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

When Nianyao, Wangyao's great-great-grandson, first understood the smiling face on the transparent petals at the top of the "Rongchun" wood, the flower path of Guixintang had already extended beyond the Seven Seas.

The smiling faces layered upon each other, the deepest one depicting Great-Grandma Wangshu, her back hunched, planting the Soul-Gathering Flower. Around the edges were unfamiliar faces with blond hair and blue eyes, scattering "Melting Spring" seeds onto volcanic rocks and glaciers. Nianyao was just eight years old then, her little hands gripping the rough trunk of the "Melting Spring" tree. The texture of the bark made her palms itch, but she could clearly feel the warmth flowing within—the temperature of countless flower planters' palms, mixed with the fragrance of herbs from the three regions, the sea salt of the Western Sea, and the dampness of the rainforests of Southern Xinjiang, brewing the wine of time in the rings of the trees.

“Xiao Nian, look at the heart of this flower.” Grandfather Wang Yao’s voice came from behind. The old man’s finger gently touched the transparent petals, and a drop of dew appeared at the heart of the flower. The dew reflected a blurry scene: a simple medicine hut, a medicine pot on the stove gurgling, a girl in a blue cloth shirt staring at a dandelion in a daze, and the Soul-Gathering Flower on the windowsill just opening its first purple petal—that was the Guixin Hall of Wang Shu’s great-grandmother when she was young.

Nianyao's nose brushed against the tree trunk, and he smelled the fragrance of peach blossom cake from a hundred years ago. He suddenly understood why the "Rongchun" tree could take root in any soil—its roots were not planted in the soil, but in the hearts of everyone who continued the story; the tenderness hidden in the years was its best nourishment.

At the age of fifteen, Nianyao became the youngest messenger of the Flower Path. Before setting off, he picked up a newly fallen petal under the "Memory Flower." On the petal was a sailing ship, and on the deck stood a boy scattering "Melting Spring" seeds into the waves—that was himself, heading to the other side of the legendary "Sea of ​​Eternal Night," where the people had never seen the Soul-Gathering Flower, and it was said that even sunlight was reluctant to linger.

Accompanying her was Zhao Yao, a descendant of Zhao Yan from Puhuitang. The young woman carried a light sword on her back, its tassel adorned not only with tricolor leaves but also with a string of seashell wind chimes, a gift from fishermen on the East China Sea. When the wind blew, they jingled, like songs from three different places. "My great-grandfather said there's a black stone at the bottom of the Eternal Night Sea that absorbs all light," Zhao Yao said, turning the scabbard in the sunlight. The scabbard's glass surface reflected the outline of the Eternal Night Sea. "But he believed that the 'Melting Spring' seed could bloom on that black stone."

A Zhou, a descendant of A Mu from the far north, also arrived. The boy wore a fur coat adorned with edelweiss flowers and carried a piece of glowing spirit-sealing jade in his arms, which his witch doctor grandmother had specially prepared for the Eternal Night Sea. "Jade can gather light," he said, as he took out the jade, the light flowing in his palm, making the surrounding "Melting Spring" petals glow with gold. "Even without sunlight, the flowers can remember what spring looks like."

After three months of sailing, they finally arrived at the other side of the Sea of ​​Eternal Night. Here, the sky was perpetually inky black, the earth covered in obsidian, and even the wind carried shards of ice. Greeting them was a silver-haired girl named Xingye, her eyes like two stars, yet harboring a yearning for light. "The elders said you came bringing 'warmth'," Xingye said, her fingers tracing the "Melting Spring" seeds Nianyao had brought, the warmth of her fingertips causing the seeds to glow faintly.

Nianyao buried the seeds in the crevices of the black stone, Zhaoyao used the wind chimes on her sword tassel to draw in the sea breeze, and Azhou embedded the Sealing Jade Marrow beside the stone. The light of the jade marrow immediately wove a small net of light on the black stone. "These seeds," Nianyao said, looking at the seeds in the net of light, her voice trembling slightly in the wind, "can bloom into flowers that are warmer than the sun."

