In late autumn, torrential rain battered the yellow leaves in the mountains, causing them to fall in large quantities, revealing the dark body of Great Black Mountain, shrouded in mist and rain, growing increasingly dim and eerie. Wang Xuan did not look back as he dashed into the rain.
The six snipers, seasoned and ruthless, were afraid Wang Xuan would deal with the man in black after finishing them off, so they directly used energy cannons without caring for the man's life or death. These were professional killers, hands stained with blood for money, willing to discard or kill their employer to ensure their own survival.
After Wang Xuan took care of them, he felt no regret; however, it was his first kill, and he felt a strong discomfort. He ran through the rain, splashing through muddy water to relieve the unspeakable emotions inside him. He pushed himself to run at full speed through the rain for dozens of miles without stopping, sweat mixing with rainwater by the time he reached the small town.
Slowing down, he caught his breath and bought new clothes to replace his torn jacket. Then, with an umbrella, he strolled by the small lake in the town. He contemplated his future; ever since practicing the old arts, his peaceful life was gone forever. Watching the misty lake, he thought of various possibilities. Since he couldn't choose again, if he wanted to preserve a calm and peaceful life, he had to become stronger, walking the path of the old arts to legendary heights!
"Qingmu, Old Qing, you... actually blocked me?!" Wang Xuan tried to contact Qingmu, but couldn't get through and realized he might have been blocked for days. He was speechless and then uttered a deep curse: "Qingmu, you're next; you can't escape!"
At a manor in New Star, Old Chen wore a bagua robe and a purple gold kasaya, holding a bowl in one hand and a feather duster in the other, his face adorned with red vermilion marks. He looked listless, with dark circles under his eyes; he couldn't take it any longer and thought about returning to Old Earth if he didn't meet that esteemed person soon.
When Black Tiger contacted Qingmu to tell him Wang Xuan was looking for him, Qingmu's fingers trembled around his cigarette, not wanting to respond. But soon after, Feng Zheng and Old Mu also contacted him, informing him that Wang Xuan had a life-and-death matter for him.
With a sigh, Qingmu had no choice but to reach out to Wang Xuan, feeling a bad premonition that he couldn't escape a few days of peace. Sure enough, as soon as he got in touch, he heard Wang Xuan's resentful voice on the line: "Old Qing, you're done for; I have a feeling it's your turn soon!"
Qingmu couldn't stand it anymore. "Shut up! Are you just going to keep whining to me?"
"No, don't overthink it. Something happened on my end!" Wang Xuan quickly explained the brutal ambush at Great Black Mountain. "Old Qing, isn't our exploration organization semi-official, working with the state? Yet, in just half a month, I've faced three assassination attempts! This organization is losing its reputation. How can these people treat Old Earth like their backyard? Shouldn't such forces, whether wealthy or otherwise, be uprooted instead of left for the holidays?!"
Even over the phone, Qingmu could sense Wang Xuan's anger. "Alright, stop talking. I'll send someone to handle this immediately. For now, act like nothing happened and don't let it disturb your family and friends."
This was what Wang Xuan wanted, as the seven bodies left in Great Black Mountain would inevitably cause a stir in the small town if discovered or if he reported it. The exploration organization, being semi-official, was best suited to handle it through Qingmu's connections.
After hanging up, Wang Xuan went home, cleaned himself, and buried himself in sleep. He still felt uneasy and engaged in visualization before falling asleep, organizing his emotions and calming his mind back to a peaceful state.
His psychological endurance was strong; he could envision the female cultivator, her face streaked with blood, as a celestial maiden in his dreams, allowing him to quickly resolve the current issues.
By evening, Wang Xuan awoke, filled with energy and spirit, shaking off the previous gloom. From that day on, he would face the future with a completely different mindset. Outside, the sky was ablaze with red clouds, signaling good weather for the next day. His mood improved as he had dinner with his parents, eating heartily.
Later, he watched TV and chatted with his parents until after nine before returning to his room. He lightly tapped his fingers on the desk, reflecting on the day's dangerous experiences. The man in black had been extraordinarily strong, achieving remarkable feats in the old arts, leaving Wang Xuan exhausted and nearly shot while lying helpless on the ground.
"Inner scenery... comes suddenly and goes just as fast; it cannot be controlled." He sighed, recalling how he had triggered a heightened sense in that life-or-death moment, a lucky chance that allowed him to escape.
However, he couldn't rely on such special states; who could guarantee he'd have the same luck next time? He reasoned that if he developed a psychological dependency on triggering this heightened sense, it would surely lead to his demise. If he believed he could trigger it in critical moments, could it still be considered a life-and-death crisis? His subconscious would surely think otherwise!
If that were the case, it would be a dead end; even if he had nine lives, it wouldn't be enough! Thus, he sighed, acknowledging that after such an experience, triggering that heightened sense would become increasingly difficult. The pre-Qin practitioners must have had some regular methods.
