The Eternal Saint of Alchemy

On the second fragment of the base, there was a thin layer of purple powder, as if it had been forcibly torn off by something.

Xiao Fan picked up a handful of powder and rubbed it between his fingers. The powder felt cool and smooth to the touch, somewhat similar to the Taiyin Embers from the Dry Bone Ridge, but much more solid, as if it had been refined to a higher level.

He sealed the powder in a small bottle, stood up, and looked at Ye Ruolin.

"Someone stayed here for less than two days. He took the pills and then sliced ​​my Fire Marrow Crystal into thin slices, his movements clean and efficient. But he used it to its fullest potential."

Ye Ruolin walked up to the podium, her gaze falling on Xiao Fan.

"The man in the grey robe?" he asked in a low voice.

Xiao Fan shook his head helplessly. "That gray-robed man is the personal disciple of the Grandmaster of Alchemy. He is also very skilled in alchemy."

The technique was a bit rough, with a somewhat unorthodox feel, but the quality of the spiritual energy was very high.

He put away the small bottle, took out a map from the Dry Bone Ridge from his spatial ring, and used the ten halos on the central stone pillar to draw a circle around it.

That area was neither within the territory of the Daqing Empire nor on any known arc-shaped node. There was only a faint mark on the edge of the parchment scroll, like a natural mark left by rolling it up over many years.

Below the groove was a tiny mark, the shape of which perfectly matched the spiritual energy aura in the dark purple powder he had previously collected.

He looked up at Ye Ruolin, his gaze calm and clear.

"He knew the route, took the things and left; he couldn't have been waiting for me here. However, I noticed a tiny mark on the powder, indicating that the passage wasn't broken."

He carefully put away the parchment, stood up, and walked to his desk. The remaining ten halos slowly rotated around the stone pillar, their light dimming considerably, but they still stubbornly continued to spin.

After saying that, Xiao Fan turned around and walked up the steps, each step so firm.

Ye Ruolin followed closely behind.

Xiao Fan and Ye Ruolin walked out of the basin and arrived at the location of the mark in less than half a day.

This is a small town called "Red Wind Town", nestled between two small hills. It has only one main road, and many people come and go, among whom many exude strong fire-attribute spiritual energy fluctuations.

Xiao Fan led his horse through the town gate. On the main street, there were many stalls selling all kinds of spiritual materials, ores, and medicinal herbs, and even some low-grade pills were readily available.

He hadn't walked far when he suddenly stopped, because there was a shop not far away with a faded little flag hanging on it, and the sign on it seemed to look very similar to the sign of the previous shop.

Just as he was about to take a closer look, a servant in gray came out of the shop carrying a bucket of dirty water and splashed it all over Xiao Fan's leather boots.

The shopkeeper looked up at Xiao Fan and Ye Ruolin, who seemed somewhat unfamiliar with each other, and casually asked, "Are you here to buy something?"

"Hello," Xiao Fan said politely, "Were there any vendors selling Fire Marrow Crystals a couple of days ago?"

The shopkeeper was stunned for a moment. He rolled his eyes and waved his hand, saying, "Fire Marrow Crystal? How could such a good thing be in our shop? You've probably come to the wrong place."

Xiao Fan immediately understood—this guy already knew, but just didn't dare to say it.

Xiao Fan didn't ask any further questions. He simply took out a small jade bottle from his pocket, played with it for a moment, and then put it away. "It's alright, I'll be right there."

He pulled on the reins, about to leave, but then noticed the boy's gaze fixed on the jade bottle, and he swallowed hard.

He walked to the tea shop across the street, ordered two cups of tea, and slowly drank with Ye Ruolin, but his eyes were always fixed on the door frame of the shop across the street.

Before long, the waiter came out of the shop, looked around, walked to Xiao Fan's side, and whispered, "Sir, if you want to sell something, I can take you there."

There's a peddler in town who specializes in buying and selling secondhand goods, but he doesn't live in town. We'll have to go to a village about ten miles east of town to look for him.

Xiao Fan put down his teacup and looked at Bu Fang. "What's your name?"

"His surname is Zhang, and everyone calls him Mr. Zhang, but I don't know much about him. The estate is well-managed and has plenty of money, so if it's genuine, the price is quite good."

After saying this, Xiao Fan picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then slowly stood up.

Ye Ruolin followed behind him and whispered, "I suspect that the old man Zhang that young man mentioned isn't the real buyer. I knew this would happen when I saw your jade bottle earlier."

"I know."

Xiao Fan jumped onto his horse and continued, "However, he said he was going to a manor ten miles east of the town. Whatever he does there is right."

The two horses traveled eastward along the dirt road outside the town for seven or eight miles, and a rather large manor came into view.

The manor was surrounded by a high earthen wall, with rows of iron nails nailed into it. An old plaque hung on the door, bearing the four characters "Zhang Ji Ling Manor".

Xiao Fan jumped off his horse, walked to the gate, and placed his hand on the copper ring.

Soon, footsteps came from inside, and the iron gate slowly opened a crack, revealing half of an old face.

"Who are you looking for?" an old voice asked.

"I heard that this Mr. Zhang is fond of collecting antiques, so I would like to ask him to appraise them," he said.

The old servant glanced at him, then at Ye Ruolin, and slowly pushed open the door to enter. "Please come in quickly, the master is in the back."

The layout inside the courtyard was much more spacious than it appeared from the outside. There were three courtyards in total, each filled with all sorts of spiritual materials and ores, some neatly arranged and others scattered about.

As they passed through the second courtyard, Xiao Fan suddenly stopped because he saw something resembling a Fire Marrow Crystal in a corner, though it was much smaller and seemed to have broken off from a rock.

He followed without changing his expression.

Sitting in the back room was a man in his fifties, dressed in a dark green silk robe, holding two walnuts in his hand. He had a round, clean-cut face and looked like a businessman.

When he saw Xiao Fan come in, he put down the walnuts, stood up and greeted Xiao Fan.

"Young man, you look unfamiliar. Where are you from? What do you want to sell?"

Xiao Fan did not sit down, but stood at the top of the hall, looking around with a solemn expression.

The hall was simply furnished, but in one corner there was a wooden shelf with several items on it, including a white jade box that was exactly the same size as the pills on the twelve stone platforms.

"Old Zhang."

Xiao Fan said unhurriedly, "I would like to ask, a couple of days ago someone sold you a Fire Marrow Crystal and a pill."