For the first month, the seed showed no signs of life. The elderly people gradually lost patience; some called it a "Southern scam," and some secretly dug up the seed from the crack in the black rock and threw it into the sea. But Xingye came every day, warming the black rock with her own body heat, saying, "I saw light in the seed."

On the night of the full moon in the second month, the light of the Sealed Spirit Jade suddenly surged, and tiny green shoots sprouted from the cracks in the black stone—the “Melting Spring” seed had sprouted! Even more miraculously, the new shoots could absorb the light of the jade, and the leaves glowed with a faint gold in the dark night, as if stars had been crushed into the leaf flesh.

“It’s adapting to this place.” Zhao Yao’s sword tassel gently touched the new bud, and the wind chimes tinkled crisply. “Like all stories, when they arrive in a new place, they always grow into something new.”

Six months later, flowers bloomed all over the black rocks of the Eternal Night Sea. These "Melting Spring" flowers were neither purple nor white; their petals were transparent, capable of absorbing the light of the Sealing Spirit Jade Marrow, and radiating starlight in the dark night. The golden edges of the flower centers, however, were brighter than anywhere else, like a band of light connecting north and south. The people of Starry Night strung the flowers into necklaces and wore them around their necks, saying that this would allow them to dream of sunlight.

On the day of their parting, Xingye gave them a bag of black stone soil mixed with seeds of the "Melting Spring" flower. "The elder said that this soil will allow the flowers to remember what Yongye looked like," the girl said, her eyes glistening with tears, her fingers tightly clutching a petal of the "Memory Flower," a gift from Nianyao, its surface imprinted with the sunlight of Guixin Hall. "When the flowers bloom all over the black stone, we will take the seeds to find you."

On the returning ship, Nianyao sprinkled black stone soil into the flowerpot of "Melting Spring" wood, Zhaoyao recorded the sound of wind chimes into the Sealing Jade Marrow, and Azhou painted the starry sky and flowers of the Eternal Night Sea on the new scroll of "Continuing Spring Picture". In the corner of the painting, Starry Night was smiling at the transparent petals, and at her feet, the roots of the Returning Grass were penetrating the black stone and connecting tightly with the flower path in the distance.

“Look,” Nianyao looked at the roots in the painting and suddenly smiled, “There is no true eternal night. As long as the flowers are still blooming, longing can carry the light.”

Zhao Yao's wind chimes suddenly rang, and in the glass scene on the sword sheath, the "Melting Spring" flower of the Eternal Night Sea was swaying in the wind, the golden edge of the flower's heart echoing the "Memory Flower" of Guixin Hall. "Great-Grandpa said that the highest level of writing a sequel is to let the story find its own light."

When they returned to Guixin Hall, transparent flowers with black stone patterns had already bloomed on the new branches of the "Rongchun" tree. Nianyao buried the seeds that Xingye had given her in the "Rongchun Garden" and watched them sprout in the sunlight. Suddenly, she realized that what her great-grandmother Wangshu planted back then was not a soul-gathering flower, but a seed that "spring should be everywhere." This seed took root and sprouted over the past hundred years, growing branches that crossed mountains and seas, bringing warmth to every corner in need.

On the petals of the "Memory Flower," he saw a new scene of the Eternal Night Sea: the people of Starry Night were teaching children to identify the "Melting Spring" flower, and the children wore spirit-sealing jade marrow around their necks, like tiny suns; on the distant black stone, the leaves of the Returning Grass were facing south, and its roots wove a net underground, connecting the Eternal Night Sea with the Returning Heart Hall.

Nianyao knew that this story would continue. The "Melting Spring" flower would spread across the Sea of ​​Eternal Night, and the people of Starry Night would become new messengers of the flower path, carrying the seeds to the more distant "Land of No Light"; his children would find their own shadows in the "Memory Flower," just like him, and set off with new seeds; and at the top of the "Melting Spring" tree, there would always be transparent petals, reflecting everyone who continued the story, no matter where they came from or what they looked like.

