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

As night deepened, Fu Shaoping carried Nangong Wan through the bamboo forest, with Lin Yu leading the way with a lantern. Strange purplish-black patterns had appeared on Nangong Wan's arms; the poison was spreading faster than expected.

"Just bear with it a little longer, 'Qingzhu Residence' is just ahead." Fu Shaoping said in a low voice, "The proprietress there is an expert in pharmacology, and she might be able to cure this bone-corroding poison."

Lin Yu glanced back, his brows furrowed: "But the soldiers' search area has been expanded to the outskirts of the city. If we travel so openly, we'll be discovered sooner or later."

“Then let’s take a detour.” Fu Shaoping’s gaze darkened. “There’s a stream on the west side of the bamboo forest. If we follow the waterway, we can avoid the main road.”

Just as the three turned to the west, suddenly—

"Shh!"

A cold light pierced through the air, heading straight for Fu Shaoping's back!

Fu Shaoping reacted with lightning speed, parrying with a backhand strike. With a clang, sparks flew. In the darkness, a man in black, wielding a curved blade, moved as swiftly as a ghost.

"Remnants of the Shadow Moon Sect!" Lin Yu shouted coldly, flicking his wrist to throw three silver needles. The man in black dodged to the side, but was still grazed on the shoulder by one of the needles, letting out a muffled groan.

"More than one!" Nangong Wan struggled to jump off Fu Shaoping's back, and his silver needles rained down, forcing back two men in black who had rushed out of the forest.

Fu Shaoping's blade flashed, its cold light like a waterfall: "It seems the Shadow Moon Sect had an ambush planned!"

**Qingzhu Residence - Backyard**
The proprietress, Su Wan, was a woman nearing forty, with gentle features, yet she wielded the pestle with remarkable skill. She placed the last herb into the medicine cauldron and looked up at the three still panting: "Although the Bone-Corroding Poison is dangerous, the presence of the fragment of the Heavenly Jade can suppress its toxicity."

Fu Shaoping frowned: "Fragments of the Heavenly Profound Jade?"

Su Wan handed him a bowl of dark brown medicine: "This was left by Chu Canglan. He said you would come."

After taking the medicine, the purplish-black lines on Nangong Wan's arm faded slightly. She looked out the window and said, "The soldiers are searching so thoroughly; we'll probably have to stay here for a few more days."

Lin Yu suddenly looked up: "Wait...did you hear anything?"

The bamboo leaves rustled, and a faint sound of water came from afar—but it sounded more like the harsh grating of metal.

"Not good!" Fu Shaoping suddenly drew his sword. "They're coming!"

**Qingzhu Residence - Riverside**
More than ten men in black, wielding curved blades, rushed out from the bamboo forest. Leading them was none other than the Right Envoy of the Shadow Moon Sect! A cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth beneath his mask: "The fragments of the Heavenly Profound Jade, we will seize them today!"

Fu Shaoping brandished his sword in front of him: "Then let's give it a try!"

Amidst the flashing blades, a man in black suddenly pulled a bronze gear from his robes and hurled it into the river.

"boom!"

The gears embedded in the water emitted an eerie roar, the water level of the entire stream suddenly dropped, and a bronze altar slowly rose from the riverbed!
"This is... a mobile altar of the Shadowmoon Sect?!" Lin Yu exclaimed in shock.

The Right Envoy of Shadowmoon Sect laughed wildly: "That's right! Today, right here, we will completely eliminate you!"

At the center of the altar, purple flames rose, and a huge bronze puppet slowly opened its eyes—it was a miniature version of the "All-Encompassing Furnace"!
Su Wan stood on the roof, the pestle in her hand emitting a faint blue light. She murmured to herself, "The power of the Heavenly Jade... it really can distort space and time."

Under the moonlight, her shadow strangely split into three, each streaking towards Fu Shaoping, Nangong Wan, and Lin Yu respectively.

Su Wan's shadow split into three, writhing like living things as it lunged at the three. Fu Shaoping whirled around, his blade sweeping across, but he only struck a blurry shadow. At the same time, the other two shadows closed in on Nangong Wan and Lin Yu respectively!
"Watch out!" Fu Shaoping shouted.

Nangong Wan instinctively turned to the side, a cold glint of light grazing her neck, drawing a string of blood beads. Lin Yu, enveloped in shadow, suddenly froze on the spot, his eyes losing their luster.

