Shengui Changsheng: Start from Zhenwuwei and add some points to cultivate immortality

Fu Shaoping squinted at the Shadow Moon Sect's group and said in a deep voice, "The Shadow Moon Sect arrived quickly. It seems they've also set their sights on the 'Heavenly Profound Jade'."

Nangong Wan gripped the hilt of his sword and said in a low voice, "The Right Envoy of the Demonic Sect is dead, and the Blood Token is in our hands. The Shadow Moon Sect will definitely fight for it with all its might."

Lin Yu looked around, then suddenly pointed to the depths of the canyon: "Look, what's that?"

Following his gaze, everyone saw a faint blue light appearing deep within the canyon, seemingly there yet exuding a chilling pressure.

“That’s… the aura of the Heavenly Profound Jade!” Fu Shaoping’s gaze sharpened. “We have to find it before the Shadow Moon Sect!”

The leader of the Shadow Moon Sect sneered, "Enough nonsense! The 'Heavenly Profound Jade' is a sacred object of our Shadow Moon Sect, and we will take it back today!" With that, he waved his hand, and the silver-armored warriors drew their swords and approached with murderous intent.

Fu Shaoping said in a deep voice, "Nangong, Lin Yu, prepare to meet the enemy!"

Nangong Wan's sword flashed like a rainbow, and wherever the sword passed, the silver-armored warriors retreated; Lin Yu moved like lightning, and silver needles and hidden weapons rained down on the enemy; Fu Shaoping's palms flew, and his blazing palm force swept out, forcing the approaching enemies back.

However, the Shadow Moon Sect was clearly prepared. The leader sneered and a black talisman suddenly flew out from his sleeve. The talisman ignited with a ghostly blue flame and instantly transformed into a chain-like black mist that rushed straight towards Nangong Wan!
"Miss Nangong, be careful!" Fu Shaoping shouted, pushing out a wall of energy with both palms in an attempt to block the black mist.

"Clang!" Nangong Wan's sword flashed and slashed at the black mist, but with a "crack", the sword blade was corroded by the black mist and cracked!
"Mysterious Yin Demonic Mist?!" Lin Yu's expression changed. "This stuff can corrode weapons! Miss Nangong, step back!"

Nangong Wan retreated swiftly, and Fu Shaoping suddenly struck out with both palms. The scorching palm force collided with the black mist, erupting in dazzling sparks. However, the black mist only paused slightly before wrapping around him again!

"Damn it, why is this thing so troublesome?!" Cold sweat beaded on Fu Shaoping's forehead.

The leader of the Shadowmoon Sect sneered: "A mere mortal dares to oppose my Shadowmoon Sect?"

Just then, the deep blue light in the canyon suddenly surged, and a powerful pressure swept out from the depths!

"Who goes there?!" The leader of the Shadow Moon Sect's expression changed, and he looked up sharply.

A tall, slender figure appeared, his silver robe fluttering in the wind. His face was cold and his gaze sharp as lightning. In his hand he held a cyan longsword, and wherever the blade pointed, the black mist crumbled inch by inch!
"The Shadow Moon Sect's time to end here." The man's voice was indifferent, yet it carried an undeniable air of authority.

The Shadow Moon Sect leader's pupils constricted sharply: "You are... 'Heavenly Profound Sword' Chu Canglan?!"

The newcomer was none other than Chu Canglan, the legendary swordsman of the martial arts world!

Fu Shaoping and the other two were all taken aback, never expecting to encounter this legendary figure here.

Chu Canglan glanced at the three of them and nodded slightly: "Did you obtain the blood-red tokens from the Right Envoy of the Demonic Sect?"

Fu Shaoping clasped his hands and said, "Indeed, I am Fu Shaoping. May I ask why you are so concerned about this matter?"

Chu Canglan did not answer directly, but looked into the depths of the canyon: "'Tianxuan Jade' is about to appear in the world, and the world will be in turmoil. If you do not want to get involved in a bigger conflict, you would better leave now."

The leader of the Shadow Moon Sect sneered, "Chu Canglan, do you think you can stop the Shadow Moon Sect by yourself?"

Chu Canglan smiled faintly, raised his green sword slightly, and the sword blade swept through the void, bringing out a dazzling sword light!

"Stop you? No, I'm just here to take back what's rightfully mine."

Before he finished speaking, he flashed and shot straight into the depths of the canyon like a shooting star!

The leader of the Shadowmoon Sect had a grim face and gritted his teeth, saying, "Stop him!"

The silver-armored warriors charged out in unison, but Chu Canglan's sword light was as fast as lightning, and no one could stop it wherever it passed!

Fu Shaoping and the other two exchanged glances. Nangong Wan whispered, "We have to hurry over there too, otherwise the 'Heavenly Profound Jade' might fall into someone else's hands!"

Lin Yu nodded: "Let's go!"

The three of them quickly ran towards the depths of the canyon, but after only a few steps, the ground suddenly shook violently!
"Oh no, it's a trap!" Fu Shaoping shouted.

With a deafening roar, the stone walls on both sides of the canyon collapsed, and countless boulders tumbled down!

