The night sky was cloudless, with a brilliant starry river stretching into the depths of the universe, evoking endless imagination. A UFO streaked across the city like a shooting star, disappearing in an instant, leaving only a faint trace behind due to its incredible speed. Soon after, a warship appeared, its metallic body glowing coldly, racing across the Deep Space at remarkable velocity.
Wang Xuan, munching on food with a meat sandwich in one hand and soy milk in the other, hurriedly returned to his old neighborhood, just in time to witness this scene. He was somewhat surprised—was there some operation underway? The large warship had flown across the city.
As he walked, finishing his dinner, his mind was entirely on the two stones he had brought back. Just then, his phone rang; it was Qingmu calling. What could he want so soon after parting?
Wang Xuan quickly finished his last bites and answered the call, immediately hearing Qingmu's cheerful laughter, clearly in high spirits. "The Gray Blood Organization's strongholds on Old Earth have been eliminated! All their ships and warships couldn't escape. Relevant departments have issued stern warnings to organizations that violate the rules of Old Earth. Starting tomorrow, institutions and organizations from New Stars will be much quieter."
Hearing this news lifted Wang Xuan's mood. He remembered the night he was ambushed in the woods right in front of him; that organization had finally been dismantled.
Back in his room, he placed the stones on his desk, carefully examining them under the light. He was only interested in two of them, setting the third aside. Both were about the size of a fist, slightly charred, as if burned by fire or struck by lightning, with signs of melted crystals on their surfaces.
"Rich in mysterious factors… they actually couldn't sense this!" Wang Xuan murmured, excitement bubbling within him about bringing these stones back. At the time, despite being right there, neither Qingmu, Qian Lei, nor the military experts had sensed anything, nor had the New Stars personnel, who had been there for years.
Wang Xuan believed this was likely linked to his past experience in the Inner Landscape. His first encounter with such mysterious factors had been there. Although the place was desolate and silent, once he operated the ancient methods of the Pre-Qin alchemists, mysterious substances would descend, nurturing both spirit and body.
Today, when he entered the underground cavern of the female alchemist in slumber, he sensed a faint presence of those mysterious factors. At first, he was surprised, thinking he was close to the Inner Landscape. Soon, he discovered that, besides the traces emanating from the golden bamboo boat where the woman lay, part of it came from the rock wall.
He realized that others seemed completely oblivious to these factors, treating the special substance as mere air. Although Qian Lei, Qingmu, and Jin Chuan were all strong, they failed to notice anything; their focus was solely on the golden bamboo and the female alchemist.
Wang Xuan suspected that perhaps only those who had entered the Inner Landscape and absorbed such materials could detect the anomalies. By the end, he was certain that those people in the underground cavern had truly failed to catch any of the mysterious factors, perceiving them as mere background.
Calm on the outside, his heart raced with excitement as he focused on that rock wall, using his heightened perception to pinpoint the core location. Luckily, he hadn't encountered any mishaps and successfully extracted two stones. The entire rock wall emanated wisps of mysterious factors, but these two were particularly unique. He sensed rich, precious substances within, and he vaguely touched the edges of the Inner Landscape, which made his heart race with anticipation.
Moreover, he confirmed that although the New Stars had discovered supernatural materials, they were entirely ignorant of these distinctly different mysterious factors. Even their advanced instruments had failed to detect anything.
"It seems the things from the Inner Landscape are quite extraordinary!" Wang Xuan rubbed the two stones in his hands, rough and scorched, with a comforting substance entering his body.
"Left by the ascension, remnants of immortals—I'll call you Ascension Stones." He felt this name was fitting.
Thinking about those middle-aged men, who not only followed the trend of mining stones but also wanted to take his, he couldn't help but smile. Thankfully, he had prepared for them. He believed they had also benefited; the entire cavern carried wisps of mysterious factors, so their stones must have absorbed some too.
Wang Xuan speculated that the female alchemist's failed ascension triggered the explosion, releasing mysterious substances from the Inner Landscape in a violent outburst, scattering everywhere. The cavern had melted, and large quantities of precious materials had sunk into the rock layers, making the entire cavern a treasure trove.
Unfortunately, the continuous shocks had left it riddled with cracks, causing the mysterious factors to escape through the fissures. Otherwise, the Ascension Stones would undoubtedly be more than just two; there would be many more.
Wang Xuan was convinced that in the eyes of someone knowledgeable, these two Ascension Stones were priceless, irreplaceable by anything else. Holding them, he felt a rush of anticipation.
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Even now, without breaking the stones, wisps of mysterious factors entered his body, nourishing his spirit and cleansing his bones. Most importantly, he vaguely glimpsed the edges of the Inner Landscape!
Taking a deep breath, Wang Xuan steadied himself, preparing to operate the ancient methods of the Pre-Qin alchemists. His heart was filled with expectation and a strong desire to explore.
The sound of leaves falling outside reached his ears, followed by the patter of rain hitting the window as autumn rain began to fall.
Suddenly, Wang Xuan opened his eyes, quickly placing the two Ascension Stones in an inconspicuous corner. He slipped to the balcony, crouching down silently.
He heard unusual sounds; someone was climbing beneath the balcony. Though the noises were faint, imperceptible to ordinary people, the rain masked everything. However, Wang Xuan's hearing was extraordinarily sharp, heightened after his experience in the Inner Landscape.