"Lin Yu!" Fu Shaoping roared, his sword aura suddenly surging.

Su Wan's voice came from all directions: "The power of the Heavenly Profound Jade is truly fascinating." Her true form leaped down from the roof, and the pestle in her hand transformed into a streak of green light, piercing straight into Nangong Wan's heart!

At the critical moment, a dark figure suddenly darted out from the side and stood in front of Nangong Wan.

"Qiang!"

Chu Canglan, holding the wine pot, took the blow head-on. Strange runes appeared on the surface of the wine pot, completely dissipating the impact of the pestle.

"You've come at the perfect time," Su Wan sneered. "Perfect for witnessing the final secret of the Heavenly Profound Jade."

Chu Canglan shook the wine pot: "I guessed you'd come. After all, what the Shadow Moon Sect wanted most was never that token."

**Qingzhu Residence - Riverside**
The bronze puppet on the altar let out a deafening roar, and purple flames shot out from its eye sockets. Fu Shaoping stood back to back with Nangong Wan, while Lin Yu, who had somehow regained his mobility, was rapidly forming hand seals.

"What exactly is that thing?" Fu Shaoping asked, panting.

“It’s not a thing,” Lin Yu said in a deep voice, “it’s a container. The Shadow Moon Sect is using the power of the Heavenly Profound Jade to create living containers.”

Before he could finish speaking, the bronze puppet suddenly sprang up, its giant arm sweeping across! Fu Shaoping swung his sword to block, but the blade was twisted in the process!
"Retreat!" Chu Canglan suddenly appeared in front of the three, a burst of silver light spilling from the wine jug. The puppet's movements suddenly slowed, as if it had sunk into a quagmire.

"Time... has been distorted again?" Nangong Wan stared at the scene in shock.

Chu Canglan didn't answer, but instead handed the wine pot to Fu Shaoping: "Your turn."

**Qingzhu Residence - Rooftop**
Su Wan and Chu Canglan's figures intersected in the air, the pestle and wine pot colliding and emitting a dazzling light.

"You think you can stop the Shadow Moon Sect?" Su Wan sneered. "The power of the Heavenly Profound Jade is spiraling out of control! Look at your friends."

Following her gaze, Chu Canglan saw:
-
The knife in Fu Shaoping's hand was melting, turning into a silvery liquid that flowed down his arm.
Nangong Wan's silver needles began to twist and contort, wrapping around her wrist as if they were alive.
Lin Yu's shadow is splitting apart, merging with Su Wan's shadow.

"I see." Chu Canglan suddenly realized, "The Heavenly Jade didn't choose one person, but the bond between the three of you!"

**Qingzhu Residence - Riverside**
Fu Shaoping felt his consciousness being eroded by some kind of force. He saw:
-
As a child, I stood at the entrance of the inn.
-
Nangong Wan held the blood-stained token.
-
Chu Canglan handed him the wine jug in the rainy night.

"So this is time," he murmured to himself.

Just then, Nangong Wan suddenly grabbed his hand: "Fu Shaoping! Look at me!" Her eyes gleamed with a strange light. "Do you remember our promise?"

Memories flood back like a tide—
-
Their first meeting at the Lantern Festival
-
Fighting side by side at the underground altar of Fallen Moon City
-
As Chu Canglan once said, "Those who can see through the essence of time..."

Fu Shaoping's knife suddenly stopped melting. He opened his eyes, his pupils gleaming with a silver light: "So that's how it is. Time isn't meant to be reversed, but to be created!"

**Qingzhu Residence - Rooftop**
Su Wan's smile froze. She saw Chu Canglan's figure suddenly split into three, each overlapping with someone from her memory—
-
Young swordsman
-
The scholar holding an umbrella
-
The prodigal son lying drunk on the roof

“This is impossible.” Her voice began to tremble.

Chu Canglan's voice came simultaneously from three directions: "The one truly chosen by the Heavenly Profound Jade is the one capable of creating a new timeline."

Fu Shaoping, Nangong Wan, and Lin Yu simultaneously placed their hands on the altar. The bronze puppet let out a final, unwilling roar, then dissipated into countless points of light into the night sky. Under the moonlight, their shadows were stretched long. Su Wan, standing on the rooftop, watched this scene and suddenly smiled: "So that's how it is. This is the true power of the Heavenly Profound Jade."

