Chapter 154 Changes in the Outskirts

Wang Xuan quietly experienced the significant enhancement in his physique. With a light leap, he suddenly disappeared from his original spot, moving much faster than before. 

Each time he accelerated, the air around him exploded with a loud crack, and he easily broke the sound barrier.

At the edge of the abyss, there were stone walls several dozen meters high. Without throwing a punch, he emitted a faint golden light from his body and crashed against the wall.

The wall crumbled, and a human-shaped pit appeared at the center of the impact, with numerous black cracks radiating outwards from it.

Wang Xuan stepped back from the damaged area and fully assessed his strength. The Golden Body Technique was remarkably terrifying, and his speed and power had surged.

He felt that he was much stronger than an average Grandmaster!

At this moment, Wang Xuan was completely naked, mainly because his tattered clothes had absorbed a strong odor after being swallowed into the snake's belly. Once he took them off, he had no desire to wear them again.

He shook his head, temporarily dismissing this thought.

He now felt a strong impulse to practice Zhang Daoling's physical technique and see if he could also achieve a breakthrough.

This was due to the rich vitality emanating from his flesh and bones, making his body feel reborn, with all indicators significantly improved.

Most crucially, after traversing the Secret Path of the Abyss, the vitality of his physical body was still in an astonishing state. Wasn't this the perfect time to practice the Five-Page Golden Book?

Wang Xuan took a deep breath, assuming the posture for the fourth style, and began to organize the parts of his body. Then, according to the secret rhythm, his blood, bones, and organs began to resonate.

The physical techniques recorded in the Golden Book required full-body coordination, vibrating at a specific frequency; any misstep could injure oneself.

Some organs were very fragile, but a significant portion of secret power was nurtured from these places, creating a paradoxical yet mysterious situation.

Wang Xuan was extremely cautious; if he felt any discomfort, he would immediately stop.

After a long time, he exhaled a breath of turbid air. He could barely perform the fourth style, but he didn't dare to continue practicing; he was already satisfied to have reached this point.

He scanned his body with his spiritual domain, noting the rich vitality within him, with his organs faintly glowing, reminiscent of the morning glow, like tender buds breaking through the soil in spring, symbolizing rebirth.

This was a manifestation of his body's functions being in their best state, and his practice of the fourth style of the Golden Book was undamaged.

Wang Xuan walked over to examine the layer of skin he had shed on the ground. To be safe, he decided to dispose of it.

The vitality of this shed material was quite robust, a testament to his successful Golden Body Technique. He held a short sword and sliced it, releasing Grandmaster-level true fire to incinerate it.

After a moment of hesitation, Wang Xuan also burned the tattered clothes that reeked, deciding he would rather wrap himself in tree bark than wear them again!

This time, upon exiting, the mysterious forces of the Abyss didn't hinder him, allowing him to leave.

As Wang Xuan stepped out of the Mist, he found himself somewhat entranced; the outside was ablaze with the sun, rich in various energy substances, with colorful rays shimmering across the mountains.

In contrast, the abyss behind him was enveloped in darkness, a bright moon hanging high, showcasing two utterly different celestial phenomena.

Wang Xuan's ambition soared; having discovered the Secret Path of the Abyss, he aimed to rise here!

However, reality quickly educated him: the jungle law of the Secret Realm was bloody; a moment of carelessness could cost him his life.

He walked outward, discerning directions and studying the terrain; he realized this area was no longer the one he had entered.

Suddenly, he noticed a large mountain turtle on the opposite cliff, its shell covered in exquisite patterns, a brass color, basking in the sun.

"I've been hungry for half a day; I could use a turtle to replenish my strength…"

Soon, Wang Xuan sensed something was amiss; the turtle's gaze upon him was one of salivation!

In an instant, his spiritual domain felt something: had he just encountered a transcendent creature upon his arrival? This could be one of the eight extraordinary monsters nesting around the Mist region!

