The Stars Beyond

Chapter 40: A Path For The Old Arts

The rain continued to fall. In the dark forest, the black Hou laid on the ground, still trembling but no longer a threat. Despite stubbornly clinging on to life, the beast was out of the fight for good. The man in black stood opposite of Wang Xuan, swiftly setting his broken bones back in place. He did not hide his astonishment.

"The Golden Body Technique is indeed powerful, but few people practice it. This technique requires a long time to master. Results are often slow to show. Besides, any slight mistake can lead to serious problems that will harm the practitioner," he said.

He stared at Wang Xuan, whose Golden Body Technique had clearly reached the late stage of the fourth layer. That would usually require at least thirty years of practice, yet Wang Xuan was only in his early twenties.

"How did you manage to reach such a level?" His eyes were burning with an intense desire to know.

"Who sent you to kill me?" Wang Xuan asked calmly. He did not know the man in black, who was in his fifties, and there had never been any interaction between them. He suspected that someone else was behind this assassination attempt, and this man was merely acting on someone else's behalf.

The man in black responded with a calm expression, "If you win today, don't investigate this matter any further. Let it end here. The one who contracted the Ashen Blood Organization to kill you was me, and the one who's taking matters into his own hands now is also me. You can consider me the true mastermind behind all this. It was I who sought for your death."

A faint glint of gold flashed in the depths of Wang Xuan's eyes, a sign of his mastery in the Golden Body Technique. This served only to intensify the mysterious man's desire to understand how he had achieved it.

Of course, the man in black was not interested in practicing the Golden Body Technique himself. But he wanted to know if there were secrets or shortcuts. This was a discovery that might breathe new life into the study of the Old Arts in this era. He had practiced the arts for decades and had reached an esteemed level. But he understood that he had reached a bottleneck in his path.

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Wang Xuan responded coldly, "Why would I tell you anything when you’ve come to kill me and refuse to reveal who sent you?"

The man in black stretched, loosening his joints and muscles. "As a practitioner of the Old Arts, I respect the fact that you've reached this level at such a young age. Consider this a word of advice: if you're the one who walks away alive today, let it end here. Live the rest of your life in peace and don't pry any further. No one will come after you again."

The flames of fury ignited in Wang Xuan’s heart. Although he kept a low profile and generally avoided trouble, being attacked repeatedly and then being told to endure and not investigate further just to stay alive was unacceptable.

The man in black sighed lightly, "Those of us who tread the path of the Old Arts have it hard, especially in this era where our ways are becoming obsolete. It is about to be completely replaced by the New Arts. I'm not willing to give up. I've been obsessed, perhaps to the point of madness, with finding a new path for the Old Arts."

It was clear that he was not feigning his sentiment. His deep attachment to the old ways was genuine. The man in black continued without rushing to attack, "Ever since I learned that a legendary text from our field had surfaced but was locked away as a mere collector's item, I've been restless. I wanted to get closer to it, in hopes of glimpsing its true teachings and uncovering the secrets to transcend into immortality."

Wang Xuan listened quietly without interrupting.

"So, I purposely got closer to that family, knowing that they had some grievances against you. They want you dead, you know that? I subtly implied that as a scholar and a professor, I could 'educate' you, while also hinting that I wanted to take a look at their ancient text."

Upon hearing this, Wang Xuan frowned. As he pondered over the people he knew, he still was not able to figure out who would want him dead. He had never caused trouble for anyone.

Up to now, he still had no idea who he had offended to the point where they wanted him dead. At the same time, he was also somewhat surprised that the man in black turned out to be a scholar and a professor. This made his identity rather complicated.

The man in black seemed to sense what he was thinking and said, "There was a time when the Old Arts was not in decline yet. As a researcher in the field, I even taught some students at a university in the New World. Sometimes I was even invited to give lectures on wellness to some very important figures. You could say I had some fame back then."

He laughed at himself and shook his head.