Her body began to become transparent, and finally turned into starlight and disappeared in the night wind.

The medicinal liquid in the cauldron suddenly boiled, and eight points of light appeared on the surface. Chu Canglan stood in front of the cauldron and poured the last drop of liquid from the wine pot into it.

“Nine anchor points,” he said softly. “Now, the real work begins.”

The moonlight of the fifteenth of July bathed the Canglan River, turning the entire river silvery-blue. Fu Shaoping stood at the ferry, watching the lotus lanterns floating on the river, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the wine pot—where the last drop of moonlight wine left by Chu Canglan remained.

“These lights,” Nangong Wan suddenly grabbed his wrist, “are all drifting in the same direction.”

Lin Yu unfolded the yellowed map, his fingertip tracing the ninth dot marked with a star: "There are nine water veins beneath Falling Moon City, and the lanterns will converge along these veins to the altar entrance." He paused, "But according to Chu Canglan, it should be there now..."

“An empty city,” Fu Shaoping interjected, his gaze sweeping over the bustling stalls on the shore. “The Shadow Moon Sect is most adept at the art of feigning weakness.”

Suddenly, a lotus lantern exploded in the middle of the river!

Purple flames soared into the air, reflecting dozens of pairs of eerie eyes beneath the river's surface. Nangong Wan's silver needles arrived: "Puppet Water Ghost!"

"Watch out for the wick!" Lin Yu suddenly tackled the two men to the ground. Where the burning wick fell, the water surface exploded with foul-smelling mud, and three bronze puppets emerged from the water, their joints still wrapped with burning wicks—that was no ordinary flame, but a bone-corroding purple fire that could corrode metal!
Fu Shaoping's blade struck the puppet's shoulder, but a sickening scraping sound came from the blade: "These guys...are absorbing our attack energy?"

When the three retreated to the teahouse on the shore, Nangong Wan suddenly clutched her chest and knelt down. The purplish-black lines on her arm had spread to her neck, resembling a twisted venomous snake in the moonlight.

"It's not the Bone-Corroding Poison," Lin Yu's silver needle trembled as it hovered between her wrists, "it's the power of the Heavenly Profound Jade repelling your meridians!"

The tea server suddenly lifted the curtain and rushed in, holding a medicine pot with a single, vibrant green tea leaf floating in it. "This is the antidote left by Miss Su Wan," he said, lowering his voice. "She said to brew it with water from the Lantern River on the night of the full moon." "She also said you should watch the lantern shadows."

Everyone looked up and saw that the lanterns on the river had formed eight points of light on the surface of the river—the anchor points on the star map that had not yet been lit!
As Fu Shaoping followed the water veins to the underground altar, his sword was suddenly frozen in mid-air by some force. The black-robed man opposite him slowly raised his head, revealing Chu Canglan's face beneath the mask!

"Time Anchor Point," the fake Chu Canglan sneered, "you have ultimately triggered the real test."

Nangong Wan's silver needles were faster than his voice: "Illusion!" But the three silver needles pierced through the black robe and stuck to the stone wall—they realized at the same time that this "Chu Canglan" was himself a product of spacetime distortion!

"The real Chu Canglan." The fake Chu Canglan's body began to turn transparent, "Crossing the ninth anchor point."

As the three escaped the altar, the bell tower of Falling Moon City suddenly struck twelve. The fragments of the token in Nangong Wan's arms suddenly heated up, piecing together a complete star map—the ninth point of light was lighting up beneath their feet!

"So this is what Chu Canglan meant by 'working overtime.'" Fu Shaoping smiled wryly, looking at the river. In the stream of light from the lanterns, a painted boat could be vaguely seen sailing towards the altar, a familiar figure standing at its bow—

"It's the real deal!" Lin Yu exclaimed. "That fake was stalling for time!"

On the deck of the pleasure boat, the real Chu Canglan tossed a wine jug into the river. The spilled moonlight wine condensed into runes in mid-air, freezing the pursuing puppet in mid-air.

"The final test of the Heavenly Jade," he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth (the price of time travel), "is not to defeat the Shadow Moon Sect, but to decide whether to reset all timelines."

Nangong Wan's silver needles stopped in mid-air: "You mean it's possible to go back to before everything started?"

