Bamboo slips have been in use during the pre-Qin period. They vary in length, from a dozen centimeters to more than half a meter, and characters are carved on them with a knife.
The piece in Wang Xuan's hand was golden, with a warm luster under the light.
It is eight centimeters long, three centimeters wide and two centimeters thick, and its length is shorter.
It is so heavy that it weighs heavily on your hand. As you can imagine, it sinks when it enters the water.
What is engraved on the golden bamboo slips is not text, but several patterns, a creature with a human head and a snake body, showing different postures.
It has long hair, and it is unclear whether it is a man or a woman. It has the posture of a coiled snake, and there are also carvings of it rolling on the ground, and there is also a picture of a snake with its tail on the ground, standing upright like a sharp sword toward the sky.
There are no words on the bamboo slips, only a few carved pictures. It cannot be seen that it has any relationship with the old skills. At least Wang Xuan did not find its value.
"I can't understand it, I can't understand it. It has been in my hands for many years, and I have been playing with it like jade." The middle-aged man wearing a cyan mask said.
He had short, thick hair and sat there quietly.
"I got too little. A bunch of golden bamboo slips fell into the hands of the plutocrats from Xinxing. I only got two pieces back then," he said flatly.
Wang Xuan is convinced that this is a master, and his achievements in old skills are probably very amazing.
He dared to seize the food from the tiger's mouth, fought with the men and horses sent by the chaebol, and took away two pieces, which was not easy.
This kind of bamboo slips is regarded as a rare thing even by Xinxing. After major organizations obtained it, they kept it secret from now on and studied it secretly, making it difficult for outsiders to see it.
"Has anyone at Xinxing analyzed anything?" Wang Xuan asked.
"I don't know." The short-haired middle-aged man spoke briefly and did not want to talk about this topic anymore.
For a moment, the room fell into silence.
Wang Xuan met him two years ago. It was also at that time that he first knew and saw the dark areas in this peaceful city.
On the ninth floor underground of a certain landmark building, there is an old martial arts competition every Friday night. The contestants fight in iron cages, which is extremely bloody. The loser usually loses his hands and feet.
The stands outside the iron cage were filled with people of unknown identities, all wearing masks, both men and women. They were watching the fierce competition, roaring and screaming, excitement and chaos blending together.
Wang Xuan rejected the middle-aged man on the spot and told him clearly that he would never walk in a gray area. He liked the study of old arts, but he would not "show blood" in front of others.
The short-haired middle-aged man laughed at that time and told him that he was just taking him to see another side of the city. The real world was far from what he usually saw.
The bloody actual battles in the iron cage have little to do with them. They only occasionally select potential seedlings.
As for them, they are a group of explorers.
What they have to experience is far more thrilling, exciting, mysterious, and even terrifying than this cage match, because they have entered the starry sky and are not limited to the old land.
The middle-aged man told him that no matter in terms of prospects or strength, the explorers were very brilliant, far from being comparable to those who wandered in the gray area and the organization.
They chatted several times during that time, but Wang Xuan still rejected him.
The short-haired middle-aged man left him a golden business card and told him that if he changes his mind after graduation, he can come here to find him.
And as early as that time, that is, two years ago, the short-haired middle-aged man predicted that the old art experimental class would inevitably be disbanded and this investment project would be shelved.
"Why did you find me?" Wang Xuan once asked him seriously back then.
The middle-aged man with short hair told him that it was the investment project of the Old Technique Experimental Class that first attracted his attention. Then, he looked at everyone in the class and finally only focused on two people.
Others in the class are not determined enough and have doubts about the old skills. Even if they continue along the old path, their achievements will be limited.
In fact, after Wang Xuan embarked on the path of old skills, he was out of control. In just a few years, he succeeded in gathering qi and nourishing his body.
The short-haired middle-aged man believed that Wang Xuan had great potential and would probably make extraordinary achievements in the old art.
This organization is relatively free and loose, but its strength is undoubted. At the same time, it is very mysterious. Its tentacles have already entered the starry sky and can reach new stars.
"Formal introduction, you can call me Aoki." The short-haired middle-aged man wearing a cyan mask spoke, breaking the silence.
"Does this count as joining?" Wang Xuan asked.
Qingmu said: "That's not all. You are one of the potential young people I have selected in the past few years, but you are not the only one."
"Do you have to pass any tests?"
"Yes, this is an existing rule. Although I like you, I can't change it."
Aoki, a middle-aged man with short hair, told him that there would be an expedition in two days, which could be used as his assessment, and asked him if he would participate.
"Participate!" Wang Xuan nodded.
