The Stars Beyond

Chapter 192: Walking The Path Of The Buddha

The five talents from the Transcendent planets were left in a state of disbelief and humiliation. Three of them were in tears, one coughing blood, and the last deep in contemplation, questioning their life choices. It was a nightmarish conclusion they would rather forget for the rest of their lives. Their once esteemed titles as celestial beings and prodigies now seemed to have been dragged through the mud.

Old Fox, having witnessed enough, waved his sleeve gracefully, devoid of any worldly trappings. He began to lead the two women, Zhao Qinghan and Wu Yin, along with the little fox spirit, on their way.

Yuan Kun, wiping blood from his mouth, cast a cold glance backward. Hidden within the woods were elite cultivators of the Medicinal Harvest level, lying in wait for their moment to strike. Even Mu Xue, who earlier possessed an ethereal aura, was now pitifully holding her nose and wiping away tears, signaling to her clan's experts to follow.

Wang Xuan and Old Chen quickly followed Old Fox. As they moved, Old Fox gestured for them to stop. "Go back now, no need to see us off any further," he said.

Wang Xuan, feigning reluctance, replied, "They say to see off a friend for a thousand miles ends in inevitable parting, yet we've only covered three miles. Let us accompany you a bit further."

Wu Yin glanced over, perhaps interpreting Wang Xuan's reluctance as an attachment to her and Zhao Qinghan. Unaware of the lurking danger behind them, she didn't sense the imminent threat until she noticed the little fox spirit's alert gaze towards the dense woods. Her expression shifted instantly, realizing something was amiss.

Zhao Qinghan frowned, her fair and radiant face showing concern. "Elder, please take them along," she implored.

With that, Old Fox soared into the air, shrouded in a mist of rosy clouds, taking the two women, the little fox spirit, and Grandmaster Ma with him. They disappeared beyond the mountains in the blink of an eye.

Left in the open and vulnerable terrain, Wang Xuan and Old Chen felt a surge of frustration. They would have appreciated a heads-up from Old Fox about his abrupt departure.

Suddenly, shouts rang out from behind. "Attack! Don’t let them escape!" The hidden assailants couldn’t hold back any longer.

Yuan Kun was followed by a dozen men. Nearly twenty people trailed behind Mu Xue and Jiang Xuan, and over fifteen followed the Ou siblings. The stage was set for a desperate struggle as the ambushers closed in on Wang Xuan and Old Chen.

In their midst, each group was accompanied by more than one Medicinal Harvest-level expert. As dozens of Transcendent beings charged forward, the surrounding woods shattered under their formidable presence, resembling a bursting dam. Their advance was unstoppable, tearing through the terrain with overwhelming might.

The ground crumbled beneath their steps, each stride covering tens of meters. The force of their movements was so immense that it left the land more ravaged than a stampede of mammoths.

A Medicinal Harvest-level expert's palm glowed ominously, launching a massive bolt of lightning towards Old Chen. It was like the onset of a thunderstorm, with fog mingling with electric flashes, creating a terrifying spectacle.

Old Chen dodged swiftly, fleeing alongside Wang Xuan. The spot where the lightning struck exploded, shattering rocks and incinerating vegetation, leaving a vast crater in its wake.

Wang Xuan and Old Chen ran in silence, knowing that if they were caught, death was certain. There would be no mercy.

Their pursuers were silent and deadly, focused solely on their quarry. To them, Wang Xuan and Old Chen were prey marked for death.

Suddenly, a Medicinal Harvest apex expert exhaled, unleashing a three-inch-long flying sword from his mouth. Thin as a cicada's wing and enveloped in a blaze of fire, the sword hurled towards them. The ground in its path melted into magma, illustrating the fearsome power of the Li Fire Sword Light.

The expert had the capability to ascend to a higher realm but chose to restrain himself to adhere to the rules of the Hidden Land, limiting his power to the Medicinal Harvest level.

As Wang Xuan and Old Chen raced for their lives, the relentless chase continued, with their assailants' lethal intent unwavering. The situation was dire, and every second mattered in this deadly pursuit.

“Jump!” Wang Xuan and Old Chen, standing atop a mountain peak, braced themselves and leaped down. Remaining on the summit meant certain death under the Li Fire Flying Sword's assault, and the Medicinal Harvest peak expert was closing in fast.

