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

His statement was reasonable, and he attributed the discovery to "miscellaneous notes" and "speculation".

Zhao Yan and Liu Yun exchanged a glance, a thoughtful look flashing in their eyes.

“That makes sense.” Deacon Liu Yun pondered, “The resentment barrier originates from the obsession of the dead. If it can be appeased or purified, the barrier might dissolve on its own, or at least be weakened. Does the Crimson Flame Sect possess any such items?”

Zhou Yan frowned: "Most of the items we brought are for attacking and warding off evil. The only ones we have are a few low-level 'Purifying Heart Pills,' which may not be effective enough."

Fu Shaoping's heart stirred slightly. He remembered his almost forgotten bottle of "Yin Soul Liquid"! It was something he had refined from "Yin Soul Mushrooms," containing pure Yin Soul power, its original purpose unknown. But Yin Soul power, in a sense, was also a type of soul power. If guided in a specific way, could it use the power of "shared origin" to "communicate" with or "appease" those resentful spirits?

The idea was bold and dangerous. But he felt it was worth a try, better than being stuck here or taking unnecessary risks.

"This junior... accidentally obtained a bottle of special liquid containing pure Yin Soul power, perhaps..." Fu Shaoping didn't finish his sentence and took out the small jade bottle.

Deacon Zhao Yan took the bottle, uncorked it, and carefully sensed it. A look of surprise appeared on his face: "Such pure Yin energy! It contains no impurities or resentment, truly rare. This thing... might indeed resonate with resentment. But how to use it?"

Fu Shaoping looked at the bowl of the faceless stone statue: "I suggest we pour this liquid into the bowl. The statue's posture is like that of an offering, so perhaps this bowl was originally a container for receiving 'offerings' or 'comforting objects'."

Deacon Liu Yun nodded: "It's worth a try. But we need to take precautions and retreat immediately if anything changes."

The crowd retreated several feet, remaining vigilant and on guard. Deacon Zhao Yan personally stepped forward and carefully poured the bottle of Yin Soul Liquid into the bowl-shaped depression in the stone statue's hand.

The instant the liquid contacts the stone bowl—

A sudden change occurred!

The seemingly dry stone bowl absorbed all the Yin Soul Liquid like a sponge! Immediately afterward, the faint golden contract light at the bottom of the bowl suddenly brightened and quickly spread upwards along the stone bowl and the stone statue's arm!
The faceless stone statue began to tremble slightly, and stone dust crumbled from its surface. At the same time, the thick barrier of resentment around it seemed to be attracted or soothed in some way, and the surging speed slowed down significantly. The distorted human faces and arm outlines also seemed to quiet down a lot, all "looking" at the bowl in the stone statue's hand.

The stone statue's "face," which was originally smooth, now slowly revealed two simple runes emitting a faint golden light! These were not attack or defense runes, but rather two ancient contract characters representing "listening" and "acceptance"!

The golden runes shone brighter and brighter, merging with the power of the Yin Soul Liquid in the bowl, transforming into a gentle golden pillar of light, imbued with compassion and purification, which shot into the sky and then spread out like ripples, slowly merging into the surrounding barrier of resentment.

There was no fierce confrontation, only a gentle infiltration and appeasement.

To everyone's astonishment, the thick, impenetrable barrier of resentment thinned and became transparent at a visible speed! The violent resentment contained within seemed to be washed away and soothed by the golden light. Although it did not completely disappear, it lost its active corrosive and attacking nature, becoming like ordinary yin energy and mist.

A relatively clear path leading into the ruins of the ancient temple appeared before them!

"It actually works!" Zhou Yan and the others were dumbfounded.

Zhao Yan and Liu Yun looked at Fu Shaoping with surprise and curiosity. This seemingly simple, lowly cultivator, who appeared to be only at the eighth level of Qi Refining, not only possessed keen senses but also had such knowledge and unexpected "strange objects"?
Fu Shaoping breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed his guess was correct; the stone statue and bowl were indeed the "key" or "soothing device" for this resentment barrier. The Yin Soul Liquid, as a carrier of pure soul power, had just activated the purification contract remaining within the stone statue.

"Fellow Daoist Mo, you have made a great contribution this time." Deacon Liu Yun's tone was much gentler. "The core area of ​​the ruins should be just ahead, so please be even more careful."

Fu Shaoping nodded, but his gaze involuntarily drifted deeper into the ruins of the ancient temple. The strange changes in the stone statues and the peculiar purification contract aroused his even greater curiosity about the true nature of these ruins. What exactly was hidden inside?
The barrier of resentment was temporarily "pacified," like cold water poured into a boiling oil pan; though not quelled, it temporarily lost its deadly heat and corrosiveness. A passage covered with slippery moss, scattered with rotten wood and gravel, meandered towards the half-collapsed, pitch-black entrance to the ancient temple ruins.

