The Eternal Saint of Alchemy

Ye Ruolin stood to the side, gazing down, and sighed. "This is what it looked like when I was in seclusion more than ten years ago. The two floors above should be the front hall."

The group walked down the stairs.

The light of the lamp seemed very small in this empty space, illuminating a small area, but it gave people a sense of vastness coming from all directions. As you climbed step by step, you could feel the expanse beneath your feet.

After walking about a hundred steps, a bright light suddenly appeared before my eyes.

The light of the lamp never ceases to shine.

In Xiao Fan's divine sense, he could only sense that this was an enormous underground space, about a hundred feet long and wide, and several tens of feet high above.

In the center was a huge circular platform, upon which stood a massive black and white stone pillar, covered with densely packed runes, with rings of bright spiritual energy slowly flowing around it.

Around the platform, there were twelve stone pedestals, each holding an object: some were sealed jade slips, some were longswords, and some were unfolded animal hide scrolls.

The spiritual energy between heaven and earth is like a fine net, connecting each base and finally converging on the two-colored stone pillar in the center.

Xiao Fan stood at the end of the stone steps. The light emitted by the spirit lamp only illuminated a few feet in front of him, while the halo on the stone pillar seemed to pierce through the darkness, brightening everyone's eyes.

Ye Ruolin whispered, "This contains the life savings of the Grandmaster of Alchemy."

As Xiao Fan spoke, he walked directly towards the nearest stone platform. The others followed suit.

On the nearest high platform, there was a roll of animal hide.

Xiao Fan unrolled the scroll and, at a glance, discovered that it was actually a diagram of a large fire array. It was much simpler and larger than the diagrams drawn on the three parchments before, almost like a basic structural book of the spiritual energy network in the entire underground space.

He glanced at it and then put the scroll away.

There were instructions on the bases listing the names of the items, and that accidentally removing them could potentially disrupt the flow of spiritual energy in the central pillar. He planned to examine all the platforms first.

On the second table was a white jade envelope coated with sealing wax and stamped with the seal of the Grandmaster of Elixir.

Xiao Fan placed the Creation Flame on the sealing wax. After the wax softened, a pill, entirely crimson and only the size of a thumb, appeared before him.

The pill was covered with fine, intricate patterns, complex yet ancient, with its spiritual energy contained within. Even with his current mastery of alchemy, he couldn't discern what it was.

He put away the jade slip and noted down where he was.

On the third platform, something was blocking the way. The sword was entirely black, without any decorations, except for a ruby ​​set in the hilt.

Xiao Fan reached out and grasped the sword hilt. The sword and scabbard were unexpectedly heavy, somewhat similar to the black sword he had obtained from the Great Qing Kingdom, but the weight was much more even, as if it had been made for humankind.

He drew his sword, its blade gleaming coldly in the light of the lamp, not dazzling, yet sending chills down one's spine.

On the sword, there was a line of small characters, the script of which was vigorous and powerful, slightly different from the rounded script of Taixu Dansheng's usual writing.

"It takes nine years to refine a single elixir or forge a single sword."

Xiao Fan sheathed his longsword, leaned back in his chair, and remained silent.

This sword was forged by the Grandmaster of Alchemy over nine years using a single elixir. The elixir and the sword were refined together in the same furnace, resulting in a magical artifact of far superior quality to ordinary weapons.

But now he cannot take it away. The spiritual energy network between the twelve bases needs a physical entity to maintain it. If one of the spiritual energy networks is removed, the spiritual energy network of the central stone pillar will become thin.

He walked down.

On the fourth table was a copper basin containing only a small half-cup of liquid. It was colorless and odorless, but the spiritual energy it contained was extremely rich. With a slight breath, one could feel a cool sensation that reached the dantian, making one feel refreshed and relaxed.

On platforms five and six, there are two manuscripts each. One details the classification and characteristics of different flames, while the other explores the transmission of spiritual energy.

On the seventh platform, there is a palm-sized round stone, inlaid with seven crystals of different colors, forming a picture of the Big Dipper.

Xiao Fan did not touch it rashly. Instead, he scanned the area with his divine sense and discovered that the stone slab was actually a key point of the array. It was connected to the other eleven bases by a faint spiritual force, as if it were the hub connecting the entire underground space.

After scanning the area once more, he couldn't help but be somewhat surprised.

The things that the Grandmaster of the Void Pill placed in this underground space were not randomly placed, but rather formed a complete spiritual energy circulation system with twelve bases as fulcrums.

If you remove something from a base, the system will be unbalanced for a period of time. However, this imbalance is only temporary. As long as an item of equal quality is replaced during this period, the system will return to normal.

After circling around, he returned to the central stone pillar.

He couldn't take those twelve items with him, but the sword, the book of interdimensional travel, and the nameless elixir were what he needed most right now. The other items, though valuable, couldn't maintain the balance of the twelve pedestals.

"Three items." He turned to look at everyone. "However, if you take them, the halo of the central pillar will temporarily disappear, and you'll need to replace it as soon as possible. The Fire Marrow Crystal can temporarily replace one of them, but I'll have to exchange for the other two myself."

Ye Ruolin approached him, glanced at the slowly rotating aura of spiritual energy emanating from the central stone pillar, and then at the twelve stone platforms. "Approximately how long will it take?"

"It will take at least half a day, right? I need to use the existing spiritual materials to create a suitable spiritual energy carrier."

Ye Ruolin nodded slightly. "There are plenty of spirit lamps and food. You go ahead with your work; I'll keep an eye on things."

Xiao Fan sat cross-legged beside the two-colored bronze furnace, opened his backpack, sorted the spiritual materials according to different categories, and began to prepare them.

A small piece of Fire Marrow Crystal is enough to contain pure fire-attribute spiritual power, while the materials required for the other two bases are more complex, one yin and one yang.

The essence of Yin Fire, along with the powder of Red Yang Copper Ore and some purified amethyst beads, all need to be refined.

Ye Ruolin stood beside him, tending to the bronze furnace and constantly cooling it down.

Yun Ruoxi sat not far from him, holding a spirit lamp in her hand and placing it in the middle of the group. The warm light illuminated the small space.

Master Gu Yuan walked around the twelve stone platforms, memorizing all the contents on them, before walking to the stone pillars to carefully observe the flowing light patterns.