Unfortunately, all the bamboo slips and ancient sect scriptures were now in New Star, leaving him without any resources to consult. "Should I start with meditation? Theoretically, reaching the highest meditative state, known as the Bodhisattva realm, could ground me in clarity and tranquility." Wang Xuan pondered.
His current approach, the so-called heightened sense, belonged to the Daoist concept of harmony between man and nature, and Buddhism had similar paths. "Achieving that highest meditative state is quite difficult," he frowned, recognizing that even holy monks struggled for a lifetime to reach it, and those who had experienced it had already vanished in ancient times.
On Sunday morning, the sky was indeed clear, with dawn's glow illuminating the small town. Wang Xuan brought gifts to visit two childhood friends—one who loved various models of new warships and the other who liked different kinds of beautiful figurines.
He knew he absolutely couldn't go to Great Black Mountain and warned his friends about the bear situation there for safety's sake. "I really like this deep-space warship model! I had someone help me buy it a few times, but there was no stock. Today, I finally got my wish!" Zhao Mo exclaimed happily, then began to ridicule Lin Xuan beside him: "You're just a big kid!"
Lin Xuan fiddled with his figurine and retorted, "Men are boys until death; we always have a young heart that appreciates beautiful things. If you, at just twenty, no longer like beautiful women, it means your mindset is aging. Look at Wang Xuan and me; we're forever youthful, knowing how to appreciate beauty and always have an eye for lovely scenery."
Zhao Mo said, "I'll be getting married in a year and a half, so you can keep playing with your figurines. As for Wang Xuan, heh, his tastes have long transcended figurines; he prefers real people!"
They brought a box containing a sturdy little yellow dog, said to be the most authentic mountain guard puppy, suggesting Wang Xuan take it back to the city to raise.
Wang Xuan shook his head, "Forget it, I don't have time to take care of it right now." When he was about eleven or twelve, he had raised a little dog, but it died in less than half a year, leaving him unable to eat for two days out of sadness. Since then, he never dared to raise another.
Yun City wasn't large; after lunch, the three strolled around, chatting for a long time. Wang Xuan knew this peaceful life was soon to end, so he cherished every moment. He felt that his time to go to New Star wouldn't be far off.
In the afternoon, Wang Xuan bid farewell to his parents and set off back to his workplace in Ancheng. The following days were very peaceful; during the day, he studied the Dao scriptures, and at night, he practiced root techniques and body skills, feeling incredibly fulfilled.
Out of concern for his old colleagues, he called Qingmu to send his regards to Old Chen and to ask when Old Chen would be back. Qingmu almost threw the phone away, as someone he knew had just returned from New Star and brought news that Old Chen had asked him to make arrangements at a thousand-year-old temple outside the city, as Old Chen intended to stay there for a while. This meant... Old Chen was about to return!
Qingmu felt a bit panicked, realizing that Old Chen hadn't been able to avoid trouble in New Star and had been through a lot, just as Wang Xuan had said—ultimately, he had to "return to his roots." He recalled Wang Xuan's words, that he would be next, and he felt uncertain, hoping he wouldn't fall victim to Wang Xuan's seemingly cursed predictions.
Feigning calmness, he shared some news with Wang Xuan: "The man in black isn't simple; he was once a guest of some wealthy old men. His name is Sun Chengkun—a scholar and professor who was once extremely powerful, but suffered a severe injury at forty, causing significant decline in his strength. Otherwise, he'd be much stronger now."
Wang Xuan was taken aback, realizing the man in black was even stronger than he had imagined. He was indeed someone who had ventured far along the path of the old arts and achieved extraordinary accomplishments. "Now that we know his identity, let's continue the investigation. Their three attacks were not only aimed at me but were also a serious provocation to the exploration organization." Wang Xuan urged; this matter couldn't end without a resolution.
Given the man in black's pessimistic hints, it seemed some people and forces were far beyond what he could confront, and enduring it might have been the best course. But being assassinated repeatedly and pretending nothing had happened was not Wang Xuan's style; he needed to investigate further in secret.
The next day, Old Chen returned and settled in the thousand-year-old temple outside the city. Qingmu felt anxious, conveniently being out of Ancheng, so he sent Black Tiger to take care of arranging things for Old Chen.
That day, Old Chen spoke with Qingmu, telling him not to leak the news and absolutely not to inform Wang Xuan of his return, as he didn't want to see that young man at the moment. In fact, Wang Xuan also didn't want to see him; who would voluntarily jump into the pit a second time to meet an "unlucky old man"?
Wang Xuan was focused on improving his strength, so he woke up early that weekend and headed to the thousand-year-old temple outside the city. He wanted to see if there were any rare treasures—specifically, a transformation stone.