault, with no parting sorrow whatsoever.
That made him breathe a long sigh of relief. If they had faced each other with tears streaming down their faces, unable to eat, he would most likely have hesitated and not set out for a long time.
Not long afterward, Qing Mu began sending messages, telling Wang Xuan that he had been tormented miserably. He had truly experienced his master's nighttime suffering: unable to sleep every day and even struck by lightning!
He explained that he had been an innocent fish caught in the disaster, dragged down along with the rest.
The Female Daoist practitioner's methods for prying at the real world had grown increasingly astonishing. At the underground experimental site, she launched large-scale "spiritual lightning" assaults against everyone.
At first, the researchers from New Star did not believe any of it. They believed it was hallucinations caused by some kind of Super Material factor, so they transported the most advanced instruments from New Star to distinguish, inspect, record, observe, and study it.
Moreover, whether it was Ms. Zheng, the founder of the Origin Research Institute, or certain people on Old Earth, none of them wanted to halt the experiment. They placed great hopes on the subject of extending lifespan.
Clearly, either the research institute personnel would carry the experiment through to the bitter end, or the Female Daoist practitioner's means of interfering with reality would improve further, allowing Ms. Zheng on New Star and some people on Old Earth to "experience" it firsthand.
For a time, the matter unexpectedly fell into a deadlock.
Wang Xuan was not in a hurry. He slowly waited for Old Chen and Qing Mu while spending every day meticulously studying Old Arts and practicing the Old Monk's fist technique.
More than a week later, he received several letters from afar in succession.
The first was sent by Qin Cheng, delivered to Wang Xuan through a deep-space trade team that collaborated with Qin Cheng's family.
"Old Wang, I've established myself over here. By a certain coincidence, I got the chance to recommend you to someone. If it works out, I can arrange for you to be sent to New Moon."
In the letter, Qin Cheng provided him with an address. It was the Old Earth branch of a New Star company. He told Wang Xuan to try contacting it himself as well, increasing the odds of success.
"Old Wang, there are good things on New Moon—several rare and precious plants. They undergo mutation experiments and are cultivated on a large scale on New Moon. A certain number of dead plants are permitted as daily losses. I'm in pain and bliss at once. Limited by my own strength, I can't handle that Great Medicine. Half a month for one plant is already the limit of what my body can take."
Wang Xuan was moved. What kind of Great Medicine could be so potent?
"They actually built a Guanghan Palace on New Moon. When I arrived, I was almost dumbfounded. It claims to be the most luxurious vacation destination in deep space, well worth going to, but with my assets, I can only stare at it longingly from afar."
Besides mentioning a few key points, Qin Cheng also wrote about quite a few trivial matters.
"There's something strange about New Moon. There is actually an ancient temple claiming two thousand years of history, transported here from Old Earth. Also, one of Daoism's ancestral courts has been restored here. They say every brick and tile was brought over from the original site. I always feel there's some secret behind it."
When he read this, Wang Xuan felt somewhat tempted, but also puzzled.
Next came letters from Su Chan and Zhou Kun. They informed Wang Xuan that due to certain sudden circumstances, two of their classmates had already died.
They wrote with sorrow and did not reveal the causes of death, but one could imagine that behind all beauty lay cruel costs.
Wang Xuan sighed. In less than a month, two classmates had died one after another. It was truly unexpected.
He still remembered the final gathering. The classmates preparing to go to New Star had been high-spirited, hoping to achieve something great. Their confident, youthful faces had shone brilliantly. How could accidents suddenly happen? What a pity!
He too was going to New Star, and he silently reminded himself not to let his guard down.
In addition, he received a handwritten letter from Zhao Qinghan. She also told him of the classmates' deaths, and Goddess Zhao once again brought up the matter of cooperation.
Two days later, Qing Mu returned. The matter beneath the Greater Khingan Range had finally come to a temporary close, though he did not explain the details.
Instead, he brought up Wang Xuan's situation, his expression grave. "There's been an unexpected development. Someone wants to pin you down on Old Earth and keep you from taking even one step out."
Wang Xuan frowned. Certain people's hands reached far too far, everywhere and nowhere. They actually wanted to completely block off his path to New Star.
After learning that Qing Mu had returned, Old Chen finally emerged from seclusion, his face glowing with health. In his words, the Divine Monk's fist technique contained boundless mysteries. He had gained greatly from it and seen a path clearly.
Wang Xuan looked at him. Not long ago, this old colleague had still been calling him the Ghost Monk. Now that he had gained benefits, he immediately called him the Divine Monk. Given a little more time, he would probably start calling him a Bodhisattva.
"To pin Little Wang down on Old Earth? What a joke. Have they asked me?" Old Chen sneered.
Then he looked at Wang Xuan. "Some trouble is about to happen soon. Haven't you always wanted to know how strong I am? Haven't you wanted to know what New Arts are? You can come with me and see for yourself."
Qing Mu's facial expression changed at once upon hearing that. "Master, you can't go. This time is extremely dangerous. There's no need to fight over pride. One careless misstep, and you'll lose your life."
"For many years, I haven't made another move. And with several old friends passing away one after another, they truly think Old Arts are finished for good. They have grown ever more contemptuous of people like us. If this continues, fewer and fewer people will practice Old Arts, and its foundation will collapse completely. Besides, that thing has appeared again. This time, I must make the trip!"
Old Chen spoke in a deep voice, entirely unlike his usual self. At last, he looked at Wang Xuan. "Come with me and see for yourself."
Before you continue