The Stars Beyond

Chapter 280: An Advancement In Cultivation

Engulfed by the mysterious factors, Wang Xuan experienced a long-lost sensation of spiritual baptism. The rich, active substances were simultaneously transmitted to his physical body, enveloping it in a transformative embrace.

This place was akin to a sacred ground for cultivation, where thoughts and spiritual senses were accelerated to an unbelievable degree, significantly enhancing the metabolic processes of his flesh. Under normal circumstances, the evolution of a species, a leap in the hierarchy of life, would require generations of accumulation, a process immeasurable in time. Yet, in this inner landscape, such a process could be dramatically shortened.

Seated in meditation, Wang Xuan was immersed in the deepest state of contemplation. Both his spirit and flesh underwent a metamorphosis, elevating in unison. In this state of Buddhahood, of unity between heaven and man, his mind was void and clear, his senses heightened manifold.

He delved into the stone tablet scriptures, recited the Sutra of Shakya, and studied the pre-Qin golden bamboo slips. In this heightened state, his efficiency was terrifyingly high, almost scandalous.

Previously incomprehensible teachings now became crystal clear, unraveling their profound truths and bringing immense enlightenment. He attempted to decipher the third true form diagram of the stone tablet scriptures. With nine such diagrams in total, he had already mastered two and was now venturing into the subsequent teachings.

Resonating in body and spirit, Wang Xuan's consciousness climbed as he perceived layers upon layers of vague spiritual worlds within the inner landscape, tantalizingly close. He reached out, and successfully entered one of these spiritual realms, grasping a handful of soil that felt astonishingly real. The third true form diagram of the stone tablet scriptures, focused on the spiritual realm, contained unfathomable power, far beyond ordinary comprehension. This scripture demanded practice from the mortal phase, an endeavor almost insurmountably challenging for an average person.

Regrettably, upon withdrawing his hand from the spiritual world, he couldn't bring back the soil. His realm was still too low; the soil slipped through his fingers like sand, dissolving into light and disappearing. The materials of the spiritual world, every blade of grass, majestic mountains, and rivers, would benefit his real-world self if brought back.

Wang Xuan continued to experiment, even discovering a medicinal field in the first layer of the spiritual world. Struggling to reach it, he extended his hand towards a medicinal herb, seeking to grasp its essence.

The area appeared neglected, a picture of wild beauty with its vibrant colors amidst overgrown weeds, where many rare medicinal herbs like Zhi Lan and Shen Guo grew.

Alas, this world was beyond his current realm's reach. Only those in the grand state of Xiaoyao could access these spiritual dimensions. Wang Xuan's attempt failed again; his hand brushed past a unique herb, grasping only a common weed.

Resignedly withdrawing, he was surprised to find that he had actually brought it back from the spiritual world!

"This..." Wang Xuan was uncertain whether to feel disappointed or fortunate. He had brought back a half-energetic, half-spiritual weed from the spiritual realm, although it was not one of the great spiritual medicines from the medicinal field.

The weed, partly absorbed by his spiritual body, soon dissipated into ash.

"Huh?!" At that moment, Wang Xuan felt a slight quickening of his spiritual senses, and even his spiritual body seemed to gain energy.

He was momentarily stunned. Was the spiritual world really so wondrous? Even a mere weed had an effect on him. What kind of fortune would real spiritual medicines bring?

In the inner landscape, he couldn't afford to be distracted. As if standing in a void of time and light, his deep meditative state auto-corrected, bringing him back to a state of calm and clarity.

Regrettably, subsequent attempts bore no fruit. The elusive spiritual world remained just out of reach, his realm still insufficient.

If, in the future, the aftereffects of the transcendent faded and the mysterious substances dried up, how would beings reach these spiritual worlds without the level of Xiaoyao?

Then, Wang Xuan delved into the highest mysteries of Buddhism, circulating the Sutra of Shakya. His spirit and body radiated a golden splendor, transforming him into a great Buddha.

Enveloped in the Buddha's light, he seemed to approach divinity. His spiritual eye opened, perceiving not just the present world but seemingly glimpses of the past and future.

Looking back, he saw a great Buddha in meditation, silent and still, shrouded in dust. Observing the present, he saw Buddhas departing, Bodhisattvas beginning their journeys, and Arhats carrying illuminated temples on their backs, all seemingly ready to traverse the veil and enter the real world.

Gazing into the future, Wang Xuan saw a silent world, where immortals, gods, and Buddhas had vanished, leaving humanity to its ordinariness. Was this the aftermath of a collapsed mythology, the end of the transcendent? Everything returned to dust, to earth; all in the universe decayed, nothing eternal.

Even immortals, demons, Buddhas, gods, and spirits were not exempt. The so-called supreme beings, destined to die, could not escape their fate.

"The future, a void of all, where myths are no longer hoped for, immortals return to mundanity, and all that is sacred dissipates. Is this the harsh reality of what's to come? How pitiable," Wang Xuan murmured.

He didn't accept this ending, not wanting such a curtain call. He dreamt of roaming the celestial realms, dwelling in the sacred lands of eternal peace.

