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

"We've arrived at the Soul Devouring Pool." Wang Xiaohu's eyes narrowed, and the Burning Heaven Sword automatically unsheathed itself. A crimson sword aura slashed out, actually burning a scorch mark on the giant hand. The giant hand retracted in pain, but more ripples appeared on the water's surface. Dozens of similar giant hands surged out from underwater, densely grabbing at the flat boat.

Su Qingwan flicked her fingers rapidly, and the ice silk strings emitted a clear, resonant tremor. The sound waves sliced ​​through the mist like sharp blades, shattering the approaching giant hand. "These are puppets formed from swamp mud; they're afraid of fire!"

Wang Xiaohu understood, and the crimson patterns on the Burning Heaven Sword lit up, its sword energy sweeping out with the power of holy fire. A large plume of steam immediately rose from the water's surface, and the mud puppets melted upon contact with the fire, turning into puddles of black water that sank to the bottom of the pool. But the bubbles at the bottom of the pool grew increasingly dense, as if something even greater was about to awaken.

"Hurry!" Wang Xiaohu sheathed the Burning Heaven Sword and bent down to row. The small boat shot out of the Devouring Spirit Pool like an arrow. A muffled roar came from behind. When he looked back, he saw a giant crocodile phantom covered in moss churning in the pool, which was quickly swallowed up by the miasma.

After passing through three Soul-Devouring Pools, the fog ahead gradually thinned, revealing the outline of a solitary island. Dozens of black stone towers stood on the island, their tips swirling with gray-black mist, completely different from the miasma of the swamp—it was pure demonic energy, carrying a sluggish feeling as if time had been distorted.

“It’s the Island of No Return.” Su Qingwan pointed to the open space between the stone towers, where a huge hexagonal array was carved. A bronze compass floated at the array’s core, its pointer slowly rotating. With each rotation, the surrounding space trembled slightly. “That’s the Time Compass!”

The two hid their small boat in the reeds and, under the cover of the mist, sneaked onto the island. The time-reversal cultists patrolling around the stone tower wore gray-black robes and bronze masks. Unlike the cultists in the far north snow mountain, their masks were engraved with distorted time runes, and they left faint afterimages as they walked—clearly, they had cultivated some kind of evil art to manipulate the flow of time.

“These people’s movements… are sometimes fast and sometimes slow.” Su Qingwan lowered her voice. “That cultist just now, with one step, it was as if he had teleported half a zhang.”

The blue mark between Wang Xiaohu's brows was slightly warm. He could sense that the demonic energy within these cultists contained fragments of time, like pieces peeled from the river of history. "They're feeding the Time Compass with the blood and essence of living people. Look at the bottom of those stone towers..."

Su Qingwan followed his gaze and saw numb faces peeking out from the windows at the bottom of the stone tower. These were the kidnapped people, and their life force was slowly flowing into the Time Compass in the center through the runes on the stone tower walls.

“We must destroy the runes first to stop them from making sacrifices.” Wang Xiaohu gripped the Demon-Suppressing Sword tightly. “I’ll go to the core of the array to find the Time Compass, and you go to rescue the people. We’ll meet at the top of the tower.”

Su Qingwan nodded and took out a few silver needles from the pipa box: "Be careful, these people's time-manipulation evil arts are not easy to deal with."

The two split up. Wang Xiaohu activated his Starry Sky Sword Qi, his figure transforming into a streak of green, dodging the patrolling cultists and heading straight for the center of the formation. As he approached the Time Compass, he noticed a black-robed figure kneeling beneath it, slashing his palm with a bone knife and dripping blood onto the compass. The blood, falling onto the bronze surface, transformed into golden quicksand, flowing along the trajectory of the pointer.

“Master of the Star Sword, you have finally arrived.” The man in black robes slowly turned around. His mask was different from the others; it was made of pure gold and engraved with intricate star maps. “I have waited for this day for thirty years.”

Wang Xiaohu's pupils constricted sharply—this voice bore a striking resemblance to the Demon Realm Sword Master he had slain years ago! "Who are you?"

"Who I am is not important." The golden-masked man stood up, and the fragments of time around him suddenly accelerated their flow, leaving several afterimages in his place. "What is important is that the Icebound Sword and the Heaven-Burning Sword in your hands can just complete the last two core pieces of the Time Compass."

He raised his hand and waved, sending afterimages rushing forward simultaneously. The bone knife in his hand carried a twisting blade wind, sometimes as fast as lightning, sometimes as slow as solidified fat, making it difficult for the sword energy to lock onto him. Wang Xiaohu crossed his Demon-Suppressing Sword and Heaven-Burning Sword to block, the blue and red sword energy intertwining into a net, barely blocking the attack. But he soon discovered that whenever the sword energy was about to hit the golden-masked man, time around the man would suddenly slow down, allowing him to narrowly avoid the attack.

"This is the power of time," the golden-masked man sneered. "No matter how strong you are, you can't outrun the flow of time."

