The Stars Beyond

In the Great Barrier, the Divine Palace trembled violently, it was as if mythology itself was decaying, dragging all supernatural worlds down with it. The impact was immense.

A bracelet, polished like black jade yet dotted with lustrous white specks, akin to a deep cosmos adorned with stars, hovered amidst flames forged from the highest rules.

Nearby, an ancient covenant of the present age clashed fiercely with the divine relic. Held in the hands of shadowy figures, it unleashed astonishing power and boundless vitality. This relic of the Celestial Path and the bracelet resonated with each other, sharing a natural connection and mutual understanding, as if all the epics of this mythological era were being recited simultaneously.

The cosmos shuddered with extraordinary upheavals, suggesting the awakening of another divine relic, spreading across the heavens like an enormous umbrella ascending to tear through the stars and rush toward the realm of the undying.

In the land of technological beings, a pool surfaced, its waters brimming with formidable life force, countering the cosmic "correction" in a bid to prolong the existence of the supernatural. This defiance caused the stars themselves to tremble.

In the Celestial Path, a mysterious figure wielding a worldly sword embarked on a massacre, causing supreme deities to fall, their divine blood staining the heavens with a terrifying spectacle.

The Ascension Banner, jointly wielded by the ancestors of the Imperial Palace of Gouchen and the Superlative Palace, struggled against the sword bearer. In this semi-material energy plane corresponding to the heavens, stars exploded under the pressure of the divine relic, unable to withstand its force.

The semi-material outer space corresponding to the Celestial Path roared continuously, with many planets instantly shattering into dust, leaving the starry sky in chaos.

The Leisurely Boat was hunted, with top-tier immortals and gods renowned across the great barrier joining forces, risking obliteration to seize the second divine relic, hoping to collectively confront the worldly sword and its master.

The four great mythological realms桟elestial Path, the undying, the divine, and technology梐ll plunged into utter chaos. The great barriers and the heavenly realms seemed on the brink of total collapse, moving inexorably towards their end.

厖

In the half-decaying grand barrier, six enormous palaces stand far apart from each other, resembling colossal beasts or perhaps the last links between mythology and reality.

In the Life Essence Palace, the grand sorcerer Xu Fu sits on a high platform, his expression grim. Repeatedly shaken, even the incarnation of an unparalleled immortal feels uncomfortable, akin to a mortal suffering from severe motion sickness and vomiting.

Currently, he is actively searching for the highest reward among the six grand palaces, planning to seize it and flee.

Chen Yongjie, although protected by Xu Fu, still harbors resentment. After leveraging the astonishing resources borrowed from this place, he painstakingly cultivated to the ninth segment in just over a month, only to be shaken back again.

"Do I have an unbreakable bond with the eighth segment?" Initially, in the Old Earth, he was almost at the ninth segment, only to be shaken back to the early eighth segment by Wang Xuan.

This cycle has repeated several times; whenever he advances, an accident occurs, and he is reverted back to his original state.

Xu Fu said, "It's not entirely a bad thing. This is solidifying your foundation. The more firmly you are hammered down, the more solid your Dao fruit will remain once the cosmic correction concludes. Don't blindly pursue superficial heights; what's not yours will be fatal when you fall from a high place."

"Will people die?" Chen Yongjie is alarmed.

"Of course. Do you think you'll land safely? Without the death of some supernatural beings, how can the merciless will of the cosmos be demonstrated, how can the irreversibility of the great trend be shown?"

The fierce confrontations in the heavenly realm and the great barriers render the mortal world restless, leaving all supernatural beings on edge. It is understood that magic and longevity are accelerating towards collapse.

"With four shakes a day, I'm likely to not even maintain my grandmaster status!" Qing Mu turns pale. After being shaken down, he was just a step away from the supernatural realm, but now, he has fallen to the mid-stage of a grandmaster.

Wu Yin also becomes anxious. Having reached the mid-segment of the first level, she estimates that at this rate, she will revert to being mortal overnight.

Supernatural beings from all camps are undergoing this torment, all weakening continuously.

"It's also good. This is a preview of the future, just arriving early, letting us abandon illusions and prepare mentally to accept reality."

On a slope, beneath a large tree, as yellow leaves flutter down, Wang Xuan is also shaken several times but stabilizes each time. At its most intense, he merely experiences turmoil in his blood and qi.

This shows the incredibly solid foundation of his Dao; being able to stand at the end of mythology梩he eleventh segment梒learly sets him apart, with a resilience far beyond ordinary.

"I've almost fully comprehended various scriptures, but to break through the existing theories of mythology, I must find a different method."

He calms down, undisturbed by the outside world, fully immersing himself in cultivation. He's keenly aware that even among the highest scriptures, he can't find a way out.

"The alternative 'Time Theft' should be the first choice, whether it's in the Inner Landscape or the Misty Realm, both have similar traits. However, in the Inner Landscape, the enhancement of mental perception far exceeds any other place."

Wang Xuan contemplates how to bring out that ability. In that case, with his mental perception speed far surpassing those avatars, subduing them wouldn't be very difficult.