As he continued to meditate on the scriptures, the figures of gods and Buddhas, the chants, and the divine all faded, leaving him alone in meditation, radiating intense light.

His spirit seemed to journey through the realms of immortals and Buddhas, his body and hair gleaming with golden light, illuminating the realms of desolation.

Finally, he ceased his contemplation and cultivation of the Sutra of Shakya, examining himself. Both his spirit and physical body had advanced, now carrying a faint golden sheen.

Nodding to himself, he acknowledged that even the formidable teachings of the stone tablets couldn't dispel the wisdom of the Sutra of Shakya, a testament to its supreme power.

Rising, Wang Xuan stretched his limbs and turned to the pre-Qin golden bamboo slips, which focused more on action, driving the spirit with the strength of the body. Perhaps this related to ancient mythical beasts and divine birds, necessitating formidable martial prowess, all originating from the art of combat.

With a thunderous burst, light soared in the inner landscape, like a torrential downpour. Wang Xuan practiced the Ascendent Fist, a powerful physical technique recorded on the golden bamboo slips.

As he progressed, he envisioned the figures of ancient sages battling in wild lands, capturing sacred beasts, vanquishing divine birds, their might astounding.

He mimicked their moves, unraveling the profound essence of this supreme physical art. Despite its celestial-sounding name, the Ascendent Fist was steeped in life-and-death struggle.

In the dimly lit inner landscape, light rained down, scattering like a star-studded night sky. Shadows of mythical beasts and divine birds appeared, as if hibernating or trembling in fear.

Thud!

A punch radiated through the quiet inner landscape, illuminating it like a flash of light in the vast and silent universe, revealing everything in heaven and earth with a momentary brilliance.

Wang Xuan retracted his fist, feeling exhilarated. It had been a long time since he had engaged in physical combat, relying mostly on his extraordinary treasures for battles. He knew, however, that reliance on external objects was fleeting. Eventually, he would have to rely on his own strength.

Gradually, he sensed the mysterious factors within the inner landscape thinning.

Wang Xuan felt uneasy. He had depleted the inner landscape's reserves, and upon attempting to draw in more mystical substances, he found them scarce, despite using the highest scriptures.

"If it were someone else, or even my past self, the yield would have been even less."

"Is the day approaching when even inner landscapes will dry up?" he wondered, gazing up at the dark and silent expanse above, where the falling mysterious factors had indeed become sparse.

"How fares my own special inner landscape?" He didn't know, as access required a life-and-death situation, triggering a heightened spiritual or even divine sense to open that strange realm.

The landscape before him, riddled with cracks, was doomed to perish. Approaching a large fissure, Wang Xuan peered through with his spiritual eye, curious about what lay beyond the crack and where these mysterious factors originated from.

In the depths of the great fissure, he saw only darkness and cold, an eternal void of silence.

Looking outward, his physical body, bathed in the mysterious factors, was vibrant with life. His treasures, whose supermaterial had nearly depleted, were now replenished. He beckoned, and to his surprise, only the God-slaying Banner floated towards him, entering the inner landscape.

Wang Xuan was astounded. This ancient, legendary artifact was indeed unique and mysterious.

Of the worldly objects he had encountered, only the Life-extending Furnace could enter the inner landscape, and it had been trapped inside. Other treasures, including the indestructible short sword and the fishing line hook capable of piercing spiritual worlds and veils, remained outside.

Crucially, Wang Xuan had begun to refine the small flag, ensuring it wouldn't harm him even in his spiritual form. Time seemed to stretch on, feeling like many years had passed. Then, the inner landscape began to shake, heralding its imminent collapse with a tumultuous upheaval akin to mountains crumbling and seas roaring.

With the palm-sized golden flag shielding him, Wang Xuan burst forth from the collapsing inner landscape like a streak of light. Once out, he swiftly turned to observe the disintegration, using his spiritual eye to discern its essence.

As it tore apart, the mysterious factors surged wildly. Then, darkness enveloped everything, obscuring even his spiritual vision.

In a fleeting moment, at the far end of the darkness, there seemed to be vague shapes, but as the inner landscape collapsed completely, submerging everything into silence, it merged into the void, leaving nothing visible.

At the site, a whirlpool faded away with ripples disappearing into oblivion. The inner landscape was gone forever.

Wang Xuan's spirit returned to his body, immediately feeling the immense strength of his unified form and spirit. He had undergone a transformation from his soul to his flesh.

Recently entering the realm of life soil, he now found himself in the mid-stages of this realm, a rapid ascension that would have been alarming even in the mythic era of transcendent light illuminating the stars.

In this era of "disappearance," his progress seemed even more extraordinary.

Yet, Wang Xuan wasn't content; he yearned to cultivate faster, to see how far he could reach before the remnants of transcendence completely faded away.

He wondered if everything he achieved in cultivation would also dissipate in the future.

Having been bombarded by warships and surviving a great battle, not only was he unscathed, but his power had also increased, and his treasures were saturated with supermaterial once again.

"If each battle leads to a breakthrough, I'm willing to engage in combat every day," Wang Xuan pondered. If he could confront all the opposing immortals, opening one immortal bone a day, he might ascend to the heavens before the complete silence of transcendence.