Wang Xiaohu remained calm. He recalled the words of the Ice Clan elder: "Time is the fairest thing; both fast and slow have their limits." He suddenly sheathed his sword, letting the golden-masked man's bone knife approach. Just as the blade was about to touch his throat, the blue mark between his brows burst forth with dazzling light—he injected the power of his sword soul into the surrounding space, forcibly pulling the distorted time back to its normal flow!
"Pfft!"

The bone knife slowed abruptly, and Wang Xiaohu seized the opportunity, sliding the Demon-Suppressing Sword up the blade, aiming directly at the golden-masked man's mask. Caught off guard, the golden-masked man was struck on the shoulder by the sword energy, his black robe instantly purified by the blue light, revealing skin covered with time-patterned lines.

"Impossible! How can you manipulate time?" The golden-masked man took several steps back, his eyes filled with disbelief.

“I cannot control time, but I can guard my true self.” Wang Xiaohu pressed on, “Your evil arts seem mysterious, but in reality, they are overdrawing future time. Every time you use them, your life will be lost at an accelerated pace.” He pointed to the white hair at the golden-masked man’s temples, “You are no longer the Demon Realm Sword Master of yesteryear, but just a remnant soul that survives by relying on evil arts of time.”

The golden-masked man abruptly ripped off his mask, revealing an aged and distorted face—the left half depicted a middle-aged man, while the right half was covered in wrinkles, as if torn apart by two different eras simultaneously. "So what if it is!" he roared, channeling all his power into the Time Compass. "As long as I obtain your sword soul, I can return to the past and once again become the Lord of the Demon Realm!"

The Time Compass suddenly spun rapidly, and the golden quicksand transformed into a pillar of light that shot straight into the sky, enveloping the entire Island of No Return. Simultaneously, the runes on the stone tower lit up, and the imprisoned people let out agonizing screams as their life force was frantically drained. Wang Xiaohu could feel the Icebound Sword and the Heaven-Burning Sword in his hands vibrating violently, as if they were about to be sucked away by the pillar of light.

"Little Tiger!" Su Qingwan's voice came from the top of the tower. She had already deciphered most of the runes on the stone tower and was using the sound of a pipa to resist the suction of the light pillar. "There is a black crystal under the compass, that is the core!"

Wang Xiaohu looked up and, sure enough, saw a piece of obsidian embedded in the base of the Time Compass, the demonic energy flowing on it originating from the same source as the golden-masked man's. Without further hesitation, he tossed the Demon-Suppressing Sword to Su Qingwan: "Help me block the pillar of light!"

Su Qingwan caught the Demon-Suppressing Sword, and the powers of the three elements—Azure, Crimson, and Ice—exploded simultaneously, forming a three-colored barrier around her, temporarily blocking the suction force of the pillar of light. Wang Xiaohu, on the other hand, leaped into the air, condensing the holy fire power on the Burning Heaven Sword into a single point, which shot towards the obsidian core like a meteor.

"Stop him!" The golden-masked man frantically activated the Time Compass, and countless fragments of time transformed into sharp blades, shooting towards Wang Xiaohu.

Wang Xiaohu twisted his body in mid-air, avoiding most of the debris, but a few pieces still grazed his shoulder, leaving several deep wounds that exposed bone—the flesh at the wound sites was aging at a visible rate. He gritted his teeth and poured the last bit of sword spirit power into the Burning Heaven Sword: "Burning Heaven—Breaking Illusion!"

The crimson sword energy pierced through the barrier of the time fragments, striking the obsidian core with pinpoint accuracy. A crisp cracking sound rang out as the core split open, the rotation of the Time Compass abruptly halted, and the soaring pillar of light dissipated. The golden-masked man let out a desperate roar; his body, deprived of the Time Compass's support, rapidly aged, his skin withered, his hair turned white, and finally, he turned into a handful of ashes, scattered by the swamp winds.

The runes on the stone tower gradually dimmed, and the imprisoned people collapsed to the ground, weak but out of danger. Wang Xiaohu landed beside Su Qingwan; the wound on his shoulder, under the influence of the Frozen Sword's chill, finally stopped aging, but the scar left behind could never fade.

"Is it over?" Su Qingwan supported him, her eyes filled with heartache.

"Not yet." Wang Xiaohu looked at the fragments of the Time Compass. "Look at those golden quicksand."

The golden sand flowing from the compass fragments did not dissipate, but instead gathered again on the ground, forming an ancient inscription: "The earth splits in the west, the vast sea suppresses the origin, the four swords resonate, and only then can the end be achieved."

“It’s a clue to the other three divine swords,” Su Qingwan said softly. “The Earth-Splitting Sword is in the ‘Broken Mountain’ in the west, the Vast Ocean Sword is in the ‘Endless Sea’ in the south, and the Zhenyuan Sword is in the ‘Longevity Mountain’ in the center.”

Wang Xiaohu gripped the Burning Heaven Sword tightly in his hand, the temperature of the blade seemingly echoing that of the distant divine sword. "It seems our journey must continue."

Three days later, the people of No Return Island were taken away by nearby villages and towns. While cleaning up the fragments of the Time Compass, Wang Xiaohu and Su Qingwan discovered a notebook written by the Golden Masked Man, which recorded the origin of the Reverse Time Cult—it turned out that they were not simply worshipping the Demon Lord, but a group of people who were disappointed in the long river of history and attempted to realize their ambitions by changing the past. The Golden Masked Man was just the most fanatical one among them.

