The Stars Beyond

Chapter 183: Stepping Into Transcendence

Chapter 183: Stepping Into Transcendence

Wang Xuan awaited his transformation. His body hummed lightly, resonating spiritually, generating mysterious active factors. Accompanied by strange visions, he edged closer to transcendence.

Inside Wang Xuan, a kaleidoscope of colors burst forth, signaling the full activation of different body parts, each releasing its unique secret power. His spiritual domain was even more enigmatic, with distant, hazy spiritual worlds partially revealing themselves – thunder appearing out of nowhere, and medicinal fields faintly visible among the clouds.

Wang Xuan practiced the secret scripture recorded on the stone slab, cultivating the first true form diagram to enhance the resonance between his flesh and spirit. It was one of the most powerful scriptures, notoriously difficult to master. Having narrowly escaped death in his previous attempt, Wang Xuan had finally comprehended it, making its execution now less arduous.

His entire body resonated, with different areas of flesh cultivating diverse, complex secret powers. Some regions glowed golden like the sun, others crimson as fire, some dark as the abyss, and some shimmering blue like crystal. Each part trembled slightly, activating their secret powers.

This was the power of the strongest scripture, mobilizing all the latent secret forces within the body, humming at different frequencies, and converging them together.

As Wang Xuan assumed the posture of the first true form diagram, the secret powers of various attributes erupted in unison, creating a colorful and tumultuous force, akin to a roaring mountain torrent.

This was his march towards transcendence!

His body glowed, its vitality skyrocketing, almost as if undergoing a transformation akin to ascension, bathing in a shower of light. This connected to and merged with his spirit, resonating to create various mysterious and unpredictable scenes.

In his spiritual domain, ethereal immortal mountains settled within his flesh, celestial islands appeared in his abdomen, and above the clouds, the Lunar Palace scattered moonbeams.

Wang Xuan's heart quivered. Was this his spirit capturing glimpses of the spiritual world?

Streams of secret power in various colors, from different layers of the spiritual world, flowed towards him, materializing before him as he endeavored to absorb them.

Boom!

In his spiritual domain, thunder roared, his spirit undergoing a tribulation-like experience. He felt the immense power between heaven and earth, carrying a destructive aura.

Was this the power of a higher spiritual world that his spirit captured while advancing towards transcendence? The clouds churned tumultuously, with thunder rolling menacingly.

Above the thunder, there appeared a garden, where the shadowy outline of a vast peach orchard flickered into view. Wang Xuan yearned intensely for it. Alas, it was too distant, beyond his reach.

Transitioning from mortal to extraordinary involved a fundamental transformation, allowing only a rare few to glimpse a corner of the higher spiritual worlds. Now, Wang Xuan was experiencing this rarity, his gaze fixed on the spiritual thunder above, wishing he could ascend to it.

Eventually, the faintly fading peach orchard released a wisp of delicate fruit fragrance, filling Wang Xuan's spirit to the brim, as if ready to burst! Merely capturing a trace of this medicinal scent from the high-level spiritual world had brought about such a harvest, completing his spiritual metamorphosis.

Soon, this change transmitted to his physical body, resonating and erupting in secret powers of various colors, merging with his spirit.

At this moment, Wang Xuan officially stepped into the transcendent realm! His body and spirit were elevating, undergoing a transformation rooted in the deepest layers of life. He was experiencing a transformation from quantity to quality.

Lost in thought, he realized that he no longer needed to lead the process himself. He pondered deeply; having only glimpsed a corner of the high-level spiritual world, he reaped such benefits. What would happen if he delved deeper?

He also strongly suspected that the divine medicine originated from these high-level spiritual worlds. The blurry peach orchard he had seen above the thunder might very well be a type of divine medicine!

Regrettably, such realms were far beyond his current reach, and he wondered if he would ever encounter that high-level spiritual world again.

He endeavored to remember the essence of that world he had just glimpsed, hoping to encounter it again in the future and seize the opportunity to explore.

Hum!

Wang Xuan's transformation reached a pivotal moment, his spirit and body resonating with a profound rumble, signifying a fundamental elevation in the essence of his life. Suddenly, his entire being was enveloped in a thick fog, a darkness so profound that it obscured all surrounding vistas. This was the enigmatic Mist phase, the threshold of the transcendent realm.

