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

The morning mist hadn't yet dissipated, and the surface of the Canglan River shimmered with light. Fu Shaoping, Nangong Wan, and Lin Yu stood at the ferry crossing, with the gradually calming Luoyue City behind them. Last night's fierce battle seemed like a dream, with only the faint silver markings on their wrists proving that it had all truly happened.

"The landlady's medicine-decocting skills are indeed quite good." Nangong Wan shook the medicine packet in his hand, a slight smile playing on his lips. "However, this time, we'll need to find a more secure place to stay."

Lin Yu squinted at the river surface, where nine points of light shimmered in the morning light, like stars scattered by the wind. "Do you think that guy Chu Canglan... really disappeared?"

Fu Shaoping gripped the wine pot tightly, his fingertips tracing the remaining runes on its surface. "The power of the Heavenly Profound Jade has dissipated. If he really wants to hide, who can find him?" He paused, then suddenly laughed. "However, that guy has always liked to drink. Maybe one day we'll run into him on the rooftop of some inn."

The "Drunken Moon Pavilion" on the upper reaches of the Canglan River was thriving. The proprietress, Su Wan—or rather, the mysterious woman who had once trapped three people with her shadow magic—was leaning against the counter, brewing medicine. As she looked up, her gaze happened to sweep over the three figures at the doorway.

"Oh, a rare guest." She smiled slightly and pushed the medicine bowl to the apprentice behind her. "Today's medicine includes an extra ingredient, 'Moonlight Grass'."

Fu Shaoping pushed open the door and entered, placing the wine pot on the counter: "The usual, three bowls."

Su Wan paused, her gaze lingering for a moment on the silver markings on his wrist, then her smile deepened: "It seems the 'aftereffects' of the Heavenly Profound Jade haven't worn off yet?"

Nangong Wan and Lin Yu exchanged a glance and sat down in tacit agreement. Lin Yu lowered his voice: "How much do you think she knows?"

“Enough stories.” Fu Shaoping swirled his wine glass, the amber liquid reflecting the swaying lanterns outside the window. “But sometimes, knowing too much isn’t a good thing.”

As night fell, the three of them took a boat trip on the Canglan River. The water was as calm as a mirror, with only the occasional soft scraping sound coming from the bottom of the boat.

"Did you hear that?" Lin Yu suddenly stood up, his fingertips touching the ship's deck. "It sounds like gears turning..."

Before the words were even finished, the river suddenly surged! Nine bronze chains burst forth from the water, wrapping around the boat and dragging the three of them into the water. In the darkness, they plunged into a hidden underground altar—the very direction the lanterns had indicated the day before.

At the center of the altar, a colossal hourglass floated above the vortex of time and space, nine points of light slowly rotating. The figure of the imposter Chu Canglan reappeared, his voice hoarse and distorted beneath the mask: "You think resetting time can change everything? How laughable!"

Nangong Wan's silver needles shot out like meteors: "Then destroy it!"

The instant the hourglass shattered, countless fragments of memories flooded into the three people's minds—
-
Fu Shaoping saw himself standing amidst the ruins of the inn, clutching half a blood-stained token in his hand;
Nangong Wan saw his younger self handing the fragments of the Heavenly Profound Jade to Chu Canglan;
Lin Yu saw the rooftops in the rainy night. Chu Canglan handed him the wine pot and said with a smile, "Time waits for no one."

“I see…” Fu Shaoping’s knife plunged into the ground, and silver light burst forth from the crack. “The true power of the Heavenly Profound Jade has never been to manipulate time—but to make us understand that some bonds are worth protecting with everything.”

As the light engulfed the altar, the fake Chu Canglan's shriek was drowned out. The three opened their eyes and found themselves standing at the ferry crossing on the banks of the Canglan River, the morning mist like gauze, as if nothing had ever happened.

A year later, at the Lantern Festival, thousands of lanterns floated on the river in Luoyue City. Fu Shaoping leaned against the bridgehead, watching Nangong Wan and Lin Yu laughing and playing among the crowd.

"Boss lady, three bowls of wine!" he shouted towards the direction of Zuiyue Tower.

Su Wan poked her head out and laughed, scolding, "Drinking in broad daylight? You're asking for a beating!"

Fu Shaoping smiled and raised the wine pot. The moonlight shone on the pot, faintly revealing nine points of light.

A gentle breeze swept across the river, carrying the delicate fragrance of lotus blossoms from afar. This time, there were no pursuers, no conspiracies, only three figures standing side by side, and an endless future.

Fu Shaoping shook the wine pot, and the last sip of Moonlight Wine slid down his throat. The slightly intoxicating warmth made him squint his eyes.

"Boss lady, another pot, please." He tossed the empty wine pot to the counter of Zuiyuelou. Su Wan caught it and tapped the pot lightly with her fingertips, making a crisp sound.

"Drinking so much in broad daylight, be careful you won't be able to sleep at night." She shook her head with a smile, but still expertly poured a full glass of new wine.

Nangong Wan leaned against the bridge railing, his silver needles flying between his fingers, then suddenly pointed to the river: "Look."

