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

Seeing this, Fu Shaoping stopped hiding and flashed to the edge of the battlefield. The long sword in his hand condensed a point of dazzling golden sword light (a fusion of "Breaking the Law" and the true essence of the contract), and like a meteor, it accurately pierced into the lizard dragon's wide-open mouth due to pain, straight through the back of its head!
puff!
The sword's edge pierced through the back of the lizard dragon's head, bringing with it a spray of brain matter mixed with silver blood. The lizard dragon's massive body crashed to the ground, twitched a few times, and then lay still.

The battle was reversed in an instant after Fu Shaoping intervened.

The burly man with the red face and the others, having narrowly escaped death, were still in shock. They looked at Fu Shaoping, who had suddenly appeared, with eyes full of gratitude, awe, and a hint of wariness.

"Thank you for your righteous help, fellow Daoist! I am Luo Lie, the leader of the 'Blazing Fire Gang.' I will never forget your life-saving grace!" The red-faced giant Luo Lie sheathed his long sword, clasped his hands in a fist and solemnly thanked them, while signaling his companions to quickly treat the wounded.

Fu Shaoping waved his hand, his gaze sweeping over the lizard dragon's corpse on the ground: "Just passing by. This beast's scales and demon core are somewhat useful to me; the rest are yours, how about it?"

Luo Lie hurriedly said, "It's all up to you, Fellow Daoist! If it weren't for your help, our lives would have been in danger. How could we dare to covet the prey?" He had witnessed Fu Shaoping's miraculous skills that could instantly paralyze the lizard dragon, as well as the final precise and fatal sword strike. He knew that this person's strength was unfathomable and that he was definitely not an ordinary rogue cultivator.

Fu Shaoping didn't stand on ceremony. He skillfully dissected the lizard dragon's corpse, removing the hardest back scales (dozens of them) and the fist-sized, shimmering silver core containing pure earth and metal energy. He also collected the pair of sharp fangs and the thick tailbone (good material for refining weapons) from the lizard dragon's mouth. The remaining flesh, bones, and most of the scales were left to Luo Lie and the others.

Upon seeing this, Luo Lie and the others were even more grateful. These materials were invaluable, enough to compensate for their losses and casualties.

"Fellow Daoist, you are truly virtuous! May I ask your name? Are you here in the Meteor Basin searching for treasure?" Luo Lie asked tentatively, while handing a healing pill to Fu Shaoping (Fu Shaoping waved his hand, indicating that he did not need it).

"Mo Chen," Fu Shaoping gave his pseudonym. "Having just arrived here, I'm looking for an ancient site. Luo Tuan has been traveling through the ancient plains for a long time. Does he know if there's anywhere deep within this basin... related to ancient contracts or runes? Or perhaps, any unusual spatial fluctuations?"

Upon hearing this, Luo Lie exchanged a glance with his surviving companions, and his expression became somewhat serious.

"Fellow Daoist Mo, you're looking for ancient contract relics?" Luo Lie pondered. "To be honest, there is indeed a place deep within this meteorite basin that quite matches your description. It's called 'Ancient Contract Valley' by the locals. It's said that a large number of unidentifiable ancient runes and stone pillars remain in the valley, and strange contract fluctuations often emanate from it. But... it's extremely dangerous there. Not only are powerful ancient beasts lurking there, but it's also said to be haunted by ancient curses and restrictions. Anyone who enters has a nine-out-of-ten chance of dying. Our 'Blazing Fire Gang' has also explored it from afar, but we haven't dared to go deep."

Ancient Qi Valley! Fu Shaoping's heart stirred; the location of the contract site he sensed seemed to be pointing right there!
"Thank you for informing me, Commander Luo. May I ask where exactly the Ancient Qi Valley is located?"

Luo Lie described the location in detail and pointed out several landmarks and dangerous areas along the way, adding, "If Fellow Daoist Mo insists on going, please be extremely careful. Also... the basin seems to be quite turbulent lately. Besides our mercenary group, there seem to be other forces active there, acting suspiciously, as if they are searching for something. Fellow Daoist, you should also be careful."

Other forces? Fu Shaoping was on guard. Could it be the Blood Shadow Cult? Or something else?

"Thank you for the reminder." Fu Shaoping cupped his hands in farewell and prepared to take his leave.

"Fellow Daoist Mo, please wait." Luo Lie called out to him, taking out a wooden token engraved with flame patterns. "This is the token of my 'Blazing Fire Gang.' Holding this token may provide some convenience in some small gathering places on the Ancient Plain or in other teams of my gang. I have no way to repay your life-saving grace, so please accept this small token of my appreciation."

Fu Shaoping hesitated for a moment, then accepted the token: "Thank you very much. Until we meet again."