Wang Xuan turned and fled; even having become a Grandmaster, he didn't dare to confront such a creature. If he recklessly charged in, he'd likely be turned into turtle food instantly.

The brass-colored mountain turtle was anything but clumsy; it moved gracefully like a swallow, leaping down from the cliff and swiftly traversing the treetops.

It seemed to glide over the grass, leaping distances of over ten meters, eventually landing less than ten meters away from Wang Xuan.

It opened its mouth, unleashing a burst of flames that nearly engulfed Wang Xuan. He quickly dodged, feeling his pores spewing forth golden radiance, just managing to retreat into the Mist zone.

Behind him, the flames struck the ground, scorching it red and melting the earth into a sea of magma.

Wang Xuan gasped heavily. In such a short distance, he had experienced a life-and-death ordeal; if he had slowed down even a moment, he would have been devoured by that turtle!

Reality had taught him that in the Secret Realm, no matter how low-key one tried to be, it was never too much caution; a transcendent creature could pop up anywhere.

The brass turtle cast a slow glance back in his direction before slowly crawling away.

Wang Xuan adjusted his mindset and reflected deeply.

Although he could confront the celestial beings confidently on the grand stage, that was only because they remained absent; otherwise, he'd be obliterated in an instant.

"The real world is survival of the fittest, brutally bloody. Even the old clock, who has practiced for over a hundred years, is being chased by rats in the Secret Realm. What reason do I have to be overly confident?"

Wang Xuan recognized the reality and took a serious approach once again.

…

At this moment, Zhong Yong and Old Song were so exhausted they felt nauseous, their hair disheveled, panting heavily on the ground, covered in the blood of transcendent creatures.

After a tough battle, they had finally killed one male and one female mouse. The forest had been ravaged, leaving a scene of devastation, with all ferocious birds and beasts fleeing.

"Old Zhong, that last move of yours, with five-colored divine light flickering between your fingers, is it a secret technique learned from your family's Five-Color Jade Book?" 

Old Song's eyes were fixated, his gaze filled with enthusiasm.

"No, I can't understand that book; this is a technique from Chen Tuan," Zhong Yong shook his head.

Who was Chen Tuan? He was a peerless master in the field of Inner Alchemy after Zhongli Quan and Lü Dongbin, who greatly developed the Golden Core Path.

Old Song was shaken; was Zhong Yong preparing to embark on the Golden Core route in the Old Technique realm?

"Was that the Five-Color Golden Core Energy mentioned in Chen Tuan's Golden Core Path just now?" Old Song said bitterly, this cowardly old man had been practicing for over a hundred years; did he really see a glimmer of hope?

"What are you thinking? The Five-Colored Golden Pill is just a legend; very few people in ancient times could practice it. Besides, what level are we at right now? Let's not think too far ahead about the Golden Pill," Old Zhong sighed, then his expression became serious. "Little Song, you sensed it just now, right? An extremely powerful transcendent auspicious beast communicated with us telepathically, warning us sternly to either leave or enter the deeper parts of the Secret Realm, and not to linger in this area."

The elderly man from the Song family, over ninety years old, immediately turned pale upon hearing this; he had indeed heard it.

"What's going on? That transcendent auspicious beast could actually communicate with humans? How powerful must it be? Why are transcendent humanoid beings not allowed to remain in the outer region?" Old Song was filled with many questions.

Zhong Yong's face was grave. "While we were fleeing just now, I caught sight of two groups of young people confronting each other from a distance. Based on their clothing, they didn't seem like people from our New Star."

"The deeper parts of the Secret Realm... are there people? They've come out now!" The elderly man from the Song family felt a chill.

Zhong Yong continued, "We've been warned, and now we can't leave this planet; we can only temporarily move deeper." He added, "I need to find my two descendants. I have a feeling something bad is about to happen in this area; it's better to take them with me."

...

In another area, Old Chen was hiding in a dense forest, sitting on a crooked tree, finishing the last of the silver bamboo shoots.