Ripples spread across the water, and the nine points of light reappeared, brighter than last year. Lin Yu narrowed his eyes: "Not an illusion... residual power of the Heavenly Profound Jade?"

Fu Shaoping suddenly pressed his hand to his chest—the silver lines there were slightly warm. He remembered Chu Canglan's words before he disappeared: "Time will reset everything, but some things... will forever remain in the choices we make."
-
Just after the midnight drumbeat, there was a gentle knock on the door of Zuiyue Tower.

Su Wan lifted the curtain, and in the candlelight stood a traveler wearing a straw hat. The man removed his hat, revealing an unfamiliar face, but his eyes—

"Chu Canglan?" Lin Yu suddenly stood up, the silver needle already pressed against the other's throat.

The traveler chuckled and took out half of a token from his robes: "Returning it to its rightful owner." The patterns on the token and the silver markings on Nangong Wan's wrist lit up simultaneously.

Fu Shaoping's knife was instantly drawn: "Who exactly are you?"

"A hapless fellow who has to clean up Tian Xuanyu's mess." The traveler tore off the human skin mask, revealing Chu Canglan's familiar face—but he looked much older, with a few more fine lines at the corners of his eyes.
-
The news brought by Chu Canglan left the three of them silent:
"The remnants of the Shadowmoon Sect have found a new vessel." He pointed to the center of the river. "That 'empty city' never really disappeared; it simply sank to the bottom."

Nangong Wan suddenly pressed his hand to his chest: "So my poison..."

"It's the Heavenly Jade that's reminding you." Su Wan appeared behind you unnoticed, her pestle gleaming with a bluish light. "After the timeline is repaired, the remaining power will seek a new host."

Lin Yu twirled his newly bought wine flask: "So, we're going to have to go on the run again?"

Fu Shaoping filled the three men's glasses: "No, this time we'll take the initiative." In the moonlight, the silver patterns on his wrist transformed into a flowing river of light. "Since the Heavenly Profound Jade has chosen us—"

"Then let fate be brewed into the strongest wine." The three clinked their glasses, the crisp sound startling the nightingales on the riverbank.
-
Three months later, a new story was circulating in the teahouses of Falling Moon City:
Some people say they saw three strange men chasing a bronze puppet all over the city;
-
Some say the proprietress of Zuiyue Tower uses a decoction pot as a shield;
Some people even say there's a glowing altar at the bottom of the Lancang River...

But the truth is—

As night falls, a figure wearing a straw hat always stands at the ferry crossing, gazing at the river and chuckling softly: "This time, it's our turn to rewrite the ending."

In a private room on the second floor of Zuiyue Tower, Fu Shaoping gently stirred the peanuts in his bowl with the tip of his chopsticks. In the glow of the oil lamp, the nine points of light flickered deep within his pupils.

"Madam," he suddenly spoke, "did you pick the moonflower from the bottom of the river when you decocted the medicine?"

Su Wan paused, her hand still wiping the wine jug. The jug reflected her slightly contracted pupils: "What's wrong? This wine doesn't taste right?"

Nangong Wan's silver needle silently pressed against Su Wan's neck: "The medicine you brewed for us last year cured the bone-corroding poison, but it made the markings spread even faster." Lin Yu's wine glass suddenly shattered. The amber liquid meandered across the table, forming strange patterns that mirrored the silver marks on their wrists.

“It seems the vessel chosen by Tianxuan Jade is more interesting than you imagined,” Su Wan put down the wine pot, three jet-black silver needles sliding out of her sleeve.
-
When Nangong Wan's silver needle pierced Su Wan's throat, the three of them suddenly went into darkness.

When they opened their eyes again, they stood in a pure white void. Countless fragments of memories streaked past like shooting stars—
-
On a rainy night, young Nangong Wan handed the token to Chu Canglan.
Fu Shaoping found half a bloodstained jade pendant in the ruins of the inn.
-
Lin Yu was sent flying by a punch from the drunken Chu Canglan on the rooftop.

"This is..." Lin Yu reached out to grab a fragment, but it passed right through him.

"The remaining time imprint on the Heavenly Profound Jade." Su Wan's voice came from all directions, "You thought you were resetting time? No, you were resetting memories."

Fu Shaoping suddenly noticed that the lines on his wrist were glowing. The silver lines intertwined in the air, outlining the shape of an altar—the very one they had destroyed last year!
-
When the three broke free from the illusion, they were already standing at the bottom of the Canglan River.

The bronze altar was partially hidden among the eerie green algae. The hourglass in the center of the altar was turning in reverse, and the nine points of light twisted into an eerie ring.

"It seems the Shadowmoon Sect has found a more perfect vessel." Chu Canglan emerged from the shadows, his aged face etched with weariness. "This time it's not a person, but the entire timeline itself."

Nangong Wan's silver needles suddenly stood up: "Where is Su Wan?"

Chu Canglan lifted his cloak, revealing Su Wan bound by silver chains: "She sealed the altar entrance with her own body. These chains," his voice hoarse, "were refined using my lifespan for the next hundred years."
-
The altar suddenly shook violently.

