The Eternal Saint of Alchemy

He took out the map he had drawn over the past year and, comparing it with the area Zhou Yanzhi had given him, quickly found it.

This is a plain called "Frozenfire Plains". The terrain here is mostly tundra and shallow lakes, and it has long been considered a barren place for spiritual materials.

However, upon closer inspection, although the Frozen Fire Plains doesn't look very impressive on the map, it happens to be located at the intersection of the two major earth veins of the Great Qing Empire. If there really is an underground fire vein surging, this place would be very conspicuous.

Yun Ruoxi packed her things and walked out with him.

Han Fei, Gu Yuan, and the others stayed at the Pill Tower. Although the journey was long, it did not take too long, and traveling light saved a lot of time.

Five days later, Xiao Fan appeared on the edge of the icy plains, his expression extremely solemn.

What came into view was a gray expanse of land covered with a thin layer of ice, which gleamed coldly in the sunlight.

Sure enough, in the distance, a wisp of white smoke rose into the sky, just as described in Zhou Yan's letter.

Half a day later, he felt the ground in front of him sink, the ice shattered, and a huge crack about ten feet long appeared before him.

At the edge of the canyon, twenty or thirty people dressed in various colors and with different appearances had already gathered.

Xiao Fan looked in the direction of the sound and saw Meng Boyuan talking solemnly with an old man in blue robes at the edge of the crack. A disciple of the Three Flames Hall carrying a new sword saw Xiao Fan and quickly tugged at his sleeve.

Meng Boyuan turned around, his expression softening. "Young Master Xiao, you've come at the right time. I'll come find you right away."

I tried the barrier at the entrance three times, and was repelled each time. The man in the dark blue brocade robe was Elder Zhao, the master of the Ice and Fire Pavilion. He had also tried twice before, but failed.

Xiao Fan stepped forward and glanced down. The crack was bottomless, faintly glowing with a dark red light. He could sense a pure fire-attribute spiritual energy pulsating at an unchanging, constant frequency.

"I'll go take a look." He found a gently sloping ice wall along the edge of the crevice and carefully began to climb down. Yun Ruoxi stood outside the cave, looking out.

Meng Boyuan, Old Zhao, and several other old fellows were also standing by the crack, watching what was happening below.

After walking down another ten or so feet, his eyes were suddenly drawn to a tall stone gate.

The stone door was dark red all over, with intricate flame patterns carved on its surface. A faint red light flowed between the patterns, making it look like a ball of flame. Heat steamed up from the cracks in the door, turning into a cloud of white mist, and an ancient and dry mineral smell wafted towards us.

Xiao Fan landed in front of the stone gate and reached inside.

As the flames of creation descended upon the stone gate, the flame patterns on it began to light up, layer by layer, from bottom to top. As the light grew brighter, the entire stone gate emitted a buzzing sound.

Standing before the crack, Meng Boyuan and the others could clearly see that the stone gate and the giant gate emitting a faint light seemed to have a natural connection, as if an ancient ferocious beast that had been sleeping for many years had been awakened by that familiar aura.

The door was pushed open.

The heavy, dark red stone door slowly parted to the sides, revealing a wide passageway from which a faint light shone.

A row of bronze lamps lined both sides of the passageway. After Xiao Fan entered, the flames inside the lamps lit up automatically, illuminating the entire passageway with a dim yellow light.

A low shout came from above the canyon. Meng Boyuan took a deep breath, turned around, and shouted "Follow me!" Several disciples of the Three Flames Hall immediately took the lead and began climbing up the ice wall.

Zhao Laochi was slightly taken aback, then followed suit. With the first one taking the lead, the remaining forces all followed suit.

Xiao Fan was already waiting at the entrance of the passage. Once everyone was in place, he stepped out and into the tunnel. "We'll stay together, and we can't touch the lights on the walls. This place has only been open for a short time; there might be other restrictions still in place."

Everyone nodded and followed. The passage was much longer than they had imagined; it took them a full fifteen minutes to reach the end.

In the very center of the main hall stood a huge bronze cauldron, covered with a thick layer of ash. The four walls of the hall were inlaid with twelve crystals of various colors, emitting a faint fluorescent glow that illuminated the entire hall.

A thick stone slab covered the cauldron, with characters engraved on it.

As Xiao Fan approached, he saw that the calligraphy on it was flamboyant and not the handwriting of the Grandmaster of Pills, but rather the words "One pill made, one sword made" that he had seen on the pill in the stone chamber of the Burning Bone Abyss.

He reached out and pushed forward. The stone slab hit the ground with a loud thud, the cauldron opened, and a rich spiritual energy surged out from within.

The cauldron was half-filled with a dark red liquid, which was viscous and crystal clear. Under the light, it emitted a warm, amber-like luster that was dazzling and mesmerizing.

Meng Boyuan stepped forward, took a closer look, and his eyes widened in astonishment. "Fire Marrow Essence? Such a huge alchemy furnace!"

He had seen fire marrow crystals before; a fire marrow crystal the size of a fingernail was quite valuable.

Fire Marrow Essence is formed from Fire Marrow Crystal under special conditions over a thousand years, making it even more precious than Fire Marrow Crystal. Even a small bottle can help a fire-path cultivator break through the early stage of the Tribulation Realm and enter the later stage.

Old Zhao's expression also changed slightly. His gaze toward Xiao Fan shifted from initial scrutiny to undisguised surprise and doubt.

This person before them not only opened the passage and allowed them to pass safely, but now, in full view of everyone, they have opened a treasure trove containing countless spiritual materials. When everyone looked at the cauldron fire essence again, there was no longer the slightest hint of contempt.

Xiao Fan glanced at it, then turned to the crowd and said, "This cauldron fire essence is not mine. I want you to understand that the spiritual materials we obtain from the ruins should be used for cultivating the fire path, not for personal enrichment."

He looked around and said in a deep voice, "Therefore, I propose that this Cauldron Fire Essence be jointly supervised and uniformly distributed by the major forces present, for everyone's use in cultivation and alchemy."

However, major sects such as the Three Flames Hall and the Ice and Fire Pavilion must come once a month.

He paused for a moment before speaking slowly.

After a moment of silence, Meng Boyuan said, "My Three Flames Hall agrees."

Old Zhao followed closely behind him. The representatives of the other factions exchanged glances, and seeing that both sides had made their statements, they didn't say anything more. From the initial shock, to the undercurrents, and now to the calm.

Xiao Fan replaced the stone slab with its cover and then looked at everyone. "Alright, then next, we'll discuss the details of the joint committee members. There's plenty of time, everyone, no need to rush."