Wang Xuan understood the man’s sentiment. Before the rise of the New Arts, the Old Arts had indeed garnered some attention. Ancient texts like the Early Qin bamboo slips were hoarded by corporations and major research institutes. For a few years, those on the New World had hoped to activate supernatural powers through the Old Arts to integrate them into the New Arts. Therefore, it was normal for the man in black to be a guest among some large organizations or even megacorporations. His identity as a scholar and professor was not surprising.

"The day I expressed my interest, the person secretly took out that solitary ancient text from their family collection and showed me the first page. My mind was instantly captivated, for I knew it was an invaluable treasure. It aligned perfectly with the path I had been exploring for many years, piercing through a layer of opaque paper and opening a new window for me. You have to understand that this was just the first page; it encapsulated the essence of my lifelong pursuit and research. How astonishing must the rest of the text be? It's a shame that it falls into the hands of people who, although they've studied it, cannot grasp its true essence. My desire only intensified because I am confident that I can make that legendary text shine brilliantly once again, even in an era where the Old Arts are waning."

As he spoke, the man’s eyes were ablaze with passion, as if flames were flickering within them; his emotions were highly charged.

"Alas, I only saw the first page!"

Finally, he regained his composure, and the fire in his eyes extinguished. He then looked at Wang Xuan again, "I seem to have discovered something even more incredible about you. Have you been practicing the Golden Body Technique since you were young, and do you possess some mysterious shortcuts that have allowed you to reach the fourth layer at this young age? Or is it something even more astonishing than I can imagine?"

"According to my investigation, Zhou Mingxuan gave you a manual of the Golden Body Technique at a gathering. You managed to reach the fourth layer in such a short period of time. Something is definitely amiss!" The man’s eyes were intimidating as he spoke.

Wang Xuan remained calm. He did not speak up. In this era, no one could enter the Inner Court anymore. But in ancient times, those who walked the path of the Old Arts had to be aided by Early Qin scholars or guided by revered masters to enter the Inner Courtyard after triggering their extrasensory perception for the first time.

However, when Wang Xuan first entered, he received no guidance. He had stepped into that realm by himself. Should this information be revealed, those who knew the details would be spooked.

"I've become somewhat obsessed, deluded by my own fixations. To obtain that legendary text, I even harbored the intention to kill you. Now that I think about it, we who walk the path of the Old Arts are ultimately driven by a lack of hope. It's somewhat tragic," the man sighed, his gaze returning to Wang Xuan.

"Thus, I advise you not to dig any further into this matter. The person who wanted you dead might have been acting on temporary rage and may not pursue it further. Act as if nothing has happened. Some people and powers are far beyond what you and I can handle or confront. After all, we're no longer in the Early Qin era where scholars could transform and ascend to immortality."

His tone was one of regret and a bit of sorrow, as if lamenting the limitations and challenges that stood in the way of both their pursuits.

Without warning, the man’s demeanor changed. His eyes shot out two rays of light, and his internal organs began to resonate with a thunderous sound. A faint aura appeared around him as if he was enveloped in a halo. In an instant, he disappeared from where he was standing, lunging at Wang Xuan with incredible speed.

Wang Xuan had not let his guard down. He knew that while the man in black had a genuine obsession with the Old Arts, it did not make him inherently good or trustworthy. His own dark beast had been severely wounded and was close to dying, and yet the man had shown no emotion. This was a sign that the man was not a compassionate one.

With a loud crash, Wang Xuan quickly dodged, elevating his Golden Body Technique to its full capacity. He was ready to fight the man in black. Where he had stood just a moment before, the man in black reappeared, his feet creating a large pit in the ground as they landed. The force was terrifying, even more so than before.

The man in black was breathing heavily; his internal organs continued to make a thunderous sound. His blood seemed to emit a faint light, which made him look as if he were surrounded by a weak halo. This extraordinary phenomenon appeared to have boosted his strength significantly.

