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

The price silenced the entire auction hall for a moment. Three thousand spirit stones were enough to buy a decent second-tier high-grade magic weapon!
The owner of that soft, feminine voice seemed to hesitate, remaining silent for a long while.

Just when everyone thought he was about to give up, the voice rang out again, with a hint of amusement: "Three thousand five hundred spirit stones. Fellow Daoist, this item is destined for me. Would you be willing to part with it?"

Fu Shaoping sneered inwardly. Fate? He must have seen through something. Without further hesitation, he announced a price that caused a stir throughout the room:
"Five thousand."

This time, even the old man in the red robe was stunned. He had presided over auctions for many years and had never seen anyone bid so wildly for a fragment of unknown use!
The owner of that soft, feminine voice finally fell silent. Five thousand spirit stones was no small sum, even for him; gambling on a fragment was far too risky.

"Five thousand spirit stones, first time! Five thousand spirit stones, second time! Five thousand spirit stones, third time! Sold!" The red-robed elder practically shouted the result.

Fu Shaoping felt little joy, only heaviness. He knew his actions had inevitably attracted attention. The person bidding against him probably wouldn't give up easily.

He handed over an astronomical amount of spirit stones (almost emptying his pockets from the Ancient Qi Valley and most of his previous wealth) and received that heavy, iron-gray fragment.

The fragment felt cold and heavy to the touch, with a peculiar texture. The resonance of the source core intensified, and a vague sense of ancient battlefield battles and solemn contracts emanated from the fragment.

He didn't linger at the auction house, quickly left the Treasure Pavilion, and hurried towards his rented cave dwelling.

However, just as he turned into a relatively quiet alley, the light dimmed at the alley entrance ahead.

Two figures, like ghosts, blocked the way from the left and right.

The man on the left, tall and thin, with a pale face and sinister eyes, was the same young man in brocade robes who had bid against him at the auction earlier, with a soft voice and a cultivation level of mid-Foundation Establishment. The man on the right, however, was a burly, bald man with a face full of scars and a fierce aura, whose cultivation level was clearly late-Foundation Establishment!

The young man in the brocade robe toyed with a jade pendant in his hand, looking at Fu Shaoping with a forced smile: "Fellow Daoist, why are you in such a hurry? I'm really curious about that fragment you just bought. Would you be so kind as to lend it to me for a look? Or... name your price and transfer it to me?"

The bald, burly man crossed his arms, his eyes scanning Fu Shaoping like a hungry wolf, making no attempt to conceal his threatening intent.

Fu Shaoping stopped and looked at the two calmly, but he already knew what was going on. They were definitely up to no good.

"In an auction, the highest bidder wins. Now that this item belongs to me, it is mine and there is no reason for it to be transferred." Fu Shaoping's voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable firmness.

The young man in the brocade robe frowned: "Fellow Daoist, why be so ungrateful? This Lingxi Market is not a place where you can call the shots. There's nothing that my 'Poison Dragon Gang' has set its sights on that we can't get."

Poison Dragon Gang? Fu Shaoping vaguely remembered that it seemed to be a powerful underground gang in Lingxi County, known for its domineering behavior and collusion with several cultivation families in the county.

"The Poison Dragon Gang?" Fu Shaoping's lips curled into a barely perceptible smile. "Never heard of it."

"You're courting death!" the bald, burly man roared, his late-stage Foundation Establishment aura erupting from him like a mountain pressing down on Fu Shaoping! At the same time, his large, fan-like hand, accompanied by a whistling wind, directly grabbed at the storage bag in Fu Shaoping's hand!
They were planning to just rob us!

The young man in the brocade robe moved at the same time, his figure like a ghost, circling to Fu Shaoping's side, a poisoned short sword gleaming with a ghostly blue light appearing in his hand, thrusting straight at Fu Shaoping's ribs! The two cooperated perfectly, clearly not for the first time in such a murderous and thieving scheme.

Faced with the sudden attack from two Foundation Establishment cultivators, one of whom was in the late stage of Foundation Establishment, a cold glint flashed in Fu Shaoping's eyes.

He neither retreated nor dodged.

Just as the bald, burly man's hand was about to touch the storage bag, and the young man in brocade robes was about to pierce his ribs with his poisoned sword—

Fu Shaoping made a move!
His movements, though seemingly slow, possessed a strange rhythm, as if he had anticipated their attack trajectories. He unleashed the "Shadow Step," his figure moving like a fish in water, slipping through the gap in their attacks in the blink of an eye!

At the same time, he loosely clenched his left hand and gently pressed it towards the bald, burly man.

There was no burst of light from true energy, nor any loud sound.

