The Stars Beyond

Chapter 44: A Buddha Seeking Assistance From A Mortal

The evening drums at Pufa Temple had long been sounded, and most of the visitors had left. Outside the temple, the gnarly branches of an ancient pine tree reached towards the sky like a dragon. The moonlight illuminated the ancient temple, creating an atmosphere of tranquility.

The brilliance of the Milky Way and the stars in the deep sky illuminated Wang Xuan’s path back to An City, yet his heart was filled with an unsettling feeling, as if he had unknowingly provoked something beyond his comprehension.

He quietly chastised himself, knowing that inexplicable phenomena that go against scientific comprehension tend to arise in the presence of the mystery factors.

Nervousness gripped him as he pondered what would transpire tonight. He desperately hoped he would not get caught up in yet another trouble. At this point, he realized something profound: there was a delicate equilibrium in everything in this world. In order to gain something, one must relinquish something in return.

He had absorbed the mysterious factors, thinking that by delving into the myths buried by time, he would be able to forge a path forward in Old Arts. However, he now recognized the peril that lay ahead, like a treacherous abyss disguised with an alluring scent, enticing unsuspecting victims. Perhaps this was a trap that the ancients had intentionally laid.

Wang Xuan no longer dared to underestimate the people of ancient times. Those who had a glorious past undoubtedly possessed immense power and terror. He now harbored serious doubts about the truth of immortality.

“I hope I can make it through tonight unscathed!” he muttered to himself. Wang Xuan had set out early in the morning, only to end up returning home under the stars and moonlight. After a simple meal at a street vendor, he finally arrived home around nine.

After freshening up, he visualized a golden sun in its mind, its radiant light and flames soaring, burning away the clouds in the sky. The golden light rained down, creating a sacred and peaceful atmosphere.

“Begone, evil spirits!” he declared, taking a deep breath before lying down on his bed. It did not take long for him to fall into a deep sleep. Never suffering from insomnia was a benefit of practicing the Old Arts.

True to his fears, even though he had activated the core technique before sleeping, visualizing a radiant sun to dispel darkness, something still happened.

Beside him, an old monk sat on the edge of the bed. His body was blackened and seemed to be festering. Crimson blood flowed from his eyes as he stared at Wang Xuan.

Wang Xuan’s hair instantly stood on end. He quickly threw off the blanket, jolting awake and sitting up abruptly. The encounter felt incredibly vivid, and he could almost smell the scent of decay. Did this visitor come with malice?

Wang Xuan turned on the light, drank a glass of water, and silently activated the core technique. He knew the rest of tonight would not be peaceful.

Moreover, he could not shake the feeling that something was off about this old monk. There was no air of kindness or divine aura surrounding him, unlike the female practitioner. Instead, this old monk’s body was blackened and seemed to be rotting. However, they shared one similarity: both bled from their eyes, as if they had experienced a deeply horrifying event and were unable to rest in peace after death.

“What a sick situation. It’s more terrible than I imagined!” Wang Xuan’s heart weighed heavily. He could not shake the growing realization that the truth of immortality might be far more complex than he had initially thought. His first glimpse had already filled him with terror.

Previously, he had been incredibly confident. In this world, he was the only one who could enter the Inner Landscape and navigate the vivid moments of emptiness and clarity without guidance. But now, fear crept in. His extraordinary achievements, while impressive, might not necessarily be a good thing. He seemed to be unintentionally peeling back the layers of heavy and mysterious curtains that time had drawn and in doing so, he might have unknowingly invited danger.

In recent days, he had been contemplating how to find other relics similar to the Ascension Stones, hoping to enhance his own strength. Back then, he had thought that even if he encountered some residual spiritual energy from ancient times or witnessed abnormal phenomena, it would not be a big deal. But now, he felt a sense of alarm. He had been too optimistic.

If he continued triggering mysterious events and attracting such inexplicable beings to his side, it would be far from the harmonious scene he had imagined, where they could all gather around a table, playing mahjong in a cordial atmosphere.

“This time, I have an old monk with bleeding eyes following me around even before I enter the inner landscape. Does this mean that as long as I encounter mysterious factors in the present world and absorb them, something unpredictable will happen?”

Wang Xuan felt that he was at a loss this time. At the very least, he was able to enter the Inner Landscape with the help of the female practitioner’s residual spiritual energy last time, allowing him to significantly increase his strength. This time, the old monk gave him nothing and simply followed him home, emitting the stench of decay and sitting at the end of his bed, watching him.

After some visualization, Wang Xuan fell asleep once again. As expected, the old monk with blackened skin and bleeding eyes returned. He sat at the foot of the bed motionlessly, observing Wang Xuan silently. The sight was enough to send shivers down anyone’s spine.

Wang Xuan did not panic upon waking up. He visualized himself holding a crowbar and striking the old monk’s head without hesitation. He had decided that there was no need to show any mercy to this residual spiritual energy that could not intervene in the present world or harm him. Otherwise, he would exhaust himself if he had to handle every inexplicable being he might encounter in the future as if they were his masters. As the old monk disintegrated, a deep surprise was reflected in his lifeless, gray eyes.

“If you have a request, speak properly and drop this menacing facade!” Wang Xuan, wielding the crowbar, scolded. Meanwhile, his physical body remained dormant, in a state of sleep."

Moments later, the old monk reappeared. This time, he no longer sat on the edge of the bed. Although his eyes still bled and his body remained black and rotting, he seemed more self-aware. He stood farther away, his back straightened, and put the palms of his hands together.

In an instant, a hazy Buddha light enveloped the room, casting an indistinct scene. An Arhat sat peacefully, and a Bodhi tree swayed, emanating Zen chants.

