The Eternal Saint of Alchemy

Xiao Fan walked to her side and looked at the bare tree with her.

The bare branches stretched towards the gray-blue sky, like a simple charcoal drawing.

"Go down and check if that road is still open," he instructed. "And also check the auras we sensed earlier. If there's any blockage, clear it."

Yun Ruoxi turned to look at him. "Okay, then I'll go prepare some lighting supplies and warm clothing. It's not as cold underground as outside."

After saying that, she turned and went into the house. Xiao Fan stood under the ginkgo tree, watching her go inside, and then looked up at the setting sun on the courtyard wall.

Tomorrow they will venture deep into the Dan Tower's underground. He doesn't know if the old underground power lines are still usable.

The next day, before dawn, Xiao Fan arrived at the entrance of the old stone chamber on the first floor of the Pill Tower.

At the entrance of the passage, Jiang Yuanji had already cleared away all the clutter, revealing a metal door that was about half a person tall.

After the iron gate opened, there was a brick path sloping downwards. A faint dampness seeped from the cracks in the bricks, and the air was filled with the smell of soil and lime.

Han Fei lit two spirit lamps, handing one to Xiao Fan and hanging the other on his waist.

Master Gu Yuan checked his talisman pouch to make sure he had the rock-carving talisman, positioning talisman, and windproof talisman on him. Yun Ruoxi walked at the very back, carrying a hand warmer and a bundle of spare rope.

Xiao Fan went in first. The corridor paved with blue bricks was much wider than he had imagined, enough for two people to walk side by side. A copper nail was embedded in the wall. Although it was rusty and had a dark green tinge, it was still firmly embedded in the wall.

He hadn't gone far when he stopped. The copper nails were arranged too neatly, one every fifteen steps, and all at the same height. He reached out and pinched the tip of one of the nails, and gently twisted it, but the nail didn't budge.

Marking pins on the guide path.

When setting up underground passages, the Taixu Dansheng would bury a copper nail at regular intervals as a transit point for the transmission of spiritual energy.

These copper nails embedded in the wall are a century old, and their ability to conduct spiritual energy is still very weak.

"Still on the way." Xiao Fan put his hand down and continued walking forward. "These relay points all have residual spiritual energy, which means that this passage has not been completely cut off."

The passage gradually became deeper and deeper, and the brick and stone walls gradually disappeared, replaced by natural rocks.

After walking for about 15 minutes, a landslide occurred ahead, with rubble piling up from the cave ceiling to the ground, blocking the passage.

Xiao Fan took the rock-carving talisman from Gu Yuan, pressed it onto the loosest rock in the collapse, and used his spiritual power to blast a gap in it.

The gravel fell, revealing the dark space inside.

He stepped sideways into the cave entrance, and the light from the spirit lamp shone into the cave, illuminating the runes on the walls.

These runes are exactly the same as those on the bottom of the two-colored bronze furnace in the underground stone chamber of the basin, only much larger and denser, as if the entire passageway is covered by runes.

The edges of the runes shimmered with a faint silver light, dim but not extinguished.

Xiao Fan held the spirit lamp high and walked forward along the net of runes.

The further he went, the more the passages branched out, some extending downwards and others spiraling upwards. At each fork in the path, he would stop and use the array base to sense whether there was still any Yin energy remaining in that fork.

As he reached the third fork in the road, the base beneath his feet suddenly shifted.

A faint chill wafted from the passage on the left, somewhat similar to the pollution at the bottom of the swamp, but much thinner.

"This way." He turned and walked to the left.

This road was much narrower than the main road, only wide enough for one person to walk side by side. After walking for about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, the view suddenly opened up before us.

An oil lamp illuminated a small underground stone chamber. In the center of the chamber was a narrow crack, from which a grayish-black mist slowly rose, but it disappeared after only half a foot in height.

Xiao Fan squatted down and looked at the crack.

This crack is located at the edge of the channel. It seems that when the spiritual energy from underground passes through here, some of it flows out from the crack. This situation occurs over time.

The crack wasn't deep and had no foundation; it was simply a crack caused by the impact of spiritual energy.

"Just plug it up." He took out the Creation Fire and injected heat along the edge of the crack, melting a thin layer of rock. Then he used the Thunderfire Token to shoot out a silver light, melting the loose rock again.

In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the crack was completely sealed, and no more gray-black mist emerged.

He stood up, stretched his knees, and then sensed his surroundings through the array base.

The main structure of the entire diversion channel is still functioning normally, with only minor leaks, not structural damage. Once they are sealed off one by one, the spiritual energy underground will start flowing again.

"Let's go." He put away the spirit lamp and continued walking inside.

The spiderwebs on the ground were much deeper and wider than the arcs he had walked through before, but now he could feel the spiritual energy on these threads, like a meridian, breathing steadily in its slumber.

Xiao Fan crawled out of the tunnel, covered in dust and with some pebbles stuck to his hair.

He stood by the well in the backyard of Danta, drew water to wash his face, bent down and patted the dust off his clothes. Old Zhao, the gatekeeper, rushed over.

"Young Master Xiao, you've finally arrived! We have distinguished guests visiting in the front hall; Elder Jiang sent me to pick you up."

Xiao Fan rubbed his wet hands. "What distinguished guest?"

Old Zhao's voice was very low, and his expression was somewhat complicated.

"They say that the Grandmaster of Pill Refining Origin owes his ancestor something and wants to ask for it back. An elder came with a young girl, and the girl had a very strong presence; none of the stewards could answer her."

Xiao Fan dusted himself off and walked into the front hall.

The Danta lobby was indeed bustling with activity today.

Five or six people were sitting in the hall, with Jiang Yuanji in the main seat, expressionless.

In the guest seat sat an elderly man in a gray robe, his eyes slightly closed, his demeanor calm and composed.

Sitting next to the old man was a young woman in her early twenties. She wore a snow-white robe, her hair was tied in a high ponytail, and she had an indifferent expression. She was holding an ancient book in her hand and flipping through it.

"Master Jiang, this is the manuscript of the Grandmaster of Alchemy, containing the manuscript of my Ye family ancestor. Back then, the Grandmaster of Alchemy borrowed the Yin Fire Fragment from my ancestor and promised me a complete alchemy formula."

"Now that our ancestor has passed away, the elixir formula has yet to arrive. My Ye family has three generations living together, and today we have come to demand an explanation. What is wrong with that?" The girl's voice was not loud, but every word was firm and resounding.

Jiang Yuanji picked up his teacup, took a sip, and was about to speak when his eyes fell on Xiao Fan out of the corner of his eye. He quickly put down his teacup and waved to Xiao Fan.

"That's good. Her name is Ye Ruolin, the daughter of the Ye family in the capital. His name is Xiao Fan, the successor of my Pill Tower Taixu Sect. You know that pill formula better than I do."