The Eternal Saint of Alchemy

Master Gu Yuan squatted down, felt around on the stone platform, and then took out a ground-penetrating talisman from his storage bag at his waist and pressed it onto the stone.

The runes emitted a soft, dark red light and slowly disappeared into the ground. It took more than ten breaths before Gu Yuan's expression changed slightly.

"What a large open space. And..."

As he spoke, he took out another talisman and affixed it to the surface, confirming once again, "Moreover, there is another source of spiritual energy inside this cave, which is very stable. It is not naturally generated, but rather a long-running magic array."

Xiao Fan crouched down and injected the Creation Fire into the cracks between the bricks and stones around the arena. Instantly, a powerful Creation Fire appeared on the arena.

The crimson fire pierced through the thick stone bricks, descending several feet below, before encountering a highly elastic spiritual energy barrier. Its texture was the same as that of the Burning Bone Abyss, only much larger.

The instant the Creation Fire came into contact with the barrier, a dark golden light burst forth from the barrier. This light came from underground and illuminated the entire arena, making even the surrounding weeds and bricks visible in detail.

It wasn't until three or four breaths later that the light gradually faded, and the entire arena returned to calm.

Xiao Fan put away the Creation Fire, stood up, and patted his knees.

The spiritual energy shield was very elastic, indicating that the underground formation had been operating continuously without any major flaws. It was a dark golden flame, similar to the furnace of the Burning Bone Abyss.

"This is the path to the Burning Bone Abyss." He looked at the ancient abyss and said, "Beneath the Imperial Capital, there is a formation eye set up by the Grand Void Pill Saint, similar to the furnace of the Burning Bone Abyss. And between these two nodes, a cycle is formed."

Master Gu Yuan stood up, clapped his hands, and said with a serious expression. "So, there's a formation core underground that's existed for hundreds of years, and everyone has been living normal lives, completely unaware of what they stepped on?"

Xiao Fan nodded silently. He walked around the platform and noticed that the ancient stone slabs on it were worn, as if they had been stepped on many times.

These scratches are from different eras. The oldest layer is about the height of a brick, while the most recent layer appears to be sharp, as if it was recently carved.

"A few days ago, someone came here." He bent down, running his hand along the marks that had just been polished, feeling a sharp touch on his fingertips. "Neither the Ye family nor the Zhou family came. Someone was ahead of us."

Master Gu Yuan's expression also turned serious. The two did not linger in the storage area. They looked at their location and their surroundings before turning and leaving.

When Xiao Fan returned to the inn in the city, it was already dark. He was in his room looking through two old books. On the corner of one of the books was a broken picture of a firebird, which was the symbol of Zixiao Pavilion, only missing half a wing.

He closed the booklet, placed it on the table, pushed open the window, and looked out.

The rooftops of the capital city almost reached the walls of the imperial city! That dark golden light, dozens of miles deep underground below the palace walls, still flowed calmly, faintly echoing the furnace in the Burning Bone Abyss.

He decided to go to the storeroom again after all the rubbings from Zixiao Pavilion had been sent out. This time, he had to be fully prepared.

Three days later, the copying at Zixiao Pavilion was completed.

Xiao Fan copied down the Yin-Yang Fire Harmony Method from the Stone Chamber of Burning Bone Abyss, along with annotations from scattered cultivators on the Zhou family jade slips, and some easy-to-understand diagrams, finally compiling a book that wasn't very thick.

After sending someone to Zixiao Pavilion, he received a reply from Chen Yuan at noon that same day. The reply was much more polite, and they agreed to meet in the main hall of Zixiao Pavilion the next morning.

Xiao Fan arrived as promised. Chen Yuan sat in the head seat, next to an old man in a green robe, the same person he had seen before.

This time, the old man didn't hide anything. He sat down openly to Chen Yuan's right, closed his eyes to rest, tucked his hands into his sleeves, and even suppressed his breathing.

Chen Yuan stood up, took the rubbing in his hand, and flipped through it. His expression changed from respect at the beginning to furrowing his brows after reading a few lines of text.

After turning the last page, he closed the book and cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards Xiao Fan. "Young Master Xiao's rubbing is indeed the result of considerable effort. The content is detailed, profound, and far from being a haphazard work. My Zixiao Pavilion keeps its word; please accept it."

He took a square box from his sleeve and placed it on the table. Xiao Fan took it in his hand, opened it a crack, and saw a dark green plaque, neither gold nor jade, which felt warm to the touch.

The token has the character "阵" (array) printed on the front and a miniature map of the earth's veins on the back, making it look like a small map of the earth's veins.

Chen Yuandao said, "This is a pass token for the underground spiritual veins of the capital. In the entire capital, there are fewer than twenty people who are qualified to hold this token."

With this token, the repair channels for most of the spiritual veins near the imperial city will be much more convenient for Young Master Xiao in the capital in the future.

Xiao Fan closed the brocade box, tucked it into his robes, and weighed the significance of the gift. The fact that Zixiao Pavilion was willing to give it as a return gift showed its value and its intention to forge a friendship.

Just as he was about to get up and take his leave, a pair of eyes that had been somewhat cloudy suddenly shone brightly as they looked directly at Xiao Fan. His voice was low and husky as he asked, "Young friend, have you been to the western warehouse district recently?"

Xiao Fan continued holding his teacup, then calmly set it down. "What makes you say that, Senior?"

The old man's gaze lingered on his face for two seconds, his lips trembling slightly, a half-smile playing on his lips. "I left a trace of that place. In the entire capital, you can count the number of people with that ability on one hand."

The atmosphere in the hall was somewhat tense. Xiao Fan put down his teacup, stood up, and bowed slightly. "Senior, you should have been able to sense everything I just did. If you want to know exactly what happened there, you should be there now."

At this point, the old man paused, then suddenly waved his hand, indicating that Chen Yuan could leave. Chen Yuan's expression changed slightly, but he didn't say anything. He got up and left the hall, closing the door behind him as he walked out.

Inside the main hall, only Xiao Fan and the old man remained.

The old man slowly stood up, his body slightly hunched, yet the aura emanating from him caused Xiao Fan to involuntarily take a half-step back. A sixth-grade Tribulation Realm cultivator! This person was definitely not someone an ordinary person could compare to.

"Young friend, there's no need to be nervous. My surname is Song, and I am an old monster from the Zixiao Pavilion who has never cared about worldly affairs. I did indeed sense the mark you touched, but you didn't touch anything."

I must tell you, the key to the array beneath that high platform is the final layer of restriction set up by the Grandmaster of the Void. If the Grandmaster of the Void hadn't personally intervened, it simply couldn't have been broken. In the entire capital, no more than five people know this.

Xiao Fan suppressed his excitement and straightened his back. "The last line of defense?"

"The Yin energy is sealed by the Nine Towers. The furnace in the Burning Bone Abyss is merely a supplementary point for harmonizing Yin and Yang. This array core beneath the capital is designed to deal with emergencies in the first two levels."