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

A month later.

Zhao State, Yunzhou, Lingxi County.

Lingxi County is located in the heart of the Zhao Kingdom, surrounded by mountains and rivers, and full of spiritual energy, far surpassing the desolate ancient plains on the frontier. The largest cultivation market in the county is called "Lingxi Market". It is built on a medium-sized water spiritual vein. Although it is not as grand as Tianque City, it is well-organized, with shops lining the streets, cultivators coming and going in an endless stream, and a peaceful atmosphere.

Fu Shaoping strolled along the cobblestone streets of Lingxi Village, dressed in an ordinary blue robe. His aura was concealed at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, neither attracting attention nor inspiring contempt. This was the first relatively prosperous and orderly cultivation area he had entered since leaving the vast ancient plains.

After leaving Shibao City, he didn't rush on his journey. Instead, he traveled around, experiencing the customs and culture of the Zhao Kingdom, while secretly inquiring about the Youying Tower, the Blood Shadow Sect, and various treasures related to contracts. The results made him both reassured and wary.

Reassuringly, it seems that the Shadow Pavilion and the Blood Shadow Cult have not been operating openly on a large scale in the heart of Zhao, but rather are more like venomous snakes lurking in the shadows. Most of the rumors about them are vague or linked to disputes over relics in remote areas and the mischief of evil cultivators, making it difficult to discern their truth.

What alarmed him was that he had vaguely heard similar rumors from intelligence brokers in several large markets: recently, several mysterious forces seemed to be secretly searching for things related to "ancient contracts" and "primordial artifacts," spending lavishly but acting mysteriously. This made him even more certain that his troubles were not over.

Lingxi Village was one of his destinations on this trip. It was rumored that the "Treasure Pavilion" there would be holding a medium-sized auction soon, where he might find what he needed—treasures that could both aid in cultivation and nourish the source core, or high-level contract-related books.

He walked straight to the "Duobao Pavilion" in the center of the town. It was a five-story vermilion pavilion with upturned eaves and an extraordinary presence, with guards at the late stage of Qi Refining standing at the entrance.

After paying the entrance fee of ten spirit stones, Fu Shaoping entered the first-floor hall. The hall was spacious and bright, displaying many magical artifacts and elixirs. He didn't linger and went straight to the third floor—the place for receiving Foundation Establishment cultivators and for consignment and consultation services.

A beautiful and well-mannered late-stage Qi Refining maidservant approached: "Senior, welcome to the Treasure Pavilion. May I ask if you wish to purchase items or consign treasures?"

"I would like to see the list of your recent auctions. Also, I would like to inquire whether your store sells ancient contract runes, or materials with special attributes that can nurture spiritual treasures?" Fu Shaoping got straight to the point.

Upon hearing this, the maid's eyes lit up slightly. Being able to inquire about ancient contract runes and materials for nurturing treasures usually meant that the client was wealthy and had special needs. She quickly said, "Senior, please come with me to the private room and have a seat. I will go and fetch the auction list and related item catalogs right away."

Fu Shaoping was led into a quiet room with elegant furnishings. Soon, a maid returned carrying a jade slip and several exquisite catalogs.

“Senior, these are some of the preview jade slips for the auction on the eighth day of next month. The final list will be finalized three days in advance. These catalogs contain information about runes, formations, and rare materials that our store currently sells. You may take a look.” The maid respectfully presented the jade slips, along with some spiritual tea, before quietly stepping aside.

Fu Shaoping first picked up the auction jade slip and probed it with his divine sense.

The jade slip contained a lot of information, mostly pills, magical artifacts, and cultivation techniques suitable for the Foundation Establishment stage, as well as a few decent second-tier materials. His gaze swept quickly across it, and suddenly stopped on the description of one of the auction items.

"The third item to be auctioned: a piece of 'Soul-Nourishing and Warming Jade'. This jade comes from the depths of the East Sea and is naturally used to nourish the soul and stabilize spirituality. It has an excellent restorative effect on damaged souls and can also be worn for a long time to slowly increase the strength of one's consciousness. Starting bid: 800 spirit stones."

Soul-Nourishing Jade! This is exactly what he needs right now. It can nourish his soul, which has not yet fully recovered, and also gently nurture his dormant source core! Although it is not as good as a specialized contract-type treasure, it has the advantage of gentle and universal effects, and its source is relatively "clean" and not easy to arouse suspicion.

He noted down the item.

Next, he browsed through the catalogs. Regarding ancient contract runes, there was only one incomplete book, *The Record of Strange Tales of Ancient Runes*, which recorded some difficult-to-identify ancient rune patterns and speculations about their effects, priced at three hundred spirit stones. Although it might not be very useful, it was worth buying as a reference to broaden his horizons.