His physical and spiritual selves underwent a profound sublimation, with secret forces coursing through him. Now, even a mere gesture held the power to effortlessly vanquish grandmasters of the mortal realm.

The Mist, the inaugural stage of the Mortal World realm, presented a unique challenge. Typically, those who first enter this phase find their inner vision clouded, akin to a dark and barren landscape with only a distant glimmer of light – a beacon emanating from their spiritual domain. Initially, Wang Xuan experienced this obscurity, but quickly, his spiritual domain illuminated, casting a radiant brilliance that soon spread to various parts of his body.

Within his organs and flesh, ethereal landscapes began to manifest. Vast, towering mountains, islands suspended in a radiant glow, and lakes shimmering in crystal blue hues emerged, all awash in a radiant mist. This was the beginning of his spiritual powers drawing upon the secret forces from the first layer of the spiritual world.

Many novices in the transcendent realm long to connect with this spiritual layer but find it beyond their reach, a realm typically explored by those in the advanced Free Wanderer stage. Only a select few, even at the Mortal World stage, can sense and extract a fragment of the outer spiritual world's secret forces for their own use. It is an unbreakable rule – only a fragment can be accessed, with no exceptions, not even for the most prodigious.

Inside Wang Xuan, darkness gave way to light. His organs and sections of his flesh radiated with mystical scenes, a testament to the integration of spiritual secret forces with his physical form.

Halting his introspection, Wang Xuan abruptly opened his eyes, now fully immersed in the transcendent realm. His newfound strength was formidable, a stark contrast to his former self. Facing those transcendent beings who once pursued him would now be a matter of composure and ease.

Wang Xuan, with his flesh's vitality still robust and even slightly ascending, immediately commenced practicing the second true form diagram. This marked his foray into the realm of genuine transcendent scriptures.

As anticipated, the second scripture proved immensely challenging. He believed that practicing it through conventional methods would be perilously risky. Despite Wang Xuan's exceptional abilities, evidenced by discovering multiple secret paths and several ventures into the Departed Lands, attempting to forcefully master the second true form diagram still resulted in him coughing up blood.

He hurriedly drank several sips of the Earth Immortal Spring, knowing that even minor injuries could not be ignored at this stage. The difficulty of this scripture was daunting indeed!

He could potentially mitigate the risk by dividing the practice and dedicating a substantial amount of time to it, but that would be a lengthy endeavor. Moreover, he felt that practicing it in parts, rather than resonating his entire body and spirit together, might lead to complications.

For the present, forcefully practicing was akin to courting death. Heeding Xu Fu's advice seemed more prudent – first, to cultivate other scriptures to unearth his hidden powers and establish a strong foundation before attempting the second true form diagram.

Wang Xuan then put this plan into action. He initially tried the Golden Body Technique but soon abandoned it. After reaching the transcendent level, its cost-benefit ratio was low – time-consuming and energy-draining, yet failing to yield the ideal results.

The Sixteen-Foot Golden Body, a transcendent scripture, proved a suitable replacement, aligning well with his current stage. Moreover, it encompassed almost all the secret force areas involved in the Golden Body Technique.

Seated in the lotus position on the bamboo boat, his demeanor dignified, Wang Xuan's flesh vibrated at a unique frequency. His pores exuded traces of blood – a process of blood exchange, but his transcendent blood was already so pure that there was little left to replace. Even in the initial stages of practice, he experienced extraordinary effects.

The Buddhist practices, known for their ease of entry but increasing difficulty at advanced stages, were manifesting their profound truths in Wang Xuan's journey.

Currently, Wang Xuan devoted himself to the first chapter of the Sixteen-Foot Golden Body, a transcendent scripture marking the beginning phase. Fortunately, this stage presented no significant hurdles, aligning perfectly with his goal to cultivate the second true form diagram.

A warm golden light enveloped him, the scripture transcending mere physicality to encompass profound spiritual secrets. The dual resonance of body and spirit yielded impressively potent results.

Wang Xuan couldn't help but be astounded. The Sixteen-Foot Golden Body, a scripture of mythical status, once offered to him by the moon’s Angler, truly lived up to its legendary repute.

