The Transcendent Immortals Were Gone

As for New Star, mysterious phenomena and supernatural forces had apparently appeared there, but Wang Xuan and Qin Cheng knew very little.

It was mainly a matter of unequal access to information. They lived on Old Earth and found it difficult to obtain the most cutting-edge secrets.

As for the Transcendent Immortals, they seemed even more ethereal.

Wang Xuan believed that, long ago, there had been a group of people who either practiced the Qi Gathering Technique or focused on meditation, conditioning their bodies and spirits until they gained strength far beyond that of ordinary people.

His speculation could be corroborated by certain ancient texts.

Wang Xuan had seen similar records in the Huangdi Neijing: "The people of ancient times modeled themselves upon yin and yang, harmonized themselves with the arts of calculation, and thus kept body and spirit as one."

In ancient times, if a strange man capable of subduing a tiger with one arm appeared amid the mountains, wilds, and great marshes, the early people would most likely have revered and worshipped him.

But as time passed, the stories handed down might have become distorted, gradually turning into myths.

Of course, it could not be ruled out that among the ancients were extraordinarily powerful individuals who had cultivated meditation and the like to the highest level, nourishing themselves from within and thereby gaining unimaginable strength.

For example, a few cases recorded in ancient texts described Daoist Masters whose bodies and spirits were at their peak, capable of hurling an elephant with one hand.

Wang Xuan felt that if Old Arts were practiced to their ultimate limit, it might be possible to achieve that.

When an individual's power reached such a level, what did it mean among ancient people? It was the embodiment of myth.

Wang Xuan believed that Immortals and Buddhas had never existed. There had only been a group of people who were once immensely powerful.

Therefore, in the field of Old Arts, he did not blindly believe. He merely continued to explore along the footprints of those who came before him, intending to verify this path with his own body.

After voicing his speculation, Wang Xuan added a few more points.

"Whether any of those deified people continued to improve, reaching a level of power beyond our understanding, is impossible to know. After all, Old Arts are now weak and have long since declined."

Perhaps the Transcendent Immortals were those legendary extraordinary people and Daoist Masters after making further progress?

Wang Xuan believed they were simply rare and exceptional individuals among humanity.

After the passage of countless years, whether myths or Transcendent Immortals, all traces had long vanished.

Professor Lin smiled at Wang Xuan. "According to your speculation, Immortals and Buddhas were also human. So the Transcendent Immortals and all Buddhas have dispersed as well."

Wang Xuan nodded. "As long as they were human, their ending was predetermined. They have all perished."

Qin Cheng listened with rapt attention and great interest. Then he found it especially regrettable. "If those supremely powerful individuals among ancient humans had lived into this era, could they have extended their lives by relying on high technology and coming into contact with the supernatural powers on New Star? Could immortality even become possible, as the financial conglomerates desire?"

"Throughout the ages, whether financial conglomerates or people of power, once they reached a certain height, they all pursued it tirelessly. Their wild ambition for immortality has never changed."

Professor Lin spoke with feeling, because he had personally encountered some people who were now pushing such research forward and pouring vast amounts of money into it.

"If you want to study Old Arts, I won't stop you. I have some things here that I can give you." Professor Lin stood and took several sheets of paper down from the bookshelf.

He was very serious as he handed them to Wang Xuan and told him to keep them safe.

Qin Cheng immediately grew curious, craning his neck to peer over.

Professor Lin glanced at him. "If you want to learn, I won't stop you either. But cultivating this requires an incomparably solid foundation. You still need to work hard. Otherwise, you might develop very serious problems and suffer damage to your life."

Professor Lin stated plainly that before Qin Cheng succeeded in Qi Gathering and could nourish himself from within, he must not touch this.

At those words, Qin Cheng's expression immediately fell.

The moment Wang Xuan heard this, he understood. This should be some exceptionally formidable Root Method.

Self-nourishment, Qi Gathering, meditation, and the like could fundamentally alter a person's physique and spirit. In Old Arts, they were called the root of all things.

Though body techniques and the like were dazzling and crucial in actual combat, they needed to be built upon a Root Method.