With that, he vanished into the scorched earth and ruins.

Luo Lie gazed in the direction where he had disappeared, muttering, "Mo Chen... so young, yet his cultivation is unfathomable, his methods are strange... he must have an extraordinary background. Guqi Valley... I hope he is safe."

Following the direction Luo Lie indicated, Fu Shaoping sped towards the depths of the meteorite basin. The clues from the Ancient Qi Valley further convinced him of his intuition.

However, what he didn't notice was that shortly after he left, in the shadows near the scorched earth battlefield, a seemingly ordinary black pebble rippled slightly, and an extremely subtle divine imprint, blending seamlessly with its surroundings, silently attached itself to the direction he had left.

In the distance, from the shadow of a huge metal wreck half-buried in scorched earth, two cultivators dressed in gray bodysuits and wearing strange bone masks slowly emerged.

"Target confirmed, direction: Ancient Qi Valley. The aura matches the 'Origin Artifact' description by more than 70%." One of them said in a hoarse voice, devoid of any emotion.

"Notify the 'Shadow Guards' to prepare to set up a net around the Ancient Valley. This kid was able to easily deal with the Molten Iron Lizard Dragon; his strength should not be underestimated. We must proceed with caution," another person said.

"Yes."

The two figures disappeared back into the shadows, as if they had never existed.

Fu Shaoping was completely unaware of the prying eyes behind him; his mind was completely drawn to the increasingly clear, ancient, and mysterious call of the contract ahead.

Ancient Qi Valley lies ahead. And awaiting him, besides the possible remnants of an ancient contract, is a hunting net quietly unfurled by an unknown force.

three days later.

Deep within the meteorite basin, the landscape grew increasingly bizarre. The scorched earth was torn apart by multicolored energy veins, and fine, luminous dust, like fragments of starlight, drifted in the air. Huge, twisted remnants of metal and rock, like the skeletons of ancient behemoths, silently pointed towards the gray sky. Fu Shaoping stood at the edge of a bottomless, jagged crevice. Across the crevice lay a range of mountains shrouded in a twilight-like, dark golden mist. According to Luo Lie's description and his own increasingly strong senses, the Ancient Qi Valley lay deep within these mountains.

The rift was over a hundred feet wide, below which swirled a gray mist that shimmered with an eerie phosphorescence, faintly emanating a chilling suction force and a sense of spatial distortion. Ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators would find it extremely difficult to cross without special methods or powerful flying artifacts.

Fu Shaoping did not leap rashly. He activated his "Contractual Spiritual Sense" to carefully probe the energy flow above the rift. Sure enough, this area was filled with chaotic spatial folds and disordered force fields. Flying rashly would easily lead to being caught in spatial turbulence or falling inexplicably.

“We need to use a medium, or… establish a passage.” Fu Shaoping’s gaze swept over the steep rock walls on both sides of the crevice. The rock walls were covered with traces of wind erosion and some tenacious, moss-like dark purple plants.

A thought struck him, and he attempted to extend the concept of "Contractual Fusion" towards the opposite rock wall. This time, it wasn't to communicate with the will of the earth, but rather to try and establish a temporary, weak "symbiotic contract" with the dark purple plant. These plants, able to survive in such a harsh environment, must possess unique abilities; perhaps their root systems are extremely developed, capable of penetrating rock layers.

The pale golden contractual spirit, like an invisible thread, crossed the crack and gently wrapped around a relatively dense clump of dark purple moss on the opposite rock wall. It didn't forcefully demand or command anything, but rather conveyed a peaceful intention of "borrowing strength" and "mutual assistance," along with a trace of contractual true essence as "reward."

At first, the moss did not react. But as Fu Shaoping continued to patiently inject gentle contract power, the moss began to wriggle slightly, and several slender, tough, almost transparent roots emerged from the cracks in the rock, slowly extending towards Fu Shaoping, as if responding to his call!

"It works!" Fu Shaoping was overjoyed. He carefully maintained this weak contractual connection, and at the same time, he leaped up, his toes touching a protruding rock on this side of the crevice, and using the momentum, he glided towards the opposite bank.

Just as he was in mid-air, about to reach the middle of the crack where the gray mist below had the strongest suction, the several transparent roots that had extended out suddenly straightened, like the toughest ropes, and actively wrapped around Fu Shaoping's ankles, providing an upward pulling force!

At the same time, Fu Shaoping unleashed his true energy from beneath his feet, propelling his body upward once more. With the combined effect of the plant roots and his own true energy, he narrowly avoided the most turbulent area of ​​the gray fog, landing steadily on the edge of the opposite rock face like a nimble ape.

After regaining his footing, he immediately channeled a pure and gentle stream of wood-attribute contract essence into the moss as a token of his gratitude. The moss happily absorbed the essence, its color seemingly becoming even brighter, and its roots slowly retreated into the rock crevices.