Wang Xuan was deeply shocked. He suspected that the power the man in black was demonstrating likely came from the first page of the very book the man had so desperately sought.

Thump, thump, thump!

Wang Xuan dodged the man's powerful strikes, aiming his counterattacks at the man's arms and torso. Despite this, he still felt the astonishing might behind his opponent's moves. For a moment, the man in black seemed almost invincible. Even a brief contact with him had resulted in Wang Xuan's fingernails being torn off.

Blood spilled from his wounds. His arms felt like they were about to break, and the pain in his finger bones was unbearable. Even his Golden Body Technique could not withstand the man’s attacks. The situation was becoming increasingly dire.

Wang Xuan had been flung through the air multiple times, each impact causing him to cough up more blood. He was on the verge of being severely wounded. Seeing the state the man in black was in, Wang Xuan instantly thought of a particular physical technique he had once practiced—the Five Golden Pages left by Zhang Daoling. He had practiced the first diagram in the Inner Courtyard but had never thought it could be so powerful.

Now, as he watched the man’s formidable abilities, Wang Xuan suddenly felt that he had tapped into a similar force, one that also relied on stimulating the vitality of one's internal organs.

Boom!

Wang Xuan was fighting for his life. Summoning every last bit of his willpower, he gritted his teeth as blood flowed from his mouth. He fully activated the bodily technique described in the diagram, causing a violent resonance within his internal organs. At this critical moment between life and death, he sensed something extraordinary: as his body reached its limits and his internal organs vibrated as if about to rupture, a novel force surged within him, rapidly spreading through his flesh and blood.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

His heartbeat felt incredibly strong, and his blood flowed like a long river, emitting a faint golden glow. He successfully blocked the black-clothed man's ferocious attacks. His arms and finger bones were miraculously intact; they hadn't shattered.

In the end, the man in black could no longer hold on. After the resonance of his internal organs, he coughed up a mouthful of blood. With a loud thump, Wang Xuan sent him flying over ten meters away. The man's chest collapsed inward, and a horrifying hole appeared, through which even light could be seen from his back.

Moreover, the secret energy he had produced through the resonance of his internal organs was too potent. It was now threatening to collapse his internal structure. Fracture lines appeared in his organs; he was completely incapacitated, and it seemed like his time was running out.

"Heh, it seems that you've also practiced similar techniques," the man in black wheezed as blood spilled from his nose and mouth. "You're so young; perhaps there's a sliver of hope that you might pave a new path for the Old Arts..." Such were the man’s last words for Wang Xuan. His mouth was filled with bloody foam and his breathing became labored, and his strength rapidly waning.

Wang Xuan did not fare much better. Even after he quickly deactivated the bodily technique described in the golden book, he still felt severe pain in his internal organs. He was utterly drained and did not even have the energy to move.

However, the imminent danger from nearby snipers remained.

Just as he thought, in an instant, he felt as if he had entered a life-or-death situation. A sharp pain radiated at the center of his forehead, as if an acute weapon was pointed right at him, about to pierce through.

Am I being targeted? Am I about to be shot?

Wang Xuan had a feeling that he had never been so close with the touch of death before. Ignoring the pain, he turned his body around with what remaining strength he had. A bullet landed where his head was a mere fraction of a second after.

At that moment, pain spiked on multiple parts of his body. It felt as if someone had locked on to him. But in his extremely disadvantageous state, Wang Xuan knew that he would never be able to react in time.

Is this it? Is this how I’m going to die? He lamented. This did not mean that he had resigned himself to such a fate. Activating his core technique, Wang Xuan attempted to force his body to turn again.

Boom!

This time, it felt as if time itself had slowed down. His body was shrouded by the shadow cast upon him by death itself. He could barely breathe. And in this condition, he entered a state of hyper perception.

But is this enough? Can I survive this?

His chances of walking out of this alive were extremely slim.

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