The Eternal Saint of Alchemy

If the Grandmaster of Pill Refining truly has relevant records, then that fragment in the Earth Fire Hall might be able to help him figure out exactly what that person was refining.

"I accept this letter." Xiao Fan folded the letter and put it in his pocket. "Go back and tell Hall Master Wei that I will go to Yan Yuan as soon as I'm done with my work. It won't be long."

The middle-aged man stood up, clasped his hands in a fist salute, turned and walked out of the inn, quickly disappearing into the morning mist.

After he had walked a distance, Master Gu Yuan approached him and whispered, "That Wei Huoshou is really persistent. The messenger was polite enough, but do you believe the fragment he has?"

"We can't believe everything." Xiao Fan stood up and walked upstairs. "It's not surprising that the Earth Fire Hall has things from the Grandmaster of the Void Pill. The Flame Abyss is a gathering place for fire-attribute spiritual materials. It's normal that the Grandmaster of the Void Pill traveled the world and went there back then. But Wei Huoshou took the initiative to use it as bait, which means he was determined to get it."

I went up to the second floor, sat by the window, and opened it. The morning breeze blew in, bringing with it the dry, chilly air unique to Shahe Town. "But he wasn't wrong. I do need that tattered scroll."

Gu Yuan glanced at him, but didn't ask further. He simply asked, "So what do we do now? Should we continue westward?"

Xiao Fan leaned against the windowsill, his gaze piercing through the layers of rooftops to the gray sky to the west. "Follow him. That gray-robed man is still moving westward; I need to at least find out what he's refining."

However, Shahe Town is no longer a place we can stay. The fact that the Earth Fire Hall was able to find me means that my location is no longer a secret.

He turned his head and saw Yun Ruoxi making tea, while Han Fei leaned against the door frame, yawning.

"Pack your things and head south, going around to the south of Black Sand Island. It'll take three more days, but it'll keep you out of the way."

Han Fei rubbed his eyes, nodded, and then went downstairs to prepare the horses.

Master Gu Yuan leaned against the table and thought for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Are you going to tell the Earth Fire Hall about the gray-robed man?"

Xiao Fan thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Don't tell anyone until you know what he's doing. As for Wei Huoshou, let's leave him for now. I'll memorize the incomplete chapter first, and when I return from my westward journey, I'll go to Yan Yuan again and take care of him."

He opened the window, letting more morning breeze into the room.

Outside the window, Shahe Town had already awakened, and the sounds of horses' hooves and people could be heard on the streets.

He closed the window, turned around, and walked to his luggage.

The purple flame in the west still burns in the darkness.

He had to figure out what was going on with the fire before things got completely out of control.

The journey south by detour took four days longer than expected.

When Xiao Fan and the others returned to the western part of the Black Sand Sea, there was no trace of human habitation in Shahe Town. There was only a brown wilderness, with occasional patches of gray-green bushes swaying in the wind, their leaves covered with a thick layer of frost.

That night, they set up camp on a low earthen cliff.

Han Fei started a fire, Gu Yuan sat by the fire, folding some small things with talismans, and Xiao Fan walked up the cliff alone, looking westward.

The afterglow of the setting sun spilled across the wasteland, turning the earth a dark gold.

At the horizon, where heaven and earth meet, there is a very faint black line, as if it had been scorched by something, making it appear even deeper.

He stood on the cliff top for a moment, then prepared to descend.

The vibrations were so evenly spaced that they didn't resemble an earthquake at all; rather, they looked like some kind of large psionic device in operation.

He squatted down, his palms touching the ground, and the spiritual power of the Creation Fire spread out.

Deep underground, a large flow of heat is surging, like a branch of subterranean fire, bound by rocks.

The heat flow converges at a certain point, forming a spherical space, and slowly releases the heat.

"interesting."

He returned to the camp and briefly explained the situation underground.

Upon hearing this, Gu Yuan's eyes lit up immediately: "Earth Core Fire Spring? I don't know the direction of the earth's veins here either. If there really is an Earth Core Fire Spring here, the spiritual energy should be very rich. With your cultivation at the first level of the Tribulation Realm, this is a rare place for cultivation if you want to advance further."

Xiao Fan nodded, but he wasn't in a hurry.

The next morning, after breaking camp, he carefully used his divine sense to probe the terrain as he walked, slowly advancing in the direction of the heat flow. It wasn't until the afternoon that he found the place where the heat flow converged beside a dried-up riverbed.

This land doesn't look particularly special; it's still a large expanse of ochre-colored soil with sparse saline plants.

However, under the probing power of the Creation Fire Spirit, he discovered a naturally formed volcanic cave, where the concentration of spiritual energy was several times that of the outside world.

"Let's go." Xiao Fan discovered a crack in a stone wall that extended deep underground, with faint heat rising from it.

He turned sideways and walked into the crevice. After walking for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he suddenly lost his footing and fell into a small cave.

The cave walls are all dark red rock, radiating a soft light that rises from the depths of the earth, giving people a warm feeling.

Inside the cave was a shallow pool of water, not very deep, but a faint red light flickered beneath it, as if a flame was burning quietly below.

Fire spring.

Xiao Fan squatted by the pool, stretched out a hand, and touched the water. He felt that it was warm and contained extremely pure fire-attribute spiritual power.

This spiritual energy contained no impurities whatsoever, as if it had been filtered through layer after layer of the earth's crust, making it exceptionally pure.

He immediately sat cross-legged. This was the purest fire-attribute spiritual energy in the world, more suitable for him than any elixir.

The Fire of Creation is the most primordial flame in the world, sharing the same origin as this incomparably pure earth fire power, so there is naturally no hindrance in absorbing it.

Master Gu Yuan and Yun Ruoxi guarded the cave entrance, while Han Fei stood at the entrance, responsible for surveillance. Xiao Fan sat alone cross-legged by the warm pool, circulating the Qiankun Refining Spirit Technique, guiding the pure spiritual energy into his meridians little by little.

The spiritual energy was very fine and long. When it encountered the Creation Fire, there was no conflict. Instead, it naturally merged into his body.

Xiao Fan felt that the true qi in his dantian was slowly and steadily becoming thicker, and the silver pattern drawn out by the Thunderfire Token was also becoming brighter, as if it had been nourished by pure fire spiritual power, and the silver pattern extended upwards a little more.

He sat by the spring all night.

The next morning, when he walked out of the cave, his demeanor was much calmer.