Internally viewing his own body, Wang Xuan observed his flesh suffused with golden energy, each part releasing a harmonious and divine power. In the Departed Lands, under the influence of transcendent radiation, his progress was exponentially accelerated, significantly reducing his cultivation period.

He was on the verge of mastering the initial chapter of the Sixteen-Foot Golden Body, his solid foundation in the Golden Body Technique proving invaluable.

"Patience and stability are key. I have ample time to build a strong foundation," he reminded himself, recognizing that traversing a secret path was akin to several years of intense cultivation elsewhere.

When he finally concluded his practice, he had successfully cultivated the early stages of the Sixteen-Foot Golden Body. Next, he embarked on practicing the Nine Tribulations Mysterious Body, a scripture from Taoist tradition, starting at a transcendent level and equally enshrined in myth.

As he activated this scripture, his body was surrounded by a misty purple aura, with an energy fog rising around him. His spirit vibrated in harmony, the practice engaging his spiritual domain. This scripture, a prized tome from Old Zhong's library, was no less powerful than the Sixteen-Foot Golden Body.

Though the Golden Body Technique, the Sixteen-Foot Golden Body, and the Nine Tribulations Mysterious Body each had their nuances, they shared common ground in the secret forces they explored within the body. Given the finite nature of the human body, no scripture could completely revolutionize one's physical and spiritual being.

Thus, mastering the Nine Tribulations Mysterious Body proved less challenging, as many areas of his flesh and blood had already been cultivated.

Wang Xuan then turned to the spiritual secret methods. During the new moon, he had obtained the Primordial Furnace Refining God Method, a concise but powerful scripture that remained relevant to his current level. It was a secret text from the affluent Qin family, initially offered as a reward by Qin Hong for retrieving his son's body from a lunar crater. However, Qin Hong's contemptuous attitude towards cultivators led Wang Xuan to secretly learn the scripture using his spiritual domain, without fulfilling Qin Hong's request.

A fiery glow erupted within Wang Xuan, forging his spirit in a manner reminiscent of being hammered and refined a thousand times. A tide of crimson spiritual power permeated his being, flowing into his flesh. Simultaneously, the mystical landscapes within him – the merged immortal mountains, floating islands, and azure lakes – all resonated in unison, reflecting his connection to a fragment of the first layer of the spiritual world.

It was precisely because he had preemptively drawn upon a part of the first layer's power that his spiritual force now surpassed even his physical strength.

Smoothly, he cultivated the transcendent stage of the Primordial Furnace Refining God Method. Next on his path was the Five-Colored Golden Elixir Primordial Spirit Technique, still another treasure from Old Zhong's collection, acquired by Zhao Qinghan through an exchange with Zhong Qing.

Streams of five-colored spiritual force flowed into Wang Xuan, weaving through his body. Finally, he practiced the Purple Mansion Nourishing Spirit Technique, a scripture from Zhao Qinghan’s family. The purple spiritual energy, emblematic of Taoist traditions, enveloped his entire body, steaming with auspicious clouds and resonating with the myriad of mystical sceneries within him.

The Ferryman couldn't help but marvel. Upon stepping into the transcendent realm, Wang Xuan had managed to connect with a corner of the first layer of the spiritual world, drawing upon its secret forces. The benefits he gained were immense – otherwise, mastering such spiritual secret techniques would not have been so feasible.

Even the spiritual secrets of the initial transcendent stage presented significant challenges. However, now fully prepared, Wang Xuan began to practice the scriptures recorded on the stone slab. With his body and spirit already thoroughly explored multiple times, he found the process considerably easier.

His entire body vibrated at a special frequency, igniting secret forces. A spectrum of dazzling colors flowed within him, each region distinct in its hue.

Having practiced the Sixteen-Foot Golden Body and the Nine Tribulations Mysterious Body, his pores still exuded traces of blood, undergoing a transformation. This spoke to the formidable nature of the strongest scripture he was now cultivating, still unveiling unexplored areas of secret force.

His strength continued to grow. Starting from the initial phase of Mist, he rapidly progressed into the middle stage, and then towards the latter part of the Mist phase...

Wang Xuan’s power was in a state of constant ascension!