Just like now, the wind blows through Guixin Hall, the branches and leaves of the "Rongchun" tree rustle gently, the transparent flowers of the Eternal Night Sea and the Soul-Gathering Flowers of Guixin Hall resonate in the wind, the golden edges of the flower centers connect into a band of light, wrapping the eternal night beyond the seven seas into this endless spring.

This story will never end. It continues to be written on the petals, in the roots, and in the hearts of everyone who believes that "warmth can overcome cold," year after year, until the end of the universe, until the last patch of darkness is illuminated by the light of blooming flowers. When Nianyao's great-granddaughter, Wangshu (the clan has long been accustomed to naming newborn girls with this name that carries their original aspirations), first set foot on the Sea of ​​Eternal Night, the descendants of Xingye had already built "Chengchun Fortress" on the black rocks.

The fortress walls were covered with transparent "Melting Spring" flowers, their petals absorbing the light of the Sealed Spirit Jade Essence, weaving flowing ribbons of light in the eternal night, like a golden river extending from Guixin Hall. Wangshu's bag contained three things: a dried petal of a "Memory Flower" (imprinted with the image of the Soul-Gathering Flower planted by the first Wangshu), a newly forged "Continuing Spring Sword" from Puhui Hall (its blade could reflect the veins of all flower paths), and a bottle of "Rejuvenating Dew" from the far north (said to be able to make withered flowers remember the taste of blooming again).

“Sister Wangshu, look at this ‘Eternal Spring Melting’.” Xingzhou, Xingye’s great-grandson, pulled her to the flower field behind the fortress. The “Melting Spring” flower there had mutated into a peculiar form—star-shaped thorns grew on the edges of the petals, but could secrete warm sap when touched. “The elder said that this is the flower learning to protect itself, but it has not forgotten to warm others.”

Wang Shu crouched down, her fingertips lightly touching the petals. Suddenly, the dried petals of the "Memory Flower" in her bag became hot. She seemed to see scenes from a hundred years ago: Nian Yao's great-grandfather standing on the black stone, embedding the Sealing Jade Essence into the crack; Zhao Yao's grandmother's wind chimes ringing in the wind, the sword tassel sweeping across the newly sprouted green seedlings; A Zhou's grandfather humming a folk song from three places to the seeds... These scenes overlapped with Xing Zhou before her, like a relay race across time and space.

“The flower path of eternal night should be extended further.” Wang Shu gazed at the dark sea in the distance, where there was a legendary “Mist-Hidden Island”. The mist on the island could devour memories, and even the most resilient Wang Gui grass could not take root there. “The elders said that the people of Mist-Hidden Island do not remember who they are, and they do not believe that flowers can bring spring.”

Xingzhou's eyes lit up, and he took out a seashell box from his pocket, which contained some "Eternal Night Melting Spring" seeds, each of which was coated with a layer of powder made from sealed spirit jade marrow: "I'll go with you! The witch doctor said that these seeds have absorbed enough light from the eternal night and can bloom into bright flowers in the mist."

Accompanying them was Zhao Nian, a descendant of Zhao Yao from Puhuitang. The girl carried the "Continuation of Spring Sword," and the glass scabbard had been updated with a star map of the Eternal Night Sea. When it was turned, the outline of the Misty Island could be seen appearing and disappearing in the mist. A Wang, a descendant of A Zhou from the far north, held an ice compass. The compass needle did not point north or south, but turned in the direction of the flower path, and the tip of the needle was always edged with the gold of the "Melting Spring" flower.

After seven days of sailing, they finally broke through the thick fog and arrived at Fog-Hidden Island. The people on the island were indeed listless, dressed in gray cloth, walking numbly through the fog, not even bothering to glance at the tender shoots of "Eternal Night Melting Spring" sprouting at their feet. An old man with white hair stopped them, his voice swollen as if soaked in fog: "Flowers will wither, memories will fade, planting anything is a waste."

Wang Shu didn't speak, but simply took out the dried petals of the "Memory Flower" and placed them in the old man's palm. The dried petals suddenly bloomed with a faint light in the mist, reflecting a scene from the old man's youth: he had once found a Soul-Gathering Flower on the beach, when the mist wasn't so thick, and he had pinned the flower in his wife's hair, his smile warmer than the sunshine... The old man's eyes gradually regained their light, and tears mingled with the mist, rolling down and clearing a small patch of fog-free ground.