Who would dare to climb up here on a rainy night?
As he expanded his senses, he heard other faint sounds. Two people were approaching his door, moving quietly, stopping just outside.
If he hadn't improved his skill in the third layer of the Golden Body Technique and his spirit had not grown stronger, he might have missed these details entirely.
But everything was different now. He caught these nearly imperceptible sounds and sensed danger approaching.
Without a sound, a hand appeared on the balcony, climbing up with force, followed by a half-exposed head and a dark gun aimed at the room inside.
Wang Xuan couldn't see the person's face, but crouched on the balcony, he could clearly see the gun barrel pointing inside. If the two outside burst in while the person on the balcony opened fire, it would be disastrous.
He recognized this was a professional hit; someone was here to kill him. They were stronger than the last group of attackers. Was it because the Gray Blood Organization had been uprooted tonight, leaving desperate killers? Or had the employer upped the bounty, sending those who hadn't been eliminated to take him out during the chaos?
Regardless of the reason, Wang Xuan felt a surge of anger. He had always been kind to others and believed he had never wronged anyone, yet here he was, targeted for death again.
The rain fell harder, pattering against the window, while raindrops splashed into the balcony, drenching the would-be assassin.
Finally, this person flipped over, agile as a cat, intending to hide behind the curtain and ambush the occupant inside. However, she had underestimated the situation; before she could fully enter the balcony, Wang Xuan seized her gun arm with one hand, snapping her bone with a sharp crack, rendering her unable to hold the gun.
As she tried to scream for help, Wang Xuan simultaneously delivered a powerful slap to her face, silencing her and causing blood to stream from her nose and mouth, nearly knocking her out.
Wang Xuan was somewhat surprised. Confident in his strength after mastering the third layer of the Golden Body Technique, he expected that one slap would incapacitate an ordinary person completely.
Yet this female assassin didn't fall unconscious entirely. There was a powerful force within her trying to rise; she was a preliminary master of the ancient arts, and if not for his precautions, she could have been troublesome, especially with her gun.
Not fully unconscious? Another slap it is. With his current strength, someone just starting to cultivate their energy was no match for him.
A second slap transformed her already decent face, with hairline fractures appearing on her forehead. Just before she collapsed, a chill ran through her; she felt this person was far stronger than reported. Even a casual strike left her feeling like she was facing a fierce tiger.
Wang Xuan hoisted her up with one hand and swiftly retrieved her gun with the other, nimbly returning to his room.
Almost simultaneously, the door emitted a faint sound and opened silently, two figures darting inside like monkeys, rolling instead of charging straight in.
Wang Xuan's aim was off, missing with the gun, but the force with which he threw the female assassin collided with one of them.
That person was ruthless, kicking the female assassin off with one swift motion, then leaping up with a dagger in hand, aiming for Wang Xuan's face.
In that moment of evasion, another attacker was almost on him, displaying incredible skill, far surpassing the previous female assassin.
These two were clearly masters of the ancient arts, one wielding a dagger, the other attacking barehanded.
Wang Xuan sighed, thinking he really needed to practice his marksmanship; he had fired several shots without hitting anything, his accuracy was quite poor. The main reason was that these two were exceptionally skilled, dodging, rolling, and leaping with remarkable agility, having honed their physical techniques to an advanced level. They had not only already begun to cultivate their qi but had also been internalizing it for many years. A week ago, he would have found it extremely difficult, if not dangerous, to deal with them.
However, after being ambushed and entering the inner realm, everything had changed. He tossed aside his gun and decided to fight them barehanded.
Bang! One of them swung his palm down, but Wang Xuan responded fiercely with his right hand, blocking the attack with a dull thud. The assassin was astonished; no one knew better than him how powerful his strike was—one hit could easily break the bones of someone who had begun to cultivate. Yet here stood this young man unscathed. Wang Xuan noticed that the assassin's palm was unusually thick and broad; he realized this person practiced Iron Sand Palm, with an altered hand structure that made it deadly in combat.
Bang! Suddenly, the assassin slammed down hard, smashing Wang Xuan's desk to pieces. Confident in his Iron Sand Palm, he couldn't understand why it had no effect on Wang Xuan. Wang Xuan's expression darkened; since they came to kill him, they should have just fought him instead of destroying his property—this was too much.
The two assassins were baffled; they hadn't seen any change in Wang Xuan's expression when they tried to kill him, but now he was filled with rage, attacking them relentlessly. What they didn't know was that Wang Xuan had just started his job, and this was his first month's paycheck—he couldn't afford to compensate the landlord for a desk.
They couldn't believe it; this tall young man possessed terrifying strength, hitting them like they were being charged by a rhinoceros, sending them flying with broken bones. Their Iron Sand Palm collided with his hand, yet he felt nothing while their own hands shattered, bleeding profusely.
Bang! Bang! They fell to the ground, unable to move, with fractures in their arms, legs, and ribs. They seriously questioned whether the organization had sent them to die—was this really someone who had just begun to cultivate qi? Was the intelligence department blind?
Wang Xuan spoke up, "You destroyed my desk and delayed my exploration of the path to ascension…" What was this? A broken desk wasn't worth much, and what was this ascension path he mentioned? The two assassins felt a chill and were also somewhat confused.