The Eternal Saint of Alchemy

The courtyard became quiet, with only the sound of Han Fei chopping vegetables remaining. Gu Yuan was sitting in the corridor sharpening his talisman knife. Yun Ruoxi closed her notebook and walked towards Xiao Fan.

"You went to the capital with Zhou Yanzhi this time, it's definitely not just for those few pieces of ancient jade."

Xiao Fan put away the ore and looked at him, saying something. She seemed to have read his mind and asked casually.

"At today's seminar, the middle-aged man in purple robes from Zixiao Pavilion publicly tested me, showing an extraordinary scholarly curiosity about the relics left behind by the Grandmaster of Elixir."

Just as Ye Ruolin said, these people have been secretly causing trouble, making it impossible to guard against them. The capital is their stronghold; they'll go there sooner or later.

Yun Ruoxi nodded, said nothing more, and turned to walk towards the kitchen. "Then I'll cook you a sumptuous dinner, so you won't go hungry in the capital."

Xiao Fan watched Jian Qi turn and leave, and spoke with a smile.

He's right, the situation in the capital is complicated right now. Zhou Yanzhi's invitation is certainly a good starting point, but more importantly, we need to see what those people are really up to.

The journey to the capital was long. Yun Ruoxi and Gu Yuan were both taken away by Xiao Fan.

Inside the Dan Tower, only Han Fei remained as the guard.

The carriage traveled north along the official road for seven or eight days before arriving at the capital.

The Zhou family's inkstone studio is located in a quiet old neighborhood in the north of the city. It is not large in area, and the plaque with the words "Inkstone Hall" on it looks a bit old, but it exudes a sense of vicissitude.

Xiao Fan led Yun Ruoxi and Gu Yuan in, and Zhou Yanzhi immediately came forward with a smile, welcoming him into the hall.

"Young Master Xiao keeps his word." Zhou Yanzhi personally poured him a cup of tea and then instructed the servants to prepare a guest room for him. "I have several ancient jade slips here, all of which have been sorted out and are just waiting for you to take a look."

After exchanging pleasantries, Xiao Fan drank a cup of tea and then got down to business. Zhou Yanzhi led him into the study, took out a sandalwood box containing more than twenty jade slips of varying sizes, which had clearly been handled repeatedly.

This observation lasted for an entire afternoon.

Although the rogue cultivator's notes were messy, there were several jade slips. These were from a hundred years ago, when an unknown rogue cultivator went deep into a secret valley in the western border of Daqing to conduct an experiment on yin-yang harmony. Although he was unsuccessful, he still obtained some detailed information.

The ratio of the two flames is six or seven parts similar to the furnace in the Burning Bone Abyss.

He took out the jade slip, put it aside, and continued to look through the rest of the jade slips.

Although many things were scattered, after piecing them together, he had roughly figured out the evolution of "Yin-Yang Fire Harmony". In his existing system, many things could be corroborated by the vague records on this scroll.

"Brother Zhou, could I borrow a few days' time?"

Zhou Yanzhi waved his hand and said, "Young Master Xiao, please take them. Just return them to me after you've looked at them. To me, these things are nothing more than a pile of broken stones. It's your good fortune that you find them pleasing."

After thanking him, Xiao Fan carefully wrapped the jade slip in a soft cloth and put it into his package.

The two discussed how to integrate Yin and Yang Fire. Zhou Yanzhi became more and more enthusiastic as he spoke, and presented the results of his research over the past few years.

Xiao Fan explained his thoughts one by one, even more in detail than Zhou Yanzhi had deduced on paper. Zhou Yanzhi listened and nodded repeatedly, making notes on the draft paper.

In the evening, Xiao Fan took his leave, saying he would come back in a couple of days. Zhou Yanzhi personally saw him off and told him to let him know if he needed anything.

After leaving the Hall of Inkstones, Xiao Fan slowly walked along the street and soon arrived at the inn.

The capital city at night is much more bustling than Danta, with shops on both sides of the street brightly lit and teeming with people.

As he walked toward a teahouse, a window on the second floor facing the street was suddenly pushed open, and a snow-white figure poked her head out and waved to him.

"Ye Ruolin..."

Xiao Fan looked up and found that the girl had been leaning against the windowsill at some point, staring at him with a mischievous look in her eyes.

"Young Master Xiao, you've finally arrived. I heard you went to the Zhou family a couple of days ago, so I went to the Ye family to wait for you."

Xiao Fan looked up and smiled, asking, "Have everything at home been taken care of?"

Ye Ruolin waved her hand and quickly walked upstairs.

She stood at the entrance of the teahouse, looking him up and down as if to make sure he was alright, before saying, "I've taken care of everything at home. But as for you, the people from Zixiao Pavilion know you've entered the city. This morning, someone went to the west of the city to inquire about your whereabouts. You interrupted me during the meeting at Yuncang Mountain that day, and Zixiao Pavilion hasn't stopped bothering me since."

As expected, Xiao Fan nodded slightly. "Is this someone trying to chat with me, or someone looking for me?"

"First of all," Ye Ruolin led him to a teahouse, ordered a cup of tea, and then said, "The Pavilion Master of Zixiao Pavilion would like to invite you to his residence to inquire about the symbiosis of the spiritual fire of heaven and earth."

Once you see Zhou Yanzhi, the Zhou family will definitely expose everything. Then none of you will escape unscathed. You'd better think about how to deal with it.

Xiao Fan picked up his teacup and slowly took a sip. The capital city was in complete chaos.

Since Zixiao Pavilion has said so, it would be spineless of him not to step forward. As for the so-called "seeking advice," we'll find out in time.

"Okay. Go and make the arrangements. I'll meet you at Zixiao Pavilion."

Ye Ruolin raised an eyebrow: "Really going?"

"Really going." He uttered a sound: "Okay." Putting down his teacup, Xiao Fan continued, "When he asked me to come up on stage, I already gave him an answer."

Now he's called me over, and I want to talk to him face-to-face. That way, we can all get to know each other, and the hidden cards will naturally be revealed.

Ye Ruolin glanced at him, nodded, and smiled. "I will send you a message tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow afternoon, I will accompany you to Zixiao Pavilion."

The Zixiao Pavilion is located in the eastern part of the capital city, covering a vast area. Copper bells hang from its eaves, tinkling in the wind.

As soon as Xiao Fan arrived, the middle-aged man in purple robes was already waiting at the entrance of the hall. When he saw Xiao Fan come in, he quickly cupped his hands and smiled, welcoming Xiao Fan inside.

"It is a great honor for Young Master Xiao to grace Zixiao Pavilion with his presence. Please come in and have some tea."

Xiao Fan followed behind him, passing through the main hall and entering the inner hall.

This was an ancient-style hall, with several ancient paintings about the Way of Fire hanging on the walls, and a few ancient bronze and jade artifacts on a shelf in the corner. The middle-aged man in purple robes ordered someone to brew the finest spiritual tea, personally filled his cup, and then sat down.

"My surname is Chen, and I am a retainer of the Zixiao Pavilion, surnamed Yuan. I personally witnessed Young Master Xiao's skills at the last Yuncang Mountain meeting; they were truly earth-shattering and awe-inspiring. Where did Young Master Xiao's Fire Fusion Technique come from? If it is convenient, my Zixiao Pavilion is willing to pay a great price."