"Get out of the way!" Lin Yu grabbed Nangong Wan, while Fu Shaoping thrust out with both palms, the scorching palm force shattering the flying pebbles.

As the smoke and dust cleared, the eerie blue light deep within the canyon had completely vanished, replaced by a bottomless fissure!

"'Heavenly Jade'... fell down?!" Nangong Wan exclaimed in surprise.

Fu Shaoping frowned: "No, there seems to be something glowing below the crack."

Chu Canglan's voice came from below: "Come down!"

The three exchanged a glance, gritted their teeth, and said, "Jump!"

The three plunged into the abyss, the wind whistling in their ears, the feeling of weightlessness causing their hearts to race. Fu Shaoping instinctively circulated his inner energy to slow their fall, Nangong Wan used his sword sheath to brace himself against the rock wall, and Lin Yu threw out his silver rope to entangle a protruding rock edge. The three of them barely managed to stabilize themselves.

“Crack—”

Suddenly, the rock beneath their feet collapsed, sending rubble tumbling down. Fu Shaoping's pupils constricted, and the power of his "Frost Palm" erupted from his palm, freezing a foothold in the rock face. Nangong Wan drew his longsword, its energy sweeping across and severing the hanging vines. The three of them used the vines to cling to the branches, dangling in mid-air from the dark abyss.

“There’s light down there.” Lin Yu’s voice was slightly tense.

A deep blue light shone from thirty feet below, illuminating the dense, ancient runes on the rock wall. Those runes seemed familiar—the very same restrictive patterns they had seen on the stone gate of Tianxuan Mountain!
"It's a teleportation array!" Nangong Wan suddenly exclaimed. "The 'Heavenly Profound Jade' that the Demonic Sect and the Shadow Moon Sect are fighting over is actually meant to activate this ancient array!" Before he finished speaking, a metallic clanging sound suddenly came from the bottom of the abyss. Fu Shaoping stared intently, his blood almost freezing—nine bronze coffins were suspended in the center of the array, their lids half-open, and a chilling black mist seeping from the gaps. And standing before the coffins was none other than the Right Envoy of the Demonic Sect, who should have been nailed to the stone wall!
"Blood Puppet Technique?" Lin Yu gasped. A strange red mark appeared on the neck of the Demonic Sect's Right Envoy, and the skin beneath the mask was writhing—clearly a puppet being controlled!
"Watch out!" Chu Canglan's voice suddenly came from above. A cyan sword light pierced the air, but was swallowed by black mist the instant it touched the Right Envoy of the Demonic Sect. Even more terrifying, the bronze coffins simultaneously burst open, and dozens of equally pale puppets emerged from them!

"Jump!" Fu Shaoping grabbed Nangong Wan's wrist. The moment the three of them fell, the entire rock wall suddenly lit up with a blinding red light—the teleportation array had activated!
When they opened their eyes again, they found themselves in a completely unfamiliar secret chamber. The jade floor reflected the rotating star map on the dome, and the bronze bells hanging on the walls rang ethereally without wind.

"This is..." Nangong Wan's sword tip pressed against the suddenly appearing mechanical gears, "An ancient mechanical city? The legendary place where the core of the Heavenly Profound Jade is kept!"

Lin Yu suddenly pressed his hand to his chest: "Something's wrong, my silver needles." The silver needles that were originally stuck in the demonic puppets were now strangely hovering three inches around him, with black blood constantly seeping from their tips.

Fu Shaoping turned his head sharply: "Where is Chu Canglan?"

The words abruptly stopped. On the stone platform in the center of the secret chamber lay half a blood-stained token—the very one they had obtained from the Right Envoy of the Demonic Sect! Beside the token lay a silver mask engraved with the words "Shadow Moon."

"We've fallen into a trap." Nangong Wan's voice was as cold as ice. "From the moment we entered the canyon, this was a setup."

Suddenly, the mechanical gears emitted a piercing grinding sound. The dome-shaped star map abruptly accelerated its rotation, projecting a massive screen of light onto the ground—in which hundreds of puppets were surging towards the mechanical city from all directions!

"Quick, let's go!" Fu Shaoping grabbed the two of them. Just as they rushed towards the exit, Nangong Wan suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar figure flashing in the corner of the light screen—was that himself, who should have been recuperating at the inn?!
Nangong Wan shuddered, his pupils shrinking sharply. The "himself" in the light screen was standing with a sword in hand, the blade pointed at Fu Shaoping! Fu Shaoping in the image seemed to sense something, turning his head abruptly, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"This is impossible." Lin Yu's voice trembled. "That was clearly you, but we clearly..."

“It’s not us,” Fu Shaoping suddenly interrupted, his gaze sweeping across the secret room like lightning. “It’s us from another timeline.”

Before the words were even finished, the mechanical gears roared with a piercing din, the star map on the dome suddenly distorted, and the ground began to tremble violently. Nine bronze coffins opened simultaneously, and black mist surged out like a tide, condensing into dozens of new puppets. Even more terrifying, the faces of these puppets were exactly identical to the three of them!
"The Reincarnation Puppet Technique!" Nangong Wan's sword blade surged three inches. "These puppets were crafted using our aura as a catalyst!"

