The Stars Beyond

Chapter 24: The Correct Way To Interpret Early Qin Slips

Wu Yin had a strikingly lovely face. Her casual sweater, though slightly loose, could not hide her alluring curves. She was not wearing clothes that were hugging her form tightly like the last time they met. Without uttering a word, she cast a cool glance at Wang Xuan, then turned her attention to the bustling crowd on the bar street. She was able to remain composed this time.

The two women beside her were studying Wang Xuan. At this age, youth was their greatest asset. Both had fair skin and shapely figures, radiating vibrant energy. Their surprise was evident. Is he not afraid of being beaten up by Zhou Yun? They thought.

One of them sported short hair. Unbothered by the autumn chill, she wore a skirt that showcased her snow-white legs. The other woman had slightly wavy long hair and sensual crimson lips. Under the streetlights' glow, she gave off a captivating allure that caught the attention of passersby.

"Wang Xuan, did you have gunpowder for breakfast today?" Zhou Ting stepped in to defend her brother. She was cautious. Her gaze was fixed on Wang Xuan and her brother. She was afraid that her brother might be provoked. He might have ended up being beaten up by Wang Xuan again.

"Well, well, aren't you Wang Xuan?" The woman with slightly wavy long hair, her figure graceful, took a step forward. Curiously arching one of her eyebrows, she approached with a smile. As she drew closer, her red lips grew even more appealing. She introduced herself, "Let's get acquainted. I'm Li Qingxuan."

"Qingxuan, don't go too far!" Wu Yin interjected. She knew that Li Qingxuan had a longstanding feud with Ling Wei. This was clearly an attempt to stir up trouble.

Wang Xuan nodded at Li Qingxuan, effectively excluding her along with Zhou Ting and Zhou Yun as the individuals responsible for his attempted assassination. Two other young men were standing nearby, both composed. Unlike Zhou Yun, they were composed. They stood calmly, watching the scene unfold.

"Wang Xuan, am I getting on your nerves today?" Zhou Yun had to exercise great restraint. Although what Wang Xuan said was true – he had been getting into fights quite frequently lately. Can’t he be a bit more subtle about it in front of others? His heart ached from the provocation.

Wang Xuan said sincerely, "I'm sorry, it's mainly because I ran into someone tonight who was radiating a faint reddish glow all over, he’s quite arrogant... Never mind, I won't say more. I'm not in the best mood tonight. Goodbye."

With that, he turned and walked away. Except for Zhou Yun, the others remained calm and composed, their emotions difficult to tell.

"Heh, you ran into someone with a red glow around them? That's really unlucky." Zhou Yun finally laughed, as if he understood what Wang Xuan had gone through. He was certain that Wang Xuan must have met a formidable practitioner tonight and suffered a defeat. That would explain his irritable mood.

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He chuckled lightly and began to indulge in various imaginative scenarios. His spirits were immediately lifted. In this situation, he displayed a certain magnanimity. He chose not to dwell on Wang Xuan's earlier probing and even offered a bit of advice in good faith.

"Xiao Wang, let me give you some advice – don't cling to old techniques stubbornly. The New Arts is way more advanced than the Old Arts could ever be. Soon, there will be someone who goes beyond the Grandmaster level. It’s a pity you’re stuck in the Old World."

Zhou Yun had a white bandage wrapped around his head, a broken arm encased in a brace and suspended by a sling. Despite this, he exuded an air of unwavering confidence, even using a term of endearment like "Xiao Wang." Wang Xuan complied as best he could, letting out a sigh to cater to his ego, then turned to leave, no longer willing to tolerate his boastful words.

"Brother, you should be more humble!" Zhou Ting scolded him with a glare. It had only been a few days, yet he had already been in two fights. He seemed to have a knack for stirring up trouble, causing unnecessary worry.

Watching Wang Xuan's departing figure, Wu Yin remarked, "This person needs to be careful. Keep an eye on him."

Hearing this, Zhou Yun responded, "Wu Yin, not to criticize, but one should be magnanimous. Didn't he offer you a thorough medical analysis last time? It wasn't intentional."

Wu Yin felt the urge to rush over and snap his broken arm that was wrapped in a bandage with her high heels. She had kindly given him a warning, only to be criticized for not being magnanimous enough. From her perspective, Wang Xuan had deliberately provoked Zhou Yun earlier, stirring his emotions with his words and then bolstering his superiority complex. It was hard to deny that there might have been a purpose behind his actions, as if he was observing and probing something, but the attempt was subtle enough.