Fu Shaoping gripped her hand tightly: "But if that happens, everything we have now..."

Chu Canglan suddenly laughed: "Look, this is the cruelest aspect of the Heavenly Profound Jade—it makes it impossible for you to imagine a world without each other."

Suddenly, all the lanterns in the middle of the river went out. In the complete darkness, the three people held hands tightly.

The runes formed from the moonlight wine flickered three times on the river surface, and the pleasure boat suddenly sank vertically into the water. As Fu Shaoping fell, he saw Chu Canglan lift the cabin floor, revealing a bronze compass inlaid with eight fragments of a star map.

"That's no ordinary compass!" Lin Yu shouted through the turbulent waters. "Those fragments are absorbing the energy of the water veins!"

Nangong Wan's silver needles suddenly all stood upright: "Watch out above!"

Dozens of bronze puppets emerged from the whirlpool, the purple flames at their joints evaporating the river water into an eerie indigo mist. Even more terrifying, the same purplish-black patterns on Nangong Wan's arms pulsed within the puppets' chests—they were being transformed into living vessels!

When the four (including Chu Canglan, who had fallen out of the spacetime rift) stood before the bronze door, what seeped from the cracks was not water, but viscous starlight. Chu Canglan pressed the eight star map fragments into the grooves, and a loud clanging sound of gears meshing echoed from within the door—

"This is... the core of the Heavenly Profound Jade?" Fu Shaoping's knife sank into the ground for a non-slip grip. "No, it's even more ancient than that."

The moment the door opened, nine water veins suddenly surged forth, sweeping them into tunnels in different directions. Fu Shaoping grabbed a bronze chain in the rushing water and looked up to see—

The entire waterway was actually pieced together from the spines of countless puppets!

Nangong Wan runs through another tunnel, where flowing images of memories appear on the walls:
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Young Chu Canglan handed the token to her on a rainy night.
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Fu Shaoping lay in a pool of blood, reaching out his hand to her.
-
Lin Yu drew his sword for the first time on the roof of the inn.

"This isn't an illusion," she gasped, pressing her temples. "It's the Heavenly Jade filtering through my memories!"

Suddenly, three doors appeared in front of them:

Through the first door, Fu Shaoping was walking alone toward the altar.
Inside the second door, Nangong Wan smiled, holding the blood-stained token.

Inside the third door, Lin Yu was disassembling the bronze gears.

Under each door was engraved a line of small characters:
"Choice is betrayal"

At the end of the tunnel where Chu Canglan was located was a giant hourglass, above which nine points of light floated in a spacetime vortex—these were all the anchor points they had passed through. Inscribed below the hourglass were:

Resetting comes at a cost.

Those who retain their memories will become sacrifices.

The fake Chu Canglan (the man in black robes) suddenly emerged from the shadows: "So you finally understand? The Heavenly Profound Jade never chooses heroes, but sacrifices!" His body began to crystallize. "Look at the real Chu Canglan."

The real Chu Canglan was kneeling beside the hourglass, the fragment of the Heavenly Profound Jade on his chest devouring his flesh and blood.

When Fu Shaoping escaped the whirlpool of water veins, he saw—

Nangong Wan stood in the center of the memory maze, a silver needle in her hand connecting three doors;
Lin Yu frantically spun a bronze handle inside the gear tunnel;
The jade pendant on Chu Canglan's chest was completely shattered.
"I see." Fu Shaoping's blade suddenly emitted a dragon-like hum. "Time reset is not a choice, but a creation!"

He leaped into the hourglass, and with the tip of his knife, he picked up the last complete fragment of the star map.

As the morning mist over the Canglan River dissipated, the residents of Luoyue City discovered:
The lotus lanterns at the lantern ferry crossing have all been replaced with ordinary paper lanterns.
The underground altar turned into an ordinary underground river.
-
And three people standing by the river.
"So now," Lin Yu shook the newly bought wine flask, "where should we go?"

Nangong Wan's silver needles gleamed in the sunlight: "I heard there's a tavern upstream on the Canglan River where the proprietress is very skilled at brewing medicine."

Fu Shaoping gazed at the nine points of light that had suddenly appeared on the river's surface—this time not in the water, but in the sky. He smiled: "Perfect, my treat." (End of Chapter)