Next, he searches the spiritual treasury for materials related to the Inner Landscape, delving deeper to further analyze and acquire the abilities he desires.

What he lacks in other areas, he makes up for in scriptures, boasting a collection more astonishing than the scripture vaults of ancient great teachings, thanks to Old Zhong and various family treasures, all transferred into his spirit.

"The Divine Illumination of the Inner Landscape discusses the Inner Landscape with unique insights, describing how the spirit actively illuminates the Inner Landscape, which is very referential, implying that one can conditionally initiate the Inner Landscape on their own."

"The Spirit Atlas elaborates on the different Inner Sceneries corresponding to different spirits, discussing the relationship between spiritual expansion and the Inner Landscape."

"Inner Sense talks about the extreme spread of mental perception, the essential touch of hyper-sense to initiate the Inner Landscape, and theorizes about the divine sense at the theoretical end, suspecting something beyond the divine sense!"

In an instant, Wang Xuan is deeply moved, realizing he should have dug into these scriptures earlier, finding what he needs.

Hyper-sense is naturally essential for initiating the Inner Landscape, and that seemingly unattainable divine sense for ordinary people, he has personally experienced!

As for beyond the divine sense, he has never ventured there; it was merely speculated to exist by the ancients.

Wang Xuan believes this is his direction, some of the predecessors' thoughts coincide with his. Crucially, he has a special Inner Landscape, giving him a natural advantage to practice further.

He forgoes sleep and forgets all else, until a moment when he triggers a mental sensation between hyper-sense and divine sense. Only then does he open his eyes梙as the Inner Landscape opened?!

For the first time in his life, he actively opened the Inner Landscape Land. Though there was a stroke of serendipity involved, it wasn't entirely under his control. However, this was a godsend for him at this stage, precisely what he needed. He immediately delved in, firstly to continue exploring the divine sense, and secondly to fully immerse himself in studying this broad direction with the advantage of "stealing time."

"If my mental perception can remain in an extremely active state outside the Inner Landscape Land, where a few minutes of thought is equivalent to years of work for ordinary people, then I can surely suppress those avatars!"

But how to keep this perception constantly active, and importantly, how to maintain that state outside the Inner Landscape Land?

"Such a state should exist outside as well, most likely beyond the divine sense!"

With this, Wang Xuan embarked on this path of cultivation, continuously training and finding his own way.

"If I can maintain a state beyond divine sense outside the Inner Landscape, in the same realm, that would be an almost unsolvable state!"

This time "stealing time" lasted exceptionally long, feeling like "eighty years" had passed for Wang Xuan. He dedicated his mental perception to analyzing hyper-sense, divine sense, and more.

This unprecedented experience of time passage, or rather, the heightened activity of mental perception far exceeded previous occasions.

"Bringing the state beyond divinity into the real world isn't impossible. I have an idea, let's try it!" Just before the Inner Landscape Land was about to close, Wang Xuan sprang into action.

At that moment, the Inner Landscape space condensed infinitely towards his spirit, and then seemed to collapse into his body, as if merging the Inner Landscape with his flesh.

In an instant, Wang Xuan's spirit returned to his body, experiencing it!

One second...was not enough!

The process lasted less than a second before he inevitably exited that state, far too fleeting.

"Less than a second? That's hardly effective!" he mused to himself. If it were during a critical battle, indeed, it would be sufficient, a glance could slay the enemy, let alone a second.

However, he was up against nearly ten "selves," all powerful spiritual avatars. Less than a second was likely insufficient, unable to secure an instantaneous victory.

Wang Xuan dedicated himself to further cultivation, experimenting tirelessly until late into the night when he once again triggered hypersensitivity, opening the Inner Landscape Land.

"The opening and closing of the Inner Landscape should be controllable, just like that malevolent dragon who could silently access my Inner Landscape. This alone proves a point."

He realized he should have delved into the scriptures and discussions about Inner Landscape sooner.

"I seem to have neared the states of hyper-sense and divine sense even without opening the Inner Landscape."

He remembered his state when confronting the malevolent dragon, when his spiritual eye and the foundation of the eleventh segment merged, allowing him to preemptively sense the malice. That was when he enveloped part of the dragon's spirit light and ventured into the void for combat.

Diving deeper into his studies, he made new discoveries. This time his mental perception was more active than ever, "stealing time" as if he had lived through "a hundred years."

Yet, upon emerging, the state beyond divinity still lasted less than a second.

"A state where gods and Buddhas are slain upon obstruction, maintaining it for a second seems tough to breach. I should find a way to resolve all issues within that instant."

Deep into the night, the six gigantic palaces were brightly lit, as the incarnations of the six supreme deities became restless, ready to snatch the highest reward and flee. They were currently on the hunt.

"Where's the Book of Ages? It's gone without a trace, no scent of it to be found!" Some supreme beings flickered with uncertainty in their gaze.

Naturally, some thought of Wang Xuan, whom the book had contacted multiple times. Could it be that it recognized him and granted him infinite benefits in advance?