As for materials for nurturing spiritual treasures, there are several listed in the catalog, such as "Warm Yang Stone," "Spiritual Marrow Liquid," and "Gathering Spirit Wood Heart," but their grades are not high, and their effects on treasures of the Source Core level are probably negligible.

"It seems that the main hope still lies in that 'Soul-Nourishing Jade'," Fu Shaoping thought to himself.

He put down the catalog and said to the maid, "I'll take 'The Ancient Talisman Chronicles'. Also, reserve a private seat ticket for the auction on the eighth day of next month."

The maidservant readily agreed and quickly completed the formalities. Fu Shaoping paid the spirit stones, took the thin jade slip containing the rubbing of the "Ancient Talismanic Tales" and a pale gold entrance token, and left the Treasure Pavilion.

There are still nearly twenty days until the auction. Fu Shaoping rented a temporary cave dwelling with a separate courtyard and decent spiritual energy on the edge of Lingxi Village. He plans to use this time to study "Ancient Talisman Tales" while continuing to restore and consolidate his cultivation, and to try to further refine the Demon Sealing Stele.

In the quiet chamber of his cave dwelling, Fu Shaoping placed the jade slip containing the "Records of Strange Ancient Runes" on his forehead. The jade slip contained hundreds of strange and unusual ancient runes, most of which were incomplete, and the annotations beside them were mostly bold guesses with little practical value.

However, when his divine sense swept over one of the runes, which was twisted in shape, like several chains tangled together, or like a withered flower, the dormant source core in his sea of ​​consciousness trembled slightly! It conveyed an extremely faint yet clearly discernible... a sense of "familiarity" and "warning" intertwined!

The annotation below the rune reads: "The origin of this rune is unknown. It resembles some kind of binding or cursed contract. Fragments were found on the outskirts of 'Dragon Abyss' and are suspected to be related to the ancient 'Dragon Clan' or some forbidden contracts. Study it carefully."

Dragonfall Abyss? Fu Shaoping memorized the name. It was another famous and dangerous place within the territory of Zhao State. Legend has it that a real dragon fell here, forming a perilous place, no less dangerous than the depths of the vast ancient plains.

Why is the source core reacting to this rune? Could this rune be related to the Xuan Yuan Qi Sect? Or is it related to some kind of powerful contract?

He silently memorized the shape of the rune, intending to explore it later.

The following days were peaceful and uneventful. Fu Shaoping spent his days meditating and practicing his Qi cultivation, refining the Demon-Sealing Stele, and occasionally strolling through the market to buy supplies, which was quite pleasant. His cultivation was steadily improving, and his control over the power of the mid-Foundation Establishment stage was becoming increasingly proficient.

Three days before the auction, Duobao Pavilion delivered the final jade slip listing the items for auction. Fu Shaoping carefully examined it; the "Soul-Nourishing Warm Jade" was still listed, and it was one of the last three highlight items. In addition, a mysterious item was added at the end of the list, with only a simple description: "A fragment of a mysterious ancient cultivator's relic, made of special material, containing strange fluctuations, suspected to be related to ancient weapon crafting or formations. Starting bid: 500 spirit stones. Its specific effects are not guaranteed."

These vaguely described, gambling-like items often fetch unexpected prices at auction, or they might go unsold. Fu Shaoping glanced at them but didn't pay them much attention.

Finally, the day of the auction arrived.

The auction hall on the top floor of the Treasure Pavilion was packed. Fu Shaoping sat in an ordinary private room on the second floor. Through the crystal screen in front of him, he could clearly see the auction stage below and also block most of the divine sense probing from the outside world.

The auction was presided over by an elderly man in red robes who was in the late Foundation Establishment stage, and the process was fast-paced. The first few dozen items were mostly elixirs, magical artifacts, and common materials. Although the bidding was fierce, it was all within a reasonable range. Fu Shaoping kept his eyes closed and did not make a move.

As the auction progressed into its later stages and one relatively rare item after another began to appear, the atmosphere in the room became noticeably more enthusiastic.

"Next up is one of the three highlight items of this auction—'Soul-Nourishing Jade'!" the red-robed elder announced loudly. A maidservant brought over a jade tray covered with red silk. On the tray lay a palm-sized, milky-white, warm jade with what appeared to be flowing clouds inside.

A rich, nourishing aura permeated the air, invigorating many cultivators present. "I won't elaborate on the effects of this jade. The starting bid is eight hundred spirit stones, with each bid increment no less than fifty spirit stones. Let's begin!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the bidding began in waves.

"Eight hundred and fifty!"

"Nine hundred!"

"one thousand!"