Crashing through trees on their descent, they managed to slow their fall, yet still landed with brutal force, leaving their mouths filled with blood. The fall was severe, but fortunately, their bones remained intact, thanks to their practice of the strongest scriptures and the Six Feet Golden Body technique. Any other person would have likely been killed by such a fall, even with the trees' cushioning.

Upon standing up, the pair immediately continued their escape. The pursuers at the top of the mountain hesitated to follow such a reckless plunge, marveling at the two's desperate bravery.

“Can Old Chen still run?” Wang Xuan asked, checking on his companion.

“I can manage a few hundred miles, but we're likely to be caught by Medicinal Harvest-level experts. Our tracks are too obvious; they’ll catch up sooner or later,” Old Chen replied, his voice tense with urgency.

They considered their options: diving into a large lake or a river might help erase their tracks and delay their pursuers.

However, their escape was soon compromised. The Li Fire Sword, thin as a cicada's wing, descended rapidly from the sky, its blazing trail illuminating the surroundings. Old Chen tried to block it with his long sword, only for the blade to shatter upon impact.

Wang Xuan, wielding his sun-gold infused spear, managed to strike the flying sword. The collision sent a jarring vibration through his weapon, wounding his hand, yet the spear held firm against the sword's lethal edge.

Shocked by the strength of the Medicinal Harvest-level expert's strike, Wang Xuan realized even his formidable physique had limitations. His hands were bloodied from the impact, staining the spear, but he had successfully shielded Old Chen from a fatal blow.

"Old Chen, take this. Use it to block; treat it like a broadsword!" Wang Xuan handed his spear to Old Chen, adapting to their dire situation.

The Medicinal Harvest-level expert, momentarily taken aback by the resistance, paused his assault and retracted his weapon, only to find it slightly damaged. The sight caused him considerable distress.

Wang Xuan, having countered with all his might, injured his hands but also impacted the expert’s spirit and vitality, disrupting his blood energy.

"I'll kill you first!" the expert declared with a chilling gaze, once again propelling his Li Fire Sword. The surrounding landscape turned crimson as the searing flames descended, causing Wang Xuan and Old Chen to grimace in pain. Had it not been for the strongest scriptures and the Six Feet Golden Body, they would have been incinerated.

Seizing an opportunity, Wang Xuan, now wielding a short sword, struck the translucent flying sword with force, snapping it in two with a crisp sound.

"No!" the pursuing Medicinal Harvest-level expert cried out in agony as his spiritual energy, bound to the sword, was shattered along with it. The loss of a top-tier flying sword was a crushing blow to him.

Boom!

Meanwhile, Old Chen swung the spear-turned-sword in his hands, deflecting a silently approaching silver dagger.

The duo resumed their desperate escape, with a group of Medicinal Harvest-level experts leading the relentless chase. Multiple times, Wang Xuan and Old Chen had to leap off cliffs and mountaintops to evade their pursuers.

Their escape came at a great cost; they sustained numerous injuries, and even their formidable protective techniques were nearing their limits.

Upon sighting a large river, both felt an overwhelming sense of relief, realizing they had narrowly escaped death once again. However, even with the river in sight, their chances of survival were slim, knowing their pursuers would follow them into the water.

Old Chen suddenly halted, recalling a crucial detail. "This is the habitat of a group of Transcendent Silver Crocodiles! Rushing in there is suicide." He remembered that the area was home to several formidable creatures, including Medicinal Harvest-level elder crocodiles.

Wang Xuan, undeterred, suggested a daring plan. "Do you know how I survived a hopeless situation last time? I let myself be swallowed by a snake. I think when the elder crocodile opens its jaws, we can pretend to slip and fall into its mouth. We might just survive inside its belly."

Old Chen, incredulous at the proposal, retorted, "Are you even speaking human language? What kind of plan is that?"

"Trust me, that's exactly how I survived last time," Wang Xuan explained to Old Chen. "Think about the Buddha; he had a similar experience. Why do you think the peacock is called the Mother of Buddha? That's because Buddha emerged from its body. You practice the Six Feet Golden Body, the same technique as the Buddha. Now you're following in his footsteps. Maybe this is your chance for a breakthrough, to gain enlightenment inside the belly of a beast."