The sand in the hourglass transformed into countless points of light, coalescing into the illusory figures of three people—

The phantom Fu Shaoping swung his sword at the phantom Nangong Wan.

The illusory Nangong Wan's silver needle pierced the heart of the illusory Lin Yu.

The gears that the phantom Lin Yu was spinning shredded the entire altar.
"This is the ending predetermined by the Heavenly Profound Jade," Chu Canglan said with a bitter smile. "No matter what choices you make, you will ultimately kill each other."

Fu Shaoping suddenly pressed his hand to his chest. The silver patterns there were spreading uncontrollably, forming ancient runes on the surface of his skin.

“I see.” A look of understanding flashed in his eyes. “The timeline reset wasn’t to change the past, but to let us see clearly—”

“The real enemy has never been the Shadow Moon Sect,” Nangong Wan replied, a purple flame igniting at his fingertips as he held a silver needle.

Lin Yu twirled the wine jug, and the Moonlight Wine condensed into a longsword in the air: "It's the fear in our own hearts."
-
When the three of them touched the altar at the same time, time seemed to be paused.
-
Fu Shaoping's blade severed the causal chains between the illusory figures.
-
Nangong Wan's purple flames burned away the fragments of memory.
-
Lin Yu's Moonlight Sword pierced the core of the hourglass.

The moment the altar collapsed, the nine points of light suddenly coalesced into a pillar of light. The chains binding Su Wan snapped inch by inch, while Chu Canglan rapidly rejuvenated—

"No!" Nangong Wan's exclamation and Su Wan's laughter rang out at the same time.

In the dazzling white light, the last thing everyone saw was:
The young Chu Canglan stood on the rooftop in the rainy night, handing a wine jug to his equally young self: "Time waits for no one."
-
When the Canglan River returned to calm, the signboard of Zuiyuelou had been replaced.

"What are you asking about, gentlemen?" the new proprietress asked curiously.

Fu Shaoping shook the wine pot: "I heard there used to be a proprietress here who knew how to brew medicine?"

"You mean Sister Su Wan?" The proprietress smiled and pointed to the river. "She left last year with three strange men, saying she was going to find something."

Before the words were finished, nine lotus-shaped fireworks suddenly exploded in the middle of the river. Three figures wearing straw hats stood at the bow of the boat, one of them raising a wine jug in salute.

“Look, it’s just like the story from back then.” The proprietress suddenly had tears in her eyes.

Lin Yu's silver needles gleamed faintly in the moonlight, Nangong Wan's medicine packet emitted a delicate fragrance, and on Fu Shaoping's scabbard, a fresh scratch appeared—proof of breaking free from the shackles of fate.

A gentle breeze from the river carries a faint scent of herbs. Another story of courage and bonds is slowly unfolding on the banks of the Canglan River.

Steam rose from the steamer in the kitchen of Zuiyuelou as Su Wan sprinkled the last herb into the cauldron. Ripples spread across the broth, and nine points of light cast tiny specks of light on the surface.

"Boss lady," apprentice Xiao Cui poked her head in and asked, "Does this 'Nine-Turn Resurrection Soup' really need Moonlight Grass? I've heard about that stuff..."

"Shut up and start brewing the medicine." Su Wan tapped her forehead, a cold glint flashing from the silver needle hidden in her sleeve. The medicine cauldron suddenly hummed, and the same silver patterns as those on Fu Shaoping's wrist appeared on its surface.

A familiar knocking sound came from the river.

Fu Shaoping slammed the wine jug against a wooden post on the dock: "Same old spot."

Just as the boatman was about to pole the boat, Lin Yu suddenly grabbed his shoulder: "Look at the bottom of the river."

As the water rippled, nine bronze chains slowly swam towards the shore. At the end of the chains, the mask of the Right Envoy of the Shadow Moon Sect gleamed coldly in the moonlight.

“It seems they’ve found a new container.” Nangong Wan’s fingertips hummed with silver needles. “This time it’s the entire Canglan River.”

Chu Canglan emerged from the shadows, a smile on his youthful face tinged with the wisdom of age: "That's why I brought a gift." On the surface of the wine jug he tossed, nine points of light were swirling, forming the shape of the Canglan River.

When the three men opened the wine jug, the entire river suddenly boiled.

The altar at the bottom of the river broke through the water, and the hourglass floated hundreds of feet in the air. This time they saw it clearly—the hourglass was not filled with sand, but with countless figures of Su Wan preparing medicine.

"Time is embodied here." Lin Yu's wine flask began to freeze. "Each point of light is a possibility to be rewritten."

Nangong Wan's silver needles suddenly all broke. She looked at the newly formed purple lines on her palm: "So this is what they call the aftereffects."

"It's the Heavenly Jade that's helping us store up power." Fu Shaoping's knife plunged into the altar, and fragments of memories burst forth from the cracks. They saw young Su Wan giving herbs to the injured Chu Canglan on a rainy night, and they saw their younger selves drinking heavily on the rooftop of an inn. (End of Chapter)