Wu Yin was infuriated and thought to herself. What's it to me? Why should I care? I won't remind him again. She was so angry that she ignored Zhou Yun.

"Zhou Yun, what's the deal with Wang Xuan?" Li Qingxuan sweetly smiled, gathering her wavy hair with her delicate fingers. Her mesmerizing eyes slanted charmingly, luring him into conversation.

"You mean Little Wang..." While Zhou Yun might be unruly and prone to stirring up trouble, he was not lacking in wits. He had intentionally provoked Wu Yin to rile her up. He harbored great dissatisfaction with the Wu family's forceful involvement in the Qingcheng Mountain affair. It was precisely because they waited for the Wu family to divide the spoils that the Zhou and Ling families had held back from taking action, leading to the eventual disaster.

Li Qingxuan's smile was radiant. "Well then, why don't you tell me more? My family is planning to form an exploration team for that place, and we're looking for some capable individuals."

......

Wu Yin sighed internally. She had initially wanted to remind Zhou Yun that Li Qingxuan was up to no good, but she quickly decided to stay quiet. Out of sight, out of mind. Let them deal with their own mess. It was none of her concern.

...

As soon as Wang Xuan turned and left, his expression immediately shifted. He began scanning the bar street, observing every passerby. Many people felt a shiver down their spines after being subjected to his gaze. It was as if they had been momentarily locked onto by a fierce tiger. This left many of them startled and in fear. Throughout the night, Wang Xuan and Qingmu visited various bars, but they were not able to find the individuals they sought. Clearly, those people had successfully evaded them.

"Don't worry, this matter isn't over. Regardless of who's behind it, we need to escalate it. They’ve crossed a line. We'll report it to the relevant authorities in the Old World," Qingmu spoke up. He informed Wang Xuan to rest early and assured him that he would deliver his gun license tomorrow.

"Worry not, though. They won’t be showing up again so soon. I'll have someone keep an eye out!" Qing Mu patted his shoulder and took his leave.

Although it was getting late, Wang Xuan still made a call to his parents. He felt relief once he confirmed that everything was fine on their end. He knew these individuals were primarily targeting him. They were aiming to erase his existence.

After returning to his residence, Wang Xuan retrieved the "Golden Body Technique." Tonight, his state of mind was quite unique. This enhanced the study of his bodily technique, leading him to grasp more insights. Within his room, he continuously stretched his body and followed the instructions from the secret manual to begin practicing the "Golden Body Technique."

The night’s incident had left a significant impact on Wang Xuan. In the face of modern weaponry, even seasoned practitioners of the Old Arts were vulnerable. If his reactions had been slightly slower, he could have been shot in the head. Even now, he could feel the cold sensation on his back. A strand of hair was clearly missing from his ear where the bullet had grazed him. The experience had been incredibly livid. He had gained a profound realization that demise could happen in an instant. He was unable to adequately defend himself, and would have been in deep trouble without Qing Mu's intervention.

He needed to become stronger. His desire to master the "Golden Body Technique" increased as well. He hoped to cultivate a powerful physical body that could withstand bullets. If he had even a modest level of proficiency in the "Golden Body Technique", his attackers would not have escaped tonight. As long as he could partially fend off bullets, making them less fatal, he would have the confidence to pursue and eliminate them.

The first layer of the "Golden Body Technique" was not unfamiliar to Wang Xuan. It was similar to the "Golden Armor Technique," making it easy for him to transition. Soon, he began practicing the second layer of the "Golden Body Technique" that theoretically required two years to master.

However, Professor Lin had once mentioned that one shouldn't be overly concerned about the time factor, as the scriptures exaggerated the difficulty.

"Bodily techniques primarily involve training the body according to specific frequencies, such as resonating the five internal organs, accelerating metabolism, and altering one's constitution. This process might even stimulate the adrenal glands, pineal gland, and so on."

In essence, the "Golden Body Technique" aimed to transform the body, leading to a qualitative change in the mind, ultimately allowing one to withstand bullets.

"Core techniques are actually a comprehensive self-improvement. Professor Lin repeatedly reminded me that the roots of various bodily techniques should be anchored in the core techniques."