“I’ve forgotten so many things.” The old man squatted down, looking at the tender sprouts of “Eternal Night Melting Spring” in the open space, and suddenly reached out to protect them. “You can plant them. I’ll shield you from the fog.”

In the days that followed, they cultivated flower fields amidst the fog. Zhao Nian used the "Spring-Continuing Sword" to cleave through the thick fog, the veins of flowers reflected by the blade condensing into light trails in the mist; A-Wang's ice compass guided the seeds to where they should fall, the golden light from the needle tip illuminating every inch of the land; Xing Zhou taught the islanders to sing songs from the three regions, saying that the songs would remind the flowers to grow towards the light; Wang Shu's most frequent task was to distribute the dried petals of the "Memory Flower" to each islander, allowing them to rediscover the warmth swallowed by the fog in the light of the flowers.

The fog on Misty Island gradually thinned. When the first "Eternal Night Melting Spring" bloomed on the island, fragments of memories forgotten by the islanders appeared on its transparent petals: nursery rhymes that mothers used to soothe their children, tokens exchanged between lovers, wine jars shared by friends... These fragments gathered into a ball of light in the heart of the flower, piercing through the last layer of thick fog and revealing the sun hidden behind it.

“Look,” Wang Shu said, gazing at the flower field under the sunlight. The islanders were dancing around the flowers, and an old man with white hair was telling the children the story of the Soul-Gathering Flower. “The fog can obscure memories, but it can’t stop the flowers from blooming.”

Zhao Nian's "Continuation Sword" suddenly emitted a soft hum. In the crystal scene within the scabbard, the flower path of Misty Island was connected to the Eternal Night Sea and the Guixin Hall, like a chain of light piercing through the light and darkness. "Great-Grandma said that what continues the story is never the flowers, but the thought of 'not wanting to forget' in people's hearts."

When they left Misty Island, the islanders gave them a packet of seeds mixed with mist and flower dew, calling them "Spring Memories Seeds," saying that planting them would grow into blooming memories. Wang Shu put the seeds in her bag and placed them together with the dried petals of the "Memory Flower." Suddenly, she felt that the two things were like two sides of a coin—one side remembering the past, and the other connecting to the future.

Returning to Chengchun Fortress in the Eternal Night Sea, Wangshu painted the mist dissipating and flowers blooming on the new scroll of "Continuing Spring". In the corner of the painting, she added a new flower: half of its petals are star-shaped like "Eternal Night Melting Spring", and the other half are fragments of memories of Mist Island. The golden edge of the flower's heart is brighter than ever, as if to say, "No matter how difficult the road is, as long as someone walks it, there will be light."

Xingzhou wrote a line next to the painting: "Flowers will wither, but the seeds will grow into new flowers; people will forget, but the longing will become an unforgettable story."

Wang Shu knew that this story would continue. The "Remembering Spring Seeds" would spread across Misty Island, and the islanders would become new flower growers, carrying the seeds to the more distant "Land of Oblivion"; her children would see their own mission in the "Memory Flowers," carrying the "Continuing Spring Sword" and embarking on the flower path; and the roots of the "Melting Spring" tree had already pierced through the seabed of the Seven Seas, weaving the warmth of Guixin Hall, the resilience of Puhui Hall, the purity of the far north, the light of the eternal night, and the memories of Misty Island into a seamless net.

Just like now, the "Melting Spring" flower in the Eternal Night Sea is blooming in the face of the rising sun. On the transparent petals, the figure of the first generation Wang Shu and the smile of the old man from Misty Island gradually overlap. The golden edge of the flower's heart flows in the sunlight, brewing all the continued tenderness into the most mellow wine in time.

This story will continue forever. It grows and spreads year after year in the blooming and fading of flowers, in the forgetting and fading of memories, in the hearts of everyone who "doesn't want warmth to end," until all darkness is illuminated, all forgetting is remembered, until the ends of the universe are filled with flowers edged with gold. (End of Chapter)