"The contents recorded on the bundle of bamboo slips in that photograph were deciphered by me and copied onto these sheets." Professor Lin explained the origin of the Root Method.

The material recorded on those sheets had actually come from a pre-Qin grand tomb.

Wang Xuan was deeply astonished. This truly was an Ancient Method in every sense of the word; it dated back far too long ago.

In that era, it was especially difficult for bamboo slips to survive.

Before tombs from excessively distant ages were activated, the bamboo slips inside had usually already rotted away.

Even if they had not decayed, the moment the tomb was activated, the drastic change between the inner and outer environments would destroy ninety percent of the bamboo slips, let alone leave behind written records.

Professor Lin said, "Now that technology is becoming more advanced, some of the good things left behind by the ancients can be rapidly treated and preserved the instant they are unearthed."

After thinking it over, Qin Cheng asked, "Two or three thousand years have passed. Are these records still useful? Haven't they become outdated?"

Professor Lin nodded. "You have a point. The times are always moving forward. But the records on these bamboo slips are highly valuable. After all, that era produced some extremely powerful Daoist Masters, so the Root Methods from the same period could not have been poor."

Moreover, Professor Lin made it clear that this method had been tested. It was good stuff—indeed, extraordinarily remarkable.

After hearing that, Wang Xuan solemnly put it away.

Professor Lin continued, "After the Old Arts Experimental Class is disbanded, you will face two problems. First, there will no longer be medicinal meals prepared from rare ingredients. Second, you will lack more profound Old Arts scriptures."

Wang Xuan had long realized the former was a problem. But as for the latter—Old Arts—he had already learned quite a lot, and all of it had impressive origins, such as unique museum copies and rare collections held by financial conglomerates. Could there really be anything even more astonishing than those?

Professor Lin told him that the Experimental Class's teaching materials were indeed excellent and came from extraordinary sources, but they were merely partial records from various rare secret texts. What he had learned was incomplete.

Even Professor Lin had never had the chance to see the later sections.

"Because those things are extremely precious, they only gave you the opening portion of the Root Methods. If someone truly succeeds in cultivating them, someone will naturally deliver the subsequent methods."

But unfortunately, the Experimental Class had been disbanded. The Old Arts research project had been abandoned, so there would be no subsequent Root Methods.

Qin Cheng laughed. "The Root Method recorded in these bamboo slips has solved one important problem Wang Xuan would have faced. If one day he becomes a powerful Daoist Master in the modern age, that would be interesting. It's worth looking forward to."

"If he truly studies it thoroughly and cultivates it successfully, perhaps it will solve his other problem as well. He may no longer need rare ingredients and medicinal meals to support his training."

Professor Lin's words startled even Wang Xuan.

What did that mean? The Root Method recorded on the bamboo slips was incredibly mysterious and astonishing!

"It's that powerful?" Qin Cheng asked in surprise.

"Of course. Nothing left behind by those Daoist Masters was simple. Old Arts were quite resplendent in that era, and the pursuit of elixirs of immortality and the like was all connected to Daoist Masters."

Professor Lin revealed that during a certain period, New Star's financial conglomerates had spent immense manpower and wealth searching Old Earth for ancient grand tombs, hoping to excavate things connected to Daoist Masters.

Nowadays, the numerous tomb clusters from every dynasty beneath Old Earth had all been turned over, and very few fish had slipped through the net.

"So even if you want to walk the path of Old Arts, you should go to New Star. Many precious classics, secret methods, and rare scriptures from past generations are no longer on Old Earth."

Qin Cheng grumbled discontentedly, "Do some people in those financial conglomerates have some kind of special collecting obsession? What use do they have for so much Old Arts material?"

"Of course it is useful. After verification, some Life Science Research Institutes have analyzed and applied Old Arts, developing targeted modern results in the biological field that can slow the aging of certain old men."

Professor Lin revealed many secret matters.

In fact, many good things had been excavated from ancient grand tombs. For instance, someone had once unearthed golden bamboo slips. They came from a special kind of bamboo that had not decayed after countless years and remained as hard as iron even now.