After practicing for a while, Wang Xuan stopped. He took out the translated texts of ancient bamboo slips from the Early Qin era and carefully studied them. Because he had spent a long time tonight in a heightened state of super-sensitivity without exiting it, he felt exceptionally keen. He had an underlying sense that something might happen.

This heightened sensitivity provided him with a strong intuition. After completing his practice of the "Golden Body Technique," he began studying the Early Qin Taoist heritage that Professor Lin had given him.

Tonight, his state of mind was indeed extraordinary, leading him to perceive things differently. As he contemplated and cultivated his inner self, he found that everything had changed. It was as if he had been pulled into a unique space of profound silence.

All of this was so abrupt. Wang Xuan felt no fear and no panic. Instead, he remained calm to a degree that surprised even himself. He seemed detached from the world, observing everything with an air of detachment.

A significant amount of time passed, yet there was only absolute silence while his thoughts were unusually active and acute, and his memory was astonishing. In an instant, the entire "Golden Body Technique" was etched into his mind. He could even recite it in reverse, as if he could flip through the secret manual from back to front.

Then he tried the same with the translated texts of ancient bamboo slips from the Early Qin era. He could recite them in reverse with ease. He could even think of a particular passage and recite it forward and backward. What he was experiencing was not merely super-sensitivity. To him, it felt like a state that transcended even that—a state close to omniscience.

What is this? What am I experiencing?

Most crucially, it felt like a secluded space devoid of any sound. It was a desolate universe stripped of stars. The space was icy and devoid of warmth.

Not knowing the situation, he searched through the scriptures, and he could recite passages in reverse. He was able to study it with great detail.

It did not take him long to find a passage within the inheritance of the Early Qin Taoists. The intuition from his omniscient state told him that the answer lay in this segment. This passage was located towards the later part of the translated texts of ancient bamboo slips, and originally, it wasn't something Wang Xuan would be able to comprehend. It required him to attain an even higher state to understand it.

However, his current state seemed to align with this passage.

In this section of the scripture, it mentioned "emptiness” and "stillness" and referred to "vivid moments of emptiness and clarity," all written in a quite intricate manner, with intermittent phrasing that made it difficult to comprehend.

Professor Lin also couldn't fully grasp the meaning of this passage and had attached the ancient original text from the Early Qin era. Under ordinary circumstances, Wang Xuan would have found it challenging to fathom its true meaning. Yet, in his current state, his mind was extraordinarily clear. This allowed him to gradually understand certain aspects of it.

Soon, some techniques from later generations, along with explanations of cultivation, emerged in his mind. Meditation, Scriptures of the Yellow Court, Inner Emptiness and Inner Peace. Various terms and techniques from later times surfaced, helping him gradually unravel the true meaning of this Early Qin scripture.

In the realm of meditation, there was an achievement that could be called the pinnacle, something even so-called masters found elusive and spent their lifetimes pursuing. Ultimate meditation, sometimes referred to as supreme meditation, meant that when someone entered this state, they could spend several years or even decades within their own realm of tranquility, while only a few minutes might pass in the outside world.

At this moment, if one were to describe it through the lens of meditation, Wang Xuan was in a state of ultimate meditation.

Yet, if interpreted through the Scriptures of the Yellow Court, he had entered a special realm of the inner courtyard. The "Tao Te Ching" also mentioned: "Attain utmost emptiness, guard profound stillness."

Clearly, this was veiled language describing a unique state on the path of ancient techniques—a state of emptiness and stillness, disclosing the conditions of the inner courtyard. Whether understood through the lens of meditation or the Huangting Daoist tradition, both perspectives highlighted the mysterious nature of this state, something that outsiders found hard to comprehend.

As Wang Xuan looked back, he realized that the descriptions of the highest level of meditation and the inner courtyard, even with their respective nuances, were both nothing but... specific states of the Early Qin Daoist core techniques. Even in his state of super perception, Wang Xuan was quite astonished. The highest meditation and the inner courtyard were just the correct execution methods of the Early Qin bamboo scrolls.

He was deeply moved. If he understood this correctly, time was not an issue anymore. Through the lens of meditation, he could spend several years in this peculiar realm of tranquility. And according to Daoist theory, by entering the inner courtyard, he was currently in the realm of bright emptiness, capable of staying for an extended duration.

Wang Xuan didn't feel overly excited or frenzied. Instead, he maintained a detached state of calm. He decided to give it a try. And so, he began to practice the Golden Body Technique in this place.