"Let's go, proceed with caution." Deacon Zhao Yan's expression remained solemn as he led the way into the passage. Deacon Liu Yun followed closely behind, and the disciples of the Crimson Flame Sect, along with Fu Shaoping and others, filed in one after another.

Stepping inside the ruins, the light suddenly dimmed. Only the faint light filtering through the cracks in the collapse and the entrance barely illuminated the scene before us. The air was filled with the smell of stale dust, a thick, eerie atmosphere, and a strange stench of sandalwood mixed with the stench of blood.

The temple's interior was larger than it appeared from the outside, but it was severely damaged. Huge black stone pillars had fallen and broken, and the high platform that should have been used for worshipping deities or conducting ceremonies had also largely collapsed. Scattered on the ground were long-rotted prayer cushions, broken utensils, and some unidentifiable fragments that appeared to be bones.

On the walls, some faded murals depicting grand sacrificial scenes can be vaguely seen, but most of them are mottled and peeling off, and only blurry figures, flames, and some strange runes and patterns can be seen.

From the perspective of "Contract Identification Techniques," the contract network here presents a strange state of fracture, silence, yet subtly containing the remnants of some unfinished ritual. There are no violent, resentful contracts like those on the outside, but there is a deeper, tomb-like lingering effect of "death contracts" and "imprisonment contracts."

"Spread out and search, but do not leave each other's line of sight. Keep an eye out for any valuable runes, artifacts, or unusual energy nodes," Zhao Yan ordered in a low voice.

The group scattered, cautiously exploring the desolate ruins.

Zhou Yan and his group from the Crimson Flame Sect primarily searched the collapsed platform and scattered artifacts, hoping to find intact ancient relics or materials. The middle-aged rune cultivator Li Yan approached the remaining murals on the walls, attempting to make rubbings of the blurred runes. The female array master Lin Xue measured the layout of the stone slabs on the ground, deducing the original array structure.

Fu Shaoping had no specific goal. He walked slowly through the ruins, his gaze seemingly sweeping across the area casually, but in reality, he was fully activating his "Contract Identification Technique" to carefully sense every subtle fluctuation of the contract.

He "saw" that in the center of the ruins, beneath the collapsed platform, deep underground, there seemed to be an extremely powerful, yet locked, cold and boundless energy source, bound by layers of "sealing contracts" and "sacrificial contracts." That might be the root of the resentment and yin energy here, and might also hide a greater secret or danger. He also "saw" that at the base of several collapsed stone pillars, there were remnants of contracts similar to those in the stone bowls outside, bearing the meaning of "purification" or "sealing," but they had all faded and lost their luster.

Suddenly, he stopped in front of a relatively intact wall. This wall was located in an inconspicuous corner deep within the ruins, covered with a thick layer of dust and cobwebs. But in the vision of the "Contract Identification Technique," the "contract barrier" of this wall had an extremely subtle, flowing rhythm different from the surrounding walls, as if it were a hidden "portal contract," the core node of which was on a seemingly ordinary, slightly protruding square stone brick on the wall.

He walked silently to the wall, stretched out his hand as if to wipe away dust, but in reality, he gathered a wisp of extremely weak soul power with the intention of "exploration" and "communication" (a small technique for sensing contract nodes in "The True Explanation of the Mysterious Contract") at his fingertips and gently touched the center of the square stone brick.

"Om..."

A very slight, almost imperceptible vibration came from inside the wall! Immediately afterwards, a faint golden halo appeared around the square stone brick, and the brick slowly caved in half an inch, making a soft "click" sound.

Although the commotion was small, it immediately attracted the attention of Zhao Yan and Liu Yun, two Foundation Establishment deacons nearby.

"Fellow Daoist Mo, what have you discovered?" Zhao Yan appeared instantly beside Fu Shaoping, his sharp gaze fixed on the wall.

Fu Shaoping pointed to the dented stone brick: "This junior sensed that the spiritual energy fluctuations in the wall here were slightly abnormal. Upon probing, it seems that some kind of mechanism has been triggered."

Liu Yun also came over and carefully examined the wall, her eyes showing surprise: "What a well-hidden restriction! If it weren't for Fellow Daoist Mo's keen senses, it would be almost impossible to detect. This restriction is neither defensive nor offensive, but rather seems to be... a mechanism for concealing a door."

She tried to infuse a gentle stream of spiritual energy into the sunken stone bricks. As the energy flowed, the entire wall began to emit a low rumble, and dust began to fall. On the surface of the wall, pale golden runes rapidly lit up and spread, eventually outlining a phantom door of light, about the height of a person and the width of two people!
Inside the portal, a dark stone staircase leading downwards can be vaguely seen, emanating an even more ancient, pure, yet colder spiritual energy.