"The journal concludes by saying that the seven divine swords can not only summon the God of Time, but also open the 'Gate of Reincarnation,' allowing one to live a second life." Su Qingwan closed the journal, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes. "If it's true, would you want to go back to the past?"

Wang Xiaohu looked up at the sky beyond the swamp, where sunlight pierced through the mist, casting a warm glow. He thought of Li Gou Dan from Black Wind Valley, A Man from Southern Xinjiang, the Ice Clan elder from the far north snow mountain, and everyone he had met during his trials.

“I don’t want to.” He shook his head, a relieved smile appearing on his lips. “Every step I’ve taken in the past, whether good or bad, has made me who I am today. If I had changed the past, I might not have met you, or them.”

Su Qingwan looked at the scar on his shoulder left by fragments of time, and suddenly reached out to touch it gently: "Consider this scar a medal that time has given you."

Wang Xiaohu grasped her hand, the warmth of his palm dispelling the chill from the scar. "Let's go to Broken Mountain. I've heard the Earth-Splitting Sword can cleave mountains; let's see its power."

As the two left the Island of No Return, the miasma of the swamp gradually dissipated, revealing clear water reflecting the blue sky and white clouds. The distant silhouette of Broken Mountain was clearly visible in the sunlight, as if waiting for their arrival.

The road ahead is still long, the secrets of the seven divine swords have not yet been fully revealed, and new enemies may appear. But Wang Xiaohu knows that as long as the sword in his hand remains, the people around him remain, and the path in his heart remains, he will continue on this path.

This path of trials has no end. And his story has only just begun its most exciting chapter. The rock strata of Broken Mountain bear the grotesque marks of being torn apart by immense force.

This mountain range, stretching across the western border, is said to have been cleaved in two by a divine sword in ancient times, creating the spectacular sight of sheer cliffs on both sides. Locals say it was the work of the Earth-Splitting Sword—the divine sword was once connected to the earth's veins here, and every time it rang, it would trigger a landslide. Hence, the town of "Shattered Stone" at the foot of the mountain can hear the creaking sound of the rock layers rubbing together all year round.

When Wang Xiaohu and Su Qingwan arrived in Shattered Stone Town, they were just in time for a small landslide. Dozens of millstone-sized rocks tumbled down from the cliff top, crashing into the fortifications at the town entrance and kicking up clouds of dust. The townspeople, however, seemed used to it, carrying hoes and shovels as they poured out of their homes, clearing away the rubble while shouting to reinforce the fences.

"Are you here to find the Earth-Splitting Sword, sir?" The innkeeper was a burly woman who served two bowls of steaming mutton soup. "A while ago, a group of men in gray robes came and said they were going to dig for the sword at 'One Line Sky,' but they never came out. I guess they were buried by a landslide."

"A narrow passage?" Wang Xiaohu scooped up a spoonful of mutton soup, the warmth sliding down his throat and dispelling the chill of the mountain path.

"It's a narrow gap between two mountains, so narrow that only one person can pass through at a time." The proprietress wiped her hands with her apron. "The older generation says that the Earth-Splitting Sword is stuck in the 'Sky Pillar' at the deepest part of the gap, but that place collapses nine out of ten years, so going in is suicide."

The next morning, the two followed the path pointed out by the townspeople to the narrow pass. The closer they got to the mountains, the more obvious the ground tremors became. The loose rocks under their feet would occasionally bounce and roll away, and old stone chips that had not been cleared were still hanging on the cliff face, obviously indicating that a small landslide had just occurred.

The entrance to the narrow passage was indeed cramped, allowing only one person to pass sideways. The cliff walls on both sides of the crevice were covered with sword marks of varying depths, the deepest of which was over ten feet deep, as if they had been forcibly carved out by immense force. Wang Xiaohu reached out and touched those sword marks, feeling a faint tremor at his fingertips—this was the lingering sword intent of the Earth-Splitting Sword, carrying the domineering power to cleave everything in its path.

“These sword marks are very new.” Su Qingwan gently stroked the cliff face. “They look like they were made recently.”

After venturing a hundred feet into the crevice, the light ahead suddenly dimmed. Looking up, one could see that the cliff tops on both sides almost closed in, leaving only a beam of light about three feet wide, which shone precisely on a towering stone pillar in front of them—the Pillar of Heaven. The pillar was entirely dark blue-black, its surface covered with ancient runes, and at the top of the pillar, the outline of a giant sword was faintly visible, its blade fused to the rock, as if growing out of the pillar itself.

"It's the Earth-Splitting Sword!" Wang Xiaohu's eyes flashed with surprise.

Just then, Optimus Prime suddenly trembled violently, the runes glowed red, and rubble began to crumble from the cliff walls on either side of the crevice. An old man in a gray robe emerged from behind the pillar, leaning on a jewel-encrusted cane, the gem at the tip of which emitted the same red light as the runes. (End of Chapter)