This seemingly simple leap actually embodies Fu Shaoping's deeper understanding and application of the principles of contracts—not only contracts with inanimate environments, but also the ability to establish temporary mutual assistance with simple living beings.

With his feet firmly on the ground, Fu Shaoping gazed into the depths of the mountains. Dark golden mist flowed through the mountains, obscuring his view, but the ancient and clear sense of the covenant calling was already close at hand.

He concealed his breathing, used his lightness technique, and walked along the rugged mountain path into the depths of the mist.

The mountain path was difficult to traverse, with jagged rocks and a pervasive, oppressive atmosphere. The fog not only obscured visibility but also interfered with spiritual senses. Fu Shaoping's "Spell-Breaking Spiritual Eyes" were also significantly limited here, only able to see clearly within a radius of about twenty feet.

After traveling for about an hour, the fog ahead suddenly thinned, revealing the entrance to a relatively open valley. On either side of the valley entrance stood two towering, grayish-white stone pillars, each ten zhang tall and covered in wind erosion marks. On the surface of the pillars, faint traces of twisted and broken runes, emitting a dim spiritual light, were visible—the ancient contract runes!

This is the Ancient Qi Valley.

Fu Shaoping did not enter immediately. He stopped at the valley entrance, raising his "Contractual Spiritual Awareness" to its maximum, and carefully sensed the surroundings. The atmosphere within the valley was extremely complex: a dense, ancient contractual power that had accumulated over countless years; a violent, ferocious aura belonging to ancient beasts; and... a faint, extremely subtle, yet chilling and malicious sense of probing?
"There really is something here." Fu Shaoping's eyes narrowed slightly. Besides the ancient beast, there seemed to be something else spying on the valley entrance. Was it the other forces Luo Lie mentioned? Or some kind of strange entity that already existed within the valley?

He hesitated for a moment, then instead of entering from the front, he went around to one side of the valley entrance and found a relatively secluded spot where the stone pillar runes were relatively intact. He then tried to communicate with the remaining runes using his contract essence.

Although these runes were incomplete, they were still ancient contract runes. As he poured his contract essence into them, the dim runes began to glow slightly, emitting a soft halo that enveloped Fu Shaoping. The halo seemed to have a certain disguise and soothing effect, causing him to undergo a strange "assimilation" with his surroundings and even the faint warning contract at the valley entrance.

"These runes... are actually remnants of the 'access contract' from the outskirts of the Ancient Qi Valley?" Fu Shaoping suddenly realized. In ancient times, there might have been a formal "access contract" here, allowing those holding specific contract seals to pass through. Although the contract is now incomplete, a trace of its core function remains, which he activated with his own contract essence.

Using this halo as a disguise, Fu Shaoping, like a "visitor" granted permission by the ancients, silently slipped into the Ancient Qi Valley.

The scenery inside the valley was completely different from the outside world. The mist here turned into a pale gold, flowing like a thin veil. The ground was no longer scorched earth, but covered with a layer of fine, shimmering silver gravel. On the mountain walls on both sides, at intervals, one could see towering stone pillars, engraved with complete or incomplete contract runes, some of which were still inlaid with gems or metals that had long lost their luster.

The air was filled with a rich and pure aura of the contract's origin, even more ancient and vast than the contract's source pool in the ice cave. The star core fragment and the inheritance jade tablet in Fu Shaoping's arms emitted a pleasant hum.

The valley was deep and meandered inwards. Fu Shaoping carefully moved among the stone pillars, while his "contractual spiritual sense" extended forward like tentacles to explore.

After traveling several hundred feet, the space suddenly opened up, revealing a circular plaza that appeared as if it had been leveled by a tremendous force. In the center of the plaza stood an altar surrounded by nine of the tallest stone pillars, each bearing the most complete runes. The altar was circular, and its ground was paved with a black material that was neither gold nor jade, and was covered with extremely complex, layered contract arrays.

And in the very center of the altar, something is suspended.

It was a fist-sized, perfectly round bead, a deep, dark gold color. Its surface was smooth, without any patterns, yet it seemed to be the source and destination of all contractual power in the entire Ancient Qi Valley, radiating a heart-pounding, pure, and powerful aura of contractual essence!

"A Contract Source Core?!" Fu Shaoping's heart trembled violently! According to the few words mentioned in the "General Outline of Contract Sources," a Contract Source Core is a more complete and core creation of the contract's origin than a fragment of a star core, truly the "heart" or "seed" of a contract lineage! If one could obtain it, it would not only be of immense benefit to cultivation, but might also grant access to the true core inheritance of an ancient contract lineage! (End of Chapter)