The Eternal Saint of Alchemy

The juice dripped into the water, making a continuous hissing sound, and a lot of foam rose from the surface of the water.

Xiao Fan looked closely and saw that new fine lines were growing out of the broken parts, as if trying to connect his body back together.

It has a strong self-healing ability.

He made a decisive move, no longer testing them one by one, but instead simultaneously activating the power of the Creation Fire and the Thunderfire Token, spreading them in all directions along the tree roots at the bottom of the swamp.

Crimson-gold flames burned on the roots, while silver lightning severed them along the earth's veins.

Two forces intertwined at the bottom of the swamp, peeling away, burning, and sealing off layer by layer.

The gurgling sound came from the center of the swamp, and the splashing water grew more and more intense, like a trapped beast struggling.

Xiao Fan stood there motionless, continuously channeling his spiritual energy into the ground.

Sweat dripped from his forehead, but his eyes were incredibly focused, sensing every moment his roots were being scorched.

About fifteen minutes later, the last thick main root was also severed by spiritual power, and the churning water in the swamp gradually subsided. The lake returned to calm, and the gray bubbles became fewer and fewer.

Xiao Fan withdrew his hand and sighed deeply. He could feel that most of the Yin energy at the bottom of the swamp had dissipated. Without the nourishment of the roots, this Yin energy would soon dissipate.

He stood up and found that the spot where he had just been standing had turned into a hard shell, making a "crunching" sound when he stepped on it.

A layer of grayish-white foam floated on the surface of the swamp; it was pollutants left over from the burning, which were being slowly washed away by the clear water.

When Xiao Fan returned to the camp, Han Fei had already added a piece of firewood to the fire and was waiting for him to come back. He picked up his bowl, sat down by the fire, and slowly drank a bowl of hot soup, feeling his spiritual energy gradually calm down.

The swamp had been cleaned up, but he still noticed something: the root structure at the bottom of the swamp was very neat, unlike natural plants that had grown after being polluted, and more like some kind of magic array.

Someone has set something up beneath the swamp.

It turns out that these tree roots were the foundation of the formation, buried deep underground. They became what they are now because they were eroded by the Yin energy.

He voiced his conjecture. Gu Yuan listened with a grave expression: "So, the Grandmaster of the Void Pill or others are hiding deep beneath the Great Qing Empire, and some may even have been corrupted by the power of the Yin."

Xiao Fan nodded, without saying anything more. He leaned against the campfire, stood on a rock, and gazed at the distant swamp.

Under the cover of night, a faint white light shimmered on the surface of the water, like a pool of water that had been wiped clean, reflecting the moonlight.

After dealing with the pollution, his senses became even more acute, as if he had gained an extra tentacle that extended into the ground.

Deep underground in the heart of the Daqing Empire, he could discern several such places. Their aura was much fainter than that of this swamp, but their distribution subtly echoed the arc he had previously traversed.

"We'll study this carefully once we get back to the Dan Tower."

The warmth of the campfire came from under my feet, dispelling the chill of the night.

Han Fei had already gone into the tent and was fast asleep, Gu Yuan was leaning against the tent wall and resting with his eyes closed, while Yun Ruoxi was sitting on the other side, holding a book in her hands. The firelight reflected on her profile, making her look serene and gentle.

Xiao Fan slowly closed his eyes.

On the map in his mind, some new points of light had appeared, waiting for his confirmation.

The day they returned to Danta was sunny and bright. Old Zhao took the reins from Han Fei and said with a smile, "It's been almost two months, and the ginkgo trees in the yard have almost all shed their leaves."

Xiao Fan asked Han Fei to help him move his things to the yard, and then headed towards Jiang Yuanji's study.

Jiang Yuanji was flipping through an old account book when he saw him come in. He put down his pen, looked him up and down, and a look of satisfaction appeared in his eyes.

Xiao Fan sat down opposite him and briefly recounted what had happened along the way, especially the combination of the array and the underground array, as well as the polluted roots at the bottom of the swamp.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuanji remained silent for a long time, then tapped his fingers lightly twice on the table.

"You mean, there are still a few places in the heart of Daqing where this kind of aura remains?"

"There are at least three. However, their locations are quite coincidental; they are situated precisely on the route that the Grandmaster of Alchemy set up the formation back then."

Jiang Yuanji stood up, walked to the map of Daqing on the wall, and drew three strokes at the location Xiao Fan pointed to.

These three points form a line that aligns perfectly with the line Xiao Fan was walking on, extending all the way to the east of the Pill Tower.

"Redirecting the flow along the original path." Jiang Yuanji put down his pen, turned around and said, "Back when the Taixu Pill Saint was building the Nine Towers, he buried a guiding channel in the ground to direct the spiritual power that overflowed when the Nine Towers were being suppressed to an uninhabited place to dissipate on its own."

The auras you sensed must be from a node in the passage that, due to years of neglect, has been corrupted by yin energy and shifted.

Xiao Fan stood up, walked to the large map, and carefully observed the three locations on the map.

If these nodes are indeed contaminated or shifted, the flow of spiritual energy underground will become chaotic, thus affecting the stability of the Nine Towers Seal.

"I have to go down and check," he said. "At least to make sure this passage is still working."

Jiang Yuanji nodded, took out a tattered blueprint, and spread it out.

This is an old version of the underground structure diagram of the Pill Tower, which shows several passages and holes of varying heights. One of the thick lines runs from the bottom of the Pill Tower eastward to the three places that Jiang Yuanji pointed to.

"There's a passage leading to the underground of the Pill Tower," Jiang Yuanji said, pointing to the thick line. "Thirty years ago, I checked it out and found that most of the passage was intact, but one section was blocked by collapsed rocks. If you want to go down, bring a rock-cutting talisman and some spare lighting equipment."

Xiao Fan glanced at the old map in his hand and had already made up his mind.

The underground passages of the Dan Tower were the first to be constructed and are also the closest to the core. If problems arise in this level, subsequent repairs will become much more difficult.

"I'll go again tomorrow."

It was already evening when I returned to the courtyard from the study.

Han Fei was squatting in the kitchen chopping vegetables.

Gu Yuan sat in the corridor, wiping the brass buttons on the talisman with a soft cloth. Yun Ruoxi stood under the ginkgo tree, watching him, a faint smile curving her lips.

"Going underground tomorrow?"