But that plant had long since gone extinct on Old Earth. Before it was unearthed, people had no idea such a plant even existed.

One could imagine that what was recorded on such bamboo slips was definitely not ordinary. It had to be extraordinarily remarkable.

But unfortunately, once such things fell into the hands of those organizations, research institutes, and financial conglomerates, they were kept secret and never shown to others. Outsiders found it difficult to see them again.

During a certain period, those financial conglomerates and various organizations had spent enormously, searching Old Earth year-round for such things.

Professor Lin undid his shirt, revealing old injuries on his body. Beside his heart, on his chest, were two scars each the size of a fist.

Judging by their appearance, his body had once been violently pierced through by some external force. Even now, they still looked terrifying.

"Back then, I was injured repeatedly over the bamboo slips in the photograph. Every injury was fatal. One place was punched through by someone's fist, while another was shot through by a modern weapon."

It was precisely because of this that Professor Lin, once an Old Arts expert, could no longer fight in actual combat. Surviving afterward had already been a miracle.

This showed just how fiercely the major organizations and financial conglomerates had fought over such things.

Seeing Wang Xuan now, Professor Lin seemed to see his younger self, someone with an intense desire to explore Old Arts. Unfortunately, his own path had long been severed.

Wang Xuan comforted him, saying that perhaps new medicines would emerge in the future that could resolve Professor Lin's physical problems.

"At my age, I've long let go of everything I ought to let go of." Professor Lin shook his head.

Qin Cheng said, "So even if Wang Xuan wants to take the path of Old Arts, he needs to go to New Star. All the good things have been swept away by the people over there."

Professor Lin was very serious. "It is more than that. The key is that the discoveries over there may have far-reaching effects. They may even trigger certain transformations in the future."

"What I am saying is all my own speculation. It is not information obtained from within research institutes or certain organizations, so there is no need to keep it secret."

The mysterious phenomena and supernatural powers rumored on New Star were all connected to certain objects.

Moreover, there had actually been faint traces of these rumors and reports as early as several decades ago, but only in recent years had some confirmed information gradually leaked out.

It seemed there had been breakthrough progress regarding those secrets and questions.

Otherwise, the Old Arts project here would not have been abandoned.

"So this is a rare opportunity. Since New Star seems to have found another path, the rare bamboo slips, various Root Methods, and rare scriptures collected by the financial conglomerates may circulate because of this. They may no longer be valued and will be far easier to obtain than before!"

Wang Xuan's heart thumped when he heard that. He truly wanted to go to New Star now, far more than before.

Even now, Qin Cheng remained dissatisfied. "Just what kind of path did New Star find that they would cast aside Old Arts and us? They have simply discarded us like worn-out shoes, ruthlessly eliminating and abandoning us."

"It is probably more than just one path." Professor Lin spoke of his feelings.

In Recent Decades, some rare new species had appeared on New Star. For example, there was a small tree called the Spirit-Calming Tree. Its entire body was snow-white, and its leaves emitted a delicate fragrance. It could nourish one's spirit, and eating several leaves each day had anti-aging effects.

It was said that this sky-high-priced little tree had been discovered in the Great Wilderness during New Star's large-scale development.

There were similar medicinal plants, herbs, and special small creatures as well.

Professor Lin had once been an Old Arts expert. In his early years, he had crossed the mountains and rivers throughout New Star alone, yet he had never discovered any of those species.

"I suspect that what they discovered was not merely one path. It is possible they found another planet with life, perhaps something involving the extraordinary."

This was undoubtedly shocking. New Star seemed to have made the discovery long ago and explored such a place early on, yet had concealed it from ordinary people for many years.

Professor Lin added, "In the past, they most likely encountered trouble, and only in recent years have they made progress. But I think that no matter what they discovered, it is still unrealistic for them to immediately obtain supernatural power."

Professor Lin emphasized one point in particular: if a New World had truly been discovered, the herbs, various resources, extraordinary items, and so on from there would definitely be of great help to Old Arts.

He lowered his head to look at the woman in the photo album, hesitating over whether or not to meet this old acquaintance and secure a spot for Wang Xuan.

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