But the bald, burly man's fierce forward lunge seemed to have crashed into an invisible, soft yet incredibly resilient wall, causing him to abruptly halt! He felt as if the space around him was bound by some invisible "contract," the air became viscous, and the flow of his true energy momentarily stagnated! Furthermore, a "shock" that struck directly at his soul caused alarm bells to blare in his heart!

"A contract...interference?!" The bald, burly man, experienced as he was, instantly realized something was wrong and was horrified. What kind of bizarre method was this?!

Fu Shaoping's right hand was already clenched into a sword shape, and a point of light golden light, condensed to the extreme, was like a shooting star that suddenly appeared in the darkness. It struck the spine of the poisoned short sword in the hand of the young man in brocade robes who was attacking from the side!

"Ding!"

A soft sound, like jade beads falling onto a plate.

The young man in the brocade robe felt an indescribable, strange power, carrying the meaning of "breaking the law" and "order," flowing through the sword. The true essence and sinister power he had attached to the short sword instantly became disordered and dissipated! The short sword flew out of his hand like ordinary iron!
"What?!" The young man in the brocade robe was shocked. His Poison Dragon Sword Technique had been broken so easily?

Just as the two were shaken to their core and their attacks crumbled due to Fu Shaoping's bizarre methods, a golden light flashed in Fu Shaoping's eyes, and he uttered a cold word:

"Bind!"

What you say is what the law says!

Two illusory chains, composed entirely of pale gold contract runes, appeared out of thin air beneath the feet of the bald giant and the young man in brocade robes. As if they were alive, they instantly wrapped around their ankles and rapidly spread upwards!
These chains are not physical, but they carry a powerful binding force of contract, not only binding the physical body, but also interfering with true energy and slowing down the soul!

"Damn it! What the hell is this thing!" the bald giant roared, unleashing his full power of late-stage Foundation Establishment true essence in an attempt to break free of the chains. But the chains, though seemingly illusory, were incredibly tough and carried a sense of "rule binding," leaving him powerless and like a bull trapped in a spider web.

The young man in the brocade robe was in an even worse state. His cultivation was slightly weaker, and once he was bound by the chains, he immediately felt his true essence stagnate and he could not move. His eyes were filled with terror.

Fu Shaoping gave them no chance to catch their breath. He moved again, like a ghost, close to the bald man who had shown a weakness due to his struggle. He brought his index and middle fingers together, gathering the true meaning of "breaking the law" and the true essence of the contract, and struck the vital point of the man's dantian with lightning speed!
The bald, burly man was terrified and desperately twisted his body, simultaneously throwing a punch at Fu Shaoping's face, attempting to relieve the siege by attacking from the front.

However, as if he had anticipated this, Fu Shaoping's finger, which was pointing towards the dantian, changed direction midway, darting around the fist like a serpent, and precisely struck a crucial point on the inside of the bald man's arm where his true energy was circulating! "Pfft!"

The bald, burly man groaned, his entire arm instantly going numb and powerless, his clenched fist collapsing. Taking advantage of the moment, Fu Shaoping struck him in the chest with a palm strike, his pale golden contractual true essence penetrating the body like the most domineering cleaner, instantly disrupting the flow of true energy within!

The bald, burly man was struck as if by a heavy hammer, spitting out blood, staggering backward, and his breath instantly weakened.

At the same time, Fu Shaoping didn't turn his head. He flicked his hand backward, and an invisible "contract shockwave" directly hit the soul of the young man in brocade robes who was bound by chains and trying to break free!
The young man in the brocade robe was already distracted by the chains. Caught off guard, his soul trembled violently, his vision went black, and he almost fainted.

In the blink of an eye, Fu Shaoping used swift and decisive methods to severely injure the bald, burly man in the late Foundation Establishment stage and suppress the brocade-robed youth in the mid Foundation Establishment stage!

The entire battle was swift and decisive, lasting only a few breaths. The alley remained quiet, as if nothing had happened.

Fu Shaoping stood in the alley, looking at the two men whose faces showed fear and who had lost all will to fight, his eyes cold.

He didn't kill them. In a place like Lingxi Town, killing two Foundation Establishment cultivators in the street, one of whom was a local gang leader, would cause a lot of trouble.

"Get out." He spat out a single word.

The bald, burly man and the young man in brocade robes felt as if they had been granted a pardon. They didn't even dare to utter any harsh words. Supporting each other, they fled the alley in a disheveled state, not even caring about the poisoned short sword that had fallen to the ground.

Fu Shaoping picked up the short sword, casually wiped away the marks on it, and put it into his storage bag. After checking the surroundings again to make sure no obvious traces were left, he quickly left and returned to his rented cave dwelling.