While Wang Xuan slept, his subconscious mind was incredibly active, filled with blurry scenes that seemed on the verge of disintegrating. Rather than being jolted awake, he found himself strangely drawn to these images. Was it possible that a Bodhisattva had truly existed in the past?

In these sights, stone pagodas crumbled, ancient temples were destroyed, the Bodhisattvas soared into the air, the golden-bodied Arhats rose, and the Bodhi trees were uprooted. As the rain of light showered upon them, these sacred sights gradually vanished into the depths of space.

Wang Xuan found himself perplexed by the significance of these sights. He wondered if the old monk was showing him the hints for his request. Before long, the old monk appeared to lose his strength. The hazy scenes shattered and vanished completely. The old monk’s figure also faltered, his decaying body also began to fade away.

At that moment, Wang Xuan noticed something surprising. In the old monk’s unstable state, he had overlooked a detail. When the old monk faded away and was about to completely disappear, it was as if there was a heavy curtain covering his decaying body.

With this revelation, Wang Xuan woke up abruptly from his sleep, his subconscious mind still in a state of violent activity.

“Something’s odd here,” he muttered to himself. “The old monk seemed to have come from a distant realm, exerting all his strength to manifest himself here. On the other hand, the female practitioner has always been close to me, so I didn’t notice the finer details that were supposed to be there. Perhaps they were both in fact in some very distant realm. It seems that the female practitioner is extremely powerful, far surpassing the old monk.”

After some visualization, Wang Xuan made up his mind to “have a good chat” with the old monk. At time like this, it was important to remain calm and communicate effectively. The old monk reappeared, emerging from the darkness as usual. His figure was blurry, but he seemed to have stepped out from a stone wall, breaking free from the chains that bound him.

Although Wang Xuan’s subconscious mind did not awaken, it shook violently once again. He started to speculate if the old monk had been trapped in the stone wall and was released by him through absorbing the mysterious factors that evening.

Another Wang Xuan appeared, still holding a crowbar like he had visualized earlier. “If you have a request to make, why not show sincerity? Mortals seek Buddha’s assistance by offering incense, shouldn’t a Buddha do the same too? A female practitioner once entered my dream and passed on to me a technique in return.”

While Wang Xuan did not share any more details, the purpose of him mentioning this was to request for benefits from the old monk. At this moment, the Wang Xuan felt truly fearless and was ready to extort a Buddha.

The old monk was dumbfounded and then silently demonstrated a fist technique. Wang Xuan wondered if this was the benefit bestowed upon him. Wang Xuan’s subconscious mind could naturally see and quickly memorized the technique. It seemed to resemble the Great Vajra Fist, but with a few distinct variations. The old monk demonstrated every move clearly, showing Wang Xuan how to apply force and vibrate all parts of his body.

The Great Vajra Fist technique was definitely a secret masterpiece. Sun Chengkun, the man in black, ever performed it on the Great Black Mountain. Even Wang Xuan, who practiced the Golden Body Technique, could barely withstand its power. It nearly broke his fingers and his nails were ripped by an incredible force.

The old monk’s performance was incomplete. He was trying to stretch his body, but his strength was running out. He could only demonstrate up to a certain point before he started to fade away.

Once again, Wang Xuan woke up and sat on the bed. “If you can continue to demonstrate that fist technique for me, appear in my dreams. If you can’t, then don’t disturb my sleep. I’ll think carefully about your question when I wake up tomorrow,” he spoke to the air.

He recalled the fist technique, realizing that it was somewhat different from the Great Vajra Fist that the man in black had performed back then. After pondering for a while, he was deeply impressed by its complexity and transcendence. Eventually, Wang Xuan fell back asleep, and the old monk did not reappear.

Wang Xuan woke up early in the morning and tried to recall his dream experience. He began to slowly perform the fist technique, realizing that while the external posture was easy to emulate, vibrating various parts of the body and generating power was quite challenging.

“I shouldn’t rush in this. I still need to visit Pufa Temple today to solve the mystery of the old monk.” Wang Xuan believed that the scenes in his dream could be related to some historical events in reality. If he understood the inside story, he could solve the enigma surrounding the old monk and put an end to this mysterious event once and for all.

Wang Xuan arrived at Pufa Temple again while it was still early in the morning. Suddenly, he heard a familiar voice. He was not sure if his ears were playing tricks on him or if the voice really belonged to Old Chen. After all, that old colleague of his had fled to Terra Nova out of fear.

The last time Wang Xuan had spoken to Qing Mu on the phone two days ago, he had not heard anything about Old Chen’s return. In fact, Qing Mu had mentioned that Old Chen would be staying there for a while.

“No, it’s definitely Old Chen!” Wang Xuan was certain he had not mistaken the voice, given his incredibly sharp perception now. To confirm, he quickly rushed towards a compound and indeed found Old Chen.

Wang Xuan could detect an ominous aura coming from Old Chen, due to the female practitioner who was following him around. Wang Xuan turned around and left, not wanting to have anything to do with Old Chen again.

However, as he turned around, Old Chen noticed him and surprisingly... ran faster than him!

Wang Xuan was astonished and deeply surprised. He could not understand why Old Chen ran away when he saw Wang Xuan? He thought Old Chen would come over and beg him to send the “celestial beauty” away.

Wang Xuan quickly realized that Old Chen was hiding something. Fortunately, he reacted swiftly and chased after Old Chen. “Old Chen, I see you! Stop right there!”

There were many visitors offering incense at the temple this morning. Not wanting to draw attention to himself, Old Chen abruptly stopped and calmly walked back.

“Our paths cross once again,” Wang Xuan greeted.

“Indeed, fate brings us together,” Old Chen replied, despite the heavy dark circles under his eyes.

“Karma works in mysterious ways,” a passing old monk interjected, glancing at the two of them in amazement before continuing on his way.

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