Chu Canglan's voice suddenly came from the shadows: "You've finally found out." A cyan sword light pierced the darkness as he slowly stepped out, longsword in hand. "The power of the Heavenly Profound Jade originates from the laws of spacetime. The Shadow Moon Sect intends to use it to restart the ancient battlefield, allowing millions of wronged souls to have their bodies reconstructed."

"Chu Canglan!" Fu Shaoping gathered power in his palms. "You knew all along?"

“Of course I know.” Chu Canglan sneered, the tip of his sword pointing at the stone platform in the center of the secret chamber. “Because twenty years ago, I was the first test subject to be turned into a puppet in this way.”

The blood-red token on the stone platform suddenly burst forth with red light, illuminating a huge star map on the wall. Nangong Wan gasped—the star map pointed directly to the canyon they had come from!
"Not good!" Lin Yu suddenly pointed to the dome, "Those bronze bells are absorbing our internal energy!"

Sure enough, the three of them were shocked to find that their internal energy was flowing uncontrollably towards the dome. Even more strangely, the puppets began to move slowly, as if they too were enduring some kind of torture.

Chu Canglan drew his longsword: "Do you understand now? The Shadow Moon Sect doesn't want the Heavenly Profound Jade; they want it to reverse time and space!"

"Then what should we do?" Fu Shaoping's forehead was covered in cold sweat.

Chu Canglan did not answer, but suddenly swung his sword at the stone platform. The blood-red token shattered in response, and a dark blue light shot into the sky, forming a rotating spatial rift in the center of the secret chamber.

"Jump in!" He shoved the three men aside. "This is the only way out!"

Nangong Wan was about to say something when he saw Chu Canglan thrust his sword into his own chest. Amidst the splatter of blood, his figure suddenly became transparent: "Remember, the true Heavenly Profound Jade is never inside any stone."

When they opened their eyes again, the three of them were back at the entrance of the canyon. The afterglow of the setting sun shone on the mountains, as if only a moment had passed. But Fu Shaoping knew that some things had changed forever.

Nangong Wan gripped the sword hilt tightly, his voice trembling slightly: "Chu Canglan, he..."

"He gave his life to buy us time." Lin Yu suddenly pointed to the depths of the canyon, "Look over there!"

The forces of the Demonic Sect and the Shadowmoon Sect were locked in a standoff, each leader clutching half of a blood-red token. Further away, thick smoke billowed from the direction of the inn—their former lodging!

"Someone tampered with the time we were gone." Fu Shaoping's eyes turned cold. "Nangong, Lin Yu, we..."

Before the words were finished, a dark figure suddenly rushed out from the ruins of the inn—it was an old man covered in blood, holding a complete blood-red token in his hand!
"Finally, we've found it!" the old man coughed up a mouthful of black blood. "The true secret of the Heavenly Profound Jade."

The old man staggered out of the inferno, the intact blood-red token in his hand gleaming eerily in the setting sun. His withered fingers trembled as he traced the runes on the token's surface, then suddenly he looked up, a terrifying glint flashing in his cloudy eyes—

"Finally, a suitable container has been found."

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly reached out and grabbed Nangong Wan!
"Watch out!" Fu Shaoping thrust out with both palms, his blazing palm force transforming into a wall of fire to block the attack. However, the old man merely flicked his sleeve, and the flames extinguished as if by ice. Lin Yu's silver needle shot out swiftly, but rusted to ash the instant it touched the old man's robe!

"The Corrupting Heart and Bone-Eroding Technique?!" Nangong Wan's expression changed drastically, his sword flashing horizontally. "This is a demonic technique lost for a hundred years!"

The old man neither dodged nor flinched, letting the sword graz his arm. Strangely, the blade only sparked a trail of sparks against his skin, leaving not a single bloodstain. "Little girl, your sword is fast," he chuckled sinisterly, suddenly clawing at Nangong Wan's skull, "but still not fast enough!"

At the critical moment, a streak of azure sword light suddenly descended from the sky!

"Qiang!"

Chu Canglan reappeared, his longsword blocking the old man's wrist. But this time, his figure was as ethereal as smoke, and the sword's edge barely stirred the wind. "No time to explain," he said urgently, "Take the token and leave! They're about to activate the spacetime array!"

The old man let out a shrill laugh: "Too late!" He suddenly tore open his clothes, revealing half of a blood-red token embedded in his chest—fitting perfectly with the one in Nangong Wan's hand! The moment the two tokens collided, the entire canyon fell into absolute silence.

Even the sound of the wind disappeared.

Fu Shaoping was horrified to discover that his shadow was twisting and deforming, as if being pulled towards the ground by some invisible force. Nangong Wan's sword began to frost over, while Lin Yu's silver needles floated up strangely—the three of them were being dragged into different dimensions of time and space at the same time!
"Remember!" Chu Canglan's voice seemed to come from near and far, "The true form of the Heavenly Profound Jade is..."

(End of this chapter)