Old Chen, speechless at the bizarre proposal, continued to sprint forward. He reckoned that his golden body could indeed survive inside a crocodile's stomach for an extended period.

"Most of these Silver Crocodiles are in the Mist or Lamp Lighting stages; I don't see any Medicinal Harvest-level beasts. What if we hide in their bellies and the Superhumans on our tail decide not to dive into the water and end up killing these crocodiles on the shore? Wouldn't that be both embarrassing and tragic for us?" Old Chen reconsidered their plan, noticing several silver crocodiles basking lazily in the sun, their strengths not as formidable as he feared.

"We'll jump into the water ourselves and escape along the riverbed," Wang Xuan decided, altering their plan.

Suddenly, a gust of wind roared through the sky, heralding the arrival of a colossal golden bird, its wingspan stretching over twenty meters, diving toward the crocodiles on the riverbank.

"Go, Old Chen! This is your moment of enlightenment, to follow in Buddha's footsteps and advance to the Medicinal Harvest realm. Soon you'll be strong enough to confront those high-level Superhumans!" Wang Xuan urged Old Chen to rush forward, fearlessly choosing to stand with the silver crocodiles.

The golden bird, with terrifyingly sharp claws and a huge, hook-shaped beak, struck fear into the hearts of onlookers. It was a powerful and formidable creature, possibly in the late Earthly Immortal or early Medicinal Harvest stage.

It aimed its talons at a Lamp Lighting stage crocodile, a surprise attack from the sky.

Wang Xuan and Old Chen intervened desperately, protecting the silver crocodile and successfully provoking the giant bird. As its huge talons came crashing down, they dodged its sharp claws and daringly leaped into its open beak, charging headfirst into its stomach without a second thought.

The gigantic bird, measuring over twenty meters in length, seemed momentarily baffled by its unusual prey. Never before had it encountered prey that willingly leaped into its mouth.

No longer enraged, the bird, before leaving, stuck to its original plan, scooping up a Mist Stage silver crocodile and ascending into the sky.

"Where did they go? How did they disappear?" The pursuers were stunned.

"They got eaten by that monstrous bird!" one exclaimed in astonishment.

"No, I clearly saw them jumping into the bird's mouth on their own," another corrected.

A brief exchange ensued among the group, followed by an attack on the ascending bird. A silver knife, transformed into a long ribbon, was hurled skyward.

The golden bird screeched in pain as it was struck by the silver blade, causing a deep wound. While the injury was severe, it wasn't fatal given the bird's massive size. Bleeding profusely, it released the silver crocodile and soared higher, eventually vanishing into the horizon.

"Are those two still alive or dead?" someone wondered aloud.

Normally, prey caught by such a powerful creature wouldn't survive. Yet, it appeared the two men had deliberately jumped into the bird's beak.

"Contact the enforcers to investigate the origins of that bird. We need to find its nest. We must finish off those two if they're still alive. I suspect they might be using this to escape," someone suggested, plotting their next move.

......

"Old Chen, have you attained enlightenment yet?"

"What enlightenment? It stinks in here!" Old Chen complained as the two conversed inside the bird's stomach, surrounded by viscous fluids and partially digested remains.

The golden bird, also a transcendent being, could hear the conversation from within its belly, causing it to seethe with anger. These were stowaways!

Attempting to expel them, the bird started to retch, aiming to drop them from the sky.

"Old bird, stop thrashing about! If you don't settle down, we'll have to stab you with this spear!" Old Chen brandished the spear, jabbing the bird's insides.

"Let's make a deal. Drop us off somewhere safe, and we'll happily go our separate ways, never to cross paths again. How does that sound?"

Despite the bird's fury, it couldn't digest the two with their formidable physical defenses, and its mental attacks were ineffective. After a painful struggle and internal bleeding, the bird relented. It landed near a marsh and reluctantly regurgitated the two men.

As it prepared to attack, they collectively unleashed a powerful psychic force, deterring the bird, which, engulfed in rage, swiftly flew away.

"Old Chen, let's find a Bodhi tree and start a retreat. Once we break through our current realm, we must avenge this ordeal."

Old Chen, picking half a digested Transcendent Purple Mouse's head from his hair and shaking off blood and rotten flesh from his shoulder, sighed deeply. "To know a Buddha's suffering without being a Buddha... I'm now following his path, retreating under a Bodhi tree!"

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