"A secret room!" Everyone's spirits lifted. The real opportunity might just be hidden in this secret room!

"Stay alert and enter in turn." Deacon Zhao Yan stepped through the portal first, followed closely by Liu Yun. Zhou Yan and the others, along with Fu Shaoping, Li Yan, and Lin Xue, followed in turn.

The stone steps were not long, extending downwards for about ten zhang (approximately 33 meters) to the bottom. Below was a small stone chamber, about three zhang (approximately 13 meters) square, with empty walls on all four sides. Only in the center of the chamber stood a black stone platform about half a person's height.

On the stone platform, there was nothing else but three things quietly placed there:

On the left is a jade slip that is entirely black and covered with fine silver cracks.

In the center is a palm-sized, dark yellow object that is neither gold nor jade, shaped like a tortoise shell, but is partially missing.

On the right is a small earthenware bowl that has long since dried up and is covered in dust. At the bottom of the bowl are some dark red, solidified marks that have long since been left, emanating a very faint but chilling scent of a bloody contract.

All three items were dull and lifeless, without any powerful spiritual energy fluctuations, as if they were just ordinary antiques.

But Fu Shaoping's "art of identifying contracts" instantly told him that these three things were by no means simple!
The black jade slip was wrapped with an extremely complex and profound network of runes representing soul contracts and inheritance contracts. Although it was silent, it gave him a feeling that it was of the same origin as the "True Explanation of the Mysterious Contracts" but was even more profound and mysterious.

On the broken tortoise shell were imprinted traces of an extremely ancient and obscure divination contract and a contract for concealing fate, as if it had been used to spy on or interfere with the secrets of heaven.

The small earthenware bowl echoes the bowl held by the stone statue outside, and the bloody contract remaining on it conveys a sense of sacrifice, bondage, and pain, suggesting it is the core artifact of some cruel ritual.

"Be careful, do not touch them lightly." Deacon Zhao Yan said in a deep voice. He also sensed the extraordinary nature of these three items, especially the ancient aura that made people feel oppressed.

Deacon Liu Yun stepped forward and examined it carefully, finally focusing her gaze on the black jade slip: "This jade slip... should be an heirloom. But its aura is strange, and it may contain a restriction or curse."

Li Yan stared intently at the broken tortoise shell, his eyes burning with desire: "This object... seems to be an ancient tool for divination or deciphering the secrets of heaven! If one could decipher it..."

Zhou Yan and the others showed little interest in the pottery bowl, instead searching the walls and floor of the stone chamber for other treasures, but to no avail.

Fu Shaoping's gaze, however, was involuntarily drawn to the black jade slip and the incomplete tortoise shell. His "Contract Identification Technique" told him that these two items might be of immeasurable value to his understanding of the "True Explanation of Profound Contracts" and even to his future cultivation path. Especially the jade slip, whose contract structure subtly complemented the "True Explanation of Profound Contracts," which might fill some gaps in his inheritance.

Just then, Lin Xue, who had been silent all along, suddenly exclaimed, "The ground! There are words on the ground!"

Everyone looked down and saw that on the dusty floor of the stone chamber, near the stone platform, several lines of crooked, ancient characters were written in some dark red, long-dried material:
"I am Youmingzi, a traitor of the Xuanqi Sect... I stole a fragment of the sect's most precious treasure, the 'Netherworld Contract,' and a piece of the 'Heaven-Covering Tortoise Shell,' and fled here... I used the 'Blood Soul Bowl' to establish a 'Heaven-Deceiving Blood Pact' to evade the sect's pursuit... However, the blood pact backfired, and my soul will be forever imprisoned here... Those who come after... whoever takes the 'Netherworld Contract,' must bear the consequences of my 'Heaven-Deceiving Karma'... Be careful... Be careful..."

The text ends abruptly here, revealing endless regret, fear, and despair.

"Xuanqi Sect! The Netherworld Contract! The Sky-Covering Tortoise Shell!" Deacon Liu Yun gasped. "This...this is actually an heirloom of the ancient Xuanqi Sect! That Netherworld Child was actually a forsaken disciple of the Xuanqi Sect! No wonder the resentment here is so heavy; it must be caused by the 'Sky-Covering Blood Contract' and the 'Blood Soul Bowl'!"

Zhao Yan's expression changed drastically. The Xuanqi Sect was a mysterious and powerful sect from ancient times, renowned for its control over contracts, souls, and destiny; its lineage had long since vanished into the annals of history. To think that its relics would be found here! (End of Chapter)