Even Xu Fu turned his gaze toward Wang Xuan, peering through time and space from the Life Essence Palace, his expression complex and twitching.

"I can't believe he's here too!" Chen Yongjie was shocked to learn that Wang Xuan was also present, situated on a distant slope, though he hadn't attempted to storm the palaces.

"Was he the 'abnormal' the limit-breaker assassin spoke of?" His shock stemmed from communication barriers in this place, aware of an "aberration" through spiritual exchanges but never pondered deeply on it.

Wang Xuan opened his eyes, stepping out from the Inner Landscape once again. After a long period of contemplation, he felt confident in the path he had chosen. The direction was correct, but the journey was proving to be arduously challenging.

The outer world was in ceaseless turmoil, especially now, as a dazzling light curtain surged, illuminating all the transcendent planets of the Immortal Land. It was the supreme rule of the great barrier transforming into a fiery light, refining a bracelet that astonishingly projected into the outer void, appearing amidst the cosmic vacuum. This marked the first occurrence of a new treasure's creation in this mythic era, an event even more astonishing than the emergence of divine palaces and immortal umbrellas, other treasures of the age, sparking a resonance throughout the transcendent world.

Although Wang Xuan had heard some discussions earlier, he hadn't paid much attention until he witnessed it with his own eyes, leaving him utterly astounded. "Is that... isn't that ours?" he thought, his mind in disarray amidst the swirling winds. The great barrier shone upon the world, its highest rules interweaving as the black bracelet magnified infinitely. Its obsidian core, with pristine points of light etched upon it, exuded an aura of grandeur, beautiful and sublime, emanating the essence of the Dao.

Moreover, Wang Xuan faintly saw the reflection of Fang Yuzhu within the great barrier, immediately confirming that the bracelet belonged to his family. "Wasn't it just something from a street stall? How did it become a treasure?" Wang Xuan was completely dumbfounded. He couldn't help but murmur to himself, contemplating the origins of the bracelet... given away, wondering who among them was truly blood-related. He wanted to question his parents whether he was adopted.

Everything seemed muddled. His parents had given away a treasure? Such a notion sounded more fantastical than the myths themselves, utterly implausible. Could his parents be significant figures? Wang Xuan found himself questioning his existence once again, despite having dismissed such thoughts before as they didn't withstand scrutiny.

Aside from everything else, based on what he remembered, his parents' actions didn't resemble those of supreme beings. For instance, his mother would faint at the sight of blood when slaughtering a chicken, always delegating the task to his father. In fact, his father also seemed as if he were heading to the gallows with each attempt, holding his breath while wielding the knife. Thus, whether it involved killing chickens or slaughtering fish, the couple always purchased them pre-cleaned. They never engaged in such tasks themselves, steering clear of any free-range or wild goods, absolutely not partaking in the act of killing.

Furthermore, many of their words and deeds didn't align with those of a supreme expert, making it unlikely they were cultivators. "It can only be said, there were moments when they seemed beyond this world, but mostly, they were ordinary," Wang Xuan reasoned, arriving at some understanding. He even developed a plausible guess, feeling he was close to the truth.

"Our family treasure given away so generously, could they have been serious, possibly intending it as a betrothal gift?" he pondered, observing the distant barrier shining forth. Soon after, he felt uneasy, a sense of disquiet settling over him. He immediately activated his spiritual eye, combining it with his own foundation, sensing a malevolence in the ether.

"Not the Evil Dragon, but still formidable, lurking nearby!" Wang Xuan confirmed, sensing the intent of a supreme deity's avatar targeting him from the Ascension Palace among the six colossal palaces. "Given the chaos of the world, with the transcendent realm crumbling, I don't mind going all out at the very end," he murmured to himself, preparing for battle.

In this place, he knew well that employing a treasure would attract the wrath of numerous supreme beings, leading to a collective hunt. Even beings from beyond this world might strike. Neither the time nor the place was right for such actions; it was best to rely on his own strength for retaliation.

With a swift motion, his spirit plunged into the soil of life, grasping the lid of the cauldron and the God-Slaying Banner, instantly stepping into the void to confront those avatars. Then, he released all his avatars into the mortal realm, surrounding him in preparation.

Finally, the avatar from the Ascension Palace made its move, its eyes shooting two blood-red beams across space and time, focusing on Wang Xuan and indifferently inquired, "Is the Book of Old Covenants with you?"

Wang Xuan had been waiting for this moment. Surrounded by a host of powerful incarnations, ready to hunt down a supreme being, he aimed to resolve his own dilemmas and advance to the twelfth segment. Thus, he neither panicked nor retreated; instead, he felt a surge of excitement, boldly responding, "Do you possess a semi-matured treasure? Hand it over!"

The outer world was astir, the once dormant "Limit-Breaking Assassin" no longer keeping a low profile, poised for a fierce strike. Was he about to engage in a deadly clash with a supreme deity? Wang Xuan stood up, his feet glowing, crossing the sky to enter the immense Ascension Palace.

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