Only after closing the cave entrance and activating all the restrictions did Fu Shaoping truly breathe a sigh of relief.

The battle just now, though seemingly easy, actually took a toll, especially the "words become law" binding and the final contract impact, which greatly depleted his soul power. Fortunately, his opponent underestimated him from the start, catching him off guard.

"The Poison Dragon Gang... it seems Lingxi County isn't exactly a safe haven after all." Fu Shaoping's eyes turned slightly cold. He estimated that the Poison Dragon Gang wouldn't let this go easily, but they probably wouldn't dare to cause trouble again anytime soon.

He stopped thinking about it and took out the iron-gray fragment that he had spent a fortune to acquire.

The fragment was placed on the stone table, and the resonance of the source core became increasingly clear. He tried to probe a wisp of his contracted spiritual consciousness into the fragment.

This time, it was no longer a vague idea, but a clearer yet more fragmented memory, accompanied by intense battle and contractual fluctuations, crashing down upon us!

The scene depicts countless powerful cultivators clad in dark armor, arrayed atop a colossal black metal disc inscribed with intricate contract runes. The disc floats in the endless void, surrounded by a dazzling galaxy.

—At the center of the disc stood a blurry figure with an aura as deep as the abyss, holding a huge "contract" that was made of the same material as the fragment obtained by Fu Shaoping but was countless times more complete. It was confronting a huge, indescribable shadow in the void that exuded endless evil and a devouring aura!

Countless chains formed from the power of contracts shot forth from the black disc, coiling around the shadow. The shadow roared in fury, tearing apart the galaxy…

The image suddenly shattered, finally freezing on the scene of the black disc collapsing, the enormous "contract" breaking into countless pieces scattered in all directions...

The fragments of memory end here.

Fu Shaoping withdrew his spiritual sense, his heart filled with inexplicable shock.

"That black disc... is it a war artifact of the Xuan Yuan Qi Sect? Or some kind of contract ritual site? That indescribable shadow... could it be the 'extraterrestrial demon' that caused the destruction of the Xuan Yuan Qi Sect, or one of its sources?"

"This fragment is part of that 'Contract Token'! It contains the power of some kind of powerful war contract or guardian contract from the Xuan Yuan Contract Sect!"

No wonder the Source Core was so excited! The value of this fragment far exceeds our imagination! It is not just a piece of material, but may also contain the core contract information of the Xuan Yuan Qi Sect in its fight against its great enemy, and may even contain some kind of unfinished contract power!

"I must comprehend and refine this item as soon as possible!" Fu Shaoping suppressed his excitement. But at the same time, he understood that possessing such a treasure was a crime. Today's ambush by the Poison Dragon Gang was just the beginning. Once the true value of this fragment was revealed, even Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators would likely be tempted!
He needs greater strength, and he also needs a safer, more secluded place to study this object.

Lingxi County is no longer a place to stay.

Fu Shaoping acted decisively, immediately beginning to pack his things. He wore the Soul-Nourishing Jade around his neck to warm his soul and source core. He carefully put away the iron-gray fragment. He then checked all his belongings again.

Then, he quietly left the rented cave dwelling without alerting anyone.

Under the cover of night, he left Lingxi Village and quickly departed in the opposite direction from the county town.

He needs to find a secluded place far from human habitation, with some spiritual energy, to begin a new round of seclusion.

This time, his goal is not only to restore and consolidate, but also to comprehend the mysterious fragment of the "contract," to uncover the secrets of the ancient contract that it may contain, and to try to integrate it with his own heritage, source core, and demon-sealing stele.

The road ahead remains unknown, but it seems that we have gained a few more chips in our hands.

As night fell, Fu Shaoping's figure blended into the forest and disappeared.

His journey once again turned onto a hidden path unknown to anyone. The way of the contract, like this long, dark night, is deep and boundless, with only the faint light in his palm illuminating his path.

Youhuang Valley gets its name from the extraordinary spiritual bamboo that grows there year-round, its leaves shimmering with a faint silvery glow. It's not the core of any famous mountain's spiritual vein, but simply an ordinary valley deep within the rolling mountains of southwestern Zhao Kingdom. The concentration of spiritual energy is neither high nor low, but its beauty lies in its tranquil environment, rarely visited by humans. Only a few small, peaceful cultivation families and independent cultivators have lived there for generations, their cultivation levels no higher than the late Qi Refining stage.

Fu Shaoping chose this place because he was drawn to its "ordinariness" and "quietness".

After leaving Lingxi County, he traveled southwest, passing through prefectures and counties, deliberately avoiding all large markets and cultivation sect headquarters, finally finding this inconspicuous Youhuang Valley nestled among the mountains. (End of Chapter)