"You have a rough idea of what you will experience after joining us, but now I still want to emphasize what adventure means. Naturally, there will be dangers, and even life-threatening dangers, so you have to think about it."
Wang Xuan said: "No problem, I've thought about it carefully."
Aoki was very serious and said: "You can live here, we must ensure that no news can be leaked before this, because this operation is very important!"
Wang Xuan expressed his understanding and there would be no problem in staying there.
He held the golden bamboo slip, looked at Aoki behind the mahogany desk, and said, "Can I ask some questions?"
Aoki said: "It depends on what the problem is. If it involves some shocking secrets, etc., even if you successfully join us, you still need an equal exchange."
Wang Xuan asked: "I want to know if the end of the old magic road is the top among the alchemists. Is there really no way forward?"
Aoki sighed and said: "I understand your feelings, because I also started by practicing old skills, but this road is too difficult. I have put in countless hard work and sweat, and it has taken decades, but it is difficult to achieve anything.
The highest peak in the theory is the alchemist, and the end point has been determined."
Sure enough, it was the same answer, the same conclusion reached by the life research institute at Xinxing.
"In fact, the most pessimistic thing is that even if you already know where the end of the road is, not many people can reach that point. After the passing of the pre-Qin Dynasty, fewer and fewer people can reach the level of alchemists. As for modern times,
It has completely disappeared since then.”
The old skills are becoming more and more in decline, and the alchemists have long been a legend, making it difficult to spy on them.
"The location where the alchemist is standing is the end of the road. Has no one tried to continue exploring?" Wang Xuan asked.
"It's easier said than done. Throughout the ages, even real alchemists have been unable to appear again. How can future generations dare to think about this?" Aoki shook his head bitterly and said: "In ancient times, there were some powerful and powerful people who wanted to continue to deduce the road.
But unfortunately, no one has ever succeeded."
"Why are those alchemists able to push the old skills to the extreme? Can newcomers never be able to surpass them?" Wang Xuan asked.
"Do you think it was the result of the hard work of several alchemists? No, it was the result of generations of powerful alchemists constantly improving the old techniques. In the end, there was really no way out, and the top among the alchemists may be ancient humans.
The strongest individual among them.”
…
That night, Aoki asked people to prepare various equipment for Wang Xuan for the expedition, including alloy knives, daggers, protective clothing, simulated human skin masks, etc.
Plus, there are thermal weapons!
They set off early the next morning. They first arrived outside the city, boarded a small spaceship in a secret manor, and headed for Qingcheng Mountain.
The small spacecraft is so advanced that it cannot be detected by satellites from the old earth.
It was the first time for Wang Xuan to sit in this kind of spaceship, and he felt very strange about everything, but he just observed calmly and did not ask random questions.
He felt that he had a lot to learn.
Aoki personally participated in the operation, which shows that he attached great importance to this operation.
In addition to Wang Xuan, there were four other people traveling with him, all wearing simulated human skin masks. It was unknown what their true expressions were.
Qingmu said: "The target is Qingcheng Mountain. This time there are chaebols on Xinxing's side who are secretly digging in the mountain. Our target is also there!"
"What was discovered in Qingcheng Mountain that attracted Xinxing's plutocrats?" someone asked.
Before the operation, it had been kept secret. Even they didn't know the destination earlier.
Qingmu was very serious and said: "Someone seems to have discovered some remarkable records from the bamboo slips left by a certain pre-Qin alchemist, and the target is directly at Qingcheng Mountain."
"Are they still interested in the inheritance of the alchemist?" Someone asked, Xinxing has super skills, and the old skills have been officially abandoned.
Qingmu said very solemnly: "On the deciphered bamboo slips, there are some secrets recorded. Qingcheng Mountain seems to have something that makes the alchemists excited and excited, so this time the chaebol came in secret again."
Several people were in high spirits, and even Wang Xuan's heart skipped a beat. Was there a new discovery in Qingcheng Mountain? The alchemists were all wondering, could it be related to... Immortals?!
The most powerful alchemists are considered to be immortals.
But some people don't agree with it and think it is more mysterious and powerful than the alchemist.
"The people of the Zhou family and the Ling family dug into the underground palace and found the target!" Qingmu whispered, he had just received the latest secret report.
Wang Xuan's heart skipped a beat, it was actually those two families?!
It didn't take long and they were close to their destination.
Qingcheng Mountain is known as one of the four famous Taoist mountains and one of the five fairy mountains.
It is also considered to be one of the birthplaces of Taoism. Zhang Daoling once preached in Jie Mao, Qingcheng Mountain. There is a saying that he finally emerged in this mountain.