The price climbed rapidly, quickly surpassing 1,500 spirit stones. At this price, the number of bidders noticeably decreased, leaving only three or four, all of whom were cultivators in the mid-to-late stages of Foundation Establishment, clearly determined to acquire the jade.

Fu Shaoping remained silent, waiting.

When the price reached 1,800 spirit stones, only two bidders remained in a stalemate.

Fu Shaoping finally spoke, his voice coming through the crystal screen, calm and undisturbed: "Two thousand."

The bidder immediately increased the price by two hundred spirit stones, demonstrating his determination to win. The two bidders hesitated for a moment, then one of them gritted his teeth and said, "Two thousand one!"

"Two thousand three hundred." Fu Shaoping raised the price again, and the increase was still substantial.

A moment of silence fell over the room. This price slightly exceeded the usual market value of "Soul-Nourishing Jade." Another bidder sighed and withdrew.

"Two thousand three hundred spirit stones, first time! Two thousand three hundred spirit stones, second time! Two thousand three hundred spirit stones, third time! Sold! Congratulations, fellow Daoist!" The red-robed elder finalized the deal with a single strike of the gavel.

Fu Shaoping felt a slight sense of relief. Although the price was high, it was worth it to successfully bid for it.

After exchanging the spirit stones and receiving the warm jade that felt smooth to the touch and cleared the soul, Fu Shaoping carefully put it away. He didn't leave immediately, wanting to see what the last mysterious ancient artifact was.

The second item to be auctioned was a powerful second-tier high-grade flying sword, which attracted even fiercer bidding and was eventually sold for nearly four thousand spirit stones.

Finally, it was time for the last item to be auctioned.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the next item is the last item in this auction, and also the most mysterious one." The red-robed elder raised his voice, and two guards carried in a tray covered with a black cloth.

The black cloth was lifted, revealing a piece of metal about the size of two fists, irregularly shaped, with a pitted and uneven surface, and a dark iron-gray color. The edges of the fragment were sharp, and some extremely fine, mostly worn-down scratches could be vaguely seen.

"The exact origin of this item is unknown. It was discovered deep within the Black Wind Gobi Desert at the site of an ancient battlefield. According to the appraisals of several appraisers in our pavilion, its material is neither gold nor stone, but is exceptionally tough and can block some divine sense detection. Furthermore, it emits an extremely faint and indescribable fluctuation. It is suspected to be a core fragment of a large ancient magical artifact or formation. The starting bid is five hundred spirit stones. You may consider this carefully."

The red-robed elder's words elicited curious yet hesitant expressions from many cultivators present. Such fragments with unknown uses posed too great a risk.

Fu Shaoping had only glanced at it casually, but when his eyes fell on the iron-gray fragment, especially when he saw the wear and scratches, he was struck dumb!

Those engravings... although severely worn, their structure and spirit... were surprisingly similar to the twisted chain rune that he had recorded in the "Ancient Rune Tales" that caused the source core to react, as well as some decorative contract patterns he had seen on the half-statue base in the core ruins of the Xuan Yuan Qi Sect!
No, it's not similar! It's from the same origin!

Moreover, the Source Core in his arms was once again pulsating with unparalleled clarity! It was ten times stronger than when he sensed the "Ancient Talisman Chronicles" before! It was a resonance of longing, excitement, and even a hint of sadness!

This thing... is definitely related to the ancient Dao of Contracts, and may even be closely related to the Xuan Yuan Qi Sect!
"I must get it!" Fu Shaoping made a decision instantly. No matter the cost!
At this point, several people in the room had begun to make tentative bids.

"Five hundred and fifty."

"Six hundred."

"Seven hundred."

The price slowly climbed to nine hundred spirit stones before stagnating. After all, it was just a fragment of unknown use, and no one was willing to gamble away too many spirit stones.

“One thousand,” Fu Shaoping said again, his voice still calm.

This price drew the attention of everyone in the room. A thousand spirit stones for a piece of scrap metal?
No one raised the price further.

Just as the red-robed elder was about to bring down the gavel, a slightly effeminate voice suddenly rang out from the other side of the second floor: "One thousand two hundred spirit stones."

Fu Shaoping frowned almost imperceptibly. He turned his gaze to the source of the sound, which was another private room on the second floor. Behind the crystal screen, he could only see a blurry figure dressed in a brocade robe.

"Fifteen thousand." Fu Shaoping raised the price.

"Eighteen thousand." The other party followed closely behind.

"Two thousand," Fu Shaoping said, his tone unchanged.

"Two thousand five." The other party seemed to have also become interested, or perhaps they had also recognized the extraordinary nature of this fragment?
A murmur of discussion arose in the room. For an unidentified fragment to fetch such a price was already outrageous.

Fu Shaoping paused for a moment, then slowly uttered a number: "Three thousand." (End of Chapter)