The Eternal Saint of Alchemy

The carriage moved slowly through the autumn night, filled with the aroma of hay and roasted wheat.

Xiao Fan leaned against the carriage shaft, closed his eyes, and clutched a white handkerchief in his hand. After more than half a year of effort, the teleportation gate between Burning Bone Abyss and the Imperial Capital Hub was completed, and both levels had been distributed. The team managing the Fire Marrow Essence was also on track, and the Alliance had begun to take shape. Everything was ready.

Next, it's time to focus on cultivation.

Back in Danta, all was peaceful once more.

Xiao Fan spent most of his time studying the second half of "Burning Bone Abyss".

This part involves how to reshape the spiritual energy structure and enhance the strength of divine sense after reaching the fifth rank of the Tribulation Realm. With his current third-rank cultivation, he cannot attempt it for the time being, but if he can fully understand it, the breakthrough will be more difficult.

Every morning I would read the manuscript and take notes, and in the afternoon I would deduce the changes of Yin and Yang fire in the courtyard. In the evening I would meditate and regulate my breathing to integrate what I had learned that day. I would repeat this process.

In the courtyard, Han Fei had already tidied up the vegetable garden and planted a row of Chinese cabbages. Now that frost had formed, the harvest should be ready before winter.

Master Gu Yuan's pace of grinding talismans in the corridor slowed down noticeably, and he spent most of his time sunbathing and dozing off in the courtyard.

Yun Ruoxi read the travelogue and the geography book at the same time, occasionally looking up to see Xiao Fan practicing his skills in the courtyard, and then continuing to read.

In early October, one evening, Xiao Fan finished his cultivation and was taking a nap in the courtyard when suddenly he felt a slight tremor in the array foundation deep within his sea of ​​consciousness. This resonance did not come from the Burning Bone Abyss, nor from the capital, but from Qingyun Mountain to the south.

He closed his eyes, quietly sensing it. The resonance, though faint, lasted a long time, as if something of the same origin as the array base was awakening. He looked around, his brow slightly raised.

The Creation Cauldron was obtained from Qingyun Mountain. A considerable amount of time has passed since he last left, but it is clear that the traces left by the Grandmaster of the Void are not limited to him alone.

He looked up at the sky. The autumn air was crisp and clear, the sun was setting, and the distant mountain outlines were clearly visible. He silently considered where to go next—after the autumn harvest, it was the off-season for farmers, and there were few pedestrians on the roads, making it a good time to head south.

Just as Yun Ruoxi was deep in thought, he stood up, looked at the mountains under the setting sun, and said softly, "Where is that over there?"

Xiao Fan recounted the story of the array base resonance. Yun Ruoxi nodded, then went back to her room to pour him a cup of hot tea, and sat there waiting for him to speak.

Xiao Fan also walked over, sat down in a chair, picked up a cup of hot tea, and sipped it slowly, looking quite relaxed. It was an autumn evening, the wind carried the scent of earth, and the smoke rising from the distant grasslands made it hard to breathe.

"I plan to go to Qingyun Mountain after the Beginning of Winter." He put down his teacup and looked at the darkening sky. "It seems like something is calling to me."

Yun Ruoxi raised her head and looked up at the southern sky, where countless stars twinkled. "Hmm. This winter should be fine."

Xiao Fan smiled faintly, picked up his teacup, and took a sip. The sky gradually darkened, a few lights appeared outside the village, and a few barks of dogs echoed in the distance before falling silent.

Inside the Danta courtyard, Han Fei took out a basin of charcoal fire. The charcoal, which had just been added not long ago, was burning bright red, warm and cozy, dispelling the chill of autumn.

On the third day after the start of winter, Xiao Fan led his team south.

The journey took seven days. The trees on both sides of the road had changed from deciduous trees to evergreen broad-leaved forests, and the temperature had begun to warm up.

Qingyun Mountain remains as it always has, with its continuous mountain ranges and lush, verdant slopes.

Standing at the foot of the mountain, Xiao Fan looked up, his gaze passing through the dense canopy of trees, looking at the familiar mountainside, the very place where he had opened the Nine Towers Seal and activated the Creation Cauldron.

Two years later, this place is completely different from before. Back then, his cultivation level was low, and he only felt that the spiritual energy here was abundant.

As a third-grade Tribulation Realm cultivator, he could clearly sense that there seemed to be an ancient spiritual vein sleeping underground beneath the entire Qingyun Mountain.

The resonance level is lowest at the foot of the mountain, and becomes stronger as you go higher.

So Yun Ruoxi and Gu Yuan walked along the mountain path, while Han Fei stayed at the foot of the mountain to watch the carriage.

Suddenly, he felt a strong, powerful pulse, the source of which was an inconspicuous bluish-gray rock in the northeast corner.

Xiao Fan stepped forward, squatted down, and placed his hand on the stone.

The moment the fire of creation entered the crack, a pale golden pattern appeared on the surface of the stone. These patterns spread along the surface of the stone, forming a semi-circular gate of light.

Master Gu Yuan glanced at it and couldn't help but click his tongue: "Good lad, when you used the Creation Cauldron, it didn't react at all. It seems that your cultivation level was too low back then, and you didn't even have the qualifications to trigger the restrictions."

Xiao Fan nodded, and with a flash, disappeared into the portal. The moment his hand passed through the portal, a warm sensation emanated from within. He and Gu Yuan exchanged a glance. "I'm leaving. You can follow me after the spatial passage stabilizes."

He stepped into the portal of light and vanished. Beyond the portal lay a vast underground space, its walls covered with countless bronze discs that emitted a faint glow and converged toward the coiled dragon pillar at the center of the stone hall.

The stone pillar is as white as jade, with a lifelike dragon coiled on it. The dragon opens its mouth and swallows a fist-sized, fiery red crystal.

The crystal was pulsating rhythmically, resonating with the array in his mind.

Xiao Fan walked to the stone pillar and looked up. The surface of the red crystal in the dragon's mouth was covered with a thin layer of dust. Through the dust, a wisp of flame could be vaguely seen dancing in it.

Yun Ruoxi and Gu Yuan followed closely behind. Master Gu Yuan paced back and forth in the stone hall, his gaze falling on the bronze disc, his expression gradually becoming solemn.

"Why does the layout of these array plates look so familiar?"

He bent down, examined it closely, then suddenly looked up and exclaimed, "This is an ancient array that gathers spiritual energy and suppresses other objects; it completely seals off the stone chamber!"

The bead inside the dragon's mouth is the core of the formation.

Xiao Fan also realized what was going on. This stone hall was ingeniously designed, somewhat similar to the Burning Bone Abyss and the Imperial Capital's array eye, but it seemed more like the first experimental product left behind by the Grandmaster of Pill Refinement.

The white jade dragon pillar is the core of this system. As long as the crystal in the dragon's mouth is activated or taken away, the seal of the entire hall will change. This is what is known as the seal.

He didn't rush to touch it. Instead, he circled the stone pillar and carved the dragon pattern into it before feeling relieved. One of the dragon scales had a slightly different pattern, was lighter in color, and had a fine engraving mark on its edge.