Earlier, he had only plucked one silver shoot, but he was chased for several hundred miles by two creatures with dark eye circles that looked like national treasures, and he had sustained scratches on his back, bleeding profusely.

In a fit of anger, Old Chen drove away the "national treasures" and stole the other three silver shoots, eating them all clean.

Now the deep wounds on his body had scabbed over and were nearly healed; the medicinal effects of the silver shoots were astonishing!

"I'm satisfied now!" He burped, feeling a sense of relief after being chased for so long.

"When I go back to the old land in Shu, I'll make sure to feed more bamboo shoots to my distant relatives!" He felt a strange energy circulating in his body, which was quite beneficial for him.

Suddenly, Old Chen felt a chill run down his spine and looked up sharply, seeing a white peacock radiating a hazy glow, perched on a branch above him, staring at him.

This was undoubtedly a terrifying powerhouse among transcendent beings; even Old Chen felt his heart tremble, realizing he couldn't contend with it.

"Human, your power has exceeded the limit; please move toward the deeper parts of the Secret Realm." The white peacock's thoughts were in severe agitation, issuing a warning.

Old Chen was shocked. Before coming to the Secret Realm, he had reviewed a large amount of information, but none of it mentioned this. He sensed that something was about to happen.

...

Wang Xuan was stealthily hiding. After leaving the Mist Zone, he began observing the eight major transcendent nests, ready to rush in and gather miraculous herbs at any moment.

Some transcendent nests he only glanced at for a moment before giving up because they were too dangerous. For example, on a certain cliff lived a type of golden monster bird.

Once provoked, he would be unable to escape from such a flying transcendent creature.

"Could it possibly have a faint Golden Roc bloodline? Perhaps its ancestors were once human, and it became a monster only after entering the realm of the dead," Wang Xuan thought as he shifted his focus to the next transcendent nest for further examination.

He had also looked at the cave of the silkworm snakes; both young were alive, and the male snake had returned to reside there!

"Forget it, seeing that you all are living harmoniously, Master Wang is magnanimous and won't destroy your family's joyful atmosphere."

Finally, Wang Xuan focused his attention on the nest of the brass mountain turtle, where there was a small tree that looked like it was made of brass, with several yellowish fruits hanging from it.

Although they hadn't completely ripened yet, Wang Xuan believed the medicinal effects wouldn't be too far off.

Of course, this was just one target; there were two other ideal transcendent nests as well.

In one of the nests lived a round and plump silver bear, which Wang Xuan felt couldn't run very fast.

However, given that the mountain turtle could run on trees and was extremely fierce, he didn't dare underestimate the nearly spherical silver bear.

To that end, Wang Xuan observed for a long time; when the silver bear went hunting, it wasn't very quick, likely the slowest creature among the eight major transcendent beings.

"I'm sorry, Brother Silver Bear. Anyway, you don't have any cubs to care for right now, and I bet you're tired of that cluster of white transcendent herbs. So, I'll just borrow them for a bit. Don't worry, I definitely won't uproot them. I'll leave the roots behind, and after a while, you can continue eating!" 

Wang Xuan pinpointed his target and prepared to take action.

Before doing so, he glanced toward the realm of the dead, where it was still shrouded in mist, and sunlight couldn't penetrate.

He couldn't forget what the ferryman said; the realm of the dead could shift at any moment. If he successfully gathered the herbs and consumed them, only for the realm of the dead to vanish, he would be in big trouble.

"After gathering the miraculous herbs, I can't eat them directly. To be safe, I'll wait until I'm in the realm of the dead."

Wang Xuan was patient enough; he finally waited for the silver bear to go hunting again. He estimated that if it just fled into the Mist Zone, he would have plenty of time.

The ferryman had said that once they parted, the two would never meet again in their lifetimes, but Wang Xuan felt he was about to surprise him.

"We'll see each other soon. I haven't had enough of that lake's light and moon's reflection!" Wang Xuan smiled broadly.