To comprehend all laws and attain immortality

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Yun Shuwan's gaze darkened slightly, and her words became earnest.

"Fellow Daoist Gu has come from afar, and we should host a banquet in his honor. However, the sealing matter concerns the lives of people from both countries, and the leakage of turbid energy is becoming increasingly severe. We hope that you will take action as soon as possible."

"Fellow Daoist, you are overthinking this. The situation is urgent, so this is the proper course of action," Gu Fan nodded in response.

Afterwards, he left Yun Shuwan and Juezhen behind and went to observe the dark stone mountain on his own.

Gu Fan focused his mind and quietly activated his Myriad Manifestations Dharma Eye.

The scene before my eyes suddenly changed.

The entire dark stone mountain was no longer an ordinary mountain.

Countless pale golden ancient array patterns are buried deep within the mountain, crisscrossing and layered.

The spiritual light between the lines has dimmed, and there are many breaks and mottles. It has long lost its former power and has obviously been eroded and worn away by the years as the spiritual energy has declined.

These array patterns, based on mountains and using stones as mediums, are interconnected to form a vast and powerful sealing array.

Deep within the mountain lies the core of the formation.

A swirling mass of dark, murky energy lingered within, which was likely the filthy cauldron.

Gu Fan took a few steps forward, carefully set up a layer of spiritual light to protect himself, and reached into the black mist.

In an instant, the black mist frantically eroded the protective aura, emitting a sizzling sound, like a branding iron being plunged into cold water.

"What exactly is this thing?" Gu Fan frowned.

He was not unfamiliar with yin and evil energy.

Beneath the Fallen Soul Abyss, the wreckage of the immortal ship plunged into the earth's veins, and the turbid and malevolent energy it emitted was so concentrated that it could even give birth to strange creatures like malevolent spirits.

But this black mist before them was even more troublesome than the things in the Abyss of Fallen Souls.

In Gu Fan's perception, the black mist was not a single turbid gas, but rather a deadly poison formed by the condensation of hundreds of kinds of impurities.

He glanced at his sleeve and whispered, "Senior, do you recognize this black mist?"

Chang Yuan had already taken note. He peeked out from his sleeve and replied in a deep voice, "This thing is extremely strange. Yin energy, turbid energy, corpse energy, evil energy, and poisonous energy are all mixed together in one cauldron. Even demonic cultivators would find it difficult to withstand. However, since it was dropped by the wreckage of the immortal ship, I have a guess."

"Please speak, senior." Gu Fan's spirits lifted.

Chang Yuan pondered for a moment: "The immortal ship came from beyond the heavens. The demonic cultivators on board are cultivating, and it is inevitable that waste will be generated."

"scrap?"

"That's right." Chang Yuan nodded. "For example, the remains of a corpse, the remnants of essence and blood, are no different from the dregs and ash of a failed alchemy."

Gu Fan immediately understood what he meant.

Even he would produce some waste materials when refining weapons, such as impurities hammered out from spiritual materials.

Normally, these wastes are harmless and do not cause damage to the environment. However, if they are from demonic cultivators, whose cultivation methods are inherently strange and unpredictable, the accumulated wastes they produce can be incredibly destructive.

"That doesn't make sense," Gu Fan suddenly asked. "Why are these cultivators piling up this waste instead of releasing it into the void?"

Chang Yuan shook his head: "I do not know about that. I suppose the demonic cultivators on the immortal ship have their own ways of dealing with it. The answer may lie in that precious cauldron."

Gu Fan nodded slightly.

He wanted to find out more, but the current situation made it difficult.

The seal left by Ancestor Yunxiao was not directly placed on the treasure cauldron, but rather relied on the entire stone mountain, with array patterns carved on it to draw spiritual energy from all directions to maintain its operation.

Gu Fan could follow the example of Ancestor Yunxiao and rearrange the sealing formation, but this would only last for a hundred years, because the direct cause of the formation's collapse—the decline of spiritual energy—would not be changed.

A hundred years from now, the seal will inevitably break again, and the filth within the cauldron will spill out.

"If only we could just get rid of all this filth and foul air directly."

Gu Fan frowned in thought, then flicked his finger to summon a wisp of black mist. A spiritual fire ignited at his fingertip, which he used to scorch the black mist. (Currently reading Chapter 311, "The Filthy Cauldron," completely absorbed in its content.)

However, under the scorching of the spiritual fire, the black mist not only did not dissipate, but was instead stained gray and wrapped around his fingers along the firelight.

"If spiritual fire could annihilate this thing, the cultivators of two thousand years ago would have done so long ago," Chang Yuan said coldly.

Gu Fan quickly dissipated the spiritual fire and ignored him.

On the other side, Jue Zhen and Yun Shuwan discussed in hushed tones.

Juezhen took out a jade slip from his sleeve and handed it to Yun Shuwan. Gu Fan saw that it was the reward list he had presented.

After reading the jade slip, Yun Shuwan saw Gu Fan standing there and immediately flew over.

Juezhen followed closely behind.

"Fellow Daoist, have you investigated thoroughly?" Yun Shuwan asked.

Gu Fan nodded and replied, "The formation can be repaired, but I need to study it for a few days."

Upon hearing this, Yun Shuwan smiled, her smile blooming like a white lotus.

Juezhen also showed excitement, put his hands together, and whispered a few words of scripture.

"I have just discussed with Master Juezhen that the jade slip contains a lot of supplies, and we also need to prepare a thank-you gift for your sect. We are preparing to return to our respective sects to report."

Yun Shuwan held up the jade slip and said, "I have already ordered the evacuation of the mortals in the vicinity. Fellow Daoist, please continue to study it."

"That's perfect," Gu Fan agreed.

With someone watching from the side, he felt a little uncomfortable.

After speaking, Gu Fan took out another jade slip, engraved a string of spiritual materials on it, and handed it to Yun Shuwan: "These are the spiritual materials needed to set up the formation. I hope you will prepare them when you return."

Subsequently, Juezhen and Yun Shuwan each fled.

After the two left, Gu Fan squinted at Black Stone Mountain, pondering a way to deal with it.

It will take some time for the states of Chen and Qin to prepare the spiritual materials for their formations, so he can use this time to experiment to his heart's content.

If they still can't come up with a solution by the time the two return, they can only follow the example of Ancestor Yunxiao and set up a larger sealing formation.

The original seal was already a fourth-order grand formation. But even without using the Myriad Manifestations Eye, Gu Fan could see through its intricacies.

With his current mastery of array formations, he is no less accomplished than the legendary Ancestor Yunxiao.

Half a day later, Gu Fan still hadn't come up with a solution.

No matter whether using thunder talismans, spiritual fire, or even the Taihao Profound Light, the gray mist could not be extinguished.

He even activated the Cloud-Covering Umbrella, bracing himself against the erosion of the black mist, and explored a section of the seal. However, he did not go far before realizing that the erosive power of the black mist was too domineering, and he had no choice but to retreat.

However, this probing allowed him to catch a glimpse of the true appearance of the treasure cauldron from afar.

The cauldron has a simple and ancient design, with four legs, two handles, a round belly, and a wide mouth. The body of the cauldron is carved with a lotus flower facing the wind, and it was completely undamaged despite being eroded by the black mist.

"What material is this made of?!"

Gu Fan was filled with surprise and doubt, but the thick black fog blocked his way, preventing him from getting any closer.

Two days later, the gray fog continued to spread.

Helpless, Gu Fan had no choice but to move further away.

Halfway there, he suddenly sensed a group of figures and immediately changed his escape route.

Hundreds of ordinary people, men, women, and children, were seen mixed together, some pulling carts and carrying bundles, others leaning on canes and helping the elderly and children, walking weakly into the distance.

The group moved very slowly. Gu Fan estimated that at this pace, they would be caught up by the black mist in a few days.

More importantly, many people's faces had turned bluish-black.

That's a sign of being corrupted by impure air.

The black fog had not yet caught up, but the air was already filled with a thin layer of stale air.

This level of damage would be harmless